I came across a beautiful thought a few days ago attributed to the Mayor of Bogota and immediately related it to a news item that I read today. First that thought – 

“An advanced city is not one where even the poor use cars, but one where even the rich use public transport.”

The news item that appears in today’s HT reads – “ Automakers report brisk sales in November with major manufacturers achieving record sales.”

We can and should celebrate a booming economy and an ever growing affluent middle class. We can also celebrate easy access to credit and scaling up of lenders’ business. More profits would mean higher share prices of auto makers, their ancillaries and banks and NBFCs! But in this celebratory process, we must not lose sight of increasing pollution, congestion on roads, incidents of road rage and increasing import bill due to purchase of more oil! 

On the contrary, we should celebrate, every new metro line that’s being constructed and creation of metro network like Delhi in major cities, Mumbai being on road to achieving it. We should celebrate more advanced trains, more airports, cheaper airfares, better public transport infrastructure ( AC buses and locals, chartered bus service, cab pool services etc) .

The above view is neither socialist nor anti people. People should own cars, but drive it as a matter of luxury and leisure – on Sundays, holidays, family outings- and use public transport for day to day office and business travel. In the process, they can decongest roads, reduce air and noise pollutions, save on oil bill and above all, take care of their health as public transport necessarily entails some walking, climbing up the foot-over bridges and hence exercising! Win -win for everyone- public, industry and environment! 

The above is Singapore model, a city and nation that leads the world in all such noble initiatives. 

If you ask anyone about his or her favourite film star, depending on the generation to which the respondent belongs, the answer could be any of these – Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor – then Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Sunil Dutt – then Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh, Shashi Kapoor- then the three Khans and to the present lot of Ranveer, Ranbir and Varun! But seldom would you hear Dharmendra being mentioned as one’s favourite star!

Notwithstanding the above, Dharmendra remains the most loved film star, with movie lovers thronging to the theatres to watch his movies. Right from Phool aur Pathar to his last outing in Rocky and Rani ki Prem Kahani, the actor delivered what was lapped up by masses. His characters ( Veeru, Satyakam et al), dialogues ( kutte main tera khoon pi jaaoonga, Basanti in kutton ke saamne mat naachna), pairings ( especially with his life partner Hema but also with Rekha, Zeenat, Sharmila and Asha Parekh), cult movies ( Pratiggya, Sholay, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Satyakam, Chupke Chupke), and above his down to earth personality, deeply rooted in his native village, all added up to make him a star without any parallel! He was the original He-man, much before, gym sculpted bodies became the order of the day. But behind that tough exterior lied the heart of gold, ready to help anyone coming in his contact.

The way condolences are pouring in only reconfirms the adulation that the star enjoyed across the cross section of society. There will be stars – more famous, talented or idolised, but Dharmendras are born very rarely. His journey will continue to inspire millions of small town denizens, dreaming of making it big in Bollywood!

Dharmendras don’t die – they continue to live in the memories of people till eternity!

Internet ecosystem has introduced us to several new terms that are part of the techie lingo. One such term that we all feel fascinated by is FOMO – fear of missing out. 

In fact, none of us are bereft of this fear of missing out on the information that’s being bombarded on us every minute at lightning pace. If you open your FB account after a few minutes, you will come across numerous new posts, reels, stories and if you try to search any post that you had seen a few minutes ago, chances are you may not find it! Ditto WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn , SMS and your email. And not to mention, continuous beeping of our mobile phones with news alerts and other messages from the subscribed apps and websites. And very few of us read newspapers today in detail and just skim through headlines or main items, as most of the news appearing in the morning newspapers had already reached us on real time basis. 

How does one consume so much information and more importantly retain and use it? 

I myself sometimes get disturbed at not being updated enough on several news items and current affairs. Little I realised that by knowing everything happening under the sky, I might not have lost anything unless I was participating in a quiz programme or appearing for an IAS exam, till this realisation dawned upon me only after I came across another term JOMO – Joy of missing out, an antithesis of FOMO. 

Indeed, let’s rejoice in missing out on the fare dished out on social media, internet and other sources of information around us. Things that are in reality important for us will in any case reach us. 

Of course, working professionals may follow JOMO at the peril of missing out on important issue, in the form of a message on WhatsApp or an email, earning their boss’s wrath in the process. 

 Today while writing a cheque for Rs67000 odd in favour of my housing cooperative society towards the quarterly maintenance dues, I couldn’t help but reflect upon my first rented house as a professional in late 1980s. I paid a royal amount of Rs700 per month for an independent 3 bedroom house that included Rs50 towards monthly electricity bill. And my employer was happy because I was below my entitlement of Rs750.

Today, in the society where I live, independent houses exist only in dreams and three bedroom apartments that would be half the size of my first rented house, would entail a monthly rental in excess of Rs2 lakh! 

The only relief in all the above is that notwithstanding the obscene state of affairs in the matter of realty prices – ownership as well as rental basis –  people are affording all this, which evidences economic upliftment, especially of middle classes. The theory – if you can you might as well – is eminently applicable in this case. 

I regularly observe on LinkedIn, people of various hues and colours- youngsters, middle aged, seniors, retired, bankers, financial professionals, technically qualified et al – declaring themselves to be “ Open to work.” And many of these seeking work are already employed and are actually seeking a change.

The above thought struck me when I read that worldwide, increasing number of people are working and working till ripe age ( late 70s and early 80s – unlike here where we hang shoes at 58 and 60) and this class of people are given a new name or sobriquet – “ unretiring.”

But we all know that ground reality is different in India where a young breed of qualified professionals is available and is actually, actively seeking jobs. Under the circumstances, the concept of “unretiring” is not quite relevant in Indian context and many experienced professionals, including yours truly, are in good health and mind, raring to contribute their mite to the fledgling sectors around us, but are actually sitting idle, doing nothing worthwhile. 

The above arises because irrespective of our experience, exposure , knowledge and age, we essentially lack in entrepreneurial spirit and at all junctures of our lives, we seek opportunities rather than creating! 

Luckily, the number of successful start ups and youth brimming with innovative ideas, bear testimony to the fact that we may be on the brink of developing this “unretiring “ generation! 

Deaths of Asrani, Piyush Pandey and Satish Shah quickly on the heels of each other plunged all their fans and admirers into the state of deep sorrow. The media, including the social media, mourned the loss of the aforementioned three stalwarts.

Asrani was remembered for his portrayal of “ Angrezon ke zamaane ke jailer” in the cult classic Sholay, Satish Shah for his memorable small screen appearances in Sarabhai vs Sarabhai and Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi and Piyush Pande for his iconic Mile sur mere tumhara that touched a chord in the heart of all of us!

While remembrance generally hovers around the most popular or the best loved work, the fact was that while Asrani and Satish Shah were versatile artists who left a deep imprint on Hindi cinema, Piyush’s contribution to the world of advertising made him a doyen of his field. We are all aware of the memorable campaigns created by him that made advertising so much more acceptable.

The legacy left behind by all three of them will ensure that their memory never fades from the hearts of movie goers and advertising world.

I am coming across lots of posts across various social media sites by the HR Heads and other senior functionaries of various organisations that talk about various feel good things – up skilling and learning new skills, team spirit, camaraderie, accepting challenges, voluntarily accepting higher/ extra responsibilities, career planning et al. To my mind, this onrush in posting such articles could be to counter the negative employee sentiments arising out of work pressure, toxic work culture and a general apathy of the employees in light of “ none too friendly” HR policies. 

However, whether the employees truly believe what their HR Heads and other senior managers are conveying through these posts and is aligned to the actual work culture obtaining at these organisations is a matter that could be put to doubt.

The above hit my sensibilities strongly when I came across a beautiful short poem by William Shakespeare that reads:

You say you love rain,

But you open umbrella.

You say you love the Sun,

But you find a shadow spot.

You say you love wind,

But you close your windows.

This is why I am afraid,

When you say you love me.

Nothing more needs to be said as the poem conveys everything with unusual subtlety. 

While bathing today, I realised my wife had put an age old iconic brand, “Hamam” in the soap tray. Immediately, my memories went back to times when a major brand in the portfolio of TOMCO, the brand along with others, was sold by Tatas to HLL, as HUL then known as and the general folklore then was that that how odd, it would sound that “ Tata ka Hamam” had become “ Hindustan Lever ka Hamam. 

I am not privy to what could be the strategy of Levers to deal with the acquired brands, but as a commoner, it’s clear that the way they push their old brands – Lux, Rexona, Pears and relatively newer brands like Dove, the same push is not given to Hamam. 

And yet like another iconic brand, Thums Up that not only continued to be numero uno, but actually topped Coke’s sale, brand Hamam has withstood the test of time and survived in spite of crowding of bathing soap segment! 

What makes a brand stand so tall that it’s ownership becomes immaterial is a topic that market researchers should investigate, but to my mind consumer’s trust is the single most important factor that leads to the longevity of the brand for several decades! Hamam has acquired a cult and iconic status where its ownership doesn’t matter! 

This is a learning for all those players who want to be long term players, enjoying trust of their patrons for many many years! It definitely works better than a short term name, fame, profit and share price motive! 

In treta yug we had Raavan and came Kansa in Dwapar yug. If those yugs were not bereft of demons, how can we expect kalyug to be free of them. Only yugs have changed , but demons have not only remained but become more vicious. This Dussehra let’s hope Lord Ram and Ma Durga slay the demons of today – terrorist, separatist, hate monger, rapist, communalist,  corrupt and others of their ilk. 

Happy Dussehra and Shubho Bijoya! 

While casually surfing social media, I came across this message from an inspirational speaker ( couldn’t catch his name) and became deeply impressed by it and therefore, decided to share it. 

After I superannuated , I avoided overindulgence – in binge eating, sleeping, net surfing, watching TV, travelling- and have generally lived a controlled and disciplined life. Sleeping and waking up early, eating moderately and doing regular physical activity, including yoga are a few of the good practices I meticulously follow. I also pursue my passion of reading and writing. 

However, as per the message that I came across, as aforesaid, all the above is alright, but it’s “ inward looking” and self-centric! What is society, community, country or the world getting out of it? The need is to have a larger purpose or a dream and work towards attainment of it. Rest is a good routine, but only a routine! My search for this objective and its attainment continues.