Calcutta Blues

After over three decades of the Left Front's rule, the Calcuttans decided to overthrow the government and welcome a change. The lady thereby elected to power was endowed with immense hope and expectations.

Alas! We have moved from bad to worse, to say the least. The state of health and hygiene is deplorable, standard of education doesn't seem to be progressing and the crime rate is increasing at the speed at which one can cook Maggi Noodles! Probably with Shahrukh Khan as our new brand ambassador, the rise in crime can be accredited to the success of Don!
In the face of this degradation all that Madam Chief Minister is engaged in, is changing the colour of buildings and bridges and if she were given her free will, even taxis. We didn't know that in our bid to press for change we had called upon misery marked by blues, replacing the famous 'laal jhanda' of the Left Front.

She has declared that the Writer's Building be painted blue but little does she realize heritage structures like the Writer's Building and the Alipore bridge lose their historical charm, they do not need a make-over, not at the hands of Mamta Banerjee at least!
She has made it to all prime-time news shows and even made a mark on newspaper headlines by her take on the Park Street rape case. An individual citizen of the city knocked the doors of the legal system to appeal for justice and Madam CM turned the whole story around. Why does she think she and her party are at the epicenter of all that takes place?
Being a lady in the office of supreme power of the state she was expected to handle the situation a little better than this. Even if she thought a rape case wasn't a 'big deal' she didn't have to bring party politics into this scene.

What are we heading for? With this so-called iron lady leading us in her clumsy, careless and impulsive ways, what is in store for Calcutta? Striving for decades to release ourselves from the infamous oxymoron of being an under-developed metropolis, we tried our fate by trusting green instead of red. Sadly, the green gang, being unsure of itself, has discovered blue to be its new favourite!

Shutterbug

Not so long ago, I created an album on my Facebook account called 'Shutterbug'. The idea behind it was to post pictures that I clicked when I saw something unusual. A beautiful tree or a regular but unnoticed act in action or the like. However, this album concentrated on no celebration as such and probably that is why it didn't manage to grab enough eyeballs.

Thanks to the new tech age, I have several platforms to experiment with and hence use this space to post a few pictures that I consider candid without marked presence of people.
Even though blogging hasn't attained its height for me, I find it useful to refer to the statistics that Blogspot maintains for me. The statistics record the number of pageviews on different counts, on such aspect being pageviews per post.
Hence, in my urge to see if these clicks warrant viewership, I post some of my favourite pictures below. After all, are the pictures too bad, or was Facebook an inappropriate platform for these?

Withered WOW

When the sun shines through.......

Red left alone

Rainbow at my feet!

If you don't know the time, you don't know the direction:
East or West, Rise or Set.

Mates that never Meet

Brains under the Bald

Their sponsors are such a long list that it takes over three minutes to complete the announcement , they have a nation-wide fan following, they speed up the gush of adrenaline and ofcourse, the passion they give rise to, goes without saying!
While other shows are accused of being dramatic, exaggerated, pre-scripted and even sometimes rigged, MTV Hero Roadies stands tall and unaffected by all criticisms.
Sailing into its 9th season, the show has earned popularity, favourability and of course, TRP.

I personally like to watch the Audition episodes more than the show itself. This is essentially for Raghu Ram, the mastermind behind the show. In the past, he was rough, rude and aggressive. However, now he's emerged as a man who offers a shoulder, he's caring and concerned and will hug you even if you appeared dumb to him. Some back of the envelope calculations reveal that this former short-tempered man, now hugs 8 out of 10 candidates he meets!

What I appreciate most about him is that he is an amazing judge of character and personality. People enter the interview room and more often than not, fake their attitude. But this man, sees through it all and his judgement hits the bull's eye! While I'm sitting and staring at the TV screen finding words to describe the person, Raghu has already assessed and uttered his judgement of the lad/ lassie.
He holds them in a warm hug when they're nervous, unsure or feeling low. He moves them on in a concerned manner and they're just at a loss of words or too conscious because of the camera. He doesn't give anyone an upper hand based on sympathy. At the same time he's not insensitive towards their handicap ( be it of any nature) He hasn't completely shed the old skin of aggression but I think the show demands it. He's perfectly balanced in his ways.

I know i am aiming a long shot  but Raghu, if ever you happen to read this, I want you to know people appreciate you for who you are and not just for the show you make. Your intellect and sensitivity are both exceptional. Maybe, you should look at Counselling as a parallel profession!:D

Bald and Brainy by choice!

Innocence and Imperfection sells!

The Times of India Sunday Supplement Times Life! has much to offer. The food for thought that they dish out is indeed conisdered a delicacy by my brains atleast!
The following is an article that Purba Dutt wrote in today's edition.

The advertising trends have drastically changed and the tiny tots are increasingly replacing the 'stars'. These youngs ones aged between 5 and 10 years, have claimed airtime substantially and when all else is over-shadowed by the heavy, grey clouds of cynicism their innoncence appeals to our being and thereon shines the "Umeedo wali dhoop...."

Can a 10-year-old sell you a bike?

Advertising gurus are turning to kids to help them sell products to all you adults. Just how did tiny tots beat cricketing stars to land airtime, asks Purba Dutt

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Agang of children, all aged five to 10, let their lips make exaggerated ‘o’ and ‘e’s as they enunciate every word of what is the new inspiration anthem, courtesy AR Rahman. Two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp’s latest television commercial, Hum Mein Hai Hero ditches that actors and cricketing stars of Dhak Dhak Go, turning to a group of young children to instil in customers, faith in their inner potential, and perhaps sell a couple of bikes along the way.
   “There is a lot of cynicism around us. It’s only kids who can spring hope within us with their innocence and purity,” says Prasoon Joshi. Joshi’s word is as good as gospel truth, considering he is executive chairman of the Indian arm of global marketing communications giant, Mc-Cann Worldgroup and currently Bollywood’s most sought-after lyricist. He too decided to turn to children while scripting the lyrics for cola giant Coca-Cola’s latest TVC. Umeedon wali dhoop, sunshine wali aasha, Rone ki wajah kam hai, hasney ke bahaney zyada…Zidd hai muskurayenge, khush rehne ka hai waada, Joshi made the child actors sing, murdering cynicism in one clean sweep.
   Creative teams at advertising agencies are betting on junior power, and clients look convinced of the idea of children selling products meant for adults to adults. FlipKart, India’s largest online shopping store, has picked two kids and perched them on salon chairs, with rollers in their hair, to preach the virtues of online shopping. Kartik Iyer, CEO of Bengaluru-based Happy Creative Services, the agency behind FlipKart’s commercial, says, “Only kids can trust unconditionally. Add to that the subtext that the FlipKart service is so easy to use, even a child can use it. That was the starting point of our storyboard.”
   Often, advertising is not just about generating sales. Building an image is key to a brand’s success. When Hero Motors disassociated itself from Honda Motor Company of Japan last year, it announced a new name, logo and identity, with the Hum Mein Hai Hero commercial at its core. It was a new positioning pitch — a hero lies in all of us — and fitted snugly with the brand name.
   Rahul Nangia, chief creative officer (west and south) of Law and Kenneth, the agency that created the Hero ad, says, “When we launched the first commercial in this series on August 15 last year, the response was overwhelming. With thousands of people uploading their own videos against the track on Youtube, the commercial gained a life of its own. Shooting it with kids alone was the next logical step. The client isn’t looking at marketing anything with this ad. It’s looking to create a brand identity. Through kids, we are trying to open up people to their own potential.”
   While there is no gainsaying that kids bring a fresh breath of purity, what about credibility? Joshi, who has wrapped up the lyrics for a new Greenpeace commercial has children pleading with adults to place nature in their custody. “When children make an impassioned plea, you realise the situation is alarming, and it’s time to act.”
   And creative gurus claim it’s cost them no labour to convince clients of kids’ potential. Responding to, how does a motorcycle manufacturer fit into a 10-year-old’s life or what do a pair of lovable brats have to do with online shopping, Iyer says, “That’s like saying why show dogs in an ad where the product is of no use to the dog.” While he admits that frequent discussions with his client were needed to plug loopholes, Nangia says his client’s reaction to exploiting the marketing power of kids was ‘fabulous’.
   For the audience, what matters is that the ad appears natural, like a slice of life. Kids who behave wise beyond their years make a commercial contrived. Koushik Sarkar of Apostrophe Films, the firm that directed the Coca-Cola TVC, says the kids you see in Sunshine waali asha.., weren’t picked because they were good-looking or acted well. “We just wanted kids with a spark.” Sarkar remembers dropping in on the sets one morning to find the kids lost in rehearsal. “They were being their naughty selves, poking each other, screaming. I asked my team to stop rehearsing, and roll the cameras. I wanted the oddities included. Listen in carefully, and you’ll notice bits where the kids are singing out of sync. None of the imperfections have been edited.”

THERE IS A LOT OF CYNICISM AROUND US. IT’S ONLY KIDS WHO CAN SPRING HOPE WITHIN US WITH THEIR INNOCENCE AND PURITY
— Prasoon Joshi, lyricist-copywriter

FlipKart’s television commercial shows two children seated at a salon, discussing the virtues of online shopping

Kids are the only protagonists in the latest Hum Mein Hai Hero ad

Paper V/S Practical

As part of my College Curriculum, I am taught Media Laws and Media History and as protocol demands; I take a test on  the same. After a week's tiring effort of learning these laws, articles, provisions and amendments I realized the futility of the same in actual practice.
It had been quite painstaking to learn Article 19 1(a), especially because our teachers wanted us to quote the points word by word.
For those who don't know; Article 19 1(a) lays down the laws for Freedom of Press. A few days after writing a 5 page answer on this topic, I read about the Salman Rushdie 'fiasco'. I haven't read The Satanic Verses yet and hence choose not to comment on the argument of religious sensitivity.
However, my greater concern is why can't the laws be implemented for once! There are laws in place which allow all creative pieces to be subject to public criticism and judgement but where do death threats feature here! 
Why can't we behave as grown-ups and deal with the matter in a more mature manner than to take up arms at the drop of a hat! Why should a person of Indian origin be compelled to live abroad?
I was so elated every morning to be reading of the Literary Meets in the two extreme corners of the country ( Jaipur and Kolkata) but even this hasn't passed without controversy.
The meet of the intellectuals has revealed the underlying fear that resides in their hearts as well and the sense of  'in'security being offered by the Government, continually!

P.S: In Class 8 we read in Civics: India is a 'free,sovereign and a democratic' country.
That was paper.
Practical: No Comments!

Make Chai not War

It is amazing to know what an act of comedy can actually do. I attended
a Stand-Up Comedy session this weekend. It was organized by the American
Center Kolkata and indeed it was a power-packed performance with three
Indian Americans taking the stage by turns.
I enjoyed the evening with my friends and as we rolled over the floor
laughing, I realized, the experience had superseded my expectation.
While they touched on the age old jokes of women and their telephonic
conversations, Gujaratis and their English mispronounciations, there
were several other jokes which had an underlying message. That's when
the underlying theme would hit you again an you'd find yourself laughing
more at it's ironic relevance because the theme read- Make Chai Not War.
Azhar, one of the comedians commented the Google webpage which always
shows two primary buttons- Google Search and I'm Feeling Lucky. The luck
bestowed on the latter left us in splits and we realized how we
overlooked these things and forgot to smile!
Their splendid sense of humour didn't leave fake 'Nice' shoes alone as
it tried to compete with the original 'Nike'.
As against popular comedy which is most often vulgar, Make Chai Not War
made us think.
Have you ever thought why the security personnel subject heavily bearded
men to greater scrutiny? Well it is an unsaid fact that the suspicion is
on grounds of religion. But come to think of it, if they were on a
terror mission wouldn't they do away with all things that invite
trouble? Hence it's only obvious that they undergo a 'make-over' of some
sort. That's when I realized that even Kasab who was involved with the
26/11 attacks, wasn't bearded!
Sit back for a moment and think and in retrospect you'll find a reason
to smile in the most mundane tasks as well.
Make Chai Not War, and smile if one out of ten times you put in sugar
instead of Sugar Free tablets!

Eavesdropping

 

Today was a lazy day- typical to the winter season. College is off and thus, not having much to do I was lazing around. I tried very hard to catch up on some sleep but only found myself tossing in the bed from one side to another.
Just then my attention was drawn to the children who were playing downstairs. One girl said, " Nai main college nai office hi jaungi." The other insisted that she go to college only for some unknown reason. 
Nevertheless, they settled for college.

They were playing what we as children would call "ghar-ghar".
(I've never quite understood why the names of these games are doubled: ghar-ghar, teacher-teacher,  office-office)

Then the lassy spoke again - "Main savere uth k isse 500rupaiy mangungi." As their conversation continued it turned out that she even har a reason for demanding that sum - a college picnic. The next question was, Where would her picnic be? 
Within a fraction of a second she changed her mind and decided it would be a college 'trip' somewhere. 
Ok, the others agreed.
But again: Where?
"Kahi bahar hona chaie... Bahar mane out of India," she said casually!
And soon enough they settled on London.
Whether the British Government would sanction the visa or not, whether they would get the tickets or not; these young ones, approximately between 7 and 10 years old, set out on a trip to London.
The surroundings had to change. This change was even easier than the change of sets in films. They flocked out of the building to continue their game in the adjoining area and that became London without the Thames or Hyde Park, but London all the same!
Alas! That area was beyond my hearing rnage and when they returned half an hour later they were talking about doctors and blood.
Apparently, someone had suffered an accident. (imaginarily)
"Iska blood group O Negative kaise ho sakta hai? Negative to khali bacha log ka hota hai. Ye to abi bada hai na to positive hona chaie."
Little did they know that blood groups don't change and least of all they knew that the change of our outlook towards life is in the reverse order.

Such are the pleasure of childhood- enjoying London, college and office in a mere half hour. But sometimes it's not just restricted until childhood. I had a friend who enjoyed 'Barbie-Barbie' and 'Ghar-Ghar' till we left school!
If you choose to grow up then and only then will Heathrow be your only point of entry into London!