The Art of Convincing People

Advertisements: A chance given to the viewers to follow two programs scheduled at the same time. 
Good Advertisements: It did what all ads are supposed to do: create an anxiety relieve-able by purchase.

Many experts on Advertising believe that a consumer has shut his brains to advertising in places he knows he is going to bombarded with various ads. Hence, today a marketer should try and reach his customer when he least expects it and in places most unlikely. This will help the brand to be registered in consumer's mind. As much as we can agree with this, a good and an innovative ad is what people are looking forward to these days. There have been some advertisements  for which I restrain myself from changing the channel. 

The Vodafone campaign of Zoo Zoos had a similar effect on many, and the feel- good Cadbury ads with impeccable looking fresh and pretty artists sure did. However, the government campaigns on increasing awareness scorned at. I can not defend  the 'Mukhesh Harane' ad as a warning against smoking. I mean, that is not the way to get people to stop from smoking, proven effective are the illustrations of disease effected organs on the very pack of the cigarettes in Australia,may be it is time we stringently followed that. However, I am able to make my peace with the new advertisements parading 'Quit Smoking'. They explicitly emphasize on Second hand smoking and appeal to the 'Pathos' of a quintessential Indian- the family. Well, this might actually have more impact than rotten lungs and surgical instruments on 75mm.


Of all the domains of influence and persuasion:: Ethos, Pathos and Logos.. The persuader, though free to use any strategy.the  persuadee always has an upper hand of making his own choice. Keeping that in mind, sensitizing the advertisements to cause awareness is in much of a necessity.

Well, this post is in praise of some advertisements that might actually have an eternal impact, well that would be exaggerating,they might actually have an impact on me for a really long time.  

Here is an advertisement that I loved in the recent times:: NACO (National AIDS Control Organisation)

The new campaign, launched on January 28, has been produced by BBC World Service Trust. NACO has spent a whopping Rs 7 crore to book air time on radio and TV channels for a month. The advertisements aired till February 28.

I am sick of all the advertisements where a lesson is taught by a voice we don't know[being taught, really?? Are we still not ready to show that some of us are already aware and empowered?]. This advertisement, made it a point that ::

• People were already aware of the discrimination.
• They did not actually 'exhibit' the ways of discrimination.
• They have the courage to stand up to make a voice.
• Once these are done, The rest do not have a choice but make way to change.

Though it might seem like these are but trivial issues, they attracted me a lot. There are no surgeries shown, no sick people shown. It only portrays the responsibility we have, to stand up and protect the people being looked down upon, with immense intellectual integrity. 

Well, this is the crux: You don't show what is wrong, in explicit detail, while it plays a major role in plot, what needs to be done is the main issue. It may as well lead to an attitudinal change that the ad is aiming at.

Though, wittily, they went towards a modern approach in FM advertisements and stuck to the more conservative path on Video advertisements in the campaign to promote condom usage. May be, that was for the best, not to fire up a debate on issues that were proven socially sensitive. 

Technically: The lighting, manipulation of camera angles with symbolically portraying the boss (once or twice) from the eyes of the employees caught my eye.

Well, one would but expect this from an advertisement aiming at social change. The not-so-recent Tanishq ad, a completely corporate endeavor took a completely different stand,not adorning a woman just because of the ornaments she wears. [The ad did not have the need to explicitly state the impending re-marriage,as it would have been a contrast and a misfit with the subtle] I must say, it was not elusive. Loved the colorist, and the step to move away from every possible stereotype. 

What can I say, Advertising is the life of Trade, and the very essence of Democracy.

Pseudo-Choices

Regionalism connotations.. Political attachments.. Really??

The way I see it, they are a complete betrayal to the unbiased evolution of Indian nationalism and hold an invitation to conjectural understanding of a glorious history.

Are we heading for a political equivalent of being stuck between a rock and a hard place??

Some one in this magnificent democracy say 'No!!'

Well, when temples are raised and tombs are built to react to mere partisan politics or a political responsibility, whichever way you want to see it.. I think it is true. We ARE stuck..

Hmmph.. Whatever happened to intellectual integrity?

PS: Please don't tell me that a basis of anti-corruption campaign stands the chance of being a panacea, let alone a mere rhetoric.

The Two One-Liners

The two lines I want, etched into eternity,what better place than here... 

Honesty is an expensive gift, Don't expect it from cheap people.



Once you start changing for the better, everything seems to magically fall into place!


Just to make sure I wouldn't forget,ever!

Stay Unfair!

Beauty lies in the eyes that behold is it??

Then,Why this obsession with fairness??

I was appalled, watching an ad that endorses a fairness cream for the armpits!!!

Blatant and subtle reinforcements that only fair is lovely. The men also have joined the community that campaigns for guaranteed fairness in just a few days. Such pressure, of all the problems a woman faces in a multi-cultural society like India,watching this ads will leave a petty person with low self esteem, facing identity crisis and very few friends!

Hmm.. Racism! If the North East people are driven out from economic hubs like Bangalore, the South Indians are portrayed always dark in the thriving movie industry with a thick Hindi accent, often made fun of! May be it is enough fun. Seeing whats on the inside of a person may be too much to ask for,and sometimes may converge into opposing what they believe in.. yup,I mean casteism and communal-ism  may be not judging them for what they are outside,staying neutral, will have much to do to boost them up! If you don't agree with me, do not comment on the Islamophobic tweets against a PIO winning Miss America(FYI, I think she would not have won over the panel of judges if she were here,she is dark!). When we say unity in diversity proudly,then why try and bleach everyone,we must be ready to take all that multi-culturalism has got to offer.

Anyways, it is not necessary to be sucked up into this statistical view portraying affinity for people to marry fair people, and gaining self worth is something worth waiting for, for one and all(Where is this coming from? -A recent tryst with my cousin's wedding plans).

Just one thing, if the others do not support, it is never too late to stand up for oneself.

Stay Unfair,Stay Beautiful!! Dark is beautiful.. 

After all,chocolate is wonderful! ;)

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I am from Vijayawada(That implies I watch many movies!)
Point is,When you ask a director, he says his inspirations are the real life characters, After all the media is a reflection of the society they say.. Or is it the other way round?
A lot of debate about Raanjhnaa spurred along the past few months, citing women empowerment how cultural barricades are closing our minds to the free open lifestyle, when a male protagonist is a stalker and also the narrator, the director missed the point that this colours the act of stalking to compel the audience to sympathise with him, thus making his actions ok.. Once they are OK, even for a few, doesn't that send the wrong message through the stratas of the society. Fine! Moving on,Chennai Express, the highest grosser they say, isn't that just humour veiling cultural stereotyping? How many in the South drink, Coconut mein Lassi mila ke? Its as if men there do not wear trousers at all,meaning everyone dons a lungi. Fine the movie is only for 3 hours,laugh and leave then why a game, to perpetuate the effect, huh??! Fine, moving on..

Bangalore exodus and the Muzzaffarnagar incidents recently they all have had one thing in common,the politicians blaming the social media for flaring up the issues! Whether it is a blame or it is the true thing,god knows! But when media can be a weapon that destroys, we have to remember, it can also be a pen that constructs the impossible! The Delhi rape case,got so much of an attention, well.. apart from being outright brutal and happening in a public place, eventually killing the victim, the social media played a very important role in spurring the much needed wake up call to the society! 
What is it to some cities,even diplomatic relations of billions of dollars for some huge countries like Iran are fluctuating in few hours and days because of Social Media, as it is a symbol of openness.

Definitely,what constructs can have the same or even more immense capacity to destroy..
May be it is time schools stop giving a debate topic of 'Is TV a boon or a bane?',only to start 'Is social Media a boon or bane'.. 

The medium changes, but there will always be a mirror that shows us what we are.. To correct ourselves,shunning it will cost the self and not the mirror! If we turn out to be so arrogant and ignorant enough to not heed to  the voice that faces us toward the mirror,then who can save us? Nothing can equal the Media as a friend to the society.. To correct the self or to ignore it is only a moot choice. Because we all beleive that betterment is the only way for tomorrow. As inconclusive as this may be, one thing is for sure.. One reflects the other,the main question remains. Are we ready to learn, or are we still with the quetching or flaunting it as art?!

Gandhi - Guevara

It is always the simple things that catch thy breath.

Before I start, let me make it clear,I was and am not a Gandhian. I don't think  I can ever achieve as high a pedestal as is required to qualify myself to be called or to call myself a 'Gandhian'.

You ask me what I've got?

Recently-I was ashamed to have known this only recently- I came to know about the visit of Che Guevara's visit to India.
I have read his books on Guerrilla warfare and his Motorcycle Diaries,but was ignorant of the possibility of him making a visit to the country that was taking shape from the spoils of the greatest struggle ever know to form a nation.

Che Guevara being greeted by an Indian

Well, the best thing of knowing this interesting trivia is that it makes us dig a little deeper to know that Che actually admired Gandhi and his methods of Non-violence.

For Che,hunger is a violent condition forced upon the hungry and he finds violence an unavoidable method to counter it. For Gandhi, violence is a boomerang, which once unleashed against the oppressor would only return to chase the oppressed.

Despite Che's strong ties to violence his endorsement of Gandhi's non-violence is a historical  and a significant possibility of food for revolutionary thought, not to forget the impending nature of the possibility of changing the views on the intimacy that two ideologies that are perceived to be diagonally opposite can possibly hold.

Well,the fact is, as children we were brought up basing our conscience on the basis of morals that the simple but splendid wisdom that Panchatantras lend us, as an ancient civilization.

We have many adages that have a moral scrutiny on us. I had one doubt after reading that if two great leaders of opposite ideologies could embrace the possibility of tolerance towards the other ideology so much,why can't we?
Why do most of have revolutionary thoughts that are, more often than not directed towards violent means? Why?

Is it that 'Tit for Tat' the most understandable moral we got from our ancestors? Was it that easy to implement? Probably yes. When a highly inferred 'Athidhi Devo Bhava', with a universal domain goes out,the highly self-centric and carelessly construed 'tit for tat' comes in. It is applied,in a crudely reverse-engineered form. Sadly,it is understood as a violent form. Even Gandhiji was not against it, when carefully observed:

"First they ignore you,
then they laugh at you,
then they fight you,
then you win!"

The same holds with religion I guess.
Blasphemy,when not allowed, more often than not gives rise to a new religion. Catholic blasphemy gave rise to Protestant ethics considering the broad contours in which we take religion as a way of living. Blasphemy inherent in the inquisitiveness of certain religions  is one that reinforces the faith in perennial tolerance. Sometimes, asking questions becomes more important than finding the answers. I think this reinforces that change need not always be revolutionary or sudden. It is not supposed to be whimsical or overhauling. May be the best the change can adapt to depends on its subtlety of engaging in tolerance towards  blasphemy.

Look at us,in a vacuum, if all the above discussion was null and void,when someone comes and slaps us, if the person next to you says slap back, whether or not you think twice before doing it, you ll never ask him back 'Are you mad?'. But when the same person asks you to show him the other cheek, you surely will.

I never understood the concept of radical change. So here is my question: Is radicalism the first-to-go solution, really? I am confused. Are ideologies mass-driven because they can be easily instilled and retained till the objective is attained?


May be, for the generations to come, Tit-for-Tat will not be a distorted reverse-engineered violence. Hope can never die right...
True, there are no Blacks and Whites, there is always a grey we can never overlook. May be the best medicine is in fact Tolerance, or may be there is no one panacea that holds good. Of-course, War is Qualitatively different from a Struggle, A revolution from a eased-in-change! 

Seriously, Do opposites really exist at all?
What can I say, I am back to square one.It IS the simple things that catch thy breath.

So Close, Yet So Far!

Only 2 days before the journey I was looking forward to recently, I came across this really disturbing article, which got quite popular on the social networking sites, claiming that the death of the rape victim was hushed up for a few days with money. My friends were also a little sceptical about that. However, I chose not to believe some random article to blame the system to be so corrupt, we've seen the protest was profound.I just made peace with people having different lookout on different things and moved on to other articles. May be, I was not ready to accept the fact that those in such responsible positions, by saying responsible, I don't mean the officials alone,will be using such a sensitive issue to take a chance to make money.Naive! That is the only word I can think of for describing myself!

Days after she lost her life,Just when my friend was telling me today the rape, in a two or three days there will be some other thing, we ll turn the pages of the newspaper and forget it, I had to take a cab, the very next day, not so early in the morning, but quite early at 8 a.m and I was glad even though the police stopped the car just 2 minutes after we started and I was getting late, but I was glad because they stopped the cab because the glasses were tinted light grey, translucent vision for the outsiders, not the completely opaque tint, I felt good, as the repercussions of the rape case brought in some really strong measures, and unlike the traffic rules, which are more often than not violated are being strictly mandated and taken care of. I felt proud, to have known that all is not lost. A moment of happiness and reassurance for not taking into the articles. Well that didn't long last!

After about 10 minutes out of the cab, the driver came back in and started driving towards the destination. I was curious to know how he got off from the police. He casually answered 'I gave him Rs 200!' . I can't say I was shocked,but I felt really sad. Just when I thought, we are getting close as nation, a step,though tine, closer to making women feel safe, this incident took me light years away,pushing hope into abyss! Oh! So close, yet so far! Reiterating, yet again, that laws can not be all.. I shut my brain up! Not one is to be blamed. We are all the same, and that is a shame!

Just when I thought the taint of this city, I love like crazy, of being a rape capital can be washed out, with organisational determination, the malady of corruption comes from behind with a dagger,betraying while making space to restate inefficiency in every form possible. Are we really hoping for too much? Can the dreams of the head being held nigh ever come true? Well even if there is a remote chance of that happening, the fare seems to be too high to pay.

Money!! Money!! Whether we sail or drown, whether the terminus will be sought in good shape. Yeah, true but tragic, money, it seems is the one thing that deceives us from dreams and makes vulnerable enough to succumb to the desires! 

Why was I so upset, when I already knew what was going to happen? It was nothing new. Well, I could answer that only with one word 'Hope'. Hopefully, atleast that ll never die. I guess I am too curious to know the power of unity to say 'No'. The collective urge to realise that 'Being Human' just means, a little trust and faith, a little give and take, a little philanthropy and selfishness, a little rage and equanimity,a little sorrow and a tad of happiness, all put together. May be that is the miracle we are all working together for.

Yesterday it was a brutal rape, today a sewn time bomb inside a jawan's belly.What all we get to see!! And we talk of being human! The only things being constant are corruption and deception, and they always give ample space to the acute veneration for tomorrow. Is any step we take really taking us forward?

Sigh!

My very first Lohri!!

January 13th, 2013!
Woah!! Look at that,it is two 13s there! ;)

Haha! For everyone who said that today.. I just wanted to share something I realised today, I felt it was important I wrote it down somewhere(later thought, why not share), lest I overlook and forget! It might sound stupid for some,nevertheless that wouldn't stop me from writing it here!

We have so many superstitions, (the 13 thingy I was referring to before), true having an awful day gives every reason to sulk, But doesn't that only mean, this placebo is robbing you of all the opportunities that can kick the day up?! That is old wine! Yeah, it is a universal truth so, I don't have anything new to share there,moving on.

Ohkk ok,Here is what I really wanted to write on,We are so vulnerable and gullible most of the times. We are so full of inhibitions (This stands no exception to the so-called most egalitarian societies of the west). We judge! A lot, and today, I realised that does more harm to us than to the person who is being judged! It is like living in a coffin. Though I can not share the incident that made me realise this, here is what, We end up naming relationships, quantifying them. We always have this preconceived notion that some people 'close' to us can always make us happy. While some people, are always nettlesome. Not at all true.
Well,an hour of Lohri celebrations, pop corn, winter night,bonfire, songs and a few friends, shattered this impression of mine. I had one of the most memorable days, away from home.

Turns out,a truly hearty, selflessly happy person can always make others happy. It is like the sun! It is a radiation,warm and soothing.
People are only what their feelings make them, we never know what their journey is all about,judging them would be robbing ourselves from all the happiness a person can potentially share with us! We might as well make ourselves less gullible.

May be a little less of judgement, can promise a hell lot of happiness. People may not be the same, but then unfeignedly shared happiness has no substitutes. True celebration, is all about sharing,shattering all the inhibitions we brought along with us! We all come in uniquely wonderful, the pursuit might change us,after all.. It is but the 'Difficulty of being Good '

Girl

Tiny trenchant eyes looking around for love,
She never knew till then,
Out of the womb, a being..
Into the world, a Girl..
Who is she, the girl, really?

The father's sigh of exasperation..
The frown across his face,
Rejecting the life infront,
Reducing it to mere existence..
When the tiny fingers reached the sturdy hands
That moved away..
That she is going to be a girl!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!

The school gates open,
Oh never be coarse, never play tough..
Foot-ball is for guys,never go seek..
Educated deep into Mis-education..
That she is a girl!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!

Home is always ardent is it?
'You cut the vegetables and lay the dining..
Your brother gets to do the market chores..
It is provocative to go out alone!
Oh yeah, That she is a girl!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!

College are you in?
Don't utter, don't jest,
don't gander, don't like,
don't cognize, and never love,
Well who would approve assertion?
Oh yeah, That she is a girl!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!

Get married, the only thing to draw a bead on..
The home and the hearth you are,
Be a doll.. Be subtle, surreal..
Care and serve, all you do..
We pay to get rid of you!
How they treat is mere cavalier!
Oh yeah, That she is a woman!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!


Going out is she?
Dress carefully, the other side has to approve..
Brutal is the espy around,proclivity is it?
Cruel the intentions,
Barbarous the design..
Undressed by the sight,
Molested and chevied..
Tattled to torture,
Guilty of the crime of being forced.
Oh yeah, That she is a girl!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!

Everything being deceptive.
Taught to believe in endings and beginnings.
But the truth is, there are no Borders.
Scruples alone exist,
They lead, they resolve,
They recognize,they experience..
Oh yeah, That she is a girl!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!

Every night,A hope, 
A desire puts her to sleep..
To wake up into a world, 
where the mind is without fear 
And the head is held high..
Will she ever stop praying,
Not to exist a girl again,
Fruition of life, and acceptance..
Is it not to be a girl, ever again?
Is she ever safe?
Oh yeah, That she is a girl!
Out of the womb,a being..
But into the world, a Girl!

'Justice' is qualitatively different from 'Vengeance'
Talking of incendiary are we? Haha..
What can laws do where the mind is astray?
Practices can be legislated, 
But can conscience ever be?

 

Yatra Naryastu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devata
(Though I seldom endorse Manusmriti)


PS: Start the change from your home!

Doubts

Doubts, yeah doubts. I have too many of them.

Is today's 'Education' really the panacea we are looking for? Or is there more?

Many things we need can wait, but the child can’t. To him, we can’t say ‘tomorrow’. Because his name is ‘today’. 

Lately, I realized, contemplating comes involuntarily most of the times. A wide smile that lights up a room doesn't always mean complete, absolute happiness. Change can be as minuscule as maximal it can be. But whatever it is, it is good. Because, yeah... I came to make peace with the notion that utopia is utter boredom,there always has to be some place for change. May be it is but an exaggeration, but I am here to throw light on what I came across recently, and I just got caught up there. May be I should get it out of my system to move on,so I write.

As always, I boil down every human problem to the only panacea I realized since childhood, and that was, is and I guess which always will be ‘Education’. I thought education can change everything, as much as I realize I was right I also realized I couldn't have been more wrong. I miss those days where we can run along the corridor, catch up with a teacher who is taller than you, just to ask a doubt.. So that she can bend down to listen and clarify what is bugging a tiny brain. I miss those days where you raise your hand to get the teacher’s attention just to ask a question so loud to be audible enough to get the doubt clarified. Yeah, back then, I had math doubts.. May be languages and sciences.. But now, I cannot even place some doubts into any genre and my mind doesn't stop blabbering. Well, 20 days at home a bunch of movies and awesome food, may be everyone gets many doubts.

• Change doesn't come to us running if we sit idle. It has got some ego, we need to go there and persuade it to come along and join us, and so is success. While we criticize ego, we try to hold on to it, as that is what gives us the identity we crave for,right?

• Whatever the change the visionaries have anticipated, and strove for, I speak now, actually, we speak now, with the benefit of hind sight that it is inadequate, but we take time to realize that it was relevant and that was what has helped us pave the way to reach this day. Why is it that change has never been overhauling? Why is it always in small doses? Is it like a medicine that the societal system can only take as much as it can agree?

• Just because you know it is panacea, it doesn't mean that it will be the right thing to follow blindly. Doing the right thing is not what matters. Doing the right thing right is what beckons change right into the lap. Every idea that is in shape has to be efficient.It is the idea that is the world around us. So we say, Action has to always accompany idea, so there is no such thing as a handicap right?

• Aspirations can never fall short. But they have to spend more time with action. What appears as the toughest time, as Aun San Suu Kyi said the other day is the time when you think success is round the corner, but sometimes, turning round seems like eternity. There are no short-cuts to truth are they?  Why is it that there is no end to where inspiration can take us?

• Does beauty really lie in the eyes that behold? Don’t you think, all our eyes are tied with the handcuffs of stereotyped socialization? Let me tell this small thing.. fair is beauty, dark is ugly or tall is appealing short is not. At least that is what is endorsed in the million dollar ads that are all around us. If it is so, then where does the eye have space,to make a choice of stamping something as beauty, without going into various apprehensions?

• Initially the bell had no religious symbolism. It was used to grab the attention of the masses. Mind is where things are born. Mind is wonderfully weird while being cautiously vibrant. How is it possible that it is always capable of rhetorically giving life to antonyms, while placing side by side, making conflict inevitable?
• Why is fear so timid? It ultimately takes the form of the brave,it succumbs, with no choice,none at all.

Yeah, I got all these ramblings shouting at me from inside my brain after I watched a bunch of movies. Hmm.. Of what, like, say 5 languages. I know, mind is one thing that never shuts up I guess. Well, here is the realization part, these days I answer everything with this: The Sword and Shield analogy.

Let me take 'Education', as I mentioned earlier. I am not here to endorse or criticize any government program. Because I always think that change that is eternal always comes from within and not from the external push. Education, as a shield, can only protect you from what you don’t want to be. It is rout.It can’t change anything, like we know.. It is memorizing and blurting out. A shield is incapable of inducing change. However, Education like a sword,creative, agile and intelligently adaptable, will protect you, while you shape your surroundings according to what you aspire. A sword, it is creative, dynamic and at the same time protectively hindering. It is not a dagger that kills. A sword moulds what is at your disposal to whatever is the best thing that could be at use right then, right there.

I could not help myself from applying that to 'Talking'. Talking, when used as a shield, is just a protection. It will not give you the dauntless valour to defend against the wrong. Most of the time, it makes you end up ignoring or overlooking it, just to appease to the surroundings. But, talking, as a sword it is one thing that empowers you, that is when you actually talk of the ideas, the vibrancy of the human mind is articulated. Furthermore, I could immerse myself in reasoning this analogy for Listening, smiling, relations and everything, and just when I was thinking, everything has two extreme ends of application,I realized,there is always a third option. Not the both, or may be the both. The sword and the shield. After all, the best wars were won where they all had utilized the both. Well, it is time to for us to get out of the stereo type education systems, and socialization. Well beyond the sword and the shield,there is always more to explore, that is where our vision should lead the light to. That is where we can say, aim of life, not of the dreams. Dreams always have the chance of ‘if’, if we really are here to aspire, I don’t think we can leave that little space. I hope, I made some sense, as this is going a little over my head right now. Or may be I have more doubts. 

Yeah true, now I realize it is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.

I think it is time to say Night night now. Adios!

PS:: A really long hiatus beckons.Living sans technology is finally appealing to be fun. <Hibernation mode>

A Walk Without Earphones

I don't generally eavesdrop. Also, my social memory is very poor,so it doesn't matter,actually, because I can't judge them even if I want to. It took me two months to actually recognise a person I have been seeing regularly for 2 months then. Ok, may be not that poor. Some people, I remember, in my wake and in dream,like I can see and recognise them miles away (ok, that is exaggeration!), feet away, may be it is my selective perception of remembering things. But one thing is for sure. I can not remember a person, by seeing them just once! Don't even get me started with names. I suck. Big time! Ok.. getting to the point, after getting a good rebuke from one of my very close friends regarding my social isolation(In my defense,I put music on, only when I am walking alone) of putting earphones on when I walk, how much information(ya,she used that exact same word),fun I am missing and after her telling me the 'ok-ness' of occassional eavesdropping and it's benefits ;) (even I agree now, it is fun) I decided I ll walk back home without the earphones. Trust me, I felt like I was walking through some random movies! People are funny when observed with no cause-effect relation to the context they are in. Haha! But there is one conversation that struck me. I would have regretted if I, even by chance, missed it.

There were two people sitting: A guy was speaking,I did not see the other person(no, not even gender, I told you,I am poor at observation) I was having juice, so I could catch almost whole of the conversation, lucky me! :D 

That was just one sentence,and I thought it ought to be here, recorded, on the blog, so that I ll never forget or neglect.

"No da, you should not stop abruptly, just try to learn how to manage time na.. Hobbies are not something you have to live with all through, need not be a proffessional or something,but they are those thing which you can not live without, you need them to relieve you from what you want to achieve. Keep them alive,you love them, remember? So no matter what, you ll find time for them,also, they bring glee in you. Once you lose them,it is difficult to get back to them. Trust me, I faced that problem." <And I, felt educated!>

I could not listen to the other person's reply,I was done with juice. I did not want to be perceived creepy, so I left the place. But I think I ll remember what he said. Also, I decided, I ll spend less time with technology and more time, walking through wonderful, realistic and cost-effective movies like this. May be, sometimes a complete stranger has something nice to teach, or may be, sometimes a seemingly juvenile thing needs to be taught! Strange ways.. Strange destinations!
Adios.
PS: Even I think that life is a mistake, if there is no music! :) But movies are much better.

Namma Ooru!!

I have always had a special place for Chennai and Bangalore in my heart, while the same has never been true with Hyderabad! Seriously, all my Hyderabad friends, trust me when I say I have many, will kill me reading this, but that is the truth.. I never hated the city, it is just that I did not have anything worthwhile there, that could make me love the place. May be I ll alter my opinion to subsequently falsify what I said earlier if I have a better Hyd-experience, sometime later. 

Coming back to what I actually want to say, I can't vouch as much for Chennai as I can to, for Bangalore, as my stay there was not considerably that long.. I heard many of my friends complaining about the dirt, noise and the autos (Haha! ;) ). But,I must say,Chennai! What a place! I loved the food(yeah, I am a foodie!), the vivacious places, the unfathomed history the place holds, the serenity and the revel of the beach, I can go on for two days non-stop, in praise of that place. The second best thing about this place is it's unique, relentlessly vivid betiding surroundings, wherever and whenever you go. That would only be the second best thing because, the best-est (Sorry, one superlative will just not do, for what I am about to say) thing about the place is wait-for-it the People. Everyone is ever-ready to help, and anyone answers to the call, 'Anna'. There are malls and fastfoods,but there is always Dosai (yum!!),Idli and Sambar. They can all speak brilliant English, but when they meet a Tamilian they never speak in anything other than Tamizh. The love they have for their language and customs made me admire the language ever more. They have everything about modernity, but they graciously embrace their culture in tender care. I think I made my point clear enough.. I love that place..
Need I even start speaking of Bangalore? I did not even feel like I was away from home. Everyone speaks English, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil, God! they are adaptive, and they are very helpful. I never saw a city that has access to modern amenities and yet so carefully has greenery embedded right next to it. May be, the place I spent most of the time was like that, but that was in the heart of the city, what can I complain about. You get everything in Bengalooru, everywhere. And the best thing is you always see someone you know(Mostly BITSians ;) ). That was the first time I actually felt bad I was leaving a place to go home.. Well it was not just about the place, it had many other people-reasons.I have had some really bedevilling experiences in the rainy season. One of my colleague got mugged(yeah you read that right, he got mugged).Nevertheless, it is one place that changes people to their best. A place no one would ever resist to fall madly in love with..

When it comes to these two places, I would never think twice before saying "They are 'my' places! As good as Home" <gladly, with a grin!>

The point is, the other day when I was reading the newspaper, I read about the Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bombay exodus. It made me sad. The places which many people considered their homes were not so welcoming anymore, rather they were threatening the crap out of them. That lingered, as later that evening I was checking my Facebook profile and there were so many morphed humour images about the 5 SMS per day thing. First few, I was fine, reading and enjoying the humour, later on it got a bit too much of me I guess, got rubbed the wrong side. I think I was sad about the jokes that were circulating, more than I was irritated, I was sad.Or may be I lost my sense of humour, you can play the jokes on me, but these days all the jokes are about relationships,after a point of time it gets boring you see, there is so much more in humour than that(Sorry, but I grew up watching Jandhyala movies, so I think I enjoyed better jokes).Anyways, "Marry the girl/guy who sends you all 5 messages"???!!! Really?! When people are so concerned about  the national security and the crisis being faced by so many Indians that are dealing with a scarred psychosis of fear and anxiety, all we are concerned about is the messages we can send to our friends? Pardon me, but that was what I felt. It all dishes out to be.. Hmm.. may be it is a bit too strong a word to use but that was 'Shallow'. Thousands of people are moving away from what they called their home for years out of the fear of ferocity, they left behind their dreams and aspirations, education and achievements, oppurtunities and incentives, just to stay alive, in their own country, where they have the complete freedom to move. And all this, happening in the places I love so much made me even more sad. Deplorable and distressing. The first verse that our parents taught us, was "Athithi Devobhava". The first pledge we promised to honour, at school was "All Indians are my brothers and Sisters". We grew up listening to mythological stories, of Mahabharatha and Ramayana, which led to seriously endangering curses that were only a result of minimal mockery. We learnt better. And this exodus happens just after the Independence day after we all replenish our pride in our country. It is all just too ironical. And yet, there is no place, time or space for us to give a soothing to the people who are the victims of this exodus. Ok! May be I am being too heedfully grevious about this. For me to tell in the same tone as the jokes,to me, these jokes on SMS look like this: Imagine, a software engineer, had a completely screwed up day with his Project Lead shouting at him infront of all his subordinates,a huge set back in the code he was brainstorming on for months,everything that could possibly go wrong in a day went wrong to the rattling extrema and when he came home frustrated, his wife at home was complaining about her broken nail. Yeah, it is THAT lame. May be I would expect someone to be less sarcastic about the whole SMS thing and realise how essential it is to control the whole situation. It is not that I am taking a political stand on this issue, but when people can't trace the root the next obviously logical thing would be to take the situation under control by calming the nerves. It is only coherent. With the raging mobiles and multi-media services it only becomes imperative for the control to be on what quantum of information that can best be committed to the public. One need not support the SMS control actions, but one need not be so visible of their brassy sarcasm either. I am not being judgemental of the humour or the people here, it is only an opinion. One of my close friends found it to be plain humour and could pass it off in a whiff too. But only, I was expecting us to be more concerned about the greater good. This is not, having an exact idea of how others around me should be or passing judgements on people. This is only an opinion of how the events can turn into being better, if we were more sensitive to the issue. It is not a judgement. It is only reminding me of what we were taught to live with, and how paradoxically diametric our choices really are. No one would want people to speak ill of their home. May be the love I have for the places is making me say this, I do not want people to speak ill of those places, I don't want them to leave distressed.

On a larger note,coming to the censors that took course in the social media, the life line of today's communications, that friend of mine, who was actually having a stand against the course of blocking the communication quantums, and me, had a huge debate on this. Censorship regarding the tweets was being perceived as a set back to the Right to freedom of speech and expression and that the events unfolding were only being looked upon as the state's aggressiveness, barging into privacy and other issues of it's citizens. I did not want to assert my opinion on  that friend of mine but I had a different tone to set. We discussed. I was reading the paper for quite sometime now, having catoons about a famous personality I admire the most for some years now. But those cartoons did not get to my nerves, freedom of speech and expression I could respect to,then. But when the question is about national security it has to be in a safe position for whatever it takes it to be sure. Again, I can not stress this enough, but that is my opinion about the events that have been unfolding lately..

May be we can all  find a way to make peace with the SMS strain posed on us and make efforts to make people feel at home. May be, we can stop pulling jokes to make way to images  and texts that can soothe and calm their nerves. May be, we can make our homes, their homes too. May be, we can all share the fruits of falling in love with a place with asuring them that they are safe in a place where they are surrounded by fellow- citizens, their brothers and sisters. May be we can replenish their faith in the solemn avow of 'All Indians are our brothers and sisters'. May be, we can all make them love the simple phrase of 'Feel at home'.
This greatly reminds me of a Telugu song that is really thought provoking..

"Kanapadevi ennenni keratalu kalagalipi samudram antaaru, adagare okkokka ala peru..
Manakila eduraina prathi vaaru manishi ane sandrana keratalu, palakare 'manishi' ante evaru.." (Gamyam)
[The number of waves in concert together, make an ocean. We never ask the identity of each wave in separation. The populous we see everyday are the waves of humanity.. But why is it that no one responds to the call of 'human' ]

May be.. we can all prove to be more relaible and more welcoming for them, not to leave out of fear, but stay out of love! We can all,together, fly free, to chase the wind and touch the skies, only to realise our dreams and aspirations, Feeling at home, with every step we take, everywhere!

Ithu Namma Ooru!