Automobiles
Playing with power
I think we've got ourselves a metaphor here. Indians love cars with power. Or, more accurately, Indians like cars that they think have power. Which is all just fine but where's the metaphor? Well, there's a metaphor involved because Indians love power (o
r, as clarified earlier, what they think is power) in just about everything. You don't believe me?
Consumer Notes
Top-class caring
The latest issue of Consumer Research had some interesting information on the cost of pharmaceutical research by Dr. Henry Miller of the Hoover Institution, Stanford, CA. He writes: `Bringing in a single new drug to the market in the United States now co
sts a manufacturer on average more than 500 million, by far the highest price tag in the world.' A Duke University study reveals a sobering corollary -- fewer than three out of every 10 drug products generate revenues covering their development costs. Tu
fts University researchers discovered that the time taken from synthesis of a new drug to marketing approval increased from an average of 14.1 years to 15.2 years, between 1980 and 1989. These trends should cause alarm. Fewer drugs will be developed and
those that do emerge from the pipeline will have inflated prices. And there is no FDA reform either on the horizon.
Corporate
In the line of feedback
In the previous column (May 15), we examined the role of feedback in maintaining self-esteem and the objective of feedback -- to shape behaviour and not `inform' someone what you think about him. But why is it important to focus on a person's behaviour?
Miscellaneous
Shocking plight
The consumer article `Plug the loopholes' (May 15) clearly exposes the lack of concern of Indian manufacturers about the safety of domestic electric equipment. As a practising electrical engineer, I share your concern and would like to na
rrate an instance which again reflects the callousness of these manufacturers.
`Foreign' in the wood work
Italian drawing rooms, French bedrooms, Scandinavian kitchens, American bathrooms, Indonesian balconies, German gardens... the metros are being seduced by a brand new concept -- multinational homes. Burn those old Ikea catalogues, show that no-show carpe
nter the door and set out, with a fat wallet, of course, to shop at the imported-only furniture showrooms springing up in your city.
Pro-sight rally
Dubbed as the first all-women car rally with blind navigators, the Delhi-based Empress Club in league with the NAB had organised a rally in the Capital on May 21.
Luncheon talks
These days when executive lunch breaks are just an extension of working sessions, there's one company that has made a serious attempt at breaking out of the monotony that the new era has brought in. Bangalore-based TNT India Ltd, started the `
TNT Lunch Club' more than three years ago. And the idea has caught on so strongly in the company that today the club is a professional body.
Telecommunications
Regional star
Exciting new things are happening on the regional channel front, but last fortnight proved to be a damp squib -- literally -- for two Marathi channels. The day that saw the worst rain in 50 years in Mumbai -- May 18 -- was also supposed to be a memorable
one for Zee Network's Marathi channel, and Rathikant Basu's latest offering. Zee had an event planned to announce two new programmes, and Basu was all set to tell the world about TARA (Television Aimed at Regional Audiences). As it happened, Zee had to
cancel, thanks to the heavy rains, and Basu had to wait till the day of the actual launch of the Marathi channel, May 19, for the stars to come alive.
Textiles
Among Kota people
The chequered weave of a Kota sari is a prized possession of many women. Shona Adhikari visits Kaithoon in Rajasthan and is amazed that such a gossamer-fine fabric should come from such squalid surroundings.
Travel & Places
Himalayan treasure trove
It's the only place in the world that possesses a temple with a living goddess in residence. Apart from this ancient tradition, Nepal has glitzy offerings too, says Preeti Mehra.
Views from on high
Summer's the time to try out one of the trekking expeditions up into the misty hills. Neeta Gupta recollects that `top of the world' feeling while climbing up to the Chandrakani Pass on the Kullu trekking route.
Medieval heritage
One of Germany's last bastions of medieval pride is Regensburg. Inder Raj Ahluwalia gets a taste of what makes it so unique.
