CHAK DE, PHARMA INDIA; CHAK DE, DR. KISHORE
Chak de, India (means Go India Go!) has caught the imagination of moviegoers in India and the Indian Diaspora. Moreover, corporate India and B schools have taken up to Chak de, India with great gusto. There are lessons in leadership. There is a rare joie-de-vivre. Chak de, India is not just about women’s hockey – it is about a leader-coach making ordinary people do extraordinary things. It is about inspiring the team and inducing passion for the game and winning. It is this spirit of Chak de, India that is the hot button of the movie.
India is on a winning spree on the Pharma wicket too. Indian Pharma field was an importer of medicines, during the time of independence (1947) and today self-reliant India is a net exporter of pharmaceuticals. Today, traditional Indian healthcare science is gaining momentum. Ayurvedic Liv 52 is the numero uno pharmaceutical product of Indian Pharma market. (The Economic Times, front page on 12.9.2007 announced rather cheekily, AHEM! LIV 52 CLIMBS ATOP DRUG CHARTS.)
Indian soft power in marketing themes
It is said business is marketing and marketing is business. The major component of Indian Pharma market is allopathic. The success of Indian Pharma industry is based on reverse engineering under the umbrella of Indian Patents Act, 1970. However, enduring marketing success is possible by banking on the soft power of India.
What is soft power?
The soft power of a country rests primarily on three resources: its culture (in places where it is attractive to others), its political values (when it lives up to them at home and abroad), and its foreign policies (when they are seen as legitimate and having moral authority.)
Soft power is a great product and service differentiator. Even the giants of global Pharma industry cannot match the way Kerala serves the world through Ayurveda (soft power component here is Ayurveda). In fact, the solidity and depth of success of companies like The Himalaya Drug Company comes from the fact that they have banked on the soft power of India. The successes of companies like Himalaya are not easily replicated. The milestones achieved by such companies and the depth of business is matchless as their business journey is based on an indelible cultural theme of Indian society. In contrast, the successes of Indian global Pharma companies like Ranbaxy, Nicholas Piramal, Cadila, Mankind… are notable but on shifting sands. The business journey of these companies is lacking in the soft power component that gives a certain differentiation and solidity.
Is it impossible for Indian Pharma companies to use SOFT POWER?
It is possible to use soft power by Indian Pharma what is apparently lacking is an appreciation of playing on the soft power theme and the corporate will to use soft power in business processes of Indian Pharma companies. This is vital since this soft power differentiator is not available with competing companies from advanced companies.
Is use of soft power a rocket science?
Obviously not! All it requires is back up by scientific trials in modern metaphors and language; presenting traditional themes in modern terms. Brand building is the second most important aspect for using soft power in business processes. Brand building will involve a unified signage, logo, color, font …
Dr. Kishore Patwardhan’s efforts to contemporize the soft power of India
Dr. Kishore Patwardhan is a young dapper MD in Ayurveda – a part of the faculty at Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi. While he is gaining popularity as a good teacher he is also pursuing Ph D and has made a great effort in contributing to Ayurveda by way of a book with an original and interesting perspective. Dr. Kishore Patwardhan’s effort is laudable, as he has created a compact easily readable book demystifying the concepts of Ayurveda and has presented the same with reference to modern medicine. It is a grand effort to present the soft power of India in a relevant way.
I sincerely recommend this book to all healthcare professionals in the world – particularly for those in marketing of natural pharmaceuticals.
Let us remind ourselves that there is a great appreciation for natural medicine in modern medicinal practice. Saw palmetto and silymarin are international best seller medicines. Moreover, modern day anti cancer vincristine and vinblastin have their origins in Ayurvedic Vinca rosea alkaloids. That is an example soft power of India.
Please click here for contacting Dr. Kishore: http://www.bhu.ac.in/ayurveda/kishorpatvadhan.htm
The book penned by Dr. Kishore Patwardhan:
Human Physiology in Ayurveda
Here is how you can buy the book online:
http://www.bagchee.com/books.php?id=501
The publishers of this book:
CHAUKAMBHA ORIENTALIA, POST BOX NO. 1032, GOKUL BHAVAN , GOPAL MANDIR LANE, VARANASI 221001
I am also happy and proud of Dr. Kishore
Dr. Kishore happens to be my wife’s cousin (to be specific: Dr. Kishore is the eldest son of my wife’s father’s elder brother. Dr. Kishore’s father is retired Prof. Of Kannada, Shri Dharmasthala College, Ujire, and he too is an author of repute in Kannada. So Dr. Kishore is a chip of the old block!). Dr. Kishore is happily married to Dr. Medha (a dermatologist) and they live at Varanasi with their bubbly baby boy Satvik. Their photos are there in this blogpost.
Kudos to Dr. Kishore on his contribution to the soft power of India.
posted by Sunil S Chiplunkar | 10:37 PM
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