DK Kapila The Oracle

Will She ? Won’t She ?!!                                                                                        By Dinesh K Kapila Now I am going off on a tangent here. I maybe in all probability drawing a parallel here which has been playing out in my mind. Let’s see where it goes. Many a Hollywood Movie has a suitor proposing with the scene including the mandatory going down on one knee (by the proposor) and the lady proposed to (the proposee) saying after a breathless pause “not yet”. Please do note and observe, she does not say a definitive No, it’s alway...

Happy Valentine’s Day She was a vision in red and flashed past my eye. On a very cold, windy. sunless day she stood out. Young, fair, waif like and from a distance looked young, ever so happy and pretty as she clung to the arm of her hubby (I presume!). She was dressed in a red shirt, short sleeves and with a light pink stole thrown around her shoulders. This was set off against what seemed like light black well styled trousers. The hubby atleast was in a blue cardigan though I really don't recall  the colour except that he wore something warm. And the photographer was clicking away, I glanced back and remember thinking atleast she is certainly oblivious to the world around her. Changing positions for the photographer around her hubby, she seemed to be smiling away happily, lost in the moment and focused on her husband . It was all so sudden and it just registered within me. It's certainly imprinted in my memory bank as having watched a moment of absolute bliss in someone...

We Bat Below our Potential. (NO ONE LOVES A WARRIOR TILL THE ENEMY IS AT THE GATE) This is a fact and Good Morning on that. This applies specially to our effete elite. The last 70 odd years we have only been tip toeing around matters of strategy, that explains why we have our neighbours having a go at us.   I am linking the second snap to it because it's of Mauritius in the late 1970s. Mauritius is quite well developed now. This proves there is a route forward. But we can only argue endlessly and forever. Action is for later or will happen if its in our karm a. We consistently bat well below our actual potential.   This is the sad part of our being endlessly argumentative and being in love with status quo. I thought this affliction of being soft on action but long on verbosity affected a certain region only but now it's spreading.   How do we evolve from here is the question. By the way the two soldiers who died at Kupwara are Naik Shankar Chandrabhan Shinde Age...

The Crafts of Kashmir This thought today morning flows from what Mrs   Suparna Tandon   posted on appreciating and valuing the vibrant traditional arts. These crafts are essentially us and represent where we come from. In Kashmir I find a similar situation. The craft of Papier Mache is on the decline, perhaps irreversibly. As per businessmen in the line, barely 40 to 60 skilled artisans are left now. The wood carving and engraving craft seems to be going the same way but it can still revive as per them. As regards Carpets, the craft of weaving woolen carpets is just about finished and it's the craft of weaving silk carpets only which survives thanks to exports. The handloom craft of pashmina shawls is again impacted by the powerloom trade selling similar products at lower prices. The copper inlay work is also just about surviving. Embroidery work, delicate and an art by itself is also facing problems. There are many factors which go into it. Changing trends need to be i...

My Earthquake Indicator ~ Kashmir Region has been having of late repeated earthquake related episodes. One newspaper says this region has undergone 27 such episodes in the last six months, some were not felt even. One was very very scary and spun my world around. A couple of shocks were enough to scare but not scare me enough to motivate me to run like mad out of the building. The chandelier as seen in the snaps below is in my bedroom at Srinagar, kind courtesy my landlord.  The glass crystals hanging from it make a lovely sight at night. It has three light modes and I switch it around depending upon my mood and requirements. I have to come to realize that every time the strands of glass vibrate, the news channels have inevitably announced after a time gap that tremors from earthquakes had been felt in Kashmir. Now checking out this aspect has become a habit.  This chandelier is dependable and is my earthquake indicator. In a strong shock it shakes and the decorative gla...

Management lessons to learn from the Bihar Verdict ******(Posted Late, I know, Got Lazy) 1) First and foremost never overstretch a brand. This is the core of branding. Mr Modi brand is good. But even that has limitation. Lux cannot be Lifebuoy 2) Making just noise does not help any more. People want to see content. Excess advertising only helps a bad product sink faster. In Bihar without local leadership, the product was bad. Sushil Modi was not seen as clean but corrupt, that’s what a section of the media stated but on balance a leader from the local set up was required. . 3) Always develop leaders. Hire people better than yourself. Mr Modi,may need to  hire someone better than himself. Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Vasundhara Raje, Raman Singh are proof of this principle. Victory will step in only when there is a team to receive it. Individual performance alone will be always be found wanting. Teams like South Africa and Sri Lankan have been stunning performers despite lacking i...

Glimpses Stolen.                     Dinesh K Kapila I saw him as he entered the coach. Tall, well built, close cropped hair. Wearing a blue shirt tucked into well fitting trousers. After placing his medium size tan coloured  suitcase and bag on the luggage rack, he happily helped two couples and a lady place their luggage also on the rack. To their profuse thanks, he just nodded shyly. Then he looked outside the window as though looking for someone. I was seated atleast six to eight rows away, on the side opposite to where he sat. I just followed his glance.  A middle aged lady stood on the platform, leaning against a pole.  She looked alone and tired, saw him and started waving to him. He waved to her, as if to say, I am OK, then nodded quietly to her to go. She just stood there, all alone, touched her eyes for a moment with her duppatta, and beckoned him to come out. ...