Gen Y prefer being conscientious consumers: Report

If you want to know what makes the millennials (Gen Y generation) tick in the current economic scenario, and at a time when everything from earthquakes and terrorist acts are a part of life? Then take a look at the findings of this Euro RSCG report 'Millennials: The Challenger Generation'.

This report states that this generation is not as frivolous as they are made out to be. Surprisingly, survey respondents from the US, UK, France, India and China all wanted to win their parents' approval, looked up to them for advice (over media, peer and web sources) and felt that sustainable corporate practices was the way forward.

Even when it comes to seeking jobs, this generation is looking to work for socially-minded brands that puts the environment ahead of profits. The report states that "Research by Experience, Inc. in the U.S. found that 81 percent of college students and recent graduates said it’s important to them to work for a company that is green-friendly, green-conscious, or green-certified. And 79 percent said that, faced with two similar offers, they would be more likely to accept a position with the organization that is greener. It may not be entirely altruistic: 67 percent of our millennial sample believe the most successful businesses in the future will be those that practice sustainability, a notion with which only 7 percent disagreed."

What's more they want to buy brands that reflect well on them, and which are innovative and cool, which asks for their opinions and considers their viewpoints, cares for the environment and gives them freebies as preferred consumers. The brands should also be showing concern for people involved in the manufacturing process as well, or else they will lose brownie points with this generation.

So in light of the above, the report divulged that "nearly two-thirds of millennials believe reducing consumption is an important pathway to global change. And nearly half believe the things they consume have more power to change things than the people they vote for.  In other words, product choices trump politics. And so do corporations: 40 percent believe corporations have a greater capacity than governments to create change, while only 27 percent disagree. These figures show a real disaffection between youth and politics; there is little sense of faith in politicians and governmental leaders to solve the world’s problems."

So now brands know the score about how to woo their potential future consumers - make it about spending with a soul and a purpose.

Graphics are from the report. See the entire report here: http://www.prosumer-report.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MGv16no%20crops.pdf

Skyfall: Neither stirred or shaken!

So many magazine covers have done stories on the theme of '50 years of Bond movies', and I've enjoyed this series more than most others in the genre. I've haven't watched only one of them and hope to do so soon.

Anyway, I recently watched 'Skyfall' and I didn't enjoy it as much as the others. Daniel Craig was put through his moves, and he's given his all to his stunt scenes but he didn't look comfortable doing the 'natural' stuff! His rage at M (for giving his colleague the order to shoot down an assassin he is fighting with on a moving train, even when she says she can't get him properly in her rifle's scope. So, she ends up shooting Bond off the train) is such a school-boy act. He broods at  a seaside shack and honestly doesn't look all that outraged.

Then there are his two-bit sex scenes which he distinctly looks uncomfortable doing - like it's a chore imposed on him by the script rather than the fun it's supposed to be for his character. I've seen all of the other Bond movies and they certainly seemed to get their fun and games right..with the right kind of lines and emotions.

I think the movie lacks from any real chemistry between Bond and his women. And ofcourse, they haven't given Craig any lines at all to speak. It's literally a wham, bam and-not-even-a-thank-you kind of act, which I found weird. Because the Bond movies are all about how suave he is with women - witty, complimentary and rakish to the core. Couldn't Craig have asked for some lines of dialogue to be added..or for the scenes to be just deleted anyway? Why fake it so much?

The plot isn't that great either - an MI-6 agent gone rogue. Having seen the Bourne series..this movie was a distinct letdown in comparison. The one actor who came out doing a better job than Bond, was Javier Bardem, who plays Silva (the bad agent). He's convincingly crazy, conflicted and soured with revenge on his mind.

Please have him play the next Bond - this Spanish hottie deserves the lead role rather than it only going to actors of the British Commonwealth. (Here's hoping an Indian actor also gets to play him in future too.) Besides, Bardem is married to the very beautiful Penelope Cruz, and I'd love to see this favourite actress as a Bond girl. And we might actually see some sparks fly between Bond and his woman.

Busting myths about workplace fairness

An interesting study called 'The Myth of the Ideal Worker: Does Doing all the Right Things Really Get Women Ahead' posted on the Catalyst site is an eye-opener. If you think the answer to the above statement was 'yes', then you couldn't be more wrong. And this was despite doing all of the below things that could have got women labelled as an ideal worker.

• Actively seeks high-profile assignments,
• Rubs shoulders with influential leaders,
• Communicates openly and directly about their career aspirations,
• Seeks visibility for their accomplishments,
• Lets their supervisor know of their skills and willingness to contribute,
• Continually seeks out new opportunities,
• Learns the political landscape or unwritten rules of the company, and
• Isn’t afraid to ask for help.

What's more the same tactics worked differently for men. Yes, predictably it worked very well for them. This quote is actually highlighted in bold in the report: MEN’S “IDEAL WORKER” BEHAVIORS TRANSLATED INTO ADVANCEMENT; WOMEN LAG MEN REGARDLESS OF STRATEGIES USED.

But where women gained more was when they made their achievements known. This is something I've always been clear about - taking credit for work I do, and not wait for someone else to give it to me. And well as it turns out, it's the one thing that apparently works for us women!

To realise the extent of unfairness, men also gained better pay packages if they switched jobs as compared to women. They got paid for 'potential' while women are paid for 'proven performance'.

The only criteria where women and men benefited in the same way was when they had access to powerful people. Well, does this mean we need to just get ourselves powerful mentors and forget about everything else because nothing we do, seems to work in our favour? Gosh, I hope not!

You've got to read this great report here - it's only 24 colourful pages - http://www.catalyst.org/file/523/the_myth_of_the_ideal_worker_does_doing_all_the_right_things_really_get_women_ahead.pdf

Bios on beautiful women: Telltales that rock!

I've read a bunch of biographies on spunky, beautiful and famous women. With a cup of good coffee (or hot chocolate), these books have kept me riveted for hours. Everyone, from Jackie Kennedy, Edwina Mountbatten, Princess Diana, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Katherine Hepburn and lately Ava Gardner have been completely inspirational. There were so many aspects to these women's personalities that made them these unforgettable women, and reading about their lives was completely fascinating.

The movie stars and their love lives and how they got what they wanted out of their careers and their men makes for wonderful reading. But the setbacks and the heartbreaks also jump out at you. And these women had to endure it in front of the world, all the while remaining poised in their very private grief. Will anyone forget the quiet dignity of Jacqueline Kennedy on the day of her young husband's funeral? Liz Taylor's third husband Mike Todd died in a plane crash, but she continued to show up on the sets of 'Cat on the Hot Tin Roof' that she had been filming with Paul Newman, so the production wouldn't suffer. So there are instances of such professionalism and dedication to their careers, in every one of the bios I've read on these women.

Also, some stereotypical notions got shattered along the way. That of Princess Diana being just another beautiful but dumb blonde. She scored where it mattered the most - empathetic understanding of the world's major issues - landmines and AIDS among them. Marilyn Monroe, another blonde who most thought was just a sexy bimbo, was actually a shrewd manager of her career. She was the first Hollywood female star to get the right to choose her scripts, directors and co-stars.  She was a canny judge of people too and even knew when she was being exploited. She allowed it to happen because it furthered her career.

The latest book I've read is on Ava Gardner and she was such a vibrant, bohemian beauty. She had love affairs galore and never felt apologetic about breaking up Frank Sinatra's marriage, (something Liz Taylor didn't feel too - she broke apart two marriages, when she married her fourth husband Eddie Fisher who had been married to another Hollywood actress, Debbie Reynolds and then later her fifth husband Richard Burton's first marriage too.) Katherine Hepburn also chose to remain as Hollywood actor James Stewart's mistress because he felt too guilty to divorce his wife as the Catholic church didn't allow it.

While I'm not condoning the broken hearts these women left behind, what I liked about them was their attitudes. They lived their life on their own terms, and we are talking of women in the 1940s and 1950s. By the 1960s, the hippie decade had started off in the West, and people were by then openly trying every kind of kinky stuff. Besides, the men in these women's lives were not passive spectators. They chose to be with these bold women despite knowing it was getting them notoriety. Well, in show-business, even notoriety was a good thing back then...as it is today.

The stars love lives helped sell tabloids and movie tickets. Some of the promos were fun for the audience too. One of Ava Gardner's movies 'Little Hut' ran a promo, which gave away an actual Fijian island to the winner! It's nuggets like these, which have been painstakingly researched by the writers of these biographies that makes them such fun reads. Go out and find your own list of entertainers - the wordsy kind!!

Here is a list of books I recall reading:

1. A Passion for Life: The Biography of Elizabeth Taylor by Donald Spoto
2. Ava Gardner: Love is Nothing by Lee Server
3. Marilyn Monroe: Unseen Archives by Marie Clayton
4. Diana: Her True Story by Andrew Morton and A Royal Duty by Paul Burrell
5. Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn by Donald Spoto
6. Me: Stories of my Life by Katherine Hepburn

Work-life balance: Are you lucky to have it?

Talent management is such a tightrope walk because on the one hand you've got to keep thousands of employees happy, and try and do it without going overboard (and finding the right things to do in the first place.)

A lot of employers are now realising that their human resources are their real treasure trove, and keeping them happy and healthy has become a priority for many of them. A Catalyst report called 'Expanding Work-Life Perspectives: Talent Management in India', highlights the following companies' efforts to do good by their workforce:

1. Procter & Gamble: Employees can work from home or work reduced schedules.
2. PricewaterhouseCoopers: Commute support, women’s networks, mentoring.
3. Infosys: Wellness programs, stress-relief programs, counseling, sabbaticals, return to-work training, enhanced maternity leave. 
4. Wipro: Wellness counseling, on-site “day camp” during school holidays.
5. Tata Group: Provides employee programs to connect parents with their children.
6. Ernst & Young: Returnship programs for new mothers, flexible work arrangements, reduced schedules, on-site nursery.
7. Google: Taxis on-call for family and personal emergencies.

Following are the highlights of the report:

• Regardless of gender, future leaders in India are highly focused on their jobs and their career advancement; they also report a strong dual work-family emphasis and the desire to have a good work-life fit.
• Despite having similar levels of career interest and ambition as men, women in India report more challenges managing work and personal life, suggesting the need for companies to consider how current work cultures and work-life policies fit the experiences of all their talent.
• Both women and men reported that their current focus is on their job but also reported a strong dual (work and family) focus.

• They also stated that they wanted to advance further in their careers and aspired to senior leadership roles.
• Both also said that having a good fit between life on and off the job was very important to them and appreciated their company’s flexibility options.
• But women were more likely to report challenges managing work and family life.
• Women were also more likely to convey a mismatch between their flexibility needs and what the company offered.

What's really telling is the above pie-chart, which shows that a whopping 80% of men and 90% of women, don't feel that their workplace meets their work-life (balance) needs.

I guess more corporates need to look at this report and do some brainstorming for solutions.

See the full report here:
http://www.catalyst.org/file/621/expanding_work_life_perspectives_talent_management_in_india_final.pdf

India: The Underachiever

For over 10 years now, India has been mentioned in the same breath as a lot of other emerging economies. It's right there in the middle of the BRIC acronym, which stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China. BRIC has now gone on to become BRICS with the addition of South Africa.

Yet the sad reality is that we have a democracy which functions well for the most part, (because we leave it to our various Gods to rescue us?) but lately has just been limping along, with our leaders unable to do the right thing by the citizens or the country they are supposed to be governing.

I found the below table on the Catalyst website and decided to share it, as it spoke volumes about how we have been lagging on every parameter, except in the first criteria - about how much percentage of women constitute the population of India. Here we beat China by a mere fraction. The numbers prove that without Indian women becoming empowered enough to take their place in the economy, this country will always be a laggard. It's a well known economic fact, that western countries have achieved economic prowess because their women have made progress and contributed to those countries' welfare. They have not been only riding on the shoulders of their male citizens.

With numbers like these, I won't be surprised if South Africa also manages to beat us on some of these economic growth and social improvement indices, in the future.

Can our so-called leaders finally get their act together and really lead India?  Or we'll be making it to covers of magazines like Time, which had Manmohan Singh on it, with 'Underachiever' written in red, across his photograph.

Table sourced from: http://www.catalyst.org/publication/214/women-in-emerging-markets. Also this video is a good watch - http://youtu.be/KMv-pzu9H2w

CaratLane: A shiny, classy online experience

I recently shopped for gold jewellery, and I did it online rather than at any offline store. I was very impressed with the experience. CaratLane not only has some really classy designs but they also have such a smooth process to buy it off them.

I didn't have to register my entire life history with them to begin shopping. The site lets you view their collection entirely and you can complete a transaction as a 'guest', which means you give them all your information at the last minute at the time of making a payment, and you don't have to be a registered user of the site. They also have a toll-free number that you can call and place your order.

I paid for my earrings through net banking, and within 2 days I got a call from their customer service team verifying my credentials and they told me that the earrings would be delivered by a certain day. On that particular day, I got a call from a company rep who told me he was on his way to deliver the earrings and that I (or a family member who was receiving it on my behalf) should keep a ID handy.

The earrings were insured by the site during transit, till I got them. And opening the package was a delightful experience. It came in a silver and maroon colour tin which had the site's name printed on the lid. Within this was a gift box filled with potpourri. And in this box was a milky coffee colour suede box which contained my earrings. The cherry on top of this experience was that there was a handwritten 'Thank You' card saying 'We hope you enjoy your earrings.'

I have never seen such great service even at offline stores, where they have included a Thank You card with my purchase. I think it's time jewellery stores sat up and took note of this simple gesture, which left the biggest impression on me.

So, while people rave about the earrings I have bought, I'm happy with the entire transaction. And coming from someone who normally does not like shopping, that is saying a lot! 

Click-n-buy: Good & bad experience at my fingertips

The shopping bug bit me with a vengeance this month because I hadn't upgraded my wardrobe in years. So, for someone who does not normally enjoy shopping in malls, I found the online version a lot more convenient. All that variety at my fingertips. So while I have shopped with Inkfruit, Myntra and Flipkart earlier and eBay and Rediff in the very distant past, I decided to try out FashionandYou.

The site has a nice look and feel to it and the stocks get updated quite a bit on a daily basis. So, while I did have a sizing issue with the clothes I bought, they did take it back and give me store credit (since the size I wanted was out of stock). I also picked up a handbag, which is so gorgeous that I'm getting raves about it from everyone.

It's when I decided to also buy a mobile from them, that they majorly slipped up. They were having one of their Express Sales on electronic goods and I liked a burgundy colour HTC Magic phone. It was delivered a lot sooner than my other purchases. It took me a week to unlock it because it was not a phone that was introduced into markets outside of Europe and the US (where it is called T-Mobile). I had to boot the phone and then first sync it with my Google account etc and even then importing my contacts from my SIM card wouldn't happen at all. I tried moving all my contacts from my old phone's memory on to the SIM card, and then tried repeatedly, and nothing was working. I would find contacts from A-F not imported but suddenly starting from G for some reason, and then skipping a lot of names in between to land up at S. Also, manually typing the names wouldn't help either because I kept getting an OS error message.

This problem was annoying. I went online and found out that this was actually an Android bug, so the mobile was defective to begin with. But the really irritating discovery was that the phone had been used and returned - for the very same bug issue! There were calls made and messages sent by the previous buyer still on the phone's log. And to think, I got this phone with neon green stickers all over the box saying 'QC Tested by FashionandYou'.

In a way, I'm glad that they didn't do a thorough job of  their QC testing because they might have ended up clearing up the logs, and selling me a second-hand phone. I did suggest to them that they use my seconds site for doing just that because I had set up Seconddealnsteal for that purpose alone. It's offline now. They were not supposed to be doing this though.

Anyway, they refunded my money, so things didn't end badly. But this is a telling lesson about why online buying is riddled with trust issues. An unscrupulous site is not going to bother with niceties like refunding and you could end up losing a lot of your money and be stuck holding on to faulty merchandise that you can't use or resell - in any good conscience - to some other hapless person.

While, the purpose of this post is not to crib about the site but to warn. I still find that they have better stuff than others that I have checked out - like Zovi, Jabong and Brandmile. But to be forewarned is to be forearmed.

The Widow Clicquot: Raises a toast to the Queen of Champagne

‘The Widow Clicquot’ by Tilar J. Mazzeo is such a well written historical biography of a formidable woman – Barbe Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot. She was meant to be an ordinary homemaker and mother and was supposed to fade into the background over time. If any mention of her was made, it was meant to be as a footnote in her husband’s (Francois Clicquot) life and business venture. He dreamed of making and selling wines under his family’s marquee –Clicquot - and she supported him wholeheartedly.

She was married off in what amounted to an arranged marriage-business deal, which meant two wealthy business families that held sway in the city of Reims (France) would join hands, to prosper together.

Her father Nicholas Ponsardin was shrewd enough to survive the French Revolution even though he favoured the monarchy and aspired to acquiring aristocratic titles himself. When he realized he could lose his family, his life and his wealth, he very wisely took part in the birth of the Republic. He then worked hard to charm Napoleon Bonaparte. When Napoleon’s reign ended at Waterloo, he foresaw this as being another political allegiance that could become inconvenient, and made sure he was not caught on the wrong side.

So, though she lived in tumultuous times and saw some of the most famous people of her generation up close and personal, she was never meant to be the subject of her own biography. Mazzeo acknowledges this and states that it made her research on Barbe-Nicole that much more taxing and interesting! She’s literally travelled in this woman’s footsteps to try and understand her as a human being and the remarkable businesswoman she turned out to be.

Barbe-Nicole sent her salesmen across war-ravaged Europe to generate business. They risked their lives to get business deals done. And they listened to gossip and sent back orders for some Clicquot wine. One of them was that the Russian queen was pregnant and might produce an heir to the throne, so the country would end up celebrating this news with champagne. She ended up producing her second daughter who also died as a baby. But the wine got drunk anyway, so things ended up well for Clicquot this time around.

The book highlights many such instances where Barbe-Nicole went with her sharp business instincts and got her wine across to countries, which had banned it because they were retaliating against Napoleon’s restrictive trade policies. Reading about them tells you a lot about this woman and how she was even willing to defy an emperor to create her own empire.

A smart wedding present: Gift a subscription

If you have ever wondered what gift to give someone who is getting married, and the many choices leave you feeling confused, (especially if you have no idea about the other person's tastes), then the wedding gifts registry concept is the latest rage abroad.

It's not that popular in India because many people have not heard of it. But it's simply about a bridal couple announcing to their friends and guests what they would like to have as gifts. They create a gift list based on the selections of a particular store. The guests then go and view the 'register' or the list online and opt to buy one of the gifts, that suits their budget from the store or website which is running this registry. So a pre-selected list makes it easier for the guests to get the right gifts.

In India, one site that is doing this sort of thing is shareurjoy. But if this feels too needy and greedy for your taste, then here is smart tip to get yourself a useful wedding present as well as a magazine subscription! Well, I love reading and pick up a lot of books and magazines. Most of these magazines have free gifts that they offer if you subscribe for them.

So, depending on the duration of your subscription, India Today gives away Reebok wallets to Adidas gym bags. Marie Claire gives away Hidesign handbags and H2O skincare products. People magazine gives away a uber stylish coffee mug. Outlook Traveller gives away either a rucksack, a traveller's waist pouch or 3-in-1 travel kit. Geo magazine gives you almost the same things, except instead of the travel kit you get a nice looking laptop bag. Time magazine gives away a sleek looking 2GB USB drive.

The best deals are from Magna Publications. If you subscribe to five of their magazines - they publish good ones like Society, Health and Nutrition, Stardust, Savvy, Society Interiors etc - then you can walk away with anything from a toaster, an iron to a washing machine or a flat screen TV!

These things add up to quite a lot of goodies, for which you would have ended up paying some serious money. So, ask your friends and relatives to gift you magazine subscriptions, and see how you'll manage to kill two birds with one stone. You will end up getting good reading material and all those free gifts that come with it.

All you have to do is check out all the magazines at a bookstore near you, and see what offers they have going. Pick up the magazines you would genuinely like to read and spread your wishlist among your friends and relatives.

Here is what it takes to make killer 4G apps

A whitepaper on Alcatel-Lucent's site called 'How to Build Killer Apps for Mobile Networks' has some good advice for developers looking to create apps for the 4G platform, which is the big-daddy of spectrums that is going to make streaming of media-rich websites and applications, a seamless and non-frustrating experience. Here are excerpts about how to enable long term evolution (LTE), which is the dominant 4G technology, to work flawlessly while your apps get used.

1. PLAN FOR A MIX OF 2G, 3G AND LTE USE: Give your app the ability to make an intelligent decision about how to fetch data, depending on the network and radio resources available. If your app relies on constant network connectivity, periodically have your app check both bandwidth and latency to make a smart decision to adapt dynamically no matter what kind of network it is on, and have your app adjust accordingly.

2. SPEED RESULTS WITH PRE-FETCHING: In many situations data retrieval needs can be anticipated with pre-fetching. By giving your application a way to access necessary data before it is requested by the user, you can provide an even more seamless user experience. If you expect that users will be making many data-intensive requests that have to go through the network to a server, invest some effort in creating a pre-fetching system.

3. CACHE MORE OFTEN: By caching extensively you can increase the responsiveness of your application and eliminate the spikes in network requests that cause user-discernable performance problems. Spikes in network activity typically occur at predictable times. Think about how and when your app needs data, and if possible cache in advance of periods of high network activity.

4. CREATE ONE SESSION WITH MULTIPLE ”GETS”: If you can group requests to remote servers into one session, you’ll be able to take better advantage of higher bandwidth and longer sessions.

5. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LTE’S ALL-IP CAPABILITIES: Because LTE can go from idle to active in 100 ms, your application can provide an always-on experience without actually being active at all times. LTE’s ability to deliver a variety of media concurrently means that you can start one stream while stopping another. For example, an app could display a scrolling map while simultaneously delivering voice-over narration without startup hesitation or playback stutter.

6. AVOID POLLING ON DEMAND REQUESTS: The first batch of LTE-ready mobile devices may consume more battery power because monitoring both LTE and 2G/3G networks at the same time. By reducing polling, you can conserve battery power.

7. FAVOR DOWNLOADING OVER STREAMING: Continuous streaming also appears to drain batteries at a higher rate than downloads. And in areas with slower networks, batteries get depleted faster because the device boosts its network reception in order to overcome network noise.

8. USE A BIGGER BUFFER: When a user pulls down streaming media or initiates a download from your app while on an LTE network and for some reason is switched to a 3G network, the effect on the user can be minimized through the use of a large data buffer. Because LTE already pulls down data more quickly, it is a good idea to use a bigger buffer than you would on a 3G network. This will not create a noticeable performance hit on LTE networks, and will minimize the impact of user movement between LTE and 3G networks.

9. AVOID AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR: Apps that live in an Radio Frequency (RF) environment and have to operate on a crowded wireless network need to be good citizens. If packet loss occurs, a device needs to back off orwait for response. If your app is continuously attempting to regain lost packets, it can exacerbate the original failure conditions, degrading or denying service to other devices and congesting traffic.

An Ernst and Young report highlighted the rise of HTML5 as well, which will help synchronise apps and websites across smart devices. The above graphic says it all.

Source: Ernst&Young - Look at page 10 of this report for the above graphic http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/Inside_Telecommunications_4Q_2011/%24FILE/Quarterly%20talking%20points%20from%20EY.pdf

India's handicrafts make for great heirlooms

Indian handicrafts enjoy global recognition. They sell India's culture to the rest of the world. The sheer variety dazzles shoppers, whether they are buying from the Cottage Industries Emporiums or from open air markets in Rajasthan. Here are a few options to explore, so that you take home something unique - customised handicrafts. 

Unusual Handicraft - Idol worship There are two idol showrooms in Mumbai that I’ve visited called Aakaar and Hari Om, which are owned by two brothers - Aakaar by Sudhir Shah and Hari Om by Haresh Shah. Their products are made mostly of marble even though at Aakaar they stock things made of black granite and a polished rose-quartz stone, which they call ruby stone. Hari Om said their best selling idol is of Lord Ganesh. At Aakaar, they have a larger collection of idols comprising Ganesh, Shiva, Lord Krishna, Sai Baba, Buddha, even some paintings of Buddha and Ganesh. They sometimes keep idols of Durga and Saraswati as well but these are infrequent. Prices at Hari Om range from Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 while at Aakaar they have larger idols priced as high as Rs 5 lakhs.

These shop owners, when asked, didn’t divulge the money they make – either domestically or via exports. But since they are in such a niche segment, it’s bound to be a fair amount even though the inventory turnover is not very high because people will buy an idol for their entire lifetime and not keep upgrading. So, these stores do factor this in and maintain high margins. Customisation: Another value-added service that most handicraft manufacturers are offering is tailor-made products. For instance, at Aakaar, you could order a Ganesh statue in plain marble and then have it painted over – from making the eyes more expressive with a kohl-like look to giving the impression that the crown on the God’s head is really gold studded with precious stones in them. Weave your own carpet A carpet maker in Agra will weave carpets for you with any design that you choose to give him. He actually told me that he had custom weaved carpets for the Manchester United football club’s locker room. I didn’t find this claim unbelievable because I saw the quality of the work right before my eyes. Place to shop: For intricately hand knotted, lusciously soft, customised carpets. Contact Java Handicraft Export, Bansal Nagar, Fatehabad Road, Agra – 282001, Uttar Pradesh, India. Telefax: 0091-562-2333716. email: javacarpet@yahoo.com Bring home the Taj Mahal Similarly, another work of art is the stunning mosaic inlay work that Agra is known for – the Taj being a world famous advertisement of this art form. There are descendants of the artisans who worked on the Taj, who are now creating products for tourists to take home. Here again, you can get them to make anything from coffee tables to dining tables to even garden seats out of marble with inlaid work on them. The stones used are corals in shades of green and red and for the blue stone, they use lapis lazuli. The price tags are high for the larger products but the workmanship is exquisite and one-of-a-kind. So if you have the budget for a Rs 1 lakh dining table that will be talked about by everyone who visits your home, then this is the place to buy it from. Place to shop: For beautiful marble inlaid furniture: UP Handicrafts Palace, Fatehabad Road, Agra – 282001, India. Tel no: 562- 2232660/61/62/63. Fax: 91-562-2330193. email: upcrafts@sancharnet.in Website: www.upcraftspalace.com The government offers subsidies to these industries; so pick up gorgeous stuff from here at much cheaper prices than anywhere else in India. 

Agra's other gems are gorgeous human figured chess sets, dolls with Indian costumes and painted decorative plates.

Despite the implementation of VAT, with the export subsidies these industries are entitled to, the goods still work out cheaper. 

Smart Shopping for handicrafts This is something I did last year during Diwali, so I’m passing on the tip to you to use. A supermarket near my home was keeping dryfruit gift boxes which were actually beautiful silver boxes with minakari work and a print of a miniature painting on it. These were in two sizes – in rectangle and square shapes. I waited till Diwali got over and on the last day when they were about to remove the unsold inventory, I walked in and bought one at a 10 per cent discount. I did give away the dryfruits – people anyway eat it throughout the year - but kept the box with myself. It was too good to just give away. Today, I can put anything from dried flowers, scented candles, potpourri and chocolates and leave it in my living room for people to admire. The store sold this silver box to everyone for Rs 900, I purchased it for Rs 810. Similarly, bide your time and strike and you’ll get away with good stuff and at reasonable prices. The last day of trade and handicraft fairs (like the one at the Bandra Reclaimation Ground in Mumbai, the Surajkund mela in Delhi, Delhi Haat, Jaipur Haat etc) is a good time to go and pick up stuff at bargain prices. They want to sell as much as they can at the venue and not haul stuff back home. Another time, I got an unusual handicraft item free of cost was when I had gone to Kashmir with Kesari Travels. They gave everyone on that trip a houseboat – a replica of the ones we all stayed in. It was made of plain wood but I painted mine, once I brought it home. It’s a lovely, colourful reminder of a wonderful holiday in a stunningly ethereal place.

Photos are the author's personal ones and is copyright protected.

False Economy: How coffee beans are mistaken for bullets!

The book 'False Economy: A Suprising Economic History of the World' by Alan Beattie, who is a journalist with the Financial Times is a mind-opener. It weaves its way through subjects as myriad as religion and corruption to tell us if these issues affect people and economies - as is commonly understood.

The fact that corruption is prevalent in every corner of the world - either overtly or subtly is well known. But Beattie has been able to compare two African countries which were governed by two types of leaders - one a corrupt despot and the other an honest politician (they do seem to exist!) and came to a surprising conclusion that the corrupt despot was better to do business with than his honest counterpart. So, while corruption is a problem, it is something that we may have to live with. So, learning how to deal with it may be a better alternative than assuming it will disappear.

Another interesting chapter was on whether religion had anything to do with economic prosperity. This specifically looked at whether Muslim countries were poorer because of the religion they practiced or in the way the religion was practiced? The latter was the case, and some examples in the book go on to highlight this fact really well.

But my favourite anecdote is the one about how poor Ugandan farmers grow world class coffee but have never tasted it themselves. In fact, until Andrew Rugasira, a Ugandan businessman who started a brand of roasted coffee called 'Good Africa' brewed some coffee for the farmers, from whom he bought his beans, they though they were bullets! They thought that they were bullets being used by the guerillas who were fighting in a neighbouring country (Congo)!!

This book really talks about how everything that can be traded - from grains, coffee, asparagus, diamonds, cocaine to even water is used as a political tool rather than an economic one. And in this lies the tragedy. So while some countries may be resource rich - like a lot of the African continent is, (which is why it attracted hordes of invaders through its history), most of the continent continues to remain poor.

The book is a great read and a lot of the hard-hitting points are made very lucidly. Anyone who reads the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal anyway, ought to pick this up. Though it's not quite a text book, but very educational nonetheless. Though it's not a series of Beattie's columns put together, but it is enlightening and intellectually entertaining all the way through to the end.