Random Ramblings

First few months in a FMCG industry is all about learning. This is true for almost every kind of industry. Or better still, you never cease to learn anywhere ... usually. But then, these learnings is not only about your work or general philosophical fundas pertaining to life, universe and everything. Having been in FMCG industry for few months has thrown up a few learnings for me too. But weirdly, I think I think I have learned most about economics and few random bits about life in a rural-ish setting (bits of which I have been mentioned in few earlier posts few months ago.) The economics I am mentioning is not all those complex equation, but few random common-sensical, observational stuff - a la The Under Cover Economist way. - For example, so many different things are involved in making things work for a product (apart from people managing and researching on it), say a soap - host of vendors (for different species of raw materials, packaging materials), support materials like labels,

"The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms - greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge - has marked the upward surge of mankind, and greed - you mark my words - will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you" - Gordon Gekko, Wall Street. This is one of my favorite movie quotes, immortalized by Michael Douglas as the ruthless Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street. We often attribute the current global crisis to greed, which is true to an extent. Often people are taught to be free of greed for they believe greed to be root cause of most of the evils plaguing this world (which is partly right!). But then, isn't it the same greed that has made us reach where we are right now, compared to where we were a century ago - for most of the develop

That was the last of the drink left, and he gulped it down. They had finished it all. Had there been more booze, they would have gulped it too. It was around 3 in night, but then there was still a lot left in the night. The lights in the city below had faded along ago but it still looked beautiful. After all, the beauty of the city was not dependent on light. And from this place, located uphill somewhere amidst wilderness, human settlement was the last thing that could have come to their mind. But in the end, that was where they all had to go to. They walked back to their cars and planned to head back to their hotel, which was some 20 km away at Shimla. They were a group of 7 people - all college friends out on a trip to Shimla to celebrate the last extended weekend before getting out of the B-School. One of the guys had a car and all crammed into it and headed for the vacation. The owner of the car, Chandru as the fondly called him was too drunk to drive. But he had often been too