It's as if they're made for each other.
Driving and music.
I find it monotonous to gaze out of windows in complete silence.
The music needs to be there. Its presence adding seasoning to the waxing and waning conversations within.
Back in college, we used to drive to a friend's estate which was over a couple of hours away.
The lush greenery on the route was dramatic with variations of green and patches of bright vivid colours breaking through the canopies overhead.
But the music comes rushing back as well.
It's like life needs background music - which is why it sounds natural in movies.
Back then, cars had to be fitted with 'cassette' and 'CD' players. It wasn't part of the standard features. You went to a mechanic who took a few hours to thread the wires, cut through the dashboard and fabric in car doors to install speakers.
All the controls were manual - from fast forwards to popping out the cassettes and flipping them over to hear songs on the other side.
Interior spaces in cars were strewn with cassettes and CDs stuffed into all available pockets.
There's something ethereal about the world slipping away and the twists and turns in the road being set to music.
Hours of driving didn't seem to matter.
When some of those songs play on TV, they bring back a completely different set of memories.
The soundtrack of life being set by a choice of lilting or wistful melodies.
India joins the Silk rail route
These are long journeys
However, for cargo, it makes no difference
Paper products are now being shipped from Finland to India by rail
Earlier, I had written a LinkedIn post about Europe and China being connected by rail through Mongolia.
Various rail networks within countries are slowly snaking their way outwards.
Bringing a new dynamism to trade links that have existed for centuries.
New alternatives to shipping that are being built and extended throughout the world.
The surprising aspect is the time it saves.
What used to take 40 days to ship can now arrive at destinations in a couple of weeks - the Finland to Mumbai train is an example.
The possibilities of new trade links being forged also increases exponentially when goods only need to be shipped to the closest railway station, not a port.
The processes and paperwork need to evolve, of course.
But we've seen that trade is the great motivator.
Getting countries to sit down, negotiate and work out methods by which this can be managed.
We're seeing trade infrastructure evolve in new ways.
Some of it may threaten established shipping routes. But that is a long story and decades away.
It could even open up the romance of month-long train journeys for leisure passengers on holidays for which there may be possible demand.
Think of cruise ships and watching horizons of water as far as the eye can see in every direction.
On train journeys, the landscapes that unfold can be breathtaking.
The formula is fraying around the edges
How many crime shows and murder mysteries can you watch?
Especially the ones where the setup happens in the first five minutes and then the detective/police/lawyer has another 40 odd minutes to investigate, come up with twists and then grandly tie things up with a flourish?
The crime genre as well as the rom-coms and the dramedies are showing their age.
As well as the neatly packaged hospital dramas with their mysterious patients, doctor conflicts and nurses who flit in and out of the hospital rooms with clinical efficiency.
50-60 years ago, in the age when television first became popular, they ruled the airwaves.
There were exciting possibilities, and all kinds of combinations were explored.
A great set of actors and directors with a talented crew can still sustain interest but that's becoming the outlier, not the norm.
As production values scale, the plot points are finding it hard to break through the tried and tested, or even work around what audiences want and then deliver it time and again.
And while the storytelling and nuances have evolved, they still have to stick to the conventions of the formula
When you are binge watching to kingdom come, it's as if there's no shortage of brilliant films and serials to watch and enjoy.
The real question is whether there is a way out.
Maybe it is the human condition - we want variety but only within a certain range.
Whether it is food or entertainment.
Every week, I'll plant a few ideas in your mind on branding, behavior and markets. Triggers for your thoughts. Spread the word to your friends. All you have to do is click the link and enter an email address.
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