10 most influential Internet marketers

When the Sun was just about to rise on the Internet horizon, and few people knew what the dawn was going to be, there were guys who could foresee what might occur in days to come. In their own mind, they felt here was an opportunity of lifetime and lost no time to start experimenting with Internet as a marketing medium. [Image source]

As events proved later, they were the lucky early birds who picked the most worms, which meant they were able to amass huge wealth in amazingly short time. I’ve been reading the Dale King article, The 10 Most Influential Internet Marketers, in which he gives a list of 10 such people and explains why he feels they are really great.

Even as the wave of Internet gradually made its way to other shores after a time lag of 3-4 years, the people Dale mentions had by that time already become legends of sorts. They minted money like anything, but to be true, these Internet marketers not only enriched themselves, they also showed the path for others to emulate and succeed.

Dr. Ken Evoy readily comes to my mind because I happen to use his package for my Words2Content site, but truth be told, Dr. Evoy’s SBI!-package (Site Build It!) has all the ingredients to become successful in Internet marketing.

True, the field is crowded with intense competition, yet the fact remains that with focused approach and careful planning it is possible to script a success story. And to do that SBI! is clearly a big help.

Coming to Dale’s article, here are his picks of 10 most influential Internet marketers. If you’re interested, do read his full article, or my summing up here.

1. Jay Abraham
2. Mark Joyner
3. Dan Kennedy
4. Joe Vitale
5. Dr. Jeffrey Lant
6. Marlon Sanders
7. Corey Rudl (1970-2005)
8. Joe Robson
9. Dr. Ken Evoy
10. Mel Strocen

Technorati Tags: internet, internet marketing, internet marketer, marketing

Vista debuts

Guess how Microsoft launched Vista in India yesterday? It has been a superlative performance by a dance troupe, attired all blue, in front of Taj Mahal in Agra. Perhaps there’s a message in a blockbuster launch like that. Which is that Vista is second to none. [Image source]

Released simultaneously in 70 countries for retailers, Microsoft, led by its Chairman and the most-recognizable face, Bill Gates, who himself was stationed at the British Library in London, unleashed a marketing blitzkrieg to mark Vista’s launch as the newest Windows OS in 5 years.

At the event in London, Gates used Vista to electronically bring together Leonardo da Vinci’s two notebooks, one in the British Library and one in the US owned by him. [See the TT story, Microsoft opens a new Vista]. This is what Gates said at the event.

It will take entertainment to a whole new level. Even education will be changed dramatically.

Perhaps, but meanwhile Apple Inc. has termed Vista a copycat version of its Mac OS-X Tiger operating system, which it claims has already introduced many of Vista’s features. In fact, Mac-users routinely express that their OS is any day superior to Microsoft’s OS.

Be that as it may, it remains to be seen how the high-decibel launch of Vista and the accompanying Office 2007 effectively counter Google’s free virtual office-suit.


Vista – a wow! launch at Times Square, New York on Jan 29 [Picture source]

Technorati Tags: vista, vista os, microsoft vista, office 2007, microsoft, bill gates, apple, apple mac

Corus in Tata lap

It has been a long night of suspense in India, what with auction for acquiring controlling stake in Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group Plc getting underway a little after ten Indian time (1630 hrs GMT). In the end, Tata Steel emerges winner having bid 608 pence a share to Brazil’s CSN’s 603 pence a share. [Image source]

Before the bidding started, Tata Steel and CSN stood at 500 and 515 pence a share respectively. The bid floor price was 500 pence a share.

Tata Steel will have to shell out $11.3 billion for winning the bid, and post-Corus, at a combined production of 23 million tonne annually it will become 5th largest steel conglomerate in the world behind, Mittal-Arcelor, Nippon Steel of Japan and Posco Group of South Korea.

Though this takeover is the largest ever so far by an Indian company, the stock markets are not amused. In a clear thumbsdown signal, Tata Steel skidded downward by about 10% after today’s trade on BSE and NSE.

Analysts say the costly Corus deal is not good for Tata Steel’s health in short to medium term. The long term story is yet to strike root, which means the share may slide even further, although the F&O figures suggest that the share as of now is in oversold position.

Related story: Tatas pip CSN to win Corus takeover battle


Technorati Tags: tata steel, corus, auction, bid, bidding, steel

Facelifting Rabindra Sarobar

Kolkata’s powers-that-be are an ignorant lot when it comes to matters like environment and preservation of heritage. It is not a crime not to know everything. But it certainly is if you pretend you know everything, and worse still if you prevent others to do anything meaningful as if nobody knows better than you.

This painful aspect came out in the open on the book fair issue. Surprisingly, the city’s mayor himself, he being a renowned law practitioner, chose to fight against the environmentalists in the High Court. No wonder even after more than a year of his becoming mayor of Kolkata, there is very little appreciative effort with regard to mitigating the concerns of deteriorating environment and preservation issues.

The mayor will of course reel off stats to show his performance – renovating BBD Bag for example. But the fact is, given the size of the city and the neglect it has suffered over decades, protecting overall environment and preservation of heritage sites must be taken up on war footing. There’s little sign of that.

Take the case of Rabindra Sarobar. It goes to environmentalist Subhas Dutta’s credit that the settlers along the railway track not far from the main lake were removed after lot of effort to prevent desecration of the lake. All that was needed after removal of the stumbling block was to spruce up the entire place so that it could regain its past glory.

Unfortunately, the civic authorities have been found wanting in doing that. Every morning and afternoon, Rabindra Sarobar, better known as the Dhakuria Lakes, is choc-a-block with people of every hue. People come in big cars and on foot, and there’s no chance to avoid jostle. Since there is no plan to demarcate areas for particular needs, the entire place resembles a mela during ‘peak hours’.

That doesn’t mean there is any dearth of plan. There have been plenty of them. Latest in the queue is the one given by a team from Jadavpur University (JU). It’s grandiose in scope, and if implemented, will surely usher in an overdue facelift. The plan speaks of making 3 zones in the lake area, Prem, Prakriti and Puja.

While Prem will be free for walkers and the biggest of the 3, Prakriti and Puja with correspondingly lesser area will command entry fees. Puja will be a complete silence zone. [See this TT news]

What now? That’s a million-dollar question. Since the lakes’ ‘owner’ is Calcutta Improvement Trust (CIT) and not the civic authorities, one is not sure if at all anything will happen.

I strongly believe if Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) takes up the issue of beautification of Dhakuria Lakes in right earnest with CIT, improvement can indeed happen. After all, KMC is an elected body while CIT is just an administrative arm.

Which means it is KMC that is answerable to the people for all that happen or do not happen at the Dhakuria Lakes.


Rabindra Sarobar – abundance of green [Copyright, Ghatak, Picture source]

Will it be Vodafone?

The race to acquire Hutch Essar’s 67% stake has entered the penultimate stage with the reported decision by Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL for short), the company that holds the share, to convene shareholders’ meet on Feb 15 next. The meet is expected to seek approval from shareholders regarding sell-off of the stake. [Link to the image]

Those who are circling in the sky to get a hand on Hutch Essar’s stake-sale include Indian giant Reliance Communications, European giant Vodafone and of course Essar itself.

Though these are usual corporate happenings, I’m keenly watching the development as it unfolds since I’m a Hutch subscriber for a long time. Somehow I’ve a liking for Vodafone, which may be because one gets to see their ad on tv while watching European premier league soccer matches.

The moot point is HTIL has in December said the floor price of the stake-sale in HEL is $14 billion. According to experts in the know, this is an awesome amount. On the flip side, this big amount indicates India’s telecommunications potential in coming days.

The Oct-Dec Q3 results of most tele-companies are very robust. Bharti Airtel for example has had a big jump in both its topline and bottomline. Analysts opine that since India’s teledensity is still abysmal, there’s huge scope of tele-companies to clock sterling performance for quite some time.

No doubt, HTIL’s floor price for HEL’s 67% justifies that optimism.


Technorati Tags: hutch, vodafone, reliance, bharti airtel, airtel

Book fair to shift

It’s time for Booksellers’ & Publishers’ Guild (‘Guild’ for short) to say goodbye to Maidan for all time to come. They cannot hold book fair in Maidan any more. The Kolkata HC yesterday handed out a landmark judgment to save Maidan from the damage caused on account of book fair.

That the Guild is on a sticky wicket is apparent because if it felt that the Kolkata HC judgment is not fair, it would have declared its intention of going to Supreme Court. It demonstrates what most people already know, which is that it was simply piggybacking the might of the state government with aid from some intellectuals.

Now that the HC has ruled against the Guild, it does not have the courage to go to SC because it knows it is at fault. It will therefore not be wrong to say that the HC has put an end to a farce going on for some time in the name of sanskriti, as if sanskriti is above the logic of science and the law of land (see my post, Some people’s concern = Others’ misery).

It is the environmentalist, Subhas Dutta, who deserves credit for making the Maidan free from all melas. He was also instrumental to get the Rabindra Sarobar freed from misuse by the settlers along Sealdah – Budge Budge railway line, where in the end the settlers were evicted. [Picture source on left]

Subhas Dutta is a relentless crusader. He is not one to rest on past laurels, and he doesn’t seem to tow any political line. In the book fair case, Subhas Dutta was helped by eminent law-practitioners, Arunabha Ghosh and Kalyan Bandopadhyay.

One hopes, if not tomorrow, one day it would be when even political rallies and religious congregation (like that of Gangasagar bound pilgrims) too would be banned in Maidan. It is then that the green there will heave a sigh of relief.


Technorati Tags: kolkata book fair, calcutta book fair, book fair, kolkata, calcutta

Saving Maidan

Today is going to be an important day in Kolkata’s history. In a few hours from now, the HC will decide whether the book fair can be allowed to take place at Maidan.

Horns are locked over the issue between nature-lovers and the government. In an earlier post (see Some people’s concern = Others’ misery), I’ve spoken on why book fair at Maidan goes against the concept of science and the law of land.

But there’s no denying the fact that the combined might of the ruling party, the government and some highly-acclaimed intellectuals is acting against the shifting of book fair, come what may. Which is why today all eyes are fixed on the HC judgment.

I hope the neutrality of science and the land’s law prevails over the powerful interest of forcing the book fair at Maidan.

Technorati Tags: kolkata book fair, calcutta book fair, book fair, kolkata, calcutta

CLEaRS – the virtual tutor

Learning Accord is a US-based company that offers interactive e-learning software, CLEaRS, for MCAT students in that country. Now it has launched a similar-named software for high school students in Kolkata.

CLEaRS stands for Computerized Learning, Evaluation and Review System. Its utility lies in identifying knowledge gap in students so that they know where they lack knowledge in particular subjects.

The concept is that whereas every student studies same sets of books, some score high marks while some fail to get good marks, which according to Learning Accord CEO Shyamal Sarkar happens because of uneven learning. It is here that the software will help individual student pinpoint where he or she needs improvement so as to have seamless knowledge without any scruple.

CLEaRS covers 5 science subjects – Physics, Chemistry, Math, Botany and Zoology – and prepares students for 11th and 12th board exams. It also serves as a good tutor for entrance exams for higher education.

Equivalent to 25 textbooks with 61,000 multiple-choice questions, 8000 images and diagrams and 113 animations, CLEaRS comprises of 5 interconnected interactive modes of learning, and so the final evaluation is a mirror-reflection of a student’s readiness for good performance in exams.

Though its patent is still pending, CLEaRS has already created waves in city schools, what with several top-ranking ones of the likes of Narendrapur Ramakrishna Mission, MP Birla School and Don Bosco already using it. CLEaRS costs Rs.3000, and is available from Learning Accord’s Kolkata office.


Technorati Tags: higher secondary, secondary, board exam, entrance exam, cbse, isc, e-learning

Rush to New Town

Kolkata’s east is the new destination all are scrambling to get into. Not without reason. City’s east has been expanding at a fast pace, and it’s not just New Town at Rajarhat. The entire belt to the east of EM Bypass too is seeing a spree in expansion. However, if you’ve seen how Gurgaon, Navi Mumbai (or Bandra-Kurla complex for that matter), Koramangala and other places have developed, you’d know Kolkata’s east is yet to arrive on the ‘scene’.

The recipe of massive facelift is however ready for cooking. It is ironic that the place I stay, called Purba Diganta (meaning the end of east), is no longer so. Skirted by EM Bypass, across the artery, is coming up the huge store of German self-service wholesaler, Metro Cash & Carry. Not far from here is planned a Healthciti (see my post, Neotia Elbit Healthciti) by Bengal Ambuja group. And to the north, the largish plot located between ITC Sonar Bangla and Silver Springs will expectedly see another 5-star (or is it 7-star?) hotel coming up.

But undoubtedly the biggest action is happening in New Town. There are many pluses going for it. The entire area (about 3 times that of Salt Lake) has been acquired by the states housing department, after which it has been developed (see this post, Cradling New Town] and infrastructure built.

Which means New Town is ready for the take for any property developer. No wonder the rush to be part of this abode is palpable. Every other day, new projects are being announced, each of which promises to be a grand showpiece. The latest in the news is the proposed ‘green business park’, Synthesis, a 650,000 sq ft twin-tower commercial property to be built by Bengal Shrachi by March 2009.

Educational institutes and health facilities are also dashing to New Town. After IIT Kharagpur’s plan for a new campus and Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital’s new ultra-modern project (see this post, Tatas plan more), schools too are hotfooting there.

Church of North India (CNI) has ambitious plans to build new campuses for schools like La Martiniere (both boys’ and girls’ adjacent to one another like it is on AJC Bode Road now), Pratt Memorial, St. Joseph and others. Also on the anvil is an export-import management institute, albeit on Bypass, to be set up by Union commerce ministry.

Clearly, New Town is busy welcoming fresh arrivals each day. It’ll be a glistening destination, no doubt there. As the tempo picks up, there are plans to extend metro service and suburban train facility there.

After that, after New Town firmly justifies its pride as the place to be at, it’ll be the turn of government departments to make their entry in already-earmarked lucrative plots. By then, if land acquisition imbroglio is effectively tackled, the focus will shift to further east and south to places like Baruipur and Barasat-Kukrahati expressway. That must be at least a decade away from now.


Uniworld City – one of many [Picture source]

Technorati Tags: new town, rajarhat, calcutta, kolkata, bengal, west bengal

Some people’s concern = Others’ misery

What is the meeting point between government’s (and indeed some intellectuals’) forcing the book fair in Maidan and animal rights activists’ insisting that no harm must come to stray dogs on the street? The answer is that some people want to ride roughshod over the wishes and convenience of a silent majority.

Take book fair for example. All fairs have been stopped in Maidan because during the fair and later the remnants create pollution. But, the CM and the intellectuals believe book fair belongs to the sacred realm of Bengali culture, so it must not be removed from Maidan.

Going by that logic, since crafts’ fair, Vidyasagar Mela, religious congregation, etc. are all part of our or others’ culture, therefore these must also be allowed in Maidan. But all these fairs have shifted elsewhere. Why then must book fair be allowed there? It’s here that a smell of ulterior motives emerges.

I haven’t mentioned the industrial fair organized by BNCCI that too has shifted to Salt Lake Stadium this year. Since when does ‘pure commerce’ is considered a part of Bengali’s ‘culture’, although Kolkata’s book fair is nothing but commerce as well (as distinct from say, Frankfurt Book Fair)?

Unfortunately for culture-minded intellectuals of Kolkata, they are up against 2 powerful entities, both of which are devoid of any ‘color’ attached to them. One is science, the other law of land. Let’s take the case of ‘science’ first.

That the fairs produce environmental pollution and are detrimental to the health of Maidan, the city’s lungs, has been proved beyond any iota of doubt. Since pollution causes sufferings for the people at large (as can be verified by any medical practitioner), no congregation that results in it must be allowed in Maidan. Going against this is virtually an attempt to negate the force of ‘science’.

The law of land, on the other hand, is equally emphatic. Why must there be an exception for one fair when all other fairs have been denied the right to take place in Maidan?

Coming to animal activists’ case, the story [First arrest in city for killing dog] that one Professor Subrata Guha was arrested on Jan 25 since he used an air pistol to kill a stray dog inside the campus of a north Kolkata polytechnic evokes mixed feeling.

While cruelty to animals cannot be supported, it’s also true that people have the right to defend their lives from danger. The activists who loose no time to pounce on such misdemeanors on the part of perfectly law-abiding citizens have no clue as to how the menace of stray dogs can be tackled.

Even if they have, nothing is apparent on ground. Stray dogs mate and produce any number of offspring every breeding season, and it’s highly dangerous to walk on the road at night, inviting unprovoked wrath from the hordes of them at every locality in the city.

It’s easy to pronounce from the safe confines of home that stray dogs are like ‘chowkidars’ at night who prevent thefts and unlawful intrusions, but it’s more than hellish to encounter them on road. And in case you suffer a dog-bite, more agony awaits you. Which is that there is very scarce supply of anti-rabies vaccines in the few locations in the city (including state-owned Pasteur Laboratories) where they’re supposed to be available.

Perhaps the activists all have their cars to travel at night so that they don’t have to come across stray dogs on the road. If not this, then they are perhaps dismissive about human lives, in which case it is alarming for the general public.

1500 new universities

Shortly after taking over as the head of UPA government at the center, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in June 2005 constituted the National Knowledge Commission (NKC for short), headed by Sam Pitroda. PM understood that the quality of education has to improve in our country. Above all, he knew to the core of his heart that education must embrace all sections of society, and indeed it must reach all corners of the country.

Aptly therefore, when NKC came out with its first Report to the Nation 2006 on Jan 12 last, it started with the famous Tagore poem from Gitanjali, Chitto jetha bhoysunno, uchchwa jetha seer.. It is easy to imagine that an illustrious preamble such as this is a tribute to the great poet, but I believe it is rather a somber reminder to the people of this country that even after 60 years of independence, most people of our nation lack even the basic education.

Talking about Tagore’s immortal poem, it is so deeply meaningful that I can’t help but mention its English version:

WHERE the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

NKC’s report is singular in that it has recommended radical measures for expanding ‘knowledge base’ in the country. Going by news report in ET (Kolkata edition, Jan 13), NKC has asked the government to implement the following steps among others:

1. Setting up a massive number of 1500 universities.
   
   
2. Commissioning an independent regulatory authority for higher education.
   
   
3. Allocating 1.5% of GDP for higher education. India’s GDP (or Gross Domestic Product, usually taken as the market value of all final products and services produced in the country) for 2006 is estimated at $796 billion (see CIA figures), 1.5% of which is about $12 billion. Since India’s GDP growth is expected to be thereabouts of 8.5%, it is clear that the allocation for education will also increase progressively year after year.
   
   
4. Drawing up norms and parameters for universities to mobilize finance using vast tract of land available in campuses.
   
   
5. Making English mandatory from Class I.

There are other recommendations as well. Interested viewers may visit this page or see the full report in English here (PDF file, 23.6 Mb).

Though I haven’t read the report, I believe – contrary to the main thrust of ET news – NKC must have stressed on primary education and suggest ways on how to ensure that every child in the country gets it.

Sometime back, economist Abhirup Sarkar of Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata suggested that in the beginning, a practical approach can be to induce one member from every family to have proper education. If more come, it’s welcome, but government will bear all expense, including food, cloth, medical and shelter, even bearing the cost of higher education and if possible, a job.

Sarkar says that if this is implemented, it’ll have a domino effect not only on other members of the family but also the neighborhood and the village where the educated member stays.

Whatever it is that government ultimately decides, one thing is sure. It must use all weapons in its arsenal to enrich and ensure at least primary education for one and all. Higher education too needs overhaul and putting into practice NKC’s suggestions, but I feel primary education must rank as the topmost priority.

Today, on the occasion of 58th Republic Day, let that be the National Pledge.

Is it Boeing?

This is one investment story that refuses to die down. Thankfully so for Bengal, for it’s about a project which just there cannot be many. It’s not a steel plant of which there is no dearth in India, especially in the east. Nor is it a IT project of which too there is no shortage of presence in India’s main centers of educated workmanship.

This investment can possibly be one of its kind in the whole country, and perhaps the entire southeast Asia. I’m talking about Boeing Company’s proposed MRO hub to be set up in India. But, hasn’t Boeing already decided to have the facility in Nagpur?

Oh sure. And why not? As part of central government’s largest civil aviation order (of 68 airplanes to expand Air India’s fleet strength) in the country’s history, Boeing good-naturedly agreed to set up MRO hub in India. And where else would that be except in Nagpur, the home state of Civil Aviation minister Praful Patel?

But perhaps the ink hasn’t dried yet. If today’s ABP news item is to be believed, a large international airplane maintenance company wants to set foot in Bengal, and they need 5000 acres of land for that.

Subhas Chakraborty, the state transport minister, who broke the news yesterday, hasn’t named the company who wishes to make Bengal the destination. One understands the reason. After all, it’s a high-stake game - one that needs lots of patience and very clever behind-the-scene maneuvering.

If, at the end of the day, Boeing does come to Bengal, it’ll be big triumph in favor of big-ticket investment in the state. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Related reading: Are they missing opportunity?


Technorati Tags: boeing, boeing company, bengal, west bengal, kolkata, calcutta

Bengal Chemicals on comeback trail

What is common to Pheneol, Cantharidine Hair Oil, Kalmegh and Aqua Ptychotis? They are all products once made by Bengal Chemicals. Or would you say they’re brands owned by Bengal Chemicals? Brands, did you say?

Yeah, they’re brands, but unbranded brands. The what? Well, the point is Bengal Chemicals never branded them the way branding is done these days. Yet they became so popular that even today their ‘brand recall’ is quite impressive. Mind you, in old days, since there was no concept of brand promotion, products became popular based solely on the strength of their usefulness.

Simply put, all the 4 products were of excellent value, which was why they were household names even without much advertisement. And why not? After all, Bengal Chemicals (rather, Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd, BCPL for short) was founded by none other than the luminary Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, a University of Edinburgh graduate, one of the 2 first Gilchrist scholars from India and an honorary D.Sc. from University of Durham.

Illustrious he was, but leading simple life, that was Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray. It won’t be wrong to say that BCPL, founded way back in 1892, and riding the genius of Acharya Ray and Rajsekhar Basu aka Parshuram, the famous Bengali writer, masters in Chemistry, the first manager of BCPL, paved the way for blossoming of Indian pharmaceutical industry.

BCPL turned sick in 1993, but now a revival package is on the way. Worth Rs.440 crore, the lifeline being extended to BCPL is a testimony of the legendary role it played once upon a time, and an urgent recognition that it cannot be allowed to die.

So, will Bengal Chemicals still make the old brands it owns? Perhaps, but it will now embark into making new categories of drugs to combat and treat such life-threatening ailments like HIV and kala-azar. It also plans to make anti-rabies vaccine in association with state-owned Pasteur Institute of India.

Let us wish Bengal Chemicals all the best as a tribute to its founding father, Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray.

India’s space triumph

Daily dose of hullabaloo all around sometimes sink singular achievements without trace. One such is India’s space scientists’ successfully re-guiding a 550-kg space capsule back to earth from outer space on Jan 22. With this India joins the select group of only 3 countries (US, Russia and China) who have this ability. Of course, US and Russia are the torchbearers of this technology. Even China has sent and recouped manned shuttle. [Picture on left: PSLV-C6 blasting off; source]

The recouped space capsule spent only 12 days in space, sent as it was on Jan 10 ‘aboard’ the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) that carried 3 other ‘passengers’, 2 from other countries. While others are booked for permanent stationing in the eternity of outer space, this was due for return.

Return it did, obeying commands from earth stations as it was supposed to. From a height of 625 km above Atlantic Ocean, the space capsule journeyed back in precise schedule, entering earth’s atmosphere cruising at a speed of 8 km a second, withstanding 1500 degrees Celsius temperature while doing so.

As it started descending from the north, zooming across Atlantic Ocean and past North Pole and Russia, the first set of parachutes opened at 5 km above sea level, while the main parachute opened at 2 km height. The capsule then slowed down considerably, touching Bay of Bengal about 140 km southeast of Sriharikota at just 12 meters per second.

What does this mean to Indian space research? Yes, a poor country like ours has poured fortune for this. But for the first time it no longer seems a pipedream that India can send manned spacecraft in not-so-long future. We wait with great hope.


Technorati Tags: spacecraft, space shuttle, space club, space program, isro, indian space research organization

300th post

Just to inform you dear readers, I’ve just completed a milestone. This is my 301st post. Another occasion for me to express my heartfelt thanks to you all – the viewers, advertisers (albeit chosen by me), and above all those opinion-givers who have taken time off to post their valuable comments.

As always, I request my visitors to offer their comments to my blog-posts. If anything, your little favor livens me up, charges my batteries and makes me immeasurably happy. Do write, and yes if I may repeat, if you’ve good Kolkata story, do tell me. I’ll be happy to mention that in this blog with full credit to you.

Lastly, let me take this opportunity to again mention that Kolkata Musing is not one that lacks direction. Many of you have told me that KM deals on subjects that do not belong to the city. I humbly disagree. According to me, barring just a few, all other posts do belong to this great city.

Time and again I deal on incidents that happen elsewhere (for example, Dare you drive there?), or concern an altogether-different topic (like YouTube versus UTube). But then, aren’t Kolkattans (or Kolkata-lovers elsewhere) entitled to know exciting happenings at other places!!

Whether I’m right will be judged by my readers in time to come. Meanwhile, to know more about how I view this blog ought to be, please refer this post, Do you mind? Thank you.

Wal-Mart and the rest

Even a couple of years back, terms like SKU (aka Stock Keeping Unit) and hypermart were largely unknown to common people. Today – if not SKU as yet – hypermart and supermarket are no longer some Latin or Greek lexicon to us. They are flowering here, there, everywhere.

Admittedly, the concept of supermarket is not new for many of us, the city dwellers. We’ve several of them in Mumbai and southern cities for quite a long time.

But hypermart? Even the most ardent shopper will admit that hypermart is a recent entrant to our city-world. The way things are going, we may soon be face-to-face with the big daddies of them all, the ‘giant hypermarts’.

What’s up, you may wonder. Well, I’m referring to the feverish debuting of retail stores of all size and shape. Wal-Mart is still some way off, but there’s suddenly a lot of competition in the retail space.

The latest buzz is the proposed tying up between the French giant Carrefour and the Aditya Birla group for opening hypermarts in India.

As we know, in most cases, retailers sell branded items they do not own, but they are brands unto themselves. The biggies (apart from Wal-Mart, Carrefour) that come to mind are Kmart, JC Penney, Target, Tesco, Marks & Spencer (clothes and accessories) and of course our own Pantaloons and Shoppers Stop.

Then there are retailers like US’ Home Depot that is like an umbrella organization to which are enlisted thousands of small to big retailers and brand-owners, who collectively sell a mind-boggling array of items both online and in brick-n-mortar stores.

In an earlier post, I’ve mentioned how Reliance is planning to push its yet-to-born retail venture. Though not apparent yet to most eyes, the stage is clearly getting ready to witness a triangular battle of turf with Wal-Mart pitted against the might of Reliance at one end and all else grouped at other end.

You can safely bet it will be a closely-fought battle for at least some years in the beginning to garner maximum share of consumers’ preference before the dust gradually settles down. India is a country of huge population, so perhaps all of them can have enough space to themselves.

If so, what about us, the consumers? We can certainly look forward to lip-smacking low prices, especially since Wal-Mart’s motto is just that – Always Low Prices! But, will everyone be happy? Not really. I’m not taking sides with other retail giants.

Contrary to popular belief that street-corner grocery shops will be affected most, I feel that will not be the case, at least not for some years. The reason is grocers keep excellent relation with local populace whom they frequently give items on loan. Wal-Mart or Reliance will not do that. For the likes of Wal-Mart and Reliance, it’ll take pretty longish time to undo this and other related advantage.

Who then suffers most the onslaught of giant retailers? It’s the small to medium suppliers. No, their dues will not be kept pending. It’s rather that they’ll be relentlessly pushed to lower their prices, come what may. For them, if the lure of their brands displayed in giant stores and accompanying huge sale is irresistible, the possibility of getting wiped off in the process by endless lowering of prices is also a real possibility.

I’ve been looking at this 2003 article, The Wal-Mart You Don't Know. It’s a good study of the retail giant in graphic detail. Though 3 years old, one may still have a fair idea about Wal-Mart. I’ve summarized some points below (excerpts):

1. Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer. It's the world's largest company.. Wal-Mart sold $244.5 billion worth of goods last year. It sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.
   
   
2. The giant retailer is at least partly responsible for the low rate of U.S. inflation, and a McKinsey & Co. study concluded that about 12% of the economy's productivity gains in the second half of the 1990s could be traced to Wal-Mart alone.
   
   
3. Wal-Mart bought some $12 billion in merchandise from China in 2002. That's nearly 10% of all Chinese exports to the United States.
   
   
4. The retailer has a clear policy for suppliers: On basic products that don't change, the price Wal-Mart will pay, and will charge shoppers, must drop year after year.

Well then, dear readers, it won’t be a long wait before the giant sets foot in our cities. The moot point is, can other retailers including our own Reliance measure up to the might of a single Wal-Mart? This is something only future can say.

Related reading: Onrush of retailing


Technorati Tags: wal-mart, reliance, retail, retailing, retailer

Flying cheapest

Rome and back is just Rs.15,000 (plus tax) and to London and back via Dubai is Rs.18,500 before tax. Traveling to Europe is perhaps never so cheaper.

What takes? The reason is that several airlines have now started operating from Kolkata, and so the capacity increase has caused the fares to nosedive.

The Rome trip is however from Delhi, but EuroFly (better known as the erstwhile Alitalia) that has launched Delhi-Rome direct flight thrice a week has tied up with Kingfisher for passengers from Kolkata to Delhi, and this is inclusive in their offer.

Not to be left behind, Lufthansa, the German airline, has slashed the price of round trip to Frankfurt from Kolkata to Rs.18,500 excluding tax, down from Rs.21,500. Same fare is being offered by Emirates minus tax for flying to London via Dubai.

Not to be outdone, the very Indian Jet Airways commences daily flights to Bangkok from Kolkata today for a fare of Rs.6,500 without tax in economy class. A similar schedule is planned from Delhi too for Rs.13,500.

Clearly, the wooing is exciting. While most of these fares are valid till March 31, it’s to be seen if the number of tourists increases, lured by such attractive pricing. The travel agents in Kolkata hope there’ll be at least 5% upside in their number. If so, will the fares remain this cheap?

Let’s keep our fingers crossed on that. [Read more]


Technorati Tags: eurofly, emirates, lufthansa, travel, traveling, flying, air fare

Bengalee’s valentine day

Today is Saraswati Puja, the last noteworthy festival in this Bengali calendar year. The air is rife with strains of popular songs wafting in from everywhere. For the para young the day has started very early in the morning, if only to start the loudspeakers to play the songs. School-goers too are quick to begin their day (without being called to wake up), while some of them (the 'proud' group of few) would have spent the night in the company of the goddess.

Today is that rare occasion when parents do not mind if their young ones spend the day on their feet, shuttling from here to there. For girls saree is a must-wear, and their mothers would have heavily pinned the attire at strategic places lest it opens up without any warning. Few boys will however wear dhoti-kurta, but may prefer churidar-kurta instead, if not just casual dressing.

What though clinches as the day’s top priority for would-be teen lovers is to express hitherto unspoken love to sweethearts. Tips are freely given by 'veterans' as to how to go about. Boys trail the girls from school to school, and for once the latter don’t mind (rather they enjoy). If the lovebirds do meet face to face, it’s seldom that they can actually speak love, for they are aware they are being closely watched by curious friends.

Perhaps just a letter will exchange hands, and if in the process there’s a small touching each other, the joy knows no bounds. Vows are made to extend love in the future.

Indeed, Saraswati Puja is the lovemaking day for the young, much like the now-favorite Valentine’s Day. But it is also the occasion when young parents take their tiny ones to priests for hatay-khori, initiating the child to the world of learning. It’s a ritual rarely missed by first-time parents.

The last in the category of eager expectants on this day are those who will appear in school board exams in a couple of months. Today they carry books of those those subjects to keep at the feet of Maa Saraswati in which they do not expect to fare well, hoping fervently that Maa’s blessings would help them sail through with good marks.


Hatay-khori in Melbourne puja [Picture source]

Puja feast at Bengal Cultural Association, London [Picture source]
Today is also Netaji’s birthday, and if you leave the routine garlanding of his statue in Shyambazar, Netaji Bhavan (on Elgin Road) and elsewhere, it’s only in schools that the great son of soil is remembered with fervor. This year Saraswati Puja has overtaken the importance of remembering Netaji.


Technorati Tags: saraswati, saraswati puja, netaji, bengal, bengalee, bengali, calcutta, kolkata

No excuse for heart

The fruit vendor, who I buy from our weekly replenishment, rues that people are buying less. He may not know that a rising inflation is perhaps the reason for this winter’s spiraling prices of nearly all commodities. All he cares is that fish sells even if the price is more, and so too certain vegetables (not all, mind you!), but not fruits.

In fact, he opines, if not for so many religious occasions, and perhaps Bengali’s penchant to eat them mainly for the sick, selling fruits is not really profitable. There is little doubt that fruits do not rank high in Indians’ daily menu save those times when there is bumper crop of all-time favorites like mangoes and oranges.

This year prices have scaled record highs, and so except for fruit-sellers stationed outside hospitals and temples, the rest are having a tough time. ‘Thankfully so’, or else fruit-lovers like me would have had tough time instead.

The moot point is given a choice, Indians much prefer steamy hot foods to regular intakes of healthy necessities like fruits and vegetables. If that is bad recipe for upkeep of good health, it has the generous company of lack of exercise and poor dieting.

Scientists, who have for long believed that it must be certain genes that are responsible for heart attacks that strike Indians (and indeed most South Asians) at least 5 to 10 years earlier than Europeans and North Americans, have now concluded that the actual reason is rather more mundane, which is the traditional risk factors like bad diet, less exercising and diabetes.

And so early heart attacks have little to do with genes or other unknown factors. If indeed so, what then are the remedies? Ask anyone, and you’ll see the familiar nodding, that he knows all this, yet when it comes for implementation, he finds it difficult to change food habits and/or start exercising daily.

But then there’s little choice if any. Time we wake up to learn how to lead a healthy life and imbibe it in our system. After all, don’t we know that health is wealth!

Related reading:

1. Weak heart? You’ve no excuse now
2. Drink and walk to live healthy
3. Fat aids cancer
4. Odd man out
5. Is drinking an avoidable evil?

Technorati Tags: heart attack, diet, dieting, exercise, exercising, diabetes

Ash + Abhi

Dream coming true! [Picture source]
Some news creates ripples, some giant waves. Ash and Abhi’s upcoming pairing in real life is one such news that is still reverberating across the globe in endless stream. There is little doubt that this has become the ‘hottest’ news (even if for a few days) in the celebrity circuit because of an alive and kicking Indian diaspora spread beyond all geographic boundary.

Angelina Jolie, who some time back spent fairly long time in Pune to shoot for ‘A Mighty Heart’, and Brad Pitt (who too was there with Jolie in India) have been quick to wish Ash the very best on her engagement with Abhi (see this story).

Good times, it appears, are here for senior Bachchan too. No sooner the Ash-Abhi engagement is over on Makar Sankranti day, luck is again smiling on Amitabh. Going by news reports, his younger sibling Ajitabh is said to have gifted a princely 674 sq meter plot in Juhu to him, worth about Rs.3.3 crore (Ref: ABP, Jan 18).

People in the ‘know of the things’ say perhaps a spanking new corporate office of their flagship company, ABC Production Ltd is slated to come up there.

Bachchans property shopping basket seems to contain some more. For example, speculation is rife that a handsome luxurious bungalow, going by the name ‘Naibedya’ with a price tag of Rs.9 crore, is now Abhi’s. And that this is where his and Ash’s love-nest is going to be.

We’re further informed that apart from 8 spacious rooms and a rooftop swimming pool, the bungalow’s one pride among many is perhaps a 1000 sq ft bathroom.

Well, if not here, where else will thousand flowers bloom!!

Technorati Tags: aishwarya, aishwarya rai, bachchan, abhishek bachchan, amitabh bachchan, brangelina

Travel ahoy

Pundits have long argued that boom in traveling is a sure sign of growing economy. So too are opting for advanced medicare, splurging on shopping, sending kids to money-guzzling schools, but these are somewhat not so openly pronounced. Traveling on the other hand is. See my post, Have money, will tour.

Go to book your air ticket in high season (now any time for that matter), chance is you’ll find yourself in an air pocket. Want train ticket? No luck unless you’ve booked months in advance. This winter many people have gone to coldest of places – something inconceivable in India even a couple of years back.

Ask them the reason. You may get to know 2 answers. One is of course predictable – no vacancy during diwali and puja. The other will surprise you. The new ‘in’ thing is winter tourism. Which means many will deliberately prefer end of the year to come to Kashmir, Darjeeling, Simla and suchlike.

This new preference is an indication that people are no longer staid travelers. They ask for fun and entertainment in the itinerary and are not loathe to shell out extra bucks for the same.

Affluence apart, the other important factor responsible for spurt in tourism is spread of Internet. Seen from this angle, you’ll appreciate that multiplicity of travel websites is not a fluke. This is further reinforced by the fact that the highest online commerce has been in Indian Railway site for several years running, while those of low-cost airlines gaining prominence rapidly.

No wonder, online travel booking is set to climb one-billion-dollar mark by the end of this year, up from $460 million last year. It is estimated to touch $2 billion by end-2008 (per ET, Kolkata, Jan 20).

While the traveling scene hots up like never before, what are the main travel sites in India? Global majors (mainly US-based), Expedia, travelocity and tripMela – the last one targeting India – are shoring up action-filled entry into India very shortly.

So too are Indian sites that have already made their presence felt. Some of these are:

1. MakeMyTrip (having offices in US and Australia)
2. yatra
3. indiatimesTRAVEL (from TOI group)

And also,

1. NDTV Travels
2. OUTLOOKtraveller

New ports in the wings

When industry rushes in, facilities improve in tandem. This is a truth that is now proving true in industry-starved Bengal. Even a few years back, upgrading and/or setting up infrastructure in the state would have found few takers. Bengal was then not considered a destination for putting money.

Now there is clearly an upswing in mood. As big-ticket investments are making beeline to the state, the authorities are waking up to the increasing need of matching infrastructure. Among new plans unfolding is Kolkata Port Trust’s (KPT) plan of building dock facility in Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas on the Kolkata-side of Hooghly river.

As per feasibility plan, there will be 3 jetties to begin with that will increase to 5 in second phase. KPT’s assessment is that the new dock will cater to more tonnage of cargo than Kolkata port, the main reason being the draught at all time in Diamond Harbour will be decidedly more – 9 meters against 7 in both Kolkata and Budge Budge and marginally more, 7.5 meters in Haldia.

Besides, navigating vessels to Diamond Harbour will be far easy compared to bringing them to Kolkata port. Further, vessels will not be dependent on directions of tide to move in and out of the dock. The other advantage is that during high tide, draught in Diamond Harbour will become 14 meters, which is conducive for comparatively larger vessels to choose for anchoring.

But Diamond Harbour – as and when it comes up – will have company of Kulpi port (this too is in planning stage) further south on the same flank of the river. Kulpi port, christened as Bengal Port Ltd, is a different ballgame. To be owned and operated by Dubai-based DP World in association with Keventer group of Kolkata, Kulpi port will be a 3000-acre affair, consisting of the port itself on 10% area and a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) occupying 90% land.

Apart from all-weather port facility, Kulpi port will also have a ship-breaking yard and an industrial park.

And then there is the plan of a giant deep-sea port near Sagar islands at the confluence of Hooghly and Bay of Bengal. Clearly, Kolkata’s maritime luck is scaling new high with each passing day. It’s a measure of exciting time ahead for the state.

Tatas plan more

The Tata group is coming with bagful of projects for Bengal. Among those already here are TCS’ (Tata Consultancy Services Ltd) sizeable presence in Sector V in Salt Lake and Tata Metaliks’ plant near Kharagpur.

Tata Motors’ small-car factory, proposed in Singur, will be Tata’s largest project thus far in the state in terms of investment outlay. Acquisition of land for the purpose has been completed, though the opposition parties are still creating trouble there. Shortly, boundary wall will be erected at places where barbed-wire fence now stands.

Another prestigious project is the setting up of state-of-the-art Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital in Rajarhat on a 16-acre plot. It will be a 150-bed super-speciality hospital at a cost of Rs.120 crore. Apart from all necessary facilities, the hospital will also have a research center and a nursing school. [..more]

More from Tatas’ staple is now on way to Bengal. Of special importance is the proposal of a new leather training institute and renovating/improving the existing Leather Engineering College in Beleghata in east Kolkata. Since Tatas make and sell wide variety of leather items under the brand ‘Stryde’, it is hoped their expertise will be of considerable help here. See this story.

There is a feeling that with so many plans in line for the state, the Tatas are doing a great favor. Agreed that Tata Motors’ plant could have come elsewhere, but Singur has a great locational advantage, being right on a national highway and close to port facilities.

All in all, the Tata projects are coming purely on business merit. That this is true is evident because of the fact that they have systematically reduced their holding in the erstwhile showpiece, Haldia Petrochemicals, if only for the reason that its investment in that company doesn’t seem to make much business sense for the group.


Technorati Tags: tata, tata memorial hospital, tata motors, tata consultancy services, tcs, kolkata, calcutta

Reliance’s retail push

When giants move nimbly, you may miss even their shadows. Of course, such is the hotting up of the scenario that it’ll be foolish to announce plans from rooftops. Experts say there is enough space for every big player. If however you look at how biggies like Reliance are moving in retail sector, it would seem perhaps the heaven is about to break down.

After realty and construction, organized retail is emerging as the most promising sector in India. If you are to name who are the most prominent players in this arena, you’ll count Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop and others, but not Reliance, and certainly not the Bharti group.

All that will however change very shortly, perhaps before the year is even halfway through. Bharti’s high-profile tie-up with America’s monstrously giant, Wal-Mart 2 months back has lent a rush of urgency to the sector.

There was temporary relief when political parties raised hue and cry over Wal-Mart’s ‘backdoor’ entry in India. Even that now stands cleared after the commerce ministry confirmed early this week that their tie-up is perfectly in order.

Reliance meanwhile hasn’t sat idle. Going by news reports, it first wanted to enter into pacts with local realtors in every city, whereby the store-space will remain with realtors while Reliance will simply put up and operate the stores. But Wal-Mart’s imminent entry seems to have changed Reliance’s plan.

It no longer seems to be waiting for pacts for space. It’s now on space-acquiring spree having already taken up 1.5 lakh sq ft in Calcutta Riverside’s Batanagar project, and another 62,000 sq ft in Bengal Peerless’ multi-utility mall, Axis in New Town. Both are long way off to actually come into being, and so the rush is so markedly noteworthy.

How will Reliance’s plan unfold? Not clear yet, but it appears there’ll be hypermarts in large spaces where ‘everything under the sun’ (much like Wal-Mart’s format) will be sold. Further, there will be any number of RelianceFresh retail outlets (they’ve opened some early Nov in Hyderabad) where vegetables, fruits, flowers and select groceries will be on offer for consumers. [Picture on left: RelianceFresh in Hyderabad; source]

It’s not only infrastructure that Reliance has set its eyes on. Going by a ET report yesterday (Jan 18), Reliance Retail plans to take on its roll a mind-boggling one million employees by 2010. The outlay for this venture is – hold your breadth – Rs.25,000 crore. Now only 22-stores old, Reliance Retail will scale that up to 1500 covering a wide gamut of products.

Ironically, ITC, whose village-level retail initiative, e-choupal, is supposed to be the first planned foray in retail sector, is now lagging far behind in this supercharged scenario. But then, who knows the future may be quite different.


An ITC e-choupal in Sagar, MP [Picture source]

Related reading: Onrush of retailing

Technorati Tags: reliance, walmart, retail, reliance retail, reliance fresh, kolkata, calcutta

Right to information

A bank official I frequently meet during morning walk often complains about deteriorating work standards. The telephone doesn’t work properly, the municipal corporation is full of touts, there is utter chaos in hospitals, greed for speed-money is at every level – his litany of complaints virtually has no end.

Not that whatever he says is wrong, a lot of that is surely true. What however escapes attention is that individually we all are responsible for such impasse. This readily comes to my attention when one day I happen to visit the bank my friend works in.

The bank being a big branch usually remains crowded with customers who prefer to come in early hours. My friend, who deals in updating pass-books is not in his seat when I amble in an hour after the bank opens. Eight people wait patiently across his counter even as I spot him at a distance, sharing some tale with others amid laughter.

I have other works and when I leave about 10 minutes later, he is still away while the people, now numbering 12, continue to await his return to seat.

I narrate this to him couple of days later when I meet him in the morning. “Oh you were there, were you!”, he is so nonchalant (much to my surprise), “you should have called me, I would have done yours out of turn.”

My friend misses my jibe completely, or perhaps he simply decides to ignore it. A little later, letting my comments sink without trace, he returns to his usual self, this time speaking foul about cooking gas supply.

I’m left to think over the matter. Moving in and out of my smallish amazement at my friend’s apathy about people’s concerns, I could almost feel that if anything is responsible for this, it’s lack of accountability at workplaces.

People’s behavior is guided by rational outcome. In government and quasi-government establishments, it is seldom that action is taken for acts of negligence or dereliction of duty unless an issue is big enough to warrant it. Which is why in public domain work tends to suffer putting you and me in trouble.

An effective counterbalance now seems set to bring about some welcome change. The Right to Information Act (RTI for short) is a step in that direction.

Utsav Dutta, who now studies MBA in Delhi, has recently won the nod of state’s information commission when it directed Calcutta University to show him his answer scripts he wrote in his B.Com Part II Accountancy (Honors) examination of 2006.

Utsav received fairly bad marks in some subjects, which he felt might be due to faulty checking of his answer papers. CU agreed to reexamine the papers as per prevailing rules but declined to show him the scripts.

Utsav, sensing that just reexamining won’t be of help, petitioned the state information commission using the RTI clause. And now, after much waiting, CU has agreed to go by state information commission ruling. See the TT story.

Needless to say, many more students will now follow the footsteps of Utsav.

Coming back to my bank friend’s nonchalance, perhaps the day is not far when one can hope for reprieve against wrongs done to him/her on the back of statutes and acts like RTI. As the fear of being held accountable for lapse in performance percolates down their mind, the countless babus dotting the public workplace will perforce change, no doubt there.


Technorati Tags: calcutta university, calcutta, kolkata, right to information act, right to information, rti, india

KMC's market dilemma

But for faulty policies, Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) would be a prosperous landlord. It owns most public markets in the city, nearly all of which are in prime locations. Take for example the New Market, Entally Market, Park Circus Market, Maniktala Bazaar and Ultadanga Municipal Market to name a few.

But even though its market properties have immense realty values, in reality they are a source of pain for KMC. Because the traders to whom space have been given to run their business in these markets pay so paltry rentals that KMC cannot even afford funds to do routine repairs.

This has meant that the market buildings are in dilapidated condition and it is dangerous to venture inside them. What then is the solution?

KMC says the markets must be broken down and the land handed over to private parties to build multi-storey complex. There is no dearth of interested realtors for doing the job as this year-old TT report suggests. In fact, Lake Market in the south of the city is already nearing completion in the form of an attractive shopping mall. And College Street Market too is expected to shortly undergo transition to turn up as Barnaparichay, a book-related jazzy mall (see this post, Barnaparichay - The Mall).

If so, what prevents KMC to repeat same at other markets? It's the stiff resistance by the traders. They do not wish to increase rent citing business downturn, but they want that KMC must do all timely repairs.

Clearly, unless the traders see reason, no improvement seems possible. If not the danger of unrepaired buildings, the springing up of trendy malls everywhere can spell doom for the KMC-market traders. But if they refuse to budge, what can anyone do?

KMC on its part can force them to temporarily vacate the premises in order to build malls by private parties. The question is will it do? One doubts it will.

Singur car may not be less than 1 lakh

When the Tata Motors first visioned their new car over 4 years back, the cost was put at around Rs.1 lakh before tax. Since then the cost of raw materials have risen manifold, and now the price is expected to be trifle less than $3000 before tax, which is equivalent to about Rs.1,35,000.

The above has been reported by The Economist, the London-based prestigious weekly newsmagazine. This is what the report says (excerpt):

It is not a cut-down version of an existing car, but is an entirely new design. With a rear-mounted 30bhp engine, four seats and a choice of four- and five-door models, it is a “good-looking car which is comfortable to drive,” according to Ravi Kant, the boss of Tata Motors. Most ambitious of all is the price. The car is known as the “one lakh” car—one lakh is 100,000 rupees, equivalent to around $2,100 when the car was first conceived four years ago. Material costs have since increased, but Tata still hopes the price will be less than $3,000 before tax. Read the story here.

The Economist reporter is effusive about India's designing and engineering ability, specially with respect to China's tendency of copying other car models. But he strikes an ominous note when he says that once the low-cost car is available in the market, it may become so popular that India's already over-burdened roads will simply choke.

I can't help saying that with so much expectations from Tata's new small car, it is matter of great misfortune that the state's opposition parties are still carrying on a mindless agitation to thwart the project.

Landmark to expand

Early 90s when I was working in Chennai, I used to frequent the Landmark book store on Nungambakkam High Road on way to and back from my office which was located on Cathedral Road. Landmark was then in the basement and ground floor of a highrise and there was less trouble to park car thereabout.

But more than the ease of parking car, I liked Landmark because of the ambience, the layout in the shop and above all the chance to enjoy the look and feel of the books. There wasn’t anything like it in Kolkata and when I used to come here on holidays, I would rue the lack of similar shop and feel lost at not being able to utilize abundant spare time.

One would say Oxford on Park Street allows you a similar experience, but I disagree. First, it’s not a large-format store (meaning floor area is much less). Second, an uncanny feeling always remains that someone is ‘watching’ you. Not that ‘watching’ is bad, but in a small space, people brushing you now and then isn’t something that I like.

When Landmark debuted in Kolkata to open a book store on Lord Sinha Road (off Theater Road aka Shakespeare Sarani), I was very happy. Here was a good enough reason to while away time amid the smell and feel of books. And indeed Landmark in Kolkata has been and continues to be a lively place, no doubt there.

However, the store remained almost what it was when it first came. There was no talk of a second store elsewhere if only to branch out and expand business. The chance to buy books on the net (specially the IT-related ones that come to India much later if at all) gradually created a widening chasm between me and Landmark. Today I don’t remember when I last visited the store.

Not all blame lies at Landmark’s door though, if today’s ET news is to be believed. For long it remained hooked to a partnership with Emami, the city-based FMCG entity (one wonders at the odd relation!). Who knows perhaps there was something in their ‘relation’ that prevented Landmark to spread wings.

Now Landmark is part of Trent Ltd, which is a Tata company. Its majority stake is acquired by Trent and ties with Emami have been severed last month. The news is Landmark is set to open 3 new stores in Kolkata. They will be big ones and located mainly in the south of the city.

Landmark’s foray is all the more welcome, because long before the likes of Shoppers Stop and Big Bazaar set feet in Kolkata, Landmark had given the city its first touch-and-feel shopping experience. It’s time it grows big.

What will it be – old or new or both?

Some time back in a TV program there was a talk on Bengal’s industrial revival and how some interested parties are making use of confusion at grassroots level to thwart it. A questioner on phone inquired why isn’t the government trying to re-open closed factories instead of going for large greenfield ventures.

The reply to that given by the TV panel (if I remember correctly, minister Manabendra Mukherjee fielded that question) has been apt. Which is that reopening of old factories is not the only answer to modern-day needs. Technology, economic scale of operation and removal of trade barrier have changed the scenario so immensely that there is just no alternative to setting up of large new industries to remain competitive and generate fresh employment opportunity.

But, Bengal’s old factories too are seeing light of the day. Pavan Ruia, the new savior with deep pockets, has not only turned around Jessop, the heavy-engineering jewel, he has also acquired Dunlop, the erstwhile tyre major, which has recommenced production from Jan 14 after a long gap of 7 years.

IISCO’s modernization (see this post, All steel's week) is another feather in the cap. The project involves massive expansion of the facilities at Burnpur, and although some local people are obstructing acquisition of farmland for the purpose, political parties of all hues have taken it on themselves to convince the disgruntled for not doing so.

This indicates that people of the state are gradually veering round to accepting inevitability of large industries.

And now the grand old Bengal Chemicals too is on the path of revival. Large dose of central government fund to the tune of Rs.440 crore is proposed to let it come out of coma and a formal inauguration of the same is taking place today at the Maniktala factory premises.

Coming back to the oft-asked question as to whether the choice has to be between reopening old factories or establishing new ones, it is clear that the correct way would be to do both and not simply either of them. Which is what the present government in the state is doing in earnest. Let’s welcome that.

Snap Preview Anywhere

If you’re an avid blogger or web surfer, you can’t help but track what all new that debut every now and then. It’s a fun to remain abreast of exciting things that surface on the horizon. And I must say Snap Preview Anywhere (SPA for short form) is one among them.

How do you know a SPA? Simple, just hover your mouse on a link in this page. A rectangular bubble pops up that instantly gives you a thumbnail pictorial view of the page that lies behind that link. Does that matter? You bet.

For viewers who happen to hop across scores of webpages everyday, a thumbnail picture of an about-to-see page gives an extra level of comfort. After all, one gets to know in advance that the page is not actually a fluke.

SPA’s popularity is evident when in just about 8 weeks since its launch, it has been accepted by more than 30,000 sites worldwide that have collectively mopped up over 70,000,000 previews. It’s a wow-making performance indeed, but there’s more.

The redoubtable WordPress, that big force to reckon with in blogosphere, has developed a widget for SPA, an automatic plug-in for WordPress blogs. Last heard, WordPress has put the widget on nearly 600,000 of its user-blogs. More can be had here.

Well, by now if you’re interested to have SPA for your site too, the good news is SPA is FREE! Just hover your mouse on a link to have the balloon pop up and then in that go to the link at the bottom that says ‘Get free previews from Snap.com’. Click on it and ride the crest to your own free SPA.

Okay okay, if you want to save yourself the trouble of maneuvering inside the balloon, just click this link to get your SPA.

Technorati Tags: snap preview anywhere, snap, blog, blogging, wordpress

Autorickshaws – Ruling the road

One sure sign of Kolkata’s backwardness must be the utter chaos perpetrated by the army of autorickshaws (or just autos) on the roads. Anyone who has the misfortune of negotiating traffic at Ultadanga underpass will vouch to what unruly autos are capable of every single day.

It’s similar story at Jadavpur, Garia, Behala and other places. People are literally consigned to the fate that no amount of their acute hardship on road can make the autos see reason. Why only autos, even the private buses and most state buses rule the road as if it is their ancestral property.

Coming to my saying ‘backwardness’, it is so because the autowallahs are totally immune from any amount of policing. The police in fact have no control on them, governed as they are by the rules by virtue of their collective affiliation to local trade unions (mainly CITU).

This effectively translates to any person, who is a member of a trade union, driving an auto, and in many cases he may not even have a valid license for himself or for his vehicle.

Like hawkers on thoroughfares, autos too enjoy free run with virtually no accountability (save that to their unions), and the whole thing presents a dismal picture of traffic on road. At some places like Diamond Harbor Road in Behala, a lot of road space is eaten up because of them, resulting in frequent fatal accidents.

Is there a way out? None unless – according to me – the economy develops. Because till the touchy question, ‘What will happen to these people if their earnings stop?’ is satisfactorily solved, we the Kolkattans will continue to suffer inconvenience caused by them.

You may say many Indian cities have similar problem but they are better off than Kolkata. True, but nowhere is the traffic police made so decidedly ineffective by the might of ruling party unions. Then again, Kolkata autos don’t run on meter, they ferry passenger point-to-point and even sit them in the front on extended seats.

Which all are reasons why Kolkata autos simply have no parallel anywhere. They are a law unto themselves, no matter it’s just a few hundred of them that make life hell for millions.


Technorati Tags: auto, auto rickshaw, autorickshaw, kolkata, calcutta

Makar Sankranti

Tomorrow marks the end of 29-day Pous, the Bengali calendar month. Also called Pous Sankranti, it’ll be a day when mothers and grandmothers will prepare homemade sweets to everyone’s delight. Most common delicacies include patisapta, dudh pithe and payesh. And they taste so good that even the most diehard sweet-hater will find it difficult to give them a miss.

Pous Sankranti it is when thousands of pilgrims from far-flung places will take holy dip at Gangasagar, the confluence of Ganges (Hooghly river) and Bay of Bengal, very early in the morning before heading off to Kapilmunir Mandir to offer prayers to the deity.

Gangasagar Mela is an important annual pilgrimage, and coming close on the heels of Kumbh Mela at Sangam in Allahabad, it has somewhat lesser attendance by pilgrims this year. [Below are 2 snaps of holy Ganges taken by my teenaged son Pintu at Haridwar and Laxmanjhula (Rishikesh) early this month].






Pous Sankranti here is also the day when Pongal (harvest festival) is celebrated allover South India (Jan 15 this year) and Magh Bihu is celebrated in Assam. Both are festivals of joy that mark the end of harvest season with ‘granaries being full to the brim’. Makar Sankranti is also observed in Gujarat (Uttrayan) where people fly kites, and in Punjab as Lohri.

Kolkata Musing wishes its readers a happy Makar Sankranti. Let everyone’s ‘granary’ overflow with happiness and prosperity.

Below are 3 fantastic images taken at Gangasagar Mela. All are copyrighted with photojournalist, Achim Pohl, ©Achim Pohl.



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Technorati Tags: makar sankranti, pongal, magh bihu, lohri, uttrayan

Ranadeb not considered

The 30-probables for the cricket world cup squad has been announced yesterday. Dada’s selection was expected, so that surely is good news. What however has turned it sour is the omission of Bengal’s highly successful pacer this season, Ranadeb Bose (his picture on left is sourced from Cricinfo, © Cricinfo 2007).

Of course to be not in 30-probables is not very different from not being in final 14. Sourav told that as much, yet it’s plain injustice to keep away the speedster who has been very consistent this season, and is in fact the season’s second highest wicket taker.

He has already scalped 39 wickets in 7 matches, compared to 29 wickets in 6 matches by Ishant Sharma and 33 wickets in 6 matches by Rudrapratap Singh. Both the latter have been included.

Newspaper reports say the East Zone rep’ at the selection meeting, Ranjib Biswal, never raised Ranadeb’s name. In fact, when chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar inquired about Ranadeb, Biswal was said to have been busy gossiping with Chappel (refer Koushik Das’ report in ABP, Jan 13).

Why Biswal did not even raise Ranadeb’s name is something that needs closer look. It appears the ugly face of provincial feelings is again surfacing. He being from Jharkhand is said to have deliberately not spoken about Ranadeb. That too even when inquired by chief selector.

Not surprisingly, the talk is gaining ground that time has come to remove Biswal from representing East Zone at the selection committee.

Technorati Tags: cricket, world cup cricket, team india, sourav, sourav ganguly, ranadeb