Going out in the heat
Is not a very good treat
Better instead
Have a good read
Books of Blyton, Dahl, Rowling and Bond
That'll take you to a magical land
Between you and the world, of late
Where you have to survive even without a fellow mate
Create art, go to camps, make a tunic
Learn to dance, swim or play or listen to music
Keep yourself enchanted
But be sure you are enlightened too
Beat the summer heat!
Wednesday, July 29
Thursday, July 2
It's raining Malls in Chennai
Be it a lazy Sunday, or one of those after work hang-out sessions, shopping for that pretty pink dress or that footwear you eyed your colleague wearing, catching up with a friend over a cup of coffee, window shopping or just aimlessly sauntering arou nd — malls seem to be the best place to head to, what with everything available under one roof.
But the only bummer is when there aren’t enough malls and you have to frequent the same old places time and again.
Ever since Spencer’s Plaza and Citi Centre happened to Chennai, the other malls have been ‘near-dead’. Many people have admittedly spent hours together at these two places because of lack of choice. But, now there’s happy news for all compulsive shoppers — Chennai is coming up with at least 17 more multi-storied malls and shopping centres.
According to Ramesh Nair, Managing Director, Chennai, of global property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj: “Around 17 new malls totalling 8.5 million square feet are expected to be operational in the next three-and-a-half years. The majority of these malls are located in the CBD, Old Mahabalipuram Road, GST Road and Velachery.”
However, the most prominent and centrally located ones are Express Avenue, Chennai Central and Ampa Mall. Being built on an area of 10 acres, Express Avenue is a property of Express Infrastructure and will house not just a mall but also a leading hotel, office space and a multiplex with six or seven screens. Right in the middle of Patullos Road and scaffolded by corrugated metal sheets with ‘EA’ inscribed on them, this building, which has been under construction for sometime now, has generated a lot of interest.
Reluctant to give more information about it, all that the Chief Financial Officer, Express Infrastructure, would reveal is: “The movie screens will be run by one of Chennai’s well-known cinema groups. Around five to six floors will be allotted to a hotel and the offices; the mall will occupy four floors.” The mall will cater to both middle and upper middle class and will have a parking area of six lakh square foot. Express Avenue will be open to the public by 2009.
Set on 48,000 square feet and vying with the designer boutiques on Khader Nawaz Khan Road will be Chennai Central Mall. “It is a joint venture between SSPDL Ltd. and Pantaloons and should be ready in another two-and-a-half year’s time,” says Balaji Narasimhan, Assistant General Manager-Marketing, SSPDL Ltd.
Central started operations around four years ago in Bangalore and branched out to Pune, Vadodara, Gurgaon and Hyderabad, before coming to Chennai. “It will house around 200 national and international brands, a Food Bazaar and maybe, a lounge bar too,” says Rajesh Seth, Marketing Head, Central-Bangalore.
Nearing completion and all set to woo the crowds is Ampa Mall on Nelson Manickam Road. According to sources, the mall, spread over three acres, boasts a hypermarket, three floors of retail space, a seven-screen multiplex, food mall, fine dining restaurants and a 20-room boutique hotel. And, PVR Cinemas makes it entry into Chennai through Ampa. Westside and Spencer’s Hypermarket will be among the other players in this mall.
Citing the reason for the sudden increase in the number of malls in Chennai, Ramesh Nair says, “Chennai has been the pioneer in organised retail from the early 1990s. The penetration of organised players, especially in the food segment, is quite high. The economy is doing well; disposable incomes have increased. A number of new companies in the IT and manufacturing sectors are investing in India. There has been a shift in the mentality from saving to spending. Cashing in on these trends, national players such as DLF and South Indian majors such as Prestige, Shriram, Ozone and local players Marg, Ampa and Allied have zeroed in on this city.”
But the only bummer is when there aren’t enough malls and you have to frequent the same old places time and again.
Ever since Spencer’s Plaza and Citi Centre happened to Chennai, the other malls have been ‘near-dead’. Many people have admittedly spent hours together at these two places because of lack of choice. But, now there’s happy news for all compulsive shoppers — Chennai is coming up with at least 17 more multi-storied malls and shopping centres.
According to Ramesh Nair, Managing Director, Chennai, of global property consultancy firm Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj: “Around 17 new malls totalling 8.5 million square feet are expected to be operational in the next three-and-a-half years. The majority of these malls are located in the CBD, Old Mahabalipuram Road, GST Road and Velachery.”
However, the most prominent and centrally located ones are Express Avenue, Chennai Central and Ampa Mall. Being built on an area of 10 acres, Express Avenue is a property of Express Infrastructure and will house not just a mall but also a leading hotel, office space and a multiplex with six or seven screens. Right in the middle of Patullos Road and scaffolded by corrugated metal sheets with ‘EA’ inscribed on them, this building, which has been under construction for sometime now, has generated a lot of interest.
Reluctant to give more information about it, all that the Chief Financial Officer, Express Infrastructure, would reveal is: “The movie screens will be run by one of Chennai’s well-known cinema groups. Around five to six floors will be allotted to a hotel and the offices; the mall will occupy four floors.” The mall will cater to both middle and upper middle class and will have a parking area of six lakh square foot. Express Avenue will be open to the public by 2009.
Set on 48,000 square feet and vying with the designer boutiques on Khader Nawaz Khan Road will be Chennai Central Mall. “It is a joint venture between SSPDL Ltd. and Pantaloons and should be ready in another two-and-a-half year’s time,” says Balaji Narasimhan, Assistant General Manager-Marketing, SSPDL Ltd.
Central started operations around four years ago in Bangalore and branched out to Pune, Vadodara, Gurgaon and Hyderabad, before coming to Chennai. “It will house around 200 national and international brands, a Food Bazaar and maybe, a lounge bar too,” says Rajesh Seth, Marketing Head, Central-Bangalore.
Nearing completion and all set to woo the crowds is Ampa Mall on Nelson Manickam Road. According to sources, the mall, spread over three acres, boasts a hypermarket, three floors of retail space, a seven-screen multiplex, food mall, fine dining restaurants and a 20-room boutique hotel. And, PVR Cinemas makes it entry into Chennai through Ampa. Westside and Spencer’s Hypermarket will be among the other players in this mall.
Citing the reason for the sudden increase in the number of malls in Chennai, Ramesh Nair says, “Chennai has been the pioneer in organised retail from the early 1990s. The penetration of organised players, especially in the food segment, is quite high. The economy is doing well; disposable incomes have increased. A number of new companies in the IT and manufacturing sectors are investing in India. There has been a shift in the mentality from saving to spending. Cashing in on these trends, national players such as DLF and South Indian majors such as Prestige, Shriram, Ozone and local players Marg, Ampa and Allied have zeroed in on this city.”
Friday, June 26
The Emperor of Pop
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American recording artist and entertainer. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, four of his solo studio albums are among the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995), while his 1982 Thriller is the world's best-selling record of all time.
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool—helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"— Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era. Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades. Michael Jackson died of cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009, aged 50.
Wednesday, June 17
A long forgooten story of 3rd std with a new ending
It's an old story that we read in Class 3 but with a new ending.
A hat-seller who was passing by a forest decided to take a nap under one of the trees, so he left his whole basket of hats by the side. A few hours later, he woke up and realized that all his hats were gone.
He looked up and to his surprise, the tree was full of monkeys and they had taken all his hats. The jaat sits down and thinks of how he can get the hats down.
While thinking he started to scratch his head. The next moment, the monkeys were doing the same. Next, he took down his own hat, the monkeys did exactly the same. An idea came to him, he took his hat and threw it on the floor and the monkeys did that too. So he finally managed to get all his hats back.
Fifty years later, his grandson, Sukhwinder, also became a hat-seller and had heard this monkey story from his grandfather. One day, just like his grandfather, he passed by the same forest. It was very hot, and he took a nap under the same tree and left the hats on the floor.
He woke up and realized that all his hats were taken by the monkeys on the tree. He remembered his grandfather’s words, started scratching his head and the monkeys followed. He took down his hat and fanned himself and again the monkeys followed. Now, very convinced of his grandfather's idea, Sukhwinder threw his hat on the floor but to his surprise, the
Monkeys still held on to all the hats.
Then one monkey climbed down the tree, grabbed the hat on the floor, gave him a slap and said........................
Guess What????????
................................................
.........................................
..................................
.............................
.......................
...................
.................
........
......
"You think only you have a grandfather?!!!"
A hat-seller who was passing by a forest decided to take a nap under one of the trees, so he left his whole basket of hats by the side. A few hours later, he woke up and realized that all his hats were gone.
He looked up and to his surprise, the tree was full of monkeys and they had taken all his hats. The jaat sits down and thinks of how he can get the hats down.
While thinking he started to scratch his head. The next moment, the monkeys were doing the same. Next, he took down his own hat, the monkeys did exactly the same. An idea came to him, he took his hat and threw it on the floor and the monkeys did that too. So he finally managed to get all his hats back.
Fifty years later, his grandson, Sukhwinder, also became a hat-seller and had heard this monkey story from his grandfather. One day, just like his grandfather, he passed by the same forest. It was very hot, and he took a nap under the same tree and left the hats on the floor.
He woke up and realized that all his hats were taken by the monkeys on the tree. He remembered his grandfather’s words, started scratching his head and the monkeys followed. He took down his hat and fanned himself and again the monkeys followed. Now, very convinced of his grandfather's idea, Sukhwinder threw his hat on the floor but to his surprise, the
Monkeys still held on to all the hats.
Then one monkey climbed down the tree, grabbed the hat on the floor, gave him a slap and said........................
Guess What????????
................................................
.........................................
..................................
.............................
.......................
...................
.................
........
......
"You think only you have a grandfather?!!!"
Monday, April 27
H-1B & L1 visas to get tougher
The new legislation on H-1B and L1 visa program will make it tough for Indians to gain work permit in the US. The H-1B visa under which Indian professionals are recruited in the US will suffer a set back if the legislation brought to the floor by Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin is passed by the Congress.
According to the bill that was introduced in the US Senate on Thursday, employers in the US who are willing to hire workers from other countries should make a ‘good faith attempt’ to recruit American workers.
Senator Durbin stated, “Our bill will put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs and discrimination against American workers. The H-1B visa program should complement the US workforce, not replace it,” he claimed. He further added that the Department of Labor will be given power to scrutinize, audit and penalize abuse of H-1B and L1 visa employers.
According to the bill that was introduced in the US Senate on Thursday, employers in the US who are willing to hire workers from other countries should make a ‘good faith attempt’ to recruit American workers.
Senator Durbin stated, “Our bill will put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs and discrimination against American workers. The H-1B visa program should complement the US workforce, not replace it,” he claimed. He further added that the Department of Labor will be given power to scrutinize, audit and penalize abuse of H-1B and L1 visa employers.
Monday, April 20
The Prime Minister bazaar
The complaint is as old as the politics of social justice: the hegemony of urban elite over the wretched and the dispossessed. Votaries of the so-called Other India the India beyond the sensations of the Sensex and the temptations of the marketplace never get tired of narrating the conspiracy of the privileged.
Twelve of our 14 prime ministers, they keep reminding us, have been from urban India. Only two, H.D. Deve Gowda and Charan Singh, came from the peasant class, and both were accidental. Now that the politics of cohabitation has made India one of the most crowded and politically promiscuous democracies in the world, the sociology of power has become starker.
The most obvious trend in the India Today Mood of the Nation poll on the eve of the General Elections is the shrinking bipolarity or the thriving multiplicity. There are no clear winners as the ruling UPA and the NDA are separated by only 19 votes. The middle is occupied by that amorphous group called Third Front, populated by provincial pachyderms who think their time has come to be the rulers of India. If they can't, they will decide who will. It may not be the revenge of the regions but it certainly brings out the less-than-national appeal of the national parties.
The only certainty in a fragmented polity is that we have an embarrassment of prime ministerial riches. In the beginning, there was only one, and BJP leader L.K. Advani has been campaigning in true presidential style, that too without an identifiable opponent.
Much belatedly, and less ceremoniously, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said Manmohan Singh would get another term as prime minister if the UPA won the elections. She can only name him, she just can't make him prime minister. Without the support of regional parties with more than 70 members, either Advani or Manmohan can't become prime minister. That support can no longer be taken for granted as kingmakers now aspire to be kings.
As Lalu Prasad Yadav, a Sonia worshipper-turned-heartbreaker, said in an interview with the television channel Aaj Tak, The UPA exists only in Delhi and why can't we consider Ram Vilas Paswan, a Dalit leader, for prime ministership after the elections? Then, why just Paswan? Why not Pawar? The NCP has been projecting its leader and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar as a future prime minister for a while.
He will share a platform with CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat and Orissa Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik at a rally in Bhubaneswar on April 13. That is the freedom of being Pawar. His party is fighting the Congress everywhere except his home state of Maharashtra and Goa. The strategy of each regional party is to contest maximum number of seats so that they can improve their tally of 2004. Obviously, both the Congress and BJP are anxious, and they may end up fielding more candidates than they did in 2004.
The poll provides little cheer to the Congress and BJP. Parties which belong to neither of the two alliances are likely to get almost the same number of seats as the others. Leaders like Lalu, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Paswan, Jayalalithaa, Mayawati and the communists are an independent lot.
Pawar's feet may be on the UPA ground but his heart is elsewhere. And each of these satraps is worth 25 to 30 seats, and their combined strength could go up to 180. Still, they are too volatile a group to remain intact. Will Maya and Mulayam ever be compatible? Unlikely. A candidate sponsored by the so-called Third Front led by the Left and others can't reach 7 Race Course Road without the support of either the Congress or the BJP. In the marketplace of prime ministers, choices are many and the art of bargain alone can ensure a politically profitable deal.
How come we have got so many choices or so many competing ideas of India in the fray? The UPA has been particularly fertile for prime ministers in waiting. Leaders like Lalu and Pawar have acquired a national profile as star Cabinet performers. They used their power at the Centre to expand their regional base. For the UPA, the vote of confidence was the moment when it realised the true worth of its allies. It survived the vote because partners like SP, RJD and DMK not only kept their flock together but broke the ranks of others.
It gave the allies a new confidence. As the poll illustrates, all those regional leaders seeking national glory enjoy more support in their states than the prime ministerial candidates of both the national parties. Mayawati with 24 per cent votes and Mulayam with 21 per cent are way ahead of both Advani (11) and Manmohan (7) in Uttar Pradesh. For the voters of Bihar, Lalu or Nitish Kumar would make a better prime minister than Advani or Manmohan.
With 120 seats, these two states will play the arbiters after the elections. In Gujarat, Modi is the choice of over 40 per cent of voters: Advani gets only 3 per cent. In Maharashtra, Pawar is the second most popular candidate for the top job. In the South though, Manmohan scores over the likes of Gowda, Jaya, Karunanidhi and Chandrababu Naidu. When Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were in power, there were no regional leaders who could match or come anywhere near their popularity.
This regional eruption in leadership also means the rise of so many little Indias. Post-election, India is all set to stage a thriller of mathematics and megalomania, of oversized prime ministerial ambitions and total repudiation of political morality.
Twelve of our 14 prime ministers, they keep reminding us, have been from urban India. Only two, H.D. Deve Gowda and Charan Singh, came from the peasant class, and both were accidental. Now that the politics of cohabitation has made India one of the most crowded and politically promiscuous democracies in the world, the sociology of power has become starker.
The most obvious trend in the India Today Mood of the Nation poll on the eve of the General Elections is the shrinking bipolarity or the thriving multiplicity. There are no clear winners as the ruling UPA and the NDA are separated by only 19 votes. The middle is occupied by that amorphous group called Third Front, populated by provincial pachyderms who think their time has come to be the rulers of India. If they can't, they will decide who will. It may not be the revenge of the regions but it certainly brings out the less-than-national appeal of the national parties.
The only certainty in a fragmented polity is that we have an embarrassment of prime ministerial riches. In the beginning, there was only one, and BJP leader L.K. Advani has been campaigning in true presidential style, that too without an identifiable opponent.
Much belatedly, and less ceremoniously, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said Manmohan Singh would get another term as prime minister if the UPA won the elections. She can only name him, she just can't make him prime minister. Without the support of regional parties with more than 70 members, either Advani or Manmohan can't become prime minister. That support can no longer be taken for granted as kingmakers now aspire to be kings.
As Lalu Prasad Yadav, a Sonia worshipper-turned-heartbreaker, said in an interview with the television channel Aaj Tak, The UPA exists only in Delhi and why can't we consider Ram Vilas Paswan, a Dalit leader, for prime ministership after the elections? Then, why just Paswan? Why not Pawar? The NCP has been projecting its leader and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar as a future prime minister for a while.
He will share a platform with CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat and Orissa Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik at a rally in Bhubaneswar on April 13. That is the freedom of being Pawar. His party is fighting the Congress everywhere except his home state of Maharashtra and Goa. The strategy of each regional party is to contest maximum number of seats so that they can improve their tally of 2004. Obviously, both the Congress and BJP are anxious, and they may end up fielding more candidates than they did in 2004.
The poll provides little cheer to the Congress and BJP. Parties which belong to neither of the two alliances are likely to get almost the same number of seats as the others. Leaders like Lalu, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Paswan, Jayalalithaa, Mayawati and the communists are an independent lot.
Pawar's feet may be on the UPA ground but his heart is elsewhere. And each of these satraps is worth 25 to 30 seats, and their combined strength could go up to 180. Still, they are too volatile a group to remain intact. Will Maya and Mulayam ever be compatible? Unlikely. A candidate sponsored by the so-called Third Front led by the Left and others can't reach 7 Race Course Road without the support of either the Congress or the BJP. In the marketplace of prime ministers, choices are many and the art of bargain alone can ensure a politically profitable deal.
How come we have got so many choices or so many competing ideas of India in the fray? The UPA has been particularly fertile for prime ministers in waiting. Leaders like Lalu and Pawar have acquired a national profile as star Cabinet performers. They used their power at the Centre to expand their regional base. For the UPA, the vote of confidence was the moment when it realised the true worth of its allies. It survived the vote because partners like SP, RJD and DMK not only kept their flock together but broke the ranks of others.
It gave the allies a new confidence. As the poll illustrates, all those regional leaders seeking national glory enjoy more support in their states than the prime ministerial candidates of both the national parties. Mayawati with 24 per cent votes and Mulayam with 21 per cent are way ahead of both Advani (11) and Manmohan (7) in Uttar Pradesh. For the voters of Bihar, Lalu or Nitish Kumar would make a better prime minister than Advani or Manmohan.
With 120 seats, these two states will play the arbiters after the elections. In Gujarat, Modi is the choice of over 40 per cent of voters: Advani gets only 3 per cent. In Maharashtra, Pawar is the second most popular candidate for the top job. In the South though, Manmohan scores over the likes of Gowda, Jaya, Karunanidhi and Chandrababu Naidu. When Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were in power, there were no regional leaders who could match or come anywhere near their popularity.
This regional eruption in leadership also means the rise of so many little Indias. Post-election, India is all set to stage a thriller of mathematics and megalomania, of oversized prime ministerial ambitions and total repudiation of political morality.
Sunday, April 19
Ramayana and Management
Duty has the regular definition of a moral or legal obligation, a responsibility, or a task or action that someone is required to perform. However, in the context of the story of Ramayana, duty, or dharma, has a more specific interpretation. Dharma is a set of laws or principles carried out with the purpose of creating social and religious order in the society. In this story of Ramayana, many times this duty conflicts with other values or personal desires, forcing characters to compare the choices of following the dharma or fulfilling another human value. Within the context of the relationship between Rama and Sita in the story "The Ramayana of Valmiki", duty is worth the sacrificing of love, because his duty is fulfilled to maintain order within the society and above all, order is needed for a society to run well.
For example, teamwork is an important principle in management, and Rama applied the same in search of Sita and was successful in the mission. Another one is in an organisation one must be treated affectionately which Rama did when he met Guhan and Vibhishana. Management principles such as encouraging lower category of employees, rewards for good work, self-motivation, decision-making, recognition, market survey, market exploitation, time management and the art of communication are aligned with instances in the epic. The book is a valuable one, giving new interpretation to Ramayana.
One of the most obvious incidences, in which use management principles is very clearly visible is that of Hanuman going to Lanka. His mission was to locate Sita there and give her Lord Ram’s message. When it became clear that Sita was in Lanka, Jamvant asked Hanuman to go there. He helped him in realising his true potential and motivated him to go in the enemy’s camp. Once mentally prepared for the job and reached there, first thing which Hanuman did was to completely analyse the situation in Lanka. He did a complete study about the Lankans, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, the various threats and opportunities which he had in the enemy’s camp.
This is what management is all about
· Ascertaining the goals, or job to be done.
· Getting mentally prepared for it.
· Having a right plan.
· Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the competitor and what threats and opportunities are there in the business.
This SWOT [strength, weakness, opportunities and threats] analysis is one of the most important aspects of modern day management. Moreover Jamvant motivating Hanuman is a classic example of a good Manager helping his personnel to realise their potential and acting accordingly.
The other example which I would like to talk about here is that of good and bad managers. A good manager is the one, who can get his work done even from the rivals. In Ramayana Sughriv has shown some of the best managerial characteristics. As a successful manager he had Ram to work accordingly and got his kingdom back from a brother who was far mightier than him.
· A good example of getting into strategic alliance with others to achieve your desired goal.
Using his managerial skills he even had Angad to work for him. Angad was the son of his brother whom he got killed by Ram. Had Sughriv been a bad manager then the same Angad would have proved to be his arch nemesis.
In the same Ramayana, again and again Ravana has shown the signs of a bad manager, and hence led to the demise of his kingdom. From the starting itself he ignored the suggestions of his managers and got his kingdom in the state of war with Ram. Moreover during a crisis, a company needs its best of the managers to bail it out of the same. A good manager listens to what his subordinates has to say and tries to keep them together especially when the organization needs them the most. But Ravana’s mismanagement was responsible for Vibhishan [one of the wisest manager he should have listened to] leaving him amidst a crisis.
It is said that businesses are run on relations. A manager who can nurture good relations with the employees, clients and anyone in whose contact the organization and the manager comes in, can do wonders for his company. Lord Ram was very good at it. He was the master of nurturing relations. His prowess at it was so great that while Ravana was lying wounded in the battle field and was about to die, he shared some important lessons which he had learnt in his life. The same Ravana, who at the same time had not responded to Lakshman, when he was sent to seek Ravana’s wisdom by Ram, was more than happy in sharing his knowledge with Ram.
All these examples and many more like this, tells us a great deal about management. For a manager there is lot to learn from our epics. Not just Ramayana, but Gita, Mahabharat and others as well have a lot to offer as management lessons.
For example, teamwork is an important principle in management, and Rama applied the same in search of Sita and was successful in the mission. Another one is in an organisation one must be treated affectionately which Rama did when he met Guhan and Vibhishana. Management principles such as encouraging lower category of employees, rewards for good work, self-motivation, decision-making, recognition, market survey, market exploitation, time management and the art of communication are aligned with instances in the epic. The book is a valuable one, giving new interpretation to Ramayana.
One of the most obvious incidences, in which use management principles is very clearly visible is that of Hanuman going to Lanka. His mission was to locate Sita there and give her Lord Ram’s message. When it became clear that Sita was in Lanka, Jamvant asked Hanuman to go there. He helped him in realising his true potential and motivated him to go in the enemy’s camp. Once mentally prepared for the job and reached there, first thing which Hanuman did was to completely analyse the situation in Lanka. He did a complete study about the Lankans, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, the various threats and opportunities which he had in the enemy’s camp.
This is what management is all about
· Ascertaining the goals, or job to be done.
· Getting mentally prepared for it.
· Having a right plan.
· Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of the competitor and what threats and opportunities are there in the business.
This SWOT [strength, weakness, opportunities and threats] analysis is one of the most important aspects of modern day management. Moreover Jamvant motivating Hanuman is a classic example of a good Manager helping his personnel to realise their potential and acting accordingly.
The other example which I would like to talk about here is that of good and bad managers. A good manager is the one, who can get his work done even from the rivals. In Ramayana Sughriv has shown some of the best managerial characteristics. As a successful manager he had Ram to work accordingly and got his kingdom back from a brother who was far mightier than him.
· A good example of getting into strategic alliance with others to achieve your desired goal.
Using his managerial skills he even had Angad to work for him. Angad was the son of his brother whom he got killed by Ram. Had Sughriv been a bad manager then the same Angad would have proved to be his arch nemesis.
In the same Ramayana, again and again Ravana has shown the signs of a bad manager, and hence led to the demise of his kingdom. From the starting itself he ignored the suggestions of his managers and got his kingdom in the state of war with Ram. Moreover during a crisis, a company needs its best of the managers to bail it out of the same. A good manager listens to what his subordinates has to say and tries to keep them together especially when the organization needs them the most. But Ravana’s mismanagement was responsible for Vibhishan [one of the wisest manager he should have listened to] leaving him amidst a crisis.
It is said that businesses are run on relations. A manager who can nurture good relations with the employees, clients and anyone in whose contact the organization and the manager comes in, can do wonders for his company. Lord Ram was very good at it. He was the master of nurturing relations. His prowess at it was so great that while Ravana was lying wounded in the battle field and was about to die, he shared some important lessons which he had learnt in his life. The same Ravana, who at the same time had not responded to Lakshman, when he was sent to seek Ravana’s wisdom by Ram, was more than happy in sharing his knowledge with Ram.
All these examples and many more like this, tells us a great deal about management. For a manager there is lot to learn from our epics. Not just Ramayana, but Gita, Mahabharat and others as well have a lot to offer as management lessons.
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