Aamir Khan exposed

Dhoom3 exposed the weakness of Aamir Khan  as an actor. All you see is an irritated man with eye-brow raised at 30degrees and when he smiles his lips tilted at 15 degrees. Shows what a bad Director and a bad script could do to an above average actor. I am saying above average because I have never felt he was great though he almost reached greatness through roles like Rang De Basanti and Dil Chahta Hai.

Abhishek Bachan and  Uday Chopra are actually better in terms of acting compared to Aamir Khan.

Pictures from Delhi

Janpath and Chandni Chowk are shown in the pictures below

Cheap movie tickets Shanghai

Bumped into this guy at Hengshan Cinema and his claim is he can get you 50% discount on movie tickets. I think it is worth sharing and may benefit some of you.

Commuting in Shanghai

Shanghai has a well connected network of subway, buses, taxis and scooter walas. The subway is clean, efficient and cheap. For most rides you will pay approximately ~4RMB, slightly more or less depending on the number of stations between your destinations. But expect to walk a lot if you switch lines. Most of the people on subways are doing only one thing though, looking at the screens of their smart-phones.

 The taxis start at approximately 14RMB for the first 2.4Kms and then it scales up. Taxis are amazing if you are too tired to commute within a 3Kms radius as for RMB20 or less you will reach your destination in 4-5 minutes assuming less traffic versus 30minutes or so it would take in walking to a subway station, walking towards the platform, commute time, getting out of the station and walking to your actual destination. So highly recommended.

Buses are present but they are Chinese heavy so use this link to figure out your idea bus for the route. I managed to find the bus that takes me to Zhangjiang Hi-tech park station but it takes me  at least 20minutes to reach there on bus versus 5 minutes it take me on taxi but the price is only 2RMB for most bus rides. So if you are living in an area well connected by bus you are in luck for a cheap ride. The ride also becomes entertaining because these bus drivers think they are driving a space-ship and maneuver it like that.


Speaking of cheap rides, the third option is that of scooters that take you from one place to next for only 5RMB flat. These scooter guys/gals can be seen outside of railway station exits and outside office's during rush hours and are ideal if you want to be somewhere quick and for cheap. Be conscious of the fact that these guys are flexible when it comes to  following the traffic rules.

Pictures capturing rush hour traffic in Pudong Office Area close to Jinke Subway Station

And more pics from Shanghai

I figured I am actually enjoying sharing about Shanghai and what the city has to offer. So here are more pictures from the city. The weather has improved in the last couple of days which is an amazing relief. The pictures are from different days and capture Shanghai food, bakeries, living and peak hour metro commute. I particularly liked how clothes were being dried perpendicular to the buildings which was both unique and highly effective.

I have always been a sucker for bakeries and loving bakeries such as bread talk, 85C and other French influenced bakeries spread across the city. Amazing everything and perfectly sweet.

Sikhs in Shanghai

As mentioned earlier that I will share my journey of uncovering Sikh roots in Shanghai. Here are some pictures from Shanghai Museum of Public Safety which showcases a strong presence of Sikhs as traffic policemen during later 1800 and uphill 1940s (basically end of WWII). Sikhs sided with the Japanese as part of Azad Hind Fauj and therefore I doubt they would enjoyed staying in China after end of World War II.

Museum address: 518 South Ruijin Road
Entry Fee: Free for me on a Saturday

Station: Luban Road on Line 4
Take the Dapu Road exit and once you get out walk right on Quxi Road towards Dapu Road. Once you reach Dapu continue one more long block on Quxi till you reach South Ruijin Road, cross the intersection and walk a little on the right to reach the museum. (Approx walking time from station exit: 12minutes)

Side note: On the Dapu Road intersection there is a bakery called 85C definitely worth a stop on your way back.

However, the most enjoyable part of the trip was finding a Gurughar in Shanghai. A generous family basically lets sangat to their home gurdwara on Sunday and they have a 3 hour program followed by langar. Everything is explained in English as almost four out of the ten families were non Sikhs. Their mutual bonding and love was evident. I will not share the address here as it is someone's house but finding the address via contacting them by email should be easy for anyone.

SEL love/hate

During the last two years, I was increasingly finding Shankar annoying because he was giving me an overdose of himself. Frankly, I liked SEL as musicians but this overdose of Shankar had pushed me away from them as a group. But I guess Shankar had this self-awareness that his overdose was hurting fans like me. As a result, in the last year or so, you do not see him judging any reality show which had become the norm for him in the last 4-5 years.

But the reason for this post is that SEL have won me over again with their track Bhaag Milkha Bhaag  - Rock version. An absolute pleasure to listen to it. The rage, the zeal its all their in this song. Thanks SEL! 

More pics from Shanghai

A few iPhone pics capturing shanghai. Kids apparently have the highest competences in the world at 8th grade level so it was good to see them dancing on a rainy night on east nanjing road. But I could wrong about their ages.

Also got a chance to see the Pearl Tower on a nice evening. My self decision not to spend money on high buildings and their views stops me from spending 100RMB (or 17USD) to go on top of this tower. This week I discovered good Thai, Malay, and Korean restaurants in various mall food courts and also a cheap Kung Pao Chicken serving restaurant near my apartment. But the most fascinating aspect was discovering tandoori naan's on the streets of Shanghai. My theory is that this is an offshoot of the Sikh influence that was prevalent in Shanghai during the late 1800s to 1940s (more on that later)

Last but not the least look who I found in a DVD store :) The last picture is for a building which when completed would be the second tallest building in the world at 638m or so.

     

Making international calls from Shanghai

While in Shanghai, making international calls is simple yet difficult at the same time. Simple because if you are a China Unicom customer, you should precede dialing your desired international number by 10193. Which means if you were to call US from Shanghai, type your number this way

10193 + 00 + 1 + your number and press "dial"

The difference in what you pay 180x lower just by dialing this IP code of 10193.

The difficult part is that I wish the China Unicom customer service had told me this before I wasted close to 200RMB on international calls. Sigh! the shyness prevails and don't ask don't tell policy as well. But the cheap rates of 0.039RMB/min now compensate for all the bitter feelings. Also, China Unicom usually has special pricing on its 3G plans (China Mobile does not have 3G), for example, I recently got 500MB for 30Yuans. So get a lower plan at first and re-charge later to get more 3G if you do not expect a lot of phone calls.

Experience in Shanghai

A place of shy people, exotic foods and fake products is my first take on Shanghai. The place in summers feels like a gas chamber and provides Delhi's heat in combination with Mumbai's humidity --> go figure.

The biggest positive I have noticed is that girls have probably a much better life here compared to India or even US. From what I have heard Shanghai men like to cook, clean, and earn for their wives. I think Shanghai girls have it easy :)

A few pictures are included to give a glimpse of shanghai food and the city. More to follow

song in my head

Is from the movie Lootera, there is this epic tune in this song which to me represents change:

Kya kabhi savera laata hain andhera
Sookhi sihaee deti hai gawahee
Sadhiyon puraani aise ik kahaani
Reh gayi....(2) Ankahee

Ishmeet's second single came out early this year and got her nominated for the best debut female voice award in the PTC Music Awards 2013. Wishing many more to come.....

Haas EWMBA Experience

Any student who plans to fully experience the EWMBA program at UC Berkeley should just two things:

1) IBD program
2) SIB program

Women shopping

Is an endless treasure hunt where the more you hunt the less rich you get

Tu Kya Jaane

One of the best songs in recent times byKailash Kher. Listening to this song makes me want to become a radio jockey again, tired of the crap being played on both KLOK1170AM and 1550AM. Bay Area deserves better. All of you few who stumble on this blog, enjoy....

How to run a business?

US Postal Service loses $15.9B every year, wow had no clue. Imagine the need to run this business more efficiently? Pension plans that are bloated. Man this is just not what I had thought of US when I landed here 12 years ago :)

words of wisdom

What's the point to remain dry when we can always get wet? Wet in joy, wet in sorrow, wet in happiness.

 

Bifurcations

I grew from a branch and over the years forked my own path. I was encouraged to do that by my branch and to explore the world. But now when I look back I feel detached from the branch that was once my originator. Deep within I am still part of it but I am unable to trace my path back home.

Kai Po Che

One of the better hindi movies. Great performances, narration and presentation of a complicated subject. Recommended for viewing. 

Strategy lessons

Work to commoditize your complements, this would in turn increase the demand for your products.

In the past, Microsoft flourished as the PC market got commoditized with lower PC prices meaning increased demand and more revenue from OS and software sales for Microsoft. Google is now challenging Microsoft. Google offering word, excel and powerpoint for free is to weaken Microsoft control in OS as these 3 are great application complements to the windows OS.

Challa connection

At 2:55am on a Thursday morning, I feel happy to find out that the original Challa sung by Gurdas Mann was composed by Late Jagjit Singh. No wonder the song is legendary. Here is a classic recording of Jagjit Singh available for a limited time courtesy BBC: Link

The right Pricing strategy

What is it? Here is a quick snapshot of my nascent understanding. From my readings it is a combination of the following aspects:

0) pricing strategy should be in sync with your marketing strategy and not convey a message which undermines the entire marketing strategy

1) price products based on EVC (economic value to the consumer), never do cost-plus pricing and never indulge in price war

2) always have multiple price point offerings, different price for different segments

3) have the right price metric in place, sometimes bundle products (Mac value meals) or unbundle (airlines)

4) never do anything that gives consumers a hint of unfair pricing, behavioral responses hurt more than you imagine

5) always think about competitive actions never ignore competitive forces from the equation

Pricing

Something about pricing has always interested me, to squeeze the maximum out of your end customer is a fascinating topic if you ask me. A marketeers ability to increase the perceived value of the product in the eye of the customer is critical to charge premium dollars. A good marketeer is one who can successfully shift the perceived value of the product in the eyes of customer to be equal to the objective value of the product.

Love pricing! Would love to help start-ups or SMBs come up with best pricing strategies

Longing to belong

To USA as my heart is still lost somewhere on the dusty streets of India.

Good music comes in waves

Just when I had given up on the quality of music in the last couple of months, I heard Kai Po Che tracks. Just 3 of them and loved them to the core. This one is my current favorite "Meethi Boliyan". I love the word "Sobte"that comes in this song. "Sobte" in hindi means association and in this song means association with buddies for life. Time comes when you want to be with your real sobte of life.

Check this song here:  Meethi Boliyan
Music Director: Amit Trivedi
Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire

Song in my head

Benny Dayal and Shalmali Kholgade nailed it on this one from Race-2. My favorite track these days. The best part is when Shalmali says the word "sharat".

Power of advice

I wish we could all be mature to not offer advice to people in misery or whom we judge are not doing so well. Sometimes a pat on the shoulder, a hug is all they need.

Songs that are more like worm-holes?

There are some songs that just take you to a different time.

4th year, 2001 2am or so, I walk into chinkos and play my favorite song of that era "sona nahin na sahin" from one 2 KA four on the jukebox for Rs 1/-. Yes, in full disclosure I loved Alka Yagnik's rendition and combine that with Udit Narayan's voice with Dholak prominently used in this song.

Not to forget the turmeric egg bhurji and 2 slices of toast for Rs 5/-, sometimes Sari would just walk in at 2:15am with Topi or Bharat or Bongi.

Baaj

Who can stop an eagle, daring to fly