I picked up one of their give-away book tags recently that read "There are two types of companies - the quick and the dead!" No, this is no high-falutin' transnational company out to leave its footprint in a dozen continents/countries.

They are just a retail store, one of Chennai's most ubiquitous. Every Chennaite - well, almost - knows them. Thousands visit them every day.  Almost every out-of-towner who visits Chennai makes it a point to drop in.

They have expanded recently by acquiring adjacent space and adding a new wing, twice as big as the original one. Sales must be in lakhs. Stocks that should give their inventory manager sleepless nights. Hundreds of employees, no less. An advertising budget, perhaps in lacs - enough to make big companies blush.

Any thing to do with clothes you can buy from them. The prices start from a modest Rs 4/-($.10) for a kids  handkerchief to eye-popping silk sarees worth a lakh or two.

Yet, in spite of their growing size and revenues, they make it plain that customers are still their # 1 priority; that they are obliged to them for their business. Every customer is greeted with a smile at the entrance and made to feel special. Sorta like what Sam Walton started at Walmart, I hear.

For 3 years running, M/s Pothy's have been sending birthday cards to one of their little customers - my twins. Its nothing spectacular....just a simple birthday card, with two of their directors' signatures pre-printed. Yet this small deed, a simple act, a token of their rememberance, astonishes me. Which customer will not feel happy to be remembered on a special day? And the kids - they are delighted. They might turn out to be the store's customers for life, remembering this annual thoughtful deed. Who knows?

Perhaps the store is really giving credence to what Gandhiji said a long time ago - "A customer is the most important visitor on our premises. He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider to our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do so!"

:)

Got to see Madras Boat Club on Saturday, thanks to Kribs organising yet another Bloggers meet.

Apart from the regulars - Kribs himself, Nirenjan, CC, Harish, Chenthil, Vijay & myself, this time there were so many new faces. Its nice to see so many people into blogging. I got to meet 2 journos - Liffy & Samanth, then Somu, Ram Vishwanathan, Prabu Karthik, Vijay & Hari, Archana, Vaibhav, Prabu Karthik, Krithik, Shyam & Sathish. Good of Enfield to sponsor this meet...had a good time. (Burp!)

On my way out, the heavens opened up with a vengeance, it seemed. Initially I sought shelter but seeing no signs of the rains abating, decided to just get the hell home. I never received such a lashing by rain before. Even squinting my eyes to the bare minimum was painful. Still, it was a heaven guided decision. The pouring, blinding rain turned the streets into water logged pools; at some places, upto knee level. Had I waited longer, I would have had to swim home!! My Kinetic spluttered once or twice but never gave up. Never been so happy - and relieved - to reach home in one piece. Time to follow the dictum - leave home / office early; reach office / home safely!!! Ya!

Ferrari called up y'day to remind me about the pic in the Hindu featuring our very own MSA. Again. So, in his honor - Ferrari's, that is - here's one more ditty. Seemed too good to let it go.


As one can see, Mani is at it again
surely, he hasn't heard of the word 'to refrain'
perhaps, he's keen to prove he's no fuddy duddy
and so, goes to great lengths to be everbody's 'bosom' buddy
methinks all this requires chutzpah & nerves of steel
should anybody write funny, will he bring them to kneel?

Aaccck! Ravi doing the *disappearing* act. See ya, guys!

;)

After all the ranting and raving ( Ravin' Ravi .... that fits, na? ) here by me, I succeed in writing one fit enough to be printed / published in the venerable Hindu!! Gosh!! Not bad, eh?

Its an issue that really gets my goat. Everytime I see it!! It was also the topic of my very first post on this blog.

Don't you think its time we banned it?

:)

PS: Ignore the serious,bald guy in the pic, ok? There's a cheeky guy hiding behind him, I assure you!
PPS: Filched this blog title from here, without permission!! ;) Konjam adjust panungo, Kaatss?? 

I thought I was my usual sunny self today till I read these quotes of Mark Twain ( from here - thanks to Paul! ). Lo & behold, my crabby self takes centerstage again. Guess the news of y'day which I blogged about...the second such rape in Delhi & the govt's bewilderment on the issue... still rankles.

Its a matter of sadness to read these 2 developments.

One, Delhi is setting a dubious record for itself in the matter of women being raped in moving cars! This is the second such incident and without effective deterrent action by the government - apart from the usual arrests etc - molesters will perhaps be emboldened to carry out this crime time and again. What next, I wonder? You would have perhaps read my earlier post on this topic where I proposed something very drastic & bobbit-ian (!!). I'm beyond being outraged this time....the only thing I can feel is glee. Why, you ask? Don't you think this just confirms the notion that our politicians in our capital city are a f*****g weak-willed lot, unable to take decisive action, in the face of such appalling events that would distinguish them from those who commit such dastardly crimes? The same politicians, who, when animals - so called 'national' ones - are threatened with extinction, what do they do? Set up advisory boards! Being sad is an understatement, I tell you.

When I heard it first a couple of years back, it prompted me to say "Sorry? What was that again?!"

I'm referring to the word 'Carpe Diem' meaning - in Latin - "Seize the day" i.e Today!

Its what prompts me to make the most of everyday inspite of all that is vexing - the killings, the pollution, the traffic, the apathy, the corruption, the low, low standards of our politicians, grim/ unsmiling passengers in an MTC bus, the filth at public places, the poor & the destitute on pavements, child beggars at traffic junctions, a cop's abuse of power ... et al.

Its also what makes me smile at mundane, everyday things - fresh decoction coffee, the warmth of sunshine, punchline of a cartoon strip, the innocence of kids, a mother's relief, the smell of jasmine, Vivek's comedy, ARR singing Vande Materam, Illayaraja's melody, Jyothika's 'muhurtham' saree promos, freshly laundered clothes, after shave, the silence of the night, Cadbury's Fruit & Nut...et al.

In short, attitude is everything. Happiness is what we create for ourselves. Today. There's no need to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. So, rise above it & enjoy your day! And above all, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday!!

;)

A press report recently mentioned that author J.K Rowling intends to go back to a life of "obscurity" after the final instalment of Harry Potter is completed.

Hmmmph! I wish that was funny but it ain't. I mean, with all those millions and millions of pounds earned by her in royalties, she could buy an island in the middle of nowhere and be as obscure as she wants. ;)

Mani Shankar Aiyar may be our oil minister

Once bitten, twice shy, as they say. Been there, done that. Credit card victim, that is. A mile's distance is what I now I keep between them and me. I don't ever hear of any credit card company inform you that if you default on a single payment, one could end up paying around 30% on the overdue amount, on an annualised basis? Poor I may be in math but with these kind of usurious rip-offs, even Richie Rich will be wary.

Thankfully, here's another good reason why I don't have a credit card. If I had, I would have gone crazy with some of the products - books, dvd's, site etc - on offer on this site. If you want some genuine reader reviews, this is one site to check out.

And so, imagine my surprise to know that Amazon.com is now 10 years old. The Amazon.com way book is a fav. of mine. I still have the Time issue where Jeff Bezos was voted Man of the year. I was happy to find them doing this : ' To congratulate our all-time top-selling authors and musicians, and showcase our bestselling DVDs, we are inducting them into our 10th Anniversary Hall of Fame. Click on the links and photos below to read about our Hall of Fame musicians and authors, many of whom have provided exclusive stories, essays, and multimedia clips especially for the occasion.'

Should you be interesting in seeing who are the top 25 authors inducted into their Hall of Fame including guys ( isn't that a unisex word? ) like JK Rowling, Dan Brown, John Grisham, Stephen King, Tom Clancy, click here! Should you trip on Norah Jones, be in awe of Sting, like the way Santana sends tremors down your spine with his guitar playing etc click here!

Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta read what Robert T Kiyosaki has to say on the difference between employees and entrepreneurs.

Heed my words but I'm an entrepreneur just waiting to be born! Its just that I'm waiting for deliverance!

;)