Kya waqt hai Zindagi jeene ka!

Why do we like going to shopping malls?

For us Indians, shopping malls are a recent phenomenon and almost every one of us has taken an immediate liking to the idea. For a diverse country like ours, the warm, unanimous reception that shopping malls have received is surprising. I don’t think barring the Internet, this nation has so emphatically embraced any other product/service/idea in the recent past. Pepsi, Mcdonald’s, 3-D Dome theatres, SEZs, –think of any recent example of products/services/idea and none has received such a reception.

What makes these shopping malls so unique?

They aren’t always about buying. I have made so many trips to the malls without buying anything.

They aren’t always about good food. I mean how many times you have gone to a mall only to eat?

They aren’t always about watching a movie. Nowadays, all movie halls are alike, whether in a mall or not.

Still, shopping malls have become a favorite pastime of a large community of people. Why?

Ok, they offer everything under one roof. This is a huge offering but then, most Indian markets (or bazaars) always had food courts close by, some would have had cinema halls in the vicinity as well.

I hated going to the bazaar; not any more.

The thing that attracts most people to the malls is the variety. Take any product segment and you will have so many different products that it is easy to lose count. Not just that, the malls keep adding new product segments as well. So, every time you visit, just the number of product segments and products on display within each segment is captivating enough- forget the lower MRPs, discounts and schemes! Now, I am not an impulsive buyer and most times, when I buy, I decide beforehand what I want. So it is only a question of going to the mall and getting it. Even though, I like strolling through the mall just to look at what all it offers and I think in that, lies the reason for the success of the malls.

They shout on top of their voice that it is a buyer’s market. They are open for all and they emphasize that the customer is the king. With the kind of choices they offer, they put the customer in a very pleasant dilemma. They aren’t bothered if the customer’s decision-making has become more time-consuming; they rather revel in the fact that with so much of choice, they have made the customer think hard before she buys. And for people like me, they have even made window-shopping so much more interesting!

They are all about choices and that’s what makes them so compelling!

Interestingly, freedom takes on different meanings as we progress. For us Indians, if in the 20th Century, it meant the ‘freedom to be’; in the 21st, it is going to mean ‘freedom to choose’ [or the ‘freedom to window shop’:-)]!

And lately, since India has become such an attractive place to sell, the average Indian customer can only expect more and more choices going forward!

This independence day, let us wish all the sellers more freedom to sell. As for us customers, we have always felt free to be pampered!

'Mera' Hindi aisa hi hai!

Quality of Hindi on Television is degrading for sure!

Saturday night, heard this from Shaan in Star Voice of India (on Star Plus): ‘Govindaaji ke aane se mithaas aa gaya hai.”

Fuming, I changed the channel to hear Saba Karim on Five Good Minutes (On Star Cricket) say this, “Dhoni ko bahut mehnat karna padega.”

Jaayein to jaayein kahan?

Technically Incorrect!

“Technology is how you use it!” This is a line oft cited while deciding the value of any technology. And it’s so true! A computer is a piece of technology but it means different things to different people and it delivers different value to different people. Same is true for any other technological invention…

However, do we ever use technology to its fullest? Or is it that like every new thing that comes our way, we go through ‘excitement-use-limited use-taken granted’ lifecycle for technology as well?

I believe it is the latter!

Emails were a rage when they were introduced. So were mobile phones. And so were so many things that technology brought in our lives…

What happened next?

Everyone started using emails. Even the ones who had nothing to do with computers got hooked. Long texts were sent to friends, family, acquaintances and even total strangers. All collective wisdom of the world got circulated around the globe in the name of ‘forwards’. (It is still doing the rounds, though!).

The more people started using it, the less the use became. Emails started getting a purpose. People only wrote emails when they wanted something from someone. The ‘just like that’ emails started becoming rare.

Another interesting thing happened. The emails weren’t now being sent to all and sundry in the address book. Email forwards were sent only to select few who were considered close. News or occasions were conveyed over emails but only to those whom we would have otherwise called up and informed. So, at the end, it became the case of technology mirroring the real-world.

And in that it probably lost its promise!

We never really used emails to get closer to those who weren’t. We never really chatted away with distant cousins regularly to diffuse the distance. We never really used egroups to have those long-winded discussions that we have had with our friends, cousins, family over a cup of coffee!

Technology gave us the freedom to go beyond our constraints (and beyond ourselves!); we, the powerful race on the earth, the creators of technology, in turn constrained the technology to our own limits!

We won or we lost?


And, while I am busy managing a team of technologists, a long-lost, beloved friend posts a once-in-a-blue-moon ‘just like that’ message over instant messenger making me realize what the answer is!

My 'If'..

In my new organization, I am recently given a ‘troubled’ project. We are in the final few weeks and it is going to take heroics for us to deliver. One of the senior guys in the team is moving to USA tonight but given the state we are in, he has been consistently staying in office till midnight to help us out. In fact, he has a late night flight today and he was in the office till 7 PM. He could’ve stayed away if he wanted to, nobody would’ve blamed him but he stayed and gave more than his maximum. Throughout my career in IT, I have seen projects being successful and companies being driven because of guys like this. These are the guys I would call ‘men’ (Which is a rare species nowadays!). I recently came across a one-liner: ‘Don’t judge a man by what he has, judge him by the choices he makes’! So true!

[Note for female readers: By no way I mean to say that women can’t drive successful projects or organizations! I have had the pleasure to work with such women as well.]

We all have our ideas of ‘good behavior’, ‘good values’ and so on and so forth. So, what is it that touches us from the other individual? I am very choosy about liking or respecting anyone (other than myself!). I know there is nothing like the ‘perfect man’(I am a guy but I know this truth!) but guys with the following traits can come close to perfect as far as I am concerned.

1. Guys who are genuinely friendly.
2. Guys who look beyond skin in a girl.
3. Guys who can see their faults and accept them.
4. Guys who can laugh and laugh loud.
5. Guys who can genuinely laugh at jokes aimed at themselves.
6. Guys who mean what they say.
7. Guys who like ‘wit’ in their humor.
8. Guys who are sensitive and still not too emotional.
9. Guys who know the difference between confidence and arrogance.
10. Guys who can present themselves well.
11. Guys who are not street-smart.
12. Guys who know themselves.
13. Guys who know how to communicate with a kid.

Let me know your list if you have the time!

[Another note for female readers: I am not very good at judging women and hence this post is limited only to guys.]

Btw, while writing this, one more attribute of guys struck me. You can say ‘All guys are alike’ and justify that. You can say ‘each guy is different’ and justify that as well!