Gangtok Ho...

16th June

Off to Gangtok on the 4th of July...

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17th June

Kolkata to Badhdogra, one way flight fare for 1250, now if this is not a steal then what is...
What is better than a steal? Getting the same deal again...
Baghdogra to Kolkata, return flight at the same price (including passenger fee, fuel surcharge, ADF...)...

As of now these are the only reservations that I have made.
Need to run some googles and make a few reservations.

Must see list:

• A monastry
• Cable car
• Buy souvenirs

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22nd June

Looked up a few hotels and travel options, but yet to finalize anything.

My travel period not being the most sort after travel time, I presume accommodation should not be a huge concern...

Tried reaching out to a couple of Helicopter folks, nothing materialized...

Read up a little about Gangtok and Baghdogra.

Gangtok is only 4hrs away from Darjeeling, that is giving me a lot of ideas.
Toy train, now that is a tempting proposition...

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23rd June

Came across this useful site: www.world66.com
It is a Wiki, in that it can be edited at will...
I ran a google on it for Gangtok but did not get anything that I did not already know...

However, it had a lot to offer for more popular cities like Amsterdam and Paris...

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4th August

It was one of the better holidays that I ever embarked on...
Fairly eventful, extremely insightful and definitely useful...

I reached Baghdogra, drove up to Gangtok. Was in Gantok for almost 36hrs...
I can almost account for each minute that I spent, time very well spent...

I drove further up to Darjeeling and explored the place for a good 5hours...
A much more developed place but not as charming...

In Gantok, I came in touch with the spiritual part of my soul, a shade that I never knew existed in me...

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IPL - A $2Bn brand...

Knight Riders (after dropping Kolkata) have been in news lately for a lot of reasons. Most of them not very pleasant, be it the surfacing of the Fake IPL player or their Coachs strategy (or the lack of thereof)  or the absolute nonperformance on the field or the endorsers asking tough questions. 

All these have hurt a lot of people in a lot of ways but if one had to name a single person who lost the most, it has to SRK, not just money and fame but also to a certain extent his reputation as a schrewd businessman and a master promoter.

All of the King Khan's men and coaches could not put the proverbial humpdy dumpty back on the wall...

However, going against the tide of happenings a news emerged, which if accurate, would prove everything that I wrote about SRK till now wrong...

That news is about IPL being valued as a $2Bn business and KKR as a brand worth over $42Mn, now this is accoring to a UK-based brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. One other point to note is that KKR are the most valuable team of the franchise. I have a serious issue with this fact (if it is one), not because their points are less then the games they have played (like one of them, you know who pointed out) but because the parameters deployed to arrive at the figure go against the team.

Apparantly, the brand value had been claculated by considering the estimated revenue (from multiple distribution channels) and combining them with increase in sponsorship, revenue, cricketing success, franchisee city's population and iconic players. The distribution channels in question are broadcasting, merchandising, sponsorships and gate receipts.

Temporarily keeping aside revenue, KKR will be found wanting on 2 of the 5 incremental factors and 2 of them do not make much sense. On the 'cricketing success' and 'iconic players' parameters, the team will lose out heavily, one it has not performed well and two all its top players have have lived up to thier fancy price tags. One factor that I have serious contentions is the 'city's population', considering the fact that the games are being played in the Republic of South Africa, how does the size of population of the home city matter at all, if it contributing to the TRPs is the reason for having the parameter then it is more of a reason however a myopic one. The other factor that baffles me is 'revenue', if the whole calculating is starting off by taking in to account the revenue generated from 4 different sources then what is the point in having it again. The only additional factor on which KKR might do better than others is 'merchandising', more because SRK has roped in RBK, nothing really to do with the team per se.

More on it, soon...

Signing off...

Writer's Block

Want to word my thoughts,

How should the drive be brought,

Fingers have the force,

Cannot my mind coerce,

Is it, just the time of the day,

Or, my newness to the bay.

Maybe a literary style,

That I always kept away a mile,

Will act as a lucky charm,

To fill the writers chasm,

So, should I stick to prose,

Or somehow bloom this rose...

My first poem -> Dedicated to Dona Ines...

Targets for H1'09...

I have drawn up my targets for the first half of 2009, I have only four moths to achieve then, considering the fact that we are two months in to the year...

1. 1 chess tournament...
2. 1 one week holiday...
3. 1 new language...
4. Read at least 12 books...
5. 1 half marathon...
6. Blog more frequently...
7. Build 2X corpus...
8. 1 teaching workout...
9. Bullet Proof Manager, closure...
10. Visit Shiridi...
    

Unlike the last time around, this time I intend to post monthly status checks, in order to be able to course correct better...

Signing off...

Need advice - 1

At 12:34PM on 29th May, 2008 I spoke with M for the first time. She came across as a charming lady with a streak of naivete. My equation with her started on a smooth note and only improved with the passage of time. Like I did for most of her teammates, I meant good for her and tried motivating her at every possible opportunity.

When she pinged me on the 10th of February asking me for a convenient time to talk, I was not exactly sure what the scene was. Truth be told, I knew that his day would come, circumstances are something that I was not sure about.

I flashed my chivalrous side and expressed my willingness to reschedule my calendar to suit her...

I suggested Barista as a possible venue (my love for espresso has been well documented), which she also felt was an appropriate backdrop for the task on hand. So we descended upon the place with different modes of mind, calm and chaotic, mine and hers respectively.

I made some small talk, mainly to put her at ease. Then I made some more small talk, to help her compose her thoughts. You know what, I made some more small talk and realized that it was not helping the cause and got lost in my thoughts. Thankfully my americano arrived and so did her sizzling brownie.

She was a visual person, seeing the hissy bubbles of chocolate coming in contact with the vanilla scoop opened her perception and she erupted, well almost literally. She spoke for a good half hour, I did not do much to guide or direct the conversation and sailed with the flow. She was neither cohercive nor logical, two of the many aspects that I intended to address in a while...

She had issues but that was not the problem, the problem was her lack of clarity about the issues...

I might not be happy with my life but unless I know the exact reason for my unhappiness I can get no where and wore still, if I get the reason wrong and work towards setting it right, I will do more harm...

Her clarity or the lack or thereof and her make belief crystal castle will stand out in the following converstion exert:
M: I do not want to get married till I fulfill all my ambitions!!!
Me (picking up my red pen): So what are your ambitions?
M: 1) I want to learn all the dance forms in the world...
2) I want to paint all the emotions in the world...
3) I want to earn professional respect...
4) I want to be eternally independent...
Me: Wow...
M: I know I will never get them and I am not even making an effort in the direction so...
Me: Oh ok...

M has never been on a date, the person she names as a possible partner is her high school class mate...

She sure has issues...

Tried to clear her thoughts a bit and give her some techniques to work with...

Updations will be posted.

My first mini Marathon...

Tomorrow will be my first competitive step towards participating in a full marathon...

I will be running in the annual city 10k run...

Intend to do it under 60mins...

Signing off...

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Update

I did fine...

Notwithstanding nerves and tactical goofups, I reached the finish line in 1:08:15...

Could have easily shaved off atleast 15minutes, had it not been for my tactical oversight...

Lessons for future:
1) Stay as close to the start line as possible, not only will it give a head start but it will also help you avoid the path blocking runners...
2) Be clear about the rules, discuss beforehand with the organizers...

Signing off...

Three incidents...

The top right hand side of my mobile read 10:25, which meant I just about had enough time to reach my desk, regroup and head for the conference room...

'Excuse me, your id please', I hear a voice. I cursed Murphy under my breath and turn around to face the speaker. It was the new security personal. I flash a charming grin and lie that the card is at my desk and escape. 'Never take short-cuts', is what my Dona Ines always says, but old habits you see.

I do not even archive this incident and went ahead with my work-day. In was on my way to another department and behold I notice a lady checking-me-out, not that I am averse to attention but what got me thinking was that she had broken a few unwritten ogling commandments . To quote a few, thou shall the act to a few seconds at a time, thou shall hold thyself back if thy object of desire is breaking the eye contact (unless you are drunk, drinkers have different rules, remember), make a pass or pass the chance - do not maintain the status-quo.

After a discussion that lasted a good three hours I get back to my desk and realize that someones presence. I throw a blank stare at her and she responds with a 'caught-you' smile and demands that I show her my identity card. Oh, it was the security lady. 'I am social' would be like saying 'Fish can swim', it is my second nature, however timelines or the lack of the same decided the couse I took. I confessd that I did not have my card. She pulled out a pen and wanted my 'number', I spell out my employee-id. She mobile to number, 'why?', I inquired innocenly. 'New policy', was all that she said. Once done, she takes down my name and walked off.

The project was taking its toll on me and it had been a good 72hrs since I smelt the proverbial roses. I rush in to another status check meeting and participate in a focus-group and shoot a dozen replys. I pull my mobile out to check waht the top right hand side corner has to say and I notice 8 missed calls, so I called back.

'Hello', I start off...
The line is blank...
'Hellloou', I go again...
'Who is this', a flat tone enquires...
'Archit, I recived missed calls from this number', I get to the point...
The call is cut and I am in no mood to call back...

My mobile runs out of charge and I have no patience to use my office charger, so I let it be...

I reach home late and just as I put the phone to charge, it starts ringing...

I answer reluctently...

'Your smile is fine', and the line goes blank...

That is when I experience a eureka moment, the security lady and the ogling lady and the caller were the same person, she changed her dress thrice in order to pull it off...

What am I going to do next, I have no idea...

Signing off...