Like Bollywood, Mangoes should be a Cultural Export from India!

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Sanjay Puri

Summer time is mango time in India and the fruit markets in India are flooded with delicious variety of mangoes! If Bollywood and cricket rule over Indian hearts, mangoes make a close call as most Indians are crazy about this fruit.  Popular as the mango season in India, it is amazing to note that India produces around 40-60 popular mango varieties and over 15 million tons of mangoes which is about 40 per cent of global mango produce. The mango season lasts over 100 days from late March through June. As mango is highly susceptible to weather change, it is subject to varying prices during a mango season.

Mangoes just like Bollywood make a great cultural export from India! The popularity of mangoes for Indians can be compared to Indian obsession over Bollywood and cricket

Mangoes just like Bollywood make a great cultural export from India! The popularity of mangoes for Indians can be compared to Indian obsession over Bollywood and cricket

No matter how mangoes are priced, it is amazing to see most streets and corners in India brimming with vendors selling boxes full of mangoes or the loose variety of mangoes sold by the dozen or the kilogram. The Indian diaspora around the globe follows the mango season nostalgically keeping mango vendors in India busy during the season with orders from around the world. To boost up mango export, India needs to work on eliminating the use of pesticides and producing more organic variety of mangoes.

A mango-loving country with a rich mango produce, wide variety and history to be proud of, I wonder why India has not marketed its mangoes to the world more aggressively! Just like Bollywood, mangoes are a great cultural export and India needs to run a mango campaign to encourage and promote cultural bonding. There is an International Mango Festival which takes place in July in Delhi every year presenting the season’s produce of mango variety (with a display of up to 500 varieties) for Indians and rest of the World. It needs to be tweaked to become an international event/festival, similar to the Jaipur Literary festival with its international appeal, for introducing and popularizing one of the tastiest Indian fruits to a global audience.

In the picture: A store in NYC selling Indian variety of mangoes during a short mango season

How about a “Magical Mangoes” campaign to drive tourism?  In the US, wine tours are popular for wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs that involve travel to wine destinations in the country highlighting different aspects of wine making, regions, process and tasting; similarly a Mango region tour in India will be a fitting introduction to the country’s most loved fruit—its rich variety, mango regions, different uses of mangoes in cuisine/regional specialties clubbed with the mango tasting experience.

Indian Curry, Bollywood and some cool Indian mangoes could be   a great winning combo for India.

Your thoughts are welcome.

 

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Family is truly IMPORTANT in India!

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Sanjay Puri
Bollywood to Politics: Family Rules!

Bollywood to Politics: Family Rules!

Family business is the thing for Indians! One easily accepted norm in India is for the offsprings to carry the family business/name ahead. The children of some of the most happening star names, professionals and business people are expected to (and usually do) take over family-owned business or professions. Within the business community this is evident in the family-run businesses of the Birlas, Ambanis, Godrej and others. The trend is equally routine in the film industry, and Bollywood star-kids such as Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, Hrithik Roshan, and Ranbir Kapoor have recently joined the bandwagon of star off springs making it to the Bollywood dream. It might surprise some (not Indians perhaps, as they have gotten used to it) to observe the same trend in politics with Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Om Prakash Chauthala, Rabri Devi and family entering politics after their parents, spouses and siblings. May be it should be called ‘Bollywood star —— & Family’; ‘Politician———- & Family’ and so on. Wonder who will be the next to be hit by this trend – ‘Sachin Tendulkar & Family’ – maybe.

The Ambanis

Like father, like son: Anil & Mukesh Ambani step into the shoes of Dhirubhai Ambani as heirs to multi-billion business empire

Being linked to a star or business name does not translate into success or the guarantee that a star offspring will shine without merits. At the same time having a family business as the stepping stone does have its clear paybacks! Passing on a legacy is a good thing as most children learn about the line of work starting at the dinner table be it business, acting, cricket etc, but the benefits of meritocracy cannot be overlooked. What about those talented folks who want to break into Bollywood, politics, business and arts who do not have family ties! How would they get a fair chance to break in?

Akhilesh Yadav

Under the safe aegis of his father: Akhilesh Yadav with his mentor and father Mulayam Singh Yadav

Moreover, individuality is a streak that should be encouraged in children. An artist’s child may or may not be an artist but deserves to find out on his own. There is a fair chance a star child is truly interested in the same field: Politics, Films, Art, Sport etc. But just because there is an established family business or star name and it is easy to carry the tradition ahead, compelling a person to follow in the parents footsteps is to me a case of royalty repeated! It leaves much to be expected (than being compared to the shadow of popular kin/family member) and it is unfair for other talented people in the industry waiting to break in. They are sure to pale in comparison to names like the Bachchans, the Chauthalas, the Gandhis and so on. India has taken its tradition of “the King and his heirs” far too seriously, hindering fair meritocracy. History is a witness to the most amazing discoveries and talent coming from unexpected places. I look at new talent as the modern way to change. With young talent will also emerge the possibility of any real change coming from different quarters of India? Probably this is the change India needs!

Your thoughts are welcome.

-Sanjay Puri

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Two Religions come together in India: Bollywood and Cricket!

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Sanjay Puri

I always wonder why a cricket-crazy nation like India has hockey as its national game! It has been decades that cricket has ruled the hearts of young and old. The World cup series in 2012 had one and all—Chaiwallahs (tea sellers), malls, shop keepers and Indian households glued to their television sets, mobiles, radios and computers, watching the action ball by ball.  For others (office goers, especially) cricket meant checking live scores online. The Indian craze for the game makes the nation come to a stop during IPL season, World cup or the steaming India-Pakistan matches. The layout has been tweaked to add 30-over matches, 20 and may be 10 in the future to a regular test match. The spirit of cricket has always had the better of Indians.

What’s with Bollywood stars launching teams!—Playing cricket/football is not the same as donning the silver screen

What’s with Bollywood stars launching teams!—Playing cricket/football is not the same as donning the silver screen

The other religion in India is Bollywood movies. Indians love movies and going to the multiplexes (or the single PVR screen cinemas) especially to get their movie fix. Movie going is a popular family entertainment activity. India releases over a 1,000 movies a year. However, as a cricket purist, I think the recent news of Riteish Deshmukh launching a celebrity cricket team went way over the top. We already have cricketers exclusively known by the product they endorse, and now it looks like a U-turn; maybe Bollywood stars want to throw some glitter down the pitch of cricket. The stardom of Bollywood lured some cricketers to act in movies, and they have not had major success. Probably, one reasonable grounds would be that acting and cricket are not easy to switch—(read)oil and water!

I am amused with the recent making of the ASFC team with Abhishek Bachchan leading the (star) studded Bollywood team. This time I reckon that the Bollywood team will play football matches against the Indian cricket team. Last year we saw the CCL (Celebrity cricket League) join hands regionally—Tollywood, Kollywood (Kannada cinema) and Bollywood film stars played some action in 20-20 cricket tournaments.  Fractured legs and fingers may have made the game of cricket look challenging (than it is), but the point is ‘Aren’t cricketers supposed to play cricket and movie stars supposed to act or make movies?’

Playing sports for charity is a very noble gesture, but somehow doing it by entering a sport that demands serious training, talent and dedication raises serious questions. Movies and cricket are respectable professions entertaining masses in India.  However, I wonder at what point the public will say enough is enough with this wall to wall cricket and Bollywood?

Sounds strange? What more is to be expected when its cricket mingled with Bollywood!

Your thoughts are welcome.
Sanjay Puri

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Missed Calls: A lesson in innovation during tough times

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Sanjay Puri

Indians are popular for using innovation to create value with fewer resources. Historically known to make more out of less, you will find them making best use of shampoo sachets, shared books, computers and even a cup of steaming tea (known as ‘cutting’ i.e. one cup of tea cut down into two glasses) to save costs! Given today’s tough times the world needs to pay heed to making more out of less.

Indians use ‘missed calls’ to convey a message and save mobile balance.

When it comes to cutting costs on mobile credit balance, India banks on a fool-proof method of making missed calls (popular as dropped calls in US)! In rural India, the frugality of the mobile users has led to ‘giving a missed call’ which is aptly used as a media strategy by small businesses. Rural folk in India are known to recharge their pre-paid cards with minimum talk-time balance even as mobiles turn out to be the most effective means to reach them.

No wonder ‘missed call‘ has become a Rs. 500 cr business! The ‘missed call‘ is a smart choice for pre-paid mobile users (which forms 96% of 900 million users) like students, traders, workers, housewives and a great opportunity for businesses like banks, small businesses, restaurants etc., though I am not sure how pleased the cell phone companies are with this non-commercial trend in India. For if SMS is a cheap way of communication, missed calls run a marathon on ‘no-money—just one ring!’ culture today.

The intended missed call is a ‘no-cost’ communication for people not wanting to spend their mobile balance, but cleverly conveying their message across. Where a call or SMS would be more time consuming, just a missed call to say “I have landed”, “I have reached safely”, “money has arrived”, “the parcel has left” etc. looks like a smart move. Missed calls show the true ingenuity of the Indian mind. It is truly amazing to see how the telecommunications revolution has led to every household being able to afford a phone but finding ways to communicate cost-effectively using innovative ways.

I believe there are companies that are beginning to tap into the business opportunity by trying to decode the meaning of these missed calls to save company costs and increase customer loyalty. Banks use them for usual queries like account balance, mini-statements etc. Dial a number and these banks will text message the information to your cell phone. Some dance reality TV shows request their callers to simply give missed calls to cast votes. I believe that the ‘one missed call’ campaign can be used to increase brand sales, while the regional campaigns can benefit from penetrating the rural areas using regional languages.

App developers are cashing in on the 'missed call' in India

App developers are cashing in on the ‘missed call’ in India

But the missed calls have now gone beyond saving on cost and make a simple, time saving way of getting the message across to the outside world. This splurge in missed call has also spurred growth for online apps for mobile phone users and phone apps like Missed call and SMS alert, other android phone apps are popularly used to alert a user about a missed call/SMS with sound, vibration, LED, and even lighting up your screen every 10 minutes.

But all of this need not be limited to Indians alone, as Americans are a truly innovative society and given the economic uncertainties they can find inspiration in the missed call and look for ways to do more with less.

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