Once Upon A Time In Thrissur - Part 2

It has been a year since I left the city, but Thrissur is still very much alive in my memories. The second and last part in the series on the city that will always have a special place in my heart.

A couple of months in the city, and the city had slowly begun to grow on me. I had started to like the sights and the sounds of the city and its people. For someone like me, who had spent a major part of her life in a city like Cochin, Thrissur was a totally different world altogether. The first thing that any person who comes to Thrissur would fall in love with is the Vadakkumnathan Temple – situated right in the heart of the city, the sprawling structure of the temple has majesty and heritage written all over it. One cannot but look and marvel at the beauty of the temple, every time one passes by it, which is almost all the time that one heads out to the city, thanks to the way the city has been built, around the temple. Other temples in the city like the 'Paramekkavu Bagavathi Temple' and the 'Thiruvambadi Sree Krishna Temple' are also a visual treat in themselves.  

How can one talk about Thrissur and not mention the famous “Thrissur dialect”, which has always got Keralites interested, as can be seen by the popularity of movies where top actors in Malayalam films have portrayed characters who hailed from Thrissur; from Mohanlal in ‘Thoovanathumpikal’ to Prithviraj in ‘Indian Rupee’ to Mammooty in ‘Pranchiyettan and the Saint’ to Jayasurya in ‘Punlyalan Agarbathis’, and the recent ‘Vasootan’ or Kunchako Boban in ‘Jamna Pyaari’, the characters they portrayed in the movies and their dialogues continue to bring a smile on our faces every time we watch those movies. There were times, when I had picked up my phone to scold someone, but ended up laughing and saying “Its O.K” after listening to their side of the story, thanks to the ‘Thrissur dialect’. I would not admit it, but I had actually started to like the ‘Enthutta’s, ‘Vayo’s, ‘Rupiya’ and the likes that found their way into my conversations with the Thrissur Gedis :-) 

Thrissur is also a haven for foodies, with so many good restaurants in the city that serve mouth watering food. Being a vegetarian can be tough when it comes to finding quality vegetarian restaurants in any city. However Thrissur doesn’t disappoint vegetarians even, what with two equally amazing vegetarian restaurants – ‘Hotel Pathans’ and ‘Hotel Bharath’, and what can I say about the food served in both the hotels, well, it’s nothing short of ‘Heavenly’.  

But the best thing about Thrissur is its people, so warm, so good at heart, always ready to help one another. One of the best things about the people of Thrissur in my opinion is their unity. Talk about “Intolerance” to someone from Thrissur, they would probably laugh. Onam, Vishu, Ramzan or Christmas – every festival is celebrated with the same spirit by the people of Thrissur. The very famous ‘Thrissur Pooram’ is a classic example of Thrissur’s unity. Where else can you imagine a temple festival been celebrated with equal vigor by a Hindu, a Muslim and a Christian other than in the city of Thrissivaperur.

Studies and work have taken me to different states and cities in India, and each city that I have been in, has left an everlasting impression on my mind. However the city of Thrissur is very special to me and is very close to my heart as the city and its people have transformed me in more ways than one; they made me a better person – both personally and professionally.

Thank you Thrissur for those wonderful memories, for those lessons in humanity and management :-), and for accepting me as your own. The beautiful temples, the 'My Idea' team, my showrooms, the team at the Thrissur Zonal Office of Idea, the angelic elderly couple who were my landlords, the heavenly ‘Masala Dosa’ at the Bharath Hotel – I will miss all of this, but I know that the city and the people of Thrissur will continue to live on in my memories, forever. 

365 Days of Valentine's

Off-late I have taken an aversion to news in any form, be it newspapers, TV news channels or the latest to join the bandwagon - 'social media'. There was a time when I used to begin my day with the newspaper in one hand and a cup of hot tea in the other, going through all the articles, with great interest. Nowadays the very thought of beginning a day with the newspaper dreads me, what with news about violence - murders, crimes, assaults; news about conflicts - between nations, between states, between political parties; news about death - due to accidents, diseases and so on filling up almost all pages of the newspaper. I could avoid all news totally and stay undisturbed by the sad state of affairs of the world around me, but I know it won't be long till the bubble burst. There is no point in denying that we live in very difficult times, the sooner we accept it, the better it is to come to terms with reality.

There are times, when I wish I could just travel back in time some 20 years; life as I knew it then was so peaceful and devoid of complexities. I sometimes wonder as to what has changed over all these years - is it me or is it the world around me, or both? Every day, back then, was a celebration - of life, of love, of togetherness. Cut to some 20 years later, every day feels like a war. It is like you are fighting a battle for existence every day; you consider yourselves lucky if you get back home, safe and sound at the end of the day.

The daily battle begins from the moment we wake up. Suppose you woke up late one day and are running late for office, or your breakfast is not ready on time, or you are not able to find your dress or your vehicle's keys, everyone who comes your way that day has to face your wrath. The first victims of the battle - your family. Quarrels, arguments ensue and somehow you manage to step out of home. The next part of the battle begins; the battleground is the road, and the victims - everyone who is on the road. Pedestrians blame the people on bikes, people on bikes blame people who ride cars; people who ride cars, blame people who ride buses, and the bus drivers - they blame other bus drivers, car drivers, bike riders, pedestrians, and basically anyone who dares come in their way! The battle gets ugly at traffic signals, where the moment the signal goes from red to green, there is this mad rush of vehicles to get past the signal (as if it were a matter of life or death!) and the honking and cursing the drivers of the vehicles in front as if they were going to stay there for eternity. In the hurry to reach their destinations, people conveniently turn a blind eye to traffic rules and often to other people on the road. Navigating their way through the crazy crowd, when one finally manages to reach office, a different kind of enemy awaits them there! The battlefield is office and the victims, well every one in the office. 

If "Survival of the fittest" was what Charles Darwin said about natural selection, it is "Survival of the smartest" that works at the workplace. Each day in a highly competitive workplace is a battle to outsmart the smartest. Add tight schedules, deadlines, targets, reviews, dynamic business situations and peer pressure to a day and getting through the day seems nothing less than fighting a war. After a tiring day at office, when you ride back home, the second part of the battle on road begins. You get back home, and the second part of the battle at home begins. This goes on until you go to sleep. It's the same old story, the next day, the battle goes on and on.

If one were to do a root cause analysis of what has changed over the years, I feel that the root cause would be the lack of love - love for oneself and love for the people around ourselves. Somewhere in this fast paced life of ours, we have forgot this simple yet powerful feeling that is love. From childhood, we are taught that the mantra for surviving in this world is "Compete or die". Children are not taught to love each other or help others in need, instead they are taught how to get good grades in exams. Of what use is a good grade or all the education in the world to a person who does not use it for the good of the people around him! In our effort to make children toppers and rank holders, we forget to teach them lessons in humanity. 

All we need today to make our lives better is a little bit of love - love for ourselves and our family, love for all the people on the road, love for all the colleagues at work, basically love for everyone around us. A little bit of love for your family will go a long way in avoiding those battles at home. You show a little bit of love and consideration for the people and other vehicles on the road, and our roads would not be deadly battlegrounds any more. Reaching your destination late will not hurt as much as the remorse of having hurt someone in the process of reaching your destination. If you keep aside all the thoughts of competition from your mind, you might actually start appreciating your colleagues more and start liking your work more. Learn to love yourself and take good care of yourself, because unless you love yourself you cannot love anyone else. 

The key to making this world a better place lies in this famous quote by Auden - "Love each other or perish". Each day of our life should be a celebration of love. All we need is 365 days of Valentine's.

Joy On Four Wheels

I remember my first lesson in marketing - "Marketing is all about identifying customer's needs", said my professor. "Successful are those companies who can identify their customer's needs and create products that can satisfy those needs." Well, it looks like car manufacturer Maruti-Suzuki has got its marketing absolutely perfect, when it comes to the new Alto K10, which it launched in the month of November, 2014. The model's automatic variant, is like a dream-come-true for the common man who wanted the 'ease of driving' that an automatic offered, but who thought that automatics were way out of his league because of the heavy price-tags attached to them. The new Alto K10 is by far the lowest priced automatic car in India. 

Gone are the days when a middle-class Indian family could only dream of owning an automatic car. Owning an automatic car for well within Rs. 5L, is now a reality, thanks to India's most loved car manufacturer - Maruti-Suzuki and the latest offering in its K10 series. The new Alto K10 is the long awaited answer to the prayers of several Indians - ranging from youngsters to adults to senior citizens, who had difficulty in driving a manual car, but who could not afford an automatic one. Be it beginners who are not very comfortable with the whole clutch-and-gear scheme of things, or ladies who have trouble parking their cars, or senior citizens who feel tired after all that gear-changing during a drive, everyone would simply love driving the new Alto K10 automatic. It is the perfect car for beginners, ladies and senior citizens, as it very easy to drive around. The car is a boon for office-goers in the city; it does not wear you out like a manual does in the stop-start traffic with the frequent gear-shifting. Now this is one car that would make one feel good even while one is stuck in traffic :-) Driving in traffic could not get easier than this! 

The new Alto K10 would get to you even before you hop on to the driver's seat. The car has "cute" written all over it - be it the swept-back headlamps, or the grill with the "S" logo, or the beautifully designed "K10" sign at the rear, everything adds a touch of beauty to the car. It is undoubtedly one of the most good-looking cars in its segment. The interiors of the car are also very attractive, courtesy the dual-tone finish and a very pretty instrument cluster, which gives the interiors a very up-market feel. There is plenty of leg space in the front and it is not bad at the rear either, with the scooped front seats offering much more leg space for the rear passengers than can be found in the car's old variants. The cabin is very airy and the dual-tone colors make the cabin look very bright and lively. One would definitely not mind a long-drive on this one for sure!

Picture courtesy: Official Facebook page of Alto K10

Looks and ease-of-driving apart, if there is one thing that would endear the car to the price-conscious Indian, it would be the car's fuel efficiency. Unlike other automatic cars, this small wonder from the Maruti-Suzuki stable does not burn a hole in your pocket. It is high on fuel-efficiency and will definitely have you taking your car out more often. 

It has only been a couple of months since a new Alto K10 automatic became a part of our motor-vehicle family, and it has already conquered the hearts of everyone in my family. It has also become my father's new-found-love. Earlier, we used to go for outings only occasionally, and when we did, we used to go late in the night, to avoid the city-traffic in the evenings; but not anymore. With the new Alto K10 coming into our lives, things have changed; we go out more often and we do not postpone outings to late nights, driving through traffic is no longer a concern for us. We even made a long-distance trip in our car, and we enjoyed the ride thoroughly. My father just loves driving the car and he is always ready to go driving in the car at the drop of a hat. Of-late, I have had some of the best times with my family during these rides in our new car. The tagline of the car says "Chase Life", which I feel is perfect for the car. Life is beautiful and we need to make sure that we do not miss any moment of it, especially the moments that we spend with the people who mean the world to us, like our family and friends. Our new Alto K10 has been a part of some of the best moments of our lives. It has helped my father, who is a senior citizen, overcome his fear of driving and chase those pleasures of life, which he never thought he could enjoy, like driving from one city to another and back all on his own, driving through the old roads in the neighborhood where he grew up, where he used to walk to go to his school, or driving comfortably through rush-hour traffic. It has helped me and my parents chase that joy of a quality time together, while enjoying the sites and the sounds of the city that all of three of us love - the city of Cochin. It has helped us chase the small joys in life, like sitting in the beach at Fort Kochi and watching the sun slowly set in the horizon, and having dinner at our favorite restaurant in the city, and seeing the Christmas festivities in Fort Kochi at night. 

Thank you Maruti-Suzuki for having understood the needs of the Indian consumer all these years and thank you for giving us the likes of the 800, the Zen, the Alto, and the latest Alto K10. You have given us a wonderful car in the new Alto K10. If I were to describe the latest addition to the K10 family in four words, this is how I would put it - "Joy On Four Wheels".  

    

Once Upon A Time in Thrissur - Part I

Year 2015 is here. As I say goodbye to the year 2014, it’s also time for me to bid farewell to a city that had been my home for the past one and a half years - Thrissur. This blog series is a tribute to everyone whom I had a chance of interacting with, during my stay in the city and especially to those who have left behind an indelible mark in my life with their warmth, love and affection. First part of the two-part series. 

The town had been painted yellow, thanks to the “Pulis” on the streets. The “Men-In-Yellow” had thronged the streets of Thrissur in huge numbers. “Pulikali”, an inseparable part of Kerala’s Onam festivities, is a treat to watch, especially when you are in the “Land of Vadukkumnathan” Thrissur, where it is celebrated with so much vigor.It was my first day in Thrissur, and seeing the celebrations around, I couldn’t help but say, “Wow! Now that was an awesome welcome!” It was the September of 2013. Little did I know back then, that it was only the beginning, of one of the most wonderful phases of my life. This is the story of how I came, I saw and fell irrevocably in love with the cultural capital of Kerala – Thrissur.

I have always been a believer of destiny. I believe I was destined to be in Thrissur, as my relocating to Thrissur, was not by choice, but by chance. I was pretty much confident, when I joined my company after my higher studies, that I would get a posting in my hometown itself. However to my surprise, nothing like that happened, and there I was on my way to Thrissur, three months into joining the organization, hopes of being with my family, all shattered by a mail from the H.R department informing me to join the Zonal Office of the company at Thrissur. The hardships of the being a novice at the job, coupled with the feeling of being lonely in a new city, made my initial days in the city worse than my worst nightmare. For the first time in my life, I found myself giving orders to others, many who were more senior to me in age and experience. Honestly, it was the strangest of feelings; I was not sure if I would be making a total fool of myself infront of them by saying something totally stupid, or whether they would snap back at me if I asked them to do something by saying “Who are you to tell me what to do?” I am sure most M.B.A’s who get into a managerial role, straight out of college, could relate to this. There were many times, when I wondered why and for what on earth I left my job as a software engineer with an I.T firm for an M.B.A degree! I used to think, "Writing programs was so much better than managing people; the worst that could happen with a program was that it would throw me an error!". Well, I was to get the answers to my questions shortly; I just had to hang in there, till the time was right. 

Struggling, stumbling, falling (many times) I made it through the rest of the year. And then came year 2014, bringing along with it, the winds of change – recognition and appreciation at work, new friends, new experiences, and lots of memorable moments. 

To be continued..