A sad goodbye and homecoming!

I turn a street corner and this is what I see -

I am in another long broad street with tall tress lining both sides. Cars are parked outside almost every house. It is raining a little. The street is deserted except for one tall girl, her silken smooth hair let loose, running in search of an elusive shelter...such a romantic scene caught my breath for a few seconds before I recovered to realize that I am also getting drenched. 

This scene played out at around 6 PM - bang on twilight time, with no trace of the setting sun and the light rain fashioning its own rhythm that was like a sweet music on the ear. I had got myself a new cycle - Hercules Atom with 18 Shimono gear combinations - a few days back. As I entered the gates to park it carefully, I could not help thanking my stars for finding myself back in the city I had grown to love so much in my last stint of 3 years. 

When I landed in the city in the first week of April, it was like a homecoming of sorts. I could feel the change in me, the spring in my step and a heightened sense of anticipation as to what new adventures, the city would hold for me this time around. When I got a 1 BHK bang in the middle of good old Jayanagar, my joy knew no bounds! The first sunday morning, with Sunday Times in hand, I spent in the quiet environs of a park nearby and it was sheer bliss. The air had a "traditional" unsullied smell to it and the atmosphere, serene.


There are hardly any changes and everything appears as I saw them an year ago, when I was making plans to pack my bags to Chennai. I had only a few wishes then - to stay disciplined during the year, make a few good friends and land a job again in Bangalore. Looking back at the one year experience that Great Lakes offered me, I guess, I shall always remain indebted! 

The last week in Great Lakes was an emotional roller coaster. We tried to do as many things as possible to clutch close to our hearts, as many memories as possible. A few memories that make me teary eyed - 


She was one of my best friends through the year. I came out to say goodbye. I just couldn't hold back my tears."What if I won't see her ever again later? How can she do this - just climb into a cab and move on?" - these were precisely the thoughts I was grappling with! 

The last time, we went to the beach in Mahabalipuram- Another one of my good friends suggested it well into the afternoon when I was hours away from saying goodbye to the campus. My memory blurs as I struggle to recall the conversation we had that evening but the sights, sounds and smells, all of them, I can painfully recall in vivid clarity and detail. On the way back, I heard the words, "I shall be missing you" and since nobody had ever told me that in as many words, I was a little taken aback to react. That was another painful goodbye! 

Earlier in the day, another very good friend packed her bags and left. The very personification of confidence that she is, with a calm sense of assurance, she said that we'll meet soon. I knew we would, for she would be joining work in Chennai, but then...


Another good friend of mine, he made it so easy for me- He asked me to come over to the volleyball court, looked me in the eye and invited me to Hyderabad where he shall be working. Neatly done! 

All these memories tug at my heart every once in a while, sudden in their appearance, always catching me unaware. I guess, time would again prove to be the best healer!

Walk the talk

Oh, how I love walking! I have been told by all and sundry that I am thin and bony and that I shouldn't love walking too much. I always chose to ignore when people tell me that. With an excellent, well planned locality near by (Anupuram township) and the beautiful sunrise and sunset near the coastline to take in, walking acquires a whole new adventurous and enjoyable clout.

Here, in Great Lakes, over the last few months, walking has become almost everyone's routine. I obviously don't walk for the sake of burning excess calories though most people here walk precisely to achieve that. 

There are some simple pleasures in life that one should enjoy when one can, and walking with a like minded person or rather, with somebody who takes an interest in what you talk about and contributes too, is an irresistible proposition to me.

I would always remember, years down the line -

• The manner in which the round orange sun suddenly fell sharply down and disappeared into the west, beyond the gaps between thickly grown trees
• The awesome taste of ginger tea we sometimes had on the way back from one of our walks
• How, the mist slowly cleared on lazy mornings, only to reveal tree leaves with dew drops on them
• The chirping of the birds as they woke up and looked around in all curiosity
• The myriad expressions on my friend's face as we discussed some sundry topic that suddenly interested both of us
• The manner in which conversation easily flowed between us, jumping from one topic to the next, almost akin to a clear flowing stream with nothing hindering its way
• The ease with which we exchanged views, agreeing here, slightly disagreeing there, assimilating here, rejecting there...
• The pervasive innocence of the whole experience that cannot be easily explained - the locality, the quietness, the topics we discussed, the weather all combining to give a poetic touch overall...

 I wish I can go on and on talking about this...such are the simple pleasures of life. They are so simple, that, we rarely bother about them, but their space in our subconscious is so significant that, once we make an effort to recollect/relive them, they make for some of the most vivid remembrances!

What is beauty?

14-03-2011, 10.45 PM, a group of 8 young men and women after a sumptuous dinner at Radisson temple bay, Mahabalipuram, walk to the beach. There is no sound except that of the waves. Pure foamy white in parts and colorless otherwise, like a beautiful slithering animal, the waves ceaselessly and with a certain ferocity, grace the coastline. The sight in the half moon light is breathtakingly beautiful. 

A feast for the eyes - the unending waves ahead and heavenward, clouds billowing, revealing the moon, every now and then.

A constant roar to the ears, at once soothing and a little frightening, as if, a gentle domesticated monster is singing a lullaby.

The smell, taste and feeling, all, a little salty, with the wind carrying the salt from the sea and spraying it all along the shore. 

This is the very definition of beauty. If someone asks me now, I can say, I experienced beauty for a whole 15 minutes, albeit very briefly, but highly intoxicating.

What is beauty?

An exaltation of the spirit when it is in communion with nature...

 

A priceless experience when all the senses are heightened in a sweet anticipation...

An enormous void, just lying beyond a high precipice, falling into which, one experiences nothingness!

A brief period when every thought gets clouded out, when the mind forgets to think and enters a suspended state, just observing, without any judgment!

A poetic interlude when art reaches its zenith before it regains its pitiful ordinariness...

A short time, when happiness reigns supreme and the soul rejoices and dances to an internal rhythm...

Beauty begins to fade the moment, we try to hold on to it, for, precisely, at that very moment, it eludes us. It is not something that can be possessed; rather, it is the one that possesses us. Instead of enjoying and reveling in each of those brief encounters, we commit the mistake of trying to latch on to them. In our eagerness to possess, we dread its loss. We don't want to let it go and hence, enter a cycle that frustrates us. 

Why is it that, we just cannot let beauty be? We want to lord over it, be its master and intend holding its reins...when we develop the capacity to appreciate it without trying to hold on to it, we can experience it in every moment. This, to me, is a huge learning, made possible by one of the most wonderful evenings in my life.

An appeal to Women on International Woman's day

Over the last few days, dailies have been abuzz with articles on International Woman's day. Quoting a psychologist and relationship therapist, one of the articles in Times Life, said, "I think Women have to fight an internal battle to ensure that they gain victory over their own tendency to misuse and abuse the concept of feminism. We need to fight against gender inequality and that includes women's reservations too. To ask for special privileges is to concede that we are a weaker gender. This is against the very spirit of feminism." 

There can be a debate on what feminism exactly is and whether men can be labeled feminists at all! Well, any movement that promotes rights for women and gender equality needs to involve men too as stakeholders and participants. However, the key lies in achieving a balance where men feel comfortable espousing equal rights for women and the concept of equality, per se, is defined correctly. Men of today are for the most part, used to the fact that a woman can be independent and professionally, achieve the laurels that they truly deserve. 

However, here is an appeal to women to introspect -

• If a guy says, "I am a guy, hence I deserve it/I have a right to it", he is termed a MCP. (I don't need to expand this, it is apparently quite a popular abbreviation) So, please think before saying, "I am a girl, hence I need it/deserve it/am entitled to it" It doesn't harbor pleasant feelings in Men.
• Don't stereotype Men. While men can be lechers, molesters, rapists, please understand that not all men are. By perpetuating a narrow stereotype of men, women don't do any good either to fellow women or to the larger society of which men are also a part of! If men are getting used to the fact that women can perform certain tasks equally well, women should not, depending on convenience, get away by saying, "You are a man, hence please take more responsibility/plan/arrange etc" That is so old fashioned and believe me, can get some guys, incensed! 
• Don't support gender reservations of any color. Unless it is a contest for "The most beautiful person" or "The most strongest person", most contests in life can be won by either gender.  (Here, we mean physical beauty and physical strength alone, not beauty of the soul or emotional strength, though there can be exceptions here too!) Unless women themselves are confident about this fact, it is difficult to proceed far. 
• Get used to less chivalry from men - don't expect them to open the door, pull the chair and the like. A man can do it occasionally to bring a smile to a woman's face, but expecting it as a norm is simply not in! I am not trying to say, all women expect either!
  

 Wishing all women, a happy international woman's day!! Comments are most welcome.  

Dhobi Ghat - Of yearning and frustrations

A song in the movie Namastey London goes like this - 

Kehne Ko Saath Apane Ek Duniya Chalti Hai

Per Chhupke Is Dil Mein Tanhaayi Palti Hai

In Dhobi Ghat, the lives of 4 characters - Arun (Aamir Khan), a painter who plays by his own rules, Shai (Monica Dogra), an investment banker on sabbatical and in love with photography, Munna (Prateik), a Dhobi, whose everyday objective is to make ends meet and Yasmin (Kirti Malhotra), leading an unhappy family life - come together on canvas to make for a commentary on human yearning and frustrations. 

The encompassing spirit of the city as an abode to millions that throng its shores, some aspirational and looking to make a mark, some, just running away from their unpleasant past, while, some others, just wanting to embrace its hustle and bustle, is brilliantly brought out through the 4 lead characters. The introductions just stand out in their simple to-the-point style. 

Yasmin tells a taxi driver, "I have been in the city for five months now, but still it feels strange". Shai tells Arun, "I have moved here for a bit, because, I guess, I needed a break from things to get new perspectives and some fresh air...". Arun lives out of "boxes" and moves often as leases run out. Munna tells Shai that he came to Mumbai to "fill his belly"

In carving out their own identities amidst a teeming microcosm, these characters try to find meaning in what they do, in an attempt to confirm to themselves, that, their mundane existence has a purpose. Their pangs of loneliness, their yearning for love and attendant frustration makes for a kaleidoscope of intense emotions. Even as they find nuggets of happiness, the viewer always experiences a taut rope, a feeling that the fragility of their lives would ultimately triumph.

Shai is exceptional - As a person hunting for realistic pictures in a city that thrives on dark realism, she impresses. Her accent just about qualifies for an outsider - accentuated words, pronounced intonation and a subtle hint of unfamiliarity with the language. Munna, unaffected by his surroundings, retains an innocence that is heart warming and immediately attracts Shai. Shai's natural curiosity is piqued by the eccentric behavior of Arun, even as he is tormented by a few videos left by Yasmin. Yasmin, always in the background, befriends her video camera and through the medium, engages in an outpouring with her brother that is sheer melancholic poetry. Kirti Malhotra has done a remarkable job!

The background music deserves an encore. It is, simply put, excellent. The sounds almost become a character in the movie. As scene after scene, in rapid succession, delves into the lives of these 4 characters, the effect, at first, a little disjointed, creates a definite impact that only random juxtaposition can achieve. Credit to Kiran Rao for achieving that! There are many unanswered questions; each character evokes enough intrigue and all along, the city provides a fitting background. 

This is a 9/10 movie that deserves applause. 

Happiness - A state of mind!

We and we alone are responsible for our happiness. People find a 1000 ways to be complex when it is so easy to be simple. There are a 1000 reasons to be happy about, but many people manage to find some reason or the other to be unhappy about. People who always have problems tend to suck out positive energy from us.

These are just some snippets of gyaan that I received of late from a friend in the course of a long discussion. After some pondering, I realize that, these are axioms that we find hard to assimilate, but in themselves, quite elegant in their obvious simplicity. Quite often in life, we worry and fret ourselves to tiredness about mundane things. At these times, if we remember this gyaan, it would do us a lot of good. To begin with, we would ask ourselves, is what we are worrying about worth worrying about in the first place? 

A few years back, after a most memorable outing - when we had went to a village in the outskirts of Bangalore- another friend had said, on the way back, "Nobody in this world is an altruist".  Every now and then, I remember this remark too, though, when it was said so casually then, I was a little jolted. To each, his own interest comes first and it is only natural that, when given free rein, each one of us would try to maximize our own happiness first. In the process, if others feel happy, then, fine, else, how does it matter? On very few occasions, we do endure some agony and unease, but, hardly without a future expectation of reciprocity. Thus, selfless nature seems, at best, a holy myth!

Enjoying the present moment in the best possible manner with the people one feels comfortable with - this is simplicity. As I read in somebody's status message, "Speak your mind because those who matter will always understand and those who don't matter, won't bother".

As we age, the people who matter to us are very few and hard to find. The worst part is, it is difficult to hold on to them. Any person-person relationship becomes much more complex and fragile...it can break so very easily especially when it takes so much effort to build them. 

All of this brings me to the topic. Happiness is just a state of mind. If we resolve to feel happy, no matter what shit happens around us, we can beat the living daylights out of the demons that try to engulf and cloud our thoughts! The rambling post comes to an end here...its highly unorganized, an outcome of a clouded thinking process...as I read the first paragraph, I don't even know what made me write this post.

The IPL was well marketed?

This is a report that I wrote for the course 'Consumer Behavior', one that I am quite proud of, so, thought of recording here. The report had to incorporate consumer behavior concepts to answer the question - The IPL was well marketed?

Introduction:

Cricket, pre IPL era was a little staid and long, appealing mostly to young men primarily in the sub continent. It had lost its appeal to the Englishmen and the West Indians except for some iconic series like the Ashes. But post IPL, we have an entirely new breed of supporters who have embraced the game, its many differences with the more athletic counterparts still notwithstanding. 

How has IPL managed to do it? It managed to bring together cricketers from different nationalities, lured them with fat pay cheques, roped in big advertisers who do not think twice before splurging on their brands for prime time eye space, got cheer leaders to shake their hips and bulldozed its way into ICC’s calendar. Thus, by a judicious mixture of managing the environment nearly perfectly and staging fantastic experiences every time a match was played, value creation was no more, the prerogative of a single entity. Instead, multiple stakeholders came together on a mutually rewarding platform and lavished the cricket loving crowds with some truly memorable fare. 

Cashing in on the need for change:

Any product, service or even an experience cannot have a sustaining appeal in the market place unless it addresses some specific needs of the consumer. IPL was able to gauge that the large number of cricket fans no longer wanted to spend a day in front of the television for an ODI encounter not to forget five days for a test match. When the target customers are busy, it is better to cater to their lifestyle change by shortening the game innovatively. The twenty over format already existed. IPL brought the model of clubs as in the EPL and by deft packaging created a customer experience that was too tempting for the customer to resist. The business was not one of selling twenty over cricket matches to cricket fans; rather it was selling an experience of 3.5 to 4 hours to a much larger entertainment deprived public. 

This was one of the reasons why IPL attracted viewers of every age and in young women and house wives brought to cricket, a whole new swathe of followers. The adrenalin rush inherent in the shortened version of the game was exploited by roping in celebrities, cheer leaders, glamorous hosts and a hint of CSR while all along, sending out the right impressions – encouraging small town cricket players to dream big and providing them a chance to interact with acclaimed super stars.  The result was that whole families came together every evening to cheer for their favourite teams, emotions ran high and the advertisers almost got a captive audience (of course, at a very high price) since the excitement in a twenty twenty format was too high for anyone to switch channels during over breaks. 

The IPL Experience:

In ‘Welcome to the experience economy’ by B Joseph Pine and James H Gilmore, the authors emphatically declare that we have arrived into the experience economy after crossing agrarian, goods-based industrial and services economy eras. In the authors’ opinion, “to realize the full benefit of staging experiences, however, businesses must deliberately design engaging experiences that command a fee”.

As opposed to commodities, goods and services, experiences are deeply personal and reside in the minds of the individual who has been engaged as a memorable remnant. IPL has been able to leverage this to its benefit by throwing in something into the experience that everyone who sees the match can relate to and find joy in. Be it the celebrity stars, foreign players, post match fashion shows, social initiatives, favourable commentaries from experts of the game, Bollywood superstars, attractively packaged memorabilia – everyone had something to look forward to and precisely because of this, everyone’s individual experience and joy was starkly different from another person’s. Thus IPL challenged its competitors at a completely different plane by successfully staging memorable experiences. 

By adopting the model of movie theatres that have begun to charge for consumer experiences instead of simply for the ticket, IPL also managed to include in its ticket price and in its advertising slot rates, value for experience thus creating a very high anchor successfully right from the very first edition. Once the initial anchor is set, it is not very difficult to incrementally hike fares and still remain credible in the eyes of the consumer from the pricing point of view. 

Along two dimensions of experiences – customer participation and connection – IPL would fit into the quadrant where both active participation and immersion are high. As viewers, people hold the belief that their loud cheering and appreciation for their teams can sway results. They are also completely immersed in the proceedings right from the first over of the first innings. 

Customers also have an idea of what to expect from an IPL encounter – high adrenalin action. Basing the whole experience on the theme of enjoying cricket has given IPL a focal point around which to organise its other activities. By providing ample positive cues to reinforce indelibly, the first impressions in the form of blaring music between overs and media focus and sound bites from foreign players, IPL has managed to ensure that even the smallest cues are paid attention to. 

The popularity of the IPL can be gauged from the number of people who routinely wear t-Shirts and jerseys that espouse their support to favourite teams even during non season times. This is in large measure due to the array of attractive memorabilia that are sold in shops through the year. Once a city based loyalty is induced in a customer, it is very hard to be shaken by subsequent editions for in sport, there is a joy in rooting for the underdog. It gives the consumer of the experience, the joy of feeling belonged in a group. Peer approval and social norms as dictated by a person’s neighbour, for example, influence him/her to spend on these memorabilia and sport them proudly as a badge of his/her support to a particular team. 

“The more senses an experience engages, the more effective and memorable it can be.” Blaring crowds undulating to the sounds of drum music by a Sivamani, the sight of huge swathes of people decked in attractive jerseys and the almost palpable smell of thrill/victory/defeat combine together to produce the right balance of sensations. 

Innovation as the mantra:

Business standard in an article titled “IPL: The $2 bn brand”, refers to IPL occupying the 22^nd position in the list of most innovative companies compiled by Fast company, a magazine that reports on innovation and digital media, ahead of giants like Samsung and Microsoft. 

Some elements of IPL’s marketing strategy can be said to revolutionize the field of marketing experiences and entertainment -

•  Screening of IPL matches in movie halls
• Complete use of all social media channels – this helped strike the right chord with the youth who normally take the first steps to know more about any format and who tend to book tickets online. 
• Twitter – www.twitter.com/ipl 
• Facebook - www.facebook.com/IPL
• YouTube live streaming channel - www.youtube.com/user/IPL
• Online fan club - www.thecricfanclub.com
• Banner ads
• Wikipedia page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Premier_League
• Official site - www.iplt20.com
• Online booking for all matches
• A mind boggling number of tie ups – To name a few, yatra.com with Delhi Daredevils, EBay with Kings XI Punjab...
• The leveraging of immense unpaid publicity by word-of-mouth and other means
• Adopting a well tried model of international clubs and auctions to the Indian environment and making it a grand success
• Innovative deals with a number of companies where the structure of the deal includes a onetime licensing fee as well as royalties on the merchandise sold. Other examples: Deals with Google for people to watch matches online and with television channels for IPL related shows.
• The sheer number of brands that were associated with IPL (In edition 3, the number is expected to touch 80)! Brands that had multiple associations and were involved with cricket through the year gained more out of IPL lending credence to the standard marketing thought that “more the presence, more the impact”
• Launch of several new and innovative campaigns by advertisers through IPL. Examples: Idea (Oongli cricket) and Vodafone (Zoozoos) 

Learning perspective:

In ‘Managing what consumers learn from experience’ by Stephen J Hoch and John Deighton, the authors propose a framework of four stages – hypothesizing->Exposure->encoding->Integration – with three moderating factors – familiarity to learn, motivation to learn and the ambiguity of the information environment – to capture what consumers learn from experiences.  

IPL by virtue of its gripping nature and a high value based price offered a high-involvement experience for the consumer. Since “consumers tend to grant special status to conclusions drawn from experience” and experience also “promotes better memory because information is more vivid and concrete”, any consumer who watches a IPL match either on television or on the playing field by paying for the tickets experiences entertainment that reinforces the outcome he intended in the first place. IPL managed to do this with a deft and balanced packaging of the different elements on offer as part of the experience. 

Consumers in post purchase situations tend to avoid dissonance inducing information. After spending a good deal of money on the cricket field or worse still, a large amount of time in front of the television set, the human behaviour is to rationalise the money or time spent by justifying it as worthwhile. Hence consumers consciously avoid situations in which they might potentially receive negative feedback about IPL and instead surround themselves with people who “confirm a good buy” by lavishing praise on the concept. 

A contrarian viewpoint:

IPL, for sure, managed to bring in more audiences to a game that was increasingly bemoaned as a sport out of tune with the changing and evolving times. In the process however, it alienated a section of cricket loving population that was rooted in the traditional/classical school to whom, the sport best evokes memories of a “gentleman’s game”. The aggressive marketing strategies followed by the different clubs, the muscle power that BCCI brought to the centre with its rich and wealthy line-up and the induction of glamour as an associated activity in the form of fashion shows and cheer leaders were not received well by this traditional and puritan section of the population.  

The strategies employed were at times seen even by supporters of the format as harming the interests of the players resulting in more injuries. The outcome of many of these games were driven by chance many a time leading some to cast aspersions on the extent of skill required to come out on top. To this section, the marketing efforts expended by popular brands was symbolic of aligning with interests contravening the larger right direction, the game should be taken in. 

Conclusion:

Examining both sides of the coin, one comes to the conclusion that the IPL was extremely well marketed. Right from the choice of the name – Indian premier league – having a streak of nationalism to countless secondary associations that were successfully leveraged, IPL as an annual calendar event is extremely well marketed. The increasing crowds in the stadium, the cross border popularity of the T20 format, the numerous foreign players who are willing to sign up, the increasing auction amounts, the rise in the number of franchises catering to more cities and the craze for IPL memorabilia are all pointers to the ever increasing popularity standing testimonies to shrewd marketing strategies. 

Business Standard in an article way back in 2008 termed IPL as “The new marketing cocktail”. To quote from the article, “on a jingoistic note, it (IPL) could be an Indian "brand" export to the world”.