tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27362099683939640142024-03-18T08:29:24.354+05:30Odds & EndsVijay Menon | www.vijaymenon.comVijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-44476663375153799182023-12-25T10:21:00.003+05:302023-12-25T10:45:16.024+05:30Video has all but replaced sight seeingA contrarian post in this Christmas traveling season. <br /><br />Sure, there is a buzz in going there and I've done a bit of that be it walking down the rim of a volcano in Indonesia, walking up the Champs Elysees in Paris, absorbing the silence of falling snow in the Swiss Alps, gazing up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, watching wild horses run in meadows outside Seattle. Et cetera. <br /><br />They were all moving experiences.<br /><br />But I've seen so much more without going there. The last village in Indian Kashmir and the irony of the border, the windswept town at the southern tip of Chile before the freezing wastes of Antarctica, the European capitals with their cookie cutter layout of being built on either side of rivers with pretty bridges spanning them, the depths of the Grand Canyon, the remoteness of the Australian Outback, the samba in Brazil, the teeming wildlife in Africa, misty Machu Picchu... and dozens of other places I will never see in person.<div><br />Video has changed everything. With their drone shots and close ups and on the ground reporting, travel industry folks and vloggers today bring you experiences as near to real as dammit. If you are just traveling to see the sights, video has all but replaced going there.<br /><br />If you are slow traveling to stay in a place to seep in its culture over weeks or months, that's still worth doing. But then you gotta have some work there for a reason to stay and pay your way. <br /><br />I'm ready to be a digital nomad but not a sightsee-er. <br /></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-51208516369907108682023-07-21T07:37:00.001+05:302023-07-21T07:37:20.939+05:30How do you change a marketing culture?How do you change a marketing culture? Marketing covers a wide gamut of activities from branding and communication to market research and new product and service development.<br /><br />This means that marketing departments are staffed by people with both quant skills and creative skills. Given corporate India's glorification of the engineer-MBA quant jocks, the analytical folks rule the roost.<br /><br />But here's the thing. The quant jocks can't usually create the magic needed for new products and ideas. That needs the creatives.<br /><br />Take Titan as an example. The quants may have worked the numbers but it required a different kind of thinking and sensibility to bet on watches and jewellery that were radically different from the status quo by way of design and aesthetics.<br /><br />Or take a Fabindia that took the humble cotton apparel and made it a premium fashion statement.<br /><br />I picked these two examples since I've met and spoken to the people who made the magic happen. In both cases, creating a culture that enabled these decisions happened from the very top.<br /><br />Is that the only way? How can a marketing head in a typical company create a culture that balances creativity and rigour in a country where the engineer-MBA with his or her analytical skills is considered the corporate god?<br /><br />How can you as a marketing person change the culture?Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-57079494598982737252023-01-30T09:35:00.000+05:302023-01-30T09:35:04.107+05:30Middle class apathyApathy? Fear? Don't care?<div><br />We have a common enough problem in front of our apartment complex. A sewage drain has been clogged for several days and the civic authority in charge hasn't fixed it in spite of complaints and much follow up.<br /><br />A Twitter campaign would be a good way to exert some pressure, right? Some of us thought so too and posted a tweet, tagged the authority, and requested everyone in the apartment to retweet and amplify the post.<br /><br />More than 36 hours later, a paltry 10% of residents have participated. That's disappointing in a complex of over 200 apartment units.<br /><br />Not that the problem doesn't affect everyone. The smelly filth is gushing out and gathering in rivulets and pools along the road and in front of the gates. Cars and two wheelers squelch over it spreading it further. Pedestrians skirt the gooey muck and cover their nose. School children wait for their buses next to it. You can't pretend it doesn't exist.<br /><br />So what is keeping our educated and tech savvy citizens from protesting? No Twitter account? Introversion? Fear? Apathy?<br /><br />As always, there are some people who take initiative and go the extra mile to get things done. Pareto principle applies. We will solve the problem.</div><div><br /></div><div>But for communities to work better, more people need to get involved.</div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-13967151222002263232022-12-30T09:39:00.002+05:302022-12-30T09:39:33.970+05:30Eating with your hands - or notOne of the ways in which we Indians assert our identity these days is to extol our custom of eating with our hands.<div> <br />Eating with hands is great. Whether eating a roti or biryani, drumstick sambar or dosa -- and definitely when eating from a leaf -- hands trump utensils.<br /><br />But calling those who prefer eating with a spoon and fork Macaulay's children with colonised minds? That's a bit of an overstatement. Many people genuinely prefer not to eat using their hands for whatever reason.<br /><br />The world is divided into three broad food zones -- the western world of eating with a fork and knife; the Indian, African and Middle Eastern world of eating with hands; and the east Asian and southeast Asian world of eating with chopsticks and spoons. But because of many decades of travel and cross-cultural pollination, food customs and habits have widely diffused across cultures.<br /><br />So framing the preference for eating with or without utensils in simplistic occident vs orient terms is misguided. <br /><br />The cool thing to do is to blend with the culture you are in. If you can seamlessly transition from hands to fork to chopsticks depending on the company you are eating with, you are truly cosmopolitan.<br /><br />The corollary, unfortunately, is not true. At least not yet. Eating with your hands in gatherings where most others use utensils can get you unwelcome attention.</div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-71299372557182809862022-12-22T08:24:00.002+05:302022-12-22T09:01:40.815+05:30Why do you do what you do? What's your dharma?For my book on innovation I met a bunch of business leaders, among them Suresh Krishna who was then the head of the TVS group and boss of Sundram Fasteners.<div><br />During our meeting, Krishna asked a question everyone should ask themselves at some point: What is your dharma? Why do you do what you do? <br /><br />It's a query common across cultures. The Japanese call it Ikigai, in psychology we know it as self-actualisation in Maslow's hierarchy of needs.<br /><br />But I like the simplicity of the 'What's your dharma' poser, perhaps because of my cultural and civilisational roots.<br /><br />When I thought about it, I realised that a Sanskrit verse from the Upanishads, a part of which was on my school blazer's crest, pretty much described my dharma. <br /><br /><i>Asato mā sadgamaya/ tamasomā jyotir gamaya.</i><br /><br />Whatever else I may be, I'm primarily a writer of non-fiction and an urge to shed light and speak the truth is at the heart of all my writing.<br /><br />It's not always easy. If you work for an employer or a client, there will be occasions when telling truth to power can cost you.<br /><br />But its a goal. As a writer, I don't want an easier one.<br /><br />Many times, when my words fall on deaf ears, it's tempting to console myself with the <i>Ekla chalo re</i> exhortation to plough a lonely furrow. <br /><br />But as writers we want to be read, of course. It is our fervent hope, expressed so beautifully by Majrooh Sultanpuri, that,<br /><br /><i>Main akela hi chala tha janib-e-manzil magar<br />Log saath aate gaye aur karwan banta gaya</i><br /><br />So what's your dharma? Why do you do what you do? </div><div><br /></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-41803748954394753852022-08-04T09:23:00.004+05:302022-08-04T09:23:19.612+05:30"Pet parents", your dogs are nice and all but...There is this new phrase that has gained currency -- pet parents. As long as they were pet owners we could tell them to please get their dogs to shut up.<div> <br />But dare we tell pet parents to do likewise? Tauba, that's so boorish, who scolds children?<br /><br />Still. Can the pet parents please try and coax/cajole/control their darlings from constantly barking. What's probably sweet music to the pet parents is an infernal nuisance to others.</div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-58667177098160678202022-07-20T09:55:00.006+05:302022-07-20T09:56:32.018+05:30Nicknames as a cultural markerIn my parents' generation in Kerala, siblings were many as were their short forms and nicknames. While an Unnikrishnan was naturally an Unni and a Nanukutty a Nanu, it was less clear why a Ramachandran was Appu and a Madhavan was Apunni. There were also non sequiturs like Aniyettan when Aniyan (meaning younger brother) was an ettan (older brother) to a younger relative.<div><br />Cut to the 1970s military colonies and cantonments that my siblings and I grew up in Delhi and elsewhere where the nicknames couldn't be more different. While people had monikers like Vicky, Sandy, Sanju, Goldy and Sexy (Saxena secretly loved it), pet dogs for some reason were invariably called Sherry, Whisky, and Brandy. <br /><br />Hangover of a colonial past? Macaulay's children? Possibly. I can't recall Veerus or Sherus in our colonies among my friends or their pets. <br /><br />Outside the gated officer communities, India was finding glorious expression. As the land reforms swept through Kerala and society heaved and churned from feudal to egalitarian, the energy of the former underclass burst through and found expression in the myriad private buses and autos named Shaju mol and Jon mon, and in nicknames like Aji, Biji, Ciby, Feby, Lijo, Sinu, and so on. <br /><br />Cut to the present day and things are changing again as a large section of society opts for more traditional and Sanskritized names and conservative mores. <br /><br />Tradition has its place and many of these classical names sound lovely. But what is of some concern is that we also seem to be losing some of the iconoclasm of the 70s that fearlessly questioned shibboleths and broke out of hidebound thinking to forge new paths.</div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-88980588292599157782022-06-16T11:08:00.007+05:302022-06-17T07:47:53.852+05:30It's a wonderful time to be an armchair travelerVideo and the internet changed everything. Before that you either visited a place in person or through text and images. Geography text books were an early gateway to exotic terrains. Comics, novels, and books provided narratives and settings. A personal favourite was Lands and Peoples, a multi volume encyclopedia. Films showed places of course but Hollywood is not real life.<br /><br />Now we have a cornucopia of content on travel and tourism sites, personal vlogs, and YouTube and other platforms. Sites like Expedia put out brilliantly shot and narrated capsules on places around the world. Whatsapp and other messengers bring home these sights, sounds, and real world travel experiences with warp speed immediacy and impact. <br /><br />The quality of the content is getting so good that it all but eliminates the need to go there. Whether it is the Taj Mahal or the Colosseum, a cathedral in Goa or the Vatican, the Red Fort or the Big Ben, today's superbly shot videos with close ups, long shots, drone cameras, perfect lighting and sound showcase a destination far better than you could hope to see on a visit. <br /><br />Yes, walking up the Champs Elysees and eating a panini from a kiosk still beats just seeing a video of the iconic avenue in Paris. But we've also taken the train and the bus to Les Diablerets in Switzerland only to be met with thick fog that completely shrouded the scenic peak. Or seen the Mysore Dasara jostled by crowds and rowdies. Or seen the Red Fort to find half the areas closed off. Or reached Geneva on a day the landmark Jet d'Eau fountain did not work. Face it, being there is not everything.<br /><br />So next step, virtual reality. The movies are getting there already. We recently watched the new Top Gun movie on an Imax screen and it was cool. As an avid armchair traveller I'm waiting for the immersive virtual reality day when I can walk on a meadow, dive into the ocean, ski down snowy slopes, cruise through downtowns at night, and do all the things that travelers yearn to do in distant and exotic lands.<br /><br />It will happen.<br />Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-33316827721030960502022-03-18T10:39:00.002+05:302022-03-19T08:20:11.100+05:30The dichotomy of Holi<div>As the colourful Holi greetings flood social media, I am struck again by the dichotomy.</div><div> <br />In genteel housing colonies and apartment complexes, families will chastely spread colours on each others faces, children will squirt coloured water from plastic guns and pumps, sweets and savouries will be eaten, and 'thandai' cold drinks that range from innocent to intoxicant will be drunk. It will all end with a wash and a bath in the afternoon. Tomorrow, housekeeping staff will wash and sweep the driveways and lawns but the colours will stain the ground and bodies for a few days more. <br /><br />On the streets and in hostels across India, it will be different. In the streets, children and youth will sneak-attack passersby with balloons filled with coloured water or worse. Lumpen youth and men will smear powder, paste, or worse. Women, preferably young, will be targeted. Voices will be raised, palms and fists will fly. In hostels, the fastidious and the timid will lock themselves in their rooms to avoid the melee. Gangs of bullies, high on booze and more, will barge into their rooms and drown them in coloured water or worse. Fights will break out, complaints will be made and ignored.<br /><br />Even at its best Holi is a riotous festival of colours teetering on the edge of mischief. Too often, it tips over to drunken, lecherous revelry.</div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-75347970810183709642022-02-23T09:15:00.000+05:302022-02-23T09:15:01.810+05:30When an elder diesOver the last couple of years, we've lost several elders in the family. Not to the pandemic but to old age. These siblings and cousins were in the same age bracket and after full lives they passed on. In many cases, the passing ended the suffering caused by age related or other illness.<br /><br />How does one react to the loss? When a 80+ or 90+ old dies, the usual homilies of "God give strength to the family" to "Rest in peace" to the relatively new "Om shanti", seem trite. After a full life, the passing itself is hardly a surprise and we accept it as natural. <br /><br />And yet, there is often a sense of unfinished tasks. There are conversations that we should have had, visits that should have been more frequent, gestures that will forever remain unmade.<br /><br />An old African proverb captures this feeling well: "When an elder dies, a library burns to the ground." <br /><br />How true. An elder has seen so much of life just by being there. In today's India that means a life that started under colonial rule and journeyed through seven eventful decades of change. The true loss is when those experiences and memories have not been shared and passed on.Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-49798602261312865582022-01-18T09:02:00.051+05:302022-08-03T10:46:50.216+05:30Our Salarpuria Sattva Northland problemWe recently bought a <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/salarpurianorthland/home" target="_blank">row house villa</a> unit in Salarpuria Sattva Northland on Hennur Road in Bangalore. Considering the price and the builder's reputation, we expected good design and build quality.<div> <br />We were disappointed. Here are some of the concerns. <br /><br />In one of the bathrooms, the builder forgot to provide an opening for an exhaust fan. When we asked, they did an unbelievably shoddy job of drilling a hole through the wall. It is difficult to believe that any builder could be this incompetent. Even after repair, the opening looks terrible. </div><div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-insideh: none; mso-border-insidev: none; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-IN"> </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6IXOsMTxzhnm5h4PxB0-m4TIOq3-e4zJAPb_FguzB-JO16FIGJaIdh8tmwQ-5Mp0PUQj2rovOS1qjiBaKFwauiSzsu9hX9_kFOGZ-_3JEUBAyS90Kmexj9_HorOFZ3zWVXpb89q7fBDpjPv2Y9CeSetNQw7tRLciSjd1wnVdz2hhpjVuAYjV8hWOMA/s4160/210110-exhaust%20fan%20hole%20mess.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6IXOsMTxzhnm5h4PxB0-m4TIOq3-e4zJAPb_FguzB-JO16FIGJaIdh8tmwQ-5Mp0PUQj2rovOS1qjiBaKFwauiSzsu9hX9_kFOGZ-_3JEUBAyS90Kmexj9_HorOFZ3zWVXpb89q7fBDpjPv2Y9CeSetNQw7tRLciSjd1wnVdz2hhpjVuAYjV8hWOMA/s320/210110-exhaust%20fan%20hole%20mess.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">The hole they made initially</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-IN"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-IN"><br /></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-IN"> </span></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-AAK-TLENORzvQkq44I4wcKx_UdqH183VpldsqZkAZ7HO6d7twBhmO3jHPOgRFcoBpfRh4tk7p-h8vbyQR3AC8vpW5gpN36kSomsOqpNeRnlANEpyauL2mckiQS8yf_RII0tECre_CvLO_tL2YTgYekcEfCWNhA9sJJ-UPM9z9csbyn4of7CDvlYNw/s1040/Feb%2022%20exhaust%20hole%20repaired.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-AAK-TLENORzvQkq44I4wcKx_UdqH183VpldsqZkAZ7HO6d7twBhmO3jHPOgRFcoBpfRh4tk7p-h8vbyQR3AC8vpW5gpN36kSomsOqpNeRnlANEpyauL2mckiQS8yf_RII0tECre_CvLO_tL2YTgYekcEfCWNhA9sJJ-UPM9z9csbyn4of7CDvlYNw/s320/Feb%2022%20exhaust%20hole%20repaired.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">The hole after repair!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-IN"><br /></span><p></p>
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</tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div><div>The terrace is nice. But since there was no canopy or awning, the door was constantly exposed to wind and rain and suffered damage. When we complained, the builder repaired the door but refused to accept that the lack of an awning was the problem. So we had to get one built at a significant cost. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: dotted #EEECE1 .5pt; mso-border-insideh-themecolor: background2; mso-border-insideh: .5pt dotted #EEECE1; mso-border-insidev-themecolor: background2; mso-border-insidev: .5pt dotted #EEECE1; mso-border-themecolor: background2; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6ByYp2nDlKO3G95ocu5wpOtwjgov6f9FBX-hk6DHe_SaDhnpDSzbkGkUr7g81COtkJ9Xssu2MX3R-OJwu0kfr992fDsFheqf0juU_xv34jZi9K_mF_1hzmVaUwy1ggOtsp9IC45CMNq6Fyy-CAd_ZsdicWXP_iVSOK7vHUN-e2B_c_jROOzyvGDWNA/s3120/terrace%20with%20open%20door.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="2724" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS6ByYp2nDlKO3G95ocu5wpOtwjgov6f9FBX-hk6DHe_SaDhnpDSzbkGkUr7g81COtkJ9Xssu2MX3R-OJwu0kfr992fDsFheqf0juU_xv34jZi9K_mF_1hzmVaUwy1ggOtsp9IC45CMNq6Fyy-CAd_ZsdicWXP_iVSOK7vHUN-e2B_c_jROOzyvGDWNA/s320/terrace%20with%20open%20door.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Terrace without awning..</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-IN"> <br /><br /></span></p>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: 1pt dotted rgb(238, 236, 225); mso-border-alt: dotted #EEECE1 .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: dotted #EEECE1 .5pt; mso-border-left-themecolor: background2; mso-border-themecolor: background2; padding: 0cm 5.4pt; width: 231.05pt;" valign="top" width="308"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguNHqULYrrU5plEvAQ1ceHziipPzADVh77Yl1M3idypMfUiigKhKPGRdz9mLlUVV2kkwQpYPlipgMWywe4GtcdKDiCv2i2j6NlQdnUeVksjq3U_qKp_FSoZfF7QkLpX5cTeV3ubW-0Nr2rtpigYTmt4NTcxiQserCBnJxTwT8AY6Y2gVjm-LKxsAUNQ/s4160/Jan%2021%20terrace%20door%20damage.jpg" style="display: inline; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="3120" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguNHqULYrrU5plEvAQ1ceHziipPzADVh77Yl1M3idypMfUiigKhKPGRdz9mLlUVV2kkwQpYPlipgMWywe4GtcdKDiCv2i2j6NlQdnUeVksjq3U_qKp_FSoZfF7QkLpX5cTeV3ubW-0Nr2rtpigYTmt4NTcxiQserCBnJxTwT8AY6Y2gVjm-LKxsAUNQ/s320/Jan%2021%20terrace%20door%20damage.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">.. damaged the doors</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbN-irvn-E4Ox_E4cbmcNFhMkES1X5uQKn85UmKwhKRCo6h6F-sm1DYaHeKVp8-0ero-bKZlne6s6cunduvSgWSKrPIqvyMyDwPlpINM1zA8IqYkaZ4NH1KZSoNlsc5XFPeEAnracxhZDr1pKkMY7X7CQ1NPJ8kGIgFf6L4vC-SQHEyxNexFjDtta9mA/s1040/Feb%2022%20terrace%20door%20repaired.jpeg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbN-irvn-E4Ox_E4cbmcNFhMkES1X5uQKn85UmKwhKRCo6h6F-sm1DYaHeKVp8-0ero-bKZlne6s6cunduvSgWSKrPIqvyMyDwPlpINM1zA8IqYkaZ4NH1KZSoNlsc5XFPeEAnracxhZDr1pKkMY7X7CQ1NPJ8kGIgFf6L4vC-SQHEyxNexFjDtta9mA/s320/Feb%2022%20terrace%20door%20repaired.jpeg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">The builder repaired the doors..</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td>
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<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcwNZbPvOp64fozYvVgL-r8l-KJayITTNok6dCeB0ccF7aTzo1G_7yXJR4kXO59uxyjgHhtK4fTExtGN2q3u_bYva-64p8qYV3mIpo0jvcyjFlTlJz629Y7yhRbKw73ApbJQohV5w6Jx7cAE-c-ZvXyTKwj4Rof6nnE78SAUUPeg83hCLDon0B0dSdg/s1560/terrace%20with%20awning.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1560" data-original-width="1367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEcwNZbPvOp64fozYvVgL-r8l-KJayITTNok6dCeB0ccF7aTzo1G_7yXJR4kXO59uxyjgHhtK4fTExtGN2q3u_bYva-64p8qYV3mIpo0jvcyjFlTlJz629Y7yhRbKw73ApbJQohV5w6Jx7cAE-c-ZvXyTKwj4Rof6nnE78SAUUPeg83hCLDon0B0dSdg/s320/terrace%20with%20awning.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">..but we had to build the awning</span></td></tr></tbody></table></td>
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</tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>In the kitchen, the space for routing the exhaust pipe from the chimney to outside was above the fixed false ceiling. The builder refused to provide an opening and so we had to break the ceiling and build an openable panel at our cost. There was also a sizing issue. While modern chimneys are designed to fit a six-inch exhaust pipe, Salarpuria has only provided four-inch holes in the wall. </div><div><br /></div><div><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: dotted #EEECE1 .5pt; mso-border-insideh-themecolor: background2; mso-border-insideh: .5pt dotted #EEECE1; mso-border-insidev-themecolor: background2; mso-border-insidev: .5pt dotted #EEECE1; mso-border-themecolor: background2; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2w9e_JP5g34ynSW8zRS7jltDS2mhh4WNV3-Oos59yeDtJbdT5aZbTPCMANolW4Dfppdk5iqc5Uns1iPjMs6ZScdYf6R1ioMf4I_eTd5kFK9c6BJ6Paj37kYF-UeUIyis0DlLspoRs4pPTZsdjdbA3uotmDb_mwEzMZYIBUPM9ZqouqTPjtvX_8rk4w/s4160/IMG_20220110_144028.jpg" style="clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2w9e_JP5g34ynSW8zRS7jltDS2mhh4WNV3-Oos59yeDtJbdT5aZbTPCMANolW4Dfppdk5iqc5Uns1iPjMs6ZScdYf6R1ioMf4I_eTd5kFK9c6BJ6Paj37kYF-UeUIyis0DlLspoRs4pPTZsdjdbA3uotmDb_mwEzMZYIBUPM9ZqouqTPjtvX_8rk4w/s320/IMG_20220110_144028.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">The chimney exhaust goes above the fixed false ceiling</span></td></tr></tbody></table>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-IN"> </span></p>
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</tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>Many walls were damaged due to seepage. Turns out the waterproofing is poor. The builder says he has repaired the waterproofing and has painted the walls. The next rains will tell us how good the repair is.</div><div><br /></div><div><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: dotted #EEECE1 .5pt; mso-border-insideh-themecolor: background2; mso-border-insideh: .5pt dotted #EEECE1; mso-border-insidev-themecolor: background2; mso-border-insidev: .5pt dotted #EEECE1; mso-border-themecolor: background2; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uf8WFKxXx3NS1MTiQaFYxb53vkv4zMoVfHfu_-ZqiAup1JgZcaJ3XmGN5b3ZPdvj6zCxxmVEjjQV9n04t3r0bBKuDQoKyRmGOki1raSwRbcOXm8P2Pa-GOWoKw812Cc2j4weYUjnEmgJgFD3X3nceMyemZ5UHYDnjjsy9tbvpXmmpI87TY3LkTR9wg/s4160/br.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uf8WFKxXx3NS1MTiQaFYxb53vkv4zMoVfHfu_-ZqiAup1JgZcaJ3XmGN5b3ZPdvj6zCxxmVEjjQV9n04t3r0bBKuDQoKyRmGOki1raSwRbcOXm8P2Pa-GOWoKw812Cc2j4weYUjnEmgJgFD3X3nceMyemZ5UHYDnjjsy9tbvpXmmpI87TY3LkTR9wg/s320/br.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Walls damaged due to seepage</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span lang="EN-IN"><br /><br /><br /></span><p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSb4bHtmG9DLV3yqELRra3p_ANfoLj3KF2te5myRBaFYn0HLB8Vmp8jeY1N7da2Mjiul9hSqQYWFKhLwt6SJw7Cz3uh08EKuxrqJmq-G09ncrEt-cRiRf8ajw8XEJnX44kxY72_8EOdEw2gORfyxRl--Bpm6YrYlW06YhM5OoVeAES6wjIzLmsz9mWnw/s4160/repaired%20wall.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSb4bHtmG9DLV3yqELRra3p_ANfoLj3KF2te5myRBaFYn0HLB8Vmp8jeY1N7da2Mjiul9hSqQYWFKhLwt6SJw7Cz3uh08EKuxrqJmq-G09ncrEt-cRiRf8ajw8XEJnX44kxY72_8EOdEw2gORfyxRl--Bpm6YrYlW06YhM5OoVeAES6wjIzLmsz9mWnw/s320/repaired%20wall.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666;">Repaired walls</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p>
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</tbody></table></div><div><br /></div><div>The electrical wiring in the house is a mix of conventional wiring and what the builder calls "automation" wiring for switches that can be operated both by hand and through a smartphone. Frankly, it's rubbish. It is difficult to install, goes bad frequently, and takes forever to repair. </div></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0Bengaluru, Karnataka, India12.9715987 77.5945627-15.338635136178846 42.4383127 41.281832536178847 112.7508127tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-15643366451256605772020-10-25T10:25:00.003+05:302020-10-25T16:58:25.874+05:30Biki Oberoi and luxury hoteliering in the age of AirbnbWhen the prevailing zeitgeist is to adapt to a "new normal", sometimes it is appropriate to let things be because they are just right. <div><br />When I met the reclusive PRS 'Biki' Oberoi for my <a href="http://amzn.to/2rv8Ecr" target="_blank">book</a> four years ago, I was aware of the legend. The chairman of the eponymous hotel chain was said to be a fastidious sybarite obsessed with details. At his hotels, bedsheets had to be snow white and the flowers in the vases were measured for length.<br /><br />When I met him, Oberoi was 87 years old and I wondered if reality would match the hype.<br /><br />It did. Biki Oberoi's office insisted I meet him at his farmhouse because of his age. Since a cab would be lost finding the address, they picked me up from a mutually convenient place. A chauffeured limo with a strapping driver, formerly with the President's Bodyguards, took me in stately splendour to the sprawling farmhouse where peacocks roamed the lawns and a white gloved butler served tea.<br /><br />Oberoi met me, a little frail but erect, nattily dressed in a jacket and cravat, pocket square perfectly in place. Small talk done, he asked me if I minded, and lit a cigar. Legend and reality coalesced seamlessly as we spoke about luxury hoteliering in the age of Airbnb.</div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-28810012254370092682020-08-15T09:54:00.005+05:302020-08-15T09:54:50.059+05:30Language alert - it's death by suicide, not committing suicideHave you noticed something about recent media reports on suicides? Apart from the alarming rise of such reports, the language has changed. The reports no longer say a person "committed" suicide. Instead they say a person "died by suicide."<div><br />The change in language reflects the decriminalisation of suicide around the world. In India, the law changed in 2018 when the government notified the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 to say that suicide is longer a crime and that suicidal people need help and counselling, not punishment.<br /><br />So a person does not "commit" suicide as they "commit" a crime. Instead we now use phrases like "took his/her own life" or "died by suicide".</div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-70247464975536974812020-08-06T07:43:00.002+05:302020-08-06T07:43:18.638+05:30Work-from-home the new normal? Not the way I see it.Why are we so eager to pronounce anything as a trend on the basis of thin evidence?<br /><br />Take work-from-home, or even more ambitiously, work-from-anywhere in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.<br /><br />Really? People in my circle work as engineers, doctors, marketers, journalists, college lecturers, pilots, bankers, company executives, software programmers, and so on.<br /><br />None of them think that work-from-home is anything more than a response to the pandemic. Except maybe the pure software coders, everyone else needs to be out and about to meet customers, students, colleagues, partners, and other stakeholders.<br /><br />No one finds working at home an unmixed blessing.<br /><br />The WhatsApp groups in my apartment complex are rife with people politely asking children to shut the $@&* up since the noise is interfering with work and calls.<br /><br />At least once a week, somebody has a breakdown and you can hear the screaming as stress levels burst.<br /><br />People exchange notes on how to boost internet speeds as man, wife, and the kids gobble up bandwidth.<br /><br />While people are happy to save on commute time, they are less thrilled about the constant interruptions due to the maid, cook, family, and chores.<br /><br />So while some companies will happily give up office space and save costs, I suspect most others will find that work best happens away-from-home. In the office.Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-45091841264354247742020-08-01T08:03:00.004+05:302020-08-01T08:08:04.176+05:30The most powerful languages in the worldThe new education policy in India (NEP 2020) has revived debate around language. While primary school learning in one's mother tongue has its merits, social activist Kancha Ilaiah <a href="https://thewire.in/education/macaulay-english-medium-new-education-policy" target="_blank">argues</a> that children should be taught in English from the beginning since that is the language of empowerment.<br /><br />INSEAD academic Kai Chan's work is relevant to the debate. He has created the <a href="https://knowledge.insead.edu/leadership-organisations/the-worlds-most-powerful-languages-6156" target="_blank">Power Language Index</a> to see what language would serve individuals and organisations best. Where should effort and resources be best deployed?<br /><br />Unsurprisingly, English remains by far the most powerful language in the world with Mandarin a distant second. Indians may be happy to see Hindi clock in at no. 10. Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-2249551254217865212020-06-16T11:46:00.011+05:302020-06-22T07:34:54.670+05:30Democracy, plural voting, epistocracy?In a world where democracy has thrown up some strange leaders across countries, an old idea has resurfaced. <br /><br />In the 19th century, British thinker John Stuart Mill mooted the idea of plural voting where educated people would get more than one vote.<br /><br />The idea addressed an old criticism of democracy by Plato in The Republic. Plato said that democracies eventually descend into mob rule. <br /><br />But the idea of plural voting goes against a principle considered sacrosanct in modern democracies -- one (wo)man one vote.<br /><br />And yet, a 2016 book, 'Against Democracy' by Georgetown University philosopher Jason Brennan, extends the idea by arguing for 'epistocracy' -- voting by the knowledgeable -- to prevent irrational and ignorant voters electing undeserving candidates.<br /><br />While epistocracy seems extreme, many find the idea of plural voting attractive.<br /><br />More so in India, where the educated and tax paying voter is numerically insignificant and yearns for a greater say in shaping politics -- only 5.6% of Indians are college graduates* and above and just 2.5% pay income tax.<br /><div><br /></div><div><font size="2">*According to Census 2011, India's population was 1.21 billion and 68.2 million were college graduates and above.</font></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-63085945248999237072020-06-12T10:34:00.009+05:302020-11-11T20:55:47.143+05:30Poor immigrant makes good is an such an exaggerated American tropeSeen the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sundar Pichai video on Class of 2020</a>? It's all over social media.<div><br /></div><div>I'm conflicted about the adulation such messages receive here in India. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the one hand, they are well meaning stories of hope and optimism by outstanding achievers.<br /><br />But they all seem to follow the same script of poor-immigrant-makes-big whether the trope is true or not.<br /><br />I get it, economic refugees from India are grateful to their adopted lands. <br /><br />But why exaggerate the contrast to make the point?<br /><br />Bright kids in India go to America on scholarships. They are not poor, they are middle class. Their parents are doctors, engineers, civil servants, teachers or other professionals. So why make up stories about constrained childhoods?<br /><br />Do well, my NRI and OCI friends. Make the world a better place. I respect the ability and hard work that got you from here to there.<br /><br />But keep it real. Do not spin a fairy tale to impress your new country. <div><br /></div></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-6251045180466561332020-05-26T17:08:00.003+05:302020-05-26T17:13:16.217+05:30World's and India's most liveable cities according to EIU and Mint<div>The Economist Intelligence Unit publishes an annual ranking of of the world's most liveable cities. The ranking considers more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors under five broad categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. </div><div><br /></div><div>Scores are compiled on a scale of 1-100. In the <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/09/04/vienna-remains-the-worlds-most-liveable-city" target="_blank">2019 survey</a>, the ranking covered 140 cities. </div><div><br /></div><div>The most liveable cities are:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Vienna, Austria, score = 99.1</div><div>2. Melbourne, Australia</div><div>3. Sydney, Australia</div><div>4. Osaka, Japan</div><div>5. Calgary, Canada</div><div>6. Vancouver, Canada</div><div>7. Toronto, Canada</div><div>7. Tokyo, Japan</div><div>9. Copenhagen, Denmark</div><div>10. Adelaide, Australia</div><div><br /></div><div>The least liveable cities are:</div><div><br /></div><div>1. Damascus, Syria, score = 30.7</div><div>2. Lagos, Nigeria</div><div>3. Dhaka, Bangladesh</div><div>4. Tripoli, Libya</div><div>5. Karachi, Pakistan</div><div>6. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea</div><div>7. Harare, Zimbabwe</div><div>8. Douala, Cameroon</div><div>9. Algiers, Algeria</div><div>10. Caracas, Venezuela</div><div><br /></div><div>London and New York ranked 48 and 58 respectively. Both were rated highly for culture but were brought down by their lower scores for infrastructure and stability, with a higher risk of crime and terrorism. </div><div><br /></div><div>Paris' stability rating also took a tumble thanks to anti-government protests. It fell six places from last year's ranking to 26.</div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#3367d6">New Delhi and Mumbai were the only two cities considered in India. New Delhi scored 56.3 and was ranked 118. Mumbai scored 56.2 and was ranked 119.</font></div><div><br /></div><div>A score between 50-60 points, which is the case for India, indicates constrained liveability conditions.</div><div><br /></div><div>In a separate ranking of Indian cities conducted by Mint newspaper, Hyderabad and Bangalore were ranked as the most liveable Indian metros. While that is intuitively obvious, the rankings are not directly comparable to the EIU list.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is the <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/which-is-india-s-most-livable-city-11573385431204.html" target="_blank">link to the Mint article</a>.</div><div><br /></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-33989473113985855492020-05-18T10:21:00.011+05:302022-05-11T11:06:14.368+05:30Images and songs from the Covid-19 pandemic in India<div><br /></div><div><i>Last update on 11 May 2022</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The coronavirus (officially SARS-Cov-2) was identified in late 2019 and the resulting Covid-19 pandemic spread across the world through the months of 2020. </div><div><br /></div><div>India announced one of the most sudden and strictest lockdowns in the world on 25 Mar 2020. The objective was to 'break the chain' and 'flatten the curve' to slow the spread of the virus and stagger the load on the country's inadequate healthcare system.</div><div><br /></div><div>In May 2022, WHO published a report that estimated that 4.7 million died due to Covid related causes in India. This is nearly 10 times the Indian government’s official count of 4.8 lakhs.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Images</b></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/india/reuters-wins-pulitzer-intimate-devastating-images-indias-pandemic-2022-05-10/" target="_blank">Pulitzer winning images from Reuters.</a></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Songs by businesses </b></div><div><br /></div><div>Many companies took the opportunity to put out songs and videos. Many showed empathy, some made appeals to contribute to their preferred charity, some simply promoted their agenda.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQ2i0yaU-gs" target="_blank">ICICI Bank</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.coca-colaindia.com/videos/to-the-human-race--with-love" target="_blank">Coca Cola India</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Songs of despair</b></div><div><br /></div><div>But the lockdown had one unforeseen and devastating consequence. India has an estimated six crore migrant labourers who fan out from poor states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand and move across the country for work. </div><div><br /></div><div>The lockdown destroyed their livelihood. As construction, factories, and businesses shut without warning, these labourers lost their jobs. They neither had food nor could pay the rent. </div><div><br /></div><div>Faced with starvation and ruin, they chose to bolt to their villages. Since the trains and buses were not running, thousands of them began walking back to their villages hundreds of kilometres away. The resulting tragedy of these labourers braving hostile police and villagers en route, the scorching summer, and the dangers of the open road has been likened to the desperate migration during the 1947 partition of India.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=632498600671884" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gulzar's poem</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhUz6n0mqVo" target="_blank">Isha Foundation - A migrant worker anthem</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/watch-a-migrant-labour-narrating-his-plight-with-a-song/videoshow/75663070.cms" target="_blank">A migrant labourer sings about his plight</a> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-7526443411977685732020-05-01T09:15:00.017+05:302020-06-14T10:14:48.431+05:30Corona quarantine experience in India - a collection<div style="text-align: center;"><font color="#d52c1f" size="6">Q U A R A N T I N E </font></div><div><br /></div>To clear the fog around Covid-19 testing and quarantine in India, what we need are authentic, preferably first-person accounts of people who have gone through the experience. People are so spooked by the gossip around quarantines that many say they would prefer to self treat their symptoms than go into these centres. Their concerns are:<br /><br />1. What to expect if you opt for the govt quarantine? <br /><br />2. What is the cost if you opt for the private quarantine? Testing plus the two-week (or more) stay in a private hospital will add up to over Rs 5 lakhs, say media reports (see <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">India Today</a> and <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Economic Times</a> stories). ICU and ventilator support will add significantly to the cost.<br /><br />These accounts of quarantine I found in the media give a sense of what to expect. If you have India stories to add to the list, please provide the link to them in the comments below. Just make sure the stories are from credible sources. The last thing we need is misinformation.<br />--<div><br /></div><div>13.6.20, Hindustan Times, <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/delhi-govt-asks-all-hospitals-to-share-covid-19-treatment-charges-amid-high-cost-buzz/story-niyhnQCqLtDAMvhkSRoFwO.html" target="_blank">Delhi govt asks all hospitals to share Covid-19 treatment charges amid high cost buzz</a></div><div><br /></div><div>28.5.20, Indian Express, <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/india/rs-3-16-lakh-in-covid-bills-drug-cost-ppe-are-main-unknowns/" target="_blank">Rs 3-16 lakh: in Covid bills, drug cost, PPE are main unknowns</a><div><br /></div><div>15.5.20, Hindu, <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/chaos-at-bengaluru-city-railway-station-over-mandatory-institutional-quarantine/article31580356.ece" target="_blank">Chaos in Bengaluru railway station as passengers protest institutional quarantine</a></div><div><br />8.4.20, BBC, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Coronavirus: India home quarantine families face discrimination</a><br /><br />3.4.20, Bangalore, Deccan Herald, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Coronavirus: Bengaluru doctor, wife laud hospital quarantine experience</a><br /><br />29.3.20, Hyderabad, Deccan Herald, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Quarantine not a jail, no stigma attached: Telangana's first coronavirus case and survivor</a><br /><br />28.3.20, Bangalore, News18, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Followed Quarantine Rules for Covid-19; But My Address Was Published Online and Then Trouble Began</a><br /><br />18.3.20, Bangalore, Deccan Herald, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Coronavirus: Air passengers call Bengaluru quarantine a 'mess'</a><br /><br />15.3.20, Bangalore, New Indian Express, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">First person: Self-quarantine in the time of coronavirus</a><br /><br />7.3.20, Kannur, YouTube, Video in Malayalam with English captions by a travel vlogger from Kerala who landed at Kannur airport and went into quarantine. Contributed by Anil Damodaran.<br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Part 1</a> | <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Part 2</a> </div></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-75417499810242705602020-01-13T13:25:00.005+05:302020-05-11T10:17:25.579+05:30Nothing apolitical about university educationI often hear the refrain that campuses must be de-politicised. This mostly comes from techno-managers who feel agitating humanities students bleed the taxpayer through political activism and protests. <br /> <br />Hmm. By their very nature, engineering and business students are less political than others. Most enter college to get a job and make money. The subjects they learn are apolitical -- it is hard to get agitated about thermodynamics or accounting. <br /> <br /> Arts and humanities are different. I was primarily educated in physics and engineering but have formally studied subjects such as psychology, philosophy, and sociology. The content of these courses and the assignments and discussions were very different from the impersonal logic of the physical sciences. <br /> <br /> Humanities make you engage with society. You cannot do a course on ethics and morality without reference to the society outside. Likewise political science, sociology, economics, literature and other non-science subjects. <br /> <br /> After an immersion in these subjects, students are very aware of the world around them. And some of them want to change it. <br /> <br /> You can worry that campuses are getting too political. But there is nothing apolitical about the university experience. If you aren't an idealist at 22, what are you?
Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-60590157456355440972019-10-28T09:32:00.008+05:302021-10-14T07:18:35.501+05:30What goes into brewing a perfect cup of coffeeIn a previous avatar as a journalist, I once wrote a business story on coffee and thought an aside on how to make a perfect cup would add flavour. The planters I asked were less than helpful. ‘Ask the brahmins in Chennai’, they said. ‘Care for a whisky?’<br /> <br /> So I asked around and was introduced to the intricacies of coffee bean types (Arabica, Robusta), grades (plantation, parchment, cherry), sizes (A is large, B is smaller), and roasts (light, medium, dark). Coffee gurus talked with passion about how everything depended on where the coffee was sourced from and how it was dried and roasted. All of this goes into making the perfect blend depending on your taste.<div><br /></div><div>Making a cup of coffee begins with the blend. A standard approach is to mix equal amounts of Arabica and Robusta coffee powder roasted medium or medium-dark and ground coarsely. Add 20% of Peaberry powder for flavour. Peabury seeds are aberrant round single seeds, most coffee seeds split into two halves. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are others who shun the Robusta and swear by a mix of only Arabica and 20% Peaberry. Arabica is noted for its flavour and Robusta for strength.</div><div><br /></div><div>Purists also shun chicory, a powdered root that is not coffee but is added for strength by many. If you'd like to experiment, start with 15% chicory in your mix.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whatever your final mix, you can use it to make the decoction in any of three ways -- in a traditional South Indian two-pot, a French press, or an Italian espresso. The espresso extracts the most juice from the coffee powder and results in the strongest decoction. As your taste develops, experiment with the proportions and roasting.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can have your coffee black of course, but traditional south Indian coffee, or "kaapi", is drunk hot, sweet, strong, and with buffalo milk, preferably undiluted.<br /> <br /> Suitably educated, my wife and can now put this symphony together and make a good cup of coffee. But since we live in Bangalore, it is equally convenient to drop into a <i>Darshini</i> or a <i>Hatti Kaapi</i> for the perfect cup at very reasonable prices.<br /> <br /> Tarry not, go find a good coffee shop and fall in love with the brew!<div><br /><div> -- <div>PS. If you normally drink instant coffee, the recipe for a good cup is even simpler. Add half a cup of hot water to half a cup of hot milk (the 3% fat variety). Add one teaspoon of coffee powder and sugar to taste. Stir well. Enjoy your drink. (1 tsp = approx 4 g).</div></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-2056683156483117712019-05-03T08:20:00.007+05:302020-05-28T09:28:28.756+05:30Europe leisure travel tips for Indians<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A panoramic view of Bern from Rose Garden. Picture by author.</span></div>
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<br />Based on a March 2019 vacation in Switzerland, France, and Italy, here are some tips for the budget-conscious Indian holiday traveller (as opposed to business travellers on a company account).<br />
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Europe is an incredibly scenic place and so do visit if you can afford it. But at an exchange rate of 80 Indian rupees to a euro, it helps to be aware of ways to optimise your budget. <br />
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At the end of the post, I have a rough breakup of what the trip will cost.<br />
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1. <b>Avoid</b> the peak tourist seasons, usually coinciding with school holidays. Airfares and hotels will be expensive, and tourist landmarks will be crowded. Choose the cusp seasons of early spring and late autumn to get a flavour of both summer and winter.<br />
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2. <b>Shop around</b> for the best value for airlines. If the difference in cost between two airlines is not too high, always prefer the better airline even if it costs a little more (check out sites like TripAdvisor for reviews). For example, we found the leg space and service on Emirates to be far superior to that on Air France.<br />
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3. <b>Get a Travel Card</b>, <b>international mobile phone roaming pack, and power bank.</b> We purchased a pre-loaded multi-currency ICICI Bank Travel Card and an international roaming pack from Airtel for our mobile phones. Both worked across Switzerland, France, and Italy. The mobile phone pack had a generous data allowance and that is essential since you will use Google Maps (a lot) to navigate. For this reason, you'll also need a power bank so that your phone doesn't die in the middle of nowhere. The only time the Airtel card had a problem, the support desk in India was accessible and helpful. <br />
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<i>Tip: </i>In case your phone doesn’t latch on to the local network automatically, switch to manual and select the first network from the available list.<br />
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4. <b>Book visits to landmarks</b> early and definitely before you leave India so that you can plan your itineraries in each city. Slots get sold out surprisingly fast. For example, we booked our guided tours of Louvre and Eiffel Tower in Paris, and the Vatican and Colosseum in Rome almost a month in advance. Considering that hotels are very expensive in Europe, you don’t want to dawdle on extended stays. Our itineraries were packed from morning till evening. It helped that sunset was at 8pm or later!<br />
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<i>Tip:</i> If you are serious about art, three museums in Paris will cover all the time periods. The Louvre Museum hosts sculptures from ancient times to 1850 and paintings from the 13th century to 1848. The Musée d'Orsay hosts french impressionist paintings from 1848 to 1914, and the Georges Pompidou Centre hosts modern art.<br />
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5. <b>Prefer the official guided tour</b> to private operators. The guides are generally more knowledgeable and the prices are lower. (‘Lower’ is a relative term: at 26 euros per head at the Louvre and 38 euros per head at the Vatican, these tours are by no means cheap by Indian standards).<br />
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6. <b>Book a walking tour.</b> Most cities have excellent area-specific so-called free walking tours run by enthusiastic and knowledgeable locals. While there is no charge, the convention is to tip the guide at the end of the tour. We took these walking tours in old Rome and in Montmartre in Paris, paid the typical 12 euros per head tip, and thought it was excellent value for money. In contrast, we booked an official walking tour in Bern at 25 CHF a head and found it overpriced.<br />
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7. <b>Dress in layers.</b> Unless you are travelling in very cold weather (below zero Celsius), jeans and shirt/tops, a fleece jacket, a water resistant outer jacket, cap, gloves, scarf, and sneakers is fine. We found Decathlon’s cold weather wear to be reasonably priced and their colours and designs blend in with what the locals wear. <br />
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<i>Tip:</i> the locals dress in sober colours and their clothes are well cut.<br />
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8. <b>Travel with one piece of baggage.</b> This is particularly important if you intend to travel to multiple cities by a low cost carrier like Easyjet (often the best way to travel within Europe). But be very careful about baggage sizes. International carriers usually allow you one carry-on bag and one accessory bag. But Easyjet strictly allows only one carry-on bag. So unless you want to pay (a lot) for extra luggage, choose a carry-on bag size that is acceptable on all your airlines.<br />
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9. <b>Prefer hotels in central locations</b> to the suburbs. Using the local bus/metro/tram in a new city without knowing the local language is stressful, expensive, and time-consuming. For this reason, we stayed near the Louvre in Paris and near the Pantheon in Rome. This meant that barring a couple of occasions when we had to take a taxi (Uber and its English-speaking drivers are a great convenience), everything was within a walking radius of 3 kilometres. This saved us a lot of hassle and allowed us to be in control of our itinerary. We stayed in two-star hotels that cost 150 euros a night and found them perfectly adequate, even charming. (Yep, hotels in European capitals are expensive!).<br />
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10. <b>Be prepared to walk. </b>A lot. We regularly walked more than 10 kilometres a day. Most landmarks, even in the capital cities of Bern, Paris, and Rome are a walk away. And you experience a lot more of a new place on foot than by bus, tram, or taxi.<br />
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11. <b>Don’t fall for the ‘eat like a local’ myth.</b> Travel books tell you to eat in places where the locals eat to avoid getting ripped off in tourist traps. That didn’t work for us for many reasons. One, there are no ‘undiscovered’ eating places near major landmarks in the big cities. Two, everything is expensive for Indians. So a 15-euro meal that a local would consider reasonably priced quickly adds up to a large amount over 10-15 days in Indian rupees. And three, while you should definitely sample the local cuisine to broaden your horizons, there’s no point subjecting your palate to strange food just because it is local. We’ve had croute, quiche, wine, and fondue in Switzerland, pizza and pasta in Italy, and baguette and pastries in France, and the experience was sometimes great and sometimes too strange.<div>
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What worked for us was to sample the local cuisine but stick to American fast food chains when on the go. A burger and cappuccino at McDonald's costs under 10 euros, is quick, hygienic, and tasty. It also sufficiently fuels you for hours of walking without feeling overstuffed.<br />
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12. <b>Supermarkets are a great source of food.</b> Since restaurants in Europe are expensive, many locals and savvy tourists buy an assortment of food – croissants, pastries, fruits, ice cream, drinks – at chain stores like Migros (in Switzerland) and make a picnic meal of it. Not only is this cheaper than eating in restaurants, it is also quite the done thing. On the banks of the river Seine in Paris, along the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, and in parks across Europe, you will find people enjoying the weather and a picnic meal. <br />
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13. <b>Water is potable in many public places but not all</b>, so be careful. Travel guides say that water in public taps, fountains, and washrooms across Western Europe is safe to drink but it's not that simple. In Switzerland, water in all the public fountains in Bern was potable but many water fountains in Geneva had little signs saying it was not safe to drink from them. In Interlaken, we found just one tap on the main street and it was a little tacky. Paris doesn't have a lot of public water taps but Rome has plenty.<br />
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14. Pack a bathroom mug.<br />
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15. Budget Rs 3.5 lakhs for the trip. This is roughly what a Europe holiday of 10 nights to 3 cities for a couple will cost (Mar-Apr 2019 prices, Euro = Rs 80). Here's the breakup:<br />
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Pre-flight expenses = Rs 20,000 (visa fees, insurance, service charges, phone pack, etc.)<br />
India-Europe return airfare = Rs 1,00,000 <br />
Internal Europe airfares = Rs 25,000<br />
Hotels = Rs 1,20,0000 (Euro 150/night, 10 nights)<br />
Food = Rs 40,000 (Euro 50/day, 10 days)<br />
Airport taxis = Rs 19,200 (Euro 40 from airport to hotel, 6 trips, 3 cities)<br />
Landmarks (entrance tickets, guides) = Rs 28,800 (average Euro 20/head/landmark, 9 landmarks, 3 cities) <br />
Souvenirs, gifts = Rs 8,000 (Euro 100)<br />
TOTAL = Rs 3,60,000<br />
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<b>PS. </b>Brands mentioned in the post are not endorsements. <br />
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Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-25693940316487270692019-02-14T08:06:00.002+05:302020-05-10T10:24:23.933+05:30The Alice-in-Wonderland world of Amazon Customer SupportAmazon.in says that more than half of India’s online shoppers shop on its website. All the more reason for them to fix the insanely long and complicated Customer Service labyrinth that I encountered when I recently purchased a smartphone through them.<br /><br />The phone turned out to be defective and so I went on the website to request a replacement. (No, the problem was not with the SIM card, I checked.)<br /> <br /> Amazon asked me to download an app called Smart Chk to run diagnostic checks on my phone. The download failed.<br /> <br /> I was then directed to download the app from Google Play. This was starting to get inconvenient but having no other option, I went to Google Play but found that Smart Chk no longer exists; it has been replaced by an app called Blancco Diagnostics.<br /> <br /> I was a little wary about downloading an unknown app but did it anyway (How come Amazon did not mention that Blancco had replaced Smart Chk?). But when I tried to run the app, it asked for a PIN to be entered or a QR code to be scanned. I had neither.<br /> <br /> There was a 1 800 number listed on the error message screen but it did not work.<br /> <br /> So I went back on the Amazon website and opted for the call back option to try and solve the issue.<br /> <br /> An Amazon Customer Service rep came on the call and I narrated the history. He was courteous but asked me to repeat the process of downloading and installing the Smart Chk/Blancco app (even he was not aware that the app had changed). When I told him that I’d already done this, he requested me to delete my download and redo the download-and-install process.<br /> <br /> When I repeated the app download-and-install process and arrived at the screen asking for a PIN, the rep provided me with the PIN. The app started to run but aborted midway.<br /> <br /> The rep made me redo the whole process. Same result; the Blancco app aborted midway.<br /> <br /> The rep then said that since the online diagnostic tool did not work, Amazon would send a technician to my place to check my phone.<br /> <br /> All right, I said. When would the technician come?<br /> <br /> The earliest free slot for the technician is in a week’s time, said the rep. He can visit you in seven days from now.<br /> <br /> I was flabbergasted. I told the rep that had I purchased the phone from a physical store, the dealer would have checked the phone and given me a replacement over the counter. After all, the phone is brand new and under warranty.<br /> <br /> I understand your situation, the rep sympathised. But this is our process.<br /> <br /> Can you register a complaint regarding your process, I asked the rep.<br /> <br /> I would not be able to do that, he said. But give me 24 hours and I will definitely get back to you to see if we can get the technician to visit you earlier.<br /> <br /> Wow.<br /> <br /> So having spent nearly an hour on the phone juggling an online support form, a non-functioning 1 800 telephone number, and a failed diagnostic app, I was told that I would have to wait for a week for a technician to inspect my phone.<br /> <br /> Soon after the call, I started receiving emails at frequent intervals asking me to rate the Amazon Customer Service experience.<br /> <br /> I ignored the first two emails. When the third one popped up in my Inbox, I replied narrating the whole sorry story of what had transpired.<br /> <br /> That last email got results.<br /> <br /> Customer Service emailed me a response asking me to call a 1 800 number (not the previous one) to discuss a phone replacement or refund.<br /> <br /> But the new 1 800 number did not work either. When I emailed Customer Service asking them to either call me or give me an alternate number, they asked me to use the call back option on the Amazon website. I did that and a rep told me that Amazon was processing a replacement phone.<br /> <br /> Sure enough, the replacement arrived and the exchange went through without further ado.<br /> <br /><b> So why am I complaining?</b><br /> <br /> My story had a happy ending. But it would be all too easy to say All’s Well That Ends Well and forget about the irritants and glitches on the way.<br /> <br /> So I want to record the hassle. I want to highlight the tortuous process that Amazon has for returning defective smartphones.<br /> <br /> I hope someone in Amazon reads this and makes the process easier for customers. Because the current process is riddled with inefficiencies and errors.<br /> <br /> The process asked me to download a diagnostic app (Smart Chk) which turns out to have been replaced by a new app (Blancco Diagnostics). Neither the Amazon website nor the rep mentioned this change.<br /> <br /> When the app failed, the error message screen directed me to call a 1 800 number for support. This number did not work.<br /> <br /> When I finally spoke to the Customer Service rep, I was told the Blancco Diagnostic app requires both SIM cards in a dual SIM phone. Where does that leave people like me who use only one SIM card? Why would I want to borrow someone else’s SIM card just because the app cannot handle a single SIM?<br /> <br /> When the Blancco app aborted, the Service rep told me that a technician would visit me in one week to inspect my phone. To save time, I asked if there was an authorised service centre I could visit. I was told they didn’t have any in Bangalore. That is ridiculous.<br /> <br /> When Customer Service responded to my final email, I was directed to call a 1 800 number to discuss the issue. That number also did not work and we were back to the call back option on the online form.<br /> <br /> This has made me think. Why do we shop on Amazon?<br /> <br /> We shop because it is convenient, the prices are lower, and we are assured of an efficient redress if something goes wrong with the product or delivery.<br /> <br /> In light of my experience, I have revisited these assumptions.<br /> <br /> Yes, online shopping is super convenient. But with authorised outlets all over the city, shopping at a physical store is not difficult all, especially in a product category like a smartphone where you have already done your research and are sure of the model you want to buy. You just need to visit a store that has your desired product.<br /> <br /> No, prices are no longer all that lower on Amazon. I checked prices of the phone I ordered on Amazon both on the manufacturer’s site and at retail stores. To my surprise, the prices were exactly the same.<br /> <br /> No, Amazon Customer Service was not efficient. Had I bought the phone from a retail store, the dealer would have most likely accepted my complaint, checked the item, and replaced it immediately. Remember, I initiated the complaint almost immediately after receiving the item.<br /> <br /> So as the ecommerce battles rage on, Amazon and the rest of the online sellers will have to reflect on what exactly are their competitive differentiators?<div><br /></div>Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2736209968393964014.post-57564735441309022042018-09-14T10:17:00.002+05:302020-05-10T10:23:28.615+05:30A cow for Mr Saxena<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Representative image</span></div>
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The internet may well be turning us into a global village but every now and then, something happens to remind us of the differences among peoples. <br /><br /> This happened recently at a large global company in Switzerland. Like many global offices, this one too has people from many different countries. One of them, an Indian named Saxena (name changed), was promoted to a bigger role. So his boss, Anna (name changed), a native Swiss, decided to honour him with a parting gift. <br /> <br />But not just any gift. Anna decided to gift Saxena a cow. <br /> <br />But not just any cow. She bought a cow in South Africa, named it in Saxena’s honour, and arranged for it to be cared by a local farmer. So though Saxena may never see it, he now knows that somewhere in Africa, there is a cow named after him that is helping a needy family. <br /> <br />The person who told me the story said she got involved because she was asked to write a few lines for the occasion -- Indians being cow worshippers and all. <br /><br /> When Anna’s boss, an Asian-American named Marcos (name changed), came to know of this, she was so thrilled that she's sending over a communications guy from Switzerland to film the cow. <br /><br /> When I first heard the story, my initial reaction was that this is what rich people with too much money do. On reflection though, maybe it's not all that strange. After all, Roger Federer was gifted a cow, not once but twice. <br /><br /> So maybe this is just something the Swiss like to do! <br /> <br /> <br />Vijay Menonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05233342229367943376noreply@blogger.com