If anyone could go one better in fiction after the Harry Potter books, it ought to have been JK Rowling herself. Sadly, The Casual Vacancy has to go down as her worst book, and I haven’t checked if she’s written any since. My father bought The Casual Vacancy – that too, a hardback – a… Continue reading Sleazy Potboiler After Potter
When Times Change, Technologies Change, But Brands Don’t
In my previous post on the Indian automobile industry, I had said that perhaps the time has come for the small, entry-level car in India to be reinvented. Runaway inflation in fuel prices as well as prices of vehicles have put these sub-compact and compact cars beyond the reach of ordinary, first-time car buyers in… Continue reading When Times Change, Technologies Change, But Brands Don’t
Let’s Get Digital Brands Growing
Regular readers of my blog probably know well by now that I don’t think the digital medium is suited to brand-building. At least not in its current form. I have written a few pieces on the subject already. And many might be wondering why I would even be remotely interested in writing about digital brands,… Continue reading Let’s Get Digital Brands Growing
Protected: Bookmarking Life
Motown Caught Between Recovery and Slowdown
In the fall of 2020, we were relieved to see a recovery in the sales of passenger vehicles in India, as people clearly showed a preference for owning their own private transport in the post-lockdown phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. Companies were reporting better sales as the previous couple of years had seen a slowdown,… Continue reading Motown Caught Between Recovery and Slowdown
IFAFF Is What It All Amounts To
President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) plan for reviving ties with the Asia-Pacific region is a PR ploy to paper over large cracks in the region in the recent past. Right from the pivot to Asia announced by President Obama’s administration in 2009, which led to the creation of the Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TPP)… Continue reading IFAFF Is What It All Amounts To
Growth Depends on India Going Back to Work
On hearing the news of India’s FY22 GDP growth announced a few days ago, you might think – like the Indian government and some sections of the media – that ours is the fastest growing large economy. Never mind that the fourth quarter was the slowest growing in a long time – 4.1% - and… Continue reading Growth Depends on India Going Back to Work
Development and All That We Understand by It
When reading newspapers or books or watching the news, we often come across the word development. It is a term so often used to mean growth, loosely speaking, that when attached to any other word, it takes on new meanings. Urban development, rural development, industrial development, sustainable development, etc. Then, of course, we have the… Continue reading Development and All That We Understand by It
Protected: Keeping the Cool, While the Heat Rages
Brands Relaunching After a Long Hiatus.
There are many brands that we grow up with and are an intrinsic part of our lives. Some fade away into oblivion, but most stay around and strengthen their relationships with consumers. And even when we outgrow them, there is always another set of consumers to take our place. There’s a curious thing I observed… Continue reading Brands Relaunching After a Long Hiatus.










