Having read Rama Bijapurkar’s first book, We Are Like This Only way back in 2007-08 in Delhi, I was looking forward to reading this new book of hers called Lilliput Land: How Small is Driving India’s Mega Consumption Story. In her first book, she delves into why foreign companies find Indian consumers hard to fathom… Continue reading Lilliput Land Big on Message, Short on Meaning
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It’s been a long time since I wrote about the European economy, although I do mention it whenever I write about the global economy. The reason I think it needs a dedicated piece this time is because I think that the continent is too caught up in too many things at the moment and the… Continue reading Amid War and Elections, What About Europe’s Economy?
2020-21 was the year of the decadal census for many countries, including India, as I wrote in a blog post at the time. It was also the year of the dreadful Covid-19 pandemic across the world and India too had introduced strict lockdowns. This, and social distancing norms being enforced meant that the census could… Continue reading How India Loses by Not Holding a Census
It’s been at least a couple of decades that we have been hearing about the falling circulation and readership of print publications in India and around the world. We know it is largely due to the arrival of the digital medium, and for many of the initial years, digital publications were free to read. Unfortunately,… Continue reading In Advertising vs Subscription Debate, Many Losers
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
A small bit of news during Q3 2023 corporate earnings struck me as curious. That luxury goods sales were slowing down. And not merely because of China’s economic slowdown, but luxury sales even in the US were reported to be lacklustre. If anything, China was still the saving grace. And it’s not just LVMH; Kering… Continue reading Why 2024 Ought to Be the Year of Rightsizing Luxury
It’s 20 years since I last worked at an advertising agency, that being RK Swamy/BBDO India in their Chennai office. As if that mistake was not enough, I made the blunder of then joining a PR firm in Delhi, Perfect Relations, in 2006. I was always a copywriter in advertising throughout my long career in… Continue reading How Should Advertising Agencies Be Remunerated?
In just a couple of months perhaps, the world’s largest democracy goes to the polls. The ruling party, BJP, is so confident of returning to power for a third successive term that it has even forecast the number of seats it will win. Prime minister Modi said during his speech in Parliament just a few… Continue reading Change or Continuity, It’s Horse-trading Season
I am reading the famous book of Norse mythology called The Edda, said to have originated in Iceland in the 13th century. Or at least it is believed to have been written in the 13th century. The Edda is in two parts: The later Poetic Edda dating from AD 800 to 1100, and the earlier… Continue reading Myths and What We Make of Them
Peripatetic Perch 