Sunday, 30 June 2013

India's Version of Game of Thrones


When George Martin wrote his epic 'A Song of Fire & Ice' little did he know that several miles away, a country named India bears such close resemblances with respect to its political scenario. Our so called political bigwigs are actually fighting this battle to be one up over each other and claim the ultimate crown - The Power at the centre. The series pretty much shows a similar power struggle among 7 families for the Throne of Westeros.

Let us consider Mayawati first. Lady driven by ambition to be the best and aided by the learnings of her guide Kanshiram. She had made Uttar Pradesh her own before the father-son Yadav duo took over. When we draw parallels the only name which comes to my mind is Daenerys Targaryen with the able Ser Jorah by her side. Daenerys is a sharp woman with a blend of beauty and fighting skills but our Daenerys is much more than that. Who needs beauty when you can get things done with power and a following so big. Daenerys slowly and steadily increased her forces with acquisition but for Mayawati it wasnt difficult at all. Everyone aceepted her as the queen upon the elephant if not the dragons. Move aside the heart of stallion, this queen has taken her oath balancing elephants in one hand and opposition in the other.

Then we comes to Gandhis. Cersei Lannister & Joffrey Baratheon are splitting but slightly late born Indianized part Italian versions of Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi. The way of birth and other complications aside, the parallelism in amount of pampering in both cases sends a set of train rails to shame. One is a Justin Bieber look alike while other is as effective to the country's economy as Justin Bieber to US. As for both the moms, it was a close call as to who will win the hypothetical 'Make Son as Puppet to Rule the World' award at Fiction meet Life Awards. Similarities dont end here. While Lannisters are firmly behind this Baratheon Congress acts as Lannisters for the Gandhis.

Another strong female character is Catelyn Stark who after husband Ned's death is on her own and leads his children to the pursuit of glory, the Throne. She reminds me so much of Jayalalitha. A lady all set to take it all and the Ned-esque persona in her life was M. G. Ramachandran. The only differnece is in the motto here. While the Starks were focussed on the winter, here its 'Adipose is coming'. Its also the Adipose of power. Its often said that behind a successful man, there is a successful woman but behind this woman success, her cabinet, few hundred party workers and half of Tamil Nadu can successfully be camouflaged. While Cat had few bannermen by her feet owing to her power, Jayalalitha had the Indian version of Cyclops - Karunanidhi - always getting trounced one way or the other.

Maharashtra is an important state in the Indian political scenario. What picture I get is that its full of different personalities together making an impact. What intrigues me more is that whatever different agendas they have , all come together when the regional territories are invaded by outsiders. Night's Watch anyone ? Afterall they guard the wall from Night Walkers. Needless to say Lord Commander Mormont has to be someone who has politics in his veins in this analogy here. Lord Sharad Pawar is pretty much at the helm of Maharashtra's Watch at the Central throne. The new boy and the future hero Jon Snow, who better than Raj Thackerey. Here as well about the politics at the centre, You know nothing Jon Snow !!

Narendra Modi, the man who is virtually assigned the job to transform India. Tyrion Lannister, the man who is virtually assigned the job to make everything better in the conquest of Westeros. Both men are right in their own way, show might at times while other times let their smartness do the talking. Both faced severe criticism and people actually try to bring them down. The only difference is that whereas one is half a man, the other just by his presence makes a man becomes half his self.

Lastly our esteemed prime ministed Manmohan Singh can only be King Robert Baratheon. He doesnt have a say when the series goes in full swing because he is slain. Our King doesnt have a say anyways. Just one similarity and I rest my case.


P.S: Yours truly is actually tempted to map several more characters but keeping in mind the viewers and encoruragement to their curiosity, I am taking a pause. So think all possible analogies and reply. Thanks !!

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Amazon dot IN or OUT


Amazon the etailing giant has setup shop in India hoping to make a quick buck or two in this off late tech savy country. Amazon Inc. launched an Indian edition hoping to capitalize on growth in online shopping in the country. Amazon.in, the website name is truly very symbolic as the name suggests the times ahead where Amazon will be so 'IN' the Indian markets that other book vendors and other online portals are going for a toss.


The website as of now sells books, movies and TV shows. The display will expand to include mobile phones and cameras in the coming weeks, some of which feature on the website already. However Amazon.in differs slightly from many of the company’s other websites in other regions. For the time being atleast it will only offer products from third-party sellers, rather than its own merchandise. Its like a first time swimmer testing waters before jumping in. Here, they are actually making the lifeguard test the waters for them offering their swimming trunks. Quite an analogy, this !!

But it was a well thought of process. Acquisition of Junglee.com and then getting a full fledged approval from FIPB to set up a wholly owned subsidiary to engage in “the business of online market place operator and retailer inter-alia courier services". Big words for a country who gets blinded by new and sudden bling. Amazon was welcomed with open arms. After setting up Junglee portal in 2012, Amazon now launches its own self a year after it. Its like the Sinha clan launching their top brand, Sonakshi to create visibility in Bollywood (not coz of her forehead but as an actress). And then sliding in quietly the Luvs and the Kushs to make some extra money for the family.

There was no doubt that Amazon had the potential to enter alien markets and get into their grooves quickly. Amazon offers certain world class services which some of the local 'karts' can just dream of. Customers get ready to read ‘fulfilled by Amazon’ on their orders in the near future. Customers will get the options of cash on delivery, delivery tracking to the doorstep, and free returns pickup. The best service on offer atleast for books would be the second hand books on sale with the condition of copy mentioned alongwith. The customers deserve to know whether they are buying a stylish in form Rohit Sharma or slightly defunct 'hair is a mess' Ishant Sharma !! Once this is on offer and some of their regular gimmicks, Bansals will surrender their offerings along with the 'kart'. Its actually a win-win if they sell the business to Amazon. Isnt it a trend nowadays ? Nurture a thought, let it bloom into a business and then 'Bech De' !! 

However, the creme de la creme of Amazon, its Kindle ebook reader is their main target as they look to rake in revenues from the sale of this gadget. The bibliophiles of India will have a new toy to look forward to. Paperbacks and Hardcovers of this world have been replaced by the pdfs and the epubs. Kindle will just put its own stamp of authority however the affordability will be a question in certain sections of society. The ones who will be the worst hit will be independent vendors and the book stalls who sell authorized first copies. The road side vendors will still go along their own merry ways. People will read one way or the other, if not the electronic way then the conventional way it will be. 

Whether Amazon makes hay in the bright Indian sun, only time will tell. The strong infrastructure and the changing Indian society works well towards Amazon's success. The online portal might be well received however sale of certain products might not be sky high as expected. And as I just conclude ... OMG the new Dan Brown book is 10 bucks more on Amazon than Flipkart but the delivery time is 3 days less .. this is a big catch-22 !!