Blogging from London

It’s been ages since I updated this place and a lot has happened in the meanwhile – the most important one being my shifting base to the UK for a short-term deputation. In the forthcoming posts, I will try my best to recap my life in the past few months. The snaps that I have been taking will be helpful to complete my narration.

I joined office on 27th June! It's in Salisbury Square – East Central London – about 45 minutes by Ferry (across the Thames) from my home which is in Woolwich Royal Arsenal – South East London. KPMG has many offices in London - Canary Wharf, Salisbury Square, Dorset Rise and Puddle dock.

Things are as yet quite exciting – I am still getting settled and we are now cooking our own food at home. While roaming around London I got a feeling as if I was roaming around in a model of an ideal city. Everything is too ordered and perfect here – though it isn't as glamorous as we expect – London is an old city and feels quite so. It also brought back memories of the BHEL Bhopal Township. The similarity in architecture was striking! More so small roads – less traffic made the familarity effect more pronounced.

Life is still in formative stages here – need to get used to a lot of things starting from the changed position of the '@' key on the keyboard to change in the general volume at which people speak over here and more. The cultural differences are huge and will be the greatest learning from this trip .....

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Vikramaditya - Myth or Reality

A statue of Vikramaditya at Vikramaditya ka Tila / Vikramaditya's Singhasan Battisi On a recent visit to Ujjain, I found myself drawn to the city's extraordinary blend of history, mythology, and spirituality. As I stood before the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga, I reflected on its significance as one of India’s most revered shrines. Yet, amidst these sacred surroundings, I encountered narratives of Vikramaditya - the legendary king of Ujjain, celebrated for his valor and wisdom, who's name resonates from the folklore of locals to every part of India. Every time we celebrate a festival in India, it is marked with a tithi i.e. date as per the Indian calendar - which is called the Vikram Samvat calendar, attributed to being founded by Vikramaditya of Ujjaini (the then name of Ujjain). What struck me, however, was the curious fact that despite Vikramaditya’s pivotal place in Indian cultural memory, his existence as a historical figure lacks definitive evidence. My exploration l...

Of Business Ethic and Ethics

Cover of book on Mr. Ratan Tata The chairman of Tata Trusts and former chairman of Tata Sons, Mr. Ratan Tata, passed away on the 10th of October. The last two days have been filled with coverage of Mr. Tata's contributions to the country, the economy, and the global business world. Numerous articles and reports highlight his contribution primarily as a great philanthropist who worked for the cause of ethical business, which the Tata Group has been known for over the last 100+ years. While narrating how Mr. Tata's contribution was acknowledged in her school, even my daughter told me that they were told Mr. Tata was a great philanthropist. I have been a little taken aback because most media and people have focused on his philanthropy and not his business achievements or entrepreneurship-related activities. This got me thinking about how I view the transformation that Mr. Tata brought about during his tenure as chairman of Tata Sons, where his contribution was far more pronounc...

How will travel industry transform post-Covid

Unlike philosophers, journalists and teenagers, the world of entrepreneurship does not permit the luxury of gazing into a crystal ball to predict the future. An entrepreneur’s world is instead made of MVPs (Minimum Viable Product), A/B Tests, launching products, features or services and gauging / measuring their reception in the market to arrive at verifiable truths which can drive the business forward. Which is why I have never written about my musings or hypothesis about travel industry – we usually either seek customer feedback or launch an MVPised version and gather market feedback. However, with Covid-19 travel bans across the globe, the industry is currently stuck – while a lot of industry reports and journalistic conjectures are out, there’s no definitive answer to the way forward. Besides there is no way to test your hypothesis since even the traveller does not know what they will do when skies open. So, I decided to don my blogger hat and take the luxury of crystal gazing...

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