Lip Service at its best!
1st December - World AIDS day. Another one of those days when socialites, politicians, celebrities in the garb of "social activists" get together and make empty speeches on how we can tackle this menace at all levels. Isn't it a tad surprising that none of these social champions are seen doing anything but appearing on talk shows, debates or other such functions and crying their throat hoarse about protection and social acceptance. 3 million AIDS victims in India alone!! Who are we fooling?? One wonders how many of them are even involved in actually doing grass root level work to help spread AIDS awareness or help AIDS victims. Most of these people on TV don't even know what they are talking of. One such young lady when asked on camera about what she did on AIDS day replied - "Today i ate a biscuit from the same plate as an AIDS patient" This for me is a great achievement. I felt liberated, great, infact out of this world!!!" Shocking isn't it! .... Just makes me wonder what help such a crusader would be in the battle against a deadly menace.
So in the Samurai's humble opinion, mere talks will not do!! You don't need to join an AIDS victim helping organization. All that is needed is to be sensitive to the fact that AIDS victims need to be treated normally. Making them feel like outlaws is ridiculous! Its time we shed hypiit ocrisy and talk openly about how it can be contracted. This ladies and gentlemen is not the time to be politically correct, but being matter of fact about it. Its about fighting an even bigger menace - "Freeing ourselves" . Only if we as individuals in the society are able to fight the battle within our heads. The battle of acknowledging that this is just a disease and the victim needs to be treated with respect. It's only then that we will be able to fight AIDS. Other than that most of it is as they say is - Mere Lip Service.......
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The Kar Mafia ???
At the outset a clarification that Vegsarkar, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dada and Azhar are some of Samurai's favourite players. This post is really a neutral take on how the Mumbai lobby ( "Kar" mafia as they are popularly called) and what stake they have in deciding the "First Man" of Indian cricket - Test captain of Indian cricket Team.
Now then, it's always been an allegation that with Mr. Pawar at the helm, Vengsar'kar' as chairman selectors, Gavas'kar' and Shastri as the key decision making unit, Niranjan shah the bcci secretary and obviously our little master Tendul'kar'... the 'kar' mafia has had the last word and mumbai players have been favoured. Speculation was rife that Vengsarkar and Co. had been pressurising Dravid to resign as skipper, they had made life difficult for him to pave way for sachin. But with the 'little master' doing a volte-face and backing out from captaincy race, this theory has fallen flat on its face. The Samurai's view is that Sachin has had an unblemished and distinguished career and lets not spoil things by pointing fingers.... The fact is that Dhoni has found it difficult to adjust Dravid in the one day squad. Everyone is performing and Raina, Manoj Tewari and Virat kohli are knocking on the door by giving in one good performance after another. Offcourse there is the 'Nabob Of Najafgarh' who is back in favor with the selecters as well. So dravid will have to bide his time... There is no reason to believe that he is redundant. He will lead the Indian batting challenge in Australia. So the idea is, get him in the ODI squad and play him 1 match by resting sachin or saurav out. Obviously he will play in Australia!! So, let's not disrespect a great player who has served India with distinction over the last decade. He is definitely one of the greatest to have played the game... atleast for India.
Likewise, its unfair to blame the 'kar' team too. The argument against them may hold merit, but if Mr. Vegsarkar is a selector and has been chosen, let him do his job as he sees it best..Let's not give in to the jingoism created by the media. They are paid for it!!! - What is our excuse????
At the outset a clarification that Vegsarkar, Tendulkar, Dravid, Dada and Azhar are some of Samurai's favourite players. This post is really a neutral take on how the Mumbai lobby ( "Kar" mafia as they are popularly called) and what stake they have in deciding the "First Man" of Indian cricket - Test captain of Indian cricket Team.
Now then, it's always been an allegation that with Mr. Pawar at the helm, Vengsar'kar' as chairman selectors, Gavas'kar' and Shastri as the key decision making unit, Niranjan shah the bcci secretary and obviously our little master Tendul'kar'... the 'kar' mafia has had the last word and mumbai players have been favoured. Speculation was rife that Vengsarkar and Co. had been pressurising Dravid to resign as skipper, they had made life difficult for him to pave way for sachin. But with the 'little master' doing a volte-face and backing out from captaincy race, this theory has fallen flat on its face. The Samurai's view is that Sachin has had an unblemished and distinguished career and lets not spoil things by pointing fingers.... The fact is that Dhoni has found it difficult to adjust Dravid in the one day squad. Everyone is performing and Raina, Manoj Tewari and Virat kohli are knocking on the door by giving in one good performance after another. Offcourse there is the 'Nabob Of Najafgarh' who is back in favor with the selecters as well. So dravid will have to bide his time... There is no reason to believe that he is redundant. He will lead the Indian batting challenge in Australia. So the idea is, get him in the ODI squad and play him 1 match by resting sachin or saurav out. Obviously he will play in Australia!! So, let's not disrespect a great player who has served India with distinction over the last decade. He is definitely one of the greatest to have played the game... atleast for India.
Likewise, its unfair to blame the 'kar' team too. The argument against them may hold merit, but if Mr. Vegsarkar is a selector and has been chosen, let him do his job as he sees it best..Let's not give in to the jingoism created by the media. They are paid for it!!! - What is our excuse????
Think about it.......
cheers
Samurai
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Social Networking Sites - Why???
Last night at a dinner party, someone asked, “Microsoft valued Facebook at approx. $10 billion. What’s your take on why the community sites like Orkut/Facebook/BigAdda are selling like hot cakes?” This sure got the Samurai thinking. So here goes the Samurai line of thought on the issue.
Fad: That was the instantaneous response that came up! These sites have mushroomed due to viral, word of mouth marketing and gradually a cool factor has come to be associated with them. “Hey you not on Orkut!! What’s wrong with you?” “Have you tried to super poke anyone on Facebook?” “How many fans/testimonials do you have on Orkut?” Statements like these add to the popularity of networking sites. A caveat here though is that not all of these sites will be successful. Every now and then you have a new site coming up with newer features. This cool / fad factor may mean a fickle membership base and even extinction for these sites. But you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that there’s a lot more to it than mere fad/cool factor. These sites are here to say. So why?
Social Disconnect: Our lives have become so disconnected now. Not anyone’s fault, but you cannot connect to someone for everything. There are things you can discuss with your parents and some that you can’t. Same holds true for your Girlfriend or Wife or Kids or siblings or friends for that matter. There needs to be an outlet where you can connect to people with the same thought process and point of view. Hence, the “I hate Himesh” or “I love Shahrukh” communities (Pardon me for the slightly crass examples) give you an opportunity to share thoughts with likeminded people. This connect is giving people a high which not all relationships are giving.
Cynicism: “I do it for Networking”. While this one seems to be a no-brainer, it may not necessarily be the complete truth in all cases. “You want to stay in touch with all your friends / business contacts and instead of calling them up every time, a scrap is enough to show that you are thinking about them“. But tell me honestly, would not a small email have served the same purpose? Why not go to a professional networking site like a LinkedIn? Or is it, that there are a few people whom you just want to keep at arm’s length and you say. “Boss scrap is enough. I don’t want to be too friendly”. Seems hard to believe, but have met a lot a people who confided the above statement to the Samurai.
Selling: These sites work on a simple business model with revenues from banner or text ads. They are a fantastic channel to target youth which is the primary membership base. Even job postings on these sites are getting better responses than say a monster.com. But, if the membership base falls, the revenues and subsequently the sites will fall flat on their face. Which is why new sites will come and go, but very few will stay due to business reasons. Hence these sites are in today, because it makes business sense to run them.
Obviously, there are a number of advantages like keeping in touch with friends. Nice way to make new friends, which is a big reason for popularity with the college crowd. Where else would you find an easier way where you would be able to find an easier way to show case yourself in the best manner possible with friends writing good things about you? For some, being on these sites is a great stress buster! Being a regular on Orkut and Facebook, the Samurai is not against any of these sites or any of the reasons for their popularity. So all in all, the social networking sites are here to stay and we sure will hear about them for a long time to come…
But the million $ question is “How many of them will survive?”
cheers
Samurai
Last night at a dinner party, someone asked, “Microsoft valued Facebook at approx. $10 billion. What’s your take on why the community sites like Orkut/Facebook/BigAdda are selling like hot cakes?” This sure got the Samurai thinking. So here goes the Samurai line of thought on the issue.
Fad: That was the instantaneous response that came up! These sites have mushroomed due to viral, word of mouth marketing and gradually a cool factor has come to be associated with them. “Hey you not on Orkut!! What’s wrong with you?” “Have you tried to super poke anyone on Facebook?” “How many fans/testimonials do you have on Orkut?” Statements like these add to the popularity of networking sites. A caveat here though is that not all of these sites will be successful. Every now and then you have a new site coming up with newer features. This cool / fad factor may mean a fickle membership base and even extinction for these sites. But you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that there’s a lot more to it than mere fad/cool factor. These sites are here to say. So why?
Social Disconnect: Our lives have become so disconnected now. Not anyone’s fault, but you cannot connect to someone for everything. There are things you can discuss with your parents and some that you can’t. Same holds true for your Girlfriend or Wife or Kids or siblings or friends for that matter. There needs to be an outlet where you can connect to people with the same thought process and point of view. Hence, the “I hate Himesh” or “I love Shahrukh” communities (Pardon me for the slightly crass examples) give you an opportunity to share thoughts with likeminded people. This connect is giving people a high which not all relationships are giving.
Cynicism: “I do it for Networking”. While this one seems to be a no-brainer, it may not necessarily be the complete truth in all cases. “You want to stay in touch with all your friends / business contacts and instead of calling them up every time, a scrap is enough to show that you are thinking about them“. But tell me honestly, would not a small email have served the same purpose? Why not go to a professional networking site like a LinkedIn? Or is it, that there are a few people whom you just want to keep at arm’s length and you say. “Boss scrap is enough. I don’t want to be too friendly”. Seems hard to believe, but have met a lot a people who confided the above statement to the Samurai.
Selling: These sites work on a simple business model with revenues from banner or text ads. They are a fantastic channel to target youth which is the primary membership base. Even job postings on these sites are getting better responses than say a monster.com. But, if the membership base falls, the revenues and subsequently the sites will fall flat on their face. Which is why new sites will come and go, but very few will stay due to business reasons. Hence these sites are in today, because it makes business sense to run them.
Obviously, there are a number of advantages like keeping in touch with friends. Nice way to make new friends, which is a big reason for popularity with the college crowd. Where else would you find an easier way where you would be able to find an easier way to show case yourself in the best manner possible with friends writing good things about you? For some, being on these sites is a great stress buster! Being a regular on Orkut and Facebook, the Samurai is not against any of these sites or any of the reasons for their popularity. So all in all, the social networking sites are here to stay and we sure will hear about them for a long time to come…
But the million $ question is “How many of them will survive?”
cheers
Samurai
Sunday, October 28, 2007
A sales blog!!
As if one was not enough, here comes another one from the samurai. Had been noticing that have stopped myself from writing my musings here for the reason that i promised to make it a sales related blog. So, here goes.
Here on i have a new blog on http://dbsalespeak.blogspot.com/ This is where the sales related thoughts go here on!! Moving my last two posts there as well.
cheers
The Samurai
As if one was not enough, here comes another one from the samurai. Had been noticing that have stopped myself from writing my musings here for the reason that i promised to make it a sales related blog. So, here goes.
Here on i have a new blog on http://dbsalespeak.blogspot.com/ This is where the sales related thoughts go here on!! Moving my last two posts there as well.
cheers
The Samurai
Friday, June 15, 2007
How Time Flies!!
How time flies!! A little nostalgic today.. Was just telling a friend about my stay at IIM K and well i'd say no regrets. Lived life king size. Loved K then and always will. It will always stay close to my heart. I guess you can take Scon out of K but K out of the Scon... Naaaaah!! Not possible!!
So here i am at Bangalore. At my work place, composing my first blog on my 12 inch Toshiba. Well, things have changed! New city, New Office, no college environs, no K junta around... no G-mid .. no E top.. things have changed .. Yes!
Bangalore is a strange place. It kind of grows on you... For someone who used to vehemently crib about bangalore is getting to like it... Party scene has not started ..coz house setting is first on the agenda! However, it does seem at times that the autowallahs have all ganged up against the samurai ! Not knowing too many people here is a bit of an issue, but on the whole life is good! The challenge now though is to ensure that weight is not gained. Believe me an IT work environ can do that to you. On the job front, pretty much what one could aspire of after passing out of a B-school. But the settling period is still not over , for someone who has always believed to live upto own standards ... i guess i have not as yet set the place on fire!! Nonetheless, people here are smart and intelligent. A great place to learn and already falling in love with it. Planning to turn this into a sales blog. Maybe i open up another one for that.
Signing off for the day for now!
Ciao People
'The Samurai'
Sunday, April 01, 2007
Well MBA b
hi ho gaya!! Its a strange thing this...when i joined.. there was this doubt that "will i be able to study after such a long gap?" I seriously felt awkward leaving job! And now the wheel has turned a full circle! the samurai now feels..college is so much more better...why do i need to go and slug it out in the corporate world! :-) Well i guess another passing phase... Now that the samurai is at home...free and with no worries.... its time he got down to some serious blogging!! so there u go ppl! some more stuff coming up soon! watch the space for lakshadweep trip or bw or some more scon gyaan...!!
hi ho gaya!! Its a strange thing this...when i joined.. there was this doubt that "will i be able to study after such a long gap?" I seriously felt awkward leaving job! And now the wheel has turned a full circle! the samurai now feels..college is so much more better...why do i need to go and slug it out in the corporate world! :-) Well i guess another passing phase... Now that the samurai is at home...free and with no worries.... its time he got down to some serious blogging!! so there u go ppl! some more stuff coming up soon! watch the space for lakshadweep trip or bw or some more scon gyaan...!!cheers
The samurai!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Ahh! The samurai is back...loads to cover... The book review, Backwaters 2007, IIMK-B sports meet..Boy we Kick ass!! All rite..just back from a SCON meeting..telling the boyz to now become men. Telling them, what we went through when we took over responsibility. Telling them about what leadership means in SCON and how respect is earned from one and all. Loads of gyaan..but all straight from the heart...And to be honest..the boyzz look charged!! They will i'm sure do a great job!!Coming to the Sangram - 2007 The IIMK-IIMB Sports meet....
I made a promise an year back to a friend at IIMB when we got outplayed, outsledged and outclassed in all events last year.... "I will make sure that when we meet next time...we will give you a taste of your own medicene. You will meet an opposition whom you will dread and respect. We will win...or worst case make sure the contest is on even keel". Proud to state, I KEPT MY PROMISE. Unlike last year, the message was loud and clear from Senior SCON. Sledge, abuse, use any trick in the book but ensure that we dont let it become ugly. Even if they win, they go back with truckloads of respect for us.... If the picture below is anything to go by, ladies and gentlemen, the IIMB team had a torrid time..... :)
The slogans were outright, inventive, cheap , slanderous but fun and taken in the right spirit by both sides. The sleders in chief here included Abhishek a.ka. Battu.... Deepak a.k.a DeeGee... Dalmia, Ankur,Bala and yours truly. Here's the deadly 6 in the form of their lives. Some more pics follow. B KI M>>>>> Gali KA K>>>> Khacha Khacha Khach Khach Khacha Khach :) Boy... the B guys were sure peeved...
The pic below is from the basket ball match... Boyyyy were the B-gang down.... :)
Eventually IIM B won 8-5, but the scoreline is a little unfair. It was a lot closer than that. A couple of games were a very close affair. Could have gone either ways. But then that is the beauty of sport. On a personal front, a tad disappointing that yours truly 's cricket team lost. Did my best. But somedays, things just don't go your way :) A few exceptional performers though..Amit Gupta from IIM B was awesome in just about everything he did...cricket (singlehandedly won it for B), Badminton (terrific). Then there was Vikram Deware the badminton champ from IIMK who will give the bangy boyzz sleepless nights for another year.... :) God save them next year!! Well done IIM _B....and great show IIM K..for showing what you are made up of... You rocked!!! :)
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