life in a small town!

town is a place bustling with activity which is bigger than a village but leser than a full fledged city.  My native, gulbarga, although is an upcoming city but lets just call it a town.. and am a SMALL TOWN GIRL ..:) (remember the song from bachna e haseeno? )

Like a coin has 2 sides, the chinese have their yin-yang, there is a angel and a devil etc.... town living also has disadvantages and advantages.

the geographical coverage of the area is quite small, then accessibility to any area takes lesser time and commuting is easy. The traffic cannot be described in words because enough cuss words are not available to give a proper explanation..:P pedestrians and 2 wheelers dont see where they r goin.. everyon thinks that the road is their personal property. yahan se wahan se sab jagah se ppl pour on road with no road sense. they dont give a flyign fuck to their own life! after one survives these characters, then u brave nthe autorickshawallahs antics! they stop the vehicle suddenly anywhere.. their hand signs can be understood only by god! once, a driver wanted to take a right and he gave a up in the air sign !! LOL!

Standard of living is pretty cheap in comparison and everyday things are available in mom and pop stores. peace of mind is higher in a town. laid back lifestyle, no hurry- burry. maximum time for travelliin from one end to another of the city is hlf an hour :)
the market area is divided into lanes  according to the products they sell, for example: we ave chappal bazar, kirana bazar, utensil bazar etc.Onlywish the infrastructure was good enough to sustain the population. ALthough we have max ministers in the state govt from gulbarga, none of them are even bothered to uplift their own native. this is very saddening. :(

People: have u heard the quote "kue ke maindak"? - frogs of the well? yup.. small city/town ppl are just like that. they have no ambition to venture out and broaden their mindsets. they will be happy in their backward/redundant thinking and never even try to THINK BIG! according to the, the status quo is fne, why rock the boat. They are like horses with blindfolds near their eye so that they stare only in one direction.

In a town, if a girl and boy are just friends as in once-twice they are seen talking in public(even in temple) they are branded as "having a ROARING AFFAIR".  although some may argue with me that this is a human tendency to say such things, but its very very prevalent at the highest level in a town.

Funny thing abt guys here is they adore a girl from Faaarrrr.. never pluck the courage to go and actually speak a monosyllabic "hi" to her, yet they show off in front of riends as she's my girl! and if the hero cmes to know that someone else is eve thinking of eyeing her, then full fledged gang war breaks out..yes, in KANNADA! :P

Abuses: best way of de-stressing while driving (read above para to understand why :P )  ! iam a expert in 10 indian languages abuses, still my favourite is sulemaga in kannada :P :P :P

Money is abundant in a town, the business thrives well and people believe in " a rupee savd is a rupee earned".. People are very simple and down to eartth here :)

Flashy cars and lifestyle: many ppl in my city love owning big cars (i head this list).. i know one such incident wherein a person said "chal, yeh wali brand nahi hai glb mein? i will buy it " ..we just pray the road conditions improve so that we can invest in more higher (read:sports car) stuff..

GLb is cash rich !! yet, ppl stay very frugally, they believe in simple dressing up...simple living style etc.

Wish Gulbarga had places to hang out. thereis absolutely no where to go to even have a cup of coffee:(

Being Popular in a small town is a curse! at times, my dad has even got a call where i was eating panipuri! gosh! its a thrill feeling initially that wherever u go, ppl know u! but in a long run, u start craving for annonymity!

Bestest life will be staying in a small town and going to a city for he weekend..blow some money, shop and come bak!

Hope, gulbarga will develop in coming years.. along ith mindset of ppl!


Thank u for reading!

Is the grass always green on the other side?

"grass is greener on the other side" so the saying goes...

This holds true in many situations in life.. Especially when, u have just ordered food in a restaurant and the stuff on the neighbouring table looks more appetising :P

My post is dedicated to the current thought in my mind.. marriage v/s being single... Just penning down my musings on this topic...

Being single definitely has more advantages:  leisure time for urself..no one to answer to..free bird who can flirt with anyone :P .. No committment hassles... Ekdum  tension free life.. However, once u delve deeper in this "status" .. Ur happiness maybe short lived if you are a sentimental-romantic sort of person, then the frustration of ur phone not ringing, no companionship etc, can get to ur head.

Married/committment friends always say that being single was fun etc.. But am sure this doesnt hold good for everyone... At times, u need a companion...someone to come home to...someone to take care of u and vice versa..someone to laugh with, cry with, love etc....

Being married means solid companionship in every aspect of life.. Enjoying the roller coaster of life with someone whom u can turn to everytime..

However, what if the partners turns out to be the anti-thesisnof ur dream spouse?? What if the "spark" in ur wedding goes kapuuuttt!!  You are stuck in an endless abyss of monotonousness and boredom!!

Next question which arises in my mind is arranged marriage.. Although i strongly believe in it, i cant shake off the negative feeling of the uncertainity associated with it.. For example: how do u say "yes" to a person after meeeting him for just an hour or so.. What if he doesnt turn out to be compatible wiht u and u have no option of calling it off?? Getting my drift?

Still, hope against hope is prevalent since its my decision and the only option i have..

Running a Automobile Business....

 My career's fate got sealed over a couple of drinks with my mom and friends at dinner. The announcement of us bagging the Maruti Suzuki Dealership was a shocker and i never anticipated the Pros and Cons of the same @ a huge level!  So, i chucked my dream of a second PG degree from a scottish university and plunged headfirst in the family business :)

Penning down my experiences so far on this wonderful vroooming journey of selling happiness :)

Selection Process and MSIL: Mom waltzed through the selection process with ease. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (hence, reffered as MSIL) follows strict protocols in every aspect as it conforms to the japanese style of management. From the CEO till the shop floor worker are dressed in uniform and no deviation from this is allowed.
The HO @ delhi is worth visiting. The ground floor is a showroom for all maruti suzuki models and suzuki motorcycles. their canteen serves simple yet, tasty lunch for all its employees.

The selection process is based on many parameters and applicants are scrutinised from their social status till the tax papers.. from the family members till the market reputation. a detective agency is hired to do a third party check on the short listed applicants. People owning Land are highly prefferred since, cost of acquiring land (hence, project cost is lowered).Final interview is taken by the top honchos at MSIL.. It is like facing a firing squad wherein the questions are fired consistently from a 8 member panel.

Setting up the Dealership/Construction/Recruitment:

Note to Budding entrepreneurs .. when u estimate your project cost will be 'x', you should keep '2x' as reserve/backup. The project cost and time always escalates when u start the practical application of your business plan.

MSIL has a Corporate Identity (CI) manual which lists how the showroom must be constructed. Example: where the customer lounge should be, which colour sofa should be fixed, how much meter long should be the reception table etc.
It has vendors fixed and we are supposed to source stuffs from them only. Talk abt Huge commissions from an ALL-INDIA basis ;)

every plan needs to be approved by the dealer development officer (one who eats ur life to keep the work on track on behalf of the management of MSIL).

If one survives the onslaught of every minute detail to be photographed and mailed back to ur MSIL office, then the dealership is on right track....:)

Investing in a good digital camera is a super awesome idea if anyone is starting a new dealership. :)

Recruiting was fun.. and by Lord Balaji's grace i got a super readymade team on the first week of the rec. process.  Many technicians from gulbarga had migrated to other cities in search of work and when the new dealership was announced, they were happen to return back to native where the cost of living is super less and they r able to save some money.

MSIL Business Units : Pre-Owned Cars-True Value.. Maruti Driving School..Services..Bodyshop (denting and painting).. Maruti Genuine Parts and maruti genuine accessories...Sales are the strategic business units within a dealership.

Every SBU has own set of rules set by the company and every Territory Sales manager thinks that the dealer is neglecting his dept, not achieving the targets, lacks in Human resources personnel etc. ... handling many such TSM's makes a dealer CEO definitely go bananas!!! :P

Diesel cars, their waiting period and customers baying for dealers blood :)

Swift is an iconic brand and product. i never got the reason of the mass hysteria it causes. Gulbarga customers are so funny.. they dnt knw why they want this car only..but they just knw they want it.. because, my neighbour/brotherinlaw/ uncle has it.. convincing a diesel engine customer that it wont suit ur requirements (if u dnt run a diesel car minimum 30-40 kms a day, then the maintenance and cost of car which is 1.5lk more than petrol will kill u )

waiting period concept is not understood by anyone here, they think we are manufacturing cars in our own workshop and hence i get to hear, dekhiye na madam, ek toh gaadi hoga stockyard mein :P :P

Every person in glb claims to be friends with my dad and begs for discounts. once, i had  fight with a customer over a body cover. some customers are exasperating without limit..


Bodyshop : when u see beautiful cars smashed up badly, u feel so sad and concerned about the people in it, are they safe or not...alive or dead etc? however, after this feelings wanes away.. the happiness of getting more business sets in :P :P mre the damage more the labour charges and parts consumption!! guess, business is business after all :P

Delivery of cars : you feel so happy when u see a customer taking delivery of his car and when he greets you with sweets and thnks for the perfect car delivery :)

My staff : blessed with super awesome staff at Lahoti Motors :) every one sticks up for one another and treat eachother like a family member. Regular parties are thrown by the mgmt and many team building exercises are done :)

In a nutshell, Selling cars isnt that profitable, but servicing is where the moolah is..:) but,jab tak we dnt retail.. no new cars in market...no new hits and accidents..no used cars.. it is a vicious cycle :)


MSIL dealer conference: We get accomodated in awesome 5 star hotels in exotic locations and 3 days of fun masti begins!! conference dozes us off.. but the cocktail night is super rocking... where a celebrity singer sings away to glory :)

My business in a summary... :) :)