Debut appearance!!

My debut appearance on my blog. On the left, with Pepsi ( proof in the foreground) in my hand is me. On the right, with the ice cream, is Pappu.

PDW

This quarter we have a course called the Professional Development Workshop. Its a nice one actually. We can enroll for Yoga as a part of this course. We are also taught something called the structured response method of handling unusual business situations, for that matter,even the day to day incidents. This method looks very interesting. I will document it sometime later.

Today we had a group activity, wherein our group was stranded on the moon and we had to come up with priorities for a list of 15 things to carry with us to reach the mother ship.The idea was to see the differences between individual preferences and how they change within a group. It was a wonderful experience really.

The feedback was very insightful too. The "neutral" observers felt that I was the de facto leader of the group, very assertive, and not very imposing, at the same time. One interesting comment was that I was very strong in logic, and riding on the strength of my logic, I bulldozed some of the members of the group!!

Verticalization

To really enjoy this post you need some background information on a chap called Bala. You can read about it here. Anyways, Bala has divided his consulting business into the following domain specific verticals:

Food and Beverages: This vertical largely was a result of consistent beverage demand and Bala’s niche expertise in meeting the demand. Being a platinum card holder at various pubs and restaurants, ranging from swanky to quasi-shady, has helped him in integrating the supply and demand.

Entertainment: With weekend demand for the entertainment from the teetotaler clients to “i-don’t-have-money-to-booze-this-weekend” types, on the rise, Bala has risen to the occasion by using his supply-side contacts at multipexes and amusement parks, and realized a highly demanding vertical.

Automobile: This vertical was a result of Bala’s prior experience with automobile majors. This has helped him in meeting the clients’ need for new and second-hand bikes, as well as spare parts. Bala has also integrated transport logistics with this vertical, because the economic feasibility of operating his Pulsar was only too logical.

Finance and Insurance: Very strong, in Auto insurance, with proven expertise in getting insurance for his own bike. Being a local gives him access to a lot of idle funds in times of his clients’ crises.

Information Services: Sound knowledge of local conditions, makes Bala a prime choice for offering value added information services, especially cyclone forecasts (includes their source and destination too…clients love this!!), and accommodation information.

But apart from the verticalization, brand Bala has decided to consciously stay away from a potentially lucrative sector, personal care. With client queries ranging from number of underwears to be brought to Chennai, to the possibility of using an iron box in the girls’ hostel, to helpline services for “sambar-rasam-indistinguishable population” and location – spotting services, Bala is seriously pissed off!! Next in line: taking his consulting services public!!!!

What do consultants do?

The answer to the question is as difficult as the Freud's legendary doubt-what do women want?
One of the more common diatribes that one regularly gets to hear is “Those who can do they do, those who cannot, they consult.”
Same can be said for the legendary Freudian doubt. Tomes have been written, acreage of newsprint wasted, photographic reels spent by moviemakers in trying to understand the Freudian doubt. And I am not in the same league as those writers and moviemakers nor do I have the patience to write on what women want.
But as to what consultants do, the answers are so convoluted – ranging from strategy to management to technology to boutique, and everything else that smells vaguely of beautifully articulated jargon is associated with consulting.
Add to that the exclusivity that these consulting firms believe in. And charge obscene sums as fees for consulting to justify equally obscene pay packages given to the consultants.
The key to be a successful consultant, I guess, is to be an ace in making sense out of ambiguity. And THIS is definitely easier than understanding what women want. Any day!!

Lazy City

The other day I was just thinking how lazy this city of Calcutta is. The shops here open at 5pm after shutting down for lunch at 1 pm. Four hours of no business, that too in a metro! But, I realized that the people here are just as indolent, that nobody ventures out at in the afternoon to shop. The cause and effect relation is hard to establish in this particular case. This is as good as the “which came first - chicken or egg?” question.
But the new retail stores have created an interesting situation. People actually swarm these stores at all times of the day. If the retailing boom picks up further steam, it will, in all probability create problems for the laggard store keepers all over the city. No wonder, the Left is opposing the FDI in retail so vociferously!!

This is so funny!!

This incident is described in "From the Pavilion End" by Harold "Dickie" Bird.

"Bomber" Wells, a spin bowler and great character, played for Gloucestershire and Nottinghamshire.

He used to bat at No.11 since one couldn't bat any lower. Of him, they used to paraphrase Compton's famous words describing an equally inept runner; "When he shouts 'YES' for a run, it is merely the basis for further negotiations!"

Incidentally, Compton was no better. John Warr said, of Compton "He was the only person who would call you for a run and wish you luck at the same time."

Anyway, when Wells played for Gloucs, he had an equally horrendous runner as the No.10. During a county match, horror of horrors.......both got injured.

Both opted for runners when it was their turn to bat. Bomber played a ball on the off, called for a run, forgot he had a runner and ran himself. Ditto at the other end. In the melee, someone decided that a second run was on. Now we had all four running. Due to the confusion and constant shouts of "YES", "NO", eventually, all of them ran to the same end.

Note - at this point in time, the entire ground is rolling on the floor laughing their behinds out. One of the fielders - brave lad - stops laughing for a minute, picks the ball and throws down the wicket at the other end.

Umpire Alec Skelding looks very seriously at the four and calmly informs them "One of you buggers is out. I don't know which. You decide and inform the bloody scorers!"

Adam and Eve

Genesis 1 and 2 contradict each other. Many rabbis over past 2000 thousand years have tried to read between the lines to explain the flaw. Genesis 1 states that God created man and woman, while Genesis 2 clearly says that God created woman after Adam complained of loneliness, from Adam’s rib.
So, many rabbis claim that there was another woman before Eve came into the Garden of Eden. She was apparently called Loeth (from Lily or Lileth, meaning “stormy wind”, an Assyrian word???).
But where did Loeth go? The Bible experts say that she could not surrender her influence and power to a man and hence left him (within a day??).
Whether Loeth knew the existence of the forbidden apple in the Garden of Eden is open to speculation. At the same time, existence of a woman before the arrival of Eve can also explain the following paradox (??) – If Abel and Cane were the only two children of Adam and Eve, then how did the human race progress?
To counter this paradox some historians also say that Adam had a few children (or a child, at least a girl child) from Loeth. Or may be Loeth procreated with one of Adam and Eve’s children. Even this possibility cannot be discounted, given that she left Adam within a day and Adam went onto live for 900 odd years.
All said and done, the story of Adam and Eve delivers a powerful message. The message that is relevant even today.

“God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece.”