This is Water

Sometimes, the title of a video or an article can be quite misleading. It may or may not work in favour of what the content is.

The video below is another example of that, but the reason I am sharing this video is not that but because it is simply a brilliant video that needs to be watched!

It is a 9 minute video but I urge you take out those 9 minutes and see this video as after watching it, you will definitely sit back and think about what you are doing in life.

Marketing with Ps or Marketing with a C?

Pick up any marketing book and chances are, that what Philip Kotler had proposed in his marketing theories is what everyone else is also propagating. What that means is that every book/every author/every marketer will tell you about the importance of the four Ps and how it still holds relevance even after so many years. 

I also entered the world of marketing with the same belief but over the years, my thinking and belief has changed and evolved. While I do not negate the importance of these four Ps, one important thing that no marketing book or theory tells you is about the importance of a C in between all these Ps. The C that I am talking about is that of CONVICTION. 

Yes my dear friends, Conviction is as important an element of marketing as any other. If you are not convinced about what you are doing then no amount of marketing can help you to see success, whether it is a product innovation, a consumer promotion or a campaign for your brand. 

When you think of conviction, the first name that comes to mind is that of Steve Jobs. He showed lot of conviction in the product idea and design that he believed in. Even when no one could fathom the existence of things like the iPod, iPad and the iPhone, he persisted with his conviction, made others believe in it and turned Apple into the success that it is. 

The dream of the Wright brothers to fly and give this world a machine that can take you in the air was built on the solid pillar of conviction. So was every other product innovation that change the dynamics of the market. 

While consumers and markets may or may not give you insights, directions and feedback, it is your own conviction that will help you in moving forward your brand and your market share. But remember conviction does not come alone. With conviction, you need lot of patience and the ability to be challenged and yet hold your ground. There will always be people who will try to prove what you are doing as a failure or as something that is not working and that is when the conviction should not waver and rather come out much stronger to tone down all such doubting critics. That is when you will stand tall and be seen as someone who delivers whatever be the circumstances. 

So guys, go out there with complete conviction and make a success of whatever you are working on! 

IF THIS WAS THE LAST BLOG FROM ME

When I start tapping the keys on my keyboard to write a blog, there is always a topic I want to talk about and share my views about. But today, it is different as the idea was to blog again after a long time but there was no topic to talk about. 

I kept thinking and trying to recall all those topics that had popped up in my head while driving or working or travelling, hoping that since they popped up from the head, they would remain there. But realization happened today, when none of those topics that vie for my share of mind came out today while I was struggling to write something. Seemed like they were enjoying this game of Hide and Seek with me. 

So finally giving up on that, I suddenly remembered that sometime back, someone who reads my blogs had asked me to write a blog with the assumption that it would be the last blog from me. Now that is an extremely interesting, complex and difficult thought to write on. But then therein lies the fun of putting something together on such a topic. 

If this would have been the last blog from me, chances are that I would have said all that I wanted to ever tell to the world and nothing more would be left for me to say. Something like that could only happen when one’s mind stops processing as the human brain will always have ideas, thoughts, opinions till the time it is active and the person is alive. 

The other reason this may be the last blog could be that this phenomenon and magical world called the Internet would be coming to an end and hence rather than choosing to put forward my last blog, I may be forced to end my blogs with one last blog. In that case, my last blog would actually be an amalgamation of so many blogs or rather thoughts of what I still intend to say and put forward to all of you. 

My last blog would probably cover various genres – fiction, poetry, philosophy, humor, observations of life and the world. But then who knows that a mixture of so many things would appear so gibberish to people that they might say themselves “I am glad that he decided to end his blogs. He had stopped making any sense!” 

Now before that happens and I leave you guys confused, I would like to bring a conclusion to this blog. 

But then, there is another thought that strikes me as I come to an end of this blog. Chances are that when I would be putting my last blog, I may not even know that this is going to be my last blog and hence some of the things that I have said above may actually not even appear in that blog. 

In fact, one thing is for sure. If it were my last blog, the headline of the blog would not be the same. After all, there is no reason for an If when there is a sure and certain eventuality to something. 

Think about it!

The Metro Manual

Out of the last 800 days, I must have used the Metro at least 500 times. Now before you start thinking that I am so obsessed to keep a track of the number of days gone by, let me tell you that the figure of 800 comes from the fact that I have completed just over two years in my current organization and hence the number. 

And the figure of 500 is an estimate. Please note that it is 500 times and not 500 days, because every day that I do decide to go to work by Metro, I also decide to come back home and hence a count of 2 per day and hence the number of 500.

Now that I have cleared the air for the doubting Thomases, let me come to the main objective of this blog. I believe that I have cracked the code  for men on how to ensure a seat in a Metro every time that you travel. I shall be generous enough to share the secret with all of you through this manual:

Step 1: Step into the ladies coach only if you are feeling fit and rich: This step should be obvious to the men but it does not seem so. If you are a man and you do enter their coach, forget getting any seating but be sure of getting a beating! And if it is your unlucky day, you will also be fined and handed over to the police. So stay away from this coach. If you are a lady, my advice to you also would be to stay away from this coach. It is always packed and there are chances of you getting a seat in the general compartment rather than here as those coaches have seats reserved for women.

Step 2: Get into the second coach only if you want to be seen as a Roadside Romeo: This is not the coach to try your luck for a seat. This coach is the next one after the ladies’ coach and it consists of three kinds of people:

1.       Men who have been pushed away from the ladies’ coach

2.       Men who want to check out women and purposely get into this coach

3.       Men who caught the Metro in the nick of time, while climbing down from the stairs

Women do not have a great perception about men in this coach so it is better to stay off this coach as anyway the three kind of men described above are in abundance, ensuring that this coach is packed.

Step 3: Sit on the seat reserved for ladies with your reflexes on full alert: If you get onto a coach and see a seat reserved for ladies available, do not put a face of content and satisfaction. This seat is like a temporary post in a Government, which can be pulled away from you any minute. As soon as a lady enters the coach, you will have to stand up and offer her the seat in 30 seconds, else not only her reaction but the looks from others will suddenly make you feel like a dwarf.

NOTE: The only place where you can get away by sitting on such a seat is the last coach, which normally sees lesser women boarding it. Go ahead and try your luck!

Step 4: If you have studied Consumer Behaviour or Human Psyche, then apply it here: Always wondered how psychiatrists or marketers (Really!) are able to decipher what people are thinking then this is your opportunity to show that you are no less! People tend to start shifting a bit in their seats, closing that book that they are reading, start combing their hair, or looking at their watch just few minutes before their stop is about to arrive. Be smart and notice this before others and go and stand close to that person. Chances are that you will get the seat at the next station and you can feel smug about it. But beware! There are people out there who do all these things and confuse the hell out of you and have no intention of getting off till the last station! I hate such con artists.

If after reading all of this, you are still not able to get a seat in a Metro, then scroll down and read the Disclaimer, while I go ahead and apply for a patent for this Manual.

Special tips for people outside Delhi/NCR reading this:

People in Mumbai city: Save this manual. It may help you someday. The day the Metro does come up.

People in Bangalore/Bengaluru:  You are the new kids on the block. Use this manual and show your expertise.

People in Kolkata: No manual can help you! Tell Didi that the time has come for an upgrade of the Metro.

People in other places: You will just have to hope that you also get a Metro to be able to use this manual.

Disclaimer: Reading this manual is no guarantee of getting a seat in the Metro. The writer of this blog still struggles to get a seat every day, despite showing expertise in the above article. 

Why are our online identities so different from the real ones

Have you ever wondered why Big Boss is one of the most popular reality shows on television, making people sit and glued to their television sets? Or have you ever thought why is Halloween gaining so much popularity in India over the years? 

The answers to both of these questions are the same. We love the thrill of disguise and the act of unveiling that disguise through its layers. 

In the case of Big Boss, we enjoy watching personalities without any of their reel character and yet there is an iota of disguise in their behavior, which we try to unravel. Halloween is the exact opposite of that, where one goes to a party in a disguise to present oneself as something that one is not. 

The reason spy films give an adrenaline rush to viewers because the detective is a secret agent, who often catches criminals while disguising himself as someone else. 

If given a chance, people would love to live such an existence where they can be what they aren’t in reality. The online world gives that opportunity. This is the kind of thrill people get to live daily when their online identities are completely different from their real selves. An online identity is like a Halloween mask, allowing one to live with a completely different identify from one’s real self. 

Social recluses become popular characters on Twitter – sort of mini celebrities, ugly looking men become Hrithik Roshan in their display pictures, women become men, fat girls tweet like Katrina Kaif, talking about their admirer and people who would never dare to even oppose anyone’s views become trolls abusing celebrities and the Government openly. All of this transition happens when people move from the real world to the digital world. 

The question that comes to mind is that why a sane and normal person would do something like this. One can understand criminal or psycho minds doing something like this but why people like you and me? 

One of the big reasons for that is that people believe that if you are online, you have become invincible. No one can find you or touch you. There is an immense sense of power, which makes one believe that whatever they say or post is perfectly fine as no one can do anything to them. Though, even this reality is changing, as was witnessed in the arrests of two girls who had posted some statements on Facebook. 

But not all the people online are like this. There are a few other kinds as well who lurk there in the digital realm. 

There are those who are like an open book, whose every move in life is shared with the online world, irrespective of whether they know people on the other side or not. They talk about their mood, what they ate, where they are holidaying, who they are seeing, what are their views on the cricket match and anything and everything else in between as well. For these people, online world is a security blanket but in a different way than the way it is for the kinds explained above. 

Insecure people in real lives have online identities that defy their insecurity and showcase them as confident individuals. They tweet and post content at regular intervals and every like, comment or retweet that they garner acts as a confidence booster for them. These are also the people who will try to give a point of view on every topic just to be seen as cool. 

On the other side of this set of people are cynics in real lives who like every post, every picture and project themselves as people who appreciate good content. Talk to them in the offline world and spitting fire is second nature to them. 

Let me now conclude with something provocative but yet worth thinking. Try and analyze all these different kind of people a little more and you will realize that there is a bit of us in each one of them. We have also been one of these at different points of time, so all these different kind of online people are nothing but mirrors of our real selves at different points of life, despite the fact that we tend to have online identities that are different from our real identity.

2013: #55wordstory Themes: Week 1

Theme: Illusion

He woke up with a startle.

Was this a nightmare? Or was this real?

Was he really lying on the hospital bed? Or was that also part of a dream that he was still having?

What was reality and what was an illusion was something he had to decipher.

The hash brownies had played their trick.

Theme: Passion

For ten years, she went to the beach every day. She felt the waves talk to her and come close to her, sometimes touching and caressing her body and sometimes teasing and going away. This was pure passion.

She stopped going to the beach, the day she realized that these waves will always go back.

Theme: Children

The first raindrop was enough to send us into a frenzy. Rushing out with our paper boats, ready to jump into puddles without a care about the world. No stress of daily rigmarole nor the rigour of the daily grind. Free spirit and a clean and creative mind.

Childhood was a great stage of life.

Theme: Sand

Ranbir was born with a silver spoon. All his wishes got fulfilled, making him believe that owning everything was his birth right.

When he started dating Radhika, he started getting possessive about her, which suffocated her.

He did not realize that a relationship is like sand – tighter the grip, sooner it goes out of hand. 

Theme: Dust

It was brought home with great fanfare. The entire neighborhood came to congratulate us. Soon, it became an integral part of our lives, with all events happening around it. It was witness to our joy and sorrow over the years.

Today, the black and white TV is gathering dust with no-one willing to buy it.

Theme: Invent

Churning out stories from thin air!

Creating something on a page, where nothing existed moments ago. With every word, a chain is formed. A series of such chains is what leads to a creation. Sometimes the word limit of 55 keeps the chain small. But, if this is not an invention, then what is?

Theme: People

There were hundreds of them. All had come together to show their humane side. Each of them believed that they were a good human being. As soon as they entered the alley, they were greeted with a row of mirrors. Not a single reflection of people. Each mirror reflected a beast, their inner evil! 

Impatient India – Is it a boon for the Future?

I might be the nth person writing a blog on the gruesome incident that shook the country a few weeks back. There have been numerous articles, blogs, debates that have come up since the day of the incident, with each one of them giving their own view point on the incident, the punishment that needs to be given, safety of women and many such topics surrounding the incident. 

I do not want to be another one commenting on all of this. I want to take the incident and the reaction of the youth after that to talk about the psyche of the youth today and the rationale behind such a reaction. 

To understand this we need to go back in time, at least two to three decades back. We had been independent for about 30 years or so and were taking small steps in coming on our own after being ruled for centuries. Modernization was happening at a very slow pace and aspiration was taking wings for the middle class slowly but surely. 

Everything that one desired had a certain waiting period. If you wanted a scooter, you would have to book it and wait for six months; waiting for a car was much longer. Getting a telephone line at home was an occasion of celebration as one got that after months of waiting with their name in the booking list. One had to save for years before thinking of buying a property and saving for the future/for the rainy days was the philosophy that was prevailing in the country. 

People were so used to waiting that things as simple as speaking to a relative in a different city would mean booking a trunk call a few hours in advance and then being able to connect to them if you were lucky. There was only one channel Doordarshan in the country and one had to wait for a Sunday morning for an episode of Mahabharat or a Wednesday evening for Chitrahaar. News had a certain sanctity and the elders of the house would gather around the TV at 8 pm to watch the news, which would come only twice in a day. 

With all of this, people were patient and willing to wait for the smallest of things. 

Then came the 1991 Liberalisation phase, which was brought in by our current Prime Minister – Manmohan Singh. This changed the face of the Indian economy and put the country on a fast paced pedestal. Cable TV invaded our homes with a plethora of options. You could watch something or the other at any given point of time, day or night. Credit cards and easy EMIs made life easier with the philosophy changing to ‘Why wait when you can do/buy something now. We can pay it off over the years.’ Cars and homes were available without waiting. The buyers for these item started getting younger. 

Mobile telephony and Internet penetrated Indian homes at thrice the speed of TV penetration. You wanted to speak to someone, just pick the phone and dial and voila, the other person is there on the other side. Then came the phenomenon of Social Networking, making the entire world a global village. You did not have to wait any longer to share your feelings with the world. The moment you feel it is the moment you share it. You could talk to anyone anywhere in the world Live without having to bother about time zones. 

What all of this meant was that the generation that was born in the '90s and thereafter had never understood the meaning of waiting. They got what they wanted immediately. Impatience was a personality trait for this generation and it was this impatience that led to the occurrence of the entire country coming together, demanding for quick action. Unfortunately, our politicians belong to the era of waiting and they did not realize that statements like “We are looking into the matter”, “We will take action”, “This shall be taken care of”, “Dekthe hain. Kucch karenge” would not cut ice with a generation that wants results now. 

It is this impatience of today’s youth, which could possibly be the game changer for our nation and if this impatience is recognized by our politicians quickly, it will help in forming a better nation. 

Disclaimer: I see this impatience amongst the youth as a virtue rather than vice and I believe that it is this which will help us to dream big, achieve big and make the nation a better place in times to come.

2013: No Resolutions. Just Follow the Es

Another year has come to an end. The lesser said of the year that has gone by, the better it is. 

Once again, we have stepped onto the pedestal of the first day, which will be the harbinger for the rest of the 364 days that lie ahead. We will once again have to start with a clean slate. 

As humans, the eternal optimists that we are, once again there will be New Year Resolutions that will be formed all around, only to wither with the passage of time. The biggest flaw in a Resolution is that it usually gets broken because there is a leash or a constraint of not doing something and as soon as you do that, the Resolution dissolves in thin air. 

I realized this last year itself and committed to not putting Resolutions in place but rather going for something that does not have the fear of getting broken. I flipped the whole concept of a Resolution into something where the more I do something the more I gain rather than constraining myself from doing something. 

I devised a model for myself, which I call the ‘E Model’ as everything that I would like to do in a year can be easily encapsulated in this model. This is a dynamic model and keeps evolving every year, basis my needs. (Did you also notice the use of E words in the last two sentences…just to warm you guys to the E Model that is going to be explained J ) 

Following are the key points of the E Model for 2013 for me: 

1. Extraction: To learn something new, it is critical to extract maximum possible from various sources. 2013 will also be a year of reading, learning and evolving. Extraction is not only about external sources but also about me. This means writing and blogging much more. 

2. Exploration: According to me, one is truly not living a complete life if one is not travelling. I would also like to make 2013 a year of exploration just like 2012, which would mean seeing a few new places either in India or outside. 

3. Experience: What is the point of ending another year with the same and mundane things that you have done before. This is all about coming out of the comfort zone and trying out new experiences of life. It could be a new adventure, a new skill, a new course. As long as it is something I have not done before, it will go as part of the experience. 

4. Entertainment: There is no dearth on the plethora of options that exist out there. What this also means that there are so many movies/shows/songs/music videos that I still have to see, not to forget the ones that will release during the course of the year. 

5. Expansion: This is the new E that I am adding over the four that I had put in place last year. Expansion is all about stretching the borders and boundaries of friendship/relationships/networks. The intention is to strengthen the bonds with the existing set of people in my life, renew some weak ties and also meet new people and form new bonds. Personally, this will be one of the most difficult as well as interesting E that I will venture into and it would be a test and challenge for myself. 

If you go through all the 5 Es, you will realize that they are strongly interlinked and there are chances that while I am following one E, the other is also getting achieved. So if I travel to a new country and indulge in some bungee jumping, it would allow me to explore as well as experience. 

Such a thought makes me find this model extremely interesting and engaging. To add to that, I do not have to bother about it getting broken as this stays valid till the last day of the year. 

The success of these Es would also entail a few other Es though – Execution and Expenditure. Any wrong estimation on one of the two, would lead to not achieving what I set out to do. 

To keep myself on target, I am also putting in place a few quantifiable and measurable targets as part of these Es, so that I can monitor myself as I go along. 

I would conclude by saying “Let’s do Eeet!” 

Coming Soon

Following are the topics on which I will be blogging soon:

1. The Metro Manual
2. Perspectives
3. Musical Talent - Every Indian has one common one!
4. What am I?

Solitude

Lonely when alone, lonely when in a crowd,
Solitude for company, but silence seems too loud.

Not a moment to be satisfied or feel proud,
As happiness lies hidden behind a shroud.

People once close are no more in touch,
The ones who are never bothered too much.

He sits on the beach as the waves pass by,
Taking away the sand around him and saying a good bye.

He lies down under the open sky with stars shining bright,
Wondering how time changes and darkness takes precedence over light.

Mobile phone next to him as he waits to hear it beep,
Knowing well that neither will it come to life nor will he get any sleep.

He logs in, as social media is an escape and Internet gives some hope.
He knows that it is now an addiction and is his life’s dope.

How long this will last, he has absolutely no clue,
But suffering and pain is a friend of many, which he knows is true.

Ephemeral and eternal are words that sound quite same,
But which one you will get stuck with, for that you have Karma to blame.

As the morning sun rises and throws it rays,
He gets up and adds this to another one of those days.

A canvas that was once full of colour,
Today seems fading and getting duller.

I pray for him and I hope he stays sane,
Because every smile of his hides so much of pain.

Solitude as your companion is always a bane,
It is an evil that gets your life in the wrong lane.

Corporate Jargon Demystified

One of the prerequisites of joining the corporate world is to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff.

If you missed it, I just used a jargon in the sentence above, which is one of the unstated hobbies of people in the corporate world.

I have been a victim and a guilty party to it on numerous occasions. Funnily, when you are the one committing the crime, it all sounds fine, but in case you are the victim, the jargon can be like a painful pill you have to swallow, which the doctor has prescribed.

I have always found jargons to be nothing but diplomatic statements that corporate use, when they do not want to say something directly. These jargons have a hidden meaning behind them, which I have tried to decipher.

Here is the list of jargons that I have often heard being bandied around along with their true meanings and my special comments for each of them:

Corporate Jargon	What they mean to say	My special comments
Having said that	I am not sure of what is right and what is wrong. So at the cost of contradicting myself, let me put my point of view from both the sides. Who knows which of them maybe right?’	Once you use ‘having said that’, I ignore one of the two points and it is my prerogative whether I choose the point before your jargon or after!
At the end of the day	It does not matter what I say. What has to happen will happen ultimately.	When I hear this, I start thinking of the time that I can go out of office and party.
Back of the envelope calculations	I have not been able to do enough work on this project so I do not want to be held responsible for the numbers that I quote. Let me get away by saying that these are just back of the envelope calculations.	I just wonder who ever does calculations at the back of an envelope! Are there no calculators and excel sheets?
Let’s get everyone on the same page	I already know that lot of people do not agree to my proposal. Let us try to convince them.	Are we all reading a similar book that we can expect people to come to the same page?
Let’s take this offline	I do not have the gumption or courage to argue in an open forum.	We are not on Facebook or Twitter. We are already offline. Offline further than this would mean out of office and I am fine with anything that takes me out of office!
We need more granularity	I do not understand this very clearly. Please give me more details so that I can critique and thrash the idea.	I think a food godown can get you more granularity
Let us open one more bucket	The idea is interesting but I have no idea where to slot it. We will have to figure it out.	At this rate, plastic manufacturers will rejoice as we keep opening so many buckets on a daily basis!
These cells need to be populated	I just want to sound cool so I am using these words for a simple exercise.	So you mean you want me to fill the excel sheet and asking me to do such a mundane thing will make you feel cool?
Out of the box thinking	I want to impress the Board. Let us take something new and interesting.	Jack also pops out of the box and his head is out when he thinks!
Believe you me	Since everyone else uses this, let me also use it.	So who do I believe? You or me? Or maybe both eh?

In fact, when you look through these, most would not even qualify as jargon but unfortunately, since these are used sporadically by corporate, I have taken the liberty of classifying them as corporate jargon.

These are just some of the ones that I can recollect while putting this blog. There are many more floating around and I might just update this blog sometime in future, once I have got a handful to share once again.

Disclaimer: The above article is a work of fiction and any resemblance to anyone living is purely unintentional and coincidental. If you still feel offended, go back to my third paragraph, where I talk about being the victim and being guilty and you will understand.


Phew! That should be good to save the job!

Walking through the haze

Where do I start from? The present is muddled up, the past is getting hazier by the day and the future seems to be engulfed in a fog, leaving no chance of any visibility and making one rely on one’s imagination to see beyond that. 

These were the thoughts Ritwik was having as soon as he was asked “Tell me something about yourself” by the interviewer. Not a new question for Ritwik who had given a number of interviews in the last 10 years – not only for a job, but even to the media. 

Ritwik Malhotra had the gift of the gab. Ten minutes after people met him, they would be lapping up things from his hand. A natural charmer was his second name and he knew how to play to the galleries. 

Today, things were different. The simplest of questions was making Ritwik fumble and search for answers. He started off slowly and hesitantly “My name is Ritwik Malhotra. I have been working since the last 10 years and my last job was that of a Category Head with Smith & Baine (S&B), where I was handling their blades and razor segment in their personal care category. “ 

As words started coming out slowly, Ritwik knew that this is not how he starts off. But at that stage, he had no control on what he was saying and he decided to go with the flow. 

“I was with Smith & Baine (S&B) for the last five years. I moved there from A.V. Somani Pvt. Ltd., where I was the Marketing Manager for three years. I was managing their entire skin care range, comprising of three of their large brands – Eternity, Pause and Awe, and New You.” 

“You were seen as a star performer in S&B. With your kind of experience and performance, why did S&B ask you to leave their organization in such a quick and hushed manner?” 

This was the question Ritwik was dreading right from the start of the interview, but it did come up, making Ritwik go livid. He used his calming technique and took a deep breath before looking straight into the eye of the lady who asked him this question. 

“Ms. Dewan, I was not asked to leave the organization. The circumstances had become such that I was planning to quit the organization. S&B got a whiff of what is on my mind and they came up with an allegation and asked me to leave.” said Ritwik with a steely look in his eye, which made the lady a bit uncomfortable. 

A minute of silence followed. 

Once again a series of thoughts flashed across Ritwik. They were not in a set pattern; they were more like a montage of scenes from the last ten years. 

Fashion shows, Niharika Dalal, Achiever’s Award, interviews, flash lights, clubs and parties, wedding, shopping and holidays, legal contracts, business newspaper headlines…. 

“Can you please explain this in detail?”, asked the gentleman sitting on the right. 

“I am sorry but I would not like to talk about this any further than this. The reason that I am sitting here and you are interviewing me is because you believe in my capability, my skills and my talent. All of you giving your time also means that somewhere, you all believe that there is more to this whole controversy than meets the eye. If that is true, then I think we should not dwell on that issue any further and rather talk about what I can do for your company and whether I seem like the right fit or not.” 

“Fair enough, so we will talk on other aspects and let this pass off.” spoke Ms. Dewan once again, acknowledging the nods of the other two gentlemen on either sides of her. 

The montage of shots continued to run in Ritwik’s head and he could not shake them off. He could recollect one of the news articles clearly: 

Ritwik Malhotra, Category Head, Smith & Baine quits S&B suddenly and abruptly. 

It is quite surprising that Ritwik Malhotra, who was seen as a star performer at Smith & Baine, and who was being groomed for more senior roles has suddenly decided to leave the organization. 

Ritwik has been credited for reviving the sagging fortunes of the blades and razor category of Smith & Baine with his innovative and different style of marketing. This not only grew the category in double digits for three years in a row for the first time ever, but also made one of their brands Smoother Me one of the most trusted brands by consumers, featuring in the 10 most trusted brands list for the first time ever since the time of its launch. 

Ritwik Malhotra is married to Niharika Dalal, who was a super model in her heydays. They started dating when Niharika Dalal was signed as a brand ambassador for one of the brands Ritwik was managing – Pause and Awe, while working for A.V. Somani. 

Some unconfirmed reports say that Ritwik Malhotra was asked to leave and his character was questioned by the organization. This is surprising as last year itself, S&B gave Ritwik the Young Achiever’s Award and made him the youngest member of the Board. 

Emails and SMSes sent to both Smith & Baine and Ritwik Malhotra did not elicit any response. 

Watch this space for more updates on this story. 

“So Ritwik, do you think you would be fine working with a company which is 1/5th the size of S&B and hence the brands are also much smaller?”, asked the guy in pin-stripe suit, breaking the train of thoughts of Ritwik. 

“I have never been bothered about the present size of the company. What is most important to me is how big I can make the brands I handle and the company I work for. That is the challenge I thrive on. So you can be rest assured on that front. “ 

“It is good to know that. I think we have asked what we wanted to ask you. Moreover, your work is pretty well known in the industry so we don’t need to know more on that front. We would like to offer you the role of Chief Marketing Officer in our company. I will work out the entire offer and send it to you on your email by tomorrow.” said the HR head sitting on the right. He then extended his hand to shake hands with Ritwik. 

Ritwik thanked each one of them and headed to his car. He was relieved to get a job after the big stories of last couple of months around him. 

At the age of 34, Ritwik had his life set. An extremely stunning wife, youngest Category Head in Smith & Baine, the star of the senior Management Committee, an Audi Q7 in his parking bay in tony South Mumbai and a career that looked headed in the right direction… atleast till the series of events of the last two months. 

It was 2002 when Ritwik had seen Niharika in one of the fashion magazines he was surfing through. He was short-listing magazines to advertise in, for the three brands that he was managing at A.V. Somani. They were looking for a face for their premium skin care brand Pause and Awe, and Niharika Dalal seemed to fit the bill perfectly. She had a lovely jaw line, a great body, fantastic skin and an aura around her personality. Ritwik personally attended a few fashion shows where Niharika Dalal was the show stopper to be sure about her as the brand ambassador. 

A meeting was set up between Ritwik and Niharika through her agent. Both hit it off instantly from their first meeting itself. Ritwik signed Niharika for his brand with a two year legal contract and those were also the two years that he dated Niharika before proposing to her. They got married in a lavish wedding ceremony at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Colaba, attended by everyone from the fashion world and the FMCG industry. 

Ritwik Malhotra had become the poster boy of the FMCG industry after turning out two brands of A.V. Somani into market leaders. This happened when the brands were being written off by the veterans of the industry and it made everyone take notice of him. CNBC did a story on him that led to the CEO of Smith & Baine noticing him and calling him over for a cup of coffee. The coffee resulted in a job offer at S&B as their Category Head. 

While his professional life was on an upward swing, the same was not true of his personal life. His married life was rocky and there were serious compatibility issues between Ritwik and Niharika. They tried to work it out by going on a number of holidays, but it just did not work out. Ritwik and Niharika had been staying separately since the last one year, though they were yet to take a legal course of action. 

Four months back, there was a party to celebrate the highest ever growth year of Ritwik’s category, where he met Irene. Irene had just completed her Masters in Psychology from New York and was visiting Mumbai for a few months. Ritwik’s Thank You speech won him an admirer in Irene. She went across and introduced herself. Ritwik’s natural charm further enamored her and he was also impressed by her intelligence and world knowledge. They exchanged numbers before saying a Good Bye that night. 

Exchanging numbers was a bad decision in retrospect according to Ritwik as he was thinking of these series of events while driving. 

Hey there. How are you? I am super bored. Do you want to catch up for a cup of coffee? Irene Beeped Ritwik’s mobile, while he was sitting in one of the usual presentations. 

It is difficult to overpower temptation and loneliness often forgets rationale. 

Despite knowing the repercussions of this could be bad, Ritwik sent a reply: I am doing very well. Thank you. I am stuck in a meeting at the moment and will get done by 7 pm. How about meeting at the Oberoi Coffee Shop at 9.30 pm today? 

An instant reply came to Ritwik: Done. It is a date then. Shall look forward to an interesting evening J 

Ritwik skipped a heartbeat on reading the message. Not because of excitement, but because of guilt. He knew this was not right as he was still married. 

Ritwik and Irene got along like a house on fire. They both had similar interests – movies, long drives, nice cars and writing. They both enjoyed each other’s company. 

One date was not enough for both. What followed was a series of dates, movies, dinner and also a weekend holiday to Lonavla, where they made love for the first time. It was special with the rains hitting on the window sill, making the outside temperature colder, while the inside temperature continued getting hotter. 

Despite being together for a month and a half, Ritwik had not disclosed one big secret of his life to Irene - he was married. 

One evening, Niharika saw him holding Irene’s hand and enjoying his wine at Aer lounge, the open air lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel and just flew off the handle. Abuses were hurled. Loyalties were questioned. There was lot of bad blood all around. Irene watched all of this shell-shocked. As soon as the scene got over, she just got up and walked off without even having a word with Ritwik. 

Ritwik tried calling Irene a number of times over the next few days but she would just not respond. 

A fortnight passed and Ritwik was still not able to get in touch with Irene. She had also blocked him on all social networking sites. While Ritwik was sending another message to Irene, he was asked to come into Mr. Shroff’s cabin. As soon as he walked in, Mr. Shroff just let it go “You swine! Fucking liar! How dare you play around with the emotions of my girl.“ He caught Ritwik by his collar then and hollered “Despite being married, you went around with Irene and made her pregnant! Irene is my daughter and the apple of my eye and you hurt her. You bastard!”. With this, he slapped Ritwik on his face and asked him to leave his room and not try to get in touch with his daughter again. 

Ritwik was taken aback. Not by Mr. Shroff’s reaction and him slapping him, but with what he had just said ‘Irene is my daughter and is pregnant’. How? He had used protection. Did it tear off? Did he not realize when that happened? Or has there been someone else also in Irene’s life? Why did the name Irene Shroff not ring a bell in his head when they were dating each other? 

Ritwik’s head was buzzing with all these thoughts but he tried to gain his senses to figure out his next steps. He had to leave this organization after all that had happened today as his career in this organization was in jeopardy after this reaction of Mr. Shroff. 

Ritwik came to the office next day with a resignation with him, which was accepted immediately. Mr. Shroff had spoken to HR and managed to convince them that Ritwik’s character was questionable and S&B could not have such a person on their rolls. As the CMD, Abraham Shroff wielded power across functions and across the Board. Being the highest stakeholder in the company further added weight to what he had to say and everyone had to hear that. 

Everyone in the organization was shocked by this sudden development and there were a number of rumours and stories that started doing the rounds. Ritwik just did not have the patience to clarify and correct people. 

All the business papers were busy speculating and talking about this new development in Ritwik’s career and this sudden move, but neither Smith & Baine gave a comment nor did Ritwik reply to the numerous queries that he got. 

Ritwik drove straight to Marine Drive and went and sat on the parapet from where he could see the sea right across, the horizon above the sea – teasing it and the stars in the sky. This was the same place where Ritwik had started dreaming his ambitions at the start of his career. He always wanted to shine like the star above over the city of Mumbai. This was also the place where Ritwik and Niharika had come often, late in the night to escape the shutter bugs. 

This was not how it was supposed to be. Ritwik wanted to get his life back in order. He decided to drive straight to Niharika’s place. He needed someone today more than ever, who could hear him out patiently. He wanted to give it one more shot with her, if she was willing to allow him into her life once again. 

#55wordstory: Themes: Week 9

Theme: Platonic

It was a small seed at first. Too small to even notice. But soon, the roots took their place. With every passing day, the roots grew stronger. Uprooting them now was impossible. This small seed of 'Doubt' grew so big, that it stopped differentiating between physical relationship and platonic friendship and ended a beautiful journey. 

Theme: Noise
Rajeev: "I am buying lots of noise making crackers for my son Sid. After all Shor Na Machaya toh Mazaa Nahin Aaya"

Sail: "That is good but ask him to be careful. I still feel sad for Rahim. After last year's incident, the deafening sound of silence is the noise that bothers him a lot." 

Theme: Angst
It was a momentary lapse of judgment and Rajan's short-temper, which led him to hit Roshita.

She went to another room and closed it to decide her next set of action between her sobs.

The choice was between calling the police or forgiving Rajan.

She decided for the latter by hanging herself from the fan. 

Theme: Brazen
Having always been a topper Derek didn't want to miss it this time either. But this time it was different.

He was caught cheating. Instead of being brazen about it, he broke down. The death of his mother a month back didn't allow him to prepare and his first attempt at cheating had fallen flat.

Theme: Furtive
Sitting at a cafe in Paris, Raul kept giving furtive glances to Lolita while sipping his cup of coffee.

Anyone noticing this would have thought Raul to be shy and not being able to walk across and speak to her.

No one knew that Raul was a detective hired to keep a watch on Lolita.