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Indians are lovers of beauty and utility. To them, a high-involvement purchase decision is not only one that uses logic but channels emotion as well. A good purchase is one that continues to give joy while delivering functionality for the consideration put in. Conditioning of several generations, mainly governed by household economy, has been drilled into the Indian consumer. To claim a share of the taxpayer’s wallet, the value provided by a product is paramount. Indians famously seek to ‘repair and reuse’ as opposed to ‘use and throw’. The Indian diaspora largely remains true to this idea while mulling over a purchase. They seek to gain lasting value. The fillip of value lies in an item reminiscent of the motherland – one that smacks of the flavours, tastes, and the colourful heritage that India signifies. Uniquely Indian items – and they are many – have historical, religious, or nostalgic significance for non-resident Indians. Linking a product’s features and benefits to ...

My scenario: Seller: software maker (on-rolls sales agent making the pitch) Buyer: a digital marketing company looking to buy software to collect feedback from its employees on HR policy, workplace conditions, etc. Annoying things a salesperson says When needs match with offerings, sales happen with vim and vigor. An astute salesperson analyses prospects well before making them an offer. He/she thinks of the needs of the customer from the big-picture point of view and recommends products that meet them to the fullest extent. Finding out these needs and framing them to suit a product’s utility calls for a fluid visualisation ability and tact. A sales agent needs to discuss the expectations of the customer as part of ‘needs analysis’. In the interaction with a prospect, the best impression a salesperson can give off is one of honesty and knowledgeability. At every stage, a seller has to be an active listener and a quick thinker. They have to ask all the right questions...

I was at the #TimesLitFestBlr, and my thoughts got thoroughly piqued. It all started with my crashing in Devadutt Pattanaik’s badinage with Shobhaa De. Here was someone who has made mythology and legend come alive for this generation. Kind of on the lines of what C. Rajagopalachari did for my generation, if for no other parallel. I entered into the spirit of things by asking a question of Anand Neelakantan if he ever bothers to be politically correct. And he said no. It’s impossible to be PC. For someone who created a whole fleshed-out story on the mythical character of Tara, the wife of Vali and Sugreeva according to the Ramayana, twisting words around to not really put too fine a point on anything wouldn’t have been too tough. But he chose to give it up and say what he really wanted to. It isn’t surprising that he got young Indians to start reading up on the nitty-gritty of Indian mythology through his forthright narrative style. Despite the sweltering way that Bengaluru gets ...

Tips to hunt for the right job overseas Moving abroad to work is exciting. It is your chance to experience exciting city life in a new country, sample their work culture and social customs, all the while earning money in the local currency. For most immigrants, the exchange rate is a promising one as it offers an economic advantage over the home currency. Travel, cuisine, novelty in every daily activity, and access to a high-quality life – what’s not to like? The path to applying for a job overseas is not a straight one. There are procedures to be followed and precautions to be taken. Here are some sure-fire tips that every applicant has to follow so that he or she can navigate the uncertain terrain of applying for jobs in another country. 1) Be as hands-on as possible: Sure, hire a consultant in your home country or an overseas one. But be in the loop and find out as much as possible about the process to be followed and each step in detail. 2) Start early: Begin early – if poss...

Summary: Online shopping for T-shirts can be fun and interesting, with very little hassle. Think any occasion, or order for yourself or someone else.   Read on to see if it is right for you. The first thing that comes to mind when one considers online shopping is the sheer comfort. You can look at several hundred options as you lounge and you don’t even have to decide fast. Think of making a purchase online, and the immediate thoughts you have are how: 1.       You don’t have to get out of your pajamas and slippers, drive around in traffic, and interact with the outside world 2.       You can check for the funkiest, most outré options through ‘search’ filters, and you know nothing is off limits – if one retailer doesn’t have a scooped-neck garment, another one will 3.       You shop on your phone, tablet or personal computer, and have your searches ‘saved for later’. The savvier you are with o...

Meditating has been a roadblock in my path to well-being. Or at least that’s what I think but I met some useful advice today: meditation is not about keeping the mind from wandering, but letting it finish its wanderings and come back to the present, awareness of the physical state – breath most importantly, so much so, that it burns itself out of aimless buzz, for a time at least. This is why they say meditate for at least 20 minutes, at least once a day. Doing this lets the mind run out of steam for the time as far as distractions are concerned. Once the clump of noisy thoughts is dealt with, what remains is, surprise surprise, a clear mind to deploy at the tasks of the day. And goodness knows we have distractions. These distractions are closely linked to our insecurities. Is it Facebook notifications that I can’t keep from checking out – why am I so concerned with what people might be saying of me? Long term goal: learn to offer a wide berth to others’ opinions of me. Is ...

There has been a piece of writing that we’ve met with that’s made us all stop short and take notice. It could be a piece of motivational writing (hey! How come these things do exactly what they’re supposed to do? Am I missing something? Some simple formula that work, just works, because you have internalized it correctly. Just get there, do the thing and move ahead. If the cosmos conspires to help you do something right, why should you fight it? Accept it with both hands and step off into a better day. I promise tomorrow is full of challenges again. It’s up to you to ace today and be present tomorrow for the whole drama. Anyway, the thing that moved me now is: https://medium.com/@benjaminhardy/how-to-accomplish-more-in-30-days-than-most-do-in-365-and-get-back-on-track-2eecb5726dba recommended to me by my father. If this is life's chain of events in progress, I'm grateful for that piece of Dharma and karma. Take it, on!

I’ve often said that love is a conscious decision you make; to be “in love” and to learn to love someone are processes. It is true you can never love some people or places, while some others are far more amenable to kickstarting warm feelings within you. But contrary to what glossy romantic films or books might try to condition you into thinking, love is not something that “just happens”. You’re not a passive observer, swept off your feet. The head over heels thing may happen for a minute, for a day, but you would ultimately snap out of the chimera and come to your senses. You then evaluate and make choices. You might play a game with yourself – check if you feel the same funny, fuzzy way after a while, in several moods, in different seasons. See if you are tempted to change your mind. See if you are trying to convince yourself to stick to your resolve. It does not essentially mean that the lane you picked is bad or that it is bound to be fraught with difficulties. It may hint – o...

It’s been the wont of this poor parenting generation and everyone else around, from experts to those poor lay-parents (that’s poor twice! Well guess what, I’m a parent too, let me wallow some more, while I’ve got you) alike to call children special. Ever since you were born, you’ve been told you were special in every sense. Oh so adorable, cute, brilliant, and whatnot? If your parents have tempered this “special” with a “to me” caveat, you’re in the minority. And some way across the board, as you pick your way through life, you begin to aspire to be special, or to continue to be special. Once the *unconditional love* concept has been grasped, you, me, and everyone else around who has been born human would do well to recall that special is something has to be earned. You work and work at it, and work some more. It’s not a status quo. You do not qualify and then keep the title for life. It is rather tacky to expect that. Without having had much time for your inflated ego to go ...

When do you know you’re ready for something? Applying for a job or walking down the aisle or deciding to have a baby….. It’s all about how ready you perceive you are. You look at the pros and cons. You might decide that one or the other point is no longer relevant to you. You feel strongly on some points, and think the others are not worth considering at all. Would you say you’re kidding yourself when you say some factor doesn’t figure at all? Who decides whether something matters or doesn’t matter? The person who’s making the decision. What sticks and what doesn’t is decided by you. The truth is, the perfection that dangles in your mind’s eye is a myth. It doesn’t exist anywhere except in your imagination. Does that mean you dismiss your imagination altogether? No! You keep the vision that stirred you up in the first place, because it keeps you going. And then, you look for the best-fit that you can muster with what’s available. Put something together and do what it takes to mak...

Alas I’ve reached this point of publishing a post full of advice. Having been at the receiving of advice galore, well-meant and other kinds as well, I kind of vowed to myself never to be a bore. I have in times present and past, been the receiver of confidences, and still consider myself a good friend. I offer advice when solicited, particularly if I feel I have some authority on the subject, or some experience in the said domain of affliction. Having become a mommy, as in the case of many other Indian women, I feel that I have transcended a great, life-altering experience. Advice and life-plans have been flung at me, regardless of my disinterest and discomfiture. I didn’t love every moment of my being a mommy. I’ve had plunging lows, and I cannot say I am above them, by any means. Then, wonder of wonders, wherefrom have I started to spout advice? I tell my just-married friends not to have kids too soon. There is bitterness in that. And then I tell them what they are going to do...

Of late, as I've become an addict of the lifestyle, self-improvement and human-interest oriented articles on Huffington Post, I've started to wonder what makes them so true to life, so suitable to my current situation and state of mind. Weren't blog posts supposed to be undirected musings, boring soliloquies, inscrutable liturgies on subjects that only generate apathy but never interest? Well, if I had thought that, I've apparently been reading the wrong kinds of blogs, and looking in the wrong places for interesting stuff to read. The truth is, human nature is interestingly divergent, yet strikingly similar. Scores of people have been in the same situations as I am in now, they've had similar experiences, chuckled at the same social gaffes, shaken their heads over the same misgivings, regretted similar blunders and bypassed the same obligations. For it is inherent to human nature to second-guess, share fears, look for justification, and gang up where possible...

As a writing and reading addict, I subscribe to the newsfeed of several news websites, and enjoy being fed trivia, facts, conjecture and opinions from around the world. While all these sites win over the other in being awkward at some point or other with regard to language quality, presentation and sensitivity, they are indisputably neck to neck in vying with each other on who gets the headline in first. To make such a comment, one hardly need follow the newsfeed for a week or two. The stories reported are the same, the content presented is hardly variant, but the spot is open for the news channel which brings in the story first, and it is pretty much anybody's game right up to the point the browser refreshes itself and brings in a whole new bunch of posts. As a result, browsers are on the tick-tock more than ever before, and the parade is sometimes so much livelier than the noteworthy NYSE trading ticker tape. Hey, this keeps the others on the toes, and I am sure it contribu...