Jan 18, 2007
Jan 17, 2007
More on the vote bank
Just read this article in Economic Times. So for the minority vote bank, the government is now getting them loans. So we'll have 6% of the total loans given to the minority section. I would like to know how much exactly is this so called minority community. What percentage of Indian population are they?
Humming...
Today when I was walking to work from the bus stop, the song Signal was playing in one of the shops. I started humming it. And since the road was sort of deserted my voice was very much audible. When I was crossing the road, I was still singing. There was a guy next to me and he heard me singing... Signal Pyar ka Signal, he stared at me and I realised that I was pretty loud. I stopped singing and the signal went green. He smiled and went away.
I have had many moments like this. This is the least embarrassing of all. Most of the time when I'm humming something, I am usually at the wrong place or in front of the wrong people.
I have had many moments like this. This is the least embarrassing of all. Most of the time when I'm humming something, I am usually at the wrong place or in front of the wrong people.
Jan 16, 2007
The Aishwarya Rai Marketing Model
Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai got engaged finally on Sunday. But lets look at Aishwarya as a marketing 'model'...yes you read it right marketing model. I know she is a model, (I would call her a model and not insult the institution of acting.) but where does marketing fit here?
Well, the west considers her to be the biggest star in Bollywood, a diva. Oh! give me a break, she has had just three hits in her 7/8 year career. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam - This is the only movie where I liked her, Devdas - ShahRukh and Madhuri were the stars there, she was just a there (Just see the Dola Re song and you'll know) and Dhoom2 - I must agree she looked great, but Hrithik was better and more sexier. Guru is doing well and the critics have loved Ash in the movie, but I haven't seen it so - no comments.
So, with three hits in her kitty, madam heads west, markets herself very well and lands with projects there, which also incidentally flop. And she still is a star. Well this is marketing at its best!!
One thing she has done right is to be associated with the right people. When she came in movies, Salman was big, she became his girlfriend. He was too much to handle, and when he went down, she went around with Vivek Oberoi. Vivek wad then considered to be super-star-in-waiting. He flopped and she broke-up with him. Now Abhishek Bachchan is the new superstar- she is Abhishek's fiancee.
I may be wrong, and have made Ash as a manipulative lady, but thats what I see. All Ash fans please excuse.
Well, the west considers her to be the biggest star in Bollywood, a diva. Oh! give me a break, she has had just three hits in her 7/8 year career. Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam - This is the only movie where I liked her, Devdas - ShahRukh and Madhuri were the stars there, she was just a there (Just see the Dola Re song and you'll know) and Dhoom2 - I must agree she looked great, but Hrithik was better and more sexier. Guru is doing well and the critics have loved Ash in the movie, but I haven't seen it so - no comments.
So, with three hits in her kitty, madam heads west, markets herself very well and lands with projects there, which also incidentally flop. And she still is a star. Well this is marketing at its best!!
One thing she has done right is to be associated with the right people. When she came in movies, Salman was big, she became his girlfriend. He was too much to handle, and when he went down, she went around with Vivek Oberoi. Vivek wad then considered to be super-star-in-waiting. He flopped and she broke-up with him. Now Abhishek Bachchan is the new superstar- she is Abhishek's fiancee.
I may be wrong, and have made Ash as a manipulative lady, but thats what I see. All Ash fans please excuse.
Jan 12, 2007
Radio stations in Bangalore
Sometime in mid 2006, there was a exponential increase in the no. of radio stations in Bangalore. For nearly 4-5 years, Radio City ruled the roost and they were or are still pretty good. There was just the government run FM Rainbow for competition. Well, I wouldn't call that competition.
And then all of a sudden you had radio stations sprouting like weeds everywhere. It was good news for sometime because I had a lot to choose from and at that time I owned a mobile with inbuilt radio. If I didn't like the song playing in one station, I would shift to another. But after sometime, they really got on to my nerves. What with that fake accent and rowdy Kannada, the slogan competition - they were fighting like cats and dogs. Consider this - one channel calls themselves the coolest, the other the hottest, another one bindas, and yet another mast!!!
The most irritating part of all the new stations are the RJs. Radio Mirchi started the trend of RJs speaking in Kannada. Good idea, but why put in the fake kannada accent!! But they are bearable. But there are a couple of new stations (BigFM and SFM) that went overboard. Their Kannada is really horrible - horrible is a soft word for them. And these people try to teach Kannada to the non-Kannadigas in Bangalore. Oh please!! stop doing it. Stop murdering the wonderful language. I'm no great lover of Kannada but I do respect the language.
And then all of a sudden you had radio stations sprouting like weeds everywhere. It was good news for sometime because I had a lot to choose from and at that time I owned a mobile with inbuilt radio. If I didn't like the song playing in one station, I would shift to another. But after sometime, they really got on to my nerves. What with that fake accent and rowdy Kannada, the slogan competition - they were fighting like cats and dogs. Consider this - one channel calls themselves the coolest, the other the hottest, another one bindas, and yet another mast!!!
The most irritating part of all the new stations are the RJs. Radio Mirchi started the trend of RJs speaking in Kannada. Good idea, but why put in the fake kannada accent!! But they are bearable. But there are a couple of new stations (BigFM and SFM) that went overboard. Their Kannada is really horrible - horrible is a soft word for them. And these people try to teach Kannada to the non-Kannadigas in Bangalore. Oh please!! stop doing it. Stop murdering the wonderful language. I'm no great lover of Kannada but I do respect the language.
Jan 4, 2007
India Poised
This is a Times of India campaign. They have renamed 2007 as Year of India. 2006 laid a good foundation and 2007 can surely be the Year of India. Yes we have to make it the year of India. More on their site. The site also has some good common man cartoons and old editions of TOI.
The video of the campaign is below. Its also in their site. It features Amitabh Bachchan. He sounds really commanding. Perfect person to for the campaign.
The video of the campaign is below. Its also in their site. It features Amitabh Bachchan. He sounds really commanding. Perfect person to for the campaign.
Jan 3, 2007
2006 - The year gone by...Part 2
I spoke about the year gone by in my life. Lets have a broader vision. A overall look at the important events in 2006.
In my opinion, the biggest thing that rocked India this year was the reservation issue. The AIIMs doctors are still waging a lone battle. The ridiculous reservation was introduced by Arjun Singh to win the minority votes. There were numerous demonstrations and there was some modification in the bill, but the reservation based on caste still exists. If reservation is needed, have it based on economic status, not caste.
The other thing was the nuclear deal with US. I don't know much about it. It just didn't generate enough curiosity in me to read/follow the whole story. From whatever little I understand, US had to have this more than India. It gives them an alliance with India now. Something in my humble opinion, they need more than we do.
Then there were protests - Jessica Lal murder case, Singur issue, Narmada dam issue and many more. Jessica Lal case needs a special mention. This was the first time that the decision of the court had to be revised based on the public power. This year also saw the verdict of 1993 Bombay blasts and the Parliament attacks(This reminds me of the ongoing protest against hanging of Afzal.). Talking about blasts, there were more blasts in Mumbai on July 11th. Pray that no such things happen this year.
The sensex touched the 14000 mark this year. Narayan Murthy retired. The industrialist India did a lot of expensive shopping. Lakshmi Mittal bought Arcelor, Tatas have almost got Corus.
In sports, rather in cricket, India started with a high but ended disastrously. Hopefully their fortunes will change this year. With the world cup in a few months, they better pull up their socks. Elsewhere Shane Warne continued his battle with Murlitharan for the maximum scalps. Glenn MacGrath and Shane Warne announced their retirement. India did pretty well in the Asian games. Jeev Milkha Singh became the 1st Indian eligible to play in Masters golf.
Movies - there was pretty good variety this year. It was the year of remakes and sequels. The movies that stood out include Rang De Basanti , Lage Raho Munnabhai, Krrish, Pyar Ke Side Effects, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Dhoom 2 and Omkara. My awards will go to Hrithik Roshan (Best Looking and Best Male Actor) and Kareena Kapoor (Best Female Lead - Omkara), Saif Ali Khan(Best Villain), Mallika Sherawat and Rahul Bose (Best Onscreen couple) and Bipasa Basu (Best Item no. - Beedi song).
These are the events that have left an impression in my limited memory. I may have missed out a quite a few significant ones, but hey, this is my blog!!
In my opinion, the biggest thing that rocked India this year was the reservation issue. The AIIMs doctors are still waging a lone battle. The ridiculous reservation was introduced by Arjun Singh to win the minority votes. There were numerous demonstrations and there was some modification in the bill, but the reservation based on caste still exists. If reservation is needed, have it based on economic status, not caste.
The other thing was the nuclear deal with US. I don't know much about it. It just didn't generate enough curiosity in me to read/follow the whole story. From whatever little I understand, US had to have this more than India. It gives them an alliance with India now. Something in my humble opinion, they need more than we do.
Then there were protests - Jessica Lal murder case, Singur issue, Narmada dam issue and many more. Jessica Lal case needs a special mention. This was the first time that the decision of the court had to be revised based on the public power. This year also saw the verdict of 1993 Bombay blasts and the Parliament attacks(This reminds me of the ongoing protest against hanging of Afzal.). Talking about blasts, there were more blasts in Mumbai on July 11th. Pray that no such things happen this year.
The sensex touched the 14000 mark this year. Narayan Murthy retired. The industrialist India did a lot of expensive shopping. Lakshmi Mittal bought Arcelor, Tatas have almost got Corus.
In sports, rather in cricket, India started with a high but ended disastrously. Hopefully their fortunes will change this year. With the world cup in a few months, they better pull up their socks. Elsewhere Shane Warne continued his battle with Murlitharan for the maximum scalps. Glenn MacGrath and Shane Warne announced their retirement. India did pretty well in the Asian games. Jeev Milkha Singh became the 1st Indian eligible to play in Masters golf.
Movies - there was pretty good variety this year. It was the year of remakes and sequels. The movies that stood out include Rang De Basanti , Lage Raho Munnabhai, Krrish, Pyar Ke Side Effects, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Dhoom 2 and Omkara. My awards will go to Hrithik Roshan (Best Looking and Best Male Actor) and Kareena Kapoor (Best Female Lead - Omkara), Saif Ali Khan(Best Villain), Mallika Sherawat and Rahul Bose (Best Onscreen couple) and Bipasa Basu (Best Item no. - Beedi song).
These are the events that have left an impression in my limited memory. I may have missed out a quite a few significant ones, but hey, this is my blog!!
Jan 2, 2007
Art of Living Marketing Model - Study Link
In one of my earlier posts I wrote about the Art of Living marketing model. Well, there is a formal study on this. For more read this.
Its a nice study but for a layman who reads this will just know that AoL or Guruji is just making loads of money and will not understand where the money is used. When I discussed this with Arvindh yesterday, he said that AoL and Guruji are way beyond people's thoughts. Yes, when you are at that level where He is now, there will surely be people who think negative about Him. But the important thing is that He loves all and accepts them as they are!!
Its a nice study but for a layman who reads this will just know that AoL or Guruji is just making loads of money and will not understand where the money is used. When I discussed this with Arvindh yesterday, he said that AoL and Guruji are way beyond people's thoughts. Yes, when you are at that level where He is now, there will surely be people who think negative about Him. But the important thing is that He loves all and accepts them as they are!!
Jan 1, 2007
2006 - The year gone by...
Another year has passed leaving behind some good and bad memories. The good news is that there are more memories to cherish than regret.
At the personal front, I finally got a steady job that paid me my worth - not some internship where I slogged for meagre pay. I also finished and submitted my project work for masters degree - something that I should have done last year. Financially, I had more money this year than I had in my entire career. So, I have been tempted to spend lavishly - the temptation to which I have scummed many times. Yet, I can say that I have a decent saving in bank by the year end.
This year AOL celebrated 25years. What a lavish celebration!! I was as usual with RDP for setting of stalls during the event. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every moment - the pre-planning for the stalls, the n number of mails exchanged to decide on a matter, the chupke-se taking printout in office, the fights and disagreements, the collecting volunteers for the stalls, the setting up of the stalls, the stall allocation and strategic planning for the same, the sales - over all everything. Guruji celebrated his 50th birthday this year.
This was also the year of babies - many of my friends and acquaintances had babies. Foremost among them is Priya and Sweta. Then there was also Esha, Aishwarya and many more.
The saddest moment was when Ie passed away. Its a loss that can't be explained. To see Pappa cry, to see him look at Ie's photo with pain in his eyes is something without words.
I also lost 2 mobiles this year. Finally have decided to survive on second-hand mobiles. At least won't feel too bad when I lose them.
A new year dawns, and time for some resoultions. Joint first on the list has to be to get the driving license and proper exercise. Others come in a random order later.
At the personal front, I finally got a steady job that paid me my worth - not some internship where I slogged for meagre pay. I also finished and submitted my project work for masters degree - something that I should have done last year. Financially, I had more money this year than I had in my entire career. So, I have been tempted to spend lavishly - the temptation to which I have scummed many times. Yet, I can say that I have a decent saving in bank by the year end.
This year AOL celebrated 25years. What a lavish celebration!! I was as usual with RDP for setting of stalls during the event. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every moment - the pre-planning for the stalls, the n number of mails exchanged to decide on a matter, the chupke-se taking printout in office, the fights and disagreements, the collecting volunteers for the stalls, the setting up of the stalls, the stall allocation and strategic planning for the same, the sales - over all everything. Guruji celebrated his 50th birthday this year.
This was also the year of babies - many of my friends and acquaintances had babies. Foremost among them is Priya and Sweta. Then there was also Esha, Aishwarya and many more.
The saddest moment was when Ie passed away. Its a loss that can't be explained. To see Pappa cry, to see him look at Ie's photo with pain in his eyes is something without words.
I also lost 2 mobiles this year. Finally have decided to survive on second-hand mobiles. At least won't feel too bad when I lose them.
A new year dawns, and time for some resoultions. Joint first on the list has to be to get the driving license and proper exercise. Others come in a random order later.
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