A story of sweet coffee - A short story

She asked me for a coffee and that instant my heartbeat skipped a beat. Was she asking me for a coffee or was it more. Her fingers playfully went near her loose hair and then she tossed them behind her ear. Her ear was pierced with a green stone ring. I don't know how they do it, girls I mean... they Pierce their ears, wax their legs, it was seems so painful to me.

So Coffee it was. Hot steaming brew which smelled like heaven even for not a coffee lover like me. then suddenly as if pre-planned it rained. One umbrella, two people. Just me and her with the rain. Her shoulder next to mine. Her every step was measured and so was mine. It was like dancing but only this was with out any music. The rain did provide the rhythm though. She took something from her pocket. "Here have this". And the coffee sachet was given to me.
"Whats this for"
"To remember the coffee and the walk" her eyes blinked as she said this, and I just pocketed the coffee sachet.

 The Coffee we drank while walking seemed so great. And then it was over. We both parted and the moment was gone. The taste of coffee still lingered and so did the smell. But was it just the smell of brewing coffee.

By Ninad Tatke

What it is to be brand.

You are a brand. You have physical presence. You can be touched, feel, sensed, loved, hated. You might feel that these features make you a product but these are the same things which make you a brand.

What was the first thing you said today when you looked in mirror. How did you present yourself to the world. What are your values and things you are willing or not willing to do with no apparent benefit.

Ninad believes that as a 'person' that his word creates the world and hence he tries to fulfill what he commits. That's part of Ninad as a brand. But there are also other aspects of the same. Ninad as a brand can be resting on his past laurels and not innovating, Ninad might not be marketing himself well or the investments in terms of intelligence, time, money are not in tune with current demands or future needs.

Thus the image anybody might have about Ninad depends upon where he stands currently or what he is doing to protect his perception. Brands create goodwill over the years but only a few seconds can disrepute a brand.

So what are the measures for brand Ninad to see to it that his branding efforts are not lost.

a)branding is a continuous process and it has to be genuine.
b) branding is about unique values /services which can delivered consistently
c) branding is about creating experiences and not just serving what was asked for or was implied.

Ninad as a brand has to strike a balance between all these elements and create his image which people believe and rely upon.

The Ganja Coast - the book

The basic premise of the book was quite exciting and it is targeted at the American readers. Having said that I found this book very fast paced, masala and intending to raise a aah every few minutes. The protagonist Anglo Indian, and an American along with a few supportive (may be) locals uncover a game full of greed, corruption, drugs and other malicious activities. Its a fast paced book and its a decent read.

No come has added a feather to my cap. (This was written in April 2010)

I recently was traveling in a Volvo bus back to Pune and I sat on my reserved seat no.27. But I was shocked  because I found my cap  in the newspaper holder. I had lost the cap 2 months ago. Now after 2 months destiny made sure that I booked the same seat, in the same bus,  and miraculously my cap was still there.

But was it a miracle.

Or the Volvo had not been maintained /cleaned up in the 2 months or People did not travel.

Either way … no one has added a feather to my cap.

Hurt Locker.

A warning: This is not a review of the movie. So if you are still reading... I guess continue.

They say that it helps to be intelligent. But it can not protect from developing feelings, from trusting, from associating, from thinking about someone and to care.

Call it basic human instints, call it friendship, call it etiquites, call it bonding but eventually feelings do get built up and then they are hurt.

May be its natural to feel the hurt, learn from it and create new possibilities. And in the over all scale of things (Universe, world, Countries, regions, localities ) small individual emotions dont matter.

But it hurts. Its irrational, illogical but when it hurts and you cant say that it hurts - then it festers like a sore.