Congress Party had done a clean sweep in 3 state assembly elections and had also eaten into last year seats of BJP in the remaining two states where BJP won. I think BJP has to learn a lesson here. In the states where Congress has won, there is little amount of people who are directly affected by terror. When there is sufficient amount of development including the elimentary needs of people taken care of, only then one can think of projecting bigger issues. Sheela Dixit had done an excellent job in developing Delhi to a world class city. NCR region has been developed to the best standards. These are the visible facts that people would look at. In Karnataka, ever since BJP government had come into power, the first 6 months were gone in securing more MLAs into BJP to ensure the government does not topple. I guess, now its time for the party to rake in some moolah that was spent. There is very little progress on infrastructure front in Bangalore city. New infra projects are kicked off, but progress is very slow. BJP clearly undestands that they have won this time in Karnataka purely due to the sympathy they carried from JD(S) power sharing crisis. If the party does not show good development in the state, I am sure it will not even get half the number of seats in next elections.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A small advice to make money from stock markets
Dont ask me if I follow this or not. But I think essentially this is the formula.
As any savvy investor knows, Stock market basically goes up and comes down not necessarily in that order and not bound to same frequency. All you have to do is buy low and sell high. In a volatile market, the buy low and sell high period might be short and in a stable market it might be high. And the key ofcourse is to know when to buy. A rule of thumb is buy when everybody says, markets are falling - markets are falling. And sell the day your stock has appreciated by more than 20% (You dont have to wait in never ending optimism of making your stock appreciate by 2000%).
If you observe, the stock market index is standing at the same level in 2006 and today. But during these two years, the market has doubled and came back. Which means, you could have potentially invested 1L in 2006 and got returns of 2L in 2007 (had you sold) and you have perfect opportunity to invest your profit money again. So, the key is selling when the markets are high.
As any savvy investor knows, Stock market basically goes up and comes down not necessarily in that order and not bound to same frequency. All you have to do is buy low and sell high. In a volatile market, the buy low and sell high period might be short and in a stable market it might be high. And the key ofcourse is to know when to buy. A rule of thumb is buy when everybody says, markets are falling - markets are falling. And sell the day your stock has appreciated by more than 20% (You dont have to wait in never ending optimism of making your stock appreciate by 2000%).
If you observe, the stock market index is standing at the same level in 2006 and today. But during these two years, the market has doubled and came back. Which means, you could have potentially invested 1L in 2006 and got returns of 2L in 2007 (had you sold) and you have perfect opportunity to invest your profit money again. So, the key is selling when the markets are high.
Experience from the Concert
In my previous post, I mentioned about Vishaka Hari,
a carnatic classical singer. The friend who told me about this concert
and inspired me to go, has written a nice article about his experience
of the concert. I am copy pasting his writing here.
----------As told by him------------------------
It’s 4 days of Vishaka here at 2 venues. Both organizations had arranged a concert and a discourse.
The first was Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha where Day 1: 7 Nov 2008 (was a
Thyagaraja Vaibhavam rendered in English. Here Vishaka impressed with
her singing – however one felt that the artist was not totally
comfortable talking to an audience in the English language. The verve
displayed in her Tamil discourses was missing. Here, though the
expression was good, it reminded one of school and college days where
students memorize pages and pages of oration essays lovingly penned by
parents using the most pompous complicated words (with the help of
Roget!) – there were several moments when one felt she could not
recollect the next word/sentence and then groped clumsily to find a
substitute to convey the thought. Some sarcasm-laden jokes on the
new-gen/old-gen that cares little for tradition did not fall too well
on the audience’s ears and evoked little more than weak smiles.
Nevertheless the singing was par excellence and in pieces like
Durmagachara and Giripai she brought out the bhava beautifully.
Day2: Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha – Concert - – B Ananthakrishnan (Violin) – Sudheendra - Sukanya
She got off to a great start with an MSS style shloka followed by a well
executed Saveri varnam. This was followed by a Jaya Jaya Swamin in
Naatai that had some novel sangathis. Innu Daya Baarade in Kalyana
Vasantham – a Lalgudi stable favourite - was next, significantly
different from the way Sudha/Jayashree render it. A brisk Kandajumi and
then Thodi followed for Raju Vedala – here one thought the weight and
grandeur of Thodi was lacking – successfully overshadowed by the bhava
injected into the sangathis. The alapana had some inspired phrases but
overall was not an “AAhhhh – THAT Thodi”! Swagatham Krishna in Mohanam
again racy and then RTP in Kapi. Need to listen to this again before
comments – but remember some parts where the enthusiasm overtook the
grace in rendition causing a noisy result. Theeradha Vilayaatu Pillay
was definitely the jewel of this concert and possibly 2 concerts – sung
with excellent expression and the right mix of bhava and laya and
improvised sangathis. Another piece in Kannada followed in Abhogi –
Baarayya Krishna Barayya was soothing. The last piece was Lalgudi’s
Brindavana Saranga Thillana. Throughout the concert the violinist
impressed both with his support as well as innovative pidis in the
alapanas. Overall this concert was good but not one that would remain
in memory forever. Average age of the audience was 55 and they wahhed
and che-che-choed appropriately, and left the hall awestruck with
several comments overheard about CA GOLD MEDALLIST wearing MADISAAR ;-)
ISS took some time to get their acoustics right with the vocalist’s voice being muffled almost till the 3rd piece
Day 3: Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira – Concert – Charulatha Ramanujam (Violin) – Sudheendra - Sukanya
This concert started with a shlokam again on Mannargudi Rajagopala followed
by Viriboni. A very fast Shobillu followed – a tad noisy. Hamir Kalyani
followed for VenkataShaila Vihara – a good alapana from both singer and
violinist. Maragatha Mani Maya – Arabhi again sung with aplomb. Paraaku
Maadade - Saveri was the main piece for a Purandara Dasa composition.
Here the first signs of the artist’s voice cracking showed and she
evidently had problems reaching the upper sthayi. The violinist
executed a neat but uninspiring alapana. The main piece was again OK –
flashes of great music but mainly forgettable. Brova Bharama in
Bahudari was next – breathtaking speed as if the artist was desperate
to conclude the concert. Her shruti by now was a thing of the past and
was frequently slipping.
Then came the RTP – this was an attempt at a Dwi-raaga pallavi. Mohanam and
Hindolam. Now, the point in multi-raaga pallavis is for artistes to
display expertise in flawlessly traversing the notes of ragas that are
significantly different , blending the turns so that the shifts are
soft and smooth and the character of each individual raga is
maintained. The RTP attempt was far from any of these rules. It was
marked by extreme violations of the basic notes of each raga and the
transition between the ragas was far from smooth – both vocalist and
violinist abruptly stopped a raga and then restarted the next!! There
were apaswaras galore from both(?? Why the violinst one wonders) and
Shruti had quite evidently left the concert in a greater hurry than
Vishaka herself. Definitely something distracting the performer. A
significant portion of the audience was missing by the time the Raga
part of the RTP was concluded. The rest of the RTP was limpid and
lackluster.
Yaman Kalyani – Hari Smarana Mado a Dasar padam was the last piece – Vishaka’s voice had lost its soft appeal by now and the rendering sounded a trifle hard on the ears. By now the race to conclude was obvious and there was no
“Shantham “ so to speak in a raagam like Yaman Kalyani.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extremely disappointing indeed. There is a compellingly unique reason people
flock to hear Vishaka – iconic in her image – student of none less than
Lalgudi Jayaraman, a dancer of repute, a Gold Medallist Chartered
Accountant who gave up the prospects of a potentially brilliant career
for marriage to Sri Hari – nevertheless gaining fame as the
daughter-in-law of the revered Sri Krishna Premi; a 21st century
Chennai-bred – Mylapore damsel who donned the Madisaar and slid into a
supposedly “old” lifestyle with ease!
For many of the “progressive” Tam-Brahm community this sterling example of
one of their own breed returning to roots is possibly confounding as
well as inspiring – especially compared with their own situations of
sons and daughters in far away lands pursuing dreams that may or may
not include them. The novelty of a woman extolling the scriptures (she
is not the first but definitely the most talked about), comfortable in
Tamil as well as English, a vocalist upholding the Lalgudi baani – many
many reasons to inspire.
However, having listened to Vishaka both live and recorded, as well as having
listened to some of the great exponents of Hari Katha and Upanyasam,
here are some thoughts:
1.Hari katha : Vishaka has a very long way to go in terms of narration –
novelty wears off when it ceases to be fresh – its is 4 years now that
the Thyagaraja Vaibhavam or the Prahlada Charitram or the Sundara
Kandam have consisted of stock fare – from the songs to the jokes! The
danger of mediocre becoming inane is not far. Hari Katha is not easy –
it needs a sweeping knowledge of 100s of incidents and stories that the
narrator has in memory and can naturally command to the front to keep a
performance from becoming tame. A wonderful voice that flashes a few
bhava-laden pieces cannot bring majesty to an overall Hari Katha.
Vishaka is young and learning – she should make sure that complacence
does not become her undoing – lest the same audiences that looks up to
her as Sri Anna’s daughter-in-law, fail to accept her in comparison to
the giant he is!
2. Concerts: It is one thing to pull at the heart-strings of an audience in an
emotionally charged narration, with a perfectly chosen song/shloka in a
apt raga, and quite another to hold one’s own in a full-fledged
Carnatic Concert. The 2 concerts were proof of this. When compared to
the most average well-planned concerts delivered by artists of the day,
the two concerts can only be called pedestrian. A good voice and a
great guru do not a great artiste make – manodharma is what makes a
Carnatic performer stand apart from his or her peers. Vishaka had voice
–problems – this is possibly among the first performances after her
maternity break and her voice failed her more than once – not something
saadhana will not remedy. Her delivery of the pieces as per instruction
were excellent, the sangathis great, some of the
alapana/niraval/kalpana swara interludes showed latent brilliance – but
a few and far between moments do not hold up a concert. She will do
well to plan better and maintain a kalapramana in her concerts and pay
heed to that all important aspect of music - Manodharma.
Vishaka has everything going for her – she has established an image of piety
and sincerity, she has an automatic fan-following thanks to her
father-in-law that will encourage and nurture her talent and support
her every miss, all she needs to leverage is the great training she has
been imparted by her Gurus and give flight to her creativity – the road
is long and tortuous... but unlike many, she is blessed with all the
support she needs for her journey.
a carnatic classical singer. The friend who told me about this concert
and inspired me to go, has written a nice article about his experience
of the concert. I am copy pasting his writing here.
----------As told by him------------------------
It’s 4 days of Vishaka here at 2 venues. Both organizations had arranged a concert and a discourse.
The first was Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha where Day 1: 7 Nov 2008 (was a
Thyagaraja Vaibhavam rendered in English. Here Vishaka impressed with
her singing – however one felt that the artist was not totally
comfortable talking to an audience in the English language. The verve
displayed in her Tamil discourses was missing. Here, though the
expression was good, it reminded one of school and college days where
students memorize pages and pages of oration essays lovingly penned by
parents using the most pompous complicated words (with the help of
Roget!) – there were several moments when one felt she could not
recollect the next word/sentence and then groped clumsily to find a
substitute to convey the thought. Some sarcasm-laden jokes on the
new-gen/old-gen that cares little for tradition did not fall too well
on the audience’s ears and evoked little more than weak smiles.
Nevertheless the singing was par excellence and in pieces like
Durmagachara and Giripai she brought out the bhava beautifully.
Day2: Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha – Concert - – B Ananthakrishnan (Violin) – Sudheendra - Sukanya
She got off to a great start with an MSS style shloka followed by a well
executed Saveri varnam. This was followed by a Jaya Jaya Swamin in
Naatai that had some novel sangathis. Innu Daya Baarade in Kalyana
Vasantham – a Lalgudi stable favourite - was next, significantly
different from the way Sudha/Jayashree render it. A brisk Kandajumi and
then Thodi followed for Raju Vedala – here one thought the weight and
grandeur of Thodi was lacking – successfully overshadowed by the bhava
injected into the sangathis. The alapana had some inspired phrases but
overall was not an “AAhhhh – THAT Thodi”! Swagatham Krishna in Mohanam
again racy and then RTP in Kapi. Need to listen to this again before
comments – but remember some parts where the enthusiasm overtook the
grace in rendition causing a noisy result. Theeradha Vilayaatu Pillay
was definitely the jewel of this concert and possibly 2 concerts – sung
with excellent expression and the right mix of bhava and laya and
improvised sangathis. Another piece in Kannada followed in Abhogi –
Baarayya Krishna Barayya was soothing. The last piece was Lalgudi’s
Brindavana Saranga Thillana. Throughout the concert the violinist
impressed both with his support as well as innovative pidis in the
alapanas. Overall this concert was good but not one that would remain
in memory forever. Average age of the audience was 55 and they wahhed
and che-che-choed appropriately, and left the hall awestruck with
several comments overheard about CA GOLD MEDALLIST wearing MADISAAR ;-)
ISS took some time to get their acoustics right with the vocalist’s voice being muffled almost till the 3rd piece
Day 3: Sri Rama Lalitha Kala Mandira – Concert – Charulatha Ramanujam (Violin) – Sudheendra - Sukanya
This concert started with a shlokam again on Mannargudi Rajagopala followed
by Viriboni. A very fast Shobillu followed – a tad noisy. Hamir Kalyani
followed for VenkataShaila Vihara – a good alapana from both singer and
violinist. Maragatha Mani Maya – Arabhi again sung with aplomb. Paraaku
Maadade - Saveri was the main piece for a Purandara Dasa composition.
Here the first signs of the artist’s voice cracking showed and she
evidently had problems reaching the upper sthayi. The violinist
executed a neat but uninspiring alapana. The main piece was again OK –
flashes of great music but mainly forgettable. Brova Bharama in
Bahudari was next – breathtaking speed as if the artist was desperate
to conclude the concert. Her shruti by now was a thing of the past and
was frequently slipping.
Then came the RTP – this was an attempt at a Dwi-raaga pallavi. Mohanam and
Hindolam. Now, the point in multi-raaga pallavis is for artistes to
display expertise in flawlessly traversing the notes of ragas that are
significantly different , blending the turns so that the shifts are
soft and smooth and the character of each individual raga is
maintained. The RTP attempt was far from any of these rules. It was
marked by extreme violations of the basic notes of each raga and the
transition between the ragas was far from smooth – both vocalist and
violinist abruptly stopped a raga and then restarted the next!! There
were apaswaras galore from both(?? Why the violinst one wonders) and
Shruti had quite evidently left the concert in a greater hurry than
Vishaka herself. Definitely something distracting the performer. A
significant portion of the audience was missing by the time the Raga
part of the RTP was concluded. The rest of the RTP was limpid and
lackluster.
Yaman Kalyani – Hari Smarana Mado a Dasar padam was the last piece – Vishaka’s voice had lost its soft appeal by now and the rendering sounded a trifle hard on the ears. By now the race to conclude was obvious and there was no
“Shantham “ so to speak in a raagam like Yaman Kalyani.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extremely disappointing indeed. There is a compellingly unique reason people
flock to hear Vishaka – iconic in her image – student of none less than
Lalgudi Jayaraman, a dancer of repute, a Gold Medallist Chartered
Accountant who gave up the prospects of a potentially brilliant career
for marriage to Sri Hari – nevertheless gaining fame as the
daughter-in-law of the revered Sri Krishna Premi; a 21st century
Chennai-bred – Mylapore damsel who donned the Madisaar and slid into a
supposedly “old” lifestyle with ease!
For many of the “progressive” Tam-Brahm community this sterling example of
one of their own breed returning to roots is possibly confounding as
well as inspiring – especially compared with their own situations of
sons and daughters in far away lands pursuing dreams that may or may
not include them. The novelty of a woman extolling the scriptures (she
is not the first but definitely the most talked about), comfortable in
Tamil as well as English, a vocalist upholding the Lalgudi baani – many
many reasons to inspire.
However, having listened to Vishaka both live and recorded, as well as having
listened to some of the great exponents of Hari Katha and Upanyasam,
here are some thoughts:
1.Hari katha : Vishaka has a very long way to go in terms of narration –
novelty wears off when it ceases to be fresh – its is 4 years now that
the Thyagaraja Vaibhavam or the Prahlada Charitram or the Sundara
Kandam have consisted of stock fare – from the songs to the jokes! The
danger of mediocre becoming inane is not far. Hari Katha is not easy –
it needs a sweeping knowledge of 100s of incidents and stories that the
narrator has in memory and can naturally command to the front to keep a
performance from becoming tame. A wonderful voice that flashes a few
bhava-laden pieces cannot bring majesty to an overall Hari Katha.
Vishaka is young and learning – she should make sure that complacence
does not become her undoing – lest the same audiences that looks up to
her as Sri Anna’s daughter-in-law, fail to accept her in comparison to
the giant he is!
2. Concerts: It is one thing to pull at the heart-strings of an audience in an
emotionally charged narration, with a perfectly chosen song/shloka in a
apt raga, and quite another to hold one’s own in a full-fledged
Carnatic Concert. The 2 concerts were proof of this. When compared to
the most average well-planned concerts delivered by artists of the day,
the two concerts can only be called pedestrian. A good voice and a
great guru do not a great artiste make – manodharma is what makes a
Carnatic performer stand apart from his or her peers. Vishaka had voice
–problems – this is possibly among the first performances after her
maternity break and her voice failed her more than once – not something
saadhana will not remedy. Her delivery of the pieces as per instruction
were excellent, the sangathis great, some of the
alapana/niraval/kalpana swara interludes showed latent brilliance – but
a few and far between moments do not hold up a concert. She will do
well to plan better and maintain a kalapramana in her concerts and pay
heed to that all important aspect of music - Manodharma.
Vishaka has everything going for her – she has established an image of piety
and sincerity, she has an automatic fan-following thanks to her
father-in-law that will encourage and nurture her talent and support
her every miss, all she needs to leverage is the great training she has
been imparted by her Gurus and give flight to her creativity – the road
is long and tortuous... but unlike many, she is blessed with all the
support she needs for her journey.
Of late interest in Carnatic Classical
I have always been a fan of good music, more so for our traditional Indian music, whether Carnatic or Hindustani. I always cherished MSS, Annamacharya, Thyagaraja's compilations right from my childhood days. I think one of the best ways to beat stress is, listen to good music or if possible, even play some 'good' music. One can play good music from a musical instrument and requires some basic lessons and practice. Then I started looking for some music schools in Bangalore and especially around Bellandur, Sarjapur area. I found http://easternfare.googlepages.com/branches in google. I still need to check out where & how much. While lazing around in the weekends, one fine day I also found that there is another music school somewhere near Marathalli. The poster is put in the musical instrumets shop inside Innovative Multiplex. I forgot the name and did not note the phone number. Will check it out again next time I go to Multiplex (I go there once in 6 months).
Anyway, while things were progressing as I described above, one of my friends told me about Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha. Though I am very much familiar with Indiranagar Club in Bangalore, I never noticed Purandara Bhavana right behind Indiranagar Club !! Shame on me. Nevermind, I went there on last Friday for a discourse on Thyagaraja in English by Vishaka Hari. I think she is popular among Classical Carnatic music community. Since I never had been to a classical music concert in Bangalore, I did not hear about her. Anyway, I went there with my wife on Friday evening for a 2.5 hour discourse. It was quite interesting with three familiar keerthanas and many un-familiar ones to me. I could atleast understand the context of those familiar keerthans composed by great Thyagaraja. It was a great evening, followed by dinner at Little Italy on Indiranagar 100 ft road.
Anyway, while things were progressing as I described above, one of my friends told me about Indiranagar Sangeetha Sabha. Though I am very much familiar with Indiranagar Club in Bangalore, I never noticed Purandara Bhavana right behind Indiranagar Club !! Shame on me. Nevermind, I went there on last Friday for a discourse on Thyagaraja in English by Vishaka Hari. I think she is popular among Classical Carnatic music community. Since I never had been to a classical music concert in Bangalore, I did not hear about her. Anyway, I went there with my wife on Friday evening for a 2.5 hour discourse. It was quite interesting with three familiar keerthanas and many un-familiar ones to me. I could atleast understand the context of those familiar keerthans composed by great Thyagaraja. It was a great evening, followed by dinner at Little Italy on Indiranagar 100 ft road.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Computer Party
My friend from AP wanted to start a regional political party after he got inspired by so many regional parties. Then I asked him, what is your party name, janda, agenda etc? He said, his party name is 'Computer Party' his flag is a laptop computer and his agenda is the following.
* Free laptop computer to all government school children
* Free computer to all households
* Automated self service applications to all citizens
* Free email id to all voters
* Free web site space to all voters
* Free internet connection
He then continued, if he is elected he will achieve a great progress by making everything transparent using computers, spreading information, creating self services (so that nobody else is involved from government) etc. I thought this is very interesting but not possible practically. I ruled him out saying you are not a politician, but a techie. But I could not refuse his offer and thought he could ofcourse become a good politician, when he said, 'Friend !! You will own the company that provides internet services for a subscription, you will own the hardware shop, you will be the ISP, you will sell anti virus - and dont forget my share !!'
* Free laptop computer to all government school children
* Free computer to all households
* Automated self service applications to all citizens
* Free email id to all voters
* Free web site space to all voters
* Free internet connection
He then continued, if he is elected he will achieve a great progress by making everything transparent using computers, spreading information, creating self services (so that nobody else is involved from government) etc. I thought this is very interesting but not possible practically. I ruled him out saying you are not a politician, but a techie. But I could not refuse his offer and thought he could ofcourse become a good politician, when he said, 'Friend !! You will own the company that provides internet services for a subscription, you will own the hardware shop, you will be the ISP, you will sell anti virus - and dont forget my share !!'
Sunday, May 18, 2008
IIM Fee hike and corporate side effects
From the day I heard the news that I got offer to join PGSEM course, class of 2008 I started to think whether to accept this or not. One of the prime reasons is ofcourse the course fee. The entire course for 2.5 years costs about 7.5L. The regular PGP course offered by IIM Bangalore costs 8L for 2 years. The rising input costs, Srikrishna commissions' recommendation to hike salaries has mandated IIMs and IITs to raise the fees. The popular comment you hear anywhere to justify the fee hike by premier educational institutes of India is after completion of course, the average salaries offered are so high that students can afford to pay these fees. This fee hike definitely has a great impact on students who are fresh out of college joining the program. On the flipside there are many students who are sponsored from their companies for higher studies. The current allocation from corporates for these programs must accommodate the higher fees. One could say "no big deal, the corporates have lot of money and funds for higher education are not so much", but look at it, atleast IT companies will be thinking twice with raising dollar and shrinking margins from US projects. More-over this fee hike requires almost more than doubling the current allocation in the budgets. Assuming most of the companies finish their budget exercises before March, the academic year 2008-2009 definitely would not have got any higher allocation. Since the fee hikes (actuals) were announced in the last two months. anyway, the bottom line is, someone in my company who could do PGSEM program sponsored by my company last year could not do this year without investing remaining 50% of the course fee from his/her pocket !!! :-( :-( :-(
Friday, May 16, 2008
State Bank of India Recruitment Drive and Computerization
SBI has announced to recruit 20,000 clerical staff across India (here is the link http://www.statebankofindia.com/viewdetail.jsp?lang=0&id=0,15,110&dcd=1554&did=12095387224165EDAEEBEA6E967765193AECF3857CAE9). Well, this may not be the news. The news is, the entire application process is made online except for the part where you need to pay the application fee. This exception is alright, because not everyone might have access to online payment facilities in India. The application process is very very simple. Just go to any SBI Branch that is Computerised and centrally networked, (SBI calls such branches as CBS branches) and pay the application fee (which is Rs. 250) and get a journal number from them. This number has to be updated in the application while filling it online. The minimum qualification required to apply is 12th plus communication skills plus basic computer knowledge. So, this makes a lot of sense to automate the application process and make it online. Not everyone might have access to online payment facilities but almost every mandal (taluk) or a small town has atleast one cyber cafe and internet is widely available.
I would say this is a welcome step from such a large public sector enterprise and I see more such initiatives from other big public enterprises such as Indian Railways or State owned RTCs or UPSC or respective state Public Service Commissions. Such a process ensures no application is lost in post, no application is delayed, no application went un-noticed. More-over it saves paper, reduces cutting trees, saves planet earth.
I would say this is a welcome step from such a large public sector enterprise and I see more such initiatives from other big public enterprises such as Indian Railways or State owned RTCs or UPSC or respective state Public Service Commissions. Such a process ensures no application is lost in post, no application is delayed, no application went un-noticed. More-over it saves paper, reduces cutting trees, saves planet earth.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Movies delivered at home
Since the days I returned from US in 2002, I always wanted NetFlix type of service in India. I missed the quality DVDs not just movies but also other interesting programs available on DVDs. The poor quality of discs in neighborhood rental stores and high city traffic to watch a good movie made me look for alternatives. 'Cinema' at Koramangala is one such store in Bangalore and Hyderabad offering wide variety of titles for rent with best quality discs, but they dont have a door delivery service. The neighborhood stores slowly started door delivery service, but they lacked a website catalogue to choose from titles and ofcourse the quality of discs is not always the best.
Now after 5 years, www.seventymm.com is the first such site to offer DVD rentals over the web. They have good collection of titles and to start with a fairly priced plans. Recently Reliance promoted www.bigflicks.com has entered into this business. So far I have seen these two companies offering DVDs delivered to home in India and thought of comparing their plans here.
Seventymm claims service in 6 cities, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad and around 15,000 titles in 14 languages. Their basic plan gives you 1 movie at a time and you could watch upto 6 movies in a month. You need to return the disc within 3 nights and 4 days. This plan costs you a basic membership fee of Rs. 250 and a registration fee of Rs. 199. You need to pay a refundable security deposit of Rs. 349. Per month it costs you Rs. 798 for 6 movies. Rs. 133 per movie. Hrm...
Bigflicks delivers movies worldwide over broadband and in India by door delivery. Being a Reliance company, they have office in Ahmedabad and also offer services in 9 other cities (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Pune). Their basic plan of 1 disc at a time requires a refundable deposit of Rs 400, a monthly subscription of Rs. 250 and no registration fee. Currently none of the plans in Bigflicks have registration fee. While rental period for Old titles is not limited, new titles have to be returned within 48 hours. Bigflicks also claims over 15,000 titles in 15 languages. In total per month it comes to Rs. 750 for one disc plan and no major difference than seventymm.
And for the real movie buffs, Bigflicks lets you take a maximum of 3 discs at a time with no upper limit on total number of movies per month. This plan costs you Rs. 5000 per annum and a security deposit of Rs. 1000. Where as in Seventymm, one can rent a maximum of 2 discs at a time with no limit on the number of titles you can rent in a month. Their annual plan costs you Rs. 5490 per annum with no security deposit. Their one time registration fee of Rs. 199 is to be paid. This turns out to be Rs. 5689 per annum again not so much of difference from Bigflicks. The advantage here is one can keep the disc for unlimited number of days. Assuming a new title can also be kept.
Ofcourse what needs to be seen to compare these two services further is on the following parameters....
1. The availability of titles
- Once you place the request, what is the number of days you need to wait for that title
- This parameter can further be for old titles and new titles
- The title itself in their catalogue
- When delivered, the contents of the case has same movie as you requested
2. Turnaround time of your requests for pick up and delivery
- Lets say you place a request to pick up the disc, how many hours or days they take to pick up the disc.
- If the disc is available at the time of placing request, when does it get delivered
3. Transparency in Billing
- Are you charged as promised?
- are there any hidden charges like late payment fees or service charges
4. Quality of titles
- Condition of discs
- You get a good movie watching experience without any missing parts due to scratches on discs
- Sub-titles in the language you need
- For higher customer satisfaction - original discs with supplement information like making of the movie etc.
May be the blog viewers can comment their experience with any of these services. I am still not a subscriber to any of these services.
Now after 5 years, www.seventymm.com is the first such site to offer DVD rentals over the web. They have good collection of titles and to start with a fairly priced plans. Recently Reliance promoted www.bigflicks.com has entered into this business. So far I have seen these two companies offering DVDs delivered to home in India and thought of comparing their plans here.
Seventymm claims service in 6 cities, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and Hyderabad and around 15,000 titles in 14 languages. Their basic plan gives you 1 movie at a time and you could watch upto 6 movies in a month. You need to return the disc within 3 nights and 4 days. This plan costs you a basic membership fee of Rs. 250 and a registration fee of Rs. 199. You need to pay a refundable security deposit of Rs. 349. Per month it costs you Rs. 798 for 6 movies. Rs. 133 per movie. Hrm...
Bigflicks delivers movies worldwide over broadband and in India by door delivery. Being a Reliance company, they have office in Ahmedabad and also offer services in 9 other cities (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkatta, Mumbai, Pune). Their basic plan of 1 disc at a time requires a refundable deposit of Rs 400, a monthly subscription of Rs. 250 and no registration fee. Currently none of the plans in Bigflicks have registration fee. While rental period for Old titles is not limited, new titles have to be returned within 48 hours. Bigflicks also claims over 15,000 titles in 15 languages. In total per month it comes to Rs. 750 for one disc plan and no major difference than seventymm.
And for the real movie buffs, Bigflicks lets you take a maximum of 3 discs at a time with no upper limit on total number of movies per month. This plan costs you Rs. 5000 per annum and a security deposit of Rs. 1000. Where as in Seventymm, one can rent a maximum of 2 discs at a time with no limit on the number of titles you can rent in a month. Their annual plan costs you Rs. 5490 per annum with no security deposit. Their one time registration fee of Rs. 199 is to be paid. This turns out to be Rs. 5689 per annum again not so much of difference from Bigflicks. The advantage here is one can keep the disc for unlimited number of days. Assuming a new title can also be kept.
Ofcourse what needs to be seen to compare these two services further is on the following parameters....
1. The availability of titles
- Once you place the request, what is the number of days you need to wait for that title
- This parameter can further be for old titles and new titles
- The title itself in their catalogue
- When delivered, the contents of the case has same movie as you requested
2. Turnaround time of your requests for pick up and delivery
- Lets say you place a request to pick up the disc, how many hours or days they take to pick up the disc.
- If the disc is available at the time of placing request, when does it get delivered
3. Transparency in Billing
- Are you charged as promised?
- are there any hidden charges like late payment fees or service charges
4. Quality of titles
- Condition of discs
- You get a good movie watching experience without any missing parts due to scratches on discs
- Sub-titles in the language you need
- For higher customer satisfaction - original discs with supplement information like making of the movie etc.
May be the blog viewers can comment their experience with any of these services. I am still not a subscriber to any of these services.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
CPI and CPI(M)
Whenever I read some news related to elections and politics I just wonder what is the difference between these two left parties. One is Communist Party of India (www.cpiindia.org) and the other is Communist Party of India (Marxist) (cpim.org).
To my understanding CPI(M) is quite influential in politics and is currently heading three state governments. It has been un-interruptedly in power in West Bengal since 1977, in Kerala and in Tripura. On broad level both the parties are leftists in nature and has influence from Soviet. CPI being the oldest was born in 1925 in India and CPI(M) was born in 1964. Popular known leaders from CPI(M) are Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, EMS Nambudripad, HS Surjeet, Sukomal Sen and BV Raghavulu. And in CPI, the national secretery is AB Pradhan, and more known names are Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, D. Raja and Gurudas Dasgupta. I have not explored further at a micro level what seperates CPI from CPI(M).
To my understanding CPI(M) is quite influential in politics and is currently heading three state governments. It has been un-interruptedly in power in West Bengal since 1977, in Kerala and in Tripura. On broad level both the parties are leftists in nature and has influence from Soviet. CPI being the oldest was born in 1925 in India and CPI(M) was born in 1964. Popular known leaders from CPI(M) are Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, EMS Nambudripad, HS Surjeet, Sukomal Sen and BV Raghavulu. And in CPI, the national secretery is AB Pradhan, and more known names are Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, D. Raja and Gurudas Dasgupta. I have not explored further at a micro level what seperates CPI from CPI(M).
Friday, April 04, 2008
Tata-Ford deal
Tata Motors has paid 2.3 billion USD for two luxury brands that Ford acquired in one in 1989 (Jaguar) and other in the year 2000 (Land Rover from BMW). Ford has paid much more than what Tatas have paid now to acquire these two brands. From Ford's point of view, I think it is straight forward why did they want to sell these two luxury brands. Ford has been struggling to manage these two brands in domestic as well as overseas markets and there are not enough profits generated from these brands. But, it will be interesting to hear the story from Tata's side. Without looking into the books looks like Tatas did smart shopping considering the fact that they paid almost half of what Ford paid to acquire these two brands. It is not new for Tatas to manage global acquisition more so a British one. It is also not new for them to manage post acquisitions. Ford labor unions preferred the proposal from Tatas post takeover. As Tatas have already mentioned, they are going to leave Land Rover and Jaguar as independent entities. I think it is in the best interests of Tatas to keep them independent for sometime (for about 2 to 3 years). This gives enough time for Tatas to get sufficient learning opportunities to understand and manage these brands. They could then start experimenting with leveraging on Supply Chain capabilities, like getting steel from Tata-Corus (I am just guessing that they supply steel for cars), then on the collaborative design process, co-innovation, managing luxury brands and then look at synergies from India interms of domestic sales or auto components or Indian management in productivity. Tatas have already started introducing a good amount of features in their Dicor series of Safari vehicles. Its a good start and they are on this challenging journey ahead.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Prasnottara ratna malika
One of Adi Sanakara's works is Prasnottara Ratna Malika which is meant to elevate the seeker, by providing answers to doubts that may arise in the mind of the devotees. I am just listing few that constantly come in my mind..
What is more beneficial than anything else?
Righteousness.
What is the most desirable for human beings?
Life dedicated to one's and other's welfare.
Who is the foe?
It is but idleness.
What is unintelligence?
Not repeating what is learnt.
What is transient like the water on lotus leaf?
Youth, wealth and life.
What is priceless?
That which is given at the right moment.
What pains like a shaft till death?
The sin committed in secrecy.
By whom is this world concquered?
By the person who has truthfulness and endurance.
What is chartiy?
Expecting no return.
What is to be earned by people?
Knowledge, wealth, strength, fame, merit.
Which is the destroyer of all good qualities?
Greed.
What is more beneficial than anything else?
Righteousness.
What is the most desirable for human beings?
Life dedicated to one's and other's welfare.
Who is the foe?
It is but idleness.
What is unintelligence?
Not repeating what is learnt.
What is transient like the water on lotus leaf?
Youth, wealth and life.
What is priceless?
That which is given at the right moment.
What pains like a shaft till death?
The sin committed in secrecy.
By whom is this world concquered?
By the person who has truthfulness and endurance.
What is chartiy?
Expecting no return.
What is to be earned by people?
Knowledge, wealth, strength, fame, merit.
Which is the destroyer of all good qualities?
Greed.
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