French Pronunciation

Ok Guyz,

There was this time that I had taken a month long classes in French, but now, its kinda rubbing off me & hence this attempt to retain some amount of French through this blog. A couple of entries are gonna comprise of French pronunciations & commonly spoken words as devised 4m sites across our very own internet & 4m some notes of mine which my teacher- Claire, a Chinese student exchange girl left with me (she had a Chinese name that was too difficult to pronounce).

French letter(s)	English Sound
a, à, â	ah
é, et, and final er and ez	ay
e, è, ê, ai, ei, ais	eh
i, y	ee
o	oh
o	shorter and more open than aw in bought
ou	oo
oy, oi	wah
u	ew
u + vowel	wee
c (before e, i, y)	s
ç (before a, o, u)	s
c (before a, o, u)	k
g (before e, i, y)	zh
ge (before a, o)	zh
g (before a, o, u)	g
gn	nyuh
h	silent
j	zh
qu, final q	k
r	rolled
s (between vowels)	z
th	t
x	ekss, except as s in six, dix, and soixante in liaisons, like z

French Alphabets

a ah j zhee s essb beh k kah ttehc seh lell uoohd deh m em vvehe uh nen wdoo-blah-vehf eff ooh xeeksg zheh ppeh yee-grekh ahsh qkoo zzedi ee rair

SILVER

Silver

Slowly, silently, now the moon Walks the night in her silver shoon; This way, and that, she peers, and sees Silver fruit upon silver trees; One by one the casements catch Her beams beneath the silvery thatch; Couched in his kennel, like a log, With paws of silver sleeps the dog; From their shadowy cote the white breasts peep Of doves in silver feathered sleep A harvest mouse goes scampering by, With silver claws, and silver eye; And moveless fish in the water gleam, By silver reeds in a silver stream. By Walter de la Mare

Divine Justice

Well it has really been a while since I have made an entry into this blog, the reason being my temporary detachment from every thing around & then came the birth of my new blog- www.marketingwithakiss.blogspot.com. So here I am after a sabbatical to pen down something in my dear old blog.

Let me start with a recent novel that I read which left a considerable impact on me. Not because it had something influential or stuff like that, but I was totally charmed by the author's writing style. David Baldacci's Divine Justice is the first book of the author that I laid my hands on & is a part, kinda the climax of a trilogy which started with Camel Club, Stone Cold & then Divine Justice. Do not get belied by the name as it has nothing to do with the biblical sense of the word but is a pure masala written in crisp English. The simplicity & lucidity of the author keeps you glued to the content. There are no extensive & unnecessary descriptions of trivial matters around nor of the terrain and is a true page turner with action in each chapter of this 300+ paged novel.

Despite it being the third in line of a trilogy, it wasn't a barricade for me to understand the story as just in a couple of sentences, the author has given a brief recapitulation of Stone's (central protagonist's past). I have read some reviews & came to know that for those who have read Stone Cold, an American Bestseller, this is all the more a treat as is starts precisely where the prior ends. All I can say is that I can't wait to lay my hands on other works by David and the guy seems to be younger than most authors around & has already established a decent reputation with works for two very different genres, both serious, adult stuff as well as light hearted colorful pieces for kids!

Understanding Consumer India Better

B2C businesses in India continue to struggle with defining target markets based on the most logical measure — household income. Every meeting we

go to, the target market definition, based on which market potential is calculated and business plans are drawn up, is either hotly debated or accepted with a sceptical shrug of the shoulders by some people in the audience.

The definition is based on some income band per households per month or year, and this income band neither makes blindingly obvious sense nor is it standardised across data bases.

People have their own definition and they qualify this with labels like high / rich / middle/ lower middle or labels like “strivers/ consuming class / aspirers” or “top end of the market / mid market” and so on. These labels, instead of reassuring us, often leave us feeling even more anxious. Yes, we see the income numbers, and yes, we accept the number of people in each income band as per survey estimates. We also know that survey data on income is a reliable measure (it throws up the same numbers when the question is asked the same way) but it is not a “valid” truth number, statistically speaking.

That means that surveys do a good job measuring a certain kind of definition of income that is relatively accurate across people, but when income reported from surveys is grossed up and projected to the all India level, it falls far below the number that it should add up to, as per the national income statistics that the government puts out.

While consultants and companies advise investing in India based on the current and projected size of the “middle class”, the bogey of the definition and sizing of the middle class hasn’t gone away yet and adds to the unease. The World Bank defines middle class as having between $10 and $20 purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita per day, which is a lot narrower than the NCAER definition of households income between Rs 2-10 lakh ($4,000 to $21,000 at 2001-02 prices) annually; which is what McKinsey Global Institute uses in its Bird of Gold book.

Chris Butel of IIMS-Dataworks suggests sensibly that the middle class are those that have their own personal transport (car or 2-wheeler), own entertainment as in a TV set, sound system and their own communication (phone). Some of us suggest that the middle class are those who are literally in the middle i.e., have approximately between the 33rd and 66th percentile of income. Expectedly the numbers swing wildly from 50 million to 200 / 230 / 300 million. What’s more, the nagging worry persists that the middle class being defined by most of these income bands is actually India’s upper class.

So, we thought it’s better to work with a more intuitive way to understand income strata in the Indian market. The one which needs the least amount of assumptions or leaps of faith, and advances our collective understanding of Consumer India’s income distribution, is simply to work with percentiles of income. This article presents a very simple set of tables that analyses Consumer India in terms of quintiles of population stratified in terms of household income. The data is from NCAER’s household surveys, 2005-06.

Table 1 shows the percentage of Consumer India’s income, expenditure and surplus (income — routine expenses) that resides with households in each quintile. Table 2 shows the rural-urban split of households in each quintile, the percentage of income that is surplus (i.e., remaining after meeting routine and non-routine expenditure) and some patterns of expenditure.

The richest 205 million people in India (Q5), the top earning 45 million households, are discontinuously well off — if the average income of a household in Q1 (the lowest income) is 100, then the income in Q5 is 840; which is more than double that of even Q4 , which is 350. They have half of Consumer India’s income, and three quarters of its discretionary income, and don’t need to spend more than half of what they earn.

The interesting thing is that Q5 households’ average income level fits several of the more popular definitions of “the middle class”. Social class A and B households, which are most marketers’ “catch all’ target group for premium ranges, comprising about 20 million urban households are what the urban component of Q5 is all about. Q4 hovers around 20% on all counts. It has about 20% of Consumer India’s income and expenditure, and 20% of income is surplus.

The data also tells us not to be so surprised by the rural market robust growth, and also says that we shouldn’t give the NREGS all the credit for it! About half of Q5 (richest quintile) households are actually in rural India. Q4, which is a sort of poorer but fairly well off cousin to Q5, is approximately equally divided between rural and urban India. NCAER analysis shows that improvement in rural infrastructure will impact consumption more than improvement in income. Q1, Q2, Q3 households are predominantly in rural areas.

Table 2 provides a vignette of expenditure information by quintile. The interesting question is, as Indians get richer what do they spend on? NCAER data looks at items of ‘routine’ expenditure as well as ‘non-routine’ expenditure. Education is the net gainer as incomes increase, both in terms of routine and non-routine expenditure; as is transportation. Ceremonies form the single largest expenditure item in non-routine expenditure, both for the rich and the poor. Health expenditure also shows interesting patterns when analysed this way.

How many quintiles have various consumer durables conquered? As of two years ago, the 2-wheeler has done better than even the mobile phone. The 2-wheeler penetration is 71%, 48%, 28%, 16% in the top 4 quintiles; the corresponding numbers for mobile phone (2006) is 45%, 18%, 7% and 3%. The car is 21% in the top quintile and then it’s a below 5% penetration the rest of the way. Table 1 shows the percentage of Consumer India’s income, expenditure and surplus (income — routine expenses) that resides with households in

each quintile. Table 2 shows the rural-urban split of households in each quintile, the percentage of income that is surplus (i.e., remaining after meeting routine and non-routine expenditure) and some patterns of expenditure.

The richest 205 million people in India (Q5), the top earning 45 million households, are discontinuously well off — if the average income of a household in Q1 (the lowest income) is 100, then the income in Q5 is 840; which is more than double that of even Q4 , which is 350. They have half of Consumer India’s income, and three quarters of its discretionary income, and don’t need to spend more than half of what they earn.

The interesting thing is that Q5 households’ average income level fits several of the more popular definitions of “the middle class”. Social class A and B households, which are most marketers’ “catch all’ target group for premium ranges, comprising about 20 million urban households are what the urban component of Q5 is all about. Q4 hovers around 20% on all counts. It has about 20% of Consumer India’s income and expenditure, and 20% of income is surplus.

The data also tells us not to be so surprised by the rural market robust growth, and also says that we shouldn’t give the NREGS all the credit for it! About half of Q5 (richest quintile) households are actually in rural India. Q4, which is a sort of poorer but fairly well off cousin to Q5, is approximately equally divided between rural and urban India. NCAER analysis shows that improvement in rural infrastructure will impact consumption more than improvement in income. Q1, Q2, Q3 households are predominantly in rural areas.

Table 2 provides a vignette of expenditure information by quintile. The interesting question is, as Indians get richer what do they spend on? NCAER data looks at items of ‘routine’ expenditure as well as ‘non-routine’ expenditure. Education is the net gainer as incomes increase, both in terms of routine and non-routine expenditure; as is transportation. Ceremonies form the single largest expenditure item in non-routine expenditure, both for the rich and the poor. Health expenditure also shows interesting patterns when analysed this way.

How many quintiles have various consumer durables conquered? As of two years ago, the 2-wheeler has done better than even the mobile phone. The 2-wheeler penetration is 71%, 48%, 28%, 16% in the top 4 quintiles; the corresponding numbers for mobile phone (2006) is 45%, 18%, 7% and 3%. The car is 21% in the top quintile and then it’s a below 5% penetration the rest of the way.

SECTION 377- A New Leaf Turned By India

Indian Penal code 377 stated:

Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature, with any man, woman or animal shall be punishable with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

But then all of this came to an end with the historical judgment of July 2nd, 2009 which decrimanalised the law.

There are many evidences which shows that Same sex sexual desire has been recorded from ancient times in the east. This desire is the reason behind same-sex unions, usually between men. It often included some difference in age. Information on relationships among women in ancient times is very rare. May be because women were not afforded equal status with men, so that, while men were free to pursue sexual and romantic pleasure both within and without marriage, women often were not. Male love was encouraged in China, especially in the southern province of Fujian. Men would even marry youths in elaborate ceremonies. The marriages were long lasting. At the end of this marriage the elder partner would help the younger find a wife (of course female!) so that he can settle down to raise a family!!!

In West. Ancient Greece gives us the earliest western documents concerning same sex relationships. In ancient Greece, same-sex relationships were a societal norm. Certainly, these relationships did not replace marriage between man and woman, but occurred before and beside it.

s their any examples of homosexual relationships in the history? Of course there are! But, the sexual orientation of pre-modern figures is a topic of intense controversy. It may be accepted, for example, that the sex lives of historical figures such as Alexander the Great, Plato, Hadrian, Virgil, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Christopher Marlowe included or were centred upon relationships with people of their own gender. Terms such as homosexual or bisexual might be applied to them in that sense. But many regard this as risking the anachronistic introduction of a modern social construction of sexuality that is foreign to their times. For example, their societies might have focused upon the sexual role one took in these encounters, namely active, passive, both, or neither, as a key social marker. This particular system of designation is currently the norm in many areas of Latin America. As for Indian custom, the Khajurao Caves stand testimony to past of such sexual orientations.

Sandcastles By The Sea

The tower stood tall, a single window piercing through,

I could picture Rapunzel, vanquishing by the window

A narrow path wound down to a dusty door,

There stood my sandcastle on a lonely golden beach.

The walls so burly, circled my tower,

As a little gate of wet twigs dented them.

I could picture the Prince gallop across on his steed,

There stood my sandcastle on a lonely golden beach.

Did i build the wall so high that no steed could cross it,

Was Rapunzel so hapless that no deliverance answered her prayers.

I might never know the tale this far...............

Where stood my sandcastle are but stubs....................prey to the hungry tides.