Book Review

Rama Bijapurkar is one of India's most respected thought leaders on market strategy and consumer related issues in India. She is also a keen commentator on social and cultural changes in the evolving liberalizing India. She has her own market strategy consulting practice and works with an impressive list of Indian and global companies, guiding the development of their business-market strategies. She describes her mission as bringing "market focus to business strategy".

Rama serves as an independent director on the boards of Axis Bank, CRISIL, Give Foundation (a not-for-profit company) and Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd.

An alumna of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Rama continues to be involved with her alma mater where she is a Visiting Faculty and also serves on the Board of Governors.

Singular at the top, plural at the bottom

by Mr. P Chidambaram, Hon'ble Minister of FinanceThe Economic Times, Nov 7, 2007.

IS THE word 'trousers' singular or plural? Sunil Khilnani narrates the story of an Irishman who repliedthat 'trousers' was singular at the top and plural at the bottom! This delicious vignette is recalled in RamaBijapurkar's book We Are Like That Only, an original and thought-provoking treatise on the Indianconsumer market.Substitute the word 'trousers' by the words 'Consumer India', the phrase used by the author to describethe Indian market and the Indian consumer. The question whether Consumer India is singular or pluralwould be more difficult to answer - in fact, the answer would border on the philosophical. According toBijapurkar, a renowned consultant on consumer behaviour, what we have in India is a 'tricky andcomplex market' that has to be looked through 'multiple lenses'. That is what she has attempted to do inthis fascinating - often irreverent - book that questions many assumptions, myths and conventionalwisdom.Divided into 13 chapters, the book explores the demographic, cultural and the social trends...