The Brilliant Craftspeople of India

 Dilli Haat is just my favourite place to be at.

It is a living museum. Every time you go, in addition to the staples, there are artisans from some part of India. Almost every single time, they are either making the product and you can see it happen, or they tell you in great detail how they go about it. Its an education in the rich crafts of India and leaves one bewildered - every single time.

Last time, as we exited, there were quite a few people outside the Haat. Usually, I buy from one of the two-three papier mache vendors because they sit there and paint. They are visibly proud as you make a choice. So, we did that and just as we got into the vehicle, a lady came by to sell lovely silk brocaded shopping bags. They were breath-taking. The price she quoted made it obvious that she had made them herself. We bought three. After we had made the purchase, the lady said, "Mata Rani will bless you. I am a single parent raising two children without any support."

It was too dark to take a picture, but I don't need to take a picture. This is what Mata Rani must look like - making brocaded silk bags to be financially independent, selling them at 9 pm on the road, raising two children, and doing it all with panache. Those many hands of the Goddess? They are real.

Perhaps, in addition to the business practices of India, we should also understand the craft practices of India, and how our craftspeople are short-changed by a well irrigated system. The seed of an idea, then?

What i have learnt from standalone store owners

This is the duration of some of my relationships: 

Grocery store - 18 years 

Stationery Store - 18 years 

Electricals - 18 years 

Fruit vendor - 7 years 

Dry Ration - 2 years 

Cleaning supplies - 8 years 

Medical store - 6 years 

Florists - 7-8 years 

And over these years, I have learnt a few things from these wonderful people. Here are some of them: 

A. A simple board outside the store asking what they can stock. No AI needed to do inventory management and get new product ideas. 

B. Personally greet every person walking into the store. At one store, every customer gets personal attention and its a pleasure to go in there, even for a small thing. 

C. Be realistic about setting expectations. Tell them when something will be available. 

D. To the customer, you are the subject matter expert. Play that role. 

E. When a better product or offer is available, give it to the customer proactively. 

F. Indifference is the fastest way to lose a customer. A positive interaction goes a long way in retaining a customer.

What are some lessons that you have learnt from your interactions? 

On World Environment Day, lets talk about Blockchain

Blockchain is, simply put, a distributed ledger in which, every time a transaction takes place, an entry is made in ALL the copies of the ledger. 

Let's say that this blockchain has 2 people. A transaction happens. It is logged on 2 machines. No. of post transactions: 2 

With 3 people: 3 

With 4 people: 4 

Now, lets see the quantum of 5 transactions on these sizes of blockchain: 

2 people: 10 transactions 

3 people: 15 transactions 

4 people: 20 transactions 

5 people: 25 transactions 

This means that as the size of a blockchain increases, the number of transactions multiples. 

All those transactions consume energy and electricity. 

Do they make the transaction 2x, 3x, 4x secure? As compared to ONE backup? 

The simple answer is: NO. Creating n copies of a transaction does not make it n times more secure. The environmental impact is not commensurate with the security provided. 

So this World Environment Day, lets talk about the pollutants of tomorrow - Bitcoin and Blockchain. 

Simple Rules for Life

 1. Limit your banking exposure to two, at most three banks. No more. 

2. Keep at most 2 credit cards - one primary, and one backup. Take the highest stratum available to you. 

3. Never store credit cards on any website. EVER. 

4. Don't keep yourself signed in on any website. Sign out every single time, then clear cookies. Its worth it. 

5. Every few months, go to your Google settings and check your privacy settings. Google changes it automatically. 

6. Keep life insurance. 

7. Go to a local doctor. Go to a local hospital. DO not go to a corporate hospital unless your illness needs the infrastructure of a corporate hospital. 

8. Buy from your local store. Go to the bank branch. These relationships are important. You will need them. 

9. Things are to be used and people are to be loved. Not the other way round. 

10. Do not be in real debt. This means that you may take a home loan, but your assets should be such that you should be able to pay off that loan if the need arises. That's real debt. You are a debtor on paper, but not in truth. Buy the car you can afford to buy off cash. 

11. Always keep an eye on your investments yourself. Find your niche and fit in it. Not in any advisor's advised niche. 

The Gujarati Thali restaurant's signalling system

While watching Scam 1992, Bhatt teaches Harshad the finger signalling system. My son remarked, "That looks so complex! These signals are so subtle." 

And I remembered that the same system works in the Gujarati thali restaurants, and possibly, other Gujarati businesses too. 

What is a Thali restaurant 

Most Indian meals are multi-course by default and they are a riot of textures, spices, flavours, and aromas. 

Representative Image: A thali from Rajdhani restaurant, taken from the internet 

The Gujarati and Rajasthani thalis are the best known examples of these multi course meals. The South Indian Wedding food is another one. 

But in Gujarat and Rajasthan, these thali restaurants are very popular. 

How the system works 

If you have never been to one, here is how it works: 

When you sit down, someone brings a basin and pitcher to help you wash your hands. As soon as you're done, a server appears with the salad and starters. Once you reach main course, your thali fills up pretty quickly. As you eat, the servers move around silently, serving people near you, keeping an eye. If you finish dal on your thali, for instance, a server will appear out of nowhere and offer to refill that bowl. If you want dal, great for you. But if your heart desires something else, and you mention that to the server, the relevant person will be at your table in under two minutes. How does this work? 

My dad explained this to me. The servers don't talk or shout across the hall. They raise their free arm and gesticulate. Servers at the other end of the hall also can see this. The server with the relevant item (each server moves around with a serving tray that has 1-4 items, ready to be served) moves to the right table and person immediately and serves. There are gestures for what is needed where and by whom. 

Sometimes, two separate servers move towards a table on seeing the gesture, but on seeing a colleague has reached, the other turns back to focus on tables they have not visited for a while. 

The other thing that one notices about these restaurants is that you cannot tip an individual server. As you leave, the tip box is at the counter. You place it there. If you try to tip an individual, very likely the effort will be frustrated. 

The Thali restaurant experience is a lot like eating at a wedding. मनुहार or cajoling one to eat more is a necessary part of the service (or used to be). You feel well taken care of because someone arrives to refill even as you finish an item. Needless to add, these are all you can eat kind of service, but unlike a buffet, where you have to get up and fetch food every time, in this case, the food comes to you. 

You might think that a service like this will need a high server: guest ratio. You'll be surprised to know that most Thali restaurants I've been to managed with just the right number of serving staff. They don't appear to be an overwhelming number within the restaurant. 

Any other places where the finger signal system works? 

If you know of any other place where this finger signalling system works, please do share. (The examination hall is not a valid answer :) ) 

The Shagun of Punjabi business communities

When a business was started in a Punjabi trading community, the entire friends and family were invited. It was a celebration. Everyone came and bought something. That was mandatory. 

In addition, they also gave "Shagun" - a gift that is given for good luck, on social occasions. The start of a business is a perfect social occasion to a business community. 

Every guest was sent back with "mithai" - congratulatory sweetmeats to share the happiness with the guests. 

This was not any ordinary mithai. Most businesses start with a prayer ceremony according to the faith of the family. For the Arya Samaji Punjabis, that would be a yagya (havan). For the Sikhs, most likely an Akhand Path (a 2 day non stop reading of the Guru Granth Sahib). For other business families, it would be a prayer to their family deity (for 80% of Punjabi business families, that would be Mata Vaishno Devi), or to Goddess Lakshmi. This mithai was considered to be the prasad (blessing) of that prayer ceremony. 

In India, Shagun is given at weddings, at the start of a family, on entering a new house, etc. But a shagun and a small order at the start of the business, did two things: 

A. The moneys collected from the shagun helped ensure that operational expenses are taken care of for a short while. 

B. The initial orders, no matter how small, ensured a good first day of the business. The Punjabis believe that a good bohni (first order of the day is called a bohni), a good first day of the business, and a good final order of the day is auspicious. A business that does not do well on its opening day is, well, unheard of in close knit Punjabi communities. 

C. This initial order also gives every one a chance to sample your product. Then, when they recommend you to someone, they can say truthfully, "I have tried them and they are good." 

You might think that this is very well for B2C businesses, but as we move into services (CA, IT, etc) or B2B platforms, this practice cannot be replicated. 

Well, the Punjabis have been doing software (film production companies) and B2B (the entire construction and transport industry of the North from Jammu to Delhi) for a long time. 

So, here is how this goes: 

We give the shagun and we make a business transaction - this can be: 

A. A service rendered or resource shared. 

B. A discount if we can be a vendor to the business. We might also throw something in for free. 

C. An order 

D. An introduction to a potential client  

E. Govt and regulatory facilitation. 

Those who can provide vendor services do so at a very nominal rate for the first order. 

Those who can either buy or introduce one to potential buyers do that. 

Where our basic thinking is flawed

 ome things, I think, we need to think differently about:

A. It is not the website's job to do SEO for Google. It is Google's job to find and index the best content on the web. That is their core business model.
If they can't do that (and they are not, as I have discovered since using DuckDuckGo), that is their failure.
But Google has, instead of being the seeker of good content, become the inspector of content - first teaching websites SEO, then changing the algorithm every few years so that people cannot use the rules that it taught them and have to learn new ones. The entire SEO industry is based on our laziness and Google's manipulation of how information is accessed.

B. The attention economy fuelled by Facebook and Google have convinced every individual that it is the job of a good resource to advertise to them. They are not responsible for their ignorance. But they are.

Your attention is of value only to people who are making money from it. Not to someone who will add value to you. When you want value, it is your job to seek out the best resources, and to use them. In India, we used to find good gurus and apply to them to take us. Not the other way round. I found Rashmi Bansal's excellent programs, and she does not advertise. As a parent, I seek out such programs for the child.