Welcome to www.carnaticdarbar.com
We have launched an exclusive news site for Carnatic music. In this initiative, I am joined in by my wife Sudha and our friend T.M. Anantharaman. Our objective is to give news on Carnatic music in an unalloyed form. We aim to do this through simple and easy-to-comprehend writings. We are confident that www.carnaticdarbar.com will soon emerge as a credible platform for news on Carnatic music. We wish all of you to drop into the site and offer your suggestions.
Do visist: www.carnaticdarbar.com
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Friday, April 06, 2007
When brands and name disappear...
When brands and names disappear ...
What is in a name? Everything. One would have said so in former times. In the modern era , however, one is tempted to conclude that there is nothing in a name. A few days ago, Bharat Overseas Bank, a very well known local bank in Southern India, especially in Chennai, moved into the pages of history following its takeover by nationalised Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). Overnight, all the customers of Bharat Overseas Bank have become the clients of Indian Overseas Bank. Not that they have found a sudden liking for IOB. They have little choice. Since their bank has been taken over and merged with IOB, they have only an Hobson's Choice. Who said that customer is the king. He does not matter at all more often than not in the present context, it appears.
Years ago, another local bank (in Tamil Nadu)- Bank of Madura - was consinged to history when it was merged with ICICI Bank. It had a totally different client profile - typically dothi-clad guys and least sophisticated in outlook. One is still not quite sure if all the clients of erstwhile Bank of Madura had become the cusomters of ICICI Bank. I had a meeting with the Editorial Director of Harvard Business School Press, Ms Hollis Heimbouch, and Executive Editor of Harvard Business School Publishing, Ms. Kirsten D. Sandberg, this morning. And, the discussion veered round to brands and banks. In an era of M&A (mergers and acquisition, names disapper (as mentioned above) and brands fall by the way side. Brands are important in an intensely competitive environment. Brands also become victims of competitive heat, however. Indeed, we are at an ironical stage. And, the question again is: What's in a name?. There is nothing like a preferred banker. After all, a `preferred banker' or a `branded banker may just go out of the list just by a M&A process!
What is in a name? Everything. One would have said so in former times. In the modern era , however, one is tempted to conclude that there is nothing in a name. A few days ago, Bharat Overseas Bank, a very well known local bank in Southern India, especially in Chennai, moved into the pages of history following its takeover by nationalised Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). Overnight, all the customers of Bharat Overseas Bank have become the clients of Indian Overseas Bank. Not that they have found a sudden liking for IOB. They have little choice. Since their bank has been taken over and merged with IOB, they have only an Hobson's Choice. Who said that customer is the king. He does not matter at all more often than not in the present context, it appears.
Years ago, another local bank (in Tamil Nadu)- Bank of Madura - was consinged to history when it was merged with ICICI Bank. It had a totally different client profile - typically dothi-clad guys and least sophisticated in outlook. One is still not quite sure if all the clients of erstwhile Bank of Madura had become the cusomters of ICICI Bank. I had a meeting with the Editorial Director of Harvard Business School Press, Ms Hollis Heimbouch, and Executive Editor of Harvard Business School Publishing, Ms. Kirsten D. Sandberg, this morning. And, the discussion veered round to brands and banks. In an era of M&A (mergers and acquisition, names disapper (as mentioned above) and brands fall by the way side. Brands are important in an intensely competitive environment. Brands also become victims of competitive heat, however. Indeed, we are at an ironical stage. And, the question again is: What's in a name?. There is nothing like a preferred banker. After all, a `preferred banker' or a `branded banker may just go out of the list just by a M&A process!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Tiger Varadachary - A natural teacher
Some are made teachers. Some are, however, born teachers. Tiger Varadachary was a born teacher. Veena Vidushi Kalpakam Swaminathan recalled an instance when Tiger Varadachary helped a struggling student scale the upper octave. When repeated attempts to egg him on to go up the octave failed, Tiger Varadachary hit upon an unconventional method. According to Kalpakam Swaminathan, Tiger Varadachary lowered the board and asked his student to utter `SA'. The student had no difficulty in saying the bass `SA' as he looked down at the board. Tiger Vardarchary then held the board straight to him and asked him to say `PA'. He uttered `PA' with ease. Then he moved the board atop and asked him to say the upper `SA'. He shouted `SA' as he looked up the board. And, the student was thrilled that he could also scale the upper octave. As the veteran veena artiste explained this to us, we were impressed by the natural teaching techniques employed by yester-year teachers.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
About me
This is K.T.Jagannathan. I have been a financial journalist for over two decades now. For want of knowing any other thing, I am struck in the profession. Well, I like it. I enjoy it. And, I really relish it. Currently, I am with The Hindu, a general newspaper published from Chennai in the southern part of India. I have traversed quite a bit professionally. From Financial Express in erstwhile Madras (now Chennai) to the Economic Times in Bangalore and the now defunct The Indian Post, I landed myself at Free Press in Bombay (now Mumbai). After a brief stay there, I headed for Business Standards. A year later, I was transferred to Madras. From there, I moved to Business India and Indian Express before landing at The Hindu. I am here for close to eight years now. This is about me. This one field has taught me a lot. I wish by creating this blog, I will be able to articulate some of my thoughts on very many subjects in a non-controlled environment yet in a responsible manner. By the way, I like music. I am slowly getting involved in Carnatic music. I am now learning flute along with my wife from Mr. S. Ravi. I am at the LKG level in music, so to say. Starting to learn flute a little late, I realise how much I have missed in my life. This new learning is an inspiration for me. Even though I am only a few years into flute-learning, I can feel the change in me. I am lot more disciplined now. I am also lot more circumspect in my criticism (journalists usually tend to be cynical of things). These days, I look for opportunity to play flute. Never mind the audience. Not even worry about the surroundings. I play for the sheer joy it brings to me and for the peace I get in the process. Nonetheless, I must warn you guys that I am only the beginning stage in this ocean of a field. Well, here I am. Hope this blog will provide me a new window to reach out to a wider audience.
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