EXPERIMENTERÉ

 Why, 2022 is going to be the MOST  important year for everyone.  EVERYONE means anyone. Why? There could a billion reasons why, next year, the next week would be different. 03012022, is the next week. The letter 2 appears thrice and such a numeric figure is not going to occur in a long time.  We've learnt our lessons, still learning the hard way starting 2020, we have crossed 2021 and heralding into 2022.  As they say, FUEL the Fight and Drink Coffee....  

 We've entered the last month of a painful 2021. We all have lost someone or the other,  in some or the other way, if not us directly, then indirectly.  We learn from everything, atleast we try to. If not then we find more reasons learn from events, sometimes they are life altering. Like they say, we didn't happen to life, life happened to us. The school of our own thoughts has been schooling us in rather weird ways. They say, there are unknown parachutes (in form of friends, acquaintances, colleagues, family or maybe someone you never knew). Visible and invisible guides, mentors, silent observers, people from past and future leaders. I thank you all, from my deepest. Words, ranging from CPs, "bhai we need fighters, not managers.", to SPSatish s "mere paas time aur paisa nahi hai, aage bolo.", RAs day 1 advice "free to do everything but always follow the CYA rule, "COVER YOUR A.r.E", NPS, proclaims, and no doubt he's darn right, "bro!...

Thought of getting a name truly if not 100pc resonating something which this blog would really mean.  This photo was taken in Shillong (unnamed date) Started this blog in 2009 from New Delhi,  underwent 3 name changes in 12 years and I hope this could last long. Have been thinking of migrating from a blog to a website, which will essentially be a repository of experiences sometimes assisted with pictures (you can check the archive).  The name change occurred my kind today in this crispy winter Kolkata morning of November. We keep experimenting with different things be it it at work, or cooking or ideas.  You can take a glimpse of my visual experiences on YouTube https://youtube.com/c/palashdas, will be altering the flow of images from today on my IG -experimentere the original idea to rename this blog into a bit more conversational.  Have been missing writing badly and the rashtriya patrakarita diwas quickly reminded me of a brush in journalism which I undertook...

Again a masterpiece of an Ad by Ogilvy and Mather (India), Bombay team effectively portraying AI (Artificial Intelligence), they say for a 'good cause' this time Shahrukh Khan has come for support.😉. The fourth would be ideation of the entire flow of the AD through SEO (Search Engine Optimization), particularly local SEO. Something GMB - Google My Business talks about.  The production house was Country Boyz Productions, Mumbai, and Advertiser Brand being Mondelez, Mumbai which is still basking under the Piyush Pandey led, kuch khaas hai 2.0, and earned another feather made out of pandigitalendemic. The ogilvy website reads "The pandemic has had a crippling effect on the economy, particularly smaller businesses. Big brands, with their deep pockets and ad spends are more equipped to fight back, but local businesses and stores do not have that luxury. Ogilvy India and Cadbury Celebrations worked together to lend a helping hand to small bus...

In March 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) published the UAS Rules, 2021.  They were perceived by academia, Startups, end-users and other stakeholders as being restrictive in nature as they involved considerable paperwork, required permissions for every drone flight and very few “free to fly” green zones were available. Based on the feedback, the Government has decided to repeal the UAS Rules, 2021 and replace the same with the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021. Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy like – agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance, emergency response, transportation, geo-spatial mapping, defence, and law enforcement etc.  Drones can be significant creators of employment and economic growth due to their reach, versatility, and ease of use, especially in India’s remote and inaccessible areas.In view of its traditional strengths in innovation, information...

 “Doing what’s meaningful — acting on what really matters to a person — is the antidote to burnout.” Added Mr. Daniel Goleman, a psychologist, former New York Times columnist and author of the highly influential book “Emotional Intelligence.” He suggests, “Face what’s happening. What does it mean to me? What really matters to me now? Is there a way I can act upon what’s meaningful to me?” As per a UNICEF report in 2020, over 1 billion children were at risk of falling behind due to school closures aimed at containing the spread of COVID-19. Now that schools and colleges are reopening slowly, we wanted to explore, as in to what extend children have been affected. It is unprecedented to look at how kids are dealing with this pandemic. Across the world, education institutes and schools have been implementing remote education programmes. The report reads “Many of the world’s children – particularly those in poorer households – do not have internet access, personal computers, TVs or even...

  Gartner in its recent study predicts that overall global end-user spending on Public Cloud Services Expected to Exceed $480 Billion Next Year. In a note released in August 2021 it says , that the four new trends in cloud computing are continuing to expand the breadth of cloud offerings and capabilities, accelerating growth across all segments in the public cloud services market, according to Gartner, Inc. The four trends are: cloud ubiquity, regional cloud ecosystems, sustainability and carbon-intelligent cloud, and cloud infrastructure and platform service (CIPS) providers’ automated programmable infrastructure. Gartner forecasts end-user spending on public cloud services to reach $396 billion in 2021 and grow 21.7% to reach $482 billion in 2022 (see Table 1). Additionally, by 2026, Gartner predicts public cloud spending will exceed 45% of all enterprise IT spending, up from less than 17% in 2021.  Scalable database management systems (DBMS) for intensive application worklo...

  Every time, they talk about Logos, the most iconic brand which comes to my mind is NIKE - Just Do It.  So, what did Nike's Swoosh, did to us. According  to a recent study, in US, more Americans have searched or typed in the keyword - Nike over shoes, on Google, when they have searched for footwear. That's the power of the brand and its logo. It talks. A direct Call to act, - Just f....g DO IT - a strong verb. So, did OTC - oppurtunity to see a brand, everytime a sportsperson has worn a Nike's apparels? The first endorser of Nike was Romanian tennis player, Ilie Năstase, since then, Nike never ceased. The fact is that, Nike happens to be the number 1 brand in the world, that invests in sport sponsorships. Forbes, compiled a list where, out of the top 100, Nike must have endorsed 51 athletes. Historically, there were Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Sebastian Coe, Michael Jordan in 1984, and now Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahi...

 Like your face, which is unique in every way, unlike a doppelganger, who happens to be your twin, this isn’t the case in brands. It is not only philosophical and emotional, its identity comes with an important visual component sprinkled across various collaterals associated with it, it’s a representation of a LARGER IDEA.  A collection of elements, which defines the brand identity which a company portrays before its audience is brand identity. Usage of the term brand cannot and should not be used frivolously, branding is an important component before identification of the core brand identity and the designing process, which will eventually shape the perception you are creating before the world, people – generally, like you are in a social gathering, conference, intercultural business meetings at every step, your identity reflects the culture of the organisation. Your brand identity is the mix, which will differentiate you from others in the crowd. The image on the left is of ...

 They say, naam mein kya rakha hai (what’s there in a name)? Well, Identity is the first thing that everyone needs. “Whether you are an individual or a brand, you need to create your identity first. Creating a powerful brand identity is a significant step towards a great business. There are teams to make all the magic happens, but where is the team, what is the team, can there be a 1 man team or a 1,000 member team?  So, there needs to be a team to make it all happen. But how?? They say, one shirt doesn't fit all, hence, like people, all brands have a distinct identity, those need to be identified. Basically, it's the creative approach in developing the perfect brand strategies has worked wonders for all the brands.     Is like asking, ‘Hello What is your name?’ Now, different people would express or say their names differently. The next obvious question would be, generally in form of questions, to P2P ‘Where are you from? Or What do you do? And then, the commun...

Your feeble voice was the strongest of all. It was only you whole could have united this big family of ours. May your soul rest in peace. Om Shanti.

Our first Gold was brought by Dehradun, Uttarakhand born Abhinav Bindra at the Beijing Olympics. He is originally from Patiala, Punjab. It was a 10 m Air Rifle event. My friends in Garh Nivaas used to tell me stories about how he has been practicing shooting oranges 🍊at the Bindra Farms near Mohkampur.   Once in the RIVULET edition of erstwhile Big Ma'am s Riverdale School at Balbir Road had Abhinavs photograph with George. W. Bush (Sr) and his trip to Florida that year. I guess it became a talk of our school for half a year, or less if not more. He was my junior then.  Yes, the Gold medal 🏅,  the only image I have of him now, was of 2008, when he got the medal. One of his kind. We were happy that year. This year, we have got far too many medals.  Very very good. I believe we are capable of doing more. We'll get there. Do we need coaches? Foreign? There is no answer to that. Learning can come from anyone, however there has to be an original source ...

 Kolkata – 28th July, 2021 – Nusrat Jahan an acclaimed Tollywood actress and MP, believes that ‘motherhood is every woman’s right’ and must be exercised independently, and without any pressure, from anyone. Sudeshna Roy, a renowned personality hosted the show carried out a freewheeling talk around the topic - My Life, My Right. Hosted on Suvida’s official Facebook page, the discussion between the two ladies was digitally broadcasted LIVE and attended by thousands of viewers from all over India. By the time of writing this story, the LIVE video reached nearly 5,00,000, gathered 850+ comments, 150 shares and viewed by over 2,00,000 people within 24 hours. The distinguished ladies talked about topical issues around women health, motherhood, women empowerment, gender neutrality, women and their identity, family planning, how to handle trolls, controversies erupting on social media and more. The whole video can be viewed here https://fb.watch/v/eXfITlHZX/ additionally on YouTube as well...

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow. – Gilbert K Chesterton

Everyone, including women must have a choice to how, where and importantly when to embrace MOTHERHOOD, the once in lifetimes opportunity, in her life. We believe that no force, or pressure should be applied on any of the partners to partake this big of a decision, more importantly,  the women of our society (rural or urban). To support and talk about planning a family, health measures to undertake, Nusrat Jahan,  a popular Bengali actress in West Bengal, India is going to come on SUVIDA  Facebook page on 25th July, 2021, Sunday evening at 6:00 P.M www.facebook.com/SuvidaContraceptivePills. Along with her, shall join leading health columnist and thinker Sudeshna Roy, both in Kolkata.  It should be her (a woman's) right, because it's her life, afterall.

Got this word from this Pic dated 28th June. #skhigh taken somewhere in West Bengal.

 On the 1st of June, 2021, The Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi announced, that class 10th and 12th exams, stand cancelled, owing to the current Covid19 pandemic. The School Education Department Principal Secretary headed a committee that is most likely to pass all students as per the Right to Education Act. Marks will be given based on “recommendation”, Am not sure what that exactly means? Recommendation. All Passed One of my first coaching classes (to score well in school, not competitive exams) was with Mr Hari. Om. Biswas Sir, from the Marshall School, there were a couple of private teachers, as well, but that not consequential. There used to be a huge row and batches in our time. It was the pre-internet era, no online or zoom classes.  My schooling happened in Dehra Dun, a small town in the northern part of India, and the glory (pun-nish) days, where we had numbers to score and not grades. Grades were parked for SUPW, Practicals, Sports and Discipline. Either the...

Buddha poornima and Buddha's teaching has touched us, at some point in life. May peace, prosperity and good health reign to all this year amidst this devastating pandemic.  Do not dwell In the past, Do not dream of the future,  Concentrate the mind on the present moment. Happiness will never come to those who fail to appreciate what they already have. You only lose what you cling to. “Suffering is not holding you, you are holding suffering.” Buddham Saranam Gacchami | Dhamma Saranam Gacchami | Sangham Saranam Gacchami... Happy  Buddha Purnima !

  Amazing, and cant describe, how beautiful, Purulia was. Took a train to Purulia and then, Doladanga lake via Manbazaar (an old place). Very strange, a very big bajaar. You can also check the government website - for planning a post covid trip to Purulia. However, it could be very hot. Its Next to the Kangsabati Lake, Beside Sonajhuri Forest, a deep tribal forest. Was able to witness this season's first Palash flower, for the first living time. It's also called the wild fire of the jungle, and incidentally my name as well. A video has been created . . Near the Mukutmanipur dam, it is not far away. Small hills and a perfect sunset. My last trip just before the pandemic reigned. Thanks for Arpita from IZIFISO, a Calcutta based travel startup, specialising in backpackers, and weekend destination. They have a way of promoting tourism, keeping sustainability on the top of their minds. You can visit their website - and explore more of Bengal. I am hoping, this could turn out to be...

The clouds are out with a thunderous night before. The weather today is very pleasant, and thanks to the weather.com, have been waiting for May - 2, no not because of the result, but waiting for the KaalBoishakhi to arrive and spell some much needed cool showers.  The grand West Bengal assembly elections got over with a painful 8 phase and side by side a resurgent second wave of Covid19 in India. Surviving, guess its helping us to understand how to survive this scare.   The land has been pumping heat and a lot happened in the last few months. I have been crisscrossing, states, cities, countries and nations. Suva, Nadi, Delhi, Kolkata, and then Dum Dum Cantonment to Hazra to Jodhpur Park, and now to Kalyani Ghoshpara (60 Kilometres from my house). To frankly add, braved the virus (till now, TW) and  All in the last nine months. Also managed a few outstation trips, to Mussourie and Rishikesh, Sundarbans and Purulia, now the mountains are calling. We also entered the ne...