Serendipity and Learning

Bhujia Barons is a book on the Haldirams story. Haldirams is among the foremost name in Indian friend snacks and has made a name for itself in the past few years. Prior to Haldirams, there were no major nationwide 'namkeen' brands in India - and it was mostly serviced by local small businesses. Perhaps it is timing or their marketing astuteness they were ready when the Indian supermarket boom happened. It is not that they were the first snacks in the market, but they have created a category for themselves and are a leader of the snacks market in India. And their entry and success have prompted many a small and big player into the traditional snack market in India. They created a market which not many people realised existed - right under their noses. What I liked about the story was, about the founder was just one of the snack makers in Bikaner - a place which, now, like then was a place for traditional namkeens. The story of many other namkeen makers would not have been v...

Give the kids the internet and they will click on anything that is not connected to education. That in a nutshell is how kids are. Games are good, but puzzle games? No. Math game? No. Something that remotely resembles education? No. Ditto when it comes to videos. Mr Bean? Yes. Random junk cartoon? Yes.  Mindless advertisement? Yes. You get the picture? So when the little one was given a link to Ted Ed, I was not very optimistic. He had not liked Khan academy, so I was sure this will go the same route. Somehow, Ted Ed caught his fascination. And for now, he has junked youtube and random games. Even if his interest dies down in the interim, it is good that he has this at the back of his mind and he will switch to it (as he often switches to his favourite people on youtube who have taught him, among other things, origami, lego and other experiments.