Flashy Cars are Here To Stay

On October 15, 2010, the city of Aurangabad made the news for a peculiar reason. Known for its famous Ajanta caves and below par civic amenities, it witnessed the highest luxury car sales ever recorded on a single day. 150 brand new Mercedes Benz rolled out onto the streets, a transaction valued at over 65 crore—every dealer’s elusive dream transaction. Tier II cities are now the go-to places for marketers at a time when political and economic uncertainty looms large in the country. While Audi is looking at Coimbatore and Lucknow, Mercedes has finalized on Raipur and Nashik.

Flaunting high-end luxury cars would be considered a sin in a country where 350 million people live below poverty line, but this mindset is slowly changing.  As if reflecting the sentiment the Auto manufacturers, especially in the luxury car segment, have had a slew of launches at the New Delhi Auto Expo 2012. The big three in the luxury automobile market—BMW, Audi and Mercedes—are battling to win the crown of market leader.

Though Mercedes has an advantage of an early entry as they have been in the country for close to 17 years, their market leadership toppled in a span of three years by BMW which entered in 2007, a feat which Audi is not far from achieving. Audi clocked a staggering 83% growth in sales in 2011 on a year-on-year basis leaving BMW (70%) and Mercedes (31%) far behind. Between the three, they have sold close to 22000 units in 2011 as compared to 16000 in 2010 corresponding to a growth rate of over 40%, while the overall car market has fallen flat with a growth of mere 6%.

Another push factor for the luxury segment is that it’s reasonably insulated from Inflation. An increase in prices of raw materials hardly affects luxury car brands. With a price range of over 25 lakh the raw material cost, when added to the selling price, becomes negligible.

The luxury car market has now evolved to a point where customers are constantly looking for upgradations. This also means that the used car segment of luxury cars, unthinkable up until three years ago, is now an icing on top of the cake for auto manufacturers. Mr Micheal Persche, Audi India Head, expects the used car program to contribute to 10% of the total revenues of Audi and plans to take it to 25% over a five year period. Audi has also announced the integration of its used car program “Audi Approved Plus” into its existing dealership networks across India.

Fortunes for the luxury car market in 2012 are tantalizingly poised with encouraging sales figures in 2011 despite being shadowed by the global economic uncertainty and fears of a double-dip recession hitting the U.S. The overwhelming response shown by dealers and component manufacturers at New Delhi Auto Expo might just prove to be the catalyst that automotive industry had been longing for.

Post Purchase Consonance

If you are a graduate, looking for post-graduation especially MBA, I am sure you would have seen innumerable brochures and pamphlets showing tacky models in a blazer with nerdy glasses, shaking hands with a fifties guy again in a blazer and both of them are grinning right back at you.You might even have seen a lush green campus with a tree under which students in a professional attire seem deeply engrossed in a conversation, laughing and having a time of their life.Well I am here to tell you that MBA is NOTHING LIKE THAT!!!

I am writing this blog post after one week of fun activities coupled with "mild" academic rigor and to think 12 hour classes await us next week I could safely say that sleep is a luxury people of our kind could rarely afford.

My course officially started on June 2,with a two day induction program. Induction programs are purposefully planned to be boring.They are designed to be boring and then implemented meticulously according to the design. In my case however I was taken aback with the vigor and zeal with which it was conducted. When you see people putting in so much effort into an induction program to make it work, you begin to wonder that the reason isn't always straight forward.

My thought was seconded by our director in class the next day when he said the induction program was a ploy to quell what he termed as "Post Purchase Dissonance(PPD)".PPD is a conflicting feeling you get when you see a product,something that is out of your budget but you still buy it and then start wondering whether its really worth it . The product in this case was the college itself .The director was spot on and whatever PPD I had turned into PPC(Post Purchase Consonance) :)

The week following the induction was fun exemplified.It is designed to build rapport among students,improve your oratory skills and more importantly shed your inhibitions and boy was that achieved. I could never in my wildest dreams imagine playing a dancing Thakur(Sholay) along with a dancing Gabbar(which incidentally was a girl..:) AND a very good friend of mine) in front of the entire class or throw Tamil slang (some of which I would have hesitated to use against A.Raja) at my fellow student in the name of dramatics. I even attended a Salsa workshop which by the looks of few of the girls watching I could tell that I was not meant for it . My only sadistic pleasure on that day was that the other guys who had come for that workshop looked equally ridiculous. :)

The first few classes that took place post the group exercises was intriguing to say the least.Every class had to be backed up by hours of preparation both from the students as well as teacher's side.Though exhausting I was relishing each and every moment of it. I had been waiting for this moment for a long time and now its here, right in front of me and to be honest it feels unreal.

There were times in the past when I have questioned my own perseverance, my ability to work hard.But today when I sit in the class and look around I see only a mixture of talent and ambition. I could see people who draw with an ordinary pen a stunning fine arts image in a matter of minutes, people who click photos which you could stare at all day and still dont get enough of it, people who put across ideas that are ridiculously innovative and I sit among them thinking that this is probably enough to keep me going for the next two years.

The Quarters Game

As the cricket world cup nears the business end of the tournament, the Quarter Final line up have been all but decided.India have a game tomorrow against West Indies.Winner of that match will play Australia in the Quarters and the loser plays Sri Lanka.

For the sake of argument lets assume that India wins against West Indies tomorrow.

At first, most Indians would feel hard done by the fact that we face Australia in the quarters.This mentality has been gradually imbibed in the mind of Indians due to the dominance factor of Australia over the past decade.The reality now is much different. Australia is not the team they used to be 5 years ago and neither is India.If anything,I think India would fancy their chances against Australia than Sri Lanka.

The reason being India and Sri Lanka have played against each other so much in the recent past that both teams know each other Inside out. Sri Lanka are only too familiar with the sub continental conditions and most of their players specialize bowling and batting in these conditions.Like India, the pitch and the conditions is Sri Lanka's 12th man. It's just a matter of who exploits who's weaknesses more and that for India, is too risky a proposition to have, especially in the Quarters.

Australia on the other hand is a completely different prospect.Up until now Australia have just played 'average' to 'good' cricket. This got them through the minnows. Their victory against New Zealand was more because of a below-par performance by the black caps than anything else. Their game against Sri Lanka was washed-off and today they were comprehensively beaten by Pakistan.

Australia's problems in batting department galore. Apart from Shane Watson who has stood like a rock and Micheal Clarke , none of their batsmen have hit top gear. Ricky Ponting's poor form continues. Cameron White has scored a whopping 60 runs in his last 5 innings!. Brad Haddin,though he has got some runs, he has never looked convincing in the middle. Steven Smith hasn't contributed much and Micheal Hussey has returned from an injury and is yet to get some runs under his belt.

Their bowling isn't as strong as it looks either.Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait bowl well only in patches. Johnson especially has been wayward in his line and length and can easily have an off day. Indians do like the ball coming on to the bat at a decent pace and if its not in the right areas, they can tear into the opposition. The game against South Africa stands as a testament to that. Jason Krejza got a nice rhythm going against Pakistan but spinners greater than him have failed to make a mark against India in their own backyard.

Brett Lee however is the only real threat to India. He was a stand out performer in today's game against Pakistan grabbing 4 wickets for 28 in his 8 overs. He managed to get that extra bounce form a two-paced pitch and will definitely pepper the Indian batsmen with a lot of short balls. If India can see him off there is very little reason for us to wish to see Sri Lanka in the Quarters.

The Chappell Curse

A few days back when Harsha Bhogle asked Ian chappell if India would win the world cup Chappell was critical of India's weaknesses and replied in a downright negative.I was more than delighted to hear the ever ranting Aussie bone head utter those words because of what I call "The Chappell Curse" .

Ever since Greg Chappell was kicked out as the coach of the Indian Cricket team in 2007, Ian Chappell, I believe, has been holding a grudge against the Indian Players . So every time he sees an opportunity to criticize a player he grabs it with both hands, but unfortunately for him, whatever he has rambled about them, the exact opposite has happened.Let me recap.

In 2007 Sachin was suffering a form slump. He was also under a lot of pressure especially after the world cup disaster. Ian Chappell who was licking his fingers for a long time, finally wrote an article attacking Sachin, suggesting that he should retire. The article was filled with cliches "Sachin is playing for the wrong reasons","Sachin is clearly past his prime " ,"Sachin is this..Sachin is that" etc etc.. It had "print me","notice me", "talk about me" written all over it and obligingly the Australian press had a field day with it.But the curse had other ideas. It went to work slowly landing small blows on Chappell.Small blows in the form of match winning centuries, commitment and never ending hunger for runs. By the time it was done Chappell was bruised as hell.Now, Sachin is by far the best batsmen in the world.He has amassed records which Ricky Ponting, playing like he is, can't break even if he plays into his 50's.Sachin was voted the best batsmen of all time (by Australian citizens!!) pipping Sir Donald Bradman , which incidentally was again refuted by Chappell(for crying out loud!!) .

Fast forward to 2010. Ian Chappel was asked who are the two best batsmen presently playing international cricket. The reply he gave made the news for its appalling nature. He said Ricky Ponting was currently the best in the business(not surprising at all coming from a man who is bordering on Aussie fanaticism) and the second best was "JP Duminy". That's right JP.Duminy!! . Chappell must think people like Sachin, Gambhir, Kallis and de Villiers are just average cricketers .Even the dumbest cricket follower will tell you that this "JP Duminy" isn't even close to being the second best batsmen in South Africa.How the hell can he be the second best in the world?His strike rate at that point in test matches was 40 which was lower than that of Rahul Dravids'. So the curse went to work this time as well. JP Duminy has never reached any new high's in his form and Ricky Ponting - well the less said the better.

So currently I would say the curse has already started its work and in less than a month I don't see any reason why India shouldn't lift the world cup and when that does happen I hope Harsha Bhogle stops being so down to earth and ruthlessly reminds Chappell about his earlier comments and records his reaction. Ian Botham might want a copy of that!!

Jigsaw

She opened the front door and sighed. It was damp and drizzly. Jogging on a rainy day was not particularly her favourite, but it was a better option than convincing her mother otherwise. She shuddered at just the thought of it. Nevertheless she pulled the black hood over head and took off. Her house was at the edge of the woods, a mile away from the countryside. The jog past the woods into the clearing again proved to be the difficult part. It always was…with all the ducking, and evading of the branches. As she reached the clearing she stopped waiting to catch her breath. She then looked up and a smile appeared across her face. The view of the country-side never failed to impress her.

She started again, this time a little more slower with smaller steps thoroughly enjoying the cool gentle breeze blowing across her face .It was then that she saw it. It was the same sight…everyday for the past three months..as it stood there. The lone barn house in the middle of the countryside. The moment she saw it she couldn’t help remembering all the stories her mother had mentioned about people disappearing inside it. Normal healthy people , people who believed paranormal activities never exists.. who ventured into the barn alone defying all warnings. She was too old to be believing in ghost stories,she wanted to tell her mom. She was so lost in her thoughts that she seldom noticed all the water her dress had soaked up.The rain was steadily increasing and with a mile to go in either direction she weighed her options. She didn’t need any time to think…Almost instantly she dashed towards the barn.She had never believed in paranormal activities..or atleast that is what she thought.

The door was open ,she slowly stepped inside. It was pitch dark. She gently scanned the walls with her hands .It didn’t take long to find,it made a loud click .She stood there watching in disbelief. It looked nothing like a creep house. The walls were neatly painted with ample lighting across the whole barn. It was dust free, the chicken stands were arranged coherently , even the hay was spread across with utmost care .The barn had a single window on the right wall. At the centre of it all was a large circular elegant wooden table with an unopened box of jigsaw puzzle on top of it.

“This is it..??” she mumbled as she gallantly strode around the barn. “Show me the blood…Show me the horror “ she said. Nothing seemed peculiar or out of place. She stopped as she reached the centre table staring at the unopened box of jigsaw puzzle. “Strange” she thought out loud. “Since when did people started leaving jigsaw puzzles at abandoned barns”.As she examined the box she realized that there was something even more odd.There was no figure of formation displayed anywhere on the box.Just a bunch of advertisements and colourful cartoon characters.She decided to give it a try.She glanced outside the window and could make out that the rain was still pouring. She peeled off the plastic covering on the box and emptied the entire contents on the table.The noise echoed through the barn and was promptly followed by stunned silence.The eerie silence for the first time gave her goose bumps.She froze for a moment. ”Dont be a moron” she told herself ,as she set out to arrange the pieces.

An hour had passed and she was almost done, only a dozen pieces remained. She stared at it intently ..twisting her head to all angles to make some sense at what was forming.It took her a moment to realize but then it struck her…she gasped at what she saw and instinctively took a few steps backwards from the table.The picture so far was clearly depicting the interior of the very barn house she was in.”.How is this possible??”She whispered to herself and again quickly glanced around the barn to dismiss her vehemence that she was being watched. She looked at the table again ,with only a dozen left it could be over in a minute,she thought. Mustering all her courage she slowly walked towards the table and picked up the remaining pieces..her hands still shaking.As she fitted the very last piece of puzzle, her face drained white.To her horror she realized that the dozen pieces she had arranged formed a center table with a young girl in a black hood arranging the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and that was not the worst part. The last few pieces also completed the window beyond which was a tall,dark figure forebodingly staring inside at the girl. She was trembling now not sure whether to turn back at the window and confirm her worst fears.Yet again it proved to be too late.The last sound she ever heard was that of breaking glass…