With the pundits, government and people believing that the economy is on an upswing, there are some learning’s that the past year or so has provided.

1) Stay the course - It is extremely relevant to continue on the same course, adopted in the past year such as control of costs, evaluate each project, product before taking a plunge, in short not to get swayed by the hubris of good times.

2) Capitalize on the spurt of business opportunities - The idea is to explore different business opportunities that have come up or grown with things looking better.

3) Capitalize on market place opportunities - The past couple of years have shown a trend that besides the metros, different niches & markets have sprung up, which would only grow in the years and it’s important to capitalize before it becomes to expensive.

4) Focus on consistent awareness - A key area, be consistent in creating awareness of your brand, product, merchandise through the bad & good times.

5) Acknowledge potential increase in consumer’s knowledge & changes in shopping behavior - The past year or two has shown a consumer who is intelligent, gathering knowledge from multiple sources & looking for value and as a brand it is critical that this is kept in mind.

6) Emphasize authenticity, optimism & connection - Piggy back on the optimism wave connecting to your consumers, sharing the authenticity of your brand and value provided to them.

7) Maintain constant and consistent dialog with loyal consumers - These are the people who have carried you through the turbulent times and it is important to keep in touch with them, talk to them continuously and consistently.

Focus on developed brands - Do not get gungho about launching a slew of brands, focus on the developed brands for the immediate two quarters before introducing new ones.

The word luxury bandied around these days is a clear misnomer. What was Luxury then is a part of a good life now.

In fact the sooner brands clear the gross misconception that

- Luxury is only for the rich & famous older population
- Luxury must be unaffordable to be appealing
- My rich & famous will always love me & only my brand.

the faster they would grow and this is extremely valid in India. What was thought of as luxury is now Lifestyle & more importantly the numbers have undergone a meteoric rise in this segment.

It is surprising that in an industry that relies on human contact & touch point, most of my colleagues rely 90% on email and get really upset when I refer it to playing billiards. Email is the safest way of pushing things off your plate, not taking responsibility, accountability, because the moment you click ‘Send’ your job is over.

Of course there is always the Tech team, India’s connectivity problems etc that can be blamed for non receipt of information, further compounded by GPRS, EDGE, dropping signals etc.

But once out of office, on weekends, chatting with friends and all connectivity works perfectly.

After a rush Indigo flight to Ahmedabad which was on time (as usual) checked in to the hotel before hunger pangs bit me.

The two options immediately were Mcdonald (which I am not too enamored with) and Papa John a chain rival to Pizza hut that I have tried in the past in Bombay Baroda with fond memories.

Off we went, nice cheery place with precisely a couple sitting.

The service was quick, with Mustafa introducing himself and providing an explanation of ‘Chaat’ pizza - fresh dough, topped with capsicum, onions, cubes of potatoes, garnished with coriander, a bit tangy to taste.

Normally I would not dream of ordering this, but N prevailed and we ordered the smallest size along with a side portion of Garlic parmesan sticks.

The sticks came first, trying it out and they had to be stretched, chewed more times then I normally prefer.

Whilst thinking as to how some body managed to crucify a dish claimed to be special.

And the chaat pizza arrived - 4 pieces topped with 6 cubes of potatoes and smattering of onions capsicum with cheese of course. Though it was not tangy as promised, it was fresh and nice.

It was cleaned in double quick time, whilst the sticks were a laborious job.

Mustafa came up to enquire about the pizza, upon bringing to his notice the sticks, he provided the excuse that, whilst it is made from the same dough as the pizza, it can never be spongy.

The nett result observation - lack of business at that particular time, reheated sticks, with chaat pizza of no particular taste, vintage has ensured that another visit here is out of the question.

After a long time went to see a hindi movie on the day of its release.

A subject that is touchy, handled decently, though it would have made more sense to take a specific episode instead of a more generic view.

Sanjay Dutt plays the brooding role nicely, hiding his paunch under clothes and weight gain under a beard.

Bipasha plays a fully covered damsel in a restrained manner.

Anupam Kher as Haji excels.

Kunal is fine, but his rhetoric speech needs to be developed.

Mahesh Manjrekar was a misfit according to me, sounded a marathi actor in Kashmir.

The end is quite nice with no real solution in sight, what with everyone looking at making money from Kashmir.

Knowledgeable people would find faults, however I enjoyed myself.

A place that had been hearing a lot about from friends; but was always avoiding thanks to not being really a music lover, so to say.

Finally Dharmesh a permanent forced me to land up one day a couple of months ago.

Landed up, paid the cover charge and went in, to be hit by a blast of air conditioning and music.

Had a couple of beers, an old fashioned & some french fries & left by 9 pm.

The next time around went when some football match was playing, tried it again.

Skipped the beer, since had like the old fashioned earlier, went straight for it accompanied by some mini burgers and assorted platter of veggie stuff.

Tried their Mojito also, which was good and so now can really conclude:

They make some of the best cocktails in town, finger food is good, whilst may not really be a place to try out for dinner; music & sound is good.

Will definitely recommend and visit again for an old fashioned:)

Mathuradas Mills Compound,
Opposite Kamala Mills Compound,
Entrance from Tulsi Pipe Road,
Lower Parel, Mumbai
Tel : 61586158, 65251716, 4033230

A place in Raghuvanshi mills, right opposite our office, but had never got a chance to visit the place, till a friend from Bangalore popped over.

Off we went, took a professional look at The Good Earth store and then climbed up the stairs. Loved the old warehouse feel & look of the place. A blast of chilled air with variety of perfumes hit us as soon as we entered the place, looked like all the SoBo ladies had decided to have their Kitty parties that day.

Got a table quickly and ordered a glass of red and some bruschettas, whilst reading through the menu.

We ordered the Paprika dusted grilled chicken - creamy, mildly garlicky with potato wedges. The chicken was soft & succulent, worth trying. A Chicken sandwich which was just perfect, with tomato and mascarpone cheese risotto which was more or less okay, but needed some chilly flakes & Tabasco.

All in all a good couple of hours spent over lunch. And that reminds me, that I had promised my wife that I would take her there.

Raghuvanshi Mills Compound,
Lower Parel, Mumbai
Tel 65285284, 24951954

A couple of days back my Man @b50 sent a despair that the soup I had tweeted was not available and I had promised him that, if not the same, similar soup would be available in Lower Parel.

The Mumbai Deli is one such place. Whilst we have only ordered from here twice, it is good food at reasonable prices. It’s a small place with 3/4 tables, bright cheerful with Khsitij one of the partners available to help you out.

Besides trying out the soups (which were pretty okay) we tried out No 27 Lebanese Pita Sandwich which was an good healthy option (compared to the so called Lebanese food I’ve tasted in Bombay) No 32 Jalapeno Cilantro Mayo Chicken Sandwich - again pretty good with mayo not creamy or sweet but just right & No 36 Spicy Italian Panini which everyone enjoyed.

We have this on our regular list.

Madhav Bhavan (Next to Jai Hind)
Opp. Kamala Mills
Lower Parel Mumbai

Tel: 65293154/156

In order to fuel our rapid expansion, I have been involved in a lot of interviews in the recent past.

Over the past year or so when Retail was in the dumps, so to speak, there were a lot of people who were on the look out for jobs and ready to compromise on salaries, designation, area of expertise. Some of them had been without a job for a couple of months.

Whilst doing this, glancing through the resumes, talking to the candidates, many of them had ‘Skills’ mentioned on their resume or would say that I Upskilled my self during the past 3 months, which got me thinking to ask the question - Do people really understand the meaning?

Most describe ‘knowledge of computers’; ‘knowledge of tally’ as a skill.

Upskill meant ‘learning internet’; attending ’seminar’ amongst others.

So I started asking
“What do you know in Tally?” - Data entry
“What do you know in computers?” - Email
“How did you upskill?” - attended so & so lecture

After wading through hundreds of them, I can conclude NO, people do not understand the meaning of Upskill.

I remember a time, when there were no multiplexes and visiting a cinema was a special occasion, where you dressed up and reached there much before time, to see all the government advertisements AND there was no popcorn, pasta being delivered to your seat. Maybe if your parents were feeling happy and not having carried snacks from home, you would have been treated to a samosa.

The National Anthem used to be played in the end of the movie and everybody stood at attention, sung along in their not so melodious voices and then the doors were opened allowing you to go out.

TIME flew, for a while they stopped playing the national anthem, before somebody recalled and it was made mandatory all over again.

Now there are multiplexes everywhere, working couples, friends, families come rushing last minute to see the movie, carrying practically meals that would feed a small nation, stepping all over your toes, hands mostly without a nary of an apology.

The National anthem is played before the movie begins.

And more than 30-40% people wait outside the door, chatting for it to begin and get over. Out of the ones who are already seated there are always those, useless bums who refuse to get up or get up slowly, muttering to themselves.

There are some people, moi included who take umbrage about this and there is an argument, even a fight at times. (newspapers have reported too)

Compared to the past couple of years, I have noticed that the people not getting up is in a very negligible minority these days, however the fidgeting, muttering still continues.

The most popular reason cited is “Democracy” which is all fine, but the same people stand at attention when applying for a visa, traveling abroad amongst other things, but feel it beneath their dignity to respect the country that they live in.

We are all to blame for this. Well I do stand up for the national anthem & sing it proudly. Do You?