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Thoughts during the financialy year end

 "There is no real ending, it's just the place where you stop the story." - Frank Herbert  On 31st March, the last few lines of a story was written aand it's fate sealed. We are talking about the financial year end. The books have been closed for the year 2021 -2022  This part of the year is generally filled with excitement as all entrepreneurs look forward to all the analysis from the number crunching to understand market trends and the financial health of the company. Future strategies are debated and planned based on these reports.  The past 2 years, also strangely coincieding with 2 years of the pandemic have been nothing short of a nightmare. Earlier we used to look at these reports to understand growth of the company and to identify further growth opportunities. Now we look at the reports to see how deep we have fallen, with a question in the mind if we will fall further into abyss or have we bottomed out, can we plan our climb back up and above.  A year back al
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Dailogues de Goa

"Dailogues de Goa" is a series of travel programs focusing on Goa. Immersive, deep dive itineraries on different aspects of one of India's smallest state. Through Dialogues de Goa we unwrap various aspects of Goa like its Architecture, Cuisine, Music, Politics and Business.  4 days of traveling through Goa, understanding it, through curated interactive sessions with historians, journalists, activists, and many visits and experiences in context to the subject. All this juxtoposed with stay in heritage hotels, explorative cuisine and many fun activites like heritage walks, kayaking and cycling.  The politics of Goa is as facinating as it gets, with a voter base of the entire state being less than many constituencies of India. The unique history of Goa being the first European colony in Asia to the post liberalisation politics of statehood and later being only the 2nd non congress government in the country after Kerala.  Goa now faces unprecedented challenges, particularly f

Elections in Goa and Tourism

 Even though the lives of everyone in a democratic country is constantly impacted by politics, very few understand how it functions. Politics always features in many a conversations and debates at the local chai tapri (tea stall) or in the office corner and nowadays on our watsaap groups and chats. Elections are the corner stone of every democracy, the singular event when the actual mood of the nation can be acertained and for the largest democracy in the world it is a herculean effort for the state. Most of us are spectators to the events which sometimes feel like a circus and sometimes we connect and relate to a particular incident and yet the whole exercise is centered around us. This is the time we the voter exercise our right and make a point and express our idea of India collectively.  All the campaigns, outreach programms, rallies are all centered around us the voter, come to think of it to organise just one rally requires so much coordination and communication, venues, thousand

What if ? An experience, while on a solitary cycling journey from Goa to Mumbai

 So many of our experiences are serendipitious.  What If? A question that keeps popping up in our minds while thinking of some life experiences. Thinking of these experiences and trying to answer the question "what if ?" with the benifit of hindsight may either haunt or elevate you. Either way you cannot escape these thoughts and the emotions that follow.  How do we take certain decisions ? How do we react to certain situations ? How does instinct work ?  Why do we choose to follow our instincts certain times while overriding them many other times? Why are our instincts correct many times and wrong so many other times? To answer these questions with any amount of conviction would be difficult, but I can share such an experience  Journeys are a great unknown, you can only be that much sure of what to expect, the rest just unfolds as you go along. When you are on a long distance solitary cycling journey you feel more vulnerable. This makes you more self aware and your instincts

A book we read about a company we admire

 As a small business enterprise it is inspiring to learn more about ethical and enduring brands. Reflecting on values that we aspire to be, we are attracted to brands that are set on some core values that exist for a purpose beyond just making money.  There are so many lessons to be learnnt through the journey of organizations that have stood the test of time by maintaining their core values yet continuoly being able to renew itself from within.  One such brand that we admire in the news and brodcasting space is NDTV.  ' More News is Good News.' is the book that takes you through the journey of NDTV. From producing a World news show on Doordarshan with the iconic programe - 'The World This Week' to India's first 24 hour news chanel to an independent news broadcaster. This book cronicles the highs and lows, the challenges and sucesses of a company that was the original start up a quarter century before start up's started getting recogonized. From boot strapping t

Father and Son with a Coconut on a virgin beach

  There are some moments which are pure magic, they are unexpected and when it happens it is just pure joy. As a businessman you sometimes must travel to attend meetings that you know in the heart are insignificant but unavoidable. I had to drive a couple of hours to meet a prospective client and circumstances were such that my young son had to tag along. The young boy was livid at the idea of being in stuck in a car for a long time and missing play time with his friends. So, there were 2 guys on a journey, both did not want to be there, but one had the advantage of age to protest and be rebellious and the other had to just suck it up and get it over with. We reached the destination through a long drive full of negotiations and debates between father and Son. I met the clients at a beautiful beach side café in South Goa. The setting was beautiful, the blue waters of the ocean and the golden sand of the beach and a small café overlooking this stunning view. The best part was there w

Notes from a new age post Pandemic business "Sappadu" (Lunch in Tamil)

Most of the 20th year of this century is behind us. The year 2020 will go down in history as the one in which the status quo is challenged like no other times and probably altered for ever. This Pandemic has affected us all and exposed the fault lines in our systems and governance, economies, and markets. This time we cannot turn our head away from the inequalities in the society. The vulnerable bear the brunt of job loss, hunger, and lack of opportunities. The privileged are shielded better as they have access to many resources like better healthcare, sanitation, easy loans etc.  This says a lot about the world we have built and the choices we have made over the centuries that has lead us to this point, It took a global crisis for us to pause and rethink and revaluate everything. Individuals to families, governments to businesses, one and all are contemplating better practices and processes that are more humane, local and sustainable which could lead to a future that is more equal,