Since the last anniversary - the diamond jubilee - of Indian Independence, readers of a leading Indian tabloid have been cajoled, enthused and shaken-to-be-awakened to the reality of 'Indian system'. Those with sincere (as in willing work full-time) intentions of bringing about a transformation in Indian system have been challenged to come forward and spearhead the 'Lead India' campaign. At the end of a process that was a mix of job-or-B-school-interview and election campaign and which generated excitement a la American Idol with its SMS polls, city-level winners were announced today.
All is good, so far. A company, and quite ably in the publishing and visual media domain, has taken this up. A media firm of its size is apt for this type of initiative simply because it has the muscle and the means to garner sponsorship, information and publicity that the initiative would need. At least someone is doing something about it! With the tabloid's existing readership demographic, the campaign will probably reach the right people who ought to and may care - the youth.
A report card, in the paper today, then stated the next steps of this process. Apparently, the next part of the selection process will be a TV program where in the winners of the city-level competitions will compete in a 'live reality show'. Now, why did I not see this coming?
Reality Show is the order of the day.You give some and you get some. And the media company in questions makes no claims about 'Lead India' venture (that should be the correct term, it is not just an initiative) being a charitable one. No problems with that. It would make no business sense for the tabloid to invest crores of rupees in dedicating hundreds of square inches of advertising space over several weeks to 'jagao' the public about this venture and invite dedicated individuals into this mission.
The keen sense of marketing used behind this is worth noting . They identified the right theme-transform India, they chose the right time- the diamond jubilee, they chose the right medium -a tabloid popular with the youth, and now in a symbiotic operation the group will use print and visual media together to propogate, provoke and prompt the citizens to stand up for themselves and be led by the chosen one. I hope the intentions and the drive can be sustained.
Until a critical mass is reached, any transformation of almost a revolutionary scale is not possible. NGOs and other social activists have been trying to do what 'Lead India' is attempting. The difference is that the former groups' voice did not reach as far what Lead India campaigners have managed to cross (?). So, commercialization (Priyanka Chopra and Shah Rukh Khan are two of the public faces of this campaign) is the way forward. Mass movements require mass communication and today television is no doubt the best mass influencer. The reality show show that will identify the champion for Leading India will probably also find the TRP ratings the network is looking for. After all, we all want India to improve and we all want to have a say in who will do it on our behalf. And if you can involve everyone through their TV sets, it is a win-win-win (sic) for the people, the network and the sponsors.
How for will this go?
Cliched it may be be, but it needs to be said that one needs to have political clout as politicains call the shots at the administrators and bureaucrats. I think 'Lead India' campaign will lead to the emergence of a political party in the next few years, if the initiave- sorry, the venture- finds people's accpetance. One that will have a secular, progressive, anti-corruption based mandate (I can join a party with this jargon!).
While the 'Lead India' campaigners have hit upon a great idea and will probably see it through (over many years, if not decades that it will require), one can almost expect opportunistic businessmen build around this idea to set-up similar ventures to exploit the let's-change-India-weakness of the educated masses and to rake in moolah in the process. It could then become a ropeway for the publicity-hungry and wannabe-but-don't-have-it-to-be publicity mongers. The contribution of such people would be as much as those of item numbers to classical dance.
Anyway, this is a beginning. What seemed like a publicity stunt is increasingly seeming to be a genuine effort to identify true leaders who have it in them; this going by the profiles of those shortlisted. But it may be too soon to talk about the efficacy of the operation.
But will they be able to change India? I cannot say, but I do hope. A reality show may help get the balls if not the hearts to achieve this.
2007-10-18
2007-10-15
The art and math of tipping
A tip is a bribe, a tip is a token of appreciation, they deserve it, they are only doing their job, a tip should not be a norm instead be left as an individual's prerogative...these are few of the mixed impressions I heard over a radio channel during a 30 minute drive back from work. For those traveling abroad, I can talk specifically about the States, tipping is not an option but a dimension of acceptance of local norms. Just as you cannot go to an upscale dinner place, some lounges or even the theater (Broadway/off-Broadway) wearing anything less than a 'dress', you cannot get away with leaving just any tip. You will be judged or at least stereotyped.
A recent article in the Economic Times,here, says Bombay High Court has decreed that tips can be shown as a legitimate business expense. This is good in a way since business travellers will be inclined to be more benevolent towards service-providers. Those who lack appreciation for tipping may now do good at companies' expense. I am assuming that the company policies will accommodate this, and why not.
The US thumb rule is that one has to tip around 15 % of the billed amount. As the article points out, one of the contemporary reasons for this norm is the fact that most workers in restaurants are paid minimum wage. But other reasons could be the basic fact that human labor is involved in activities that make up a dining experience. Human labor does not come easy or cheap in the US, given rampant automation again owing to low population levels. You can see this in a drive-through (no tips here), which is a quickie, but is not satisfying as an experience since a human being, typically bearing a scowl, is seen only at the fag end of the process when food is exchanged for money. Additionally, most people who work at just-any-eatery or chains are mostly 'fighting it out' for a larger pursuit in their life, such as education (just one of the many possibilities). Many are also young people in their rite of passage to work life. A combination of all this leads to a greater appreciation, in the basic sense of it, for labor. Hence, the requirement or inclination for generous tipping as you may want to see it.
Much has also got to do with faith, social history and demographic. In an ex-fuedal system or a caste-based system, and to top it in a society where memories of colonial subjugation are still lingering, the 'privileged feeling' of being serviced does not go away easily. Otherwise, why do you need an army of people to clean trays and leftovers at self-service food courts in Indian malls? Patrons do not think that self-service includes leaving a table as clean as they left it (assuming they got it clean). People pay upwards of Rs.200 per head to watch a weekend show at multiplexes, but what they leave behind resembles nothing less than a rampage. Surely, some amount of common sense must come with the ability to patronise an expensive theater.
That on an average Indians are not the best tippers is common knowledge. That 10% of Indians in the US live below poverty line may be a remote consequence of this. If the expat brethren tipped better at the several 'Indian streets' spread across the American geography, the BPL number might slightly improve(several assumptions need to be in place including legal employment). I have seen that Indian restaurants in the US have worked around the Desi resistance to 'proper' tipping by mandating at least 18% gratuity for eating groups of 5 or 7 or more depending on the scale of the place. As it is, this is a norm in non-Indian places.
Tipping is a host's prerogative, but if you are in a smaller group and your host turns out to be a bad tipper, you are in a dilemma whether to disrespect the host by adding to the tip or be unfair to the keen waiter; worse still, if you like the place and plan to come back. I have heard horror stories from friends who have been embarrassed in such situations. One story has the host leaving just a dollar for a $100-odd 'cheque', for an uneventful (read as normal service) dinner at a Thai place in Los Angeles.
Then there is the question of where your tips go. I remember talking to a friendly waiter at the Pizza Corner on Brigade Road. They apparently have a socialist framework for tips. Everything that anyone earns goes into a common box, spoils of which are shared by all at the end of the week. Even if getting a generous tipper is a matter of small chance for any waiter in India, in my opinion, this is a corrupt system, where the inefficient live off the productive ones. At a restaurant, attitude of the servers is what matters and can be easily controlled. So, why should everyone get the same share if some have better attitude than others? This partly why I never tip on my credit card receipt. If the money goes to the cash box, it may not reach the gent or the lady who attended us. Instead, I leave cash behind, hoping it goes to the rightful owner.
To tip or not tip is your own prerogative, but if you will appreciate, as the cliched acronym stands, TIPS are given 'To Insure Prompt Service'.
A recent article in the Economic Times,here, says Bombay High Court has decreed that tips can be shown as a legitimate business expense. This is good in a way since business travellers will be inclined to be more benevolent towards service-providers. Those who lack appreciation for tipping may now do good at companies' expense. I am assuming that the company policies will accommodate this, and why not.
The US thumb rule is that one has to tip around 15 % of the billed amount. As the article points out, one of the contemporary reasons for this norm is the fact that most workers in restaurants are paid minimum wage. But other reasons could be the basic fact that human labor is involved in activities that make up a dining experience. Human labor does not come easy or cheap in the US, given rampant automation again owing to low population levels. You can see this in a drive-through (no tips here), which is a quickie, but is not satisfying as an experience since a human being, typically bearing a scowl, is seen only at the fag end of the process when food is exchanged for money. Additionally, most people who work at just-any-eatery or chains are mostly 'fighting it out' for a larger pursuit in their life, such as education (just one of the many possibilities). Many are also young people in their rite of passage to work life. A combination of all this leads to a greater appreciation, in the basic sense of it, for labor. Hence, the requirement or inclination for generous tipping as you may want to see it.
Much has also got to do with faith, social history and demographic. In an ex-fuedal system or a caste-based system, and to top it in a society where memories of colonial subjugation are still lingering, the 'privileged feeling' of being serviced does not go away easily. Otherwise, why do you need an army of people to clean trays and leftovers at self-service food courts in Indian malls? Patrons do not think that self-service includes leaving a table as clean as they left it (assuming they got it clean). People pay upwards of Rs.200 per head to watch a weekend show at multiplexes, but what they leave behind resembles nothing less than a rampage. Surely, some amount of common sense must come with the ability to patronise an expensive theater.
That on an average Indians are not the best tippers is common knowledge. That 10% of Indians in the US live below poverty line may be a remote consequence of this. If the expat brethren tipped better at the several 'Indian streets' spread across the American geography, the BPL number might slightly improve(several assumptions need to be in place including legal employment). I have seen that Indian restaurants in the US have worked around the Desi resistance to 'proper' tipping by mandating at least 18% gratuity for eating groups of 5 or 7 or more depending on the scale of the place. As it is, this is a norm in non-Indian places.
Tipping is a host's prerogative, but if you are in a smaller group and your host turns out to be a bad tipper, you are in a dilemma whether to disrespect the host by adding to the tip or be unfair to the keen waiter; worse still, if you like the place and plan to come back. I have heard horror stories from friends who have been embarrassed in such situations. One story has the host leaving just a dollar for a $100-odd 'cheque', for an uneventful (read as normal service) dinner at a Thai place in Los Angeles.
Then there is the question of where your tips go. I remember talking to a friendly waiter at the Pizza Corner on Brigade Road. They apparently have a socialist framework for tips. Everything that anyone earns goes into a common box, spoils of which are shared by all at the end of the week. Even if getting a generous tipper is a matter of small chance for any waiter in India, in my opinion, this is a corrupt system, where the inefficient live off the productive ones. At a restaurant, attitude of the servers is what matters and can be easily controlled. So, why should everyone get the same share if some have better attitude than others? This partly why I never tip on my credit card receipt. If the money goes to the cash box, it may not reach the gent or the lady who attended us. Instead, I leave cash behind, hoping it goes to the rightful owner.
To tip or not tip is your own prerogative, but if you will appreciate, as the cliched acronym stands, TIPS are given 'To Insure Prompt Service'.
2007-10-01
O' DBC, thou art great!
Sometimes people tell you. Sometimes you see it yourself, And sometimes you just know it.I know, now, I am really over the hill.
Corner House has been a part of growing up in Bangalore for at least a few decades. People who went there during their days at school and college return to try and capture a whiff of their own youthful exuberance. Well,that may be a tad too romantic for a few. But the fact remains that the place serves an amazing variety of no-frills ice cream based delectable goodies. Boys, girls, men and women, kids and seniors throng these parlours.
We -many of my family and friends- have been enamoured by the sensual pleasure of the creamy, chocolaty and dewy treats of this small but growing chain of ice cream parlours. The pièce de résistance of Corner House is 'Death By Chocolate'. The name says it all. One serving of this sundae is one too many. A couple of scoops of vanilla, two slices of warm chocolate brownies, oodles of chocolate sauce, a few soft sweet cherries and tablespoon of assorted nuts. The simple combination is too chocolaty for even the best fans of chocolate. The sweetest tooths (sic) of the world could be humbled by the deadly concoction that goes by the nickname 'DBC'. Not any kind of preparation can ready you for the DBC. Half-way into the chocolaty binge, you feel you have had enough chocolate for a lifetime. Your pride takes you a couple of spoonfuls further. Your determination takes you ahead a little more and only the strongest can claim to have downed the full serving of the cocktail.
After almost five months, the yearning for some tasty ice cream at the good ol' parlour brought a smile on me and a smirk on my wife's face. Battling a sudden downpour to which even visitors to Bangalore have gotten used to, we drove eagerly towards the local mecca of ice cream desserts. I had not tried my hand at DBC in over two years. The last time I had was during our courtship, when I was familiarising S with Bangalore's hidden charms. S had failed miserably at the DBC challenge. I had had to finish the serving then. My eagerness and determination to overcome the DBC challenge was growing, as we parked the car.
At half past nine, even in a rainy evening, the place was busy. We were greeted by the chatter and laughter that thrives in this place. Surely, people don't visit a dessert place if they have nothing to celebrate, however small. I remembered the many visits to this place even as S was finding it difficult to make up her mind. I kept pointing at DBC even as she kept ignoring the direction of my fingers. But DBC it had to be for me. While S started on her Black Forest and mocha combination, I chatted up with the owner. He asked if I wanted DBC packed. NO! I will have it here, I said pompously. S shook her head in revulsion, when I placed the half-liter bowl on the table.
I will not delve into my scrambles...But a few minutes later I was at the counter asking the tender to give me a lid for the ice-cream bowl he had given me. He nodded and turned around to pick one up. 'I could do this in college, now it is too much' I said shaking my head. A couple of other guys and the owner just laughed. He knows what DBC stands for. He has seen many whimper down to their knees in their fight with DBC. It's a fight they invite themselves too. Only a few prevail.
Earlier, when I was at the counter DBC, a geeky chap in his early twenties had been placing an order for a DBC. The fellow had proudly exclaimed to his friends 'Come on guys, I have ordered DBC. Let's attack!'. I could see this fellow happily winning his challenge today. I remembered such days when DBC would have had a predetermined result; my win. I could have done that then, but not anymore, I thought as I carried home an almost full serving of DBC. A couple of spoonfuls or three and I had had it. I needed help or time or both. This is what I mean when I say that I know I am over the hill.
DBC has taken a new meaning for me- 'Duped by chocolate' or 'Defeated by Chocolate'.
O'DBC, thou art great! I secede.
S had the last laugh today.Yours truly went home sad but wiser.
Corner House has been a part of growing up in Bangalore for at least a few decades. People who went there during their days at school and college return to try and capture a whiff of their own youthful exuberance. Well,that may be a tad too romantic for a few. But the fact remains that the place serves an amazing variety of no-frills ice cream based delectable goodies. Boys, girls, men and women, kids and seniors throng these parlours.
We -many of my family and friends- have been enamoured by the sensual pleasure of the creamy, chocolaty and dewy treats of this small but growing chain of ice cream parlours. The pièce de résistance of Corner House is 'Death By Chocolate'. The name says it all. One serving of this sundae is one too many. A couple of scoops of vanilla, two slices of warm chocolate brownies, oodles of chocolate sauce, a few soft sweet cherries and tablespoon of assorted nuts. The simple combination is too chocolaty for even the best fans of chocolate. The sweetest tooths (sic) of the world could be humbled by the deadly concoction that goes by the nickname 'DBC'. Not any kind of preparation can ready you for the DBC. Half-way into the chocolaty binge, you feel you have had enough chocolate for a lifetime. Your pride takes you a couple of spoonfuls further. Your determination takes you ahead a little more and only the strongest can claim to have downed the full serving of the cocktail.
After almost five months, the yearning for some tasty ice cream at the good ol' parlour brought a smile on me and a smirk on my wife's face. Battling a sudden downpour to which even visitors to Bangalore have gotten used to, we drove eagerly towards the local mecca of ice cream desserts. I had not tried my hand at DBC in over two years. The last time I had was during our courtship, when I was familiarising S with Bangalore's hidden charms. S had failed miserably at the DBC challenge. I had had to finish the serving then. My eagerness and determination to overcome the DBC challenge was growing, as we parked the car.
At half past nine, even in a rainy evening, the place was busy. We were greeted by the chatter and laughter that thrives in this place. Surely, people don't visit a dessert place if they have nothing to celebrate, however small. I remembered the many visits to this place even as S was finding it difficult to make up her mind. I kept pointing at DBC even as she kept ignoring the direction of my fingers. But DBC it had to be for me. While S started on her Black Forest and mocha combination, I chatted up with the owner. He asked if I wanted DBC packed. NO! I will have it here, I said pompously. S shook her head in revulsion, when I placed the half-liter bowl on the table.
I will not delve into my scrambles...But a few minutes later I was at the counter asking the tender to give me a lid for the ice-cream bowl he had given me. He nodded and turned around to pick one up. 'I could do this in college, now it is too much' I said shaking my head. A couple of other guys and the owner just laughed. He knows what DBC stands for. He has seen many whimper down to their knees in their fight with DBC. It's a fight they invite themselves too. Only a few prevail.
Earlier, when I was at the counter DBC, a geeky chap in his early twenties had been placing an order for a DBC. The fellow had proudly exclaimed to his friends 'Come on guys, I have ordered DBC. Let's attack!'. I could see this fellow happily winning his challenge today. I remembered such days when DBC would have had a predetermined result; my win. I could have done that then, but not anymore, I thought as I carried home an almost full serving of DBC. A couple of spoonfuls or three and I had had it. I needed help or time or both. This is what I mean when I say that I know I am over the hill.
DBC has taken a new meaning for me- 'Duped by chocolate' or 'Defeated by Chocolate'.
O'DBC, thou art great! I secede.
S had the last laugh today.Yours truly went home sad but wiser.
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