Quieter or Noisy Bazaars...You Decide?

We all heard about the attack on Reliance store in Ranchi. And as I was pondering over it and trying to understand the dynamics of the situation, I got another interesting article from Bhai.

The article he sent me was a news story done by BBC on changing role of supermarkets in India. I thought these two articles neatly tied into each other, and answered some of the questions I was thinking about when I heard about the danga in Ranchi.

The story by BBC does get into some of the pros and cons of the new system that seems to be coming up in most cities in India, the concept of selling fresh fruits and vegetables at supermarkets and more and more people preferring to shop there in contrast to heading for the local sabzee mandi for buying the vegetables and fruits for the day or week.

The article stated that people seem to prefer to go to supermarkets which house a variety of items, so that it can serve as a one stop shop for all needs of the people. Personally, I'm still a little skeptical of the concept of buying vegetables from a supermarket.

I've been living in the US for 3 years and only I know how much I miss going to a sabzee mandee to buy fresh veggies and fruits. The veggies at the supermarket can never compete with the subzee mandee veggies in terms of freshness. The only reason I can think of people not wanting to go to sabzee mandee is because they might feel its unhygenic as all veggies are out in the open and especially in India where there is a lost of dust flying in the air.

The article also talks about how some consumers feel that they can go to the supermarket with their whole family and all the family members will find something to suit their interest. From personal experience, I can say that going to the subzee mandee with my father every Sunday was quiet a fun and educational activity to do.

Some of aspiring executives learn so many principles of communication and business management in well polished, heavy ivory or oak door B-Schools. In my opinion, that learning will only be complete when you put that into practice and one such place are these subzee mandees. First hand you get to practice your communication and business skills. Interaction between customer and clients, the art of striking a bargain ( a very useful skill in business, helps in landing client accounts) are all part of the theory taught in B-Schools, but I have already learned them by just accompying my father every sunday to the subzee mandee. And it was fun too, half a day out of the home. I think our generation is becoming lazy in the name of modernization and development.

The number of Walmarts and supermarkets and extinction of subzee mandees shouldn't be considered signs of development. "The Indian retail industry" - as the articles denotes it, is chaotic and provides employment to a lot of people who don't have the necessary educational skills to work even as an employee at the supermarkets which seem to be taking away from them.

The other side of the coin though is - Are these retail outlets really taking away business from subzee mandee vendors?

Surely, the article talks about the life of one such vendor, who is seemingly losing business and is now faced with dilemma of fighting on in the industry or returning to his village. But, is that because of retail outlets or competition between vegetable vendors from the unorganized retail industry (the others like him; who've also migrated to the city, in pursuit of a better future).

The only flaw to this theory is that the story by BBC talks about the situation of vegetable vendors in cities. The story doesn't present the picture about them in the towns and villages.

This makes me wonder more and more - What is the real picture? Is this the case only with the cities section of the Indian Retail Industry?Does every city dweller now leaning towards purchasing veggies and fruits from the supermarkets?

Being from Bangalore, I can assure people that certainly not everyone is headed to a supermarket every Sunday when they want to buy vegetables for the week. There is more crowd in HAL market to buy fruits and vegetables than there are people doing the same in all the supermarkets in the city. I think there are some more questions that need to be answered before we deliver the final verdict on this issue.

Living Alone or Living Independently

A very good friend of mine said to me, "So, now you've finally realized that you have to live your alone." And I said to myself, "Did he mean alone or independent?"

And it got me thinking even more - Is that how we view our lives now. Since most of us end up living our college years or working years away from our parents, does it mean we're living alone or independently.

In my opinion, we're living independently; deciding what do for ourselves on our own, defining our own rules and limits. That in no way implies that we're away from our parents or family, as the emotional ties are always there. And that is the force of living for all of us - our families. Especially, in our Indian culture where parents and the whole "extended family" is our support system; I can never think of a person as living alone.

Living alone to me implies when you aren't accountable for your actions to anybody, when no one than you faces the implications of our actions. And if you do find yourself in such a situation, yes you are living alone. But, not for too long; as no one in this world can claim that they have spent all their lives living alone. This is because humans by nature prosper in a community. Remember the first social studies lesson "Man is a social animal."

So, my friends, think about it. Are you living alone or independent? And if you are living independent, better think 4 times before you do something because it definitely affect someone other than you too. And if you discover you are living alone, don't be depressed; look around and soon you will move towards the living independent group.

My mommy...Bestest

Yes, ladies and gentlemen - "My mommy is the bestest and any of you who want to contradict that can come and talk to me." Isn't that what all of us believe, but the main question is how many times do we actually tell our moms that? Well, if you haven't said it already to her, I suggest the following:

Step1: If you are within driving distance of your mom - you go to her with a bunch of her favourite flowers.

Step2: When she opens the door, give her a big hug and a kiss on her cheek and the flowers.

Step3: Take her out on a date. Yes guys and girls!!!...you can always take your mom out on a date.

Ma, I know I'm not in the same city as you......so all I can say is - I Love You to death - always have and always will. I know I've been your naughty one.....but today I'm where I'm all because of your sheer hard-work and discipline. I hope that some day in the future when I'm in your shoes I can be as proud of my kids as you are of yours and give them the same love, discipline and sanskaar that you have given us.

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Bihar rickshaw puller angel for sick : IBNLIVE Videos

Bihar rickshaw puller angel for sick : IBNLIVE Videos

As stated in the news story, one would see such gestures coming from people who are well off. But, I guess angels come in all shapes and sizes. This guys is truely amazing. Spending Rs 50 from his daily earnings on medicines for the patients is something out of the ordinary. He is in all contexts of the word a "Hero".

And this is why I call movies stars actors and actresses and not heros and heroines. True but, that their portrayal of certain characters does inspire people to do something in life.

But, that's what they are paid to do: act. And its by virtue of cinema being a medium of mass communication that people get influnced by the characters.