The Cosmopolitan

New Year Tour to Punjab & Uttaranchal....

2009-01-14T15:55:00.011+05:30

It was Dec 31st again….. Following a tradition of travelling to hills which was laid down last year, we had been to Joshi Math, Uttaranchal this year. We meaning, Karki, Lucky, Kharbanda and Me. The tale goes something like this….

As our Uttaranchal tour was starting from 30th Jan from Delhi, I had been to Amritsar on the 27th and 28th of Jan to visit Golden Temple along with Lucky, his Sister, Jeeju and Harpreet. It was a wonderful experience to travel during winters full of fog and chilling cold. On 28th we visited Golden Temple, Baba Deepsingh Gurdwara, Jallianwala Bagh, and Wagah Border… Golden Temple was truly a mesmerising place to be, with so many people around but still so calm and quiet, and having food in Langar is another memorable experience. I stayed at Lucky’s place for 2 days in Jalandhar. Guess what, I had something or the other to eat every half an hour. They were so affectionate and caring, and so are most Punjabis….

We went to Delhi on 30th evening and a little rest, just to continue our onward journey from Delhi to Joshi Math on the same night. We met Jaggi Sir and Sahi in Delhi and started in a Toyota Qualis which Sahi had arranged. The Uttaranchal expedition has started. The fog was so high, some times it was almost blank and we had to stop the car and look around for a bigger vehicle which we could follow. The journey till Joshi Math was full of adventure but if the journey is to be explained hour by hour it will be more than an 2000 line essay…. Anyways, Joshi Math was around 500 Km from Delhi and we took almost 20 Hrs to reach and were there by Dec 31st night…..Jaggi sir had arranged accommodation for us in I.T.B.P Officer’s Mess ( Indo-Tibet Border Police). Thank you Sirjiiiiii…

On the first day this year, we went to Auli for which we have to take a Rope Way (India’s longest) which took us to a verticle height of more than 3000 mts over the sea level….There we could see the snow packed mountains, for which we were here so far from our work places. The Himalayan Ranges can be clearly seen from such a height. For people who do not know, Auli is a place which has one of those better skeing resorts in Asia, for hosting winter games. Almost knee height snow all over, we walked through it for hours just to discover that, they are never ending…. Slided over the snow a couple of times, enjoyed to the fullest and returned through the same rope way down to Joshi Math and back to the Guest House. The next day, we went to a place called Tapovan where we have certain Sulphur hot springs. There are some other places like Valley of flowers and Hemkund Sahib which can be visited from Joshi Math but unfortunately they were closed and the roads open only during June-July-August. So, we went back to our place, packed the baggage and returned to Delhi on 3rd Jan.

We went to Kharbanda’s place in Noida to freshen up, have break fast and moved to Jaggi sir’s place as it was his birthday that day. Met Brar sir and Sheoran sir as well in Delhi and moved straight to the airport to find some plane which would leave me in Mumbai, Karki and Lucky in Kolkata. Luckily got one of Jetlite and reached Mumbai at 2 am midnight on Jan 4th as the flight was 3 hrs delayed for Delhi’s foggy whether…..

It was a wonderful experience all through…. The pics below speak for themselves….

Wish You All A Very Happy & Prosperous New Year 2009

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Celebrating 61st Independence of India ! ! !

2008-08-14T16:36:00.004+05:30

"India is the cradle of the human race, the birthplace of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend, and the great grand mother of tradition. Our most valuable and most astrictive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only!" --- Mark Twain

Proud To Be An Indian !..........

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Happy Friendship Day ! ! !

2008-08-01T17:11:00.003+05:30

"Sometimes in life, you find a special friend,

Someone who changes your life just by being a part of it,

Someone who makes you laugh until you can't stop,

Someone who makes you believe

that there really is good in the world.

Someone who convinces you that there really

is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open"

Wishing A Very Happy Friendship Day - 03rd August 2008

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Three - Day Camp In Dubai ! ! !

2008-07-24T16:29:00.008+05:30

Last Sunday, I had been on a short trip to Dubai, for a two-day business meeting. We left Mumbai at about 9:45 AM on 20th July and reached Dubai in 3 hrs. It took some time ( quite some time ) in Immigration formalities with eye scan etc etc and reached the Hotel in the evening at 3:00 PM. One of my college friends, Imran Khan, who is based in Dubai, had arranged for a Desert Safari on the same day. He came to the hotel to pick us and we started off for our leisure trip at about 4:30 PM. It was a Toyota Land Cruiser, and we first went through the beautiful roads of Dubai to a place for Desert Biking….. It was an absolute stunning experience. From there we left for Dune Bashing, a roller coaster ride of the SUV over the desert. It was definitely a breath taking ride and we kept wondering, why the car is not tumbling down….The roller coaster came to a halt at the highest point on the desert for having us see the beautiful sun set and we had a wonderful time clicking some gud snaps out of our cameras…….From there, we moved to a camp for dinner and a Belly Dance by a Russian Female…….There, we even we had hookah / sheesha, with different flavours…..Ooooh…. the safari came to an end and we were dropped at our Hotel in the night at 10:30 PM…. We rushed to our rooms and slept to be active for the meeting on the following day.

The next day, meeting started at 9:00 AM, and all the delegates from all across Africa, Middle East & Hongkong were present….It was gud, meeting all the big guns of the organisation and knowing how the business runs and it’s past performance, as I’m new to the organization. After the meeting, we were invited for a dinner in Grand Hyatt, Dubai. It was a real adventure having food there, bcoz, I had to search, understand and hunt for vegetarian food…. Went back to the hotel at night and slept as usual again for the second day meeting. On the second day evening, Imran came down again, and we moved to Deira City Centre, a big shopping mall to meet Adnan, my ex-colleague in Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. We had a coffee in Star Bucks and left the place and went to Swati Mehta’s house at about 10:30 PM to have Indian dinner at her place….She is one batch senior to me in NIMC, Kolkata….After we had delicious dinner at her place and were about to leave, we realized that she had recently bought a Peugeot Convertible and it is so obvious that we wud go on a ride. In the night at about 12:30 AM we were racing the car at 130, 140 Km/hr on Dubai roads and it was I wud say, Sexyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy…..
Came back to the hotel with Imran, and picked up another colleague of mine to for another ride with Imran in his Honda Accord. After a couple of hours we came back to the hotel early in the morning to sleep for a couple of hours and get ready to fly back to Mumbai. It’s Imran again….. He is everywhere….. Came down to the hotel in the morning at 10:00 AM to pick us up and drop at the Airport…. The three day stay was wonderful and the cars in Dubai need a special mention….. Just glance through some of the cool snaps clicked in these 3 days……

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

The Lonavala Trek Camp....

2008-07-01T15:18:00.003+05:30

It was last Sunday, when I had been for first trek camp. I guess, my Mumbai masti has taken shape. On 29th June, early in the morning at 8:00 am, we started off our journey from Mumbai to Malavali, a place near Lonavla. The team included, Bhaskar, Mohit, Ashish, Anuj and Myself from Mumbai and Saptarshi and Madhavi from Pune. All of them were either juniors or friends.

At around 9:30 am, we reached the base of the hill, which is to be climbed. Parked the car there and started off straight. Because of rain, the path was slippery and so was tricky. With the help of the plants, trees, and rocks, climbed some part of the hill and reached a spot where we can sit and breath. Rested there for a while, rolled the digital camera all around and on ourselves as well and started the second spell. From that place, we could actually see the end point of the hill where we had to reach, which has lifted our spirits. The lush green grass over the hill was very soothing and refreshing for the eyes. While we were on our way to another resting spot up the hill, there was a mini dhaba which was offering some refreshments. So, rammed into it for some eatables and continued from there in heavy rain. After we reached a place on the hill, from where we could see the end point, everyone waited for a minute. It was a breathtaking view, and we realized that we had to reach the other end. But, everyone cud see the finale only and with full energy and no second thought took the narrow, slippery and sliding way to the end of the hill, which has remains of an old fort. It took us around 3 hrs to reach this place from the base of the hill. We were seven, when we started the trek and were lucky that even at the end, the number was same. Enjoyed the rain, fog and the view of the lush green hills around, clicked some cool snaps and started the descending journey. Reached the ground in a couple of hours and traveled back home.

It was stunning and a very exciting experience. Rainy season is generally not the time for a trek but this is probably one of those few places where rain invites trekkers. Roll your eyes through some cool snaps clicked when ever we could free our hands on the way and sit down at a place……

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal /-

New Place | New Assignment | New People |

2008-06-18T11:31:00.003+05:30

It’s almost a generation gap since my last post on the blog. There are a host of big things which happened in this space on my end. After a little short of 3 years, I have left Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., Kolkata and came down to Mumbai. Right now, I am associated with LyondellBasell, w.e.f 02nd June 2008. Having led a life of almost 5 years in Kolkata, leaving the place, the company and the people is undoubtedly a pain……But, guess that is what life is ! ! ! This is a European company based out of Netherlands and I am working in Supply Chain function.

Taking a shift from being a Babumoshai, today I’m a Mumbai'kar….. It’s a wonderful feeling being in the business capital of the country. Life is too fast here and managing my expenses wud be a challenge, staying in the most expensive part of the country….

Having so many friends and relatives here, spending the weekends wudn’t be an issue and there has already been a get-together with my Juniors last Sunday……

I have just led a life of a couple of weeks in Mumbai and the company and let’s see how the new assignment and the place wud be treating me in life !.....

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal /-

My New Year Holiday In Sikkim ! ! !

2008-01-23T16:03:00.000+05:30

After a long long time, could gather time to type some text on my blog. This time, it is about my holiday in Sikkim for celebrating New Year.

On the evening of 29th December, Ashok, Rashmi & Myself have started our journey to Gangtok from Kolkata. Rashmi has come all the way from Indore to Kolkata via Delhi. We have taken a sleeper coach bus from Kolkata to Siliguri and landed up there at 11.30 AM on the other day. Had lunch there and hired a car from Siliguri. The Journey on the beautiful roads along side the teesta river was the first great experience of the trip. Finally reached Gangtok at 6 o Clock in the evening of 30th December, feeling the temperature drop. The hotel arrangement was already done and we hurried to rooms to fresh up, have dinner and take rest to start our journey, the next day.

On 31st of December, early in the morning we got up from sleep and first of all, had a fabulous view of one of the Kanchenjunga ranges. Had breakfast, and started journey to Tsomgo ( Read it as Changu ) Lake and Baba Mandir, Ganesh Tok & Hanuman Tok. We almost went to a height of 12,400 ft hitting clouds at some points. In Baba Mandir, the water was frozen and Changu was melting to lake from ice. It was an absolutely amazing scenic beauty and can surely confess that, it was the best live thing, I have ever seen. Returned back to hotel at around 7 PM, packed very little liquor on the way to bid farewell to the Yr 2007. Ladies & Gentlemen, Cheers ! ! ! & Wish U A Very Happy New Year 2008.

On the following day, i.e first day of this year, we have booked a packaged tour of 1 night and 2 days to Yungthang Valley, which is around 150 kms from Gangtok. We started at 10.00 AM and halting at different places to have food, enjoy waterfalls and valleys, we could only reach Lachung, a place which is 25 kms before Yungthang Valley, wherein people stay in resorts as there is no provision to stay in Yungthang bcoz of the chilling whether. But, Lachung was no better. It was also chilling cold and the resort people have arranged for camp fire for some time, in the evening. The next day morning we started to Yungthang Valley and reached there at around 10.00 AM. There, I have taken a snap standing on the lake, flowing in the valley. Imagine the state of water. We were not at all in a mood to leave the place. But, as soon as we realized that there was another place 22 kms ahead called Zero Point, which is another wonder, we immediately jumped in to the car to go to that place. ZERO POINT, father of all places visited till that time, was a stunning beauty. It is called Zero Point, bcoz, Indian roads end there and 6 kms from that point, U land up in China. It is at a height of almost 16,000 ft and the temperature was much below subzero. One will feel that, breathing is probably the most difficult thing a person can do. Anyways, after almost sweating my Digi Cam by clicking snaps everywhere, we started our return journey down to Gangtok and reached at around 9.00 PM on 2nd January.

The next day, we got to start our journey to return to Kolkata. So, on the way to Siliguri, we covered Rumtek Monastery and also done River Rafting in Teesta for almost 40 mins. It was one of the most exciting moments, I have ever experienced. Reached Siliguri at 6.00 PM, caught the train at 8.00 PM and landed up in Kolkata the next day early in the morning, to come to the office, as usual.

Sikkim was unquestionably, the most beautiful and exciting places, I have ever visited and just check the snaps below, which speak for themselves.

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal /-

My 10 -- Day Holiday @ Home !....

2007-11-08T12:23:00.000+05:30

Hello and here I am to give a glimpse of my last month’s holiday episode. I had been to Hyderabad on the evening of 17th October, after attending the office. My ticket being in Kingfisher Airlines, guess, I had left my heart in the flight after landing in Hyderabad and before going home. Ha Ha Ha….

My visit wasn’t known at home as I haven’t informed them about my itinerary. I am not sure how pleasant it was to my family, but yes it was definitely a surprise. Was in Hyderabad on 18th and 19th and on 19th evening, had packed my bags to go to Bangalore, bcoz to meet the IT industry people, Saturday & Sunday are the only possible days. On 20th morning my cousin had come to receive me and since then it was a very busy schedule in the IT city, for meeting relatives and friends. As I had to go back on the very next day, all the appointments were fixed earlier. I had met my cousin, relatives and my Engineering friends after so many years and it was a fantastic experience. Though Rain in Bangalore has ruined some time but still managed some get-togethers. On sunday, though not wanted to, but had to travel back.

On Monday, here in Hyderabad, one of my MBA batch mates has come from Delhi and had to go back on Wednesday. So, on Monday and Tuesday had to meet her and one of my MBA juniors, who works there. After Tuesday, it was the turn of relatives & friends in Hyderabad.

In the mean while, as far as my family episode is concerned, everyone is fit & fine and it was great having home cooked food, sleeping late nights and waking up in the afternoons. My brother has just joined his MBA and moreover his birthday was impending. So, had to buy some clothes and a mobile phone ( Nokia 5300 ) for him.
So, since Tuesday to Saturday, my stay was pretty fine, being with relatives, meeting friends, watching my country movies with them and roaming around Hyderabad. Here are some snaps.

The week ended so fast and guess what, I had to get back to Kolkata. Uff…. It was really sad, I didn’t want to….. NOOOOOOOOOOOO……… But finally landed in Kolkata on Sunday night, to join the office as usual on Monday morning…….. Eagerly waiting for the next tour !....

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal /-

Wow... Travelling Home 4 A Long Holiday !

2007-10-17T11:56:00.000+05:30

Finally, after an year or so, I have packed my bags to go to Hyderabad, my home. This time it’s a 10 day trip from today. I am really excited thinking about the royal 10 day special guest treatment, but I cannot comment on the unawareness of my parents about the trouble they are inviting ….. However, the only relief for them is that, I may be going to Bangalore for a couple of days….

Anyways, will be back to Kolkata on 28th of October and shall post the Hyderabad Episode !... Till then have a nice holiday season …..

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal /-

Self Destructive Habits of Good Compan|eeez|....

2007-09-01T14:53:00.000+05:30

A couple of weeks earlier, it was time for yet another volume to be surfed through. But, this time, the need was, less of personal and more of official. Had to present the learnings out of it, in the office, along with a couple of others. The name of the book is evident from the image of the cover page. Anyways, the content was basically about, the habits grown by great companies which finally end up in deteriorating their own charm. Seven habits, which author Jagdish N Sheth, says as “Self-Destructive Habits”, are discussed. The following are the excerpts…….

Denial : Basically a disbelief of reality, this is seen as the inability of a company to believe and admit that their success since long, is not really guaranteed.

Arrogance : Identified as an offensive display of superiority or self-importance, pride, haughtiness or disdain. Has everything to do with an inflated sense of self.

Complacency : It is categorized as the sense of security and comfort, that derives from the belief that, the success you’ve had in the past will continue indefinitely.

Competency Dependence : This is defined as the dependence of any company on only one of it’s competencies for deriving success. This limits the vision and blinds the concern to other opportunities.

Competitive Myopia : This is characterized as the near sighted view of competition. Basically acknowledging only the challenges of competitors which are direct and immediate.

Volume Obsession : Identified as a by-product of growth, it is a cost-inefficiency, which derives to the high costs incurred by a company in comparison to the revenues being generated by it.

Territorial Impulse : Company when becomes successful, tends to organize itself in to functional & geographic silos. If these various units donot get along with each other and seek their own autonomy, a concern falls in to this trap.

This is a very concise version of the entire volume, if one can spare some time, this is a good reading, because, each of the habit is explained in detail with case studies of great companies, like, General Motors, Sony, Xerox, Avon, A&P Retailing etc etc etc…..

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal /-

Celebrating Six Decades of Independent India ! ....

2007-08-14T17:59:00.000+05:30

"So far as I am able to judge, nothing has been left undone, either by man or nature, to make India the most extraordinary country that the sun visits on his rounds. Nothing seems to have been forgotten, nothing overlooked." -- Mark Twain

Happy Independence Day, Ladies & Gentlemen ...

Salute With Pride,

Raja Gopal /-

The Google : Unquestionably World Class !.....

2007-07-27T18:37:00.000+05:30

For the past few days, I have been reading about a concern which is undoubtedly the most incredible findings of the modern days…. “The Google Story” by David A Vise. The name which has been misspelled as Google in place of Googol (10 to the power 100), has become synonymous for search among people across the world.

Larry Page & Sergey Brin who were the founders of the company, have basically started this as a Research Project at Stanford University while doing their Ph.D., in January 1996. They have conceptualized the page rank notion which ranks the web pages in relation to the number of times the search term appears in it, to give effective search results. After having tested their thesis, they first registered the search engine with the domain of “google.stanford.edu”, using Stanford University website. After around two and half years, the “google.com” domain came into existence. Andy Bechtolsheim, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems, was the first third party, to invest $ 1,00,000 towards the startup in Silicon Valley. They have leased a complex in Mountain View, Silicon Valley which from that day was known as Googleplex.

This Is How Google Search Page Looked In The Initial Days

That is the brief history of the concern, which, within a decade of it’s existence, achieved revenues in Billion Dollars, marked as the best place to work world over ( Leaving behind giants like Microsoft, Yahoo etc etc ) and many more milestones….. Over and above all these, with the products ranging from, Search, Gmail, Google News, Orkut, You Tube, Blogger etc etc, we are in no position to imagine a life without all these or in simple terms, GOOGLE !......

Founders Larry Page & Sergey Brin With CEO Eric Schmidt In Middle

This Is One Story Definitely Worth Reading ……… Try To !......

For More Info :

More Preferable Way Is To Read "The Google Story" !.....

Less Preferable Way Is To Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Atlantis Space Expedition Coverage.....

2007-06-27T18:15:00.000+05:30

Hi everybody !.... Specially to those who might have been sure that I m gone, don’t worry I am still alive and very much on Planet Earth. Back after quite some time and this time about humans unlike me who do stay on places other than Earth.

The most interesting and famous among news discussions these days other than, M & A’s is the Atlantis Space Shuttle Expedition. The journey which ended on 23rd June, early in the morning has almost travelled 6 million miles and also holds the record of Sunita Williams, the Indian – American Astronaut, for the longest stay by any women astronaut in space, of about 194 days. Had got some photo coverage about the expedition from an e-source.

Ooh !.... Guess, I can replace the official NASA Spokesman. Anyways, just have a luk at these……

Visit To Know More :

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/main/index.html

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Annual Marketing Conference - | 2007 | ....

2007-04-25T12:14:00.000+05:30

It was April 10th 2007. The time for our Annual Marketing Meet came closest possible. It was scheduled on the next two consecutive days, i.e the 11th & 12th of April. The venue planned was a resort named Vedic Village, approximately 15 kms away from the city. The participants from all across the country, who really stay eager for an year’s time, to meet their colleagues in Calcutta and vice versa, have started checking in from 10th morning. Till 08:00 pm in the evening, more or less all the participants have arrived. Some were seen swimming in the wonderful pool which the resort had, some running from pillar to pole to finish their presentations, some looking over their respective responsibilities and others chatting in a cosy place or playing Table Tennis, with their colleagues. It was the happiest moment for every one there.

The next day, i.e 11th of April, the Meet started with an address by the first citizen of the company, Mr. S K Bhowmik, Managing Director, on the issues related to the vision and mission of the company and also on making HPL a globally competitive company. Followed him were the presentations for the day, started with Head-Mktg., Mr. Ujjal De. The agenda for the presentations viz. Overall Performance 2006-07, Issues, Actions to be taken, and Goals for 2007-08, was already broadcasted to all those who were to present. So, all the presentations were in line with the agenda & Logistics Review was the last presentation for the first day. The day was called off after this presentation and all the participants were invited for a cocktail dinner which lasted till 11:00 pm in the night. It was “Good Night”, for all the people except for us. We were to conduct a team building activity, as the opening session on the next day.

On the 12th of April, well before the time, people from Plant and Chemical Marketing Department have arrived. Right at 9:00 am, inline with the previous day, the team activity named “HPL 6 Pipers” was conducted. It lasted for a couple of hours and the winners & runners were presented with personality development books. Everyone present, have enjoyed each of the moments to their fullest.

Following the activity were the presentations scheduled for the day. In the afternoon, we had a guest of honour, Mr. Anil Jain, Managing Director, Jain Irrigation Systems, to speak on Customer Expection and his association with HPL as a customer. Soon after his deliberation were the rest of the presentations. Finally, there was a summary presentation by our Head-Mktg. which was the ultimate presentation for the two-day meet.

All the formal wears turned casual in 30 minutes time for the live music and cocktail dinner, which followed the presentation sessions. Some band was also invited to sing live. The party was wonderful and people were really reluctant to get back to their rooms even after the dinner, to pack their luggage and travel back home.

Those were probably one of those very few moments, when we weren’t happy, for the meeting schedule being so short in time. Anyways, time is not always the same. Signing off with a great hope to meet all of them in the next meet.

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Evolution Of Indian IT Giants ( Wipro & Infosys )

2007-02-16T08:24:00.000+05:30

It’s after a pretty long time, I could manage to throw some text on to my blog. This time with a story of evolution of the revolution in Indian IT, with the two biggies Wipro & Infosys. The Economic Times, managed bringing the master minds behind these two brands under one roof for thought sharing. The following is a small excerpt from the very long conversation that took place among ET Editor, Azim Premji & Narayan Murthy.

The Economic Times : Could you briefly trace for us the evolution of your companies into global players? The story has been said several times, but not by both of you together. Also, where do you see your companies placed in the growth trajectory ?

Azim Premji : Our origins are in a completely different business, but I will restrict the discussion to IT because that seems to get the maximum visibility now, certainly vis-à-vis the media and certainly vis-à-vis The Economic Times. Our origins started in 1980 in the domestic hardware industry.

As a matter of strategy, we built around it a very strong services and solutions business. We used that as a major differentiator apart from having leading-edge hardware because we had no legacy of an installed base. We entered the global market only in the end 80s and that was because imports became more liberal.

With that, the 600 people we had in R&D became redundant as we didn't require such a large team trying to reinvent the wheel. So we positioned them as R&D service engineers on a contract basis to global companies. We have grown since then in terms of diversifying from R&D to enterprise services and broadening our address from beyond America to Europe, Japan and some other countries.

The pioneering work, which the software industry has done-whether it be led by TCS, Infosys or Wipro-is to establish a very sound globalisation of services. The fact that all the multinationals today are trying to copycat it means that they see the endorsement of that model as being fundamental to the way a customer wants services to be delivered.

There is the requirement of cycle-time, of cost economy, of higher levels of service, of doing whatever you need to get done at the best possible value. I can see at least two to three Indian companies being in the top ten in the next three to five years globally in terms of physical revenue size. Three companies are already in the top 10 in terms of market cap and profits. That's exceptional, because that's eventually your engine of growth.

If we do not achieve that, we just have ourselves to blame. We have the momentum, we are gaining more credibility with customers, we are getting into much larger contract sizes, we are in the play now for billion-dollar contracts. And I think our competitors appreciate that and have really woken up to that.

Narayan Murthy : I started a company called Softronics in Pune in 1977. I quickly realised that focus on domestic market was not going to take me too far. So I gave it up and joined Patnis because I wanted to get some corporate experience. In 1981, when we founded Infosys, we were very clear from day one that we had to be focused on global markets. That was a tough exercise because the friction to business was extremely high.

It would take two to three years and 50 visits to Delhi to get a license to import a computer. We had to wait in front of the Reserve Bank of India for 10 days to travel abroad once. It was almost impossible to open offices abroad or get a consultant in marketing or in quality because there were severe restrictions on what you could pay them.

Employing non-Indians was out of question. So we were a fledgling company between '81 and '91. Our revenues grew from $130,000 to something like $1.3-1.4 million by 1992. But all of that changed with Dr Manmohan Singh's economic reforms under the guidance of Mr Narasimha Rao, who was then the prime minister.

Then several things happened. First, there was lessening of friction to business, we had current account convertibility, the office of controller of capital issues was abolished with the result IPO became a decent opportunity for entrepreneurs and 100% equity was allowed for multinationals in high-tech area. That's when the IBMs and Microsofts of the world came to Bangalore. Many of my friends then told us, look your story is over now. The employees will all leave and go.

For us the question was, how do we make sure that we become a company that is more attractive to employees than the IBMs. That's when we built India's first software campus and we created India's largest stock option plan. That is also when we started thinking in terms of globalisation and global mindset because the government was no longer a bottleneck.

We opened offices abroad. Then we realised that if we have to have the mindshare of the CEOs and CFOs abroad we have to be listed on a stock exchange there and that's how our listing on Nasdaq happened in 1999. Then came our representation of our balance sheet and income statement according to the generally accepted accounting principles of US (US GAAP).

As we moved forward, we felt a need to become an end-to-end business solution provider and that's how we started Infosys Consulting. We acquired a company in Australia and made it Infosys Australia, which is doing pretty well. We started our operations in China, we have created wonderful state-of-the-art offices in Canary Wharf, No 10 Bank Street in London, in Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, in Freemont.

In other words, our ambitions started increasing. We then said, now we have to be seen as a local company in some sense. We have to have good infrastructure, we have to invest heavily in technology, we have to enhance brand equity. That's how this Wharton-Infosys Global Transformation award started. So I think it has been a good continuum.

Managed To Get Some Food For Thought, Right !...

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

One Batchmate Of Mine Weds The Other ...

2007-01-06T15:11:00.000+05:30

It was 9th of December, when I was waiting to complete the as usual half-a-day in the office premises, for a not so simple reason of attending a marriage, far from Calcutta, some where in the city of nawabs ( Lucknow ), on the next day…… So, had to start my journey to lucknow on Saturday afternoon. Along with me was, Mithun Biswas, another batch mate of mine, who was also to attend the same. We took Rajdhani Express to Kanpur on Saturday evening and reached there at 5:00 AM on Sunday. Luckily, Mathura-Lucknow express was standing on the other platform, as if it was sent solely for us. We rushed to the ticket counter and took two general tickets to lucknow, and got in to a reservation coach. Thanx to who so ever the Ticket Collector was, for not getting in to the coach to check the reservation details. We safely n steadily reached lucknow in a couple of hours time, took a sardarji’s Auto Rikshaw, to my friend’s abode.

After that, time raced away like anything. At around 2 o Clock, after having seen a little of Lucknow, along with another guy Somesh, the marriage proceedings have started. Guess what !…. The Ghodi ( Female Horse ) is here, sitting on which, the groom goes to the venue, and above all, we already got on to the road dancing in the Baraat ( Marriage Procession ). A long lasting wish of dancing in the baraat is fulfilled. Entertaining the common public around with our not-so-graceful movements, we reached the venue. The marriage started and we got on to our job of a photographer & camera man, though there were some people nominated.

Having sat on their respective seats, the bride & the groom were luking fabulous, with all the necessary decorations done. Don’t worry, they are captured. With a little of holy fire and a heavy smoke around, the priest was in complete form with all the hymns etc etc which neither the hosts nor the guests might have understood ( I doubt the priest even )…. Anyways, the marriage was successfully over and they both are now together for life time. Just a couple of hours after, the reception was scheduled. I pity the couple, who had to stand for hours together as the guests were having sumptuous dinner. No issues, U got to take some pain, to have blessings from so many people…..

Anyways, it was a wonderful marriage. Oops!. The names, Ribhav & Neha ..

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Happy & Prosperous New Year | 2007 | ....

2006-12-30T10:52:00.000+05:30

Ring out the old, ring in the new ....

Ring, happy bells, across the snow ....

The year is going, let him go ....

Ring out the false, ring in the true ....

~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson ....

Wishing A Very Happy Birthday To All Of You .....

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

International Plastics Exhibition at Calcutta ...

2006-12-04T12:21:00.000+05:30

Ladies 'n' Gentlemen......from November 24th to 27th, the people related to plastic industry in anyway, have witnessed a very large international plastics exhibition tagged, Indplas ’06, at Calcutta, organized by Indian Plastic Federation in collaboration with Plastindia Foundation. The exhibitor’s included, Raw material, machine, plastic finished goods manufacturers, traders, educational institutions, environmental authorities and so on…. Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., ( I m working 4 the same ), being the biggest sponsor for the event, we had visitors from all over the country and also from other South East Asian Countries.

The people from Marketing, Sales & Business Development departments have been put to stall duties, for attending the business visitors. Commenting on the attire which was proposed for the 4 day event, it was like celebrating blazer & tie week. Anyways, that is how corporate world should function. On the final day, one of our premier customers has thrown a cocktail – dinner party in a wonderful hotel to mark the success of the event.

On the whole, the event was a great success and we surely had some potential customers from both domestic and international arena.

By the courtesy of my colleagues, Mr. Anant Kumar & Mr. Rajesh Mondal, there are some good snaps of the event. Just have a look…….

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal

Most Effective Print Advertisement | s | ...

2006-11-01T17:54:00.000+05:30

As we just touch upon the penultimate month of this calendar year, recently, had managed to collate some of the amazing Print Ad’s for the year, through some e-source. Be it about a foundation, a product or a social purpose, the message has been driven home, wonderfully. Just have a look at them. As far as my opinion goes, the Ad’ broadcasting the message “ Save Trees”, is the best among them.

An Ad With A Message Save Trees & Trees Save U

A Karate School Being Advertised Above

The Potential of Pioneer Car Audio Systems

Trying To Publicise The Effectiveness of Fevicol

The Power of Milk Powder Is Being Said

Cigar’s Assembled Asking Not To Smoke By A Cancer Foundation

Advertisement For Promoting A Chewing Gum

Publicising Big Bazar Women’s Day Celebration

Wud personally promote the message by Cancer Foundation ( of Finland )

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

The Advent of Promotional Marketing ...

2006-10-17T10:40:00.000+05:30

After a short holiday, I am back to blogging. This time, again with a Published Marketing Funda. The other day, I was reading the supplement of “The Economic Times“, which had this novel marketing technique named, Promotional Mktg. This post is all about the salient bullets of that article.

Promotional Mktg. was told as a tactical planning program and execution exercises for a brand, using the full mix of business & consumer communication methods. It is basically designed to re-inforce sales & build image. The field includes, gifts, value added offers, consumer contests, P-O-P displays, coupons, loyalty programs etc.

The article differentiates advertising from the above, by highlighting that, the former creates awareness about the product and gives a “ Reason to Buy “ but, the latter goes a step further by giving the consumer a “ Reason to Buy Now “.

A caveat which is to be considered in exploiting this strategy was, while a freebie offer, one should keep in mind that it should be a logical extension of the product / service being sold. An instance quoted was, Whirlpool’s association with Ariel for its washing machines is a good brand-fit unlike, offering a facial cream with a pack of tea.

Finally, some of the things which Promotional Mktg. can & can’t do were highlighted.

Can’t Do’s :

@ Overcome some of the core brand problems like,

Pricing – Product Quality – Packaging – Product Performance

@ Reverse a long term declining sales trend

@ Fix weak brand positioning

@ Compensate 4 inferior advertising executions

Can Do’s :

$ Generate awareness & trail 4 new brand

$ Encourage repeat purchases

$ Temporarily adjust pricing

$ Defend against competitive activity

$ Excite the sales force

The Indian Promotional Mktg. industry is excpected to grow from current Rs.1000 Cr. to Rs.8000 Cr. by 2010.

# Article Source : A White Paper by Kidstuff Promos & Events

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Long Long Ago During Grey Scale Era ...

2006-09-15T13:48:00.000+05:30

Calcutta was the place, that head quartered English - East India Company, during the Pre-Independence time. I cud catch hold of some of the snaps of modern day Kolkata in those days, when U ‘n’ I were studying No Where. It was almost all a century ago. The very sight of the pictures, is so pleasant and calm unlike the present day. Just have a luk. I guess, this is after a very long time, U are throwing an eye at a B&W image on the screen.

Wow !... A historical world with spacious roads....

Smile always,

Raja Gopal.

The Alumni Meet : Nostalgia | 2@@6 | ...

2006-08-28T17:50:00.000+05:30

One of my most beautiful and happening occasions in Calcutta, has just passed. It was Saturday, the 26th of August, when our Alumni Meet ( Nostalgia 2006 ) was scheduled. Waiting for this day since a couple of months, I had reached my institute at 1700 hours, after my office ( The meet started at 10:30 AM ). Students and Alumni to see everywhere, it was like, the institute was trying to accommodate whole of the world in it’s campus. The sight of our Institute and the vertically held banner of Nostalgia 2006 on it, was so refreshing from one side and highly nostalgic from the other, that I am falling short of words to express. I had to meet ‘N’ number of people before I cud actually enter the hall, where the cultural program was being held.

Soon after this, as we came out of the hall, we started standing, sitting, and moving around all those places where we used to be, during our college days. The DJ’s time has finally come. The Basket Ball court was well decorated with large and very large speakers all around. The music started going over our heads and the dance party has taken off, as the last event for the day before the dinner. We jumped here and there for some time, to the music, as we were habituated to, not being civilized on the dance floor. As time was racing away and hunger had challenged our physical strength, we had to end the first phase and enter the mess for dinner. The same old standing in the queue carrying spoons and plates, repeated and we really enjoyed behaving as students for some time. After the wonderful dinner, where we actually did not eat much and rather spent time chatting with all others, we went for the second phase of being jumping jack. We didn’t even realize that we were on the floor for two long hours and had to stop when were informed that, the music is not going to continue anymore. All the alumni ( I was no different ) was very reluctant to move away from the place, BUT WE HAD TO…..

Kudos to all those who were involved in conducting this event and thanks to all those who have attended and made it a success. Last, but not the least, the memento ( A Table Clock ) which was given to the alumni who have attended, needs a special mention.

My Institute Building Before It's New Nomenclature

Institute Building Well Decorated On Nostalgia - 2006

Along With Some Of The Alumni & Current Batch Students (1)

Along With Some Of The Alumni & Current Batch Students (2)

Sitting with Reema Mam & Kulpreet Sir On The Puliya

With Reema Man During The Dance Party In Basket Ball Court

The Memento Given To The Alumni Who Attended The Meet

Signing off, with a great hope to attend the next meet....

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

A Manifesto 4 Market | ing | ...

2006-08-11T18:37:00.000+05:30

A couple of weeks back, there was a brief article in a business tabloid by, Professor Mohanbir Sawhney, of Kellogg School of Management. This was on, what ails Marketing in companies and what are the ways to transform Marketing. I just wanted to share some excerpts from it.

In relation to what ails Marketing in companies, he says, to define “ The Role of Marketing” in an organization and “ The Value of Marketing” to an organization. So is the reason that Chief Marketing Officer of a company finds a way for cost-cutting measures in Marketing budgets.

Hence, for the above two reasons, to transform Marketing in line to Peter Drucker’s view that Marketing 'n' Innovation produce results in a company and rest all are costs, he gave a seven-point manifesto necessary for transformation.

@ Market The Marketing Department

@ Change The Marketing Mind-Set

@ Earn Credibility Through Customer Expertise

@ Focus On Customer Experience

@ Think In Process Terms

@ Create An ROI Culture

@ Embrace Technology

Hope to see an increased effectiveness in Marketing Functionality

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

So What ! ... If There Was Another Religion

2006-07-25T14:42:00.000+05:30

A New Religion - H+ ( Plus )

Author : Edward De Bono

It was time for some food for thought from Edward De Bono, a couple of days back. For the same reason, did I happen to read a book of his, which basically revolves around the idea of, How 2 live the life +ve’ly thru out. He gave six principles for this, viz…

Human, Happiness, Humour, Help, Hope, Health

Edward calls it a religion, bcoz…. H+ was introduced as a way of life, in this work of his.

Unlike other religions, which focus on avoiding sins n wrong doing, H+ (Plus ) emphasizes on +ve action. U got to contribute, to achieve n make a difference.

Cogito Ergo Sum ( I think there 4 I am )

Ago Ergo Erigo ( I act there 4 I construct )

Rest everything, is the book itself ….

If ever u find both the book n the time simultaneously, do read it once.

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Beauty Beyond The Name

2006-07-18T15:32:00.000+05:30

The outer most part of the earth’s interior is CrU$T. Having found some gud images depicting it’s beauty, could not refrain from posting them here. Just have a look …

Planning for an expedition, some time down the L(and)INE...

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

The World Through A Satellite

2006-07-15T15:31:00.000+05:30

From recent past, I have started exploring the world through Google Earth.The following are the glimpses of some of the places which I could lay my eyes on.

Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. - Manufacturing Plant, West Bengal

Vidyasagar Sethu : A Bridge in Calcutta

Eden Gardens Stadium, Calcutta

Lal Bahadur Stadium, Hyderabad

Hussain Sagar Urf Tank Bund, Hyderabad

Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad

As and when I click some gud one's, shall develop them here.

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

Bidding Farewell To One Of My Friends

2006-07-10T12:07:00.000+05:30

It was again Saturday, the 08th of July, when I had been to pay send-off to one of my friends. Similar to the day, more or less 14 months ago, when we had to leave some of our friends, who were flying away from Calcutta, after the final semester exams were completed, to join respective jobs. That was probably one among those very few moments in life, when we weren’t happy for, the exams schedule being so short in time.

Day before yesterday, was a day such, when I was in Howrah Railway Station to bid farewell to Harpreet, a batch mate of mine. She left both ABP & Calcutta, for Ludhiana and a company yet to be decided. As I was praying for the train to be as late as possible, though I know that it won’t be….. One of my batch mate, Rajinder Nagi and a junior of mine Jitender Jhakarh have also came running, just a couple of minutes before the scheduled departure, to share with me, those not-so-good moments. Within no time, the train started moving and we cud only see each other for 2 or 3 seconds, and turned around, knowing that neither of us can do so for long. There was a complete silence for some time, among three of us. Consoling each other from inside with no words, we left the same old platform which was home for many such moments in the past.

Few other friends of mine, to whom, I had been to pay a send-off in the past :

Rohit Bawa Urf Bawe in Howrah Railway Station

Sahiba in Howrah Railway Station

Rashmi Urf Chinna in Howrah Railway Station

Ribhav in Calcutta Airport

Neha Urf Moti in Calcutta Airport

*etc etc etc …

Anyways, time is not always the same. With high hopes to meet all of them some time down the line.

Re-Iterating such bad moments….

Raja Gopal.

My Batch Mate’s Belated Birthday Treat

2006-06-27T12:20:00.000+05:30

Venue : Sanjha Chulha, E.M. Bypass, Calcutta
* Host : Sohini Dasgupta
Guests : Harpreet, Kunal, Mithun, Vivek & Myself.

On Saturday, the 24th of June. After the so-called Half-Day in the office, where I stayed till 4:30 pm, was planning how to spend the rest of the day. Within no time, I realized that, there was an invitation for dinner from one of my batch mate’s, Sohini, who was planning to give away her belated birthday treat, which was on 16th of June.

In line with what we were taught in MBA, not to say ‘NO’ to a free Lunch / Dinner, was planning when & how to go to the restaurant. First went to Crossword and picked a book for her and then roaming here and there with another batch mate of mine some how reached the venue by 7:20 pm, twenty minutes past the said time. Anyways, no regrets, bcoz, the host and the other’s who were also invited, reached at the same time.

It was very gud to see some of my batch mates there with a big smile on their face. We all entered the restaurant and asked a table for 6 at one corner. Just after we took our seat, the waiter came, asking for H2O etc etc … It was the next minute when my excitement & embarrassment have taken shape simultaneously. Former, 4 meeting all the batch mates and discussing both work & personal life and latter bcoz, I realized I was the only Vegetarian in the group. It’s an old story, which happens to me since my college days.

The order was placed and everything went fine. Nothing more to say about food, since in Veg, except 4 Pyaz & Paneer, there were only plates, glasses, spoons & forks. We gave the tip to the waiter and left the restaurant. Outside the restaurant we had “Pan” ( in hindi ), talked for some more time as if we were to meet next, not before one year. But interestingly had ended the discussion deciding for another get-together, exactly one week after. Let’s see whether it will materialize or not ?….

The story ends and all went to their respective places, some by personal vehicles & others by public one’s. It’s the courtesy of Vivek, the Tech (y) guy of our batch, that the snaps are with us.

From Left : Harpreet, Mithun, Kunal, Sohini
Invisible : Vivek ( The Photographer )

It Was A Wonderful Get-Together

Smile Always,

Raja Gopal.

This Is The First Time I’m Blog | ing | …

2006-06-24T16:05:00.000+05:30

With no ideas supporting thoughts, and no words making a poetic sentence, I ve started to write for, the first ever blog in my life. With immediate effect, what I am in a position to express is something more about myself, other than the bullets given in “My Profile”.

I am basically from Hyderabad. Having done my B.Tech in Computer’s 4rm Hyderabad, just to learn how to switch on & off a PC, I joined National Institute of Management Calcutta ( Presently, Army Institute of Mgmt. ), to earn an MBA in Mktg. & Systems, for myself.

It is there where I ve learnt to live life. Friends to see everywhere and no enemies surrounding U anywhere, it is the greatest experience I wud ever have in my life.

Currently I am working with Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd., marketing Polypropylene.

Journey 4rm Tambi to Babumoshai is very much memorable to me and this being my first blog, I had to write something, bcoz of gud people like U who might glance through ‘MY’ Blog ‘BY’ Chance…

More about Life @ NIMC wud follow in my subsequent posts ...

Smile Always ...

Raja Gopal.