Security

Recent experiences at airports in India and other locations had me marveling at the wisdom that goes into devising security checks at airports.

I suppose I should have felt safer knowing that none of my fellow passengers had toothpaste over 100 gms or deodorants over 100 ml . Has it made air travel any safer ? Unlikely . More pointlessly inconvenient - yes.

Healing menu

There are a host of home remedies ease/heal various ailments e.g jeera water , ajwain water for stomach ache , ginger-honey , cinnamon-honey for sore throat etc. The list of simple home remedies in India to alleviate pain and heal is long. They are , needless to say, a better alternative to allopathy.

Restaurants can easily offer a selection of such items as part of their menu . It would be a huge help for folks on the move to be able to get home remedies instead of having to resort to medication. For the restaurants it would be quite easy to put together a list of food and drink offerings. Easy to prepare as most of them involve ingredients commonly used in the kitchen.

Much needed expansion in restaurant menus.

Be Merry :)

Abercrombie & Fitch

Passed by the A & F store in Ginza , Tokyo . At first the loud music emanating from the doorway and the decor gave the impression of a pub. A closer look revealed it was a store :)

Shirtless male models were welcoming visitors . The decibel level inside the building could compete with discos or even a rock concert. The sales staff were a mix of young , athletic looking American and Japanese boys and girls . When the sales staff were not attending to a client there were literally grooving to the music. This seems to be a requirement .

The large murals on the walls were edgy and suggestive . Lighting sharply focused on the clothing stacked from floor to ceiling. The illumination was largely reflection from the lights focused on the clothing and the partly lit floors. (not the best choice of light if one wants to figure how something would look in daylight ). The products looked interesting and well designed for the youth audience. The overall ambience of the store seems to elevate the appeal of the products.

Definitely an unforgettable store. One with sharp focus and appeal for it's target audience. It would not be surprising if it becomes a must visit destination just to experience the unusual environment.

p.s - we watched a janitor on the floor . He was pretty stoic . Grooving to the music was clearly not part of his job description :)

Sign on a seat :)

Loved this creative display outside a Tokyo restaurant.

Frugality Fatigue

Expand your vocabulary :)

Happiness

Happiness is a form of courage.

~Holbrook Jackson

Audio Design

In a recent visit to a mall noticed the incessant music at a salon . Guess I noticed it especially because it was music I would classify as cacophony. I spent a few minutes at the place . The salon employees work there all day. They have to deliver service to the clients which requires them to be reasonably attentive. A task made challenging in varying degrees by loud music through most part of the day. High decibel is not relaxing for all clients either . Rather than assume that incessant , loud music adds positively to the overall experience - businesses would be better off testing that hypothesis and calibrating the audio environment .

Possibly a business opportunity for companies to develop music customized for a space that measurably enhances customer experience and makes for a saner workplace for the employees of the establishment. The sound/music and decibel level can be varied depending on the time of day and the customer traffic. As I write this post I'm trying to recollect retail spaces in Mumbai that play soothing instrumental music or sounds from nature ( water fall , birds etc ). With the exception of some 5 star hotel lobbies I can't recollect any retail spaces with a positively memorable/soothing/relaxing audio environment.

Done well the audio environment of a space can significantly enhance it's appeal.

Unusual yarn

Taking a leaf out of Mahatma Gandhi's life, Ghaziabad Municipal Commissioner Ajay Shankar Pandey asks late-comers or truant staff to use the charkha and spin yarn to repent for their mistakes..

..The first to use the charkha was Health Officer D K K Tyagi. “Pandeyji was not happy that I had not completed drain work on Meerut road. I spent about 25 minutes at the charkha. I felt good and calm.”

..What does civic body do with yarn? "We intend to sell it to a khadi unit and use the money for the under-privileged community," an official said.

Pandey has a reputation for thinking out of the box — be it sweeping the streets of Mathura in 1994 to counter a strike by sweepers or handing receipts for the bribes that contractors offered (15 per cent of project cost) when he took charge as Ghaziabad civic commissioner in 2007.

The creative approach and the discipline it will hopefully foster is commendable. The non-linear approach is worth emulating for various kinds of institutes - schools , colleges , work places.