Potti Kadai a.k.a. "Mom and Pop Shops"

Potti Kadai(s) or the Pop and Mom Shops have been the best examples of traditional business in India and are popular even today. They form a major source of business in the rural areas and still today have their unique strategies and challenges.Sit sat down to discuss the lives of the Pottu Kada Owners, the business, their growth and their importance for rural development. The issues that were discussed were

1. An understanding of the Potti Kadai(s)

2. Who are the owners?

3. What kind of customers do they cater to and what products do they offer?

4. What kind of financial constraints do they face ?

5. What challenges do they face in relation to their growth and their consolidation?

6. How can they bring about rural growth? How can innovative models be developed for the same?

The discussion went very lively and it was decided to conduct further research on the topic, conduct a survey of their financial aspects and do a documentary on the Potti Kadai(s).

Lets take a look at the video of the discussion!

Sit Talks on Potti Kadai - Amazing videos are here

Expenditure Patterns

All of us have unique expenditure patterns. And each expenditure pattern has its own philosophy on why it is right. However such philosophies sometimes let us get rigid about our expenditures and often prejudice against the wisdom of the expenditure of another person. Hence Sit sat down to discuss the expenditure patterns of the participants to understand the reasoning of the expenditure pattern of each and deliberate on the same with the objective to understand and appreciate such patterns.

Lets take a look at those discussion videos!

Sachin vs. Lara!!

Though the topic “Sachin Vs Lara - Beyond Cricket” seems be something that has been discussed over for so many years, 'Sit' sat down to think and understand the various possible connotations that one could make out of the two personalities and attempt to draw a comparison between the two. The objective of the discussion was not to conclude who is a better player, but what possible threads can be pulled out and learnt from this topic. The objective was the learning experience using this topic!

The discussion began with each member providing his views on who his/her choice would be and why he/she chose the particular player over the other. Sit then moved to discuss various aspects ranging from “synergy” in management to individual vs group strategy, celebrity credibility, character building and every theory connected to more than cricket.The discussion ended with the formula to success - Talent + Practice + Character + Attitude = Success!

Let's take a look at the discussion!!

Sachin and Lara

The Indian Woman

"Sit" members sat down to discuss an interesting and controversial topic : The Indian Woman – her role, dimensions, attitudes, challenges and the road ahead. An attempt has been made to not only understand the Indian woman’s role in Society, but to also gain fresh perspectives on the issue to foster intellectual thought.The various issues touched were

1. The structure of Indian Society

2. Women Empowerment today

3. The concept of “equivalence”

4. The old women / men debate

5. Tradeoff Concept

6. The balance required

7. Societal pressure and other external factors

8. Strengths of women, not present in men.

9. Conservative outlook of women.

10. An understanding of the man’s role relative to a woman.

Lets take a look at the discussion!!!!

The Indian Woman

Check out the videos as well!

Theism and Atheism

Theism and Atheism are two sensitive topics in the society today. While each individual decides his stance, predominantly we brand the other side with stereotypes as being “absurd”, “dumb” etc without understanding the perspectives. "Sit" sat down to discuss the varying perceptions and dynamics in these two aspects. The discussion covered the following:

• Theism– An understanding, perceptions involved
• Atheism - An understanding, perceptions involved
• The Grey Area – A life of Contradictions
• The Up Bringing- Does it decide your stance?
• Proof – The varying perception

Out of the discussion, we could not really conclude on whether theism or atheism is right. However, we realized that it was proof vs belief and there are so many perspectives involved and it is essential to respect both the sides rather than living with unreasonable prejudice. It was a good learning to all and the discussion is still open!

Theism and Atheism

Simplicity and Humility

Every society’s ethical norms, both religious and otherwise, have certain qualities as indicating goodness or positive attitude. These qualities however, over time, seem to used by us without really getting into the roots of the meaning or what the quality really stands for. "Sit" identified two such popular qualities namely Simplicity and Humility, two terms that are being used often as indicative of the goodness in a person. "Sit" sat down to discuss the varying perceptions and dynamics in these two aspects. The discussion covered the following:

• Simplicity – An understanding of the perceptions involved
• Humility - An understanding of the perceptions involved
• Humility and Simplicity – Are they ideas or just culminations of actions indicating their nature? Does it really matter to be simple or humble within or it is just enough to act to exhibit or affect other’s perception of being simple and humble?

Lets take a look in to the discussion!

Simplicity and Humility

Introductory Video

Hello,

Check out the introductory video to Sit. Sit started as an informal group in 2008 and has grown to having more than 100 members today. Kindly pass on this message, help us spread the word and create good citizenry.

From the members of Sit!

Hello,

As part of Sit, We welcome you all to our web space!! Allow us to brief you on what "Sit" is all about and what we plan to achieve with Sit.

Attitudes weave themselves into thoughts and actions in our daily lives. Yet, we hardly take the time to reflect upon them. Thought is a wonderful gift to human nature, but has been the most dispersed and least channelized aspect as well. Simple thoughts have created wonders, but largely we find simple ideas and thoughts well expressed or well discussed. With this, we fail to harness the innate powerful potential of thought within us.

One could understand the self a great deal through introspection and if that self introspection is shared with others it gives a multitude of perspectives, refining one’s mind and attitude and resulting in a holistic pattern of personal development.

Sit is a simple forum that advocates the habit of introspection and sharing thoughts. We form an informal group of individuals from different walks of life, focused on harnessing those simple thoughts that crop up in our minds, which are usually discussed with none. Sit provides a forum for anyone and everyone to air and discuss their simple ideas and experiences.

Sit meets every Sunday at the Gandhi Statue at the Marina Beach in Chennai to discuss simple yet trivial issues that affect our day-to-day attitudes and lives. Discussions take place at a very candid and informal manner with an aim to facilitate introspection.

This blog is an extension of "Sit" in the online space. Here we will be posting minutes, event details, pictures, and much more! Hope you have a fabulous time with "Sit"!!