The Inkstained Mind: So we are all 'Hindu' now?

17 Oct 2012

So we are all 'Hindu' now?

The "Hindu Rate of Growth" was coined by Indian economist, Raj Krishna. (Incidentally, Raj was from the virulent "Chicago School" of economic - just like the current Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India, Raghuram Rajan.)

It was a disparaging reference to the low annual growth rate of India's economy - around 3.5% from the 1950s upto the time Manmohan Singh weaved his IMF-directed econo'magic' in 1991.

During his Raj Krishna Memorial Lecture in 1995, Montek Singh Ahluwalia - then, the Finance Secretary, Government of India - gleefully noted: "He (Raj Krishna) was one of the first to draw pointed attention to the inadequacy of our growth performance, when in the mid-seventies, he coined the much quoted phrase "the Hindu rate of growth" to describe India's disappointing trend growth, which at that time appeared stuck at 3.5 to 4% per year.

Today, the economies of almost all so-called "developed nations" of the world are growing, and only precariously so, at a less-than-blistering pace of 2 per cent and LESS. (But that does not discourage the Government of India in 2012 from trying hard to emulate their "successful" development model!)

Check out the latest Gross GDP Growth data from the IMF for France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the USA...

Could this all be just bitter irony - or could it be good ol' fashioned Karma? You decide.

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WHAT IS ADVERTISING?

It's often called the world's second oldest profession.

But while the scope of the oldest one has changed little over time, the evolution in the way we communicate has had profound impact on Advertising.

In the ancient and medieval world, Advertising meant word-of-mouth. In the 1500s with the development of printing it became a 'paid public notice', disseminating the message to many. And it had Copy & Art.

Then came radio, TV, computer, cable TV, Internet, mobile phones, Internet on mobile, and it's still not done... Even what we perceive as 'change' is changing. Continuously.

So what is Advertising today?

Honestly, I don't know.

But I do know from a dozen years evolving with the business, that Advertising is most valued when it can make a tangible difference for the advertiser.

That has not changed. And probably won't.

UPDATE: Nothing's changed. But in a way, everything has.

As you see, my focus has shifted - evolved in a way - to a larger canvas. The shift or evolution was gradual, and may be have been discernable to the more observant reader.

While I was delving into the influence of media in society to better understand how perceptions are created, evolved and disseminated, I chanced upon a thread of knowledge that I frankly never knew existed.

My conclusion is that a deep pool of awareness and consciouness exists beyond the shallow narcissistic boundaries created by the convention view of social media and the Internet.

My aim is to send my readers down any path that can lead to this quenching pool.