Category: Uncategorized

Happiness Sale Thoughts

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
Happiness Sale – Call Out

Trivandrum Central

The ways of business is often an unclear path. Some business shines from day one, while others take time to find a strong footing. However, there’s no guarantee on how a business can last long.

Over the years we know how many popular brands has become obscure with the passing of time. Each one would have a list of names which they can recall – from the corner store of your neighborhood to the big names in the town.

Just as I write, I was thinking of one brand – Dasprakash ice cream. I remember having it when I came to Mysore on trip along with my uncle.

A shop and lodge called Pearl at Pattom. During school break, or when we leave school, we go tot this shop to buy sipup. These are just two examples.

I wonder if there’s a science to find or a scientific way to predict or bring back a struggling business to soaring profits. Or is the reason for loss or closure tied to a person’s decision or something that happened! This is not just business, it could be about the Club you went during college or a party that went out of favor or a library which remained the same.

Happiness Sale at Central Trivandrum

Yesterday, I visited Trivandrum Central to buy tee shirts and shots. Most of my tee shirts are loosing at the seems, and most of it look in a bad shape. Luckily, some money has come in and I thought this is the right time to get new dresses.

Trivandrum Central operates from a big glass building at Pattor junction. I’ve been there to their multi-plex theater on the top floor to watch Ishq.

It was Saturday evening on the day of Happiness Sale, but there was not much considerable crowd. Probably, there are sale at Max, Brand Factory, WestSide, etc. Whatever, It was not a good feeling to see a big clothing store with this crowd – should be better to make it profitable.

Imagine the cost of running this big building – salary to the staff, power to run the building ( I’m struggling to pay for my house) and all the string of taxes, maintenance, etc.

I’m no expert or a strategic person to suggest changes to the organization so that there’s more profit potential. However, here are few suggestions.

1. Food Court in a shopping mall is a good ideas
 While we finished shopping my wifey suggested that we go for a drink upstairs. On enquiry I found that there’s no tea or food stall, except for the one at Carnival Cinema.

What about opening a part of the place for quick bites ( KFC, Dosa, and other food counters) Having an outlet of Buhari, Ketal’s, Paragon, etc will be a hightlight. ( Just a suggestion)

2. Sports Arena for Kids and Biggies

  Sports facilites, such as play area where kids can win coupons, etc could be a good idea. I have been to Garuda Mall in Bangalore. They have a place for sports, where kids and seniors can spend some time. If space permits, even a Cricket Pitch, just like the one in 1MG Mall could be an idea. What about Mystery Rooms! Probably, the upcoming L Mall at Kazhakuttam will have space and option for these.

3. Booze Outlet ( First Beverages Outlet)

  This could be an idea to get footholds in a place. In Bangalore, I have seen some shopping centres at Koramangala having a outlet to buy booze. Question is will our family crowd like the proxmity of booze shop in a shopping place.

———

4. Faster Checkout 
   This is very important, but how. Today when I went for exchange of two tee shirt, I had to wait around 20 minutes for a person to check out. With only one counter, it was taking too long. Is there a faster way to close the deal, collect the money. The Central Team has to think, brainstorm some hi-tech concepts where they can advertise that their checkout is only 2 minutes. I guess, there must be a smarter way to make it express checkout possible.

5. LABEL with SENSORS ( Instant Count of Label Price, Quantity)

  This is a serious time waster for customer as well as the sales person. I was checking for XL size for the Tee shirt. And, just like everyone, I went look hunting for the cloth tab to see the size and price. Just imagine the time spend by the customer! It’s the same with the case of a sales person. He or she can do it better, still there’s a time factor.

I was thinking of a sensor with each shirt/clothing material, with which the sales people and the customer will know the number of pieces of size available. How to make this work!
It would require the use of some smart sensor and the data should be displayed in some tablet in the close by shelf. BINGO! Time saved. No wastage of time rummaging the clothes, looking for yours size. On a instant, the display will show how many pieces of one cloth is available.

One way is that customer just has to show the label on the tablet or scanner, and it will display the price. Another benefit of having a scanner will be for oldies like me, who will find it easy to read the price of garment. Have you seen how people in their 50’s read the label? Without glasses, we have to pull the letter up and down to see the right figures.

( Probably this is the main thought I got from today’s visit. What do you think about it? Do you think, we are too early to adopt such a sensor? 

Lassi Point at Cambridge Layout

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
Juice Shop

Quenching the Thirst with Lemon Juice

I love this part of Bangalore – plenty of trees which gives a perfect green cover to roads, filtering out the harsh sun during summer months.

Cambridge Layout in Bangalore was my first home in Bangalore. I had lived here for more than five years, making this place very familiar to me.

There’s everything in this locality – from banks, ATM, Salon, Spa, Florist, Juice Shops, Temple, Church, Mosque, Provision store  ( Top N Town), Aquarium Centre, Internet Browsing Shop, Hopcom, Food World, Passport Photo Studio, etc)

Auto Ride Through MG Road

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment

Imagine a similar ride through M.G. Road, Bangalore – What would have changed in that decade? What if the same ride was taken 20 years or 30 years ago?

A lot has changed in Bangalore in the last 20 or 30 years. What was once a laid back city has changed with the so called IT boom? There are two aspects to this development – one is that people feel the city has become heartless – crowded, insane traffic, noise pollution, and corrupt. The other side of opinion belongs to people who have benefited – young professionals, start-ups, people who made millions from real estate deals, business growth, etc.

  • What’s your opinion about the city? 
  • Do you like the way it’s now? Or do you like the old part, with the modernity?
  • How do you tell yourself that things will be better for the city?

Auto Ride MG Road Bangalore

Humsafar at Varkala Station

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
Chenganur stop 

Short Halt at Varkala

Humsafar Train at Varkala

Humsafar 16320 leaves Banaswadi railway station at 19hrs. The evening departure is convenient for people to spend a good whole day in Bangalore before leaving to their destination or home trip to Kerala.

Our Uber cab trip took us through Ulsoor, and then ITC building and took the left turn at the lane which goes to the Banaswadi Railway station. It’s not surprising to see any board at the junction to help first-timers to take a turn to the station.

Though the station was packed, I think it’s less than the usual pack of mallus heading towards their home town. Also, I met Ram, a NLP trainer and practitioner who now conducts training in Trivandrum and Bangalore. One thing that stood out from his first introduction was his confident tone in which he greeted me. I guess, he’s living the tenants of NLP law.

At Chenganur, train stopped somewhere in the early hours. As I just woke from the side lower berth, I took a quick picture to show to a friend Anil George who’s from Chenganur.

LDC – Clerk PSC Coaching Class

While I was walking on the platform at Varkala Station, there was this poster of VEO/LDC poster on the other side of the track. This poster was about a training institute which gives training to clerical exams to aspiring students looking for Kerala Government service.

Future of Kerala Government Jobs

In Kerala, people have a big fascination for govt jobs – if it’s Central Govt jobs, the better. Why so? B’cos, it’s offers job security, decent pay and much less stress than private sector jobs.

Is 2019 the right time to join a Govt Job?

If you are talented, skilled and smart, then there are better things to do in a connected world. However, most people you talk to in Kerala, especially the kind of people who are attending such classes, they would say a different story.

What’s my Theory?

Things are not very rosy with the Govt sector. It’s not going to be a laid back job as cash reserves are a big issue. We keep hearing how KSRTC employees are facing salary issues, and now how BSNL staff are not getting salary on time. These are just the beginning. As time goes, Govt is going to cut down the expenses, they are going to streamline the process which will make most of these clerical jobs redundant. And what will you do them?

What’s the best way thing to do if you are talented, and daring?

Stop looking for govt jobs. Then what? Look at your skills, what you love to do as a hobby? What are your interests? Can these interests be tied to a job? 

Heart of Bangalore Conrad

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
1 MG Mall

Conrad  Hotel
Towering Luxury Hotel 

Conrad 

Gurudwara at Ulsoor

MG Road Trinity Circle

En route to Banaswadi Railway station by cab, I got into the usual click click habit. The habit of taking photographs of buildings, shops, restaurants was partly triggered by interest in sharing the pictures online.

From my house at Domlur, we take the Cambridge Layout route, then passing in front of Frank Anthony School, the cab darts its way to Ulsoor lake side.

Conrad Hotel is a towering building, slender as it shoots high, with a helipad on top. At night it draws a more illuminated look from it’s multi-storied rooms. I had once attended a book launch at Park Hotel, and the view of Conrad Hotel from the balcony took a new dimension.

At Banaswadi Station – What to Sell to Malayalees 

Humsufar Train starts from Banswadi station to Kochuveli. It departs at 19hrs from this station. This time, I got side lower thankfully. I feel this seat is best to get time and space to work, listen to songs from YouTube or do some random blogging.

Pothi Choru at Banswadi Station

Around 8ish, train passengers started opening their tiffins, and some lucky mallus opened their pothi choru. These pothi choru has made a big comeback in Trivandrum. Thanks to many enterprising home chefs, ladies are now selling pothi choru via delivery apps and some are undertaking their own delivery models.

Pothi Choru at Banaswai Station

What if there’s a home chef who sells Kerala dishes from a house near the railway station. I bet there could be a good demand for Kerala pothi choru – imagine boiled rice with vegetables, omelette, chamadi, thoran, 2 mathi fry, etc. What about poth paratithu which mallus like a lot!

Small Business Initiative In Every Part of the City 

If you like to look for small business potential, you don’t have to always look for business centres or junctions. Railway stations, bus stops, airports, ports, religious centres, and places of upcoming projects such as Vizhijam port are all areas which will bring people and thus has an opportunity for small to medium sized business. 

El Ray Salon Spa Domlur

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
El Ray Salon and Spa

One trend in business is clear – spa and salon business dot every corner in Bangalore. This one is the latest one to open in my neighborhood. It’s not difficult to know why business people open spa or salon more than any other business. It could be the better reward for investment.

Moreover, investment and operating cost could be less than running any other store or shop.or restaurant.

Before it started, there was a yoga centre. For some reason, it wasn’t successful and this was next best business.

This spa, El Ray Salon Spa is located next to Namdhari Store.

If you want to catch the early bird discount you can contact this number 911363522 

Other spas in Domlur or Indira Nagar Locality:

1.          

Lines for Living – Quotes by Sophia Loren

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
Sophia loren

Waiting for the perfect time! Tick, Tock! 

How I wasted opportunities of different shapes, one after another, just by waiting for the right hand of clock to strike.

Possible scenario:

  • Waiting for the perfect moment to deliver that punch line
  • Waited too long to start a new project
  • Sitting on an idea, then feeling disheartened on seeing it executed by someone
  • Postponed learning a new tool, new skill, eventually missing that early adopter advantage

Waiting Spills – Time, Money

All of us have some amount of regrets on how we missed the clock to tap that opportunity. That’s natural. We can’t win all the time. But, it the list of misses grows too long, then it’s time to check back on your strategy.

Over the call with a friend from US, he kind of regretted on how he missed buying Bit coin at the right time. And as the valuation surge, he’s growing restless on the opportunity missed. Another friend was saying how he should have bought a property in Bangalore before the big bull run in property market. Everyone has one or two regrets on timing.

Today is the Day to ACT

Sure, today is the time to write a blog, tell a story, call up someone you’ve not called for a long moment, gifted something new to someone you know, shown kindness, etc.

Let this quote from Sophia Loren be a reminder to do, instead of brooding or sitting over a thing in your head.

Knock, knock, Knock
Who’s there?
OPPORTUNITY
Opportunity knocks only once!

( I remember seeing the above joke in the humor magazine Pick of Punch,  which my dad used to bring home. It was the only one which I understood from the entire book. )

Topics here:

Bit Coin
Pick of Punch
Sophia Loren – Sophia Loren Mambo Italiano, Americano

Kerala Mess Indira Nagar

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
One of the Typical Kerala Mess or Kitchen in Bangalore

One of my introduced me to this kuti Kerala hotel which serves Kerala meals, fish dishes and meat.

Located at the road connecting ESI Hospital junction to the 100 ft road, it’s a place you can easily miss out. However, by noon this place fills up with people who are looking for Kerala meals, fish and other dishes. Most customers are Malayalees who work or stay in the surrounding area.

Today, when I visited this restaurant, I bought Netholi fry. The other day I had bought sardines ( mathi) which was Rs 50 for two pieces.

Are you treating Mathi Well?

What’s there to treat Mathi or Chali ( names for Sardine in Malayalam)? It’s one of the cheapest fish – thought it’s tasty fish, many non-malayalees avoid it as it’s smelly when fried or cleaned and it’s thorny.

Why did I broach on this topic of mathi here? I find this a perennial problem or a problem of bad attitude by small restaurant owners and Kerala mess owners.

When I bought this mathi, it was deep fried to the extend of it almost turning crumbly – close to carbon state. Why are they over frying it? When it’s deep fried, it looses it’s tender flesh – it’s just like eating some fried chips or murukh. Probably, there are people who enjoy fish this way, but what about others who relish the taste of mathi in it’s succulent body. Or can you make two types of four types of fry

1. Mathi fry in chilli, tumeric and sea sat ( Deep fried)

2. Mathi / Chala fry marinated in the above way and shallow fried

3. Sardine marinated in chill and crushed pepper and shallow fried

4. Sardine marinated in chilli and crushed shallots and green chilli and fried

There are many more variations to it, however, these are the four things that came to my mind. The question again is why can’t You make Mathi Remarkable.

Making Insignificant Things SIGNIFICANT or REMARKABLE

Mathi or sardine could be a metaphor for taking extraordinary care to make it a remarkable stuff. Also, in the case of mathi, hoteliers spend the least amount of time to clean and prepare it. Also, they just buy without much scrutiny of its freshness. Why?  Reason is that they find it’s not worthwhile to spend time on the smallest assest on their menu. It’s least priced item and it’s deserves less attention and care. That’s a mistake we all do!

Contact details of this Kerala Mess at ESI Hospital Junction, Domlur

Ph# 8792175265, 9916555849
Location: Next to Jyothi Gas Agency
Half way through the road between ESI Hospital Signal and 100 Ft Road

Common items at this hotel

1. Fish fry ( Anchovy, mathi, Ayala, etc)

2. Chicken and meat

3. Meals, parotta

( Fish varieties depends on the availability. Call them up for the menu of the day)

Other Kerala Mess in Domlur, Indira Nagar, Tippasandra locality

1. Kerala Pavilion Restaurant

Visit to Cemetery at Lalaguda

~ bjcharles ~ Leave a comment
Wifey at the Chapel

Mark of a Recent Visit

Epitaph – Sorrowful Words

Goodbye to Frolicsome Grandpa

Farewell with a heavy heart

Do not be sad – Be Happy

Just 30 hours in this world

Entrance to Cemetery

20 years on June 30th, my father-in-law passed away. I have not met him – but heard a lot of his stories from his daughter. His grave was tucked in the lonely corner of the cemetery, with few other lease graves behind his plain concrete one.

Every time I visit this cemetry, I stroll around other the path, reading the epitaph, taking pictures. There are few old graves with teary lines which marked the loss. This time too, I went around taking pictures of the epitaphs, and those marble statues chiseled from marble.

  • Do you like reading epitaphs and visiting old unknown graves? 
  • What do you think when you read them? 
  • What and how did they die – old age, or something that took them early?
  • Do you think how this cemetery might have looked some 50 or 60 years ago?
  • Have you thought of epitaph that should go on your grave? 
( I have earlier posted few pictures from this resting place from an earlier visit to Hyderabad. Click this link to view the pictures of erstwhile grave )

Other epitaphs – At St Patrick’s Church Bangalore