Celcom Malaysi Essay Example

Celcom Malaysi Essay Celcom is one of a member of the TM group of companies. Being one of the very few companies in Malaysia to originally obtain a cellular phone license, it successfully introduced mobile telephony in Malaysia through its ART-900 service, using first generation NMT-900 technology. It uses the dialling prefix identifier of 013, 0148 and 019. The mission and vision; * To delight our customers. * To build a profitable enterprise that maximizes investors return. To empower, develop and reward our people, to become Malaysia’s preferred employer. * To build win-win relationship with all our business partners, based on mutual trust, respect and support * To work to bridge the digital divide, to build our nation and to enhance its standing abroad. * To maintain the highest levels of transparency, integrity and professionalism. 1. 1Products Celcom continues to lead the industry in product innovation; and in 2002 Celcom’s products became more than ever. In addition to introducing three new prepaid packages, the Company introduced other innovative product offerings such as MSN Mobile Hotmail, which enables mobile phone users to receive e-mails via their mobile phones. Another innovation was Celcom’s Unified Messaging Service. This service gives customers access to all their messages, whatever the format, via whatever communications device they are using. In 2002, Celcom also became the first Malaysian communications company to offer Chinese content SMS. In addition, Celcom successfully introduced, on a trial basis, both Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). To delight customers and further bridge the digital divide, Celcom will continue to be aggressive in introducing meaningful products and services; and already has a series of advanced business mobile communications solutions and products in the pipeline. The Company will make extensive use of market research to ensure that the products, contents and services it develops meet real customer needs and desires. We will write a custom essay sample on Celcom Malaysi specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Celcom Malaysi specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Celcom Malaysi specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer With the imminent merger of the businesses of Celcom and TM Cellular, 2003 will see a pooling of resources to achieve economies of scale which will boost our competitive edge in an increasingly saturated market. Celcom will continue to upgrade systems and equipment to cater to an increased customer base. 1. 2Services and Coverage Celcom claims to have the widest and most extensive coverage nationwide, compared to other cellular services in Malaysia. Celcom claims its dual-band GSM (900/1800 MHz) coverage has reached over 97% of Malaysia’s populated area in 2006. As of 2006 Celcom is offering both 2. 5G and 3G services on its Minutes postpaid and Xpax prepaid brands. Current customer base stood at 7. 8 million, with blended ARPU (Average Revenue per User) stood at RM65. Celcom claimed a 95% nationwide mobile service coverage with 3G availability in most of Klang Valley, Johor Bahru, Melaka, Kulim and Penang. 1. 3History When the cellular phone market was opened up in 1995, Celcom upgraded to the GSM900 service and quickly grew to become the largest mobile phone company in Malaysia until it was overtaken by Maxis. During the Asian financial crisis in 1997, Celcom’s owner, Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli suffered a debt crunch, and his shareholding in Celcom was seized by Danaharta, the national asset restructuring company. Failure to resolve his debts resulted in the controlling stake in Celcom being sold to Telekom Malaysia, the government-owned incumbent fixed line operator in 2003. Telekom Malaysia proceeded to merge Celcom with its own mobile-operator subsidiary TMTouch through a reverse takeover of TMTouch. Celcom was originally listed on the Bursa Malaysia, but after the merger with Telekom Malaysia Berhad, it has since remained private. Owing to the bad management of its former management Celcom was as found liable by an arbitration panel in Switzerland for infringing an agreement signed with Deutsche Telekom AG’s unit, DeTeAsia in 2002. The tribunal ruled that Celcom was liable to pay DeTeAsia US$177. 2 million in principal plus US$16. 2 million in interest as well as other legal and arbitration costs. This works out to a tidy sum of about RM740 million. Leaving Telekom to intensify its efforts at recovering monies from Celcom’s previous owners for their misdeed. Only then will TM be able to fully exorcise itself from the haunting of Celcom’s tumultuous past. 1. 4Current Developments Celcom is currently doing nationwide promotion using power icons like including international footballers Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Ryan Giggs and Robert Pires and Chinese entertainers JJ Lin and Wang Lee Hom, as well as local actress Maya Karin. Celcom is the Malaysian partner of the Vodafone mobile community. Celcom current CEO, Dato’ Seri Mohammed Shazalli Ramly, has been with Celcom since 2005. On September 28, 2007, Telekom Malaysia announces a revamp of its mobile communication units which includes Celcom. The revamp plan was to group Celcom under the TM International, which houses other TM regional mobile units and emerge it as a separate business entity. The restructuring exercise should complete by Q1 2008 and the new business unit will be listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange by Q2 2008. 2. 0 THE STRENGTH OF THE COMPANY A SWOT analysis is a structured group activity that useful in identifying the internal and external forces that drives an organization competitive in its markets. SWOT is an acronym for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats. 2. 1The strength of the company 1. Celcom maintains a product differentiation strategy resulting from a strong market orientation, commitment to high quality, and customization of products and services. 2. There is little turnover among well-compensated employees who are liked by customers. The relatively big size of the staff fosters communication and quick response to client’s needs. . A long-term relationship with the primary suppliers results in shared knowledge of the product’s requirements, adherence to quality standards, and a common vision throughout the development and production process. 4. The high percentage of sales, suggest a satisfied customer base as well as positive word of mouth, which generates new business per year. 5. Be ing the oldest telecommunications service provider in Malaysia, has given celcom a competitive edge and increased customer’s trust and loyalty to the brand. 2. 2The weakness of the company 1. Celcom’s current facilities are crowded; there is little room for new employers or equipment to fit into the company. 2. Celcom is reactive rather than assertive in its marketing efforts because of its heavy reliance on customer’s reaction for product satisfaction. 3. While the staff size improves growth and communication, it also impedes commitment on the side of the staff and lack of specialization. 4. Both the product line and the client base lack diversification. Dependence on current recorder rates could bleed complacency, invite competition, or create false sense of customer satisfaction. Development of a product that would provide better quality service by the competitors would probably put Celcom out of business. 5. The non-seasonality of the products and services creates bottleneck in productivity and cash flows, places excessive stress on the personnel and strains on the facility. 6. The poor niche market could be a competitive advantage for their competitors to gain an advantage over them, and this could lead to a dramatic decrease in customer’s loyalty. 7. High cost of products and service could alter the buying power of the consumers, especially in this time of global recession. . 3The opportunities for the company 1. Advertisement in Malaysia alone exceeds 200 million Malaysian ringgit annually. More than 20 million ringgit is spent on specialty advertisement which is the potential for celcom’s growth. 2. Celcom is currently the Malaysian partner of Vodafone. 3. Celcom is currently doing nationwide promotion using power icons like including inter national footballers Steven Garrard, Michael Owen, Ryan Gigs and Robert Pires and Chinese entertainers JJ Lin and Wang Lee Hom as well as local actress Maya Karim. 4. Celcom currently has the widest 3G and HSDPA coverage in Malaysia since its launch on 17th may, 2005. 5. Celcom provides many products and services that suites different customer needs, ranging from economic, business, and family and leisure satisfaction. 6. The director and manager of the company, Dato’ Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim is currently working with the company for the seventh year, this is different when compared with other telecommunication service providing companies and with his full experience, he has helped guide celcom to a resting edge with quality management. 7. As more and more Malaysians look for ways to keep in touch with each other, celcom’s popularity and quality services has helped draw more customers to the company through customer relationship and brand loyalty. 2. 4 The threats for the company 1. Reengineering, right-sizing and outsourcing trends in management may alter traditional channel relationship with brokers, dealers, and distributors or even lead to elimination of the channel. 2. Specialty advertisement through promotional items relies on gadgetry and ideas that are new and different. As a result, product life cycle may be quite short. 3. Completion from other telecommunications service providers is strong. 4. High cost of products and service would be a competitive advantage to their rivals over customers, through implementing low cost quality products and services. 5. There are no barriers of entry and this could be a great threat because it could make new fast productive companies to come into the market and try to gain a stand of their own. 6. Fast technological advancements would result in faster product life cycle, increase the need for improvement and might result in low sale of less quality products, or products with less technological features. . 0 RECOMMENDATIONS By matching strength to opportunities and converting weakness and threats; * The acceptance of technological advances and the desire to control time creates a potential need for technologically rich products with varieties of features. * Celcom must modify its management hierarchy, empowering its employees through a more decentralized marketing orga nization. * Celcom should consider diversifying its product line to satisfy new market niche, as well as developing products that are seasonal to boost sale. Celcom should consider surveying its current customers and its customers’ client to better understand their needs and changing dreams. * Have gone into partnership with Vodafone, celcom should consider establishments in its neighbouring countries, especially the lower technologically advanced ones like Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar etc. 4. 0 CONCLUSION In my opinion, Celcom have done well for their market. They also have controlling interest in mobile operator in Asian. They got the cheapest plan for subscriber with minimum budget. They also improve quite a lot in wider coverage.

Pat Miranda Accounting Essays

Pat Miranda Accounting Essays Pat Miranda Accounting Essay Pat Miranda Accounting Essay After returning from a seminar on the choice of activity level in the predetermined overhead rate, Pat Miranda arranged a meeting with the production manager and his assistant to discuss possible new ways on how to compute the predetermined rate. Using the new way they were able to lower the manufacture overhead (for $25 to $20) and add an entry called â€Å"cost of unused capacity† to the budget income statement. The use of the new method raised some questions about how appropriate it would be and also if it is ethical to manipulate the numbers in the statements. 3. The new method based system will affect net operating income in a negative way. For the same amount of units sold we have $50. 000 less income with the new method. 4. The new method based system will make it harder to perform the â€Å"hat trick,† because by using the Cost of Unused Capacity, the unused capacity is much more visible to management. If they pull the â€Å"hat trick† they have to produce a few extra thousands of products to get the desirable $500. 000 in net income. 5. The concept of the â€Å"hat trick† is not a very ethical practice, because it allows the numbers to be manipulated very easily to produce the numbers that are desired in sales. This leads the owners of the company to believe that the company’s profits are higher than they really are due to the building of a higher inventory. The â€Å"hat trick† and other programs like it lead to a set of numbers in the business that do not really tell the true facts, but rather they condition the numbers to say that things are better or worse than they really are. These manipulated numbers can lead to problems and can cause owners and management to make decisions that they believe are sound, but based on the true numbers are not good decisions.

Role of Knowledge Management in enhancing mgt. decision making in Lab Report

Role of Knowledge Management in enhancing mgt. decision making in Toyota - Lab Report Example Corporate management is now handling a global-scale brand of management, requiring a different kind of strategy, much distinct from traditional management. Advancement in technology is fast; innovations are applied every minute. There is what we call Web 2.0, or web-enabled infrastructure allowing business-customer and business-to-business interaction. This spawns databasing or shared repositories. The internet has revolutionized business functions and introduced countless innovations in the globalized world. Toyota Motors is a knowledge-based, global firm, leading the world in the car manufacturing industry. It has been the world’s leading car manufacturer, with branches worldwide, but recently a controversy has hounded its worldwide operations and colorful past, probably putting its leadership in the car industry in question. Problems over the hybrid Prius’ quality lapses that included braking problems and sticking gas pedals forced a global recall of 8.5 million vehicles, 6 million of them from the United States. Questions have arisen: how will Toyota resurrect from the ashes of a tainted hybrid Prius? Will it ever become the once glorious company which started its humble beginnings from a troubled Japanese economy? This essay will delve on the company Toyota, as a whole, and the particular technical aspect of its success – the introduction of knowledge management. For all of its successes, knowledge management played a key role in Toyota’s rise to ‘stardom’. Toyota has been on the forefront of car making because of an effective strategic and operational management coupled with an efficient and competitive workforce. Their strategies involve innovations in production, marketing, sales and promotions, and branding. But to top it all, it has been able to handle knowledge management like it is a part of ordinary business. In the 1950s Toyota was only a

Nokia company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Nokia company - Essay Example Strategy helps an organisation to attain competitive advantage which ascertains its success. The business operations of the company along with its manufactured goods were believed to be based on technology. The factor of technology has been considered to be crucial because of the rapid alterations and the constant developments. Therefore, the company in order to stay ahead in the competition required to deal adeptly with the altering technological environment. The issue of increasing competition and sustaining existence in such a tumultuous environment would be addressed in this study (Dittrich, 2005). Academic Foundations Concepts & Theories Regarding Strategic Management of Organisations Organisations have been stated to be an accumulation of individuals who are brought together and organised with the intention of attaining certain objectives. In this context, strategy has been referred as the means adopted by the mentioned accumulation of such individuals for the reason of turning to an effectual economic performer. Strategy could be described as a structure of behaviours with the help of which a particular organisation, by mishap or plan, builds resources. These resources are then employed for the purpose of providing products as well as services in a manner that is comprehended to be worth by the users. The delivery of the products as well as the services are carried out by adhering with the financial and other determined intentions along with the restrictions made obligatory by the chief stakeholders. Appropriate strategies offer an organisation with certain assets that are measured to be exclusive or rather distinguishing. It also provides the organisation the method for adjusting and redesigning its competitive benefits in accordance with the... It is evidently clear from the discussion that the origin of Nokia, the leading cell phone manufacturer, traces back to 1865 with the commencement of a project relating to forestry business by Fredrick Idestam who was a mining engineer in Finland. Finnish Rubber Works Ltd was set up in 1898 and the Finnish Cable Works commenced its functions in the year 1912. Slowly, the possession of the two companies along with Nokia started to change hands with few other owners. And then at last in the year 1967, these three mentioned companies were brought together which gave rise to the company called Nokia Corporation. The company has its headquarters at Espoo in Finland. Nokia Corporation is involved with the production of mobile gadgets along with appliances related to mobile network. It creates mobile gadgets with the facility of accessing internet on the gadgets. The company also offers services as well as resolutions relevant to its manufactured products throughout the globe. Nokia Corpora tion is involved with chiefly four kinds of business operations or divisions and they are multimedia, networks, mobile handsets and enterprise solutions. The company was stated to be the biggest producer of mobile handsets in the globe. It has a workforce which engages about 132,000 employees in more than 120 countries. In case of Nokia, after carrying out the internal and external analysis, it could be suggested that the company needs to take away its previous outdated models of mobile phones from the market as the requirements of the customers keeps on altering

Food and Beverage Operations Management Assignment

Food and Beverage Operations Management - Assignment Example As a result of that different service and production system pertaining to the industry has been framed for the purpose of incorporating hygienic production and distribution system which ultimately results in health and nutrition of every consumer. Reports have also suggested that food and beverage industry has been the mainstay in the development of any country’s economy. According to Blazey (2009), whether it is a chemical or Pesticide Company, a biotech or a genetics firm, hotels, restaurants, or even large supermarkets such as the Walmart, Costco or Target Corporation; each of the business or industry revolves around beverage and food sector. Now, in the context of food and beverage production and service system, it has unique characteristics in comparison to the production and service delivery system of other products. The following are the characteristics: - The demand for food and beverages occurs at the peak time such as breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, other than these periods food industry generally experiences a lean phase. The demands for food might vary according to the time of the year as well as the events taking place in the surroundings. Hence, on the basis of the season and time of the year, the production and distribution system undergoes enormous amount of change. The food production and services are highly labour intensive. The industry requires both unskilled and skilled labour. The menu changes at regular interval of time and hence the production and distribution system changes (Dunne, Lusch and Carver, 2011). Both food and beverages are perishable in nature and as a result of that foods are required to be handled properly before, after and during the process of preparation. Figure 1 - Flow of Food (Source: Hollensen, 2007) 1.2 Discuss factors affecting recipes and menus for specific systems The recipes and menus get strongly affected by a number of factors. Broadly, food service systems are classified as a cook and chill, conv entional, assembly and commissioners serve (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2011). The conventional food service is the type of service where food is prepared and is eaten at the same place. Cook and chill are the service where food is prepared and is eaten after a certain period of time, the commissioner is the system where food is prepared and is taken somewhere for eating and lastly in assembly service the food is brought to a new location and it requires reheating before actually consuming it. The factors which affect the recipes and menus for a specific system are as follows: - Demand of customers: - The consumer demands are probably the most vital factor that affects the recipes and menus. The tendency of customer demands is observed and a menu is prepared on the basis of that only (Lingar, 2007). Seasonality: - Seasonality is a major factor. Being a perishable product, it has strong dependence on season. For example, ice cream or cold drinks are hardly consumed during winters and as a result of that menu needs to be changed and alternate items such as juice need to be on the menu. Budget and Ability: - The budget and ability of the restaurant are also considered before finalizing the menu. For example, if there is a shortage of staff members or lack of ingredients, the menu list needs of to be shortened (Nazarko, 2004). 1.3 Compare the cost and staffing

Durga Puja Essay

Durga Puja Essay Kolkata, the city of joy, as it is known, has been celebrating the Durga Puja since ages. Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengalis, is the worship of Shakti or the Divine Power. As most of the religious celebrations around the world, the Durga Puja also has a legend of the struggle between the good and the evil. The dark forces eventually succumbed to the divine. I can still remember I used to love the Durga Puja as a small child as it was an occasion to get a month long vacation in school. One of my oldest memories of the Durga Puja is that of the construction of the huge pandals on the way back from my school. My friends and I used to play hide and seek in those pandals until some angry uncle would guide us out citing some lame reasons. Another memory is that of playing with friends from the neighbourhood throughout the day. In fact, the days of the pujas were the only four days of the year when I could stay out till evening and yet nobody would scold me. According to Hindu mythology, Durga Puja was initially performed in the month of Basanta or spring time. This was known as Basanti Puja. Rama first did the worship of Devi Durga in the month of Ashwin, an unusual time for this Puja and hence it is known as Akalbodhan, meaning an uncustomary time of commencement. It is said that hundred blue lotuses are required for this Puja to be a success. He could find only 99 and hence offered one of his eyes as a substitute of the hundredth rose. His devotion pleased Devi Durga who blessed him and he finally won over Ravana, killing him in the process. The battle was started on Saptami, generally accepted as the starting day of the Durga Puja, and ended on the period between Astami and Navami, called the Sandikhan, or the time in between. Ravanas body was cremated on Dashami, celebrated throughout India as Dussera, signifying the victory of the good over the evil. Durga Puja dates back to the 16th century, during the Mughal era. Legend has it that the first Durga Puja was organised by king Kangshanarayan of Teherpur in the Nadia district of West Bengal. King Jagatnarayan of Bhaduria soon followed after. Gradually Durga Puja became the great annual festival that brought together family, friends, and neighbours, infusing life into the mundane life of the village communities. By the mid eighteenth century, this festival of the Bengalis had become the chief occasion of the filthy rich landlords, known as babus in Bengali, to flaunt their wealth. They invited the Europeans during every evening of the five-day long event to grace the occasion with their presence and join in their feasting. The presence and participation of the British notables became a matter of pride and prestige for their hosts. As per the Calcutta Chronicle there were other notable locals who began to host the British at their Durga Puja. Though there is much confusion about the inception of Durga Puja in Kolkata, some believe that the family of Saborno Chowdhury held the oldest Puja in the city, dating back to 1610 near Sakher Bazar in Behala. Other old Pujas include that started by Govindaram Mitra of Kumartuli and the one at the palace at Sovabazar, known as Sovabazar Rajbari, started by King Nabakrishna Deb of North Kolkata. Where individual initiatives declined, collective enterprise came to the rescue even in the early years. Around 1790, 12 Brahmin friends in Guptipara in the Hoogly district of West Bengal, decided to start a community Puja. Subscriptions were raised from the neighbours for the Pujas. This is said to be the start of the outdoor Pujas in West Bengal, popularly known as Baro-yari puja(meaning twelve friends), which gained popularity in leaps and bounds. The Sarvojanin Durgostav, literally meaning everybodys Puja, as we know it today started off much later in Kolkata in the 1920s.The oldest Sarvojanin Durgostav is that of Bazbazar Sarvojanin, near the bank of the holy Ganges, at Bazbagar. Though the celebrations around Durga Puja lasts over four days, mainly from Saptami to Dashami, the mood of the Durga Puja sets in much earlier in the life of the people of Bengal. It starts with the idol making at the famous Kumartuli, a place famous for its beautiful clay idols of Gods and Goddesses and pottery. The entire process of creation of the idols or murti, as it is commonly known as; from the collection of clay to the ornamentation is a holy process, supervised by rites and other rituals. On the Hindu date of Akshaya Tritiya when the Ratha Yatra is held, clay for the idols is collected from the banks of a river, preferably the Ganges. After the required rites, the clay is transported from which the idols are fashioned. An important event is Chakkhu Daan, literally donation of the eyes. Starting with Devi Durga, the eyes of the idols are painted on Mahalaya or the first day of the Pujas. Before painting on the eyes, the artisans fast for a day and eat only vegetarian food. Kumartuli is a place which is very close to my grand parents residence. My grandfather used to take me to this place and showed me how idols were made from bamboo, clay and hay. The Sharatkal or the autumn season brings with it the ever known strands of white clouds and light cool breeze which reminds every Bengali of the nearness of the Durga Puja. The Kashful, a flower traditionally associated with autumn and the biggest festival of autumn, the Durga Puja is another symbol that reminds every Bengali of the auspicious occasion. Then the time comes for Mahalaya. My father used to wake us up at 4 in the morning to listen to the All India Radio where the evergreen voice of Birendra Kishore Bhadra and Pankaj Kumar Mullick still rings in my ears. Earlier it was conducted live but now a recorded version is broadcasted exactly on the same time and still it creates the same effect to the listeners. When I was in my junior school, I was a member of the Rama Krishna Mission drama and play team. On the day of Mahalaya we used to enact a play on goddess Durga. I still remember the month long practices before the event. After school I used to go to Rama Krishna Mission for rehearsals of the acts. The sense of achievement after successful enacting of the play was really a memory to cherish. And the ice cream treat from my mother made it all the more memorable. The idol of Goddess Durga has 10 hands which hold 10 different weapons used to fight the evil, Asura. It is believed that Goddess Durga got the 10 weapons from 10 different Gods who gave their weapons to Goddess Durga to combine all their strength to fight the evil, as Asura was unbeatable by any other God. The conch shell in Durga`s hand symbolizes the Pranava or the mystic word Om The bow and arrows represent energy. The thunderbolt signifies firmness. The lotus in Durga`s hand is not in fully bloomed, it symbolizing certainty of success but not finality. The Sudarshan-Chakra signifies that the entire world is subservient to the will of Durga. The sword that Durga holds in one of her hands symbolizes knowledge. Durga`s trident or trishul is a symbol of three qualities Satwa (inactivity), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (non-activity). Devi Durga chose the lion as her vehicle or Vahana, which signifies the taming of the wildernesses. As a child I used to be a little afraid of the huge lion. My mother used to always say that Goddess Durga would send her lion to punish me if I did some mischief. But gradually as I grew up, I started liking the Vahana of Goddess Durga. In my school, I was even selected as one of the judges for best lion contest conducted by my school. Lighting, in and around the Puja pandals, also form an integral part of this elaborate decorations. Chandannagar is the destination where most of the big community pujas look to get their lightings done from. Traditionally light bulbs of different colours were used to decorate various pandals but nowadays mostly light emitting diodes of various colours are used to save electricity as well as carry out the different intricate collections much easily using microprocessor chips. As a child I was a great fan of one of the Pujas held at College Square. It was famous for its lighting arrangements. As it is one of the most popular pujas which attracts a huge crowd, my father used to take me to visit this puja pandal in early hours when the light would be still on and the crowd also would be less. Ritual drummers or dhakis, as they are commonly known as, also add to the ambience of the Durga Puja. The dhunuchi nach and the beat of the drums is something which goes hand in hand. Many local competitions are held to find out the best dhunuchi dancer and it is really a matter of pride for the Bengali male to have won such a competition. Many Bengali films and music albums are published to coincide with the Puja. Many magazines, like the Anandamela and Shuktara, among others, come up with a special Puja Special issue just for this occasion. As a child I was great fan of Shuktara and gradually I shifted from the Anandamela to Desh. In Kolkata alone, more than two thousand pandals are set up, all clamouring for the admiration and praise of the populace. The city is adorned with lights. Traffic comes to a standstill, and indeed, most people abandon their vehicles to travel by foot after a point. A special task force is deployed to control law and order. Durga Puja in Kolkata is often referred to as the Rio Carnival of the Eastern Hemisphere. In my college, I was more interested in pandal-hopping than being a part of my neighbourhood Puja. My friends and I used to go pandal-hopping throughout the day and sometimes even throughout the night. At that time the number of pandals covered used to be a great matter of pride and all my friends tried to compete with each other to visit the highest number of pandals. At the end of four days, the idol is taken for immersion in a procession amid loud chants of Bolo Durga mai-ki jai (glory be to Mother Durga) and aashchhe bochhor abar hobe, meaning it will happen again next year and drumbeats to the river or other water body. This is a happy occasion for some who celebrate by offering sweets to guests and relatives while a sad one for some like me to whom it means a wait of another long year to relive and enjoy the festivities of the Durga Puja. Environmental hazards from the materials used to make and colour the idols pollute local water sources, as the idols are brought directly into the river at the end of festivities. Efforts are underway to introduce eco-friendly materials to the artisans who make the idols. West Bengal has been credited by its own environmental agency as being possibly the first Indian State to successfully curb the use of hazardous paints. However, by their own account, only two-thirds of the idols made are currently coloured with eco-friendly paints. During the Puja season emotions are high with thoughts of homecoming, happy reunions with parents and daughters married to distance places, between brothers separated across the oceans; the beat of drums thud across the twilit skyline releasing a fresh boost of life amidst the locality numbed by its numerous problems. Everyone tries to forget at least for the four days the hard-pressing reality and utmost practicality of everyday life as they take the welcome break from routine life and lose their work-a-day identity in the swirl of festivity. Thus Durga Puja indeed plays an integral part in every Bengalis life, which every Bengali however far from his motherland, feels at the bottom of his heart.

Walt Whitmans Drum-Taps :: Walt Whitman Drum-Taps Essays

Walt Whitman's Drum-Taps - The Personal Record of Whitman’s Wartime Experiences Walt Whitman is one of America’s most popular and most influential poets. The first edition of Whitman’s well-known Leaves of Grass first appeared in July of the poet’s thirty-sixth year. A subsequent edition of Leaves of Grass (of which there were many) incorporated a collection of Whitman’s poems that had been offered readers in 1865. The sequence added for the 1867 edition was Drum-Taps, which poetically recounts the author’s experiences of the American Civil War. Walt Whitman was born May 31, 1819, in West Hills, Long Island. His early years included much contact with words and writing; he worked as an office boy as a pre-teen, then later as a printer, journalist, and, briefly, a teacher, returning eventually to his first love and life’s work—writing. Despite the lack of extensive formal education, Whitman experienced literature, "reading voraciously from the literary classics and the Bible, and was deeply influenced by Goethe, Carlyle, Emerson, and Sir Walter Scott" (Introduction vii). Whitman was drawn to the nations capital roughly a year after the Civil War began, at the age of forty-three. The wounding of his brother, George Washington Whitman, who served in the Union Army, precipitated his contact with the carnage of the war. Reading the notice of his brother’s injury in the New York Herald, Whitman went immediately to Falmouth, Virginia, where he found his brotherly only slightly wounded. Perpetually short-handed, Army officials asked the poet to help transport injured soldiers to field hospitals in Washington. Whitman agreed, and began a mission of mercy that would occupy him from 1862 until the war’s end in 1865 (Murray). Drum-Taps is the personal-historical record of Whitman’s wartime occupation. Drum-Taps’ early poems were written prior to Whitman’s contact with wounded soldiers, and betray a starkly different attitude toward the war than one finds later in the sequence. The chronologically earlier poems celebrate the coming hostilities, expressing Whitman’s "early near-mindless jingoism" (Norton 2130). As one progresses through the work, he finds a less energetic, sorrowful, jaded narrator who seems little like the exuberant youth who began. Understandable so, "[Whitman] estimated that over the course of the war, he had made ‘over 600 visits or tours, and went †¦ among from some 80,000 to 100,000 of the wounded and sick, as sustainer of spirit and body in some degree, in time of need’" (Murray). What follows is a contemporaneous review of his work that speaks of the esteem that much of the world extended Whitman as patriot and poet of Drum-Taps: