Sahaab log so rahen hai!

I was on a late night train yesterday. After a long day I couldn't wait to collapse into the berth I had paid a fortune for.

First the train arrives with entirely different compartment configurations than has been mentioned on the ticket I am holding. 3AC and 2AC has been clubbed in some weird ways and all the 2AC passengers are running around trying to locate their seats. The chaps loading sheets and blankets onto the compartments are in no mood to oblige and tell me to buzz of as I try to squeeze my girth in between their hand cart and the reservation chart pasted onto the bogey. And of course the guy has been extra helpful and pasted it upside down.

After a few neck bending exercises, I am still at loss. My name's nowhere on the list. One of the guys loading the blankets tries to help me out - "Maybe you haven't been confirmed" he says guffawing "There is still time, if you run now, you can get some place in the unreserved compartment".

I storm off in search of the TTE, who is ominously missing while several passengers are milling around in search of their new seating arrangement. Finally someone strikes gold and a chart with the new placements is located. There I am - squeezed in between a M53 and a M61.

With minutes to go before the train leaves, I slip into my berth.

AC set to freeze the blood cold - Check.

Mandatory swaps with "beta can you take my upper berth done" - Check.

Ticket shown and argument with TTE that the guy in the old Drivers License is indeed me done - Check.

Torn Moth eaten blanket with dirty sheets on berth - Check.

Now all that was needed to snuggle up and goto sleep. Or so I thought!

Somewhere close to 1 am, a bunch of TTE's caught a poor chap camping near the doorway and started yelling at him for breaking rules and not being authorized to be in the compartment. The decibel levels kept rising as more and more voices joined the squabble. Nearly everyone woke up and cursed the "keepers of the law". But no avail, they had the "law" to "keep" and the guy seemed to have only 200 Rs.

After a couple of hours of threats of "Ticket Katunga", "1000Rs fine bharo!", finally the poor sod lost it and for the first time I heard his voice. "Take all the money I have and let me go" he said.

"Chup! Awaaz dheemi kar!" roared the law keepers "Sahaab log so rahen hai!"

Yeah right! We were definitely sleeping.

The Reader Swap

I finally did it - I moved on to Google Reader! It was something I had been resisting for a long time, because I didn't see the need. Wasn't a big fan of the blue chunky interface and reading what Thomas Friedman does wasn't a big pull, as much as I admire the man. I was a Bloglines fan for ages and their Beta site had a pretty nifty layout and interface which let me access all my feeds in a rather cool and convenient way.

But then ....

Yes, it always happens with any product. That one niggling issue which the team fails to take care of. And in my case it was the random refresh of all the feeds. Suddenly one fine day I would find all my feeds having several hundreds of posts marked unread. The correlation with maintenance activity notification was too high to ignore and then slowly (albeit reluctantly) I started following some feeds in Google Reader.

The problem ... (aka the inconvenient lock-in)

I had to manually transfer all my feeds one by one. Which is good because over the ages I had accumulated lots of stuff that was not getting refreshed anyway and there was a bunch of other blogs I don't want to follow anymore anyway. So the move was more like a house cleaning exercise during a move.

I have moved into a apartment block from a villa. But at least it seems to be functional - the water doesn't come back up the drains even if the view sucks :)

The weird expectation of Self Regulation

It's been a while, and for reasonably good reasons I assure you. While I don't promise to be back in full flow blogging action for some more time, expect some major announcements soon :)

Now coming back the topic that got my goat enough to get me to post. Speed! My rants against handing over controls of the Indica or Innova to people who can barely read road-signs and don't have any idea what lanes are, is well established. But a ding-dong, who nearly caused a pile up with his incredibly stupid driving of a rather powerful vehicle got me thinking - the speed limit on city roads is usually in the 30-50 kmph range. Even the awesome expressway's (I have been on two) have a stated speed limit of 80! (weird, but I don't make the rules).

Why would you then sell cars that can do 200 and expect people to stick to the speed limit? You seriously expect to put a kid in a candy store and tell it to stick to one lollipop? Seriously? We are after all kids aren't we. (notice the full stop instead of a question mark)

I propose spending tax money on the "Beam me up Scotty" technology in star-trek instead of wasting it on building more roads, more airports, more flyovers and stuff. (Hey! the Motorazor is an exact copy of the communicator). For those of you worried about body parts arriving dislocated, I say this - try driving on the Western Expressway in Mumbai at around 10 pm and tell me if that fear doesn't already exist.

Wake up Sid, Wake up plzzz....

P2 and me went to another one of our "witching hour" movie shows. This time we opted to go see Sid in action as he supposedly transformed from spoilt rich kid to responsible young man. Fair enough we thought, better than watching cheap slapstick comedy in "Do Knot Disturb" as the good newspaper advised.

Rich kid - only wants to party - flunks college - storms out of home - goes to live with a new found friend - comes face to face with 'reality' - becomes responsible by getting a kick out of making his bed, sweeping the floor and learning to fry eggs - becomes an intern - does a good job - gets a job offer - promptly goes back to rich dad and tells him he's made it in the world - gets invite back home - accepts invite - goes home - stays awake one night wearing chick's kurta which used to be her night gown - realizes he is in love with new found friend - goes searching for her wearing her kurta - confesses his love - end of story.

My guess is the only audience that would find any thing remotely interesting in the movie are rich spoilt kids who are planning to storm out of their homes leaving their Honda CRV's and PS3's behind. Me? I have been making my own bed, sweeping floors and making fried eggs since I was in my early teens. So the excitement is a bit lost on me, but then that's me - oh so middle class.

I didn't notice the infamous ten references to Bombay. Maybe it was because the late hour and the boring story line had rendered me quite numb or maybe the fact that my rather large neighbor who kept threatening rather loudly to host on his facebook status how "f***ing boring this f***ing movie is so others don't waste their f***ing money and f***ing time" kept forcing me to practically sit halfway in P2's seat. The armrests played spoilsport but thats not the point. If Karan Johar's visit to Raj Thackeray gets the movie much needed publicity, so be it. To some extent it registered in my mind because of that "Breaking News" clip.

I kept hoping if not Sid, at least I will wake up and find that it was just a bad dream. No such luck though as the movie dragged on from one predictable scene to the next.

So was it all bad? No, I saved me 200 bucks by watching it in Adlabs instead of PVR as we had originally planned. It was raining when we headed back around 2 in the morning. After seeing posters of "This is It" ,the MJ movie, due end of Oct, we played "Will you be there" at ear-drum bursting levels while speeding on empty roads. Not bad at all!

Just that some things are still bothering me - How can a PA to the editor of a mag and a intern afford a huge bottle of Nutrogena thingie that is shown in the bathroom? and how does the housing society in mumbai allow a guy to just move in with a single lady when the landlady in the movie is quite the vocal sort? and ...oh forget it! All these middle class thoughts, they come a rushing! Eh bien!

ET Now feature on IAN

Business Channel ET Now did a feature on Indian Angel Network - our investors. Yours truly spoke of 'kwench's experience with them.

Hota Hai, Chalta Hai

9:30 am : Busy Junction, its drizzling, I am in a suit, along with a dozen others, trying to flag down auto's

9:41 am: Auto's come in close to me (maybe the suit fools them) but go away in disgust when they hear my destination, about two kilometers away. The fat lady behind me gets one, the loud man yelling on the cellphone (and into my ear gets one), but I am still there. The skies are threatening to open up.

9:42 am: I am getting really late for my meeting. I wonder if I should head back and take my car instead. But I know that parking is impossible at the place where I have to go. I stay put and start to get worried and bugged.

9:45 am: Yet another auto wala comes, shows his disgust at the destination, goes ahead. Stops. Climbs out. Calls me. Says he will take me for 20 Rs extra. I get in before he can change his mind.

9:46 am: I am happy.

Yes, sadly, the city has gotten to me. I have learnt to settle and get on with things.

'Hota Hai'

I have accepted that inferior treatment is understandable and commuters are held to ransom everyday by auto rickshaws and taxis who refuse to go short distances at peak hours.

'Chalta Hai'

In a side note - Pilots of Jet Airways have called in sick en masse' for the last two days leaving thousands of passengers stranded. 'Hota Hai, Chalta Hai'

Two bald heads

"Maami" passed away last Friday. I didn't know her too well, but then there are some people whom you need to meet just once to feel as if you have known them a lifetime. Gutsy creature, who fought everything fate threw at her. And believe me fate threw a whole lot of crap at her. But this post is not about her, the sense of loss is too personal to be put here.

So there I was at the funeral, in an apartment, staring down at the society compound, trying to make sense of it all. There was no one around downstairs, everyone was in the other room for obvious reasons - except two bald heads - a grandpa and his little grandson.

One had hair going away for good and the other hadn't gotten around to having much hair yet. The two were not really affected by such mundane things as death, separation, rituals, tears and many other things taking precedence on the second floor of the building. The little bald head was busy testing manhole covers by jumping on them to see how well each one rings. After a few minutes of stress testing, the elder had enough of it and issued "cease and desist" orders.

After contemplating the implications of the orders, possibly a trade off between the joy of jumping on manhole covers and chocolates and other such goodies in his grandpa's pockets, the little bald head crossed over to where the old man had settled down. He jumped up and gave him a bear hug and smothered the big bald head with kisses before running back to the manhole covers and resuming his jumping with renewed gusto.

The grandfather was yet to recover from the assault of his grandson when I pulled myself away from the window. I didn't want to to smile too much. I didn't want to be witness to the subtle ways God tells you that life will go on. That little bald heads will always be there to take over from the big bald heads.

No! I wanted to be miserable. I know "Maami" wouldn't have approved, but I didn't care.

Outlook Business: profile on /'kwench/

Outlook Business just ran a two page profile on us. We are on page 94 of the Issue dated August 22, 2009. For some weird reason their online links don’t seem to have been updated yet. Go grab a copy! (Its the one with ROBOTICS as the cover story and a pretty cool looking robot staring back at you) (Cross posted on the /'kwench/ Library blog)

The Great Logo War

A hilarious look at two great brands in their epic battle for mind share. (source: The Consumerist)

The 'kwench Library Blog

It's here, finally! Took its own sweet time - basically because we didn't want to jump into something that would wither and die. Several Corporate Blogs just seem to float around for some time and then just die a premature death once the initial enthusiasm wanes. There are lots of good stories for us to tell now after an year of operations and I was convinvced its now time to start sharing those stories.

And so Mesdames, Messieurs I give you the 'kwench Library Blog.

http://kwench.wordpress.com/

Fore!

I have been told playing golf is therapeutic but ...
seriously? A crore on golf carts? Using tax payers money?!
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6703271.ece

The gist is

"Indian army chiefs claimed they had spent 10 million rupees (£127,000) on silent reconnaissance vehicles for missions beyond enemy lines. This week, however, it was revealed that they had bought 22 golf buggies, several of which were deployed to patrol the army’s Shivalik Golf Course in Chandigarh."

Resolution #3 for 2009 - The Mumbai Marathon

There - I have done it! I am now one step closer to fulfilling resolution #3 for this year. As of today I have put my money where my mouth is. And now onto getting in shape to actually run the race :)

Longing among the clouds

It was late morning as the train began its descent into the ghats.

Rain clouds slowly enveloped peaks in the far distance casting a dark shadow over the valley beneath as they slowed down. Clinging on like lovers who have waited far too long.

Raindrops splashed against the window blurring the scene as we picked up speed. Flashes of lightening in the hills beyond and the thunder rolled. A Lovers fight - like we do so often.

Wisps of clouds invaded the compartment. The cold wetness invading everything it touched. The cardboard cup filled with luke warm coffee in front of me was not up to the task. I need you to envelope me in your arms, just like the clouds do the hills. I need you here in the seat next to me as the train climbs higher into the ghats, into the dark foreboding rain clouds.

The Customer WOW! Factor

Just saw this video and from a customer WOW! factor, just look at the change in expressions on the people in the store when the dancers come in! It goes rapidly from "wtf!" to "lol!" to "wow!"

Guess how many of those customers are going to go home to wherever and tell whomever they know and how many of those 'whomevers' are going to drop in. Amazing stuff.

[H/t] Neha.

Angels and Demons and Peach Ice Tea

I finally got around to seeing Angels and Demons a couple of days back. Hectic travel and much back log of work had kept me away from theatres for some time now, but P2 wasn't having any more of my excuses. 

The first thing that struck me was how little of the original book I remembered. I had read all the Dan Brown creations in reverse order (like 99% of the population) and then had liked Angels and Demons the best. This was sometime in 2005 and I was sad that I had been to Rome before reading the novel or it would have been a different experience all together. 

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the movie. P2 switched off sometime after the scientist at CERN loses his eyeball (yeah she is the queasy kind) and to calm her nerves she had a chilled peach ice tea which only served to make matters worse. 

The movie is decent, it might be better if you read the book first. And its more fun if you go to the super late shows like we did. 

And while I was driving back on empty roads close to 1am, I was happily giving P2 'gyan' about how the church had suppressed scientists and how the scenes where everybody rushes from one point to the other was realistic considering how congested the Vatican really was (I was there on Christmas eve) and P2 suddenly turns and says - "there is just one thing I didn't understand in the movie"

I am ready to give her one of my deep insights into the movie and the history behind it all

"Why didn't they use scooters to rush around instead of that car?" continued P2 in the most sincere tone which only she can have.

The facts and presenting them

The airlines have a new way of telling their customers that they are sorry you are screwed - the flight is late, and its late because the incoming aircraft is delayed.

In the world of customer service not giving a reason is bad, but giving a bad reason that basically means "don't bug me, there's nothing we can do" is not far behind.

I am stuck in the airport, my friend waiting for me at my destination is stuck, its late, I left home hours ago, I am hungry

I needed to vent, an these indifferent announcements aren't helping and I have GPRS on my phone, so ....

Archie hedges his position

The ad-infinitum love triangle apparently seems to have come to an end. Archie has decided to marry Veronica! While it's not clear if she accepts but I guess when the publisher decides to end the classic conundrum in favor of the rich belle, its just a confirmation of the recessionary markets in the real world. Even good ol' Riverdale can't stay unaffected.

Apparently the story (in the upcoming issue) is that Archie will propose to Veronica after they graduate and are going to hit the job market. And considering Archie's grades in school, in today's job market scenario it makes perfect sense to hedge no ? 

Sigh!

Time Out: The MBA's are so loved :)

(Click on image to expand)

Now this would explain all the weird body pain I have been having off late! 

Image Source: www.dilbert.com | (c) Scott Adams | URL: http://darkgate.net/comic/images/dilbert/1242804011.gif

grafikpun's design among top 100 in the world!

grafikpun's work on the Nicholas Piramal brand redesign has been adjudged among the top 100 re-brand designs in the world! 

More about the actual work on this link

http://www.rebrand.com/2009-distinction-piramal-enterprises

And the write up on the work is on this link

http://www.edenspiekermann.com/en/news/eureka-moment-among-2009-rebrand-100-global-award-winners

grafikpun is the goddess of design stuff, and extremely professional. So unlike me, if you want great design work to be done and are not just stuck with a hazy idea on what you might want to have - work with her! 

Be warned - She's brilliant and extremely intolerant of fools. (I speak from experience)

Dataquest and IndianWeb2 rate 'kwench among top 20 Indian Web 2.0 sites

We are speechless!

http://infotech.indiatimes.com/quickiearticleshow/4530503.cms

And very happy!

Hattip: Vivek! You know why :)

"Kiss my Hot Lips"

Cable invaded my home in '92, exactly a week before I was to appear for my tenth board examinations. The first music video I saw was "Remember the time" in glorious clarity and the first TV series I fell in love with was M*A*S*H. More than a decade later, I still am.

And the timing on Star Plus (those days World hadn't started, and Plus hadn't degenerated into what it is today) was just perfect. The episodes finished just before mom returned from office, and so I could, even on exam days have my days fill of "Hawkeye" Pierce, McIntyre and of course "Hot Lips" Houlihan. I was in my teens and hormones were raging.

 

Now, thanks to a very generous wormwood, I have a huge collection of VCD's of the past seasons and they serve to fill up my time when nothing seems to really going right and I need to see something really funny and cynical - like today afternoon for example. 

The thing I like about (most) of the episodes is how each one of them holds up on just the story line - there is no gory killing or rampant shooting to act as fillers - just plain jokes on human nature and the sheer stupidity of war. 

And now having seen way too much crap that I don't really care to see, I am also amazed at the level of tolerance the 'establishment' had against pot shots like these. Not that it did help in anyway, but still. I think the world has become more intolerant, not just of each other - but of humour in general. 

Politically correct statements are expected all the time from everyone - sort of takes the fun out of everything. I grew up with on stuff like M*A*S*H and MAD mag. These two iconic creations went out of their way to poke fun at everybody and everything, which maybe explains why I turned out like this. 

I wistfully turned off the telly - Maybe I will now do some politically incorrect creative stuff to compensate for a lack lustre world - what say ? :)

Alootechie.com on 'kwench

Alootechie has written a piece about us. The text is reproduced here in full. 

Kwench.in enables companies to offer online library service to their employees

08 May, 2009

by Satrajit Sen 

Mumbai-based Kwench Library Solutions has launched Kwench.in, an online library solutions provider that enables companies to provide their employees access to books sourced from various distributors in India. The website allows users to order, track and provide inputs and recommend books. Users can also form communities of interest and connect with like-minded people. 

“We work with companies to provide library solutions. This ranges from simply providing access to books, to consulting on setting up an integrated learning platform using their existing infrastructure in conjunction with ours,” Prashant John, co-founder, Kwench, has told AlooTechie. 

“Corporates would benefit by using our service as there is no capex (capital expenditure), no opex (operating expenditure) and no admin (administrative) overheads needed from their side. For the employees it’s a convenient means to order books covering a vast array of topics both professional and personal,” added John. 

Kwench claims to have attracted more than 20 companies, including Tata AIG, McKinsey, WNS Global Services, Yes Bank and Wipro, as its clients, since its launch in June 2008. Currently, Kwench operates in three Indian cities namely Mumbai, Pune and Delhi-NCR. Recently, Kwench received an undisclosed amount of funding from Indian Angel Network. 

According to the company, the term Kwench is a play on the English word Quench derived from its mission to quench the thirst for knowledge. The spelling for the company name is the way the pronunciation of the word Quench is depicted in the English dictionary. The forward slashes in the logo emphasize the forward looking nature of the enterprise.

Phantom Rings

It's a blistering summer afternoon. The curtains sway in the hot wind and there is that uneasy afternoon calm. I have been on the phone all day answering calls and now it lies listlessly in a corner of the room. 

I am lost in thought over some silly analysis that isn't getting anywhere. 

Thought I heard the phone ring. The screen seems to be switching off, as if it had come alive for a minute. But there is nothing there. No missed calls, no messages, nothing.

Was it my mind playing tricks, or was it you? 

Did you call?  huh? Did you?

Sometimes ....

You browse ...

You stroll over to the other shelves ....

You read the blurbs, you read what NY times has to say ...

Nothing seems to excite you. 

Then out of the corner of your eye, you spot it - stuck in the wrong section... 

You fall in love instantly! Head over heels! - with no hope of recovery.

Sometimes, you don't choose the book, the book chooses you. Thats just the way it is!

Photoessay: Juhu Beach

My first attempt at anything of this sort. It wasn't planned, but then I thought I would try my hand at a photo essay.

Not really much of an essay though, more like a musing and then it ends before really getting anywhere- but I really enjoyed making it and that's what counts, right ? I couldn't figure out a way to get the high-res versions onto the blog, directly or via a link to the pdf version I created. In case you would like to see it in the original format drop me a mail or put your mail ID in the comments and I will send it over.

"I have been to the beach here a couple of times before, and I love it more each time I go there. It is quintessential Mumbai in action. Teeming masses, finding a way to get a piece of the sea.  Couples snatching a rare moment of intimacy in this crowded metropolis.Hawkers try to sell you  all kinds of stuff, families enjoying a breath of fresh air. Kids and adults squealing in delight as the waves rush up to wet their feet. It’s a place where Mumbai seems to come to forget itself. to take a deep breath of fresh air and unwind for a minute"

Corn cobs grilled over a charcoal flame is the one “must have” The ‘bhutta’ is served with spicy masala powder and lemon juice spread liberally over it. You grab one of these, and walk down the beach with your jeans rolled up to the knees, waves lapping at your ankles, the laughter of children ringing in your ears – nirvana!

A man displays his collection of colorful charkhi’s hoping to entice the little ones. There are all kinds of little gizmos on sale all across the beach. Airplanes made of paper that are flown like kites, balloons, even soap bubble blowers. The ability of these hawkers to identify potential clients would put any hard core marketer to shame.

The little ones get a chance to drive their own cars and bikes. Bumper to Bumper of course! – there is no other way to drive in this crazy city.

A device straight out of a Science Fiction Thriller with pulsating lights and all kinds of weird tubes. I was enthralled by it and stood around for a while fascinated and strangely drawn to it. That it turned out to be a Weighing Machine that said your weight out rather loudly, didn’t reduce the charm one bit.

Absentee Voting rights

I think the time for this has come.

http://voterswithoutborders.org/

Full support!

On being an entrepreneur (again)

Lil baby 'kwench is now taking firm steps towards growth. Family, friends and a few others who know me from way back have been a bit surprised at the turn of events over the last year or so. I was a die-hard proponent of not doing 'business' partly because of traumatic experiences in the past and also because of my extreme impatience with bureaucracy. 

Add to that, the fact that I am 'fluid' most of the time in my thought process and generally have been lucky to have people around, who kept bringing me back to the tasks on hand every time I went all over on flights of fantasy. "Grounded" wasn't a term associated with me.

So, when post my stint at IIM, I decided to take the plunge - understandably quite a few eyebrows were raised and the inevitable question posed - Are you sure?

I thought a lot about it and tried very hard to figure out why. I knew a major reason was the excellent team that got together but there was something else. Finally poet extraordinaire Khalil Gibran came to my rescue - again (He helped me out in winning a few hearts in the teen years ;). His wonderful poem 'On Children' is the best explanation of why I would do something I swore to never do. 

On Children

Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, 

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, 

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children

as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 

and He bends you with His might 

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let our bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Like children, your venture tends to consume you. You may house their day to day workings, but its soul, the sheer concept and the passion is something much larger. And if you get it right, like all successful companies, it will outgrow you and oulast you. And a true entrepreneur like a good parent, knows when its time to let go and let his baby be what its destined to be.

My first entrepreneurial venture circa 8th grade was a lending library in my living room, getting friends and neighbours to borrow my comics for Rs 2 a pop.  There was a lot of passion and quite a bit of excitement around it. It lasted for three weeks of my summer vacations, making my home quite a public domain. Kids I hadn't ever seen, walked through the door and plonked on the sofa - sampling what was on offer before handing over the 'largish' coins or crumpled notes. And the end of it all, I lost seven comics that never got returned, and still owe mom about Rs 50 in rentals for the corner where I set up the library (assuming she doesn't impose penalties on late payment). 

It took more than two decades and an MBA to start a variant of that venture. But this time around, we pay the rents. The "child" was always there, it was just a matter of time. Or maybe as they say in college, 'keeda tha yaar, kya karen?' 

Press Release by IAN

Here is a link to the press release on IAN's investment in /'kwench/.

INDIAN ANGEL NETWORK ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN KWENCH [pdf document]

Where is W?

Stuck at home on a hot Sunday afternoon, having tolerated 2.5 mind-numbing movies on TV, understandably I was a bit woozy. 

All the news sites keep playing the efforts of Barack Obama to try and fix the economy, try and fix the wars, try and fix the planet, and doing it all in perfect style. No gaffes, no quotable quotes, nothing that makes you want to throw something at him - not even rolled up socks. He is too perfect, almost boring now. 

Which brings me back to good ol' W! Now there was an entertaining man, and he seems to have all but dropped off the surface of the planet. Last year I was (along with 5.99999 billion others) wishing exactly that, but now I miss him. A google search for "where is george w bush" threw up hardly any links. One interesting one through about his 'presidential library' popped up. 

How quaint, I didn't know the man read books. But, where is he ?

Funded!

After months of negotiations, valuations, discussions, projections and lots of learning, 'kwench is now officially funded by the Indian Angel Network. 

The final signatures were put on documents in a board room at the stately offices of Bennett Coleman and Company at VT yesterday evening. It was a fitting culmination to several months of hard work on everyone's part (ours and theirs) to get in seed money for various strategic moves. Raising funding in this market has been one of the biggest challenges and lots of things have refined along the way - our approach to the biz itself has been radically altered by the high expectations set for us. 

I celebrated by going down to the Juhu beach - never been there in the 6+ effective years I stayed in the city so far. It was past 9pm when I finally got there. The crowds had thinned, and several photographers wanted me to pay for pics with P2. Neither of us was very interested and one of the more outspoken ones advised me that 'it was more fun to get photographed before getting married'. Very Brave - Luckily P2 was in a good mood, otherwise he would have been slamdunked into the sand by her (she is pretty good at that sort of thing). So finally I spent the larger part of two hours letting the waves wash up my feet while watching the planes take off overhead. The vast sea streched out into nothingness, and it was a bit like our situation. We gorged on overpriced Pulav and Pav-bhaji - but what the heck! I drew the line at the "ice-golas" though.

The 'kwench team is on the beach now, ready to take the full plunge - we had just been testing the waters till now. And the waters, while a little choppy - are very inviting.