What’s Hot

[BOOK - SHORT TAKES]

 

 
HOW THE IIM-A WAS BUILT

“While his personal life was taking a new and ominious shape, Vikram’s dream of starting a world-class management institute in Ahmedabad, with the assistance of the Ford Foundation, had run into rough weather. A team of researchers sent from the US to survey Indian conditions had reported back in shock that povertyridden India was more in need of primary schools than management education.

Disappointed but not disheartened, Vikram met representatives of the Ford Foundation again and made the request for a second team of researchers to be sent. The second opinion proved more favourable. Armed with it, Vikram went to Harvard University to seek its involvement in the project. Kamla, with her qualifications, was naturally involved from the very start; In fact, the IIM-A was very much a joint dream for the two of them. They also roped in Prakash Tandon who had become a friend after his visit for the ATIRA conference and who, with his Harvard experience, was able to add value to their efforts.”

VIKRAM SARABHAI: A LIFE, By Amrita Shah, Penguin Books India, Rs 425

THE CURSE OF THE PARTY

“If I had the power to curse, I would have cursed so many by now – men most of them, the frustrated men of our villages hungry for easy money who let their wives work for them or crept up to the city hoping to fond a party with an open hand. That’s how my brother made his way – they took him from the village and drove him up in a truck for the elections with a gang of his friends. He said it was our duty to go up to the city and vote as many times as they told us to, otherwise the people in the houses would continue making more money while people like us were sown into the ground. That was what the Party preached – that was what all parties preached. Go up against the people with comfortable lives and their comforts from them in the quickest way possible. When I first came to the bustee, it seemed as of all the power was gathered in those moving bodies with the flags waving over their heads, flags of all colours, orange, green, white, red. The city was ruled by processions, clogged by processions and filled with people who had no jobs and looked to the parties to find them jobs because all the private factories were closing down one after the other and the companies were taking their money out of the State. As a result, parties were the most profitable means of making a career – if you had a minister on your side you had the world at your feet. So men, like my brother, shook their flags and moved in the shadow of one party or the other.”

THE BLACK TONGUE, By Anjana Basu , Roli Books, Rs 295
  

 
THE PRESSURE OF BEING BIG B

“One thing coming out in the interviews is that people are not sure how Amitabh has coped with the phenomenal pressures on him. The nature of these pressures has shifted over time, but the main pressure of being so bloody famous is that anything you do or say is seen as front-page news has remained constant for more than thirty years. In addition there have been moments of intense stress. Miss World was one such moment, and I was there to witness it.

One of Amitabh’s less brilliant business decisions was to have his company host Miss World in India. The event crippled the company financially, but that was not the only thing they had to deal with. The pageant became a flash point for all the political parties and everyone wad eating his brain about it one way or another. I went to Bangalore – it seemed the thing to do. Different right-wing groups claimed that such an event was degrading to Indian ideals of womanhood; some got so worked up that they threatened to immolate themselves if there was too much flesh exposed. The media caught on – nothing sells newspapers like a good immolation juxtaposed with a scantily clad lovely – and every tiny demonstration
was photographed and reported to death. “

LOOKING FOR THE BIG B, By Jessica Hines , Bloomsbury Publishing, Rs 395

[BUSINESS BOOKS]

 
HOW DOCTORS THINK
By Jerome Groopman, Houghton Mifflin Company; $18.20

A New Yorker staff writer, best-selling author, and professor at Harvard Medical School unravels the ultimate medical mystery: how doctors figure out the best treatments – or fail to do so.

On average, a physician will interrupt a patient describing her symptoms within twelve seconds. In that short time, many doctors decide on the likely diagnosis and best treatment. Often, decisions made this way are correct, but at crucial moments they can also be wrong – with catastrophic consequences. In this myth-shattering book, Jerome Groopman pinpoints the forces and thought processes behind the decisions doctors make. He explores why doctors err and shows when and how they can – with our help – avoid snap judgments, embrace uncertainty, communicate effectively, and deploy other skills that can have a profound impact on our health. This book is the first to describe in detail the warning signs of erroneous medical thinking, offering direct, intelligent questions patients can ask their doctors to help them get back on track.
Groopman draws on a wealth of research, extensive interviews with some of the country’s best physicians, and his own experiences as a doctor and as a patient. He has learned many of the lessons in this book the hard way, from his own mistakes and from errors his doctors made in treating his own debilitating medical problems.

How Doctors Think reveals a profound new view of twenty-first-century medical practice, giving doctors and patients the vital information they need to make better judgments together.

BE YOUR OWN GURU
PERSONAL AND BUSINESS ENLIGHTENMENT IN JUST 3 DAYS,By Olivia Stefanino Wiley India Edition; Rs 299

Extensive research has proven that both personal and business success have more to do with emotional and spiritual intelligence than hard graft, perseverance or even good old common sense.

The bad news is that no-one can ‘give you’ either emotional or spiritual intelligence. But the good news is that because those intelligences are already lying dormant deep within you - you can learn how to harness these powers for yourself. Effectively you’ll become your own guru – and once you’ve discovered how to tap into your hidden resources, you’ll find yourself rapidly shortening the learning curve to both happiness and profits! Written in an engaging style by former journalist Olivia Stefanino, Be Your Own Guru is intriguing, inspiring and above all, accessible.

Personal anecdotes and real-life case studies will be incorporated into an overall ‘program’ which will enable readers to be their own guru in less than two months!

  

 
STRATEGY PARADOX
WHY COMMITTING TO SUCCESS LEADS TO FAILURE (AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT)
By Michael E Raynor Doubleday Publishing; $22

A compelling vision. Bold leadership. Decisive action. Unfortunately, these prerequisites of success are almost always the ingredients of failure, too. In fact, most managers seeking to maximize their chances for glory are often unwittingly setting themselves up for ruin. The sad truth is that most companies have left their futures almost entirely to chance, and don’t even realize it. The reason? Managers feel they must make choices with far-reaching onsequences today, but must base those choices on assumptions about a future they cannot predict. It is this collision between commitment and uncertainty that creates THE STRATEGY PARADOX.

This paradox sets up a ubiquitous but little- understood tradeoff. Because managers feel they must base their strategies on assumptions about an unknown future, the more ambitious of them hope their guesses will be right – or that they can somehow adapt to the turbulence that will arise. In fact, only a small number of lucky daredevils prosper, while many more unfortunate, but no less capable managers find themselves at the helms of sinking
ships. Realizing this, even if only intuitively, most managers shy away from the bold commitments that success seems to demand, choosing instead timid, unremarkable strategies, sacrificing any chance at greatness for a better chance at mere survival. Michael E. Raynor, coauthor of the bestselling The Innovator’s Solution, explains how leaders can break this tradeoff and achieve results historically reserved for the fortunate few even as they reduce the risks they must accept in the pursuit of success. In the cutthroat world of competitive strategy, this is as close as you can come to getting something for nothing. With detailed case studies of success and failure at Sony, Microsoft, Vivendi Universal, Johnson & Johnson, AT&T and other major companies in industries from financial services to energy, Raynor presents a concrete framework for strategic action that allows companies to seize today’s opportunities while simultaneously preparing for tomorrow’s promise.

[GADGETS]

GEAR UP

A UPS, a printer, a compact billing solution and a pen drive. We take a look at Bangalore-based Wep Peripherals recent slew of IT peripheral products launches.
WEP BOUNTI BP-40

Bounti BP-40 is a compact billing solution, which enables a user to take a bill print without having a computer. It prints item wise details in the bill and can store upto 2000 items in its database. The product is VAT ready and can include multiple tax slabs in the bill. At the end of the day, one can take a day sale and item sold report. The product is designed for shops that do not have an automated billing solution and are looking
for an affordable yet efficient billing solution.

BOUNTI RAINBOW
Bounti Rainbow, is an 80 Col impact printer has stunning looks with vibrant body colors and translucent finish that adds life to retail store interiors, it also comes with direct drive technology that gives smooth carriage movement, carries higher print load giving superior reliability even in extreme dusty conditions.

TOP UPS
TOP.UPS is the only multifunctional UPS in the world that becomes PC user’s table-top assistant. It has a digital clock to show the time, space to store CDs & DVDs, a universal mobile phone charger that can be used to charge all major mobile phone brands, and an emergency lamp that can be used even when there is no main power available. WeP TOP.UPS also has the lowest footprint and comes in a sleek & futuristic, ergonomically pleasing ‘bio-design’.

WEP PEN DRIVE

Also unveiled were three innovative models of pen drives. O WeP, Pen Drive comes in a metal body that makes this device unbreakable. O WeP, Pen Drive Wonder Display comes with an battery-less display that shows the amount of free disk space. O WeP, Pen Drive Fingerprint Lock comes with a biometrics security mechanism. In addition all O WeP, Pen Drive products come with a USB extender cable that make the access to USB ports (when they are at the back of the computer) easy & hassle free. All the three models come in capacities of 512MB, 1GB & 2GB.

 
MOTOFONE

The Motofone creates are stunning first impression – it’s slim and has a flush fitting keypad, making it quite sexy. It also features a revolutionary ClearVision display that provides users with a large, high-contrast screen viewable even in bright sunlight. In addition to all this there is also a voice
prompt in three languages – English, Hindi and Punjabi in the Indian version. All this is good, but whatever happened to the graphics of the phone. It brings back memories of using the good old Motorola T180. However, since it comes just for Rs.1649 it’s a good option to go mobile with.
  

[GETAWAYS]

Be at home as you holiday

Home stays are fast becoming a popular concept with travellers tired of living out of their suitcase in the same star hotels with their almost identical menu cards. The joy of staying as a guest in a proper house with a lawn and served the kind of food you would like to have on a Wednesday afternoon, is sheer bliss. Here we check out some home stay options around India.

BOB’S PLACE
Nathuakhan, Uttaranchal
Situated in the heart of the Kumaon hills, Bob’s Place gives you the right mix of everything you would want for a relaxing getaway. Right in the middle of a fruit orchard, three stone and wood cottages offer you four double bedrooms and a suite, each with its own sit outs and garden. The bedrooms are inviting and comfortable with modern attached bathroom. There is a common lounge and dining area, and a deck that aces the Himalayas. The many terraced gardens, with an abundance of flowers, are safe for kids to run free in, and perfect to just hang around and unwind! While you relax and play, tuck into generous helpings of delicious food, which will remind you of home. There are numerous easy walks, and treks for more adventure. Twenty minutes and you are in the tranquil tree shaded courtyard of an isolated pracheen temple, half an hour and you are by the cool, gurgling stream. A 3 Days/ 2 Nights Package costs you between Rs.5300 and Rs. 6200 per couple.

 


How to get there: Deccan connects Lucknow and Delhi with major cities. Nathuakhan is 340km, by road, from Delhi and approximately 450km from Lucknow.
Contact: www.cottagesindia.com

KARMI FARMS
Kolbong, West Bengal

 


Ninety minutes drive, in the northwesternly direction from Darjeeling, in the border of West Bengal, Sikkim and Nepal lies Karmi Farms. The slopes around the farms are covered tightly with trees on the higher side and terraced fields on the lower slopes. You can see Buddhist prayer flags fluttering the distance, with Narsing peak in West Sikkim as a backdrop. A walk to the farms or the monastery can be refreshing. You could spend some time chit chatting with the lamas (monks) and the local villagers, with sweet sounding Tibetan music and prayer chants filling the air. In the evening when you’re back from your trip, spend a few hours with a heady local brew – chaang. The farmhouse is built in typical mountain village style with hand made local rugs that adorn the wooden floors. There are five double bedrooms for you to choose from. The farm is totally cut off from the rest of the world. Even emails are collected once a week from Darjeeling. You could take a day out to Darjeeling and on the way back, take a 90-minute trek back or a 3-hour pony ride, through stunning countryside.
How to get there: Deccan flies directly to Baghdogra from Delhi, Kolkata and Guwahati. Karmi Farms is approximately 4 hours drive from Baghdogra.
Contact: Karmi Farms at 0354 2260209 or karmifarm@yahoo.co.uk

MULLAYAR ESTATE
Idduki, Kerala
Amidst a fully operational cardamom plantation, bordering the Periyar tiger reserve is a quaint lit-Be at home as you holiday tle cottage. The three large bedrooms are spacious and provide all essentials for a comfortable stay. Spend a lazy afternoon catching up on a book, and then enjoy a sizzling barbeque during the evenings. There’s a lot to do at the Mullayar Estate. You could trek through the hilly terrains of the plantation or bird watch from tree houses built by the tribals. And if you’re a little curious, you could take a trip to the spice gardens and watch cardamom, pepper and vanilla harvest. A little adventure by disappearing in the thick forest canopy might do well in bringing in some excitement in your vacation. The Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary is just 10km away, so a boating ride on the Periyar Lake could be a nice idea. A 1 night / 2 days package for a couple, which includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, costs approximately Rs.10, 000.

  


How to get there: Deccan regularly flies to both Madurai and Cochin from major cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Trivandrum. The Estate is approximately 150km from these airports.
Contact: Stay Homz at 04828284310 or mail@stayhomz.com

RAINFOREST RETREAT
Coorg, Karnataka
Nestled in Kodagu district amidts the Western Ghats is Rainforest Retreat, an Organic Spice Plantation and Research Centre. Rolling hills and forested valleys surrounds the quiet and calm property. You could walk into the plantation and learn how coffee, cardamom, pepper and vanilla are organically cultivated. Anglers can also try catching the mighty Masheer in the nearby Cauvery River. It’s also a good place for bird watching. Some of the many types of birds that you could hope for are falcons, partridges, nightjars, woodpeckers, orioles, barbets, bulbuls, minivets, drongos, flycatchers, sunbirds, flowerpeckers etc. You could choose from an elegant cottage, set in a rustic surrounding of bamboo, banana, coffee and orange plants or a little more rustic plantation cottage. The interiors are all properly done to make you feel at home. Not just that, but even the food is a careful selection of Indian and Continental with homemade bread, pasta, savory curries, fresh seafood, locally grown organic vegetables and fruits and the fresh gourmet coffee of Coorg. A one-night stay for a couple, including all meals, costs approximately Rs. 5000.

How to get there: Both Bangalore and Calicut are well connected by Deccan to the rest of the country. Rainforest Retreat is approx 200km from Calicut and 270km from Bangalore.
Contact: rainforestretreat@nivalink.com