tata

Tata Launches 'Nano'

As I was focusing on some work of the day, my colleague came running towards me and announced the launch of the much hyped Tata Motor’s 1 lakh car aptly named ‘Nano’. I was waiting for the event for a long time to come. It was being shown Live on TV from 11:30am onwards but by the time I reached, the ceremony had got over and the journalists and photographers had started crowding around the small car (I could only see the rooftop). After few minutes, I got the first glimpse of the white ‘Nano’ which was driven by Mr. Ratan Tata himself (coincidentally in Gujarati ‘Nanu’ means small although pronounced differently). Just yesterday some channels were busy speculating the name of the small care – Atom, Jeh, etc.

Post the car launch there are discussions on the effect on the environment and the stress that it will put on India’s infrastructure, etc. On one hand I am happy that the Tata’s have launched a product which specific to a particular segment of the society. On the other, I shudder to think about when the car would flood the roads of Mumbai and the high possibility of a traffic snafu that it will generate. For this moment though, I am waiting to see the car run on the road pretty soon.

» Visit the Tata Nano Website

Moving On Finally

This was coming for many months now but today, I finally checked-in to TCS House — the corporate HQ of Tata Consultancy Services Limited, as expected. A heritage building built in 1922, it was formerly known as Rallis House (another Tata-owned company), until the place was bought over by TCS in 2004 [read more]. The interiors of this four storey building have been completely refurbished while leaving the exterior walls untouched due to its historical value. The idea of encompassing modern interiors within an archaic structure, to flawlessly create a contemporary ambience is truly an architectural marvel to see and experience. The place holds significance for its medieval construction and is truly a landmark building in the Fort area of South Mumbai. The renovated structure was formally inaugurated by the honorable chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh on 14th August 2007.

It’s exciting to be here and I hope this transition into a new home re-energises my creativity and design skills.

Marketing Minds: The Innovation Seminar

I am back after attending the ‘Tata Marketing Minds 2007’ seminar which explored the subject of Innovation quite deeply. The 2 day seminar was held on the outskirts of Bangalore city, at a place called the Angsana Resort and Spa — a scenic and serene piece of land suited for knowledge building.

The event which was organized by Titan Industries, was kicked-off with a wonderful session by R Gopalakrishnan (ED – TataSons) who spoke about innovation and the history of the Tatas, quoting generously from the book ‘The Creation of Wealth’ by R M Lala. Eminent personalities from various industry domains spoke from branding and marketing to consumer goods and cyberspace innovations, and tried to touch upon the art of innovating ideas. Some of the speakers included Santosh Desai (Futurebrands), Richa Arora (Head of Marketing, Britannia), Alok Kejriwal (CEO, Contests2Win.com), R. Balki (Adman and director of the film Cheeni Mum), Vikram Kaushik (MD, TataSky Ltd.), C Venkataraman (COO, Titan Jewellery Division – Tanishq), Sashi Sinha (Lodestar), Bhaskar Bhatt (MD, Titan Industries) and more. For me personally it was scintillating to see Piyush Pandey (Chairman, O&M India) from close quarters; sort of a dream come true for me. I have idolised him since my art school days when his work for Fevicol was quite well-known and had won many awards.

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