Why the farmer will never get rich

(My first editorial piece for The Economic Times Jan 11, 2007)

Imagine there's no countries. Unwittingly, John Lennon captured the essence of globalisation in this song. It's an engine to integrate markets so a farmer in a remote district of Maharashtra is almost as well off as his counterpart in US. However, the key word is imagine. Why? You'll know soon. Let's ask the farmer whether he understands globalisation or if he has heard of Joseph Stiglitz or Jagdish Bhagwati. No? But, isn't he the one the noted economists are fighting for?

Hardliner Stiglitz takes a softer path — converts his discontents (as evident from his book Globalisation and its Discontents) to a solution in Making Globalisation Work. The solution is easy to implement, but only theoretically. It's actually like the song. To start with, we need to imagine all the countries are at par — there's no first, second or third world. They discuss agreements on agriculture. Let's restrict globalisation to trade and not stretch it to terrorism. As they say, with attacks in foreign countries having no direct relation with the attackers' own country, terrorism has also globalised.

At a WTO meet, unlike the Uruguay round in Marrakesh, they agree to share their markets for agricultural good. They make trade laws, clauses, discuss the little boxes of subsidies and the intellectual property rights. Unfortunately, the green, amber and blue little boxes aren't all the same (as in the song). Because in the real world, they are used by the first world as an instrument to manipulate the quantum of subsidies.

Anyway, for our farmer, the market will no more be his village, it may now be somewhere in Europe. They pay him in euros and give the best deal available globally. Wow! That means our villages will eventually not remain poor. Therefore, being an agro-based country, India can become rich — the so-called first world. Hold on, do I smell a circular logic? Of course, our assumption was there's only one world, that is, we are already rich (or poor) — as rich (or poor) as the US.

But, what if we don't imagine? We realise the world isn't integrated and the first world nations are dictating terms to the third world. Globalisation is used to penetrate the untapped markets of the developing nations. The terms are tailor-made to suit the needs of the haves at the cost of the have-nots. So our farmer remains poor, exploited now by some European agent. India can walk out, deny, but perhaps, can never dictate terms to the developed world. What the hell, it's just a song. We may be the third world, but we can imagine.

You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2007-01-11/news/27679479_1_globalisation-farmer-countries

Luxury consumers decoded

It is not easy to classify the Great Indian luxury consumers. Though several attempts have been made over the years, somewhere we Indian have been able to confuse these classifiers. A classic example was when I saw a gentleman driving a Mercedes E- Class towards the CNG counter of the petrol pump. Although we need to show off or flaunt our status with luxury we can’t help save every penny that we possibly can. Another classic example was when I saw a friend strapping a limited edition Omega with a Titan because “the Omega strap is very expensive”. This gentleman is a high-flying executive with an MNC.

In a recent CII-IMRB study on the changing face of luxury in India they have classified the luxury consumers in an interesting manner into experientialist, connoisseur, flaunter and aesthete.

However, you must remember that no matter how much you try to classify us Indians, we are a heady mix of all the above and much more than any study could possibly gauge.  

First, the experientialists: 

This consumer typically values new and exciting experiences more than buying products or brands. They spend on the experiences. In their structured lives they seek a getaway and so their spends primarily include five-star hotel stays, fine dining or adventurous/thrilling experiences. Luxury to them brings up images of being suspended in time and space, not having the press of daily life and work responsibilities thrusting into their minds as they enjoy the time away.

An exquisite piece of art or a handcrafted timepiece may also give a similar experience when you are just in a space where you are appreciating the beauty of it. It is a time warp, every time you look at it, you become so mesmerised by the beauty that you forget your meetings and deadlines. The experience is the luxury, the experience is the dazzle or luxe (Read: The Quest for Luxury).
Personalisation of experiences takes luxury to a new level. Personalisation of menus at fine diners is no longer reserved for the elite. Even sometimes the name of the customer is printed on the menu. So yes, this is value for the buck for an experientialist.

For these consumers, going forward the trend will be to stay in specialty boutique hotels or resorts, luxury spas or private apartments and villas when on a holiday.

Now let’s meet the connoisseurs: 
This segment is passionate in certain areas of interest and makes it a point to be well informed and knowledgeable about it. These categories could be art, scotch, wine, watches, writing instruments, cigars, horses, and the likes. These connoisseurs get together and appreciate the finer aspects of their passion. They form clubs and get together for a quiet appreciate of luxury of the creation. It may be a horology society or a wine club or a scotch club or a cigar group. 

This segment just revels in enjoying what they appreciate the most.  Like in Kolkata there is The Calcutta Malt and Spirits Club and in the capital there is Delhi Single Malt Club where members come together, discuss, study, debate and share their appreciation and experience in high spirits (no pun intended). Similarly, there are elitist clubs of connoisseurs for appreciation of Cuban cigars and timepieces across the country.

They will spend their time and money in pursuit of the collection of personal passion points. They make the pursuit of their area of passion a mission and pursue it with zest. When it comes to limited editions, or handcrafted editions or spirit of the bygone era, these connoisseurs will not bat an eyelid for spending a fortune.

They are unlikely to place value on brands unless it stands for exquisite exclusivity. They tend to prize themselves on the knowledge of esoteric brands that are not widely known.

Luxury to them is purely a matter of the level of craftsmanship, the number of man hours spent, and thus the quality of the products or services that they buy. Niche, but specialised brands across categories will make their mark with these consumers. Their willingness to pay is high. Curated services that brings such products to them will be a great getaway to tap into their need for excellence.

The next segment, I believe is the life force that drives luxury in India. Meet the flaunters: 
A socialite friend who used to swear by a clutch that she used to take to every party had secretly told me that she isn’t that fond of it but only carries it for the LV monogram tag. That's the power of a brand of this genre.

Welcome to the world of flaunters. They tend to value brand name over all other factors. Purchase of a brand is a signal of their status in their society and so visibility of the brand name is important. It is also important for the brand to be aspirational, otherwise, what's the big deal? Badge seekers at the stage where the brand name itself is the biggest status indicator is seen mostly with the newly rich or new money class, especially among their young members. There is a strong desire to prove to the society that they have entered the elitist luxury brand-wagon.

In a survey more such consumers were seen in cities like Ludhiana, where they justify the ownership of brands by stating that they are now in a status or position which makes it de rigueur. The most interesting thing about this class is that brands are on a continuum. They can show off Zara as a daily wear to Prada on special occasions with élan.

As flaunters move up the societal ladder, the badge value is conferred not only by the brand but also by the level of difficulty in obtaining the product or service. Dinner reservation at hard-to-get restaurants, Birkin or Kelly bags for which the wait list is over four years, monogrammed and hot stamped Louis Vuitton bags with their initials, accessories made from exotic leather like of crocodile or snake – the ability to acquire these with relative ease is a reflection of their status.

Well known but exclusive services and products are the way forward for tapping this segment of consumers.

And last but not the least, I present to you the aesthetes:
To this genre, the brand is much less important than the design. Aesthetes are luxury consumers purely because they have arrived at a state of income due to which they can indulge in their love for design among luxury brands or products.     

They will shell out a bomb because the object of desire is hand stitched and not because of the label. They pride themselves for having an eye that picks out the unique and bold in design.

The difference between them and the connoisseur is that the latter has certain passions which they follow with zeal and the quality and craftsmanship are very important. However, for the former category, it is the aesthetic appeal, the look, the intricacies of the design that appeal to their senses. They are also likely to pursue this aesthetic across categories unlike a connoisseur.

It is the creativity and the uniqueness of an item that denotes the value to the aesthetes, and they are willing to shell out if that object catches the eye. It is not about the intrinsic value or brand value, it is about just aesthetics. To tap them, luxury brands need to showcase more distinctive and unique designs.

The most intriguing part is that the experientialist consumer may well be an aesthete when it comes to apparel and accessories, while a connoisseur in art may be a flaunter when it comes to automobiles or his home. Indian luxury consumers are still evolving and many of them are not at a stage where their lives are only dominated by luxury brands.

Built in rationality and conservatism still dominates our minds so one toe may be dipped in luxury, the other may be in a pool of “value for money”.

Yes, it happens only in India.

Let your quest for luxury continue.  

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/blog/The-Great-Indian-luxury-consumer-decoded/68

Luxury Retailing Calculus

Over two decades ago, when my grandfather passed away, I had my first tryst with luxury. I inherited his closest possession, an Omega manual-wind mechanical wristwatch. I was in standard II and knew not the world of difference between the Omega and the Mickey Mouse Casio quartz I had worn till then.

To my horror the next day, the Omega died. I panicked, thinking I must have spoiled it. Father was not worried one bit. He laughed and told me to wind it, and showed me how. Presto, the Omega sprang back to life.

The lesson learnt was that there were certain watches that needed daily coaxing, a piece of wisdom that had bypassed me, being part of the quartz generation. Till then I had known that all one needed to keep a watch going was a battery change once in a while.

That day I consigned the Mickey Mouse quartz to the shoebox in my cupboard that held my worldly possessions. Winding the Omega was a daily chore that called for a certain discipline. I reveled in it.

I imagined myself to be an ideal customer for luxury retailers because I extended the daily coaxing that I offered to my grandfather’s watch to all my priced possessions. Unfortunately, my friend, a luxury retailer with an international brand broke the news that they appreciate my treatment toward these goods but I am not even close to being an ideal customer. For us, she said, an ideal customer is one who will tell us “I have 30 lakhs to spend, you suggest me a luxury timepiece brand which is not common with a difficult name and very glamorous, everyone should be jealous at the wedding.” I asked her why so, “See in that case I am able to sell the brand that gives me the biggest margin. Simple. That’s an ideal customer for us.”

Unfortunately, life is not that easy always for luxury retailers. So I decided to probe a little deeper. I spoke to Sanjay Kapoor, MD of Genesis Luxury and he said the only big challenge so far to rapid expansion of luxury retail in India is the availability of the right real estate spaces to house international luxury brands. Apart from the few malls in the major metros such as DLF Emporio in New Delhi, The Palladium in Mumbai and The UB City in Bangalore and the recent opening of Quest in Kolkata, there have not been any other developments.

“We need many more such retail options in other cities too as there is a far wider target audience residing in smaller towns and cities which have the propensity to buy luxury goods. The reason China is 15 years ahead of us in terms of expansion of luxury stores is purely because they have developed their infrastructure that supports this expansion,” Sanjay added.

Besides real estate, there is another issue and it is deeper one: the perception of luxury. What people expect from luxury in India is very different from abroad. In the West, a bespoke suit is luxury, however, it isn’t here and customers ask, “So, what else are you offering?”

“In India luxury retailing is very service-oriented, in the West it is product-oriented,” said a country head of an international watch brand.

However, customers are also ready to forgo service if they are offered a discount instead. “India is still a price-sensitive market,” he added.

Unlike Delhi or Mumbai, Kolkata is a slightly different market as the consumer is more conservative in spending and is more price-conscious. Yet they are well traveled and shop for brands overseas. “Brands need to focus on changing this mindset of shopping overseas by communicating to the audiences that luxury is no longer more expensive in India and is in fact lesser priced than in Hong Kong and Singapore,” Sanjay said.

He added that another aspect which is important to keep in mind and what makes Kolkata an opportunity for luxury brands is that is it also a feeder market to the North Eastern states where the consumer is extremely brand conscious and spends on the latest brands, being very well informed on international fashion trends. They would reach out to this specific target audience too.

For a better understanding of customer behaviour, let try to trace the story of luxury in India from the early 20^th century. Branded luxury is not new to India. There was a time in the 1920s, when 20% of Rolls Royce’s global sales were from India. In 1926, the Maharaja of Patiala gave Cartier its largest commission till date – the remodeling of his crown jewels, which included the 234.69carat De Beers diamond. The result was the Patiala necklace weighing 962.25 carats with 2930 diamonds. In 1928, the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir placed 30 orders in six months for trunks from luggage maker Louis Vuitton. Not to mention that a certain Nizam had procured 50 Harley Davidsons for his postmen to deliver his messages.

 

However, according to a report by Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) the scenario turned 180 degrees post Independence and “anything remotely opulent was frowned upon as India flirted with socialism”. However, in the past decade there was a shift when the new Maharajas – industrialists, entrepreneurs, professionals,  and the rural rich – started blatantly adoring all things luxurious. In the report Vispi Patel of LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey) said something very interesting, “The new, young, upper middle class who will spend rather than save will be new-generation, first time customers for luxury products. They will fuel growth.”

In a recent news report Gildo Zegna, the company’s chief executive and the grandson of its founder, said, “Asia has an incredible thirst for fashion and quality; the region is very important for Zegna.” But the trick to succeeding, Mr. Zegna said, is to know your local customers — and adapt to them.

So adaptation is the mantra. Every luxury retailer worth their salt is up for local adaptation to make their slice in the luxury pie bigger. It gives so much comfort to walk into a Llardo boutique and see Rama Sita, Ganesha or Lakshmi created so beautifully with porcelain.

It is not a bed of roses: the mindsets, the expectations and the infrastructural bottlenecks are very unique to India and new for global luxury players. They don’t have a reference country, the model of which they can replicate in India. But they are ready to brave every challenge because it is hard to resist the temptation of Indian luxury market pie. And they best way to deal with temptation is to yield. India’s traditional luxury market is valued at about $6 billion and is growing at 15-20% a year. Of this, personal luxury goods segment is valued at $1.5 billion.

Let the quest for luxury continue. 

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/blog/The-mechanics-of-luxury-retailing/20

The Mechanics of Luxury Retailing

Razzle Dazzle

 What is luxury? It might seem like a very obvious question, even bordering on the daft-side. But, just take a moment and think. What does luxury mean to you? Expensive? Exorbitant? Luxury comes from the word “luxe”, which means “dazzle”. So, technically, anything that dazzles is luxury. The premium that a luxury product demands is because it is able to dazzle you. Whether you call that dazzle “brand equity” or “razzle dazzle” is completely your call.

Luxury retailing has gone beyond trunck shows and the exclusive nooks of five-star hotels, the new host being hybrid malls, which has a mix of luxury and non-luxury stores with customised services. Small wonder, Kolkata’s first luxury mall Quest, has an anchor store of Spencers. Developed by the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, the mall is going to be the home of who's who of luxury brands: Breitling, Burberry, Canali, Emporio Armani, Estee Lauder, Furla , Gucci, L'Occitane , Michael Kors, Omega, Paul Smith and Rolex. Although the absence of Louis Vuitton, a brand Kolkatans love to flaunt, is felt strongly, especially when it does not have any presence here.

Unlike New Delhi’s DLF Emporio, which has exclusivity with luxury brands on its premises, Quest is more like the hybrid category, more like Palladium in Mumbai. Therefore, customers who shop at Lifestyle may also walk in and pick up a Burberry trenchcoat or a handbag, all under one roof, and then, who knows, may also pick up wine and cheese from Spencers. 

RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group chairman Sanjiv Goenka said in a news report on what made him take this “bold” step: “The desire to have an international, top-quality facility in Calcutta, my birthplace. And a determination within me that Calcutta is second to none.”

The city has big spenders, hands down. And they are not subtle. They are mostly used to luxury shopping abroad or at least in Delhi or Mumbai. It has become kind of a habit for them. Whether the city is ready for a full-blown dedicated luxury shopping experience is only for time to tell.

Who drives luxury retail in India?

The luxury market in India, which stands at $5.74 billion as per the latest estimate in a AT Kearney-CII report, is primarily driven by small & medium business owners and traders with revenues above Rs 50 crore. This newly rich class constitutes over 50 per cent of the buyers of luxury. Their wealth is their passport to the elite segment of society. And indulging in luxury buying is their way of flashing their entry into the upper crust. Despite all this, the business-owner segment is still under-leveraged. Unsurprisingly, their children are the bigger spenders, having been educated abroad and hence familiar with brands and the luxury way of living.

Newly acquired wealth or not, the spending pattern is not that new. Traditional choices still dominate this segment of buyers, who primarily spend on real estate and jewellery. Although the real estate segment saw negligible growth in 2010 over the previous year, jewellery buying grew 30 per cent during this period, taking the market size to $950 million.

“The owners of medium-sized enterprises, with a personal wealth between Rs 1 crore and 5 crore, are typically traditional in luxury buying, be it real estate or jewellery. They will not go for the brand, but go for value for money. In real estate, it means the biggest house in the most posh locality. In jewellery, it is unlikely to be a Cartier or a Piaget or a Harry Winston, but the biggest rock or the heaviest necklace, and yes, 22 carats,” Neelesh Hundekari, principal and head, luxury retail practice, India for AT Kearney had told me. In jewellery, buys above Rs 10 lakh are considered luxury spending, he added.

Luxury companies are trying to ‘catch them young’. Given the fast growing and upwardly mobile nature of the youth segment in India today, this seems to be a logical move. While the youth segment does not constitute a significant percentage of luxury consumption yet, by hooking these consumers in at an early stage, luxury players are looking to reap benefits in the long run.

However, the rupee millionaires with incomes of Rs 10-30 lakh do not really spend on luxury. Though there are plenty of young entrepreneurs and cash rich MBAs, but young professionals who are aware of brands go for mostly sub-Rs 1 lakh buys. So, although this segment is growing fast, it is yet to take on the business- owner class in terms of growth in buying.

According to AT Kearney research, the luxury market is likely to grow at over 20 per cent yearly to $8.22 billion in 2012 and $14.72 billion in 2015, and given the consistency of 20 per cent growth in this market, it seems a realistic target.

Some of the critical factors for success in this market include exploring formats that enable players to attract footfalls, getting the pricing right to encourage Indians to purchase locally and bringing in iconic brands, as Indians still buy luxury products for their brand value.

In the end, it’s all about making a statement!

http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/blog/A-Quest-for-luxury/1

Colour Blind-My Review

This is a play aims to capture Rabindranath Tagore as a human being, not as a Nobel laureate, not as a larger –than-life super human, someone who has his passions, his emotions, his tears and his eternal fondness for his friend–death.  

Manav Kaul's Colour Blind throws light on the elements of childhood, death, infinity and Tagore's relationship with Victoria Ocampo (played by Kalki Koechlin). Kaul had earlier said in an interview: “I’ve seen so much of Tagore on stage. I wanted to do something where I understand Tagore as a friend, in a very human way.”

There are some very interesting dialogues, but the one which I think captures Tagore best, was when Tagore (Satyajeet) tells Death (Swanand Kirkire): “Ek kavi ki mrityu aadmi kaise ho sakta hai? (How could the death of a poet be a man?” And so, obliging his wish, in the last scene of the play Death actually comes as a beautiful seductress.

It is indeed a very bold effort by the playwright to showcase in an explicitly way the sexual nature of the relationship of Tagore and Ocampo. The director has given direct reference to the muse’s elaborately sighted treatise on her private “encounters” with Tagore. The treatise is also a proof of how desperately then 63-year-old Tagore longed and desired for Ocampo.   

The story is also about his youth when he was forever searching for a song, and his childhood (termed as his “servocracy” period), when he was alone and had nobody to play with.

Colour Blind isn’t a biography, it is a poetic, impulsive and intends to discover the ordinariness behind the extraordinariness, the emptiness, vulnerability and pain of human being who becomes the legendary “Gurudev” to the world.

Satyajeet and Kalki held their own with their seamless transformations into Tagore and Ocampo and then the two characters in modern times discussing Tagore, the mortal who is hopelessly in love.

The play is in four languages: English, Hindi, Bengali and French and the narrative moves from one language to another without much effort.

An added attraction was Rabindrasangeet in Swanand’s voice, in his own distinctive style.  

All in all, a very honest and bold effort by Kaul in capturing the mortal in flesh and blood hidden deep inside the legendary “Gurudev”. 

A piligrim's progress

A Pilgrim's Progress

Twenty years ago when my grandfather died I inherited his closest possession, an Omega manual-wind mechanical wristwatch. I was in standard III and knew not the world of difference between the Omega and the Mickey Mouse Casio quartz I had worn till then.

To my horror the next day, the Omega died. I panicked, thinking I must have spoiled it. Father was not worried one bit. He laughed and told me to wind it, and showed me how. Presto, the Omega sprang back to life.

The lesson learnt was that there were certain watches that needed daily coaxing, a piece of wisdom that had bypassed me, being part of the quartz generation. Till then I had known that all one needed to keep a watch going was a battery change once in a while.

That day I consigned the Mickey Mouse quartz to the shoebox in my cupboard that held my worldly possessions. Winding the Omega was a daily chore that called for a certain discipline. I revelled in it. One can say I was reborn as a mechanical watch aficionado that day.

I realised that once you go mechanical, you can’t go quartz anymore. And that’s exactly the point that the owner of a luxury retail watch chain made when I met him in Delhi the other day. If he says that, it must be true, for, mind you, his chain sells quartz collections from Omega and Longines.

Once not very long ago quartz kept time for almost anyone in India. But the trend has been shifting to self-winding, mechanical automatic watches since 2006.

According to Sandeep Kapoor of Delhi’s Kapoor Watch Company, mechanical automatics now have 80 per cent of India’s luxury Swiss watch market for men. Women have been rather slow to take to these watches. “So, in women’s watches quartz still dominates with a 70 per cent share,” he says.

Not surprise this: The Swiss, the master watchmakers, are in the forefront of the Indian market for these watches. They have been aggressive marketers, spreading awareness and raising the mechanical automatic almost to cult level. Hand-crafted and -assembled, specialty movements are their forte. Plus the longer life of mechanical automatics, as Kapoor sees it, makes them the ideal wrist candy.

Categorised almost entirely as vanity possessions, they don’t come cheap. Three things make them so — the brand value, and the metal of the casing and the gems on them. The really stratospheric price tags are reserved for those in gold (white, yellow or rose) or platinum and studded with diamonds and/ or other precious stones likes rubies.

The third invisible factor that determines price is movements inside. Greater the complication of the movements, the more manhours go into making the watches. And Swiss manhours can be frightfully expensive.

Another feature that most customers are unaware of is that no two handcrafted watches are alike, each crafted separately and painstakingly by craftsmen who have kept the over 400-year-old tradition alive. Every wheel is balanced with precision, every gem is placed with perfection (to minimise friction). Without that precision, a watch can lose time.

Ever since the Omega came into my possession, the world of watches has fascinated me. I have wondered at the mechanisms, movements, dials, casings, everything. There’s even a mechanism, which is actually called retrograde. Why such a name? It’s been years since I embarked on an amazing timeless journey that had no doubt made me poorer but richer as a collector and explorer of the world of fine watchmaking.

Nicolas Baretzki, international director of Jaeger-leCoultre, finally led me ti an answer. “It is the human mind that is attracted to complications or complicated mechanisms, it challenges the brain, just like a puzzle. The amazing thing is that these complex procedures that strive to make a mechanical watch — which by definition has to have imperfection — precise,” he said.

One of my favourite stories about man’s attachment to his watch is told by Satyajit Ray. In that story a character named Thomas Godwin requests his favorite Perigal repeater be buried with him on his death.

Repeater is a kind of movement. “It was invented because in king’s court it was not considered courteous to look at your pocket watch,” Renaud Pretet, brand director of Jaeger-LeCoultre, told me. In a repeater if you press the crown, the watch gives out a soft sound that tells you the minute position. Swiss watchmakers have kept the repeater alive. Patek Phillipe, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Jaquet Droz still make them.

Watch mechanisms can be very complex. Tourbillon undoubtedly is the most complex of them all. It is an add-on in the mechanics of a watch escapement. Developed in 1795 by the French-Swiss watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet on an earlier idea of the English chronometer maker John Arnold, a tourbillon counters the effects of gravity (yes, that also affects time-keeping) by mounting the escapement and balance wheel in a rotating cage. This nullifies the effects of gravity when the timepiece (and thus the escapement) is rotated.

“Breguet made it because pocket watches were held in upright position in the pocket and not in the horizontal position where the balances should ideally be and so the watches lost time due to gravity,” a boutique manager at Johnson Watch Company explained.

Breguet, Jaeger-leCoultre, Harry Winston and Cartier produce Master and Grandmaster tourbillions. Cartier managing director Louis Ferla said, “A modification in the movement of a tourbillon takes up to five years to develop at Cartier.” The Rotonde de Cartier single push-piece tourbillion sapphire skeleton is still the most sought after piece from the company.

In 2004 Jaeger-leCoultre created the gyrotourbillon, more suitable for wristwatches, which see more movements than pocket watches. It is a two-axis, three- dimensional movement that compensates for the effect of gravity.

Mahatma Gandhi used a Zenith pocket watch. But he had no pockets as he was always in a loincloth. So the watch was slung from the waist tuck-in. He didn’t know this but his watch would have surely lost time, as gravity would tend to slow it down more than it would in a pocket.

The jewel used in a tourbillon is ruby. Ja­eger-leCoultre and Cartier use between 17 and 25 rubies in each tourbillon. Rubies give greater precision and accuracy. Their very sm­all size and weight, low and predictable fricti­on, good temperature withstanding ability, and the ability to operate without lubrication and in corrosive environments make them key to watchmaking. Mechanical watches also use diamond, sapphire and garnet. It takes years of experience to know exactly where to place a jewel — the cap, pivot, impulse, or the centre wheel. No wonder a tourbillon costs the moon – or somewhere near about. It can be anywhere between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 3 crore. But by no means it is the costliest watch money can buy. Not easy to identify one, as buying one is almo­st always a closed- door affair. They don’t carry price tags and prices are revealed only on request. But only to select customers. For viewing — much less buying one — an appointm­ent for special preview needs to be sought. Th­at’s the practice at every luxury watchmaker. Neither the model, nor the price — forget about the identity of the customer — is revealed.

Should you want to take a look at the Opus collection or a Histoirie de Tourbillon, you need to seek an appointment. Depending on who you are, it can be arranged at the Harry Winston boutique in Delhi, according to its manager. That’s only for a look-see; buying comes later. The manager refused to share with me the number of Opus or tourbillon sold, and only said, “It is encouraging”. Harry Winston’s tourbillon range starts at over Rs 80 lakh and goes up to Rs 3 crore.

Harry Winston may see tourbillion sales as encouraging, but not so Kapoor, who said the market was not growing in India. “Price is a deterrent.”

Sebastien Cretegny, international sales ma­nager of Frederique Constant, which recently launched the FC-9 980EGF4H9 tourbillon in India, recently told my colleague Abhinav Kaul, who has been researching the watch market, “Quite frankly, we have not sold any tourbillon in India so far.” Jaeger-LeCoultre makes 15 gyrotourbillons a year, of which two are sold in India. “People attracted by those kind of pieces in India are usually corporate professionals who have travelled the world and are in their mid 40s to mid-50s,” said Cretegny.

Retailers believe there are more customers among Indian professionals, but they prefer to buy the pieces abroad on travel. They get them cheaper there than in India, where customs duties are a deterrent for the super rich. Invariably, they bring them unnoticed by the customs here. Indian retails counter this by offering discounts negotiated behind closed doors.

True, not many Indian Thomas Godwins are there who would want to take their watches to their graves. But watch this space, tourbillions or not, the legion of true blue Swiss watch aficionados in India is growing.

As for me, the next stop in this pilgrimage is tourbillon and being a part of the 400-year-old tradition of precision.

iWonder

Ego is just a reflected centre, not the real centre, Osho says. When a child is born, he is simply aware of the mother and what she thinks about him. If she smiles and says, “You are so beautiful” and kisses him, the child feels good about himself and ego is born. It is not what you really are, it is what you perceive that other’s think you are.
The ego is never satisfied, it wants to be unique — even if you think you are humble, you want to be called the most humble individual, which may be an irony, but it is reality. And marketing gurus use your ego, tantalise it, challenge it and make you spend obscene amounts for something that you don’t even need. But let’s not criticise these people, they are just doing their job.
Now, people who think they are smart enough not to fall into this trap, think again. Would your iPod, iPhone or iPad be the same without the ‘i’? The possessiveness and ownership that the letter ‘i’ gives to your gadget can’t be duplicated, no fancy name in the galaxy can give the same gratification. The gadget is a part of yourself; the ‘i’ makes all the difference.
It would be criminal to say that the gadgets that Steve Jobs designed aren’t a class apart. They are brilliant and, of course, would have got a similar appreciation from users across the world. But would the fan following be this crazy without an ‘i’ — say your gadget was just named Phone4S or Pod or Pad2? Small wonder that Apple’s gadgets without an ‘i’ did not make a mark in the hearts of Jobs’ fans.
I have to differ with the bard and say a ‘rose’ may not smell or look differently if it is called something else, say an ‘apple’, but it surely not be as charismatic as it is now. I salute Jobs for his genius. He only could have thought of such a brilliant strategy. Just a simple letter ‘i’ made all the difference. Imagine.iwonder

Sex and the spirits

sex and the spirits

In the 1980s, ghost stories were limited to B-grade Bollywood movies such as Veerana and Purana Mandir or to the classics made by Ramsay Brothers. Their unique selling point was sex. They were soft desi porn, wrapped in a ghost’s body and spirit. And one scene was common to all of them — the ghost or ‘saitan’ only attacks the damsel when she is taking a shower.
Although, these movies were widely criticised, the audience loved them. But, over the years, because the cast never comprised A-graders, the craze for such Bollywood ghost movies faded away. Hollywood, at that time was dishing out Draculas and Exorcists, which had an audience that loved to scream in fear, but, they lacked the sex appeal that their counterparts in B-town had.
Cut to today, after so many years, Hollywood has learned the trick, and has even modified it. It has managed to make ghosts and the slayers sexy. Now, you watch television dramas like Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the looks, style and cool-quotient of the ghost or the demon and its slayer. On the silverscreen, sagas like Twilight or Evolution are more popular for the sex appeal of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, or for the designer leather jackets and tights of the lycans. But popularity, certainly, is not for the fear factor. A friend of mine, who was afraid of the dark and even shuddered at the thought of the title track of a popular television horror series Aahat, now watches Supernatural like IPL. The charm of the Winchester Brothers helped her win over her childhood fear of ghosts. B-town, on the other hand, has not been able to capitalise on its legacy. Good or ugly, some of us still recall a few of the titles of that era, but, most of us even shudder at the thought of remembering the ghost movies that were dished out by RGV like Agyaat or Ghost or Darling or Phoonk. We simply lost the opportunity. Times have changed, but, the taste of audience hasn’t — unless the ghost is sexy, it’s not worth getting scared.

The Dear Departed

Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone. There are people who come to this world just to make people smile. God sends them to make us realise how to live life and exude happiness even during the saddest of times. The first time I met poet Joydev Basu (aptly named after the creator of Gita Govinda) was at the Coffee House in Kolkata, when I was in Class IV. My mother introduced me to Joydevkaku or JB (as I used to fondly call him). We became friends almost instantly. Yes, both of us were movie buffs and bibliophiles. We loved everything about movies and books — cutting across every genre and every language.
As years passed by, he became my friend, my philosopher and, more importantly, my confidante. He was the big brother (15 years older) I never had. I shared with him most of my troubles and took his advice on almost every issue — from girlfriend problems to academics. He was always there, ever ready to vanish all my troubles with his smile. Over the years, he gained fame as a poet and his books were doing pretty well in Kolkata. He was also writing scripts for a few television series. Soon JB became busy with his work and I had to leave Kolkata for my job. Initially, we used to write to each other, not email, but letters, once in a few months and then that stopped as well. But he was in touch with my parents and loved a special bhetki preparation that was my mother’s specialty.
Two years ago, I came to know from my mother about his personal troubles and his subsequent health problems. But if you are there with him, you can never sense any of his sadness or the troubles that he was going through. His sense of humour and smile acted as a shield keeping his tears hidden deep inside. JB was a poet, professor, philosopher and also very popular (both for his poetry and his looks). But, most importantly, he was my only confidante and adviser. He made everyone laugh but never shared his sorrow with anyone. He wept alone.

Three Idiots

Ten years ago, three friends were travelling on a train, on their way back to Kolkata from Delhi. Let’s call them – i1, i2 and i3. They had been to the capital for an entrance exam. While i1 and i2 were sure that they had cracked it, i3 was visibly tensed. But there was a twist. While i1 and i2 were also sure that leaving Kolkata was not an option, i3 was ready to go anywhere. For i3, it was only his career that mattered and so he was a free man, only engaged to his career.
Can’t blame i1 and i2 if they can’t stop talking about their girls and how they are missing them, but for i3, being the odd man out, the discussion became unbearable after a point.
“Would you guys please stop. Here we are at such a crucial juncture of our careers and look what you guys are talking about? Are you guys insane?” i2 turned to i3 and said, “What’s wrong with you. We have a life. We have people who love us and are waiting for us back there in Kolkata. As far the DSE exam is concerned, we have cracked it. But none of us will be taking the final offer; we can’t afford to leave Kolkata for two years. So, what’s the point?” i3 replied, “Both of you are crazy, you guys are wasting such a career move just for two chicks. No one knows whether you’ll even end up getting married to them,” i3 said.
i2 suddenly said, “Let’s see who is better off after 10 years: You (i3)— with your loveless and ambitious life, or us, with our girls. And also see if we are still with them even after 10 years?” The three of them agreed to connect after 10 years with their individual status reports.
Cut to today, i3 suddenly, after a decade, sends a LinkedIn request to i1, he is a now a retail banker in a reputed bank in Africa, still single. i1 didn’t end up with his ‘girl’ but is happy with someone else and has a decent career. i2 died in an accident eight years ago.
Only idiots try to predict the future.

Luxury Decoded

So you think it’s the ultra-rich and the neo-moguls who splurge on the luxuries of life. Think again. The luxury market in India, which stood at $5.74 billion in 2010, is primarily driven by small & medium business owners and traders with revenues above Rs 50 crore. This newly rich class constitutes over 50 per cent of the buyers of luxury. Their wealth is their passport to the elite segment of society. And indulging in luxury buying is their way of flashing their entry into the upper crust. Despite all this, the business-owner segment is still under-leveraged. Unsurprisingly, their children are the bigger spenders, having been educated abroad and hence familiar with brands and the luxury way of living.

Newly acquired wealth or not, the spending pattern is not that new. Traditional choices still dominate this segment of buyers, who primarily spend on real estate and jewellery. Although the real estate segment saw negligible growth in 2010 over the previous year, jewellery buying grew 30 per cent during this period, taking the market size to $950 million in 2010.

“The owners of medium-sized enterprises, with a personal wealth between Rs 1 crore and 5 crore, are typically traditional in luxury buying, be it real estate or jewellery. They will not go for the brand, but go for value for money. In real estate, it means the biggest house in the most posh locality. In jewellery, it is unlikely to be a Cartier or a Piaget or a Harry Winston, but the biggest rock or the heaviest necklace, and yes, 22 carats,” Neelesh Hundekari, principal and head, luxury retail practice, India for AT Kearney told Financial Chronicle. In jewellery, buys above Rs 10 lakh are considered luxury spending, he added.

The $1.4 billion real estate segment, having traders, businessmen and industrialists as the dominant buyers, was estimated to grow at 12 per cent but saw negligible growth in 2010 over the previous year.

Another segment that witnessed negligible growth was the $2 million yacht-buying market, which was estimated to grow at 15 per cent with the buyers being primarily industrialists.

The category that has seen the strongest growth in 2010 over the previous year is fine dining, the key drivers being new brands entering the market and footprint expansion in this category of spending. Although this $378 million segment was expected to grow only 10 per cent, it grew by 40 per cent during 2010, according to the 2011 CII-AT Kearney report on luxury.

This is a segment dominated more by another category of buyers being increasingly focused upon by luxury brands: the Facebook generation. Theirs is a different story altogether, compared with the traders and business owners. They are aware of the luxury brands, even though they don’t always have the wherewithal to splurge on big-ticket luxury products. This segment, unlike in China, is not dominated by cash-rich investment bankers fresh out of B-schools who can always go for the big luxury buy. These rupee millionaires with incomes of Rs 10-30 lakh do not really spend on luxury, according to the 2010 CII-AT Kearney report. Though there are plenty of young entrepreneurs and cash rich MBAs, but young professionals who are aware of brands go for mostly sub-Rs 1 lakh buys. So, although this segment is growing fast, it is yet to take on the business- owner class in terms of growth in buying.

However, luxury companies are trying to ‘catch them young’. Given the fast growing and upwardly mobile nature of the youth segment in India today, this seems to be a logical move. While the youth segment does not constitute a significant percentage of luxury consumption yet, by hooking these consumers in at an early stage, luxury players are looking to reap benefits in the long run.

Besides fine dining, the other categories that have seen strong growth are — electronics (35 per cent), apparel and accessories (30 per cent), watches (29 per cent) and wines and spirits (25 per cent). The $216 million electronics segment, again driven by the Facebook generation, also surpassed its estimated growth of 22 per cent.

In the $267 million apparel and accessories segment, couture constitutes the top tier of the buying pyramid, according to AT Kearney research and analysis. However, entry-level accessories such as belts, wallets, scarves and eyewear show a high concentration of buys that constitute the bottom of the buying pyramid and essentially are the focus of ‘badge-conscious’ masstige consumers — the masses that are looking to enhance their prestige. Luxury goods companies develop products that reinforce the masstige to drive volumes.

The luxury market in India has witnessed encouraging trends such as emergence of new catchments, greater involvement of private equity players and policy decisions that encourage luxury brands abroad to enter the country. However, infrastructure bottlenecks and regulatory hurdles still put a question mark on the future of this sector.

The increasing influence and penetration of digital and social media has definitely been a bonus, making it possible for companies to connect to many of the once hard-to-reach Indian consumers. There is a visible change in the mindset of consumers as they are accepting and adopting global trends much faster than anticipated.

Recent investments by private equity funds have helped reinforce belief in the sustainability of this sector. For instance, Franklin Templeton invested Rs 60 crore in Kimaya Fashions in July. Kimaya is a Mumbai-based luxury fashion house focusing on ethnic women’s wear and is promoted by Pradeep Hirani and Neha Hirani.

The government’s decision to allow 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail is a big boost for foreign luxury brands. However, the government’s decision to put on hold 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail is a dampener. Similarly, there are other challenges that the luxury market in India faces, including infrastructure challenges and regulatory constraints which are not likely to be resolved easily in the near future.

Notwithstanding the challenges, the reach of this sector has gone beyond New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to include Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. North Mumbai and Gurgaon have also emerged as two distinct catchments, as the report says.

According to AT Kearney research, the luxury market is likely to grow at over 20 per cent yearly to $8.22 billion in 2012 and $14.72 billion in 2015, and given the consistency of 20 per cent growth in this market, it seems a realistic target.

Some of the critical factors for success in this market include exploring formats that enable players to attract footfalls, getting the pricing right to encourage Indians to purchase locally and bringing in iconic brands, as Indians still buy luxury products for their brand value. In the end, it’s all about making a statement!http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/nouveau-riche-driving-india%E2%80%99s-luxury-growth-715

We, the people

Being a journalist is tough. It’s fun, only when you are in a position to make life tough for others. Till that time, it’s a dog’s life, or may be horse’s. Actually, a little worse.
Let me elaborate. Every year, on Christmas, in Kolkata, the mounted police, a legacy of the British Raj, performs stunts to entertain the crowd, to prove their existence and to keep the glory days alive, even for a day. It is like a festival at the ‘maidan’ and the city folks make it a point to gather and watch these horses and their riders pull off stunts, which they have been practising for months, and later, they walk down to Park Street to watch Christmas decorations. Back in 1845, governor general Dalhousie had adopted the London Metropolitan Police model for Calcutta, which included the creation of a horse patrol. In 1916, the Calcutta Mounted Police was formed and absorbed with the regular Calcutta Police. Every day, the rider cops go out on patrol with their horses for two hours and return before dark. Technically, these horses work for two hours every day and an additional two hours every week for practising stunts. And they aren’t paid peanuts, like us journos, but are fed well with maidan grass and hay.
We, on the other hand, have an event lined up every day, and the fun part is we don’t get time to practise our ‘stunts’. We are expected to perfect them when we are not in office, especially when we are at home spending residual time with our family. Every day, we have to perform these stunts to entertain the crowd (read readers), to prove our existence (in the competitive market of selling news) and to keep the glory days alive (of journalism), even for a day. And yes, we have our riders as well. Adding salt to an injured soul, a senior journalist told me that we aren’t even intellectuals, it is just a fool’s paradise that we build for ourselves. And finally, while we work on the day after Christmas, the horses get a day off.

Dev Anand -- Forever Young

Main Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya

Har Fiqr Ko Dhuyein Mein Udata Chala Gaya 

Yes, Sahir Ludhianvi’s wo­rds best describe the life of the ‘forever young’ matinee idol, Dev Anand or Dev Saab, as he was popularly known. He never cared for the consequences, he just lived life in his own terms, following his passion for cinema till he took his last breath in London. “Because I am so much in the present I could do film after film for the past 62 years of my career,” he had once said in an interview. Small wonder the legend acted in over 100 movies, producing 31 films in a career spanning six decades. When he was not shooting there was a compartment in his heart where he was working on different stories.

Truly like a Bollywood story, before he became a star he once sustained off the road, selling his precious stamps for food. After his BA in English, he came to Mumbai to try his luck in the film industry. He had said those two years of struggle was as good as six years in college.

Although he debuted with Hum Ek Hain, his first big break came with Ziddi, which incidentally was Kishore Kumar’s first song for him. This pair has given timeless gems like — Gata Rahe Mera Dil, Phoolon Ke Rang Se, Kwab Ho Tum Ya, Yeh Dil Naa Hotaa Bechaaraa, Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, to name just a few.

Style

His chequered hat and jacket, his trousers that were always an inch shorter showing how his socks were coordinated with his kerchief and his pullover, which rested carelessly on his back with its sleeves tied in a knot, are just a few examples of his iconic style. The gait, the hairstyle, the turning of his head, which was different depending on whether he was to look at the heroine or the villain, the dialogue delivery, are the stuff Bollywood is essentially made of.

His similarity with Hollywood actor Gregory Peck was much talked about. It was also said that he used to “mindlessly copy” Pec­k’s style. There was also a story that when Peck broke an incisor during a shooting, Dev Anand rushed to the dentist and pulled out a tooth as well. But stories apart, you just can’t imagine Peck pulling off a Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechaara with a fishing rod and a plastic fish attached to the hook, running in front of a car while singing. No offence, Mr Peck.

Moviemaker

He made his directoral debut with Prem Pujari in 1970. He had said directing a movie was an intellectual affair, unlike acting it was not physical, and he would continue directing (and producing) movies till he died. But age did not stop him from acting either.

There were times of Guide, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Jewel Thief and then there were times of Censor, Love at Times Square, Mr Prime Minister and his last offering Chargesheet. The actor, producer and director had lived both these times with grace, ne­ver stopping, never looking back as he felt “when you look back you give yourself a big pause”. He was proud all his creations, including the string of flops post-90, as he felt they were great in their own way. He just did what he wanted to do — moviemaking — like a hero even till his last day, mu­ch to the agony of his critics. “Movie making is a great adventure, an adventure of the mind, soul and body. In a split second your mind crosses millions of miles, weaving together stories and characters from anywhere in the world. Your stories can be set anywhere at all,” he wrote in his autobiography Romancing With Life, An Autobiography.

Lover

He was the lover, and had he been a few decades younger, could ha­ve given the likes of Shah Rukh Khan and even Ranbir Kapoor a run for their money. Whether romancing Suraiya or Vyjayanthimala or Wa­heeda or Zeenat or ev­en the 20 somethings he laun­ched, he was a master of the art. But his onscreen lover image was not restricted to the silver screen. He was a true Prem Pujari as he himself admits in his book, “I wanted to commit suicide because of Sura­iya! Zeenat Aman broke my heart!” He was also not shy of admitting to his innumerable sexual and flirtatious escapades.Nor was he afraid of making public the “tempestuous” Raj Kapoor-Nargis love affair, Dilip Kumar swearing undying love for Madhubala or Guru Dutt's “doo­med love” for Waheeda Rehman.

Tailpiece

The harshness of the footpaths in Mumbai or the comfort of beautiful lady loves or the luxury of being a superstar or being the victim of continued harsh criticisms — he lived through every phase of his life like there was no tomorrow. “Fame, power and money are the three factors that make you great in the eyes of the world. The moment these desert you, you are like a particle of dust under one’s feet,” he wrote in his autobiography.

Dev Saab is, and not was, evergreen, forever young — hats off to you.




Mahul Brahma

9/11 the other side

When the twin towers were brought down I was in college. I got a call from my friend who, unlike students at Xavier’s (including me), was not a fan of capitalism and, therefore, also had issues with the US and what the country stood for.
He was happy and said that today the US had learnt its lesson. “Someone proved to the US it can be as vulnerable as any other nation. The Big Daddy needed this since ages, especially after Vietnam.” I disconnected the phone and switched on CNN and saw the second plane hitting the tower.
It was like a movie and the plot was ingenious. But suddenly it dawned on me that people are dying while I am appreciating the efficacy of the plan or, as my friend is busy criticising the bourgeoisie and waiting for the rise of proletariat. I immediately switched off the TV, couldn’t watch people dying.
After two minutes I again switched it on and saw the repeat telecast of the footage. My friend called again but this time I snubbed him and told him that these terrorists must also have some justification for their deed and he was sounding just like one of them trying to justify their action and slammed the phone. Then I saw another footage showing people in some West Asian nation celebrating the attack and they, just like my friend, were not terrorists, but were behaving like them.
I was deeply hurt — first, because of the people dying and second, at the mindset of people who can celebrate or be happy at such a heinous act. Ten years after 9/11, America has become a changed nation and my friend has become a changed man. They have both matured in the past decade. America today knows, whether it admits or not, another 9/11 can happen (god forbid) and that, perhaps, has made it stronger. And my friend, who now works in Manhattan with an MNC, told me he paid his respects at Ground Zero on 9/11 this time.

Anna at home

In a nation where hundreds of farmers commit suicide in Vidharbha for their inability to watch their family starve to death, how much power can fasting have? It seems a lot. It is ironic how powerful the tool of fasting is in a nation like ours where poverty still looms large. Anna Hazare has shown India that Mahatma Gandhi’s non-violent methods, in which fasting was an important tool, are still very effective. The interesting part is fasting and even the threat to fast have been very powerful tools in India since time immemorial and it was Gandhiji’s intelligence to identify and use this tried and tested weapon. Women, since ages, have been using their soft power to get things their way by ‘blackmailing’ their husbands that “if I don’t get this (read jewellery), I will not eat”. And husbands have traditionally given in. Even today, it is used as an effective tool; the demands may have changed — Jimmy Choo stilettos or a Hermes clutch — but, nonetheless still workable. So, when Anna is trying to make the government more accountable and using the same method, I know he is using a power tool which is most likely to work. However, I also sympathise with the government just the way I do with the millions of husbands who have been ‘threatened’ by their better half. A friend of mine had once tried to argue with his spouse about how she could use such a tool when so many people are dying of starvation every day? She started crying and as a result, not only did he have to promise her to buy what she wanted but also had to promise an additional Cartier ‘gift’ to stop her from weeping. Logical arguments just don’t work and I believe the government has already tried that and failed. So just like my friend, the government may also have to pay a hefty additional price if they don’t give in now. The compensation may just keep getting fatter and fatter and might even cost them their power.

Cabin pressure

This day, 367 days ago, I got a cabin for myself. In the parlance of the over 100-year-old organisation, it was called ‘room’ (a very Bong way of speaking). It was a moment of pride and joy for me as getting a ‘room’ was a sign of coming of age in your career. A move from cubicle to cabin is a huge leap, my seniors used to say, and having experienced it myself, I couldn’t agree more. Another reason why it was called a room was perhaps because it was made like one, with no glass panel, only a window and a door and concrete walls. The only difference — there was no bed.
I was quite excited as there was no supervision and neither was I to supervise anyone, I was alone in my ‘room’. I thought my cabin was huge until I saw the cabins of the senior management. The higher you go the bigger it gets, the best being that of the promoter, which was quite justified since he paid for my cabin as well.
All was going well until I started feeling deserted in my cabin with no faces around. My window, unfortunately, opened to a boring view. I started keeping my door open, so that I could see humanity. But my boss asked me to keep my door closed (demands of decorum).
The cabin pressure was mounting and — I hate to say this — I was missing my cubicle. The best part was that there were a few who were eyeing my cabin as they were deprived of it when I joined. I really felt like giving it back— I would have loved to, but couldn’t.
One year later, back from the corporate world to journalism, I am again a cubicle man. I am happy that I see so much action around me. The anger, the shouting, the frustration, the disappointment as well as the achievement of bringing out a good edition that make a newsroom come alive. Yes I missed it, it’s good to be back, but sometimes I do miss my room, too. The cabin pressure, in fact, is back. But now, it’s in a different form.

A slave’s life

A few days back, it was raining heavily in the capital and was time for office. Every time it pours, especially during the time for office I always tell myself with a sigh, “This is slavery. At a time I should have been enjoying the rains with a beer I have to go to office in the downpour and spend ten hours doing more or less the same thing that I did the previous day.” I wonder what made me a slave to my circumstances that even if I try to get a life I can’t. I am so tied up to my work that I can’t even allow myself to enjoy the nature for even a day, if that day is not my off day. Call of duty? Yes, partly, because being a journalist isn’t easy, it is a very demanding profession and the perk of the job is that you get to spend quality time with your colleagues who, like you, don’t have a social life, thanks to the profession. The only excitement in life boils down to the ‘lively’ environment of a newsroom. The average decibel level at the typical newsroom is way over 65 and the content of verbal exchange can only be ‘beep-ed’ out if it is ever aired on national television. But that’s the power and energy of live news streaming in -- it excites you and makes you an entirely different ‘animal’, as a senior journalist used to say. The closest that I can imagine is that of a Parliament in session. But there is something that grows on you, more of an addiction that every sacrifice seems okay. But well, it is time to leave for office, call of duty, remember? I got ready, carefully put the papers in my Louis Vuitton macassar sling and looked my Rolex Oyester Perpetual Datejust for time, admiring it for two seconds, and then the second reason for slavery dawned on me. Yeah, the credit card bill, I have to write an obscene cheque with my Mont Blanc writing instrument.