I had the opportunity to attend another fascinating keynote at the recently concluded Assembly retreat in Bekal. This one was by none other than Rama Bijapurkar, cantered around her thought-provoking book The Lilliput Land. Her talk was as compelling and insightful as the book itself. I’ve captured some of its key themes in my review this month.
What Does the Book Cover?
Rama Bijapurkar’s Lilliput Land: How Small Thinks Big is a sharp, witty, and insightful commentary on modern India through the lens of consumer behaviour, economics, and society. Drawing on her deep expertise as a market strategist, Bijapurkar explores how India’s scale and complexity are often oversimplified by policy makers, marketers, and analysts alike.
Lilliput Land is a wake-up call for marketers, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to respect the complexity of India’s bottom-of-the-pyramid market and treat it not as a challenge, but as a opportunity.
Key Takeaways:
Sharing some insights from the compelling narrative –
- One particularly interesting part of Lilliput Land by Rama Bijapurkar is her exploration of how India’s “mass market” is not a single entity but a patchwork of “mini-markets”—each shaped by different economic, social, and cultural realities. She uses the metaphor of “Lilliput Land” to describe how small, fragmented consumer segments—often overlooked by big businesses—actually hold significant value and complexity. A standout insight is how companies often misjudge this market by applying urban, middle-class assumptions to rural or lower-income consumers. Bijapurkar challenges brands to move beyond stereotypes and to truly understand the aspirations, constraints, and behavior patterns of these diverse consumer groups—something she calls “thinking in millimeters, not kilometers.” This part of the book is a call for more nuanced, empathetic, and data-driven approaches to market segmentation in India.
- She underlines the importance of rethinking how we define the Indian market—moving beyond simplistic urban-rural, rich-poor binaries and recognising the ‘many India’s’ within India. Her call to action is for businesses, policymakers, and marketers to develop India-specific lenses and strategies that reflect ground realities, rather than imposing Western models that don’t fit.
- India’s consumer economy cannot be understood using frameworks borrowed from the developed world. She emphasises that India is not a scaled-down version of the West but a complex, layered society where consumer behaviour is shaped by unique social, cultural, and economic factors.
What’s In It for Me?
It helped me understand consumer behaviour in India. It shows why western business models often fail here and offers a framework for thinking locally, culturally, and contextually vital for product design, pricing, and communication strategies.
My Recommendation
A must-read for marketers, policy makers, and anyone interested in understanding India beyond clichés. It’s both an engaging read and a valuable resource for thinking differently about a diverse and complex nation.
The views and opinions published here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
Sarika has previously had stints with with Weber Shandwick as Vice President - Client Experience, Adfactors PR, Text100 (now Archetype) and Perfect Relations. With keen observation and analytical skills, Sarika has successfully led PR campaigns for key brands across multiple sectors by leveraging her strength and expertise in the communications arena.
She is a post graduate in communications from Xavier Institute of Communications. She is based in Mumbai and in her free time loves to spend time with her daughters, play with her dogs, read and travel.
Be the first to comment on "Lilliput Land"