Karjat Resort – 4½ years on

It’s been about 4½ years since the Karjat Project was completed. I’ve been going there on and off for one reason or another, so I don’t see too many dramatic changes but, yesterday, we had a meeting with Anil Doshi who hasn’t been there since the inauguration. He was amazed at the change because at that time everything looked bare and now, with the trees all grown, it looks so much softer.

The meeting was regarding future development at the site. That’s all I will say at the moment although it isn’t a state secret or anything.

Membrane Structures. Finally.

Have been waiting a long time for something like this to come to India and finally a Bangalore based company called Shadeflex has tied up with a German company called Textil Bau GmbH.

Shadeflex and their German partner’s sites are under construction at the moment but at least they have a contact page. May just use something like this for the courtyard of the Pune bungalow. This year’s record monsoon has made me think about how dramatically the weather patterns may change in the coming years.

Godrej Ties up with Masonite

When I read the advertisement in a trade magazine, I was happy to see more competition in the field but, when I headed over to the Godrej site, I found nothing that looked even remotely like this news. A Google search led me to a 404 (page not found) error and it took some hunting to find this news release. (Edit: The page disappeared again!)

What amazes me is how even such a large (and professionally managed) business conglomerate can’t seem to grasp how important it is to keep a web site in order. And, at the end of it all, the tone of the news sounded like it was meant for in-house consumption – a company magazine maybe? Who the heck cares what the vice president thinks for goodness sake. Tell us about the blooming product and why we should buy it!

Masonite, on the other hand, have a well laid out site and may need to push their partners to do something similar if they want to make any headway in the Indian market. Godrej have their own construction business so maybe they’re importing this just for themselves. That would be an opportunity lost, in my opinion.