I Support Reservation

Dear Mr. Arjun Singh

Subject: I support Reservation

After carefully analyzing the happenings over the past two weeks, I have made a few observations. Over the fortnight I was contemplating whom should I extent my support to

- Fellow professionals like me who are strongly opposing your views on reservation which according them is a gimmick pulled off by you for some quick votes and an instant gratification of the left.

Or

- You and your party, who claim it is not to gratify anybody or any particular sections of the society. And after considerable deliberation you feel (and your party seconds you) it is to improve the overall quality of life of the SC /ST and OBC who have been denied all basic necessities in life and thus by ensuring the rest of India is denied its basic fundamental rights

I fully extend my support to you Mr. Singh, I think the Government should bring about reservation in all departments and the PM and all the Politicians will have my backing for promoting this.

• To start with Government should bring about 49.6% Reservation in trains for SC / ST and OBC. This reservation is not just for General Class but for First Class, AC 2 tier, AC 3 tier and sleeper coaches as well
• To improve the quality of life of SC / ST and OBC you should bring about 30% reservation in all air planes with upto 10% in business class (Air India now Indian flies empty anyway)
• 20% of the visas issued to all Indians to travel to America should be for BC / OBC
• All operations conducted on politicians should be by BC / OBC
• SC /ST and OBC should have adequate representation in all faculties (direction, production, music composition, choreography, acting, and even the censor board) of the Films Industry.
• Ensure SC/ ST and OBC should be employed in all PSUs like Banks, Nuclear energy, Railways, and industry like Oil and Natural Gas, Mining etc.
• All projects undertaken by the government like building bridges, roads, and railways should be given only to SC / ST and OBC engineers
• The Armed forces should bring about 40% reservation for SC /ST and OBC in all their institutes spanned across India
• Get BCCI to have SC / ST reservation in cricket and maybe request fast bowlers like Shohaib Akhtar to bowl slowly and if anyone from the above mentioned caste hits a four it could be tripled and sixes could be doubled
• 40% of all athletes representing India in olympics should be from SC / ST and OBC

The points enumerated above are really skewed towards betterment of the lives of SC / ST and OBC who will be graduating from prestigious institutes and in accordance with your policy emloyment opportunities should also have reservation. Kindly act upon them at the earliest in order to prevent further denial of their right to a good life.

Regards

Dhivya

Ps - As a citizen of this country I definitely want to see equality instituted to one and all well that’s what the psuedo left of our country claim as well (socialistic ideals stem from equality to all citizen). Quota is a complete violation of my right to equality, ideals of socialism, and a complete disregard of Indian Intelligence. Far worse is beating up unarmed students, what started off as a silent protest with some 400 medical students now has the whole country standing up and fighting to safe guard the quality of education that you propose to dilute.

Many express their support by participating in the protest march, a few attempt to self immolate, others like me write about it and there are many other means one can resort to. How do you to intend to silence each and everyone of it?

Cheers

Dhivya

‘Can I be friends with you?’

‘Hi a friend of mine just broke up with his girlfriend could you dance with him and cheer him up, you dance really well?’ I was quite dumbfounded. I was having a ball dancing to all my favourite numbers at the AD club awards in Bangalore, it brought back my days at Symbiosis and suddenly I found myself in a funny predicament.

Have you ever had people come up to you with the lamest of pick up lines? I can’t deny it can be mighty flattering at times, but mostly its embarrassing. I have lived on my own for the last 5 years and have gotten it so many times but every time in my head I appreciate their innovativeness. The most common and the corniest of all pick up lines is ‘Have we met somewhere?’ I would say ‘why did we have to now?’ My sarcasm has little or no effect on these men because many of them are used to this or are plain stupid and just don’t follow you.

With the internet community Orkut all one has to do is put a decent picture and your scrap book is flooding with complete bull like :
‘You have an amazing aura’ or
‘I feel l like I have known you all my life’ or
‘Hey I am from Bangalore too!!!’

Really, people need to go get a life.

I once read somewhere that one of the popular pick up line is to throw an ice cube in a club in front of a pretty girl and then say ‘Now that the ice is broken shall we dance?’ I found this ridiculous and I couldn’t digest the fact that men would go ahead and make complete asses of themselves I mean not to discredit their intelligence or anything.

‘Can I buy u a drink?’
‘Sure as long as its an unopened bottle of beer’

A lot of possibilities for date rape, it is a serious concern now. There have been numerous incidents of date rape, media is now talking about it as well and several precautions have been issued to single young woman.

Abroad several lawsuits have been filed and several legal battles have been won since more often than not pick up lines tread the path of sexual harassment the recent one being that of the automobile major Toyota.

Most pick up lines are innocent and are purely for kicks. I mean who would want to chat up some weirdo who stops you in the road (I am thinking maybe for direction) and tells you ‘Hey you got really beautiful eyes’.

Even though it was only for 5 seconds and he was not much of a dancer I did dance with that WIERDO the night of the AD club awards only to feel super stupid later. I felt sorry for the guy and realized corny pick up lines will never cease to exist as long as women like me keep buying that bullshit.

Cheers

Dhivya

TLC

Shivering with temperature and shuddering with the horrible pain in my stomach I woke up one morning and dragged myself to work. I plop on my seat and put my head down on my desk; my boss walks into office with gusto and looks at me rather curiously.

‘Dhivya whats the drama for? Which one of your boyfriend is in town? You want a day off? Come on tell me’ with a grin on his face.

I really didn’t say much just mumbled and put my head back down. Now he was little worried.

‘Alright I will send for my car to drop you home go see a doctor and get well soon. Don’t work when you are sick.’

I got dropped home. I am new to Bangalore and I usually don’t fall sick so didn’t know any doctors around so I opened the yellow pages and found my self taking down the address of a Manipal hospital. Who goes to these morbid places for just a fever I thought. So I lay in bed wallowing in self pity.

I have always seen Dr. Nandakumar. He has treated my whole family- he has seen me through my vaccinations, he has seen me through various cuts and bruises (all a part of growing up), he has seen me as a pimply teenager coping with puberty, and I would have gone to him for this as well. He lived at the end of the block and more than anything else I trusted him.

I missed home suddenly, I felt horribly alone in this rather huge, exciting, cosmopolitan city, I missed rasam sadam, I missed my mum- oh I missed home. Well you just don’t think clearly beyond a point I was just getting cranky and the paracetamol was not working. I heaved myself out of the bed and decided I would visit Manipal hospital after all.

Hospitals make me sick; it housed people with funny ailments and wore an even funnier smell. One could see grotesque of sights there. With a heavy feeling I reached Manipal. I walked into a huge reception teeming with sick people. A tiny board said help desk which already had people standing in a queue in front of it I joined the end of the queue and waited for my turn. And when my turn did come before I could explain my position.

‘Ýou are coming to Manipal hospital for the first time?’

I nodded.

‘Register yourself there madam, next’ she pointed to another counter.

I walked to where she pointed and a board said registration. I explained to a woman behind the counter, who had more lipstick on her teeth than on her lips, that I am really sick and if I could see someone soon.

‘Fill the form’

The form had ridiculous questions like

Where have you heard about Manipal Hospital?
Friends
Family
Newspaper
Any other

Which religion do you belong to?

And few more stupid questions. I filled the form and gave it to the lady she fed the details into her computer. The printer suddenly sprang to life and printed violently.

‘That would be Rs. 300 ‘

‘For what?’ I choked

‘Rs 50 for registration and Rs 250 for consultation’

‘You don’t even know what my problem is how you can put my consultation fee. The fee is paid after the consultation that’s why it is called a consultation fee’ I was nearly screaming now.

‘Thats what we follow here madam.’

The patients behind me were expressing their irritation so I quickly paid up and walked to the first floor as instructed feeling rather cheated already.

I enter the lobby to find it swarmed by more sick people the nurse showed me a chair at the far end of the looby. I sat there watching the muted television, I read the paper back to back both TOI and Express, I read some arbid magazines, I walked a little and read some posters on AIDS awareness and then I finally got restless. I walked up to the nurse and told her

‘I am really sick; I really would like to see the doctor.’

‘Madam everyone here are also sick, you have to wait for your turn.’

I don’t blame her for saying that to me although it just seemed like she slapped me on my face and I wanted to throttle her at that moment. Everyone waiting there were sick probably more sick than I was and she was just doing her job. I waited 3 hours before I met the doctor by which time I was normal my temperature had come down and it was way past my lunch time. The doctor looked at me and said.

‘What happened to you my pretty girl?’

I explained my symptoms clearly and he called the nurse to take my temperature which was normal.

He looked at me and said

'Nothing to worry my dear must be work pressure(certainly not) or a passing viral (what contrasting problems I thought). I will give some paracetamol and…’

I had waited 3 hours filled stupid forms to hear a doctor say paracetamol.

I burst out into angry tears the minute I stepped out of the hospital. It then dawned upon me I truly miss the Tender Loving Care that these big hospitals don’t offer they just fleece you of your money and are very impersonal dealing with sick people.

Dr. Nandakumar may have prescribed the same thing but I don’t remember ever having to wait in long queues, or having to fill tedious forms when I was sick. I always almost walked in and put my troubles in trusted hands and in return I always got back TLC.

Happy Birthday Asif...

I dedicate this blog to Asif and to CRM. Its not obsession that drives me to write another blog on CRM but an honest experience. I am not in the habit of walking around scrutinising every flaw with the world around us, I am only voicing my concern.

Its Asif’s birthday today. Last night, 60 minutes before the stroke of midnight Asif and I had gone to café coffee day on 100ft road to catch up on the past weeks happenings and to grab a quick mid night snack. As a part of his birthday celebration I went into the coffeehouse (leaving him sitting outside) on the pretext of using the washroom to surprise him with a birthday jig.

"My friends birthday is in the next 50 mins is there anything you guys do for birthdays. " I ask the waiter.

"Sorry Mam we don’t have birthday celebrations here" replied the waiter at the cash counter.

"Its not a Birthday bash, there are only 2 of us. Could you get him a slice of the yummiest cake available here with a candle and sing for him as well…I’ll sing along."

"Sorry mam we don’t do all that here."

"Well ok atleast deliver the cake and coffee to our table outside and wish him happy birthday, thats the least you can do for me."

"Sure mam I’ll tell the waiter to do that for you."

"Thank you, that would be nice."

I rushed back to the table.

"Dhivs did you order our coffee?"

"Yes I…"

"Happy Birthday MAM! Have a great year ahead" announces a rather pleasant looking waiter. Asif looks at me all baffled and I look at the waiter.

"Its his birthday, why would I order my own birthday cake"

I was rather embarrassed now, the waiter was looking stupid himself and Asif was rolling with laughter.

"That is so cute of you Dhivs!" exclaims Asif to break the awkward silence. The now goofy waiter takes a cue and escapes.

Well it sure was a joke and we kept laughing through the night.

All coffee houses sell an ambiance and so does Café coffee day it is a place one could be himself and not put up a facade, a place where one could unwind after a long days work either alone or in the company of his friends, a place where one could read, play board games or do business.

For me it has been a place where I have bitched, gossiped, strategised, ideated, or simply procrastinated for hours. I have enjoyed my time with friends or in a company of a book at that place. And after last night I felt a little let down, after all I have been a loyal customer.

Coffee retailing has seen a stupendous growth in the last few years. Café coffee days, Baristas and qwiky’s have mushroomed in every street, it has been further accelerated with foreign players like Starbucks and Costa coffee threatening to enter the Indian market. Putting up a stiff fight requires deep pockets and in such a scenario its important that coffee houses not only provide value for money but also go beyond the expectation of their customer.

I understand that the waiters must have been quite tired after a long days work, they must have been exhausted after smiling the whole day at the most annoying customers however, they could have sung the happy birthday song (even if it was just a cacophony) and could have wished the right person and could have made Asif’s birthday special.

CRM is not just about making and keeping a customer (like I had published in my last blog) but it is also about going beyond the expectations of the customers and thus keeping all other competitors and substitues at bay.

I will still go back to Café coffee day and unwind and not let this incident sour my ties with them but in my head this place has lost its charm and I would also think that probably a Barista is a better option for the next birthday celebration.

And Happy birthday Asif have a smashing year ahead!

Cheers

Dhivya

Did you forget to wish someone this valentine?

Ferns and petals sure did forget to wish many on Valentines Day. Many Internet portals failed to deliver gifts ordered by people online for their loved ones, this valentine. Obviously these portals had a sudden rush of orders for the 14th of February and had to work over time to live up to the promise but its all about CRM.

My flatmate Tanu in Bangalore distraught by the fact she was not with her boyfriend on valentines decided to surprise him by sending him flowers and chocolates. So she placed her order with Ferns and petals thinking, they are a good and trusted online portal (hmm I wonder why).

The flowers and chocolates don’t reach her boyfriend on the 14th Feb but on the 15th.

Well what was the point anyway, her boyfriend opens the door on 15th morning and a chirpy delivery boy goes ‘Happy Valentines Day Sir’…someone please tell him it was yesterday.

When Tanu frantically calls to check on the 14th why the order was not delivered she is faced with a rude customer care executive in the e-commerce division who bluntly tells her – ‘Sorry mam we are over booked’.

‘Then put it on your website that you are overbooked and stop taking orders’ retorts Tanu to a dead line and they further more refuse to pick up any of her calls despite trying over a zillion times.

In most management and communication schools students are put through grueling hours of classes on Customer Relationship Management (CRM). They are taught- how customer is the king of any organization and how crucial it is for any company to not only make a customer but to also keep him.

In a world where customers are becoming demanding, competition is getting more intense marketers have to invest huge sums of money to keep his consumers hooked on to his brand. It is only suicidal for any organization to loose their customers. Loosing one Tanu could be a loss of 10 new potential consumers for ferns and petals, because not only will she bad mouth them (hey she has all the reasons to – Late delivery, Rude support staff, no apologies, etc.) but she would also ensure that none of her associates ever use their service either. Negative buzz spreads faster anyway and it only gains momentum on the way.

Well Ferns and petals could have done the following to stop this disaster:

1. They could have Clearly specified on their website that they are over booked and they are extremely sorry to Tanu and her likes that they are unable to take in more orders.

2. Send an apology to her.

3. Apologised to Tanu’s boyfriend as well.

4. OR EVEN BETTER COULD HAVE GIVEN THEM PREMIERE MOVIE TICKETS TO ONE OF YASH RAJ FILMS AT PVR (GOLD CLASS) WITH MERCEDES BENZ PICKUP.

Well I sincerely do hope they are atleast better equipped with disaster management, let me warn them an angry customer is one of the worst disasters to happen (don’t forget the movie tickets it could help) and if they are not, boy I don’t know what they are thinking.

Cheers

Dhivya

Get paid for Blogging!

Personal blogs could now provide opportunities for sponsorship that is, if the contents are widely read for all the right reasons. If you have the flair and are quick witted consider becoming a professional blogger. Blogging for money has caught on and will only move forward in the coming years.

Read on...

http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/stories/2006/02/14/14194.html

The first phase of the Indian reality Television

The reality shows are fast becoming a reality on Indian television. As the number of channels increase by the day, there is a need for constant innovation. Reality TV programming is emerging as an answer to this need. No wonder, they are now an integral part of most of the TV channels' programming strategy.

The genre of ‘reality shows’ can be broadly divided into three main categories. In the first, the viewer and the camera are passive observers following people going about their daily personal and professional activities. This style of filming is often referred to as "fly on the wall". The famous 'Big Brother' series work on this concept.In the second type, hidden cameras are rolling when random passers-by encounter a staged situation. The reactions of the passers-by can be funny to watch, but they also reveal the truths about human conditioning. The very watchable MTV Bakra is an example of this category. In the third type, the so-called "reality game shows", participants are filmed intensively in an enclosed environment while competing to win a prize; Kaun Banega Crorepati being an example.

Back in 80’s MTv aired a revolutionary show called ‘The Real world’ which made celebrities out of ordinary young Americans thrown together in an apartment, getting along, getting frisky, racial tensions, a fantastic mix of high emotions and drama, until it turned sour and lost its originality and its audience by the late 90’s. But what it did was, sow the seeds for an idea, which is being regurgitated at the speed of light today, by media moguls and networks hungry for success.

In India the success of Indian Idol marked the turning point of reality television. Abijeet sawant the winner of the Indian idol must be thanking the reality genre. The show that was a direct rip off from the American Idol has changed his personality, fortunes, address and bank balance. He's moved into a five-bedroom flat in posh Vile Parle and is an icon of sorts for millions of Indians. His album ‘Aapka Abijeet’ sold about 5 million copies. The album was pitted against Nigam's Chanda Kee Doli at the recent MTV Immies and won hands down in the best album category. The reach of Indian Idol was unbelievable.

After the massive success of Star’s ‘Kaun Banega Crorpati’ Star plus has launched the second run of the show. On the first day of its launched it raked a TRP of over 19.0.

When it comes to production costs these shows are a huge money guzzler Karun Prabhakar, director operations at Siddharth Basu-owned Synergy which produced KBC, says: "A reality show can cost above Rs 30 crore (Rs 300 million) - an amount a channel spends for a year of programming."

However, even a meticulously crafted financial plan can fall flat on its face if the creative concept goes wrong. A hugely successful KBC or an Indian Idol cannot rub off the failures of the Govinda-anchored Jeeto Chappar Phad Ke (Sony) and Madhuri Dixit’s much publicized matchmaking show Kahin na Kahin Koi Hay (Sony) from the small screen. So, caution is the key word for any new show.

Today there are a host of shows searching and reaching to younger generation. What makes the lure of reality television so irresistible? “It makes make young people like me famous” explains Rooprekha Banerjee winner of the recently aired Fame Gurukul. An opportunity to work with big names in the industry, big bucks and tones of other freebies are a part of the lucrative package.

For those who seek adventure there is the MTv Roadies 3 and those who think they are going to be the next super model of India there is Channel V get gorgeous 3. Phenomena of Reality TV has taken the Indians by a storm there are shows that test your intelligence, skill, humor aptitude, talent or merely your physique.

But not everyone believes in the success of reality TV. For some, it's no more than a marketing gimmick to attract TRP ratings and generate revenue through SMSes and phone calls that cost nearly Rs 6 and Rs2.50 respectively, from which 40 per cent goes to channels and the rest goes to the service providers (in this case, Airtel and Hutch). Music channels have a minuscule share in the TRP pie, the reality programmes has helped them push the TRPs of the channel, bag popularity and carve a niche for themselves. A good example is Bakra, which is now synonymous with MTV. Shows like ‘Nacha Baliye’ and ‘the great Indian Laughter challenge’ have done wonders to the TRPs of Star one it has help push the TRPs of Star One from an average of 0.4 to over 4.0.

For so far, successful Indian reality-programming has been more or less only about recognising abilities — not about despicable, degraded voyeurism: cheating on partners (Temptation Island), betraying competitors (Survivor), hitching on to eligible millionaires (Joe Millionaire), swapping spouses (Wife Swap). This is the first stage of the life cycle of Indian reality genre as the audiences mature more formats of reality will finds its way into the tube.

Sources: Agencyfaqs, Amrita Sarkar SIMC

Worlds first Vmail underway in 3 weeks

Hi

NowPos has developed what is probably the world’s first voice email service. The service, to be launched in three weeks, will allow users to send voice messages through the internet in the form of emails.

The comapy hopes to deliver sound files compresses to the smallest possible files easily tranferable across the web. The biggest problem till now was the file size and the high cost of transmission. This software is all set to change the way we communicate.

Cheers

Dhivya

Movies influence Smoking habits

Hi

In a research conducted by Dartmouth Medical School across America over 6,522 children within 10- 14 years of age it was found that most kids tried smoking atleast once after beign influenced by hollywood movies.

The study, described as the first national look at the influence of movie smoking on youths, urged Hollywood to cut back on depictions of smoking or shots of cigarette brands.

Smoking is now been included in the movie rating data that currently mentions explicit sex, violence and profanity.

Well India realised this a long time back and has already taken stringent measures, all movies are prohibited from showcasing smoking scenes. Whether for the good or bad I do not know. It is quite funny that the big daddy was slow in addressing this issue.

Cheers

Dhivya

Blog Trackking Device

Marketers can now find which brands Dominate the blogsphere. This trackking device analyses blogs over a specified time period and draws up a graph that indicates consumer prefernece.

This in my opinion can can be used to ascertain the most popular brands amongst the consumer. it will give marketers a sneak peak into the minds of the consumer.

With this tool it is difficult to find out whether the brand is talked about in positive or negative light, nevertheless it is still a strong indicator of top of the mind recall.

Here are a few results I found. The retail coffe war is going reall strong.

For what ever reason Westside beat shoppers Stop hands down when it comes to top of the mind recall.

Will the cola wars finally end? or has it just begun?

cheers

Dhivya

Barista Goes Rural

Brarista now plans to open up shops in smaller towns and thus consolidating its position as a leading player in retail coffee category.

It also plans to set up 'Barista on the Go' which was under way since 2003. These will be setup on Expressways and national highway like Mumbai-Pune Highway to cater to the high volume commuters who use the road everyday.

very smart move indeed, in the recent years these expressways have seen an increase in the travellers.

Barista has started Barista Creme in Delhi. which offers a different experience from Barista Expresso Bar. At Barista Creme one can look to a causal dining experience. With success of barista Creme in delhi they now plan to venture into other metros like Bangalore, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

to read more one check out agencyfaqs

now one has to wait to experience Barista Creme.

Cheers

Hi!

Endless hours of procrastination, long hours of work, gossip, sleepovers, and business deals are all incomplete without coffee. So I call my blog coffee, conversation and more.

I didn’t start this blog to stir communal violence or to combat terrorism. I started this blog so as keep myself well read and updated (which obviously I am not now). Does that sound selfish? Would it have been different had I said this blog is the voice of the underdog? (Its rhetoric stupid!)

Do stupid blurbs bother you? Is viral marketing a big con job? Or are stinky socks the biggest menace today? Whatever it is all you need is a little more talent than that of a nose picker to write and say what you want to say.

Cheers
Dhivya