Learning from The Grandmaster

Viswanathan Anand is a gem. He has proved himself and been on Top during his Peak phase. Now he is 48 and still fighting it out. Here is a small interview that I came across today - so much to learn. Here is are some key takeaways:

• He has done all, been on top and have been #1. After falling from last few years, he still finds passion and motivation to learn new things and fight it out. 
  
• Always remain focus during the tournaments. As per his statement - he was chit-chatting between the two matches and that screws his focus. Now in free time between the matches - he prepares for the next matches. Thus this reminds me of Seven Habit Book's "Sharpen the Saw" law.
• Taking inspiration from the likes of Federer or Nadal. Interestingly legends also take inspirations then why we shy in admitting to admire others. 
• Change and updating to the new ways. Tried and Tested methods who have given victories in past doesn't mean that they are the best. One should always be open to learn new things and upgrade themselves. I think this abilities only make them legends.  

Here are some interesting tweets:

Congratulations to the man from the sixties, @vishy64theking, on his World Rapid title! I hope you dedicated this latest victory to everyone who has asked you when you were going to retire!

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) December 28, 2017

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal,
Mo Farah, our own Mary Kom and @vishy64theking 2017 has closed the age debate. It is just a number. #VishyAnand

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) December 29, 2017

CONGRATS @vishy64theking on winning the World Rapid #Chess Championship.

Your tenacity, mental fortitude and never-give-up attitude is an inspiration to not just chess players, but all sportspersons.

— Rajyavardhan Rathore (@Ra_THORe) December 29, 2017

Source:

• Article on Anand's recent Win and interview: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/chess/viswanathan-anand-draws-inspiration-from-ageless-roger-federer/articleshow/62332738.cms
• Some more tweets and info on the victory: http://indianexpress.com/article/sports/sport-others/viswanathan-anand-wins-world-rapid-chess-championship-5003271/

The Winning Way

My View:
Just finish reading the The Winning Way: Learning From Sport For Managers.
Its a good read for all the entrepreneur, and Manager. I am a sports person and thus it makes more sense and interesting read. Harsha Bhogle knows India and have vast experience with the MNC w.r.t Branding, Marketing and Training. Thus its worth a buy. I would recommend this book to all the Managers and Entrepreneur who likes sports (and not just cricket but sports in general).

Rating: 7/10

I bought this book from Indiaplaza.com @ Rs. 120 - including shipping ( list price = Rs.200).

About The Book :
The Winning Way deals with what sporting champions do and what constitutes a winning team. Two renowned IIMA alumni, one a sports commentator and writer and the other an advertising and communication consultant dig into examples from the world of sports to see how they can help promote managerial skills. The Winning Way gives a clear picture of winning teams, good leadership and why some teams continue to perform well while others decline with time.

Anita and Harsha Bhogle reiterate the importance of perseverance and the right attitude to attain success. If an individual combines ability with the right attitude, he is bound to excel and become the best he can be. The writing is contrary to the popular belief that ability is the major distinguishing factor for success. This principle is particularly important as the levels of competition increases. For the distinguished authors, this book marks the completion of 300 successful corporate workshops of The Winning Way that they run.

Cricket Mania

I was in Korum Mall, Thane yesterday and saw the life size cutouts of crickets handing from the celling of the mall. It looked great and adds value to the mall. The mall is showing live IPL matches at the food court area and this cutouts are complimenting the promo. I think its a good marketing idea.

Diwali2009 trip to Rishikesh - Nainital - Corbett

This Diwali (17th - 24th Oct.) we went to Rishikesh, Nainital and Jim Corbett National Park. The trip was quite adventurous and enjoying. We were accompanied by Priyank and Vibhuati at allthe locations.  

As said earlier, we started our adventure right from Ahmedabad Railway station. We had booked the tickets from Ahmedabad to Haridwar. Our Delhi to Haridwar tickets were confirmed but the Ahmedabad-Delhi was in waiting list. We checked online status till the last moment but the waiting list didn't moved due to Diwali rush. In the end Miti and Vibhuati secured places in general bogie while me and priyank floated between AC coaches to bribe the TC. After Mehsana (2hr. from we took off) we got a confirmed seats and we started shifting. It took us three stations to shifts our luggage and our better halfs. Finally after two and a half hour we made it to the seats (thanks to the bribe system - I love my India). Delhi arrived at  5.30am and we shifted to our new location since we already had confirmed seats for that location.

At 12.30pm we arrived in Haridwar. We hired a cab/taxi (Tata Indigo) and went to Kodiyala via Haridwar and Rishikesh. We stopped at Laxman Joola, BharatDevi Mandir etc along the way. Our journey was also halted by a landslide on the way. Finally at 6pm we reached Kodiyala. It was a good hotel on the River Ganga. Our rooms were facing the river. We got ourselves some Rum and huddle around the camp fire as it was very cold.

Next day we checked out in the afternoon and headed for River Rafting from Shivpuri. We had one level 4, two level 3 and few level 2 rapids. We also jumped into the Ganga for swimming along the current. It was great workout and the water was very cold. After that we even did cliff (30 ft. high) diving. It was scary and it took me 10 min. to make up my mind and plunge. After river rafting we had our lunch and headed back to Haridwar (this time in personal Chakda – big auto ricksaw at damn cheap cost).

At midnight we had our train from Haridwar to Kathgodam. Before we reach our destination, a station before Kathgodam  – a taxi driver came to our bogie and gave the taxi rates. He told us to get the cab a station before the destination as it will be cheaper and faster (this is what I call aggressive marketing). We took the cab (Maruti Alto – yes 4 ppl. + luggage + driver) and went thru the snaky roads to Nainital. Those crooked roads made Miti to throw up several times along the way to top.

Finally after couple of hour’s taxi we reached Nainital. Our Hotel was fab. We had to take ropeway (cable car) to reach our hotel since it was on top of the hill. Our hotel was an old governor rest house and now converted into a heritage hotel (from 1920s). We had the best view of Nainital and Himalayas mountains from our place. We roamed around the Naini lake and street of Nainital for next one day. We had good Vodka and camp fire in the evening at our hotel.

Next day we left for Corbett in afternoon and reached there in couple of hours (this time our taxi was a nice Toyota Innova). We stayed 14Kms outside Ramnagar (town were all the booking and trip to jungle begins) at Bailparaw. Our resort was very good and it was spread out into 5acres land. It had a nice swimming pool (which we never used due to cold), camp fire, gardens, landscaping, ducks with other wild lives, service staff and restaurant (except the GM of the hotel – who made us pay very high for our elephant ride and gave misleading advices about the safari rides). Next day we took an Elephant ride into the outer areas of the jungle and in the afternoon we had a nice Jeep safari ride into the jungle from Jhirna Gate. Unfortunately we didn’t see any tiger but some monkeys, deer, sambars. Overall the Jungle experience was great but the wildlife was disappointing. We were accompanied by a nice Ahmedabad based doctors during the jeep safari (which also brought down our expense).

Next day after breakfast we took a train from Ramnagar to Delhi. In Delhi we took Metro to Rajiv Chowk/Palica Baazar and then took the Metro again for New Delhi railway station. Next days early morning we were back to Ahmedabad and thus finished our nice adventurous trip.

Pictures of this trip can be found at: http://picasaweb.google.com/vivek.bhalavat/Diwali2009TripToRishikeshNainitalCorbett

All IPL teams are making profits

If the IPL has stood all you thought you knew about cricket on its head, it’s done the same with finances too. In a year when franchisees were complaining about how shifting to South Africa would make a mess of their budgets, each one of them will end up with a profit. 

If that’s not strange enough for your taste, try this: The two finalists, Royal Challengers and Team Hyderabad, would make a fraction of the profits that bottom-of-table Knight Riders will even if you take prize money into account.The main reason behind the healthier bottomlines is a huge jump in the share of revenues from broadcasting. Last year, each franchisee got Rs 25 crore from IPL as its share of the central broadcasting revenue pool. This year, that has more than doubled to Rs 67.50 crore each. 

Franchisees won’t be the only ones partying. BCCI’s profit too, according to one estimate, jumped substantially to Rs 477 crore from Rs 350 crore last year. For good measure, broadcaster Sony Max is also likely to be in the black this year. 

Had the matches been organised in India, it’s likely the teams’ profits would have been even higher because of higher receipts from ticket and merchandise sale, which have averaged Rs 8 crore and Rs 50 lakh respectively in South Africa. In 2008, teams like Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians and Team Delhi earned around Rs 20 crore from ticket sales alone as the capacity of their home stadiums was large enough to accommodate over 70,000 and the crowds just poured in. Team Jaipur tops profit table 

According to a report by equity research firm IIFL, Team Jaipur will make the highest profit of Rs 35.1 crore in the group matches of the second edition of the tournament. Jaipur had also made the second highest profit of Rs 14.50 crore in 2008, including the Rs 4.50 crore ($1 million) prize money. 

Knight Riders, which finished lowest in the league table during the qualifying round in South Africa, will nevertheless end up with the third highest profit of Rs 2.8 crore in the second edition of IPL. Team Mohali, which also did not make it to the semis, will just beat Kolkata to second spot with a profit of Rs 26.1 crore, according to the IFL report. 

In fact, the only semi-finalist which also stands to make over Rs 20 crore in profits is Delhi. 

This is despite the fact that prize money in the IPL is a sizeable amount, with Rs 4.8 crore for winner, Rs 2.4 crore for the runners-up and 1.2 crore each for the losing semifinalists.For those who didn’t get past the league stage, the sums are correspondingly smaller — Rs 80 lakh for the team that finished fifth (Mohali), Rs 70 lakh for the sixth placed (Jaipur),Rs 50 lakh for the seventh (Mumbai Indians) and Rs 40 lakh for the lowest one. 

The healthy bottomlines are a happy change from last year when besides Knight Riders and Jaipur, Team Chennai just scraped into the black due to its Rs 2.25-crore prize money for the runners-up position, according to a highly placed IPL source.

Source: Prabhakar Sinha | TNN and TOI 

Delhi beggars learn languages before Common Wealth Games

Beggars cannot be choosers, but beggars are quick to spot an opportunity, especially when there is a buzz in the city about 'thousands of tourists' flocking here for the Commonwealth Games next year.

And beggars are gearing up for it by learning not just English but languages like French and Spanish as well, not knowing that only English is spoken in all the Commonwealth countries.

'There will be thousands of foreign tourists when the games are going on. That is why some beggar families are teaching younger child beggars to beg in foreign languages,' said Savitri, a street performer from Prem Nagar, west Delhi.

Savitri's extended family of 25 people, including 15 children, belongs to the Nat jati (tribe) of Chhattisgarh that performs acrobatics and tight rope tricks on the capital's streets to earn money, especially from foreigners.

'We say: Please sir! Give me ten rupees! Anything...,' demonstrated her daughter Kusum, a 10-year-old child acrobat.

Vijay Babli, who claimed to be the leader of over 1,200 mendicant families living in Lal Quarter in Rohini, northwest Delhi, was recently quoted as saying that 'classes' had begun to prepare the young alms-seekers to target the large number of tourists expected for the Games in October 2010.

'Even if one beggar earns 150-200 rupees per day ($3-4), you can understand the turnover for us,' he said.

The community has even set up an informal academy in the area.

Many beggar children who have never been to school could speak English, French and Spanish, all thanks to the classes, Babli said.

The trend to ask foreigners for alms in their own languages adds a 'personal touch', said a beggar at the Jantar Mantar observatory that draws a lot of tourists.

The beggars were also imparted training in distinguishing foreign currency notes - to recognize value, said a resident of Kathputli colony, who did not wish to give his name.

Beggars posted at famous tourist spots like India Gate, Jama Masjid, the Bahai Mandir area and other shopping hubs like Connought Place often learn just a few sentences in foreign languages.

Nikolina, a Croatian national studying here, was surprised when a beggar asked her in English where she was from.

'I was shocked when a man dressed in rags approached me and asked me in English if I was German, or French, and started saying please give me money in various languages,' she said incredulously.

Source: Indo-Asian News Service 

Motif Charity Walk 2009

Hi Folks

Join the 7th Annual Motif Charity Walk 2009 on 15th Feb. It starts at 7am from Atira and ends up at Atira. The walking would be of about 5kms and the running would be of about 8kms. Also I think it would be a good idea to donate few hundred bucks to the under mentioned NGOs.  In conclusion, it should be a good turn out and you can also get lot of business connections. So spare your Sunday morning and lets walk. 

- Refreshments will be provided and yes if you donate the money then you also get t-shirts. Plus all the super walkers and runner, there are also some prices for coming on top. Anyways overall its a good outdoor activity. 

NGOs this year at Motif: Karuna Kare Foundation, Sanjivani Health & Relief Committee, Gujarat Cleft and Craniofacial Research Institute and Akshaya Patra Foundation 

Details @ http://www.motifinc.com/Charity_Walk_2009.htm

Walk. Run. Reach Sola.....

Hi

Thank you everyone who participated in the mini- marathon. It turned out to be a great event. Everyone looked excited and energized. Overall, looked like everyone wanted to do this AGAIN. So lets see when that can happen.

Things to be learned:

1. Consider 75% presence.

2. Market well through SMSs, Mouth of word, friends, emails, and phone calls.

3. Get sponsors freebies. Give gifts or t-shirts and stuff.

4. Have a good snacks with Excess amount of liquides.

5. Choose Green and cooler route.

6. Try to do a circular route, so that people can get back to their vechiles easily.  

MORE PICTURES @ http://picasaweb.google.com/vivek.bhalavat/WalkToSola2009

Fight at the Greens

Two super duper player - one great match.  I hope Nadal makes to the final and wins the Wimbledon 2007 title by defeating Federer. This is going to be cricual match for both the players esp. federer as he wants to get into the record book, while for Nadal its something for the green. This master of Clay court needs to win on green surface + take revenage from last years finals’ defeat. Lets see. waiting for 8th july final which should be against Nadal-Federer and Nadal should take it…..

Fight at the Greens

Two super duper player - one great match.  I hope Nadal makes to the final and wins the Wimbledon 2007 title by defeating Federer. This is going to be cricual match for both the players esp. federer as he wants to get into the record book, while for Nadal its something for the green. This master of Clay court needs to win on green surface + take revenage from last years finals’ defeat. Lets see. waiting for 8th july final which should be against Nadal-Federer and Nadal should take it…..