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Wednesday 30 November 2011

The sporting spirit of Kolkata

This article was tweeted by Rajdeep Sardesai.
It's an amazing piece of work. The sporting spirit of Calcuttans has been elucidated wonderfully, and silent changes which are taking place have been brought to surface. An article which will bring a smile on every Calcuttan's face, a smile of acknowledgement and agreement.
It is a bit too long probably for leisure reading but if you get to the end, you will agree it's insightful!
Read on as you trace the loyalties of the people as the pendulum of their interests shift from Ganguly to Bhutia.


http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/542275.html

Thursday 24 November 2011

This happens only in India!

All of a sudden this afternoon the news channels flashed that, Sharad Pawar was slapped by a man. It is amazing how people resort to absurd ways and means in trying to 'protest'.
Movies, commercials and write-ups finally succeeded to raise the country in awakening. But alas! no specific method was prescribed. 
For a man to step up to Pawar and slap him across his face, in public view; is awfully weird. 
What's worse is that a bigger question for the public figures is related to the degree of the safety provided by security personnel. 
And like the icing on a cake was the comment by Congress officials who initiated the blame game with BJP.
This truly happens only in India!  

Monday 21 November 2011

Jewellery collections revisited- 'Mia' by Tanishq

In today's age when all business organisations thrive on innovative strategies, Tanishq launched its new jewellery line- 'Mia'. It is clearly the result of a creative think tank, and the streak of innovation is loud and clear. This jewellery collection is for the working women.Apparently, it showcases adornments that can be worn to work.

It provides a boost to the personality of the working ladies as they associate with this collection on a personal level.
Kudos to the people who thought of it! Almost all members of the fairer sex who have gradually become vital parts of the corporate world would agree that some amount of jewellery even in the office space, adds to their individuality. However, they have to carefully segregate the 'bling' party-wear embellishments and be choosy about what would win an edge over casual-wear but yet not be too glamorous.

While other companies in this field have advertised their products mainly from the bridal collections, I think this concept by Tanishq is a remarkable progress! It marks a change in ideology and also cashes in on the curiosity quotient.They have smartly made an effort to create a plan which is "out of the box" and thus might be able to capture the markets in this segment. It is likely to bring in more sales because this collection is surely the first of its kind in India.

Every husband, son, father and friend; would like to buy one of these pieces for that special lady in their lives, who balances her various roles wonderfully well!
The branding is marvelous and the tag line
"Loves to go to work" 
not only proves that its the reap of well nurtured grey cells, but also heightens the chances of brand recall.

Hats-off to the strategy makers for their tribute to the working woman!





 This is no advertisement of their products, just a lay-woman's appreciation of their work :)

Monday 7 November 2011

Chillar Party!

The Chillar Party with their dog
Sitting lazily in front of the idiot box on a Sunday afternoon, I was flipping channels; trying to find an appropriate movie or program to watch.
I paused on a movie which was just about to begin. The beginning looked inviting and, when they announced 'Chillar Party' I knew it was a recent release and expected to be fun.Through the afternoon, I sat through the multiple ads that were not so pleasing, because they served as brakes in the flow of the film.

The movie revolved around a group of children, who were collectively called chillar party, by the adult group in  their colony. Each kid, was a star in his own right and they were fairly familiar ones who had shown face in some movies in the past, but most of them could be recognized by their presence in television commercials. 
Together they put up a brilliant performance. Each member of the group had a distinct character. While one little boy disliked wearing his undies, there was another who had a 'black' tongue because every line he uttered showed contrasting results. So when, this boy called Lucky said, " Aj hum zaroor match jeetenge.", they lost to their rival group in the neighborhood. In this manner, each little child's character was carefully cut out and the little ones did rather too well!
What started out as little children playing cricket in their colony and lazing around casually, took a serious turn when the group welcomed a child laborer in their colony, who was appointed to wash the cars. This little boy came with his pet  who was actually a stray dog. By a sequence of events, the political angle is added to the movie and a certain politician decides to do away with all stray dogs in the city.
They save their pet after a long drawn tussle with the minister, which included getting involved with the press and something they called chaddi  march but finally, the minister loses to their stubborn enthusiasm and the dog is allowed to stay in the colony.
The plot of the movie is wholesome because it captures the political troubles, touches on child labour issues, draws on media practices and highlights how children are sometimes driven by adults to give up some right and just cause.
The movie ends in a debate between the minister and the children, with the latter reading out lines from their Moral Science book to the former. Each of those lines were picked well and rendered the minister shamefaced and the happy ending followed!
As against, the lines of Rang de Basanti and that genre of films which empowered the youth, this one concentrated on an lower age bracket and showed how even they could take action and make their mark.



A still from their chaddi march



Kudos to the movie makers and to the undying spirit of cinema with an underlying message!