Opinion 2011
Product Standards Unit needed – My Letters – THE NATIONAL Dt. 14.01.2011
Product standards unit needed
I refer to the front page news article Food reserve to combat rising prices (January 12). The recent surge in consumer prices, in line with related increases in the world market, especially in Asia, calls for the implementation of a consumer standards unit.
This is essential when we look at the shelf price of various products and discounts offered. Over a period of time, prices of items like tea bags, rice and wheat have increased silently. Some companies’ market items like tea bags with discounts compared to similar products distributed by other companies. These products are of inferior quality and thus the need for the grading of consumer products comes in.
A general assumption is that these products repacked here are not higher quality when outsourced from the world market for short-term profit making. Thus these marketing techniques may lead to identifying UAE products as cheaper quality when compared to others imported and marketed directly. A solution would be a UAE standards unit for consumer products sold within the country
Ramesh Menon, Abu Dhabi
To read it in original, please visit THE NATIONAL online.
Short Take – GULF TODAY – Dt. 08.01.2010 – Unpredictable life – a tribute to Levin Madhavan
Short Take – GULF TODAY – Dt. 08.01.2010 – Unpredictable life – a tribute to Levin Madhavan
DURING the later part of the ‘90s, I used to have a good friend here. He was a sound engineer and a good RJ working for a radio station that time. Due to his passion for music and arts, we became good friends.
It happened that due to some wrong relationships and moves in life and due to job loss, he had a disastrous end of residency in UAE and left to India for good.
I lost touch with him. It was after almost seven years, I got a call from him and he talked a lot about his life now and then and in between. He was still in love with Dubai and the life and friends and connections he had and was finding it difficult to overcome his huge losses and betrayals. We continued to keep in touch once in a while since then.
It was in April 2010 first week, he called me last and I promised him, next time when I visit India, I will make it a point to travel via his city and meet him.
Although I visited several times after, due to conflicting and hectic schedule, it never happened. However, I kept on writing him mails and was hoping that he was busy but reading my clicks and writes, as he used to tell me and appreciate them whenever he calls.
He was not a regular on email and his schedules were also not easy to reply and hence I thought he must be extremely busy. Last week suddenly, I received an email from a common friend based in Saudi Arabia, asking me about my friend’s or his family contact details back home. In his letter, he wrote about his demise in the first week of April itself.
It was a shock for me when I checked my diary. I found it was exactly after a day he talked to me. All throughout our friendship, he never asked me anything, but that time, he had asked me to enquire about a recording instrument, which may be obsolete now, but may still be available in Dubai second-hand market.
He told me that time itself it may be difficult to find, and even then I searched for it and never found one such unit and had written to him in one of the emails. My emails continued till I received this shocking news.
We meet people strangely in our life’s journey and some remain with us, some move away. Some even though they move, still remain in many ways in our memories, thoughts and deeds. Levin Madhavan was one such person, who will remain in my thoughts and prayers throughout my life.
Ramesh Menon
To read it in original, please visit GULF TODAY online.
Short Take – GULF TODAY – Dt. 01.01.2010 – Magic Words
Short Take – GULF TODAY – Dt. 01.01.2010 – Magic Words
Magic words
A New Year comes with lots of expectations and renewed vigour for all. It is a time to think for a change. Many of us come out with new resolutions and make promises to keep those new options permanent to benefit for the days ahead. As we progress, we tend to stray away from them and fit into our old scheme of things. Life goes on as usual. Make sure, all good things planned remain in your focus and action scheme for the next 365 days to come.
I have a friend who told me this incident. He is struggling these days due to various problems happening in life. His job is good and work environment is good too. At office he has a senior manager, who asks him daily with a beautiful smile, “how are you doing today?”
He says, this is one question that keeps him optimistic and forget all his worries and look forward to a productive day ahead. It is like a vitamin to instill enthusiasm, optimism and energy. We may not find many managers like the one my friend luckily has with him. It is an example worth emulating by those in senior positions to motivate their sub-ordinates. A smile, a kind word or a casual query to cheer up and motivate. If not already practised, why not we try to follow it and make it a practice to stimulate the capabilities of those surrounding us.
Let it be an addition to our list of new year resolutions.
Ramesh Menon
To read it in original, please visit Gulf Today online.
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