Clean the soap!

I am forced to watch(secondary exposure) some of the soaps on TV these days and the content makes me sad! Let me tell you why.

Almost all the channels have a serial where men don't talk and women are portrayed as selfish, cunning, irritating, jobless, cussing and ignorant! I am surprised that every family has some twist, at least one unruly member, an idiot, a genius, a hardworking, a kid who is never shown studying and what not.

Do you actually watch this stuff? I mean everyday? What can I say? Is my understanding right or am I thinking it wrong? There are hundreds of subtle and sometimes direct annotations and references to illegitimate affairs, sexual undertones and what not. You might argue that some exposure is good at home for children, I want to see you face to face and have a serious talk. I am shocked as most of this is shared without a warning and suddenly is shown! I saw my friend's daughter so attracted to these soaps that she eats only when they are on.

I think it is time to clean the soap. I wish people behind them see that kids might be watching them too. Why can't you add more humour and fun to it? After all not all families in reality are fighting all the time. Shouldn't parents watch out?

Blessed to be an Indian

A wonderful telugu song praising the simple things we cherish in our land.

This used to be a prayer song in schools across Andhra Pradesh for many years before the corporate education stepped in. Schools should be the point where seeds of education and national integrity are sown and parents should nurture them. I am proud and blessed to be an Indian.

Jai Hind!

Defy logic, define trend

Sometimes you need to take away all the logic and think differently to come up with a good marketing idea. It is not so easy as it seems to think out of the box. Many people have a difficulty to think within the box, if there is a box.

What triggers creativity? What impresses the consumer? Most of the times it can be an outlandish theory and need that the consumer hasn't even thought of or knew he wanted. That is where great minds come to work and great brands have been brought out. Consumers appreciate all the efforts if the product is outlandishly cool. Most of the times you may fail but then isn't it worth trying?

There can be only one brand as wonderful as Rajni. Rajni probably doesn't fit the marketing corners but could easily encompass the whole. I love this video as it tells me that to think differently is sometimes normal.

Nothing new would have been invented if everyone thought within the box.

True Hyderabadi

Copied this from a friend's facebook account. Very true.

ఉగాది

బొబ్బట్లు, అరిసెలు, పాయసం, పులిహోర అప్పుడే కోసిన అరిటాకు మీదపెట్టి వడ్డించడం. పట్టు పరికిణి -పావడ, నుదుటి మీద పాపిడి బిళ్ళ, మెడలోఅమ్మమ్మ హారం, చేతికి గాజులు, నడుముకు వడ్డాణం, చెవులకు దుద్దులు, పూల జడ, అన్నింటికన్నా మెరిసిపోయే నవ్వు, ఆనందంతో వెలిగిపోతున్నతొర్రిపళ్ళ చెల్లి. కాళ్ళకి పారాణి, కొత్త పట్టుచీర కట్టుకుని, ఉదయాన్నే తలంటి, కొత్త కుండలో మామిడి పిందెల ముక్కలు, చింతపండు, బెల్లం, ఉప్పు, పచ్చిమిరపకాయ లాంటి ఆరు రుచులను కలిపి, అరచేతిమీద వేసుకుని రుచిచూసి కాసేపు పక్కన పెట్టి పిల్లల్నందరినీ... 'ఆగండర్రా! కొంచెం ఊరనియండోయ్,' అని అరుస్తుంటే, 'కొంచెమే అమ్మా, రుచి చూస్తాం,' అంటూ రుచి చూడడం, సగం కుండ ఖాళీ చేయడం. ఉదయాన్నే అమ్మ పోరు పడలేక ఆఫీసులేకపోయినా త్వరగానే లేచి పేపర్ కూడా చదవకుండా స్నానం చేసి హిట్లర్ చేతిలో చిక్కుకున్నట్లు నిద్రకళ్ళతో టీతాగుతున్న నాన్న.

చేతుల నిండా బొబ్బట్లు తీసికొని బయటికి పరిగెడుతూ , అప్పుడే వేడినీళ్ళ స్నానం చేయించిన చంటాడు సాంబ్రాణి పొగకు కళ్ళు మంట పెట్టి ఏడుస్తుంటే వెళ్లి, వాడ్ని ముద్దు పెట్టుకుని బుగ్గ గిల్లి బయటకు పరిగెత్తి స్నేహితులందరికీ పప్పులుపెట్టటం, వాళ్ళు తెచ్చినవి తినడం. అలసి పోయేవరకు ఊరి వీధిలో ఆడుకుని ఇంటికి వచ్చి కాళ్ళు కడుక్కుని అమ్మపెట్టిన వంటలు, తిట్లు తిని మళ్లీ బయటకు పరుగెత్తి పక్కింట్లో పూర్ణాలు తిని సందులో షికార్లు కొట్టి, వేసవి ఎండలోమామిడి చెట్ల క్రింద పిందెలు రాల్పడం కోసం తిరగడం. ప్రక్క సందులో స్రవంతి, పార్వతి, భాను, ప్రతిమ వాళ్ళ యిళ్ళముందు సైకిల్ తొక్కుతూ సైట్ కొట్టి వాళ్ళ నాన్నలు పట్టుకుని కొట్టే రేంజ్లో లుక్ యిచ్చాక వెనక్కు రావడం. ఇదిచిన్నప్పుడు ఉగాది అంటే.

షడ్రుచులు కొత్తదనం లైఫ్ లో ఏదైనా నవ్వుతూ ఆహ్వానించాలి. జీవితంలో కొంచెం చెడు, కొంచెం తీపి, కొంచెంపులుపు, కొంచెం ఉప్పు , కొంచెం కారం ఇలా అన్ని రుచులసమ్మేళనం ఉంటేనే మృదుత్వం ప్రేమ, మనదగ్గర ఉన్నదాన్నిమెచ్చుకునే అభిమానించే అవకాశం అని నేర్పించేదే ఉగాది. అలసిపోయి ప్రయాణిస్తున్న బ్రతుకులో కొంచెం ఊరట ప్రేమ ఉంటె ఎంత మధురంగా ఉంటుందో నేర్పిస్తుంది ఉగాది. పిజ్జాలు, బుర్గేర్ లు, మచీనులో నుంచి వచ్చే కఫ్ఫీలు తాగి, ఏసి గదిలో, అద్దాల మేడలో, చెక్క ఆఫీసులో కుర్చునిపనిచేయటం, డబ్బువేనకాల పరిగెత్తుతూ ప్రేమ ఆప్యాయత, అమ్మ, నాన్న, ఇల్లు, సంస్కృతి మర్చిపోయవడం జీవితంకాదు. అప్పుడప్పుడు ఆవకాయ పచ్చడి తగిలితే అమ్మ చేతి గోరుముద్దలు గుర్తొచ్చినట్లు, మన సంప్రదాయం, అలవాట్లూ, కట్టుబాట్లూ అన్నిటిని గుర్తు తెస్తుంది ఉగాది. ప్రేమ అభిమానం ఆప్యాయత అంటే ఏ కాలాలు కష్టాలు వచ్చినా మారవు అని చెప్తుంది ఉగాది.

అవన్నీ సర్లే కాని 'అమ్మా! బొబ్బట్లు రవ్వుండలు ఎక్కడున్నాయ్? నిమ్మకాయ పులిహోర చేసావా?'

'పండుగ పుటైనా ఆ జీన్సు టీ షర్టు వదిలేసి పద్ధతిగా పంచెకట్టుకోమన్నాను కదా?' అంది అమ్మ, వంట గదిలోంచిబయటకు వస్తూ.

'ముందే పట్టు పంచె లాల్చీ వేసుకున్నావా? ఈ డ్రెస్ లో ఎం టీ ఆర్ లా ఉన్నావు తెలుసా? ఇలాగే ఆఫీసుకి వెళ్ళు అమ్మాయిలంతా అందరు ఫ్లాట్ అయిపోతారు.'

'ఆఫీసు సంగతి ఏమో కాని బెల్ట్ లేకపోతే నేను అవుట్,' అంటూ వెళ్లి నాన్న, చెల్లి ప్రక్క కూర్చున్నాను.

'ఒరేయ్... బొబ్బట్లలో పాలు ఇలా కలుపుకుని, నెయ్యి వేసుకుని ముద్దగా కలిపి తినాలి,' అంటూ అమ్మ నా విస్తర్లో చేయిపెట్టి కలిపి తినిపించడం మొదలు పెట్టింది.

'ముందు ఆ లాప్టాప్ పక్కన పెట్టు... ఎం రాస్తున్నావ్?'

'ఎం లేదమ్మా ఉగాది గురించి, నువ్వు చేసే హడావిడి గురించి, వంటల గురించి రాస్తున్నాను.'

'అన్నయ్యా! నేను పూల జడ వేసుకున్నాను అని రాశావా? నా కొత్త దిద్దులు చూసావా? ఆయన ఫ్రాన్సులో కొన్నారు. మన కొండపల్లిలో చేసినవి అక్కడ దొరికాయి.'

'రాయలేదు... కానీ, పక్క సందులో ప్రతిమ పూలజడ గురించి రాసాను,' అన్నాను తనని ఉడికించడానికి.

'అమ్మా చూసావా అన్నయ్య ప్రతిమ గురించి రాశాడంట! నా గురించి రాయలేదు.'

'ముందు తిని లేవవే. వాడ్ని తిననివ్వు,' అంటూ మళ్లీ నా నోరు లిటరల్ గా మూయించింది అమ్మ, రవ్వ లడ్డుతో.

గత పదిహేను సంవత్సరాలలో ఏమీ మారలేదు... అమ్మ, నాన్న, చెల్లాయి, ప్రతిమ వాళ్ళ నాన్నలా, ఉగాది పచ్చడిలా... పండుగలా...

మళ్లీ నేను టైపు చేస్తుంటే అమ్మ నా లాప్టాప్ ఎక్కడ విరగ్గోడుతుందో అని ప్రక్కన పెట్టేస్తున్నాను. మీ అందరికీ ఉగాది శుభాకాంక్షలు. ఈ నూతన సంవత్సరం మీ ఇంట్లో సంతోషాలు ప్రేమాభిమానాలు వర్దిల్లుతూ ఉండాలని కోరుకుంటూ... సెలవు...

[వంటలు చేసి, ఫోటోలు తీసి మా జయ పంపింది; తెలుగు సహాయం మా అమ్ము ఇచ్చింది]

If You Come Today

Raj in his elements. Talk about Segmentation Targeting Positioning! I bet very few could have such a following in Karnataka.

Impossible is nothing. 80 & counting!

Hibernating is painful. That is a fact. Especially when you travel. Living sparingly on a liquid diet to strain the body and lose some extra fat accumulated over the last decade is tough. I am told this is not the right way to do it. I mean the weight loss. Now that I am doing it for the past 10 days while going to work, traveling to three states being exposed to cuisine you would be gulping otherwise is... Hmmm... Irritating to say the least.

While I strive to reach my target of 76 kgs as my BMI tells me is normal, my advice for you is to stay hungry, feed on fruits, indulge in leafy vegetables and go for a walk/jog everyday. For the last four months, since October 4'th 2009, I have intensified my struggle in to war mode and lost around 20 kgs. What really helped was jogging for four kms everyday and cutting down on intake.

Not that my work stress(Marketing Stress so to say), personal commitments, reading books, writing articles, working on a P.hd thesis, MA Business Economics exams, setting up new businesses, reaching targets, making an angel fall in love everyday didn't help. But the glee on my face when I try a 40'' slim fit shirt or a 32'' jeans at the store is awesome. For a change I can hug someone and not just neck for there is no tummy tussle! The pain and endurance was worth every inch. Those four km jogs on the beach early mornings paid off. Interestingly MJ repeated what my Mom exclaimed when she saw me after these four months... 'Where is the other half of my son?' Now if that is what I get from my mom, I should have made some progress! Oh! yes, the angel still has to see me like this.

I am writing this post from my Blackberry, sitting at seat no 55, coach no S2 in Chennai Mail (name of the train) on the way to Chennai from Calicut and trying to keep my nostrils and taste buds busy while people around me are gluttonly feasting on veg pulav, chapatis, parantas, peas pulav, chicken fry, fried banana chips, halwa, meen (fish) curry, sipping coke and laughing out. I silently sip salty butter milk as a reassurance to my taste buds on a bland tongue and growling tummy that the lavish food mongling days are yet to return. Indulgence, my friend, is easy.

Now that they know the food isn't coming, my senses are super active and I can smell the passing wafts of french fries from the platform, sense a pinch of more salt could make the chicken biryani in the seat no 59's plate more palatable and so on... I guess you get the drift by now.

Isn't it surprising that our body is like a wild animal? Taming it needs a lot of patience, grit and will power. No wonder many fail in this battle. Consumer psyche is amazing and interesting. Setting out something, a brand, beyond your limits and telling you can't have it will make you yearn for it more. Telling you how you can get it will make you think you should try. Making the path difficult to take and long enough to drain your will power makes it coveted. That is what an Audi ad in a newspaper tells you. That is what a curvy semi nude girl hugging a Ducati tells you. That is what an apartment ad in posh locality in Bangalore tells you. That is what a chiseled hunk tells you when he says he is just jockeying. YOU CAN'T. True that the few might actually want it but trust me the few that are behind your brand are going to stay forever. Covetousness is a good tool for marketing.

Do you have it in you to be coveted? Can you be in the top 1% of what you do? Like I said, taming a wild animal is easier than taming the human brain. I am trying to tame mine. They don't call me Tiger for nothing. What about you?

[ Did I mention what I would gift myself when I reach 75 kgs? A Volkswagen Polo ;) ]

Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone

Mundu!

Kerala, God’s own country, has not earned this name without meaning. There is an air about it that justifies its warm and affectionate existence.

Keeping in tune with the phrase 'do in Rome as the Romans do', I order some extraordinary crafted dhoti and sari to be worn... The sari, of course, for the ladies in the house.

The ‘dhoti’ in all its pristine glamour, tied up around the waist by shear will power and some dextrous use of the stomach muscle, else it slips down and opens up !! It is just a piece of cloth, no buttons, no belts, no clips nothing. Simple elegant convenient and with its own characteristic charm and above all - air conditioned at all times !! The fall of the main design as a strip down the front to be positioned on the right hip and just around the right knee. Rules of culture.

From Amitabh's blog

2009, in pictures

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Check this amazing collection of photographs from 2009. They take time to load but the wait is worthwhile. Here are the three parts: One, two and three.

Not mine? Don't care

This year's Britain's Got Talent found something different. Hollie Steel's first attempt was interrupted when she broke down on stage. A kid, all of 10 years, performing in front of a huge audience has a lot of pressure. Though initially a second chance was denied Simon got her one. She performed brilliantly the second time. Any sane person would do the same, give her a second chance. Just think of the pressure, think like a parent, a sibling and see if you can this unfair. Think of what would have happened if she couldn't get a second chance. Resigned for life branded as a failure and what not. Don't you agree with me. Any one with a heart & soul would do.

Last Friday’s program attracted 331 complaints from viewers. But rather than being concerned about the emotional pressure being put on the 10-year-old, 281 people rang in to complain about her being allowed a second chance to sing after she broke down as she sang Edelweiss. That's more than half of total complaints received for the show. Only around 50 callers were worried about her welfare. And this comes from a civilized culture rich people! Would this be different in any other country. May be not. But I think this is pathetic and horrible. The consumer has become so mean, demanding, businessman who stops at nothing to get his share of money, value, importance and pleasure. I guess firms being mean is justified.

Back to Hollie, I don't really know if this was staged. It definitely didn't look like it. If it was staged then it is a marketing genius, without a heart. I don't see how different it is from exploitation. But seriously guys, behave.
Pic

Pay Back Time

Though I don't drink or watch roadies and I think Raghu is doing this for a publicity stunt, but he has a point. You decide!!!
Knowing what people want is one part and using it is another. Raghu seems to have both!

The Home-grown terrorist

What a shame you keep blaming the neighbour about the extremities being committed! We are no less. Here is a first hand example and what a pity, you try it on yourself! It only keeps getting worse. Intolerance is a stain that is spreading deep and fast in our country. Violent attacks by hoodlums inspired by extreme ideologies - be it regional chauvinism, religious bigotry or a warped sense of Indian tradition and ethos - are becoming an alarmingly frequent feature of our times. The incident last weekend in Mangalore, in which women were physically assaulted by a bunch of goons bearing allegiance to whomsoever is disgusting. 

Is beating up women also part of this culture? Our culture and traditions are neither static nor singular. Through the centuries, they have been shaped and reshaped by historic events and interactions with other cultures. Today, there could be more than a billion ways of being Indian.

It's worrying that small groups of people can hold the public to ransom and assault our collective liberties with such apparent ease. More troubling is the fact that our state and central governments seem ill-equipped and unwilling to crack down swiftly on such groups. Be it against Raj Thackeray in Mumbai or similar troublemakers elsewhere, administrations move too slowly and feebly, undermining citizens' faith in their ability to secure law and order. Those responsible for attacks on churches and prayer halls last year in Mangalore have not all been brought to book yet.

I think they are no different from the terrorists who created havoc in Mumbai in November 08.

May be some researcher or psychologist can explain why people behave in this way. We don't need any foreign terrorists, we can grow a few here.

Republic Day!

A few weeks ago, at a family dinner table three generations discussed morality, integrity and our times. The almost octogenarian grandparent lamented the decline in values and the evident, distressful acceptance of dishonesty as a part of every day life. The mid-generation mother talked about new awareness - the rights of women and the role of the media in highlighting social issues. The teenager felt that increasing trends of extra-marital relationships indicated a growing ability of people to honestly define their real commitments. Certain values are almost irrelevant of context. They must be held strong for any society to truly grow and prosper.

Today, the 26th of January 2009, I stood amongst many and was touched by the words, the sentiments and the pride around me as the flag was unfurled. These thoughts ran in my mind.

What should you do?

Stop at the red light, even if you are the only one. Stand in queue, even if nobody else will. Save water, even if you aren't noticed or rewarded. Help people achieve their goals, even if you just had to speak and motivate. Pay your taxes. As for bills when you buy. Stop unfair practices, bribing, cheating, lying and using loopholes. Don't worry if people think you are crazy or foolish. Be an everyday hero. Be a responsible Indian.

Happy republic day.

Bullets vs India

India is a land of great resilience that has learned, over arduous millenniums, to cope with tragedy. Bombs and bullets alone cannot destroy it, because Indians will pick their way through the rubble and carry on as they have done throughout history. But what can destroy India is a change in the spirit of its people, away from the pluralism and coexistence that has been our greatest strength. The prime minister's call for calm and restraint in the face of murderous rampage is vital. If these tragic events lead to the demonisation of the Muslims of India, the terrorists will have won. For India to be India, its gateway - to the multiple Indias within, and the heaving seas without - must always remain open.

Shashi Tharoor

Lingo!

Staying at Anekal has its own advantages. The town is so near that many people walk to it, daily. Chethan and myself go to the small Nayars restaurant which is like a 100 year old antique piece, the Nayar Sr started it in1905 here. You get to eat Raagi Muddai (you need to take a small ball of the muddai and dip it in boiling hot soup and then swallow it, no chewing) with hot chicken soup and chicken fry(the best chicken till date in Bangalore sparing Ohris), then comes the SP parota. 

What does SP stand for? No its not the usual Special Parota. It stands for Ceylon Parota! When Ceylon starts with a 'C' how come this is 'SP'. After some research we found that some restaurant was run by a Tamil chap from Srilanka who used to make butter-coated parotas at Majestic and called them 'Seylon Parotas' and 'SP' in short and the lingo spread all over. People started to ask for the SP/Ceylon Parota and hence the name. Everywhere else the name is forgotten except in this small town where the language (pure Kannada) and culture is intact.

So next time ask for SP parota and know what it means!