The other Maharajah
Indian advertising has had a couple of prominent Maharajahs.
One was the mascot of Air India. Tapping into the cliché of India as the land of kings and spices.
He was better known and had a long reign in advertising, travelling to all parts of the world with his eyes shut (that was one of the early decisions)
The Air India Maharajah would express no surprise or display emotion on his royal countenance. Just an ever present smile.
The other Maharajah, Shri Mahashay Dharampal, came from the people - as the genial patriarchal figure of the spice brand MDH.
He adorned the advertising, the jingles and the packaging.
The brand came into being shortly after independence, starting off at a small shop in Delhi.
But the keen business sense of the patriarch would see the company get into packaging spices early on , scaling grinding capacities while other players looked to dominate locally and expand its wide network over decades.
India, as a major source of spices would be a dominant player in the world. But wholesale trade and branding are two different horses.
There are well distributed brands who aren't in the public eye.
And the ones who know branding well play the long game.
The advertising borders on the simplistic. And though MDH is not one of those brand names that rhymes with anything else, they still found a way to repeat the name at the end of every TVC. One slightly higher pitched than the other. That was the audio mnemonic!
The Indian way of squeezing something more out of every opportunity.
He hardly said anything in the commercials. Just maintained a presence in all his stately finery.
The king of spices played to the gallery - and ruled in kitchens across the land.
The presidential motorcades - stature and security
Back in 1963, when he was assassinated, President John F Kennedy was traveling in an open car.
By today's standards, that's unthinkable. The security protocols that have sprung up around presidents do both.
They add to the mystique of the position and keep the incumbent safe.
It provides an opportunity for high end car manufacturers to keep their top of the line models in the limelight - and associate it as much with stature as security.
The work that goes into moving heads of state around has become a pursuit all by itself.
Scenario planning on the ways that they can be targeted ensures that the teams are always on their toes - and there's nothing more stressful for the security team than the leader in full public view.
However, politicians cannot disappear from the public gaze. As it is, they have retreated behind TV cameras and carefully stage-managed interviews for most of their tenure.
It is essential that there are some public events where they mingle with previously whetted people.
There's a scene where the TV cameras kept President Biden's lone security person out of frame while he entered the room to meet with other European leaders during his recent visit to get them to unite against Russia.
But in long shots, that's almost impossible to exclude.
Like the pageantry that surrounds any public figure, the sight of stately black automobiles in a single row with set of flanking motorcycles builds the aura around the position.
Unlike the stretch limousines of the past, this one makes a power statement that cannot be equaled.
And the exclusivity does as much to reinforce the symbolism associated with that power.
Fist fights over tow trucks
It's how markets get distorted.
If a car breaks down on the streets of Toronto, calls go out for a towing service from the police room. The stuck vehicle holds up traffic and needs to be cleared at the earliest.
The competition is intense and several competing tow trucks race towards the vehicle that has broken down.
Territories have been carved out on which companies can operate towing services. And it has been taken over by organised crime - what used to be a Mom and Pop industry of small towing trucks is now forced out of the picture.
The new network feeds into shady repair shops and storage companies where the fees are ramped up and customers have no choice but to pay.
So, while the actual towing costs may be less than $300, customers could end up paying thousands to get their vehicle back.
In India, most towing services are operated by the car companies themselves - and for an annual fee, they'll help out at any time of the day, or night.
People may grumble about the annual fee but compared to how the market forces have been distorted in Toronto, this is a blessing.
And in India, a vehicle breaking down on crowded roads is no big deal. It just gets pushed to a side with some willing volunteers - or even the police lending a hand.
A lack of industry regulation is being blamed for the current mess in Canada but there is obviously more to it than meets the eye.
The towing industry hardly seems like the place where competition is fierce and cutthroat.
It's not about simple market dynamics, but a complete distortion.
Interesting to read about Toronto's two truck industry. Known as vultures, you captured the sense of desperation. Car companies do have a towing service when you buy a car and usually runs till the end of the lease. Then there is the CAA which gives incredible service for a nominal yearly fee. The issue is, people do not think these services are needed until their car breaks down. The tow industry was also in the news recently for using their trucks to distribute drugs.