Month: May 2018

Fading Fortunes of Many Biz in Kerala

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Who is Ready For the Change

We are living in an era like no other era. Some call it the age of disruption.  It’s the time of new smart machines, seamless connectivity, cheaper communications, faster Internet, and all things between real and virtual is blurred.

There are umpteen examples on how new biz or technology has changed the equation and our lifestyle into a different orbit. One example is how Jio made data dirt cheap for consumers. Also, services like Ola and Uber has changed the way we hire and hail taxi.

 Despite all these changes, most of us, especially our political leaders are neither mute, nor alerting the public of what lies ahead for most people. Probably, they are short-sighted like the ones before, not giving a clue of what lies ahead.

Changes are there forever – Question is – Are you Prepared?

Whether you like it or not, these changes can rob your job or displace your income stream, or take controls from your life. If you need proof, just check the newspapers about the impact of automation or AI which are currently impacting the IT sector and making other manufacturing sectors. The perils of these intelligent system is not what we have perceived, but it’s real and it’s coming to your door or cubicle.

Awake Kerala – Let’s Do Something New & Novel  

When I see the typical biz attitudes of people in Kerala, I feel an urge to tell them that it’s time to life their lungi’s and dash for a new sanctuary. From poor customer service to arrogant and ignorance sales staff,  Kerala has a long way to go in building their business practices.

Also, the old way of life we have known is fading. For instance, the assured salary of govt staffer, or the long tenure as a bank clerk or work as a sales person in a electronic show room are all shrinking.

Special ALERT to These Business owners in Kerala

#1 If you’re running a private college ( Engg College or Medical college or Nursing college), then take a second look at the dwindling admission rates. Do you think it will be viable to run a institution with fewer students? Or do you have plans to develop your college as a top place for learning or you still has plans to keep it as a mediocre one?

Tip: Either you close it down, or face the heat staying as a average learning academy. Or, choose to improve the quality of education and increase the outcome.

#2 If you’re working as a cashier, then it’s time to change the habit. What habit – the way you deal with customers. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I feel Kerala, in particular, Trivandrum is known for it’s sloppy treatment towards customers. If this continue, your job will be taken by shops like Kada.in or Amazon or some freshtohome.com which has an excellent customer interaction service.

#3 For people working in travel and tourism business know how much the tourist inflow to Kerala has gone down. While there’re reasons beyond your control, like liquor ban or control, to waste litter or unclean surrounding, there’re few things you make an impact. Here’re few – don’t see travelers like money bags, but as visitors looking for experience with a limited budget. Also, see to it that you provide excellent service while they are staying in your hotel or resort.

Kareemen Now Reared in Ponds

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Karemeen at a Fish Stall at Domlur, Bangalore

I remember a very old trip when I went for fishing with my Uncle, big cousins, and dad to the backwater part ( Veli) in Trivandrum. The previous day of the fishing trip, I hardly had any sleep. I kept rolling on the bed with the excitement of my first fishing trip till I saw daylight sweeping through the wooden windows.

Fishing Trip Day
With all eagerness I accompanied them to Veli lagoon area for fishing. We had carried bamboo sticks which was prepared for holding the fishing line, specially made fish bait, to start our fishing trip. However, with all the excitement, my line hardly got a bite. At times I thought that the float was pulled by a fish, but each time I took the line out, the bait was gone and so is the fish. The star of the day was my uncle, we got many small karemmen. Though the fish caught on the line was small, it brought all the excitement for the team.

Karemmen in Bangalore Markets

Karemmen was recently named as the state fish of Kerala is a sought after fish. The most favoured preperation is Karemeen pullechathi. In Bangalore fish stalls, this fish is a regular sight. I think, the Karemeen reaching here are the ones reared in ponds. So, gone are the fish caught in the line.

To this day, I haven’t bought Karemeen from the market. I stick to sardines or the typical sankara ( Pink Perch) from the fish stall.

Micro Sponsorship from Corporates

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All governments and quasi-govt agencies spend good amount money for its day-to-day activities. The money spend is obviously from the tax-payer’s kitty. At times I wonder if these agencies can save some cash or get sponsorship from private companies.

Example – How KSRTC can Tap Sponsorship

Cut Corners – Call for Sponsorship
Apart from the advertising space used on the body of buses, hoarding, etc, there are few areas to get sponsors. Here are few ideas to ponder:

Ticket Printing – Get Sponsors

Have you noticed the tickets issued by the conductors. These days they use a machine which prints the ticket on a white roll paper. When it prints, one side is the ticket information, and back side is blank. So, this blank part could be used to print an add or a sponsor’s brand, etc.

On the same lines, I have noticed that govt hospitals use lot of stationery to issue OP tickets. So, is there a way to save few pennies on stationery cost. Yes. Get a medical company to sponsor the cost of printing all these forms. Also, get the sponsor to issue quality paper, not the govt issued ones from Stationery department.

Tender Coconut Stalls in KSRTC Stands

All parts of Kerala is very humid. Due to this there’s always demand for tender coconut in every KSRTC bus depot. Imagine, if every KSRTC depot has a booth to sell tender coconut.

Each depot must be managed by staff or retired staff or should be given to handicap people or off-duty employee. For KSRTC, it will be a channel to get some money from its premises.

Regarding tender coconut procurement, it can get tender coconut from one depot or the other. Just like tender coconut water, they can start a booth selling fresh curd milk. Imagine, how happy customers will be to drink a chill curd milk on a hot sweaty day. For KSRTC employees, it will be sold at half the price.

Get sponsorship to maintain Loos

Public toilet inside any of the KSRTC bus stand is the last place you want to go for a pee. But, most often travelers and tourists end up in this messy place to relieve. We know it’s no easy to maintain a loo with 2 rs contribution. This is where super clean loo come into the picture.

To make this happen, get a sponsor ( Sanifresh, Godrej Aer, Paryware), or any company who’s into selling toilet cleaning liquids or accessories to sponsor a loo. While they will maintain two or more staff, and bear the cost of cleaning the loo, in return their logo will be displayed inside the loo. The customers will know that this clean loo is managed by a company and will be thankful for that.

Other brands or biz which would be interested in promotion inside the loo would be hospitals who solicit ads like ” Erection Problem”, Having difficulty in satisfying your partner”, or it could be immigration company, Start a new life in Canada!

Just sharing!

Kerala Transport Corporation Tender Coconut Stall Idea

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Kerala transport corporation a white elephant corporation run buservices in Kerala and also inter-state services. This one time, well functioning service is facing problems with regard to the payment of salary to staff, to vendors, and it’s incurring heavy losses every year.

All the plans by successive govt hasn’t yielded any result or does it show any sign of revival. Often in the paper, there are reports of how it’s taking loan after loan to remain afloat. Well, that’s the picture I have.

So, it’s natural to think of a way to make things better for this organization. So, here’s my plan to the Managing Director or the Manager or the political rep or for the staff of KURTC.

Sell Tender Coconut Water -What if it utilizes it’s premises to sell tender coconut water.

Imagine a booth selling tender coconut water in all the KSRTC depots in Kerala, from Varkala to Nedumangadu or a major stop like Ernakulam. Think of the commuters paying Rs 30 for a fresh coconut water. I feel this along will bring a minimum of 1000 bucks for the company a day.

The revenue from this venture will at-least fund some part of the cost, expense, etc. Also, the booth must be run either by retired KSRTC employees or it should be given to physically challenged people. What say?

How Buses can Help in Transporting Coconuts

One of the problem with getting coconut to various depots can be solved by this – each station should have a place to stock coconuts. Buses to other bus stands will transport the tender coconuts on the carrier and makes it reduce cost. From the rural areas, farmers will be able to sell coconuts to outlets in buses. Imagine, if a farmer or a home-maker can sell tender coconut and exchange it in the form of ticket fare! Such a barter system will be good for KSRTC as it can acquire the product at a cheaper price and issue a coupon to ride certain number of rides.

Worth Thinking.  Probably, it will also help the rural households to earn 100 or 200 rs worth of ticket fare which they can utilize in a month’s time.

Well, a Paytm kind of application should be used by KSRTC to track the credits and funds.

KSRTC MARKETPLACE
While I was writing this, I thought how KSRTC depots and rural station can act as a market place for people to buy and sell local produce. Just a suggestion.

Using a part of the premises, farmers can take their produce and right there, they can get a buyer for the produce.

Another suggestion to KSRTC is about bus location tracking mobile App

Railway Toilet Experience

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Toilet Fails

DO YOU SEE WHAT I SAW… HERE’S A PIC FROM THE KOCHU VELI TRAIN LOO! It’s not  about the commode without the toilet seat…see the human feces on the floor!

Now, what should I do? What will you do?
Close to the toilet door quietly and try the next loo. Well, I did the same, not before I took a pic.
So, other than choosing a different loo, what option do I have. Do you think it railway authorities has a system to clean the loo, especially on the basic of a complaint? And who should you tell your grievances? TT or railway attendant?

Simple Option to File a Complaint
Here’s an alternative! Create a mobile app to post the complaint. Imagine an app, which gives power to commuter to post any compliant – from used bed rolls, to rattling noise or even an unruly behavior of fellow commuter or report about a flasher, etc.

Well, making an app would be a hassle for IRTC team. Probably, they can make a new menu inside the current IRCTC mobile app. Well, app should be supported by backend responsive team. The app will have the option where in people can see the resolved complaints, or the pending ones.

Swatch Rail Campaign – Spl Request to Commuters
Seeing all these, I bet we have a long, long way to go as a swatch nation. We might show our might by dispatching hundred satellites on the right orbit from one rocket, but on the ground we fail miserably. The campaigns like Swatch Bharat was nice to hear, but it’s not easy to get the idea etch in the mind of common man.

One more thing about the pic – did you notice the flimsy metal rode used to fix the toilet seat. I wonder if the railway engineers has studied how this rod can hot fat arse.

Ideally any product used by the railway should be backed by a research:

What’s the average life of the product – in the case the toilet seat
Do real time testing ( In this case testing would be ideal)
Find the toilet seat cover used in trains across the world – Trans Siberian Train to ones in Peru! ( Competitor study)

Limitation with Indian Railway

Well, considering the scale of operation of Indian Railway and the budget, it’s not easy to fix everything. However, there are ways to make progress and how to get these little things fixed.

I remember the adage I had once written on a whiteboard – SMALL THINGS MAKE PERFECTION BUT PERFECTION IS NOT A SMALL THING.

How Does Indian Railway Track – Repairs and Fittings? What Kind of Dashboard is Used?
Just wondering if they use a ERP or SAP package to monitor these stuffs?

Probably, IRCTC app should have an option to upload pics so that the problem is rectified in the next station. Having such a facility would make things move on a faster scale than  complaining to TT or bogey attendant.

Another point here!
Maybe, there must be a Lightning Maintenance Squad at every railway station who can do a replacement within the duration of the train stop! It must be like a pit stop crew of Formula 1 team.

Just wishing for a cleaner railway loo!

P.S: Does railway have a job where a persons travels in different railway and takes pics, spy pics of each and every part of bogey, captures the service, best practices, etc. If there’s, I’ll be happy to be globe trotting as the first employee who does clandestine employee of Indian Railway. 

Trail of Old News and Stories

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Missing Techie – Ajitabh

Pic Source: Financialexpress

It’s been more than 3 months since this young chap has disappeared or kidnapped in Bangalore. Along with him, his Maruti Ciaz car has gone into thin air. It’s hard to believe how an innocent ad can cause such a consequence to a person. These days when I see a Maruti Ciaz, I think of this young chap, his family who’s still hoping for a news and what has gone terribly wrong.

NEWS – SHORT LIFE

With each passing day, the news around him has lost it’s pace. Well, we can’t blame these news agencies as new events, stories takes centerstage and old news becomes less popular.

In this short-life era, I wished there was an option to follow the trail of news as it progress it’s news cycle.

Imagine about a crime or a racket or a corruption case. Initially there’s a hoopla over it. But within in few days the pace of news gets cold. Soon the public looses interest in the case, and next breaking news takes on.

In such as case, how will we get to know all the updates in one place? Is there a site which will provide news in a chronological manner, so we can follow all the events around one story.

Now, it’s difficult to get updates from one news source. Only way is to scourge the net, looking for any mention of the keyword or incident and then get into the story. It’s hard work, and sometimes its not practical to get the complete picture.

Even in the case of this incident, I googled and found couple of stories from different news media.

ALTERNATIVE

Create a portal which tracks news about each such sensational news and lists in a dated format. For instance, the latest news I found was from Deccan Chronicle.

Point is this…..Get it listed.

1. Date – News ( Source) ( With a 2 line brief about the report)
2  Date  – News ( source)

 For instance, if a person who is short of time wants to know all the articles on a topic or incident – like the updates on the case relating to Fodder Scam or a celebrity case, and get it in a report format, then w

The best part is that it, takes your time to search and lists everything in one place. So, it’s better if there’s a third part to do this for you.

This could be done either through an algorithm and some manual filtering process.  I remember how much I used to search the news for any news about the hospitalization of then CM of TN Jayalalitha. Well, I was just curious, and I spend my office house to search, search and search for updates.

What do you think? Does this make sense? Will it work?

Suppose someone collates all the news from a topic, what’s it for them? Is there any payback?  I leave those things to you to think…probably suggest someone to think about it.

Btw, news aggregators can add this as a new tab in their offering.

P.S  It was mentioned in one of the article that the man who took the mobile SIM asked the shopkeeper on how long the CCTV recording is maintained. He seems to have said 30 days. And the crime was committed 30 days after it. 

So, naturally the data get’s erased. However, we can retrieve the erased data. It’s not an impossible task.  This is just my suggestion. 

Another side business out of this idea is this…..

Suppose I like to know all the popular news around a dozen topics, then is there a agency to help me do this. Will someone spend their time digging around the net looking for those keywords and help me list all these in an Excel sheet.

SEO companies are known to track search ranking for a client. On the same way, some agency or individual can take the task of searching information and collate in a meaningful way ( minus the dirt).  Just another service you can thing of starting!!!

Recycle Glass Bottles

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Empty Bottles by the Road Side

Not long ago in Trivandrum, waste collection was managed byKudambashree ladies. These people used to come daily to collect waste and it was done meticulously. But, one fine morning, Government shelved the plan of waste collection in Trivandrum, without any backup plan.

After Effects of Not Collecting Waste

Once government machinery stopped collecting waste, public started a new habit or rather they were forced to dispose waste by the road side. Any empty plot in the neighborhood is seen as a convenient place to dump waste or through old booze bottles. It’s a normal sight to see plastic covers with waste being thrown in these plots or even a corners where it can be disposed without any seeing the act.

Sadly, the public is just mute over the issue. Why don’t we demand a time bound answer to this problem? How can we just let things be?

Well, as typical Indian behavior, we do lot of adjustment or pretend that we haven’t seen this. We just While successive elected reps in Tvm are sleeping over waste collection, our side roads are the dumping ground of empty booze bottles.
Just wondering if there’s a way to monetize discarded beer/booze bottles.

Probably ideas like these or better ones:
1. Collect, clean and smelt. Then, make jewellery or arty stuff
2. Cut bottle into half to make cups.
3. Stack it to make a boundary wall
4. Make lamp shades
5. Flatten it to make decoration items
6. Conduct classes in bottle cutting.
Plus, a thousand more ideas that could add value to glass bottles.

There in Lies the Opportunity – Bottle Cutting Lessons

Padmanabhaswamy Temple Pond Views

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Padmanabhaswamy Temple ( Evening View)

Dry bed of Temple Pond

Padmateertham

Took this picture of the temple on a late evening. It was the second time in the recent years that they have pumped out the water from  the temple pond. As any person, I  got curious on seeing the sand bed of the pond.

When the tank was water, I used to think of the depth, imagine about the mysteries, and what all other stories this water had to tell .

Probably, there are many stories and treasures below these sand. Or there are many things which we are not aware of. Well, emptying the water made it look bare – without that aura of secrecy.

We all have an inherent liking towards things that are dark and mysterious.