Bharat Mata ki Jai

Returning from the Independence Day celebrations in college, with the patriotism in me at its peak, I made my way home. I smiled when I saw two little children dressed as freedom fighters, walking hand in hand ahead of their mother. The girl looked like Jhansi ki Rani, only younger and her little brother was dressed in stark white kurta-pyjama and as he had coupled it with a black Indian jacket, his attire was typical to that of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Today, 66 years after our Independence there might be less than a handful of Indians who have had the privilege to see the freedom fighters in person, but thanks to our socio-cultural systems; every little child knows how to embody them.

The clothes are the same, the attire perfect to every bit of accessory. However, the spirit of patriotism is missing. The love of the land. The addressal of the country as Mother. The rejoicement of our freedom. The emotion of a free, democratic, united Nation. Nothing is heartfelt. And I say this not because I wish to site the typical examples about the 'McDonaldisation' of our country or point fingers at the rampant corruption, but because I noticed something which was seemingly regular.

In college, during the programme I had heard the age old songs, written and sung in soulful voices, reflecting a truly heartfelt love for the nation. The songs ranged from Aye mere watan ke logon and Vande Mataram to Sare jahan se acha and Hum honge kamyab!  However, on the same walk back home when I noticed the little ones dressed as characters from the past, I noticed something which had the opposite effect of a smile. One of the local clubs(popularly known as para clubs in Bengali) had hoisted a flag and paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru  and set up a music console with two power packed speakers which were intended to arouse a sense of belonging to the nation, among passersby. Alas! what was blaring was Emran Hashmi's latest hit Bharat Mata ki Jai!

As the lads danced vulgarly to Sone ki chidiya, dengue malaria, gud bhi hai gobar bhi Bharat Mata ki jai, I thought to myself, "Now beat this!" They are addressing the country with due respect and they haven't even forgotten the typical Indian word 'Jai'. Its just the dengue and malaria, gud and gobar in between, which you have to overlook!
I walked on, ignoring the loud music and their dirty dance. Maybe this is why we call ourselves a free Nation, everyone is free to do what they want! 

Curiosity Rover

When I read the news about the Mars rover 'Curiosity' sent into space by NASA, I was pleased to know that the Mars Space Laboratory wing of NASA had been kind enough to name the rover interestingly and intriguingly. When we were in junior school and had to learn the names of satellites and suh space instruments, we had an extremely tough time. 'Sputnik' is one weird name which stands out in my head, 'Insat' sounds as an abbreviation of something but 'Curiosity' certainly wins brownie points for adding a tad bit of human emotions to the mission.

Whether or not the project will be a success, one thing is for sure and that is, the children of the forthcoming years will not find a difficulty in learning this!

Thank you God, for electricity

This morning I read in the papers about the electricity crisis in the northern parts of the country. Read. Felt sorry. And passively flipped the page to the Olympics' news stories. A few hours thereafter, after blazing the sweltering heat on my way back home from college, I entered home to a 'poweless' house.(The pun is deliberate!)

At 3p.m the electricity in our city let us down and chose not to come back until 8! This was the tale in my house. Each house in separate localities had its own allowances or disruptures!

Nonetheless, the point of this post is that I realized the life saving characteristic of electricity. It virtually gives life to us in today's age!
The complaints I heard invariably started from "My phone's battery is miserably low!"and went on to "Now that we need the rain, the sky will decide to hold back.", "What if it doesn't come back until tomorrow morning? Will we not have water to bathe?", "How will the maid come tomorrow morning if the trains aren't plying?"
My own insight was; "This is 2012!"
A few seemingly super long hours later, the lights came back and as the primitive men had started worshipping Sun and Fire, attributing the natural forces the powers of God; maybe an addition to those should be the God of Electricity!

What was your experience of chit-chat in the evening shadows?

Ambush Campaigns

 

Wikipedia defines Ambush Campaigns as,"a marketing strategy wherein the advertisers associate themselves with, and therefore capitalize on, a particular event without paying any sponsorship fee." 

 In more ways than one, such campaigns can be regarded as unethical. The brand in question associates its name with a popular event, without the consent of the associated parties, firms and people. There is no question about the fact that the brand's reputation and goodwill get an impetus out of this but it is immoral and unethical all the same. However, it might be a sure coincidence and not involve any wrong intentions on the part of the brand managers.

With the Olympics in full swing in London now, such campaigns and the London authorities attempts to control the same are making news. Thus, I landed up Googling 'popular' ambush campaigns and the 'successful' ones too! There couldn't be any greater oxymorons than these, I think. Well, the list below is best called The 'Interesting' Ambush Campaigns:

• Rona recycles Apple's leftover paint.

                               

Rona, a home improvement chain in Canada, had this banner placed below Apple's iPod nano billboard near the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal.

The text reads "Nous récupérons les restes de peinture" translating into, "we recycle leftover paint."

Apple's "nano-chromatic" campaign was a global campaign, but Rona and its agency, Bos, seem to be the only ones who pulled off an ambush campaign like this.

Airlines Industry at loogerheads

Spot the brand

                                  Saving the last for the end:

                                                

 I simply loved this ad! The concept and the script are magnificent!

Even though it's like Nike is eating away the cake that Adidas (Official Sponsor of London Olympics'12) paid for, you can't help commending their effort and your smile is surely going to tinged with a sense of approval for Nike!

Birthday Bash

Everytime a prospective topic for a post sprouts in my head, I try to ensure that it doesn't make my blog too personal.
However, today's post is an exception.

Yesterday was my birthday and I celebrated it well. From movies to feasts at a cafe to finger licking ice cream to shopping, I was greatly indulged and pampered by all my near and dear ones.
Spent a nice, peaceful day in a relaxed manner. It was a fun filled day and everytime an ant from the past crawled into my grey cells, I just told myself Let Bygones be Bygones!

If you're also going to take a day off, let your hair down then let yourself loose. Call over your closest buddies, and cherish the moments before the sand flows out of your hands!

Movies revisited

Like most other girls my age, I love watching movies over and over again. And like most other Indians, Yash Raj and Karan Johar films are an all time favourite.
This post stems from my dilemma of choosing between Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Band Baaja baarat.
When you watch the same movie time and again, you realize thr details that have been worked upon. The flowers in the background, the antique clock, fpur leaves on the ground, the man walking behind, the dust laden book and such miniscule things which have been carefully placed and set just to add to the authenticity.
While I 'revisited' Kahaani this afternoon, i carefully noticed that Vidya Balan gave Bishnu, aka Hot Running Water, a dairy milk while tickling him.
In Band Baaja Baarat, I noticed that the name of the company where Anushka and Ranveer interned was calle Moonstruck and their logo had a purple orchid stem running through the o's!
Just now, as I watch Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, I realize that the specific lights which adorn Preity Zinta's house!

Revisit a movie and observe, analyse, criticize and notice! A fun-filled experience for sure!

Teach your sons better!

Barkha Dutt: "Dont let the Mob Win. Dont tell your daughter she can't go out alone at night. Dont restrict the clothes she wears. Teach your sons better."

Barkha Dutt, who is in many ways my role model, tweeted this around 7 this evening, when the news of a molestation case in Guwahati was doing rounds. The television channels were flooded with news readers and reporters sharing information, showing the footage of the incident and 'experts' opinion on the issue of human rights and women's rights being undermined.

I was disheartened by the issue. A 17 year old girl was molested in Guwahati around 8:30pm. What would the people who say women shouldn't keep late hours, say to this? She was not skimpily dressed. If wearing a skirt classifies as skimpy, my school uniform comprised of one! Her skirt, did not massively defy gravity, nor was it sky risingly high(read short)! The class 11 student stepped out of ar estaurant after celebrating her friend's birthday and she stepped into the blackest  evening of her life! The very thought of 30 men molesting her gave me goosebumps. She was stripped and humiliated in full public view. That is the nation we have built, in so many years?

What disturbed me more was that when I sat back after wacthing the news pieces, I thought to myself what was the reporter thinking when he chose to stand by the sides to take the video, but not help the poor girl? Kudos to Times Now for not showing the video, choosing to adhere from voyeurism. I had read in books about the ethical conflicts faced by journalists. However, I never grasped the essence of those until today when I had an argument with my father about the role of the media in the whole scenario. They hype the issue periodically, harp on a topic to generate greater viewership, sensationalize it, forget the sensitivity of the matter and take the short span of public memory as the only constant amongst all other variables!

Their actions are surely debatable. Can someon give me a debate platform? A channel to voice myself? A means to share my thoughts?

Why am I so bothered, touched, affected and frustrated?

Because I am a girl, only littlle older than the one aggrieved, and I know what it feels like when your parents say- "Look what has happened in Guwahati! I'm afraid you'll have to drop your plans of travelling alone with your friends."

The phrase 'alone with your friends' is an oxymoron in itself, and to add to the irony, people treat girls as morons and apparently the onus of the fault lies on us, in some way or another.