Reason this; any Indian living outside of Chennai does not have a great impression of the city. And many among those, forced due to reasons of genealogy or occupation to stay in Chennai do not really have a great opinion of it. What could be the possible reason for this? Just plain old-world word of mouth bashing or downright hard rationale?

I think it’s a mix of both. Cities, like people don’t acquire or lose reputations overnight. And Chennai has been losing it over many nights!

The emergence of Chennai Super Kings as a strong IPL team, however, provides a great window; a window of opportunity for Chennai to regain its prominence, strictly in ‘Top of the Mind Recall’ sense as a METRO, that it used to enjoy in its so called  ‘heydays’. Those were the days when Chennai was known as Madras and occupied the collective conscience of people as the biggest city of the South; much before Bangalore and Hyderabad emerged as ‘cooler’ cities.

Chennai, though increasingly multi-cultural, has a very strong regional underbelly. Unlike Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore or a Cochin, due to reasons of language, geography, history and politics, Chennai has been traditionally very closed!

Coming back to the point of the Chennai Super Kings, what goes for them is that apart from form, the multiculturalism of the team is very interesting. Mathew Hayden is an Aussie and Chennai has loved Aussies of the past – Shane Warne and Dean Jones. Suresh Raina has performed in both the editions of the IPL and he plays for Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket. Other performers of this year like the Sudeep Tyagi and the spinner Jakati both come form other states. Sudeep Tyagi played last for UP and Jakati for Goa. And of course ‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni has no other connection to Chennai.

A tour of the city during the IPL threw up the interesting insight that some of these players are more popular than homegrowns and proven performers like Badrinath and Balaji. This came as a pleasant surprise, indicating how IPL could not only change the character of cricket but the attitude of supporters.

And it would be this attitude that I would like to think would be the first signs of any emerging cosmopolitanism.

The AIADMK, whose leadership has been persistently anti-LTTE, this time plays the game of one-upmanship, raising the bogey of Sri Lankan government sponsored ‘genocide’. Ms Jayalalitha lambasted the UPA, especially the PM and the UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi for their ‘silence’. She possibly thought that this was a well timed move considering that this time around support from the other leading parties for the LTTE is muffled. Nothing could have been further from the truth.

Historically, the DMK has been the biggest votary of the so-called ‘Tamil cause’. In-fact, on Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, the DMK government was dismissed because of the perceived support that it had extended to the LTTE earlier. This time, however, the DMK was caught napping! When the latest escalation in violence began, parties like the Dalit Panthers and the PMK made a lot of noise, organizing bandhs and human chains. These publicity stunts were supported by party workers who made these protests look huge in scale. The DMK was slow to react – realizing very late in the day that all the parties including the turncoat CPI, in Tamil Nadu were opposing the Sri Lankan government’s offensive.

The DMK could not lose out and its chief, Mr.Karunanidhi made the grand gesture of calling Prabhakaran as a ‘good friend who was not a terrorist’ . Mr. Karunanidhi followed this up with the call for a day-long bandh in Tamil Nadu. The bandh was nothing but a political gimmick and statement. Apart from creating hardship for millions, destroying thousands’ livelihood for a day, the bandh helped achieve nothing.

When the international community pulls us up for army action in Kashmir, we declare loudly that it is our internal affair but the same does not hold when Sri Lanka suffers for years because of LTTE’s terrorism! The spineless UPA under pressure from its allies, sent two envoys to Sri Lanka to put pressure on Sri Lanka to call for a ceasefire. This, at a time when satellite footage captured the LTTE using Tamil civilians as human shields.

One thing is certain though, the LTTE issue is a non-issue in Tamil Nadu. If it were than politicians like Mr. Vaiko of MDMK – a consistent supporter of the LTTE, would have had the largest support base. Instead, we find his support base constantly being eroded. The Tamilian jokers(politicians) are completely out of touch with reality as we will get to see when the intelligent and hardworking Tamil voter casts his/her vote on May 13^th.

The scene is even more colourful with many a company battling for outdoor media space. HUL’s BRU dealer boards are the first to grab your attention when you step into Chennai.

HUL has launched the new dealer boards here and has spent 70Lakhs on them in Chennai alone. Considering that Tamil Nadu is India’s biggest coffee consuming state about 40% of 80,200MT of Coffee consumed in 2005 was by TN, this is no big deal. Hats off though to HUL for well designed Dealer Boards and newer colours. You feel like immediately picking up a cup. Especially when every nook and corner Chai Shop is sporting it.

Movies are a daily celebration in South India and TN has one of its most passionate followers. So innovation in movie publicity is NOT a buzzword in Kollywood. Despite that, some very below-the-line and cost effective promotions keep happening and one really feels pleasantly surprised seeing them. How would you promote a movie called TN-09-AL 4777???? How else but using a taxi! The media team of the movie has done a fine job of postering the ubiquitous Fasttrack taxis with stills from the movie.

Very Eye-catchy, I must say! The only problem, especially if you are cop , would be to try and spot the actual number plate!

And when we talk about TN, we just cannot miss out Politics! Can we? Especially if it is about the suffering ‘millions’/Ta’millions’ in Sri Lanka! So what do we have in response : a bunch of jokers putting these up!

So how do you stop the ‘genocide’ in SL – you stop travelling by train in Chennai!

We had a particularly pompous senior who carried an aristocratic persona more akin to the times of the British Raj and its nobility. With an air like royalty having descended from the heavens, she would leave us breathless – by the sheer ‘put on’! I didn’t quite get her first name but her second name had a distinct resemblance to the state’s first family – the state which would adopt me a year later.

But yes I did land up in Andhra exactly 12 months later and the whole state seemed to call out to me –-“ Are You Ready ! ”. Did I just hear “Ready” or was it something else??

Nevertheless, I was straight away sent to Hyderabad– 3 TPR area on my salesman stint. I was wondering what they meant by ‘TPR Area’ when somebody mentioned that it was the distributor’s name. Simple question. Simple enough answer. But the confusion with names began when I was handed Hyderabad-1 TPR Area in my Sales officer’s stint! “TPR?? ” : a silly question later, pat came the answer. “It is the distributor’s name!” Fair enough! But haven’t I heard this before???!!! The same fountainhead of knowledge (another blundering sales officer actually) revealed that the same distributor was handling this area as well.

A few visits to the distributor point and a few interesting discussions later, I gathered that TPR stood for ‘TiruPati Reddy’, the real estate moghul(I hope not) who ran the family firm. He was the CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy’s distant relative. His brother Srinivas Reddy managed Hyderabad-1 and his sister ‘some other name’ Reddy handled Hyderabad-3. But the Reddys didn’t end there. Srinivas Reddy’s two loading men were Chinna Reddy and Raghavendra Reddy and the company salesman for the Wellness Line posted there was Ram Reddy. His boss was Narsimha Reddy. Narsimha Reddy handled Hyd-1 and his colleague who handled Hyd-2 was well….another Reddy…Raj Reddy! It was becoming difficult for me, all these similar names. More was to follow.My distribution point was not actually in Hyderabad but in an adjoining district – Sanga Reddy . And my zonal office was in Renga Reddy! Wait a second ! Were these district names !! ?? Well yes they were ! My head spinning, I got onto an auto and told him to reach my home via Punjagutta. Soon enough I came across the R-word again – this time a statue commemorating the former CM, Channa Reddy!

I finally figured that this was not to be the last of em. They just keep on coming. Don’t they ??!!And soon enough I got an SMS from my boss – “Meet Srinivasulu Reddy.Vigneshwara Enterprises and get primaries from him”. Sigh. Another negotiation seeking primaries. Another distributor. And what else, another Reddy!

I realize the worth of the book the first time I meet my new salesman, Manikanta. I rail away in Hindi on meeting him. He looks at me for about 10 seconds and exclaims – “Sorry Saar! Me Andhra saar! No Hindi no English!”. Unprepared for this, I am caught somewhere between irritation and laughter. I manage to retain composure for I realize that I have my Brahma Astra (‘Learn Telugu in 30 days’) with me. The week that follows proves that the book is anything but a Brahma Astra and has had a negative impact on my Tamil.

Manikanda is sharp on time at 10 at Kalamandir and we catch a share auto to Gutta market. I’m looking forward to this place which the Sales Officer calls Jagadhgiri Gutta. The place is a huge wholesale market spread out in a square with a conspicuous public toilet right in the centre. Though the public toilet looks more like a jail with corrugated gates, the market looks normal: huge sacks everywhere, ubiquitous goods carriers and people trudging around carrying bags. Today is a big day for me. I have been nominated by the Sales Officer to officially pick and declare the Santoor ACE Offer draw at the end of the day. I instruct my sales teams to finish order bookings and deliveries. We proceed to invite all the shopkeepers to come for the draw which is scheduled for 6pm sharp. One of my boys goes and books snacks for 40 people at the nearby bakery. I send another guy to the local photo studio to drag the reluctant cameraman to come and take pictures of the draw. 6pm approaches and passes and a huge crowd of 5 shopkeepers(yes 1-2-3-4-5) turn out for the announcement of the draw. We go ahead and announce the draw in the midst of a struggle for snacks and clicked pictures. Fortunately or unfortunately, none of the 5 who turn up win prizes! One of the seniors in the pack looks disappointed as if India had lost a cricket match. I reassure him and secretly thank myself that the whole ordeal is over!

The next few days are spent covering the beats on foot, speaking to retailers, wholesalers, hard selling our bulbs and non-Santoor range of products. We break from time to time to have some grub in the ‘Cafes’. The ‘Cafes’ of Hyderabad deserve special mention. Coca Cola has done a great job of merchandising in these. Carrying interesting names like Al-Saba, Jazeera, New Alfa, etc and with the bright Thums Up signs you rush to these. But when you enter you are taken aback by the shabbiness, poor quality of food and the half-chais that are served here. After some initial reluctance, I begin to enjoy having 1-by-2 chai and samosas in these places. The samosas come with salted and lemon flavoured green chillis which are a delight, especially when you are hungry and your tummy is in top working condition.

In fact the contrast in restaurants in Hyderabad are so typical of Andhra Pradesh itself. Hyderabad either has restaurants where an average meal for 1 would be upwards of Rs 80/- or these local restaurants and Cafes for the common man. There are very few good quality options in the middle range. Similarly among the 4 southern states, I’m sure AP has the highest percentage of rich while it also has the highest number of poor unlike a Kerala and maybe even a TN where there’s a more equitable distribution of wealth.

The Kukatpally market, I realize is a tough nut to crack. With a barrage of big ticket Marwari and Telangana traders, it is difficult to push our complete range of products. The experience also is rich as I have a couple of run-ins with local heavy weight traders for misbehaving with my salesman. The result is devastating as I am, well, very politely thrown out. At another place, I’m asked to be a little more polite and less pushy by the retailer who has some friendly advice for me. “Aap company ke aadmi hain. Aap in salesmen ki tarah nahin baat kar sakte”. I thank him very profusely(less for his feedback and more for the fact that he buys our CFLs subsequently) and leave. A very tough week passes. I thank God that I’m still in one piece after this.

I ask for Dil Sukh Nagar(now what sort of a name is that — is it Happy Heart Nagar or Dry Heart Nagar !). He nods and tells me to get in. Hey! What’s this! How much??? Nothing…..and then very nicely he turns on the auto meter! Wow! Now this is something nice that I have not seen too much of in other cities in India.

Over the next week, I buy a map to ‘study’ the city. My job entails travelling the length and breadth of the city and knowing the geography will presumably help me navigate the city. After 2 days at Dil Sukh Nagar, next major stop for me is on the following Sunday. With friends, I ‘hit’ Uppal (now this sounds more like a surname!) to catch the IPL league match between Hyderabad and Kolkata. We wait for 2 hrs under the searing hot sun for one of my friend’s Mamaji. We look around for some succor, some signs of water or nariyal pani, some shade! But these come at a premium in the Deccan! Especially near real estate constructed by clearing trees and blasting away stone- age rocks! Finally ‘Mamaji’ arrives and we are able to catch an evening of splendid, though one-sided action. Sourav Dada and the much forgotten Venugopal Rao provide fire works through the evening.

After a nice Sunday I am back at Uppal but this time it is to answer the call of duty. My manager’s voice bursts on the phone – “Chalo yeh hafta tum jao Ravi ke market mein ”. Aye Aye Captain! Sharp @ 10 I reach Uppal Police Station Bus Stop. It’s very hot and I compete with nariyal pani wallahs, chai wallahs and other bus travelers for some shade. While I wait for Ravi, I look around the dusty roundtana ( known as Chaurasas in Hyderabad). People of all hues are rushing around in different directions for their ‘rozy-roti ’. After about 45 minutes, Ravi arrives. I fight hard to keep my temper under control. After having received brickbats through 2 years of MBA in GIM, I have turned a new leaf: I have become punctual! But here’s this guy who’s at least 2 levels below me and he has made me wait for close to an hour under the blistering sun.

Over the course of the day, Ravi turns out to be a fantastic salesman. Being quite old in the system, he has forged fantastic relationships at the market place with all the retailers and wholesellers. More importantly, he’s passionate about Wipro and its products. He takes time out to explain different schemes and rate slabs and SKUs to me. My anger is soon replaced with respect for this silent worker who’s at the lowest but a very critical level in the WCCLG hierarchy.

The next 6 days mean travelling with the Ready Stock Unit Auto in Uppal and other neighbouring markets delivering Santoor, Chandrika Forever and all other WCCLG product ranges. Most of Ravi’s discussions with shopkeepers is in Telugu and I try figuring out whatever little I can of this sweet language. Ravi helps me with this as well from time to time. I have also got used to the sun and my digestive system is sturdier than before. Sunscreen lotion and the fact that you don’t really sweat much in the Deccan helps. Fluids though are consumed like there’s no tomorrow.

More in the next part….

It got me thinking – hasn’t this culturally 2000 year old nation been starved of heroes! Today heroes exist in only two domains – films whatever the language be and cricket. These are the most popular pastimes but definitely we have done better in other fields!

The Indian politics of today is an interesting case study. Unwilling to launch its younger generation, the Congress party goes back to ‘The dynasty’ hoisting Rahul Gandhi as its next generation leader. Overnight a non-entity becomes the new light on the Congress horizon; other, more qualified and active youngsters like Sachin Pilot and Naveen Jindal being relegated to the backstage! Similarly, having tasted victory a surprising third time in Gujarat, the BJP announces Narendra Modi as the solution for all its leadership problems. A diabolical and tyrannical leader is shown around as a national icon – comparing him to the great Sardar Patel making it all seem like a practical joke!

The question arises – where have all the heroes gone?

Wikipedia defines the word ‘hero’ as characters who, ‘in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self-sacrifice, that is, heroism, for some greater good, originally of martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence.’

Aren’t there people in independent India who possess the above qualities; qualities to inspire a new generation of the Indian public. I’m sure in a billion strong nation there are many such people. Then the question arises where are they and why don’t they appear in the national consciousness more frequently?

Its easy to judge and criticize the media which one can claim is more interested in sound bytes from a half nude item girl or discussions on rumours of ghosts and devils. The travails of an Anna Hazare or those countless micro finance workers for instance hardly warrant that kind of mileage. Or should we point fingers at our educational system that spends pages and pages on Galileo and Newton without an even cursory mention of Ramanujam and Chadrashekhar. Or is it our culture of story telling where legends and tales mainly cover a Ramayana or a Mahabharata where all the heroes are mythical characters.

Though heartening that newer heroes from diverse backgrounds have arrived – a Sania Mirza, a Narayanamurthy, a Dhirubhai Ambani ; a young, fast growing emerging powerhouse needs more heroes, more stories of small people taking on the establishment, more success stories, more rags to riches stories. In the US , an unheard of character by the name of Erin Brockovich became a national heroine thanks to Hollywood. While the story of a similar character, Sunita Narain has failed to emerge and capture people’s imagination here. And till we have role-models from only a few areas, we will have development and progress only in these.

Then liberalisation happened,the Kaveri began drying up, post-software boom whiz-kids with their money bags started pumping money into the real estate, the developers arrived and with that began the story of rampant depredation of the pilgrimage town.

Acres and acres of orchards were bought by the builders at a pittance and converted into cash cows called ‘apartments’.Not a month passes without a new orchard being bought, fenced,trees ripped off and a new foundation stone laid out.

One wonders about the truth in the policy pronouncements on ‘Sustainable Development’. Is it just a fashinable word to be used by corporate honchos, policy makers and environmentalists ??!Seems to be — for the sort of development you see in Srirangam or most of India today is definitely not sustainable.

This kind of development is a trade-off; at the cost of natural resources, beauty and all things that have given rise to life on this planet.And the worst part is that there is absolutely no awareness in the community on the long term downsides of this pillage.All in the name of development or ‘demand’ as the locals like to call it!

People say what is the point discussing issues without looking at solutions.It just makes me wonder why cannot the Trichy Municipal corporation not declare certain areas of the city as ‘protected’ and prohibit any development on this.Necessary local laws must be passed to ensure that wooded areas greater than a certain size(for e.g 2 acres)are allowed to be acquired by only the council and compulsorily converted into green belts.

There are acres and acres of barren land here which can be used to house a burgeoning population.Why doesn’t the local government look at ensuring this!!I am sure there are enough well educated and qualified babus in the Urban Affairs ministry of Tamil Nadu or the Trichy Municipal Corporation to realise this.And I am also sure what has been suggested above is neither path-breaking nor difficult to implement.One obviously wonders if there are considerations not particularly ethical involved in this whole drama.