NOT 7 BUT 1010 TIMES!...The motivational story behind the success of that "finger lickin' good" chicken that we all know!!

Retrospectively from whatever exposure I have in managing corporate business, I would say now that Dreaming is the first step in the path of success. Dream is not something that you see while asleep. Dream is something that doesn't let you sleep, if I borrow a quote of late Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam. Second step towards success is Ambition. Ambition is the strong will to achieve your dream. If it is closely followed by the gist of the inspiring story of King Robert the Bruce and the spider which we all know-Never give up, keep on trying-one's third step is ready to step on. But how many times one should try?

The spider in the cave taught King Robert the Bruce and us to try seven times or more. Beaten on battle after battle six times, King could drive back his enemy on the seventh attempt taking a cue from the spider. But to be successful in modern business scenario this number need not be correct. However from my experience such a magic number doesn't exist while it  depends on the logical intuition from what one gets through the unsuccessful trials.

I want to share the story of a person who kept on trying without success in business 1009 times. But the 1010th time it clicked. Eventually his product became a household name in US and Canada, later Europe and now the whole developing and developed world. He himself became the brand ambassador of the product while his iconic photo became equally popular .Even a child would recognize his photo...

I have in mind the inspiring story of Colonel Sanders and his Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

Farmhand to 'colonel'.......
Sanders was all along a small time salesman of tires and insurance ,fireman, blacksmith etc. since he was a drop out from the school in the seventh grade. His  financially poor family background forced him to go for a series of petty jobs. He tried unsuccessfully many petty business ventures as well. But he was a natural cook. His passion was cooking and loved it.

He acquired a petrol station cum service station with a small restaurant in Kentucky in 1930.As his food became popular he got rid of the petrol bunk and went for a full restaurant. Ten years after, around 1940 that he figured out how to pressure fry a chicken seasoned with selective herbs. His restaurant became more and more popular but his idea to sell his chicken recipe  based on a franchise model to sell to other restaurants did not click but kept on trying for years...Here I find Sanders a different person. Normally anyone would have  have been contend with the success of the restaurant or would have advertised more on the new recipe of the chicken he serves in the restaurant. But thinking of making a franchise out of his chicken fry, that too way back in 1930s shows special acumen he had in the field!

He was conferred with the title of Colonel by Governor of Kentucky in 1935 in appreciation of the quality of the food he offered in the restaurant. Honorable Order of Kentucky colonels is a long standing charity organization and nothing to do with the army. Buts that's when Sanders started dressing in white suit and black Kentucky bow tie which eventually got associated with KFC. May be here one can make a cue on his special way of dressing up. He wanted to stand out in the crowd and noticed, ultimately to his own baby-chicken recipe.

His changed modus operandi...
His pursuit to find a buyer of his franchisee chicken recipe KFC continued for 12 years without a tangible result. In 1952 he could make a deal with a restaurateur  friend. That was in his 1010th attempt! His royalty was 5 cents a bird sold. Sanders could make few more similar deals locally but that was when he had to face some more unexpected hardships. 

                              Inside the old restaurant of Sanders at Corbin, Kentucky                  

A new interstate highway bypassed his restaurant. He had to sell off his location at a loss in 1956.A business which he expected to stabilize and grow had to be abandoned. His monthly social security amount of $115 per month was his main income....

Having no base with an office or a kitchen in his case he changed the style of operation- selling/marketing of his franchise- to be more practical. Again I find a different person in Sanders in this matter. Than waiting for more resources which he knew is not a possibility he decided to try with what he had. He used to travel with his wife in his car, packed with few pressure cookers, flour and spice blends !He would offer to cook his chicken in any restaurant and made a deal of franchise if the owner of the restaurant liked the taste and his terms. It clicked. KFC started in operation in many places of US and Canada without long. Business prospered. America started loving his chicken with 600 franchised outlets!

Sanders sell his company....
In 1963 Sanders was approached by a lawyer of a venture capitalist named Jack c Massey who wanted to purchase the franchisee rights. Sanders who reluctantly started the negotiations finally agreed.

He sold his company for $2 millon. Under the contract the new company KFC will establish its own restaurants around the world and would not compromise the chicken recipe, one thing Sanders was not ready to compromise. Sanders would be paid $40000 as salary ,which was later increased to $75000 along with a seat in the board. He was also given majority of ownership of KFC'S Canadian franchisees. Sanders in turn had to work as brand ambassador for the new company, which is definitely not a win win situation.

Sanders was 75 then while some observe later that he didn't bargain the deal well. But for Sanders his own chicken recipe counted more than the money. He wanted his chicken recipe popular all over the world than anything else. If one goes through history of many famous painters , writers, movie makers the same thing had  happened. Others than the creators  made multi millions out of those creations. KFC chicken was an artistic creation for Sanders!!

KFC goes multinational...
KFC went public in 1966 and listed in NYSE in 1969.3500 franchised restaurants were in operation world wide when Heublein Inc acquired KFC corporation in 1971.The deal was through for $285 million! Sanders had a bad time with the new owner, it is recorded. Heubelin Inc was acquired by Reynolds in 1982.In 1986 PepsiCo. Inc took over  KFC which they purchased for for $840 million, the reason why one was offered only Pepsi and related drinks there. Again in 2002 till this time Yum! Brands is the owners of KFC along with other popular brands like Pizza Hut and Taco Bill and has a  turn over which runs into multi billions.

Sanders died at the age of 90.   

Next time when you pop into one among 20000 KFC outlets in 125 countries, for that "finger lickin' good" chicken, just think nothing good is created easily.



Photos:Courtesy KFC

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ALPHA, BETA,GAMMA OF DEMOKRATIA..........AN ATHENIAN MUSING

Athens is not like London, Paris or Rome. It is unique in many ways to this day comparing to other European capitals or even other Mediterranean cities. At least that was the impression I got when we- Geetha and I- had a chance to visit the place. May be because it is the oldest living city in Europe and for that matter one of such places anywhere in the world.

Athens can boast of its many contributions which have made the ancient and modern world a better place to live. I think nobody can challenge that fact. We all know that it is the birthplace of recorded history, theater, philosophy and many aspects of Mathematics and Science. Nobody can forget the fact how Olympics originated and revamped in 1896, with its first and majestic Panathenaic stadium in marble which is kept at Athens to this day. But what I would give the best of all the contributions of Athens made to the rest of the world above all, is democracy! Demokratia in Greek from where the word democracy originated means peoples rule!

Athens has given birth to at least three great philosophers ever lived- Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Here I think I have to note that Athens also gave a very infamous person-Draco. If one cant recognize this name of the person all of a sudden, I wont blame anyone because it is not him but what he made became so infamous. 'Draconian' laws anywhere to this day is blamed after old Athenian lawmaker  Draco who lived 2600 years back! Few musings from Constitution Square, Athens...

                          Greek Parliament clicked through a glass door from the hotel room

The Grand Bretagne....
There is a central square in the city of Athens which is interestingly named as Constitution Square. This is also where the Greek Parliament is located. We had the chance to check into a pretty old but good hotel The Grand Bretagne, almost diagonally opposite to the Parliament building. If it was in other countries including India, we would not have got such a place to live so near to a Parliament building because of security reasons. Anyway we could enjoy the sight of the Parliament building in day and night  including the famous change of guards which happens every hour of the day and night. In the night the building looked more serene which forced me to take a click. The above photo was clicked in the middle of the night from our room through the glass door leading to the balcony, overlooking the Parliament! No doubt Athens is a very friendly location for tourists. From the roof top terrace coffee shop of the same hotel one can enjoy stunning view of Acropolis.

Back to democracy of ancient Athens...
I shall go back to 'democracy'. Many basic political terms commencing with the word politics itself originated from Greek language.Monarchy,Aristocracy,Oligarchy,tyranny and of course democracy...all have roots in Greek.

Draco was the first recorded legislator of Athens who lived in 7th century BC.He was requested by the aristocrat citizen of Athens-mostly rich and the privileged- to chalk out a written code of laws to be enforced replacing the prevailing oral laws. Draco did his job but was characterized by its harshness. He gave death penalty for most of the offences whether trivial and serious crimes. His name became synonymous with brutal,harsh,severe laws which lingers to this day as 'draconian' laws!  

Thanks to Solon and few others, in 5th century BC,in and around Athens, the first known democracy came to existence. It is definitely a wonder how the people of Athens thought of this great idea and implementing into a democratic form of Government when rest of the world was under mostly autocracy or in wilderness. It had few short comings such as women and slaves were not permitted in the voting. Instead only Athenians who owned landed property had the right to vote. But the great thought of democracy centuries back is what I admire about Athens... 

Democracy now in the world....and in India
It is said that if a nation conducts free and fair elections, it can be classified as a democratic nation. Of course different political parties with varied interests should be able to take part in the elections. While India is considered to be the largest democracy in the world with its teeming population of 1.3 billion, it is yet to top the list in quality- as per chart of democratic index. According to the same index Scandinavian countries like Norway, Iceland and Sweden are the most democratic ones as stands on date. They are reaching perfection in this matter with scores of 9.87,9.58 and 9.39.

India has a score of 7.23 against US 7.98,France 7.80,Greece 7.29 and Pakistan 4.26.It is understandable considering the large population of India consisting of different classes of people. But it is to the advantage of India that democracy has taken deep roots in the system while economically the country is getting richer year by year. India is one of the richest nations in the world while a lot of poor remain in the country. But I firmly believe that only  when this richness of the country  goes to people and reflect in their standards of living, only then the true democracy triumphs.It may take few more decades but sure to happen.

courtesy second photo-Hotel Bretagne

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GUARANTEED TO BLEED !

Jeans was designed for the greasers-working class youth initially. There after it became sort of symbol of disobedience, largely used by youth in general. But since professional jeans were patented in 1871 by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in US, jeans became one of the most popular and fashionable  dresses world wide, if not the most popular. It is a  unisex dress used by all classes and ages, as we all  know. I still love it at my age. One type of jeans is  fading jeans- guaranteed to fade or already faded! But I am sure hardly anyone knows that there are cotton- non denim- shirts which are guaranteed to fade! It is named 'Bleeding Madras'!!

Bleeding Madras, as the name indicates, come from India. Bleeding Madras was once the fashion craze in US-especially in the 1950s and 1960s in California and New York. They were marketed with a guarantee to bleed and fade! Like Jeans, Bleeding Madras was used initially by the poor working class of the Madras(Chennai) region of India. But the west took it to a different level in fashion- a status symbol of the wealthy!!

Textile history of India is as rich, vibrant and different as its own  history. Modern world is unaware of India's contributions of past though Indian textiles is one of the most preferred world over now. Most popular international brands like Wrangler, Marks and Spencer, Adidas, Puma, Timberland....the list will be very long.... all use Indian textiles.....

   

 

Calico to Dungaree Jeans...

Calico originated in Calicut(presently known as Kozhikode),South India as early as in 11th century. It was a thick cotton cloth woven by local spinners. But it was British traders who arrived in India in early 1600 s who identified the fabric as a commodity to be traded. The East India Company promptly took it to Europe named it as Calico.

Dongri is in Greater Mumbai now. Once it was a dock side village. People over there- largely improvised-used to make a special type of cotton cloth for them in the 17th century. It was cheap, coarse,thick which was known as 'dungri'.The English rulers of India then were interested and exported the same to England for making working clothes for the workers. During 1st world war the same clothing was used even for British Navy to withstand the wear and tear of the environments they were working while the name 'Dungri' clothing changed to 'Dungaree' to suit English phonetics. The British were clever to re export it to other parts of Europe and US. Soon it was a hit everywhere. Dongri villagers and Indians never knew the popularity of their own making! Even now, I bet. The Americans including Levi Strauss started using Dungaree for Jeans along with Denim from Genoa, Italy!

I am always amazed and amused by the different ways the British took advantage- exploited could be a better word- India while they were in control! Yet they managed to the appreciable level that they shook hands with Indians as friends before they left the country!!Even today the relationship is warm. I don't know whether the credit for this should go to the clever British or exceptionally tolerant Indian!!

Bell bottom days.....

I had my first bleeding Madras shirt in 1969, when I was doing my Engineering. I knew that it was then a fashion craze among the youth of city bred Indians like me but nothing more. Those were pre TV days. India was not opened up. Forget about international brands, any ready made garments were hardly found or used in the country regardless national brands of Raymond and Zodiac were there. Bell bottomed pants and big dog collared shirts were in the fashion for men but all stitched or custom made to size! To be honest I never knew at that time that Bleeding Madras- more popularly known as just Madras- was a fashion rage among the youth of US. Instead I was under the impression that it was an impact from some Bollywood stars. 

Calico to Dungaree Jeans...

Calico originated in Calicut(presently known as Kozhikode),South India as early as in 11th century. It was a thick cotton cloth woven by local spinners. But it was British traders who arrived in India in early 1600 s who identified the fabric as a commodity to be traded. The East India Company promptly took it to Europe named it as Calico.

Dongri is in Greater Mumbai now. Once it was a dock side village. People over there- largely improvised-used to make a special type of cotton cloth for them in the 17th century. It was cheap, coarse,thick which was known as 'dungri'.The English rulers of India then were interested and exported the same to England for making working clothes for the workers. During 1st world war the same clothing was used even for British Navy to withstand the wear and tear of the environments they were working while the name 'Dungri' clothing changed to 'Dungaree' to suit English phonetics. The British were clever to re export it to other parts of Europe and US. Soon it was a hit everywhere. Dongri villagers and Indians never knew the popularity of their own making! Even now, I bet. The Americans including Levi Strauss started using Dungaree for Jeans along with Denim from Genoa, Italy!

I am always amazed and amused by the different ways the British took advantage- exploited could be a better word- India while they were in control! Yet they managed to the appreciable level that they shook hands with Indians as friends before they left the country!!Even today the relationship is warm. I don't know whether the credit for this should go to the clever British or exceptionally tolerant Indian!!

Bell bottom days.....

I had my first bleeding Madras shirt in 1969, when I was doing my Engineering. I knew that it was then a fashion craze among the youth of city bred Indians like me but nothing more. Those were pre TV days. India was not opened up. Forget about international brands, any ready made garments were hardly found or used in the country regardless national brands of Raymond and Zodiac were there. Bell bottomed pants and big dog collared shirts were in the fashion for men but all stitched or custom made to size! To be honest I never knew at that time that Bleeding Madras- more popularly known as just Madras- was a fashion rage among the youth of US. Instead I was under the impression that it was an impact from some Bollywood stars. 

Calico to Dungaree Jeans...

Calico originated in Calicut(presently known as Kozhikode),South India as early as in 11th century. It was a thick cotton cloth woven by local spinners. But it was British traders who arrived in India in early 1600 s who identified the fabric as a commodity to be traded. The East India Company promptly took it to Europe named it as Calico.

Dongri is in Greater Mumbai now. Once it was a dock side village. People over there- largely improvised-used to make a special type of cotton cloth for them in the 17th century. It was cheap, coarse,thick which was known as 'dungri'.The English rulers of India then were interested and exported the same to England for making working clothes for the workers. During 1st world war the same clothing was used even for British Navy to withstand the wear and tear of the environments they were working while the name 'Dungri' clothing changed to 'Dungaree' to suit English phonetics. The British were clever to re export it to other parts of Europe and US. Soon it was a hit everywhere. Dongri villagers and Indians never knew the popularity of their own making! Even now, I bet. The Americans including Levi Strauss started using Dungaree for Jeans along with Denim from Genoa, Italy!

I am always amazed and amused by the different ways the British took advantage- exploited could be a better word- India while they were in control! Yet they managed to the appreciable level that they shook hands with Indians as friends before they left the country!!Even today the relationship is warm. I don't know whether the credit for this should go to the clever British or exceptionally tolerant Indian!!

Bell bottom days.....

I had my first bleeding Madras shirt in 1969, when I was doing my Engineering. I knew that it was then a fashion craze among the youth of city bred Indians like me but nothing more. Those were pre TV days. India was not opened up. Forget about international brands, any ready made garments were hardly found or used in the country regardless national brands of Raymond and Zodiac were there. Bell bottomed pants and big dog collared shirts were in the fashion for men but all stitched or custom made t

o size! To be honest I never knew at that time that Bleeding Madras- more popularly known as just Madras- was a fashion rage among the youth of US. Instead I was under the impression that it was an impact from some Bollywood stars. !

 Bleeding Madras.......    

 Fabric of Madras in cotton was originally designed and made for the peasant class of Madras region in South India from 12th century. Multi colored dyes that were not colorfast were used, may be to avoid getting soiled fast. It resulted in bleeding and fading of colors that gave the fabric a new look each time. The color bled into the water during each wash and hence it is called Bleeding Madras. The exclusive color pattern of the fabric was so influenced by the tartan pattern of the Scottish Regiment stationed in that region in 1800s it is commented at times. However it became a hit in California and New York by 1960s, first and thereafter the rest of places          

It is told that American novelist SE Hinton portrayed Bleeding Madras as the dress of the rich in her famous novel 'The Outsiders'. The novel was later filmed in the same name which was a Hollywood hit. Anyway not only as the shirts but blouses, beach shorts, skirts and aprons came out in the new cotton patterns all over America including in Hollywood. Bleeding Madras originally intended for the poor working class in India caught on even the footwear of the men and women of US alike!!!

Though used by a lot of international brands, Indian textiles is yet to take central position of the world with own brands as in case of many other Indian products. Allen Solly, Louis Phillippe, Peter England, Raymond and Zodiac are all purely Indian brands. The deceptive names to sound western so selected shows the lack of confidence of Indian manufacturers to market their products even in 
India to this day. If Indians can manufacture and export to west one of the best single malt whiskies in an Indian name 'Amrut" , this seems to be much lesser task!!

Photos: Courtesy Google Images.

                                                        
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THEY LOVE BASEBALL IN CUBA THAN FOOTBALL!

Recently, citizens of Cuba got a new President-Miguel Diaz Conel. Cuba is neither a rich country nor powerful, politically or militarily. Yet the world press gave a good coverage to this news. Miguel is the new face to steer the country after Castro brothers-Fidel and Raul who have been ruling Cuba since 1959. Fidel Castro headed the country till 2011 when he stepped down due to poor health. He died in 2016.

Cuba under Fidel Castro has been 'apple of my eye' for few nations while many others thought just the opposite. Fidel remained a hero for some- my own state Kerala included- but at the same time a villain or even tyrant for others !Strategically positioned very close, almost in the lap of US, Fidel Castro led an armed revolution which toppled the Govt of Batista in Cuba in 1959 which was against the interests of US. The event and the policies of the new Govt thereafter had many repercussions both in the national and international fronts about which we all know.

But what many of us may not know is that over Cuban affairs the whole world stood still for 13 days fearing break out of a nuke war. Worse, the Presidents of US and Russia(erstwhile USSR) kept their fingers on nuke buttons since there was no hot line then. Americans call it as 'Cuban missile crisis', Cubans calls it 'October crisis 1962' while former Soviet Union named it as 'Caribbean Crisis'...the word crisis was common among them....Read more to know about the pivotal and catchy role played by a football court in Cuba in the context, many of us are not aware of....

The event as I remember...
1962.I was in my early high school classes when the event took place. I don't remember anything other than that a third world war was in the offing.And the fight was between US and USSR(popularly known to us as America and Russia) over nuclear missiles placed in Cuba. I do also remember having read a lot about Kennedy, much less about Khrushchev and hardly anything about Castro in the newspapers! Those days India was more depending on news supplied by Reuters or Pravda than anywhere else. I had to read at least headlines and sub headlines of two newspapers delivered home everyday compulsorily. That was the rule at home. One was in English and the other in Malayalam. When I look back I think I have to thank my appa and amma (father and mother) for that.....

More or less at the same time, India was facing a major problem on her borders-Chinese aggression. This could be also a reason why I have been covering the newspapers those days.

The event as actually happened.......commencing with failed Bay of Pigs invasion
Birth of a communist regime headed by Fidel Castro in 1959 in Cuba, a tiny country within arms reach of US-about only 90 miles- was intolerable for them. To make matters worse the communists had toppled a  Govt which was very friendly towards US, if not a puppet one.

Under the direction, training and funding of US, a group of Cuban exiles in US made an abortive effort to overthrow the communist regime. For obvious reasons the misadventure was organized from Guatemala and Nicaragua through Bay of Pigs closer to Cuba. That was in April 1961.Castro himself personally lead the counter attack and finally won. But he knew that every time he cannot be the winner against the mighty US. That's when he looked out for a permanent solution from his advisers and supporters, the Soviets. 


Why the Soviets decided to place nuclear missiles in Cuba
The Soviets were very uncomfortable since US installed nuclear missiles in Turkey in 1959, a bordering country. In few minutes some of the cities in USSR could be decimated, that was the situation. When Cuba asked the Soviets for help for the very existence, Khrushchev thought it is a chance to kill both birds with one shot- to counter installation of nuclear missiles in Turkey and to deter further adventures of US on Cuba. And they also wanted to show the world those days that they care for ' newly born communist babies' under any circumstances.

USSR and Cuba jointly decided to have the nuclear missiles planted in Cuba but wanted to do such an installation discreetly. The Soviets launched a secret operation named 'Anadyr' for the purpose. And the first phase was successfully over but then...

They love baseball in Cuba than soccer....
As we all know the whole of South American countries love Football or soccer as Americans call it. But with an exception of Cuba.'Beisbol' as baseball is known in Cuba is the most popular and official sport of Cuba to this day.

On 14 October 1962, a US spy plane on its routine reconnaissance over Cuba noticed construction of a modern soccer(football) field. It gave a ring in somebody's brain because not only that soccer is not popular in Cuba but very popular among Russians. Going after such a clue before long the US could identify some of the missile sites already progressed by the Russians in Cuba.

On 22 October 1962,President Kennedy addressed the nation and rest of the world about the presence of the missiles in Cuba. He also conveyed his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba, demanded withdrawal of the missiles already installed  and announced deployment of US military force to stop further,  if need be.

24 October 1962....That was the day world expected a spark!
A naval quarantine set by the US unilaterally came to force on this day. Soviet warships bound for Cuba neared the line of US vessels enforcing the blockade. This was the day the whole world expected a military confrontation between US and USSR which could have instantly escalated to a nuclear world war. But the Soviet ships stopped few miles short of the firing range of US ships in the  blockade!!The world heaved a sigh of relief!!

The tense stand off between the super powers continued for few more days. Finally USSR agreed to remove the missiles installed in Cuba against the assurance of US that it will not invade Cuba.US also had to agree to the removal of missiles installed by them in Turkey against USSR. But US wanted this to be kept as a secret between the two nations. For reasons best known to Khrushchev, USSR agreed for that too. World press made Kennedy a hero out of this episode. Khrushchev who could come out equally with a win win situation had to face criticism from communist countries since the removal of US missiles kept in Turkey had to be kept as a secret as per negotiated terms with US!!Cleverness in negotiations always win!!

Courtesy:map-google.

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AS SUN SETS AT RADCLIFFE LINE......

Ceremonial Change of guards take place at many places around the world. Almost all of them I understand are colorful military drills, enjoyable to all, while I have seen myself some of them. Similarly Beating Retreat is a ceremony that calls patrolling units back to their bases. At different but few locations we have beating retreats at the borders of different countries but the most exciting, eventful, colorful one in the present world is undoubtedly at Wagah border between India and Pakistan.

As the sun sets each day, the soldiers of both countries march, trying to outdo the other side in style and perfection. The respective steel gates are opened at the same speed, at the same time- in a haste I would say. The two flags are lowered simultaneously , then folded and the ceremony ends with a quick unfriendly handshake between the soldiers. What makes this ceremony stand out is peoples participation on the Indian side. Singing and dancing of performing Indian youth- men and women alike- to the tunes of old patriotic songs, with occasional loud chanting of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai'(victory for Mother India) and 'Vande Matharam'(Mother, I bow to thee), while the whole spectators in thousands from all over India including oldies like me, join them waving the tri color flags is a rare emotional  experience I have gone through in such contexts. One of its kind among all beating retreats or change of guards anywhere in the world, I would say.

Come what may - peak of summer, icy winter or torrential rains-the event rather a ritual is taking place at the dot of time every day without much interruptions ever since 1959!No wonder international tourists also witness and enjoy this event in large numbers.

Grand Trunk Road to 'Zoaq'....
It took some time and skill even for Jaspal Singh, seasoned Punjabi driver of our exclusive Tempo Traveler to come out of unruly and commutive traffic of Amritsar town, like any other typical town of India for that matter, to join the Grand Trunk(GT) Road. Jaspal had been driving us -four elderly couples who are close friends, around the hilly terrain for the earlier week from Chandigarh-Shimla-Kullu-Manali-Amritsar with stop overs as required. Though we reached Amritsar previous night, my mind was not fully awake from the hang over of the beautiful snow clad mountains of Manali.

However the name Grand Trunk Road brought me an avalanche of thoughts silently. The GT road is not only one of the longest and oldest roads-over 2000 years old,2500 kilometers long in India but remains a life line all these years. And it passes through Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan as well. Right from the days of Chandra Gupta Maurya, Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Mughals, Shershah Suri.....GT Road remained mute witness to making of this country. It is 28 kilometers to the border from Amritsar on the Indian side while it is 24 kilometers from the border to Lahore on the Pakistan side. In fact Wagah is in Pakistan now where as the closest Indian village to the border is Attari.

I dont know why but 'Zoaq' came to my mind when I read the board which named Lahore. Zoaq is a Pakistani restaurant in Doha owned by a friend of mine Ahmed. About 8 years back it was opened with handpicked chefs brought  from Lahore,I remember him telling me. The venture was an instant hit. It remains very popular  to date because of the quality of its food-various authentic Lahori dishes.

Soon we reached the border- known as Radcliffe line in the world history.

India and Pakistan celebrated independence in 1947 without knowing their own boundaries!
I am sure that most of us may not know much about how literally the partitioning process was completed by Britain between India and Pakistan in 1947.Sir Cyril Radcliffe was appointed as Chairman of Border Commissions - one for Punjab and the other Bengal. Though there are 4 members in the commissions, two each representing Indian National Congress and Muslim League, the decision making power remained with Radcliffe. Interestingly Radcliffe who was a lawyer did not know India at all or never visited the country even once prior to the appointment. In hindsight I think the British authorities wanted such a person for the job!

He came to India on 8 July 1947.More or less within a month he completed his job!!Simple as that!!But his decisions were kept as secret for a week  until published. Officially Pakistan was born on 14 August 1947 while India on the next day- 15 August 1947.But both countries celebrated independence without knowing their own boundaries!!Hardly few know that on the very same day Radcliffe left India for good after handing over the award to last Viceroy!

On 16 August at 5.00 PM Indian and Pakistani authorities were given advance copies of the final details of the border while it was officially published on the very next day with no room for changes. Riots and killings on both sides had started earlier to that, before Radcliffe left India. Finally, above a million people were killed while another 12 million people were uprooted from their homes!!No one knows exact figures. History books say that Radcliffe never collected his fee of Rs. 40000 which was offered on his appointment. It seems he was appalled by the killings that he left in a hurry. He knew what would follow if his own boundary line is implemented!!

After 70 years since both countries got independence, when one look back I am of the opinion that it was a blessing in disguise for India. Two undisputed factors lead for this thought. One India has become a fully matured democratic country. Second India would not have achieved the way it has progressed economically and otherwise for the last 20 years or so, if it was one country. People can differ with me, I know.

Spectacular show...
As we are about to reach the border for the ceremony, all the vehicles were stopped for security reasons except those who are having VIP entry passes issued by Border Security Force(BSF).All others have to walk almost a kilometer. Thanks to Manohar, a colleague of mine who took the efforts to get those passes for us , we could reach the venue or view the ceremony without any difficulty. For others too it is stream lined well, I have noticed but one has to walk a bit and probably has to come early as well to get a seat. But it is amazing that everything is being done absolutely free by BSF.

We sat in the well laid out amphitheater made of concrete meant  for the viewers on the Indian side. The heat was generous since the setting sun was directly falling on our faces. Nevertheless our spirits were lifted as a crowd of ladies- young and old- came to the center stage and started singing and dancing to the tunes of patriotic songs. Moments one may feel emotionally. Being abroad I was missing this all these years!

This was followed by parades of well built BSF soldiers who are in khaki uniforms, starched and pressed, with colorful orange fanned hats. All the time they were making heavy foot stomping or goose steps which will keep one on the edge of the chair. Definitely they must have been well trained. As some part of the ceremony synchronized in time and actions with Pakistani side I think  it can never happen so unless both countries cooperated.

As Indigo Airlines took off from Amritsar airport the next day noon to take us back home, my mind was full of Golden temple, the show at the border and 'alu parantha'( a bread dish stuffed with mixture of mashed potato and spices) offered by Ramada for breakfast.

Courtesy: Photos Google Images.

Musings from Doha: WORLD OF FLOPS....THE RACE IS ON !

Musings from Doha: WORLD OF FLOPS....THE RACE IS ON !: It is 3 weeks back that Japan officially notified her intention of recruitment of 200,000 IT professionals from India.Japan also to issue...

WORLD OF FLOPS....THE RACE IS ON !

It is 3 weeks back that Japan officially notified her intention of recruitment of 200,000 IT professionals from India.Japan also to issue green cards to them to help them settle down in that country!The live first hand feed back readily available on performance of Indian professionals deployed in almost all the developed countries in the world including Japan must have given right  impetus in reaching such a decision.Politically also India is having an excellent relation of all time high with Japan currently.  After all Indian labor-highly skillful and comparatively cheap- is good value for money for the developed and most countries of the world.

I am exposed to doing business with the Jap businessmen while in Qatar.They generally come to conclusions after very extensive negotiations and considerations unlike European or American counterparts.Definitely it is a win win situation for both the countries,I presume.

The current status that India being one of the lead countries in the world in Information Technology/computer software and related technology is not obtained by luck or accident.Thanks to selective few among the political visionaries,large number of dedicated, brainy professionals  and some of the great educational institutions of the country, India is catching up fast with the top notch in the scientific world. Here I am sharing what comes to my mind now -  how India developed the first indigenous super computer in 1991 against many odds and challenges........hardly known facts  even among young Indian professionals and others.....

A change I was longing for.....
My first job abroad was in 1977.I was 27 then. It did not last long, only 2 years before I rejoined my Govt service in India. But when I made the second sojourn, this time to Qatar in 1984, it got stuck ever since. From a career that of an engineer in civil projects, it went to other fields and levels in which I never thought I could thrive! No doubt  what the international business exposure I could gain through out my career abroad gave me is tremendous. Many years esp while in the west, nobody was aware about India more than its poverty, population explosion or rarely on Nehru or Indira Gandhi. Most of them thought Indira is daughter of Gandhi!!But it changed dramatically towards the end of the last century from my own first hand experience.

I was in Frankfurt,Germany in late 90s to visit ACHEMA. It is an international trade fair, one of the best of its kind in the world, if not the best, in chemical and Process Industries. I was on hunt of some good pump manufacturer to be represented in Qatar commercially. On my first day on my way in a taxi to reach the venue, the German cab driver asked me in broken English whether I am an Indian. But such an inquiry is just routine anywhere. His second question was a sort of an unexpected one. Instead about 'poverty in India he asked me "Are you a computer engineer?" I was glad that  Germany had already identified India with  computers .....That was in 1999.

Why India was denied a super computer?
Credit of introducing the first super computer in the world goes to Seymour Cray, an American electrical engineer. That was in 1962 and the computer was named Cray CDC 66000. Obviously the invention took the scientific world by storm. By 1985 India wanted to import a super computer from Cray Research International, a firm floated by Cray himself, mainly to boost weather forecasts more scientific that existed then in the country.

The firm was willing but the US Govt was not. More than political reasons US administration thought that India will use the super computer in the design of missiles and nuclear weapons than weather  forecasts. The Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi who made a visit to US  had to return empty handed! Russia(USSR then) too was arm twisted by US admin not to sell such a computer to India. To best of my knowledge IBM too wanted to enter India but was stopped by the US Govt. Since the super computer was built only by those two countries India did not have no other immediate option!

Have seen only picture of a Cray....but Yes, we can.......
When all efforts failed to get one imported super computer, instead of more begging India wisely thought of exploring possibilities to make one herself. In 1988 India set up Centre for Development of Advanced Computing C-DAC with Vijay Pandurang Bhatkar as its head. When the Prime Minister met him for the first time, there took place an interesting recorded conversation which I shall reproduce in verbatim. Quote
"Can we do it?" asked Rajiv Gandhi.
"I have not even seen a super computer but only a picture of the Cray. But yes, we can do it" answered Bhatkar.
"How long it will take"?
"Less than it will take us in trying to import Cray for us". Unquote. He also promised that related costs including building such a facility will cost less than a Cray!
Govt of India went ahead with the program with a very tight budget it could afford those days.

India rolls out its first super computer but....  China outsmarts all!

Within 3 years, by mid 1991 first Indian indigenous PARAM 8000 was rolled out. Most of the scientific world were even doubtful about the claim. That's when India decided to take PARAM prototype to a major international conference and exhibition of super computers. In fact it was the second fastest of its kind in the world then, with a much lower price tag. The US company Cray had to slash the prices to be competitive!!One US newspaper gave a title for the event aptly -Denied super computer angry India does it!

India has to go a lot forward and fast in this field where China's TIANHE-2 is the fastest with a speed of 33.86 peta FLOP.FLOP stands for Floating Point operations per second, the measure of the speed of computer performance. Their version  3 is expected to be launched in 2020.China was no where in the world of supercomputers till 2000 where  as US venders like Hewlett Packard, IBM, Cray, Dell..  still keep 90% share  among the top 500 systems to date. This is excluding people like Google, Facebook, Apple, Yahoo who may have very advanced super computers which they may not reveal.....      

Photos: Courtesy Google Images.      

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