Symbols have been a part of communication of the mankind since ages (as drawings in the caves of the Stone Age). It is an easy way to attract the crowd with no language bar. Corporates consider logos as one of the very important part of their branding activity.

But branding a currency?! The Indian Government is set to finalise the symbol for the INR (Indian Rupee) at an appropriate time, when the Indian economy is being looked upon at the international level to make its mark in the global world.

The GOI had announced an open competition for suggesting the symbol. The following 19 symbols were put to vote about a couple of years back by The Economic Times on http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rupeesurvey.cms . The government also stipulated a criterion that it “should represent the historical and cultural ethos of India”. It is indeed a nice way to maintain democracy as well as highlight the Indian tradition. But the business audience should not be left out. Symbols for currencies like Euro, Yen, Pound, though widely known and appreciated, are not well digitalized i.e. we still struggle to get them in our digital copies of the reports. Rupee should not just join the league.

Another issue I feel is that of confusing it with other countries’ currency. Though originally named after the silver coin, ‘Rupee’ is used to denote the currency of various other countries like Sri lanka, Pakistan, Mauritius, Indonesia and so on. The INR symbol should in some way be able to differentiate itself from these other countries’ currency.

Among the 5 shortlisted symbols http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate-in/2010/06/23/a-new-look-for-the-rupee/ I prefer the 4th option. It gives the look of our national language, Hindi’s ‘Ra’ (with a tinge of style). Also, the 2 lines cutting across the alphabet symbolize the stability in the economy (as in other symbols like Euro, Yen, etc.)

P.S.: for further analysis you may refer the following link http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7923825.stm .

No, it’s not the rains I am talking about. It’s our very own rickshawalas on strike… The noisiest, most irritating thunder of the Indian roads. Roads of Mumbai were quite peaceful on 22nd June.

But this strike got me thinking…what if some day the consumers go on strike! The rickshawalas most of the times create havoc on the road for the other vehicles and pedestrians. They have their own likes and dislikes about the places they want to go to. Whereas, as per rules, they are not allowed to refuse any passenger if the vehicle shows ‘for hire’ sign (Auto rickshaw driver refusing to ply for hire – charged under: MMVR 22 (d) 178 (3)(b)) (read http://www.trafficpolicemumbai.org/ ). Wonder what these rickshaws will do if the consumers choose not to hire them for transport…I know it’s a far fetched idea for the always ‘on the move’ city, Mumbai. One more way could be the rickshawalas forming a group or at least naming/numbering the routes their vehicles would ply on (like the BEST or the local trains). What a relief it would be to not be rejected by 100 ricks and still walking it up to the destination!

Harry Potter (HP), one of the best selling fiction series, is a story appreciated by people of all age and well adapted into a movie. Many, like me, owe their reading habit to this wonderful book. Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling is my favourite. It is so not just because of the dexterous writing or plot twists and incredible wit of the author. It is also a self-development book for me. To quote an example, the story talks about various magic charms. They are not just ordinary “abra-ka-dabra” or “khulja sim-sim”.

For instance; the Patronus charm. It is used against the Dementors, the happiness sucking evils of the magical world of Harry Potter. To perform magic through that charm, the wizard is supposed to think of happy thoughts, to feel the joy from within. The more happy thoughts the wizard thinks of, a better protection fog is conjured to attack the evil. In the same way, in the real world, when a person faces problems and difficulties, he must simply think of happy times. In short, just be positive. Good time is sure to come. That’s the mantra to shoo away one’s sadness – “Expecto Patronum”.

Similar to the Patronus charm, there is another magic charm – the Riddikulus spell. This spell is used against Boggarts. They are the scary creatures which take the shape of one’s fears and to wade off that fear one needs to think of some funny situation.

Reading HP books are a stress-buster for me. I would like to end this with my favourite maxim from the book – it is not our abilities but our choices that truly determine who we are...

P.S.: This is not going to be a HP fan site. It is one of my favourite subjects so thought of starting with it. Not more on HP for long now.