Got Questions for MD of LG Electronics India?
Pic Courtesy: India Today
As part of my continuing journey to interview corporate head-honchos for Kiruba.TV, I’m meeting up with Mr.Soon Kwon, the Managing Director of LG Electronics India.
Soon Kwon is a LG veteran and has been with the organization for the past 25 years. He has had a wealth of experience in managing international markets, sales and administration.
He was the President and CEO of LG Electronics Business Solutions company before being appointed to the new role. Earlier, he served as a Managing Director at LG Australia in 2009. He has also held senior positions within LG in the US and Canada. He is passionate about Golf and enjoys reading.
I’m off to Delhi to meet up with him and if you have any questions for him, please send it to me at Kiruba@Kiruba.com. I would be happy to ask him on your behalf.
WWOOF !! Vaksana Farms is now part of the International Volunteer Group
Its great news that our Farm has been accepted to be part of the WWOOF network, a global volunteer group specializing in farming. WWOOF is present in 99 countries around the world. What this means is that it opens doors for international travelers visiting India to come stay and volunteer at our farm.
International Volunteers.
This is almost like Couchsurfing with a pure farming focus! Having been part of the Couchsurfing experience, I can vouch that the best part of this is the cultural exchange and the chance to get new ideas.
Volunteers get a chance to work at the farm for 5 to 6 hours a day and in return they get to experience the rural life and live the life of a farmer. They get to be part of the family. Their stay and food are taken care of. People can stay at the farm anywhere from two days to three months.
There are many farms in India that encourage this type of volunteering. If you are interested in knowing more, visit WWOOF India
Volunteering Opportunity at Vaksana Farms
This coming weekend of April 13 & 14, we are inviting people who are passionate about farming to come be part of the farming activities at our village. Vaksana farms is an idyllic 9 acre farm set in a beautiful village called Rettanai, near Tindivanam.
This volunteering opportunity would be ideal for people who are exploring farming as a way of life or for city folks who want to experience rural life.
Recently, I was part of an organic farming workshop where a bunch of people passionate about farming got-together. Working on the farm became such a fun activity because of the bonding and team work. That’s when I decided to open up my farm too for people. Its a great win-win situation.
So, here’s the plan. We leave for the farm from Chennai at 7pm on Friday evening. On Saturday and Sunday, we wake up early and get ourselves busy with lots of activities. We start back to Chennai at 6pm on Sunday evening.
Transportation
Option 1: We all meet up at Koyambedu bus stand at 7pm on Friday night and take a bus to Tindivanam and then to Rettanai. There are plenty of buses available. All buses that go to Villupuram, Trichy or Madurai is good for us. This is a cheaper option and all of us pay our own fares.
Option 2: We car-pool. It’ll be a fun road-trip. We share the fuel cost. Gives us flexibility for us to check out a few farms on the way.
Either of the two options is good.
Accommodation
Accommodation is taken care of. We have a lovely small house right in the middle of the farm. It has a large hall and a mezzanine dorm. There’s no electricity in the farm and this is a blessing in disguise. Its a very unique experience.
Food
We typically buy food from a hotel in the nearby town. We go dutch and food is fairly inexpensive. Alternatively, we have a working kitchen and we can attempt to do group cooking. Will be lots of fun.
Activities
OK, here’s what we plan to do over the weekend.
1) Plan and plant a complete living fence. ( a fence made completely from plants)
2) Take care of the Millet and Paddy nursery.
3) Plant mango and coconut saplings at the fruit orchard.
4) Mulch and manure the fruit tree saplings.
5) Crete a balcony railing from Bamboo stems.
6) Plough and till the land and create 3×10 feet vegetable beds.
If you are game, please call me at 9841597744 or email me at Kiruba @ Kiruba.com. Look forward to having a very productive, sweaty, fun weekend !!
Olympic Book: Story of a Rowing Champion Who Saved a Family of Ducks
This story is part of the book I’m authoring titled, ‘Rings to Cubicles: Inspiring Lessons of Grit, Perseverence and Sportsmanship from Olympic Athletes for Corporate Professionals‘. Read more about the book here http://www.Kiruba.com/olympics
Its a compilation of inspiring real life stories from Olympic Champions. Here is one very fascinating story. Read on.
Winning an Olympic Gold Medal is considered the ultimate in sports. Hundreds of elite athletes have done that across many Olympic events. We don’t remember them all. There are very few that stays in our memory.
Bobby Pearce’s Rowing victory at 1928 Amsterdam Olympics is one such.
But first, about the rower. Bobby hails from a family of accomplished rowers. Both his father and grandfather participated in the World Rowing Championships. His grandfather won it in 1885. Not surprisingly, Bobby took to rowing early in his life. By 14, he had already won his first open event and a few years later was crowned the National Single Sculls Rowing Champion. It was no surprise that Bobby was selected to represent Australia in the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics.
The Amsterdam 1928 rowing regatta was held on the Sloten Canal, and in the single sculls there were fifteen competitors from fifteen different countries.
Bobby easily beat his competitors in the initial rounds. His biggest challenge was to come during the quarter-finals Not from his rowing competitor but from a family of ducks !!
In the quarter-finals race, Bobby was easily leading Victor Saurin of France. While he was well ahead of the Frenchman, he heard the spectators on the river banks loudly shout out to him and gesturing wildly. He looked over his shoulders to find a duck and her ducklings right in the path of his boat. He stopped rowing, slowed down his boat to a halt and precariously leaned forward to rest on his oars. By the time the duck family had crossed to safety, his competitor had already overtaken him with a lead of five boat-lengths.
Bobby restarted his rowing and so good was his strength that he not only overtook his French rival but went on to beat him by over 30 seconds. Infact, Bobby’s time was the fastest among the eight scullers, even including the stoppage time for the ducks!!
Bobby then famously went on to win the 1928 sculling gold with a record time that stood for nearly half a century. He later become the first Australian to defend an Olympic title at the 1932 Los Angeles Games.
Even though Bobby is considered one of the greatest rowers in the word (Two Olympic Gold Medals, Three World Sculling Championship Titles), it is his humane consideration for the family of Ducks that won people’s hearts and made him popular.
My Turn to be Interviewed: Podcast with Rajeev Suri
At the India Digital Summit in New Delhi, organized by IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India), I was introduced to a very interesting person. The person had an infectious smile, overdose of positivity and a boisterous laugh. Say hello to Rajeev Suri, a Senior VP with Reliance Group and who has had leadership roles at Infosys, Colgate-Palmolive and Cafe Coffee Day. More about at his Linkedin profile.
Rajeev and I share a common passion. Podcasting and interviewing leaders. I pulled him aside to get him on my show but he laid a condition that I should appear on his show too. The deal was stuck. Here is the video of our conversation where Rajeev asks me some very interesting questions. My part of the deal is due soon.
You can watch more of Rajeev’s podcasts here.
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