From My Alphabet Soup

unBRRRable!

2011-04-28T12:52:00.002+05:30

If there's one word to describe the new coke commercial, it is 'unBRRRable'! I guess Coke has reached the pinnacle of absurdity in advertising. What happened to the good old Coke? I used to love the jingles and the taglines of old, 'Coke is it', 'Always the real thing', etc., but now i detest Coke.

As it is, the quality of the drink has been deteriorating over the years. From a Cola, Coke is now just aerated, colured and sweetened water that is becoming more watery day by day. I seriusly doubt if there is any secret formula at all. The brand image too is being seriously diluted.

I think the best drink in the Coke stable for now is Thumbs Up (a real good feeling if you consider that it's a true Indian cola) and at least they still havn't F'd the 'Taste the thunder' image.

WTF does a random collection of people BRRRing have to do with 'Open happiness'? What sense does the advertising convey at all? I mean, show me one human being who would actually sip a cool drink, let alone coke and BRRR. I think its plain silly, childish or more appropriately college kid prank'ish' to BRRR after sipping a drink in public.

The hyped activation idea, a so called innovation, of temperature controlled igloos and iced coke is extremely forced. Falls below all standards of advertising. I thought Frooty the best at bad advertising in recent years, but I guess Coke can't stand anyone else being better at something, including being bad.

The advertising agency should be sacked for doing such shoddy work on such an iconic brand. Actually, come to think of it, the brand manager for coke should be the first to take the boot. I mean, think about it, would Harley ever put men in ballet suits on their bikes?

I am not saying that Coke has always done good work before. There's a ton of bad ads from the past too. But you have to learn from those and better yourself. Not check up to see if you can stoop any lower.

Coke! Wake up or F*** off...please!

By the way...here are a few good Coke ads.

My Song

2010-09-15T11:31:00.002+05:30

If you please, sing my song.

Sing it loud, even wrong.

Make it heard, even Ceylon.

But sing my song, do sing my song.

Book Review (Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane)

2010-08-28T19:00:00.001+05:30

You like watching vivid scenes unruffle? You like letting go of self control? you love the the freezing sensation that delicately rides up your spine...causing every strand of hair on your body stand straight? Do you like being terrified beyond your understanding of terror?

Have you ever tried to imagine what goes on in the mind of a lunatic? A mind thats million times sharper than yours but doesn't work the way yours does?

Wondered how it feels to be shackled up in a straight jacket? Your body contained, your mind intimidated? Have you ever felt yourself yell about how society restrains you from doing what you best do? Like me, do you think everyone around you is crazy for looking at you the way they do?

The answers to all those questions are in that book. read it and then read it again. F**king insane as hell! 5 stars all the way.

The movie was good. The book is way better!

Book Review (We The Living - Ayn Rand)

2010-08-21T14:13:00.006+05:30

Very, Very deep. Gives the reader a vivid vision of USSR. Almost draws you into the midst of the struggle of the individual against the state. Makes you look at life here and now in a whole new light and to be thankful for the freedom you have.

Democracy might have its kinks, but read this book to realise how fortunate you are to be living in a democratic country. To realise how lucky you are to actually say no to a second helping of potatoes, yes potatoes, at dinner.

Both Leo and Andre are admirable characters in the novel. As usual Ayn Rand has crafted perfect beings, god like even, with these two characters. Kira, is no less intimidating either. the only thing I didnt like, or rather can't understand, is why Ayn Rand makes all her women adulterous. And why the men are always so naive to not know that their women are cheating on them until the very end.

Apart from that issue, this is one of the greatest works of Ayn Rand. A must for die hard fans and the uninitiated as well.

The Me II

2010-08-21T14:10:00.003+05:30

I am potent whiskey

In a plain old jar.

Risk a swig of me

If you're at the bar.

A little hard to swallow,

I might be at start.

But once you've had a taste,

You'll want the scar.

The Me

2010-07-09T23:41:00.006+05:30

I won’t change my name,
I won’t change my game.
If I could do it all over again,
It would turn out just the same.
I’d speak the same words,
I’d repeat the mistakes.
I’d even go so far,
To earn the exact blames.
It’s who I am,
And what I was born to be.
Why then must I try,
To be anyone but me?

Book Review (Bitten - Kelley Armstrong)

2010-06-21T19:16:00.005+05:30

Contrary to what reviews say, to me, Armstrong has not done for werewolves what Rice did for vampires. The storyline is very predictable with unnecessary twists thrown in for the sake of lengthening a story that shouldn't have gone beyond the 10th page.

Armstrong delves too long in painting out everyday situations and spur of the moment incidents, that need not be explained. What I really hated were the overtly lengthy, uninteresting 'runs'. Not to mention the cold love making scenes, a failed attempt at spicing up a bland story.

Being her first effort, I think there is a lot left to be desired when it comes to style of storytelling.

The editing is also somewhat shallow. I understand that authors are reluctant to give up even a single word they've written, but that’s where the editor has to step in and help make the flow tighter.

I am yet to complete the book. I am hoping the climax will save Armstrong from being written off as a ‘me too’ writer.

Overall, very amateur! Skip if you’re over 16 years old.

The Ever Growing Post of Original Quotes.

2010-06-21T19:11:00.004+05:30

Hey.

It's been a long time since I blogged anything. So here's me making an effort to blog a little more regularly.

For starters, I'd like to announce that no more quotes will be posted here. Instead, all new quotes and all the old ones will be posted at

http://www.quotesdaddy.com/user/bubbasamuel

Please do visit, if you still like my quotes :P

Ciao.

Cry

2010-01-15T23:43:00.000+05:30

I see them stars

Like they was from mars

I see them flaming

Like rage unchanging

I feel the burns

Like hell descending

I feel the unending

Like in the beginning

It’s all so new

This pain is true

There’s no denying

That I love you

You’re devouring me

Like a piranha fleet

And all I feel is need

The need to lay and heed

You inescaple you

You undeniable hue

The coulors of destruction

The inevitable redemption

You cripple me like fire

Unplanned and undesired

But here you are

So near so far

I can’t see your starting point

All I feel is your taunt

Eternal and prevalent

Blazing and forever bent

I know I’ll never make it

My spirit knows you’ll break it

Today tomorrow the day after

There will never be rapture

I know I am dying for you

For you it’s been long due

So take it now and be done

Let us again be one

In death and afterlife

You’re the reason for my strife

I live I die I breathe for you

You’re the only reason I ever knew

To be continued…

I Hate Myself

2009-11-27T05:19:00.001+05:30

All my friends think I am a pretend-asshole. I am not…I really am an asshole. I am so glad I have so few friends to worry about. I mean imagine a horde of a million, even a hundred, annihilating me for being an insensitive pretentious bastard (which I happen to be, minus the pretentious part).

First off, I’d like to tell everyone I’ve ever come across in this life, that I am me not by choice but by make. I didn’t choose anything for myself other than the jeans I wear and the faded t-shirts that I sheath my shoulders with. I didn’t choose this life, believe me!

Secondly, I never did go around trying to make friends with anyone. Well, if u liked me and if I could tolerate you, it was fine. But if u didn’t like me and I didn’t care for your company, you should have walked away then and there. It would have been best for both of us. You would have been spared this brutally truthful confession and I would have been spared the embarrassment I’ve had to fake.

Believe me, you are a nice person. Just not for me. Damn! I feel guilty now, which I simply loath. Wait a minute, What am I saying? I feel for you? Yuck! No, I mean I feel sorry for you for knowing me. Yeah, that’s more like it. You poor, imbecile. How hard it must have been, to try and learn to like a recluse creature like me. I feel sorry you put your trust in me.

Thanks to you, I am straying from the point that I was intending to make. A point I would have loved to convey in a line, but had to write so much to get to. Why? Because of you!

Shit! Does that mean I love you? Obviously not. You don’t have the recklessness of an Anz or the authority of a Maa. You definitely lack the defiance of a Sam or the adventurousness of a Koks. How can I love you then? No, I can’t even like you, to be precise.

Ok…so why am I talking to you? A nobody? Hmmm. I guess it’s because there’s no Anz or Maa or Sam or Koks to talk to. Anz, I don’t talk too often to because I don’t want him to know my weaknesses. Maa, she’ll ridicule me to oblivion with a barrage of insults (which by the way are well deserved), Sam, the less said about that situation the better (if ignorance is really bliss), and Koks, how can you expect a happy fairy to even concur that bad things do happen in this world?

Yeah it’s a sad situation. I am talking to myself and pretending that the world is listening to me. Hmmm. Did I say pretend? Yeah, it seems I did. Such a lovely word isn’t it? Pretend. And such a truthful word even. It’s something anyone can do without rehearsal. Once you’ve done it, you’re a master of the art. I know I am.

That brings me back to where I started, I hate myself. Why? Because I survive. How? By pretending. To be happy, to be loved, to be needed, to be indispensible, to be popular, to be fashionable, to be so many other things that I really am not. Why? Because I am pretending to be human. And I am really finding it fruitless and unrewarding.

Tell me how to escape this. I didn’t choose to be here, neither will I ever choose to leave by my doing. So, if I can’t do it myself, and if I can’t live with myself, what do I do?

Unglued

2008-08-26T20:32:00.003+05:30

An old poem of mine. thought if I was't writing new stuff, I'd atleast post some of my old scribbles.

Born in one piece
To be shattered amiss
Again and again
The abuse repeats
One single tube
Of icky stuff
Persistence limited
Till the last sticky glob
Endurance unshaken
To last the night
Bed wet again
Eyes red shot throughout
A well trodden path
A last promise still fresh
But again and again
The path seduces
Back on the track
To be trodden upon again
All that knowledge
All that was learnt
Forgotten in a wink
An inviting smile
A familiar discomfort
Building up warmth
A shorter span than before
Back on the street
Dazed at the result
Unwilling to accept
Shattered again
For the nth time
Pieces now so small
It will take time
There’s still some glue left
Though the tube’s growing thin
This time it will hold
No more straying bold
Another pretty face
Another angelic smile
Back in the queue
Waiting familiar fate
Another fling shorter than last
Broken at the end
Even worse than the last
Shattered again now
Broken several times over
Pieces now too small
But managed to gather
Reached for the tube
The one with the glue
Never realized before
But now know it’s true
A limit is inevitable
The end has been reached
No further lay roads
Only barren fields
Took for granted
This heart for too long
Now in shambles
No more glue to fasten

Silly-Con Valley of India

2008-08-17T12:38:00.007+05:30

This is Bang bang bang Bangalore?

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I am forced to cancel my confirmed ticket on Brindavan express. So what do I do? Pick an alternative. It’s Thursday afternoon. And it’s the 14th of August. No hopes of a bus or train ticket falling into my lap, so I choose the expensive way out. A flight ticket to Chennai. Expensive, but worth it. All I need to do now is get myself to the airport. Easy. That’s what I think, but that’s when it starts to pour cats and dogs. No, actually it’s pouring elephants and hyenas.

The cab that was due to pick me up at 8.00 pm is far behind schedule. So I take matters into my own hands (or legs to be more appropriate) and brave the rains. It’s taken me a trek of 2.6 kms in a torrent to realize that I’ve made a mistake. This is Bangalore. Rickshaws don’t do your bidding, they do YOU.

Finally by 8.50 pm. I’ve managed to coax a cab to take me to the airport. By now the city is chaotic. The unforgiving rain (thank you god), and the unyielding gutters have decided to sink the city. I am soaked, I stink, and I am just an hour and half away from the flight that will deliver me from this trench.

The cab guy assures me that I will make it. Energized by his enthusiatic mumble, I give in. I stop glancing at my watch, I literally give up praying. I am convinced I will make it. I get there 2 minutes too late. Thanks to a suddenly duty conscious police department that decides to stall my cab for a routine check that costs me 10 minutes. And the drug buster at the check-in entrance who's whacky intrument insists i am carrying coke. After letting him go through all the contents in my bag, he let's me go. I rush to the check-in counter only to be told the flight is already set for take off, so no chance of me getting on. They are courteous enough to offer me a seat in the next flight. I succumb.

Now remember, this is Devanahalli, a place that’s 2 hours away (in decent traffic conditions) from where I stay. I’ve missed my 10.25 pm flight by 2 minutes and the next flight is at 9.50 am. I decide to go home. But wait. I am told I can’t leave the airport unless I fly out (what kind of a rule is that?). I spend the next 13 hours in the airport trying my best not to doze off. The only help I have is coffee. Courtesy Café Coffee Day. Oh! I almost forgot. The rain has laid my cell phone to rest. It got drenched and conked by the time I got into the cab, so by now I have absolutely no means of communication to the outside world. Like everyone else Iam completely dependent on my cell phone. I don't write down numbers anywhere. I don't even have my house number memorised. So what do i do? I manage to find an old gentleman, kind enough to let me insert my sim in his instrument for a few minutes. Thanks to him i retreived my home number from a message sent earlier. Now I can use the phone booths and inform home of the calamity that has struck. I spot 2 red PCO phones. But the trouble is they need to be fed 1 Rupee coins to work. I am shocked, in the age of web 2.0, the International airport has no means of communication other than a coin fed public phone? I mean, come on, who the hell carries 1 Rupee coins anymore? Anyways I try my luck with the Café for coins and thankfully they had a few. A very few mind you because their prices are all multiples of five. Armed with 5 coins, I make my way to the phone and make the call home. I have to rush through the details of my forced change in travel plans because the machine's gobbling a coin every 10 seconds. Well, atleast I am a bit relieved after the call. I settle into a chair and survey my surroundings. My home for the next 13 hours. I can't believe I am waiting 13 hours for a flight that lasts 40 minutes. I silently laugh at the irony of it.

So here I am, trapped in a glass enclosure with Arabs, Americans and I don’t know who else. No food, no entertainment, no escape. I am feeling a bit like Tom Hanks, but no Catherine Zeta Jones around though.

I am not the only one that’s being tortured by an undeniably ill functioning Bangalore city. I speak for all in my shoes. This city has gone to the dogs. What was the need to move the airport so far away from the city? Why do rains always leave the city in havoc? Why aren’t auto rickshaws being regulated by the transport department?

The Ever Growing Post Of My Favorite & Spontaneous Quotes III

2008-03-10T12:10:00.002+05:30

Hello folks...here's the third installment of the My Favorite & Spontaneous Quotes. Hope you like it. Cheers.

“A troubled mind has more reasons to think than a gleeful one.” – Bubbasamuel

“Africa was what we inherited from God, America is what we did to it.” – Bubbasamuel

“Remember, the lips that are kissing your ass are hiding teeth behind them.” – Bubbasamuel

“If you thought trying to remember someone was a toughie, give forgetting a shot.” – Bubbasamuel

“If I could, I’d be the first person to put a boot up my own ass. I am so dumb, so juvenile to have pushed away the only person who loved me. And for what? For being sane.” - Bubbasamuel

“Unlike salamanders we can’t grow back what we lose, we just learn to live without it that’s all.” – Bubbasamuel

"Sometimes a crisis situation makes your mind feel like the grey fuzzy no reception display on television." – Bubbasamuel

"You want to put an end to terrorism? Start by shooting down the bastards who burn up buses and break shop windows at the drop of a hat." – Bubbasamuel

“Most of us go on with our dull lives because we're too brave to give up, too chicken to commit suicide and too broke to hire a hit man to do the job for us.” – Bubbasamuel

“Tear my heart out, slow roast me over a fire, pull off my eyebrows strand by strand, push pins though my fingernails….do anything to me, anything but a monday.” - Bubbasamuel

The Ever Growing Post Of My Favorite & Spontaneous Quotes II

2008-01-28T19:44:00.000+05:30

Hello... I am Back. And as promised, the post of favourite and spontaneous quotes is growing. Here is the second part. Hope you all like it.

“Happiness is like cotton candy, you always think you’ve a lot of it but it’s gone even before you’ve properly tasted it.” – Bubbasamuel

“People have completely eliminated the heart from the equation of love, now they just love with their minds.” – Bubbasamuel

“According to the old testament, the married man shall live by the rule - YES DEAR, NO DEAR, and according to the new testament, he shall live by the rule - YES DEAR, ABSOLUTELY DEAR.” – Bubbasamuel

“Common sense is for people who lack imagination.” – Bubbasamuel

“Knowing is nothing, showing is everything.” – Bubbasamuel

“Let’s talk about something nice, she said, and I asked, like what? Mint chocolates and pink ponies? Peppermint breath and brownies? Cotton candy and fruit slush? Popsicles and jelly mush?” – Bubbasamuel

“Don’t you love me anymore? Don’t I look beautiful to you anymore? Will you like me just as much if I become fat after marriage? The human mind is so fickle, it needs constant reassurance.” – Bubbasamuel

“If you can’t beat em, buy em out.” – Bubbasamuel

“Madness knows no manners.” – Bubbasamuel

“Every human wishes life was a big circle, childhood to teenage to manhood to old age to childhood again, but unfortunately it’s a straight line with a very definite start and an uncertain end.” - Bubbasamuel

The Ever Growing Post Of My Favorite & Spontaneous Quotes

2008-01-08T20:32:00.000+05:30

Hi all...been a damn long time since I posted anything. Been too busy and too uninspired. Actually I am still uninspired but then I thought I have to post something to get the habit started again. So here it is...a post that's going to keep growing...a post of my favorite quotes (obviously mine) and one or two quotes from friends that i simply loved. If you find them interesting, I'd be glad and would even urge you to use them as you please....provided you quote me..i.e., add my name at the end of the quote. And if you find them tasteless and utterly disgusting, you are free to lock me up in a dark secluded dungeon and throw away the keys.

P.S. I must add that these quotes are the spontaneous results from conversations with friends. They may not be appropriate for the moment. But who knows, you might find them appropriate in times to come. Also, you are free to post me quotes of your own with your names, if i find them amusing, i'll add them to this list. Cheers :)

“I struggled all the way to the top using up every ounce of my strength, only to discover I had climbed a shit mound!” - Bubbasamuel

“There is no such thing as defense. There is only counter offense.” - Bubbasamuel

“We all suffer from a painful incurable disease...it's called 'memory'.” - Bubbasamuel"

There's no better reason to be miserable than the reason of love" - Bubbasamuel

"If you say 'shit happens' I am just gonna have to say 'guess you're not toilet trained huh' :)" - Bubbasamuel

"Sing your heart out Lassy...sing to the dark clouds...maybe they will cheer up and let the sun peek through" - Bubbasamuel

"I am bubba san because I differ, if I joined the crowd I'll just be sans bubba" - Bubbasamuel

"If you cant do it with a 'click', it must be one of those things they call impossible to do" - Bubbasamuel

"A single word, typed free of errors and timed right is worth a million emoticons anyday" - Bubbasamuel

"You spend half of your life waiting to feel bored and then the later half waiting to feel busy" - Felicia

“If anyone asks me what I do, I’d say - I police ads for crimes committed by misplaced letters and mis-spelt words, I enforce the law of grammar and see that writers adhere to it, I am a Creative Supervisor” - Bubbasamuel

"There is always a way out for the quick witted" - Bubbasamuel

"Dead men don't count" - Bubbasamuel

Of Brews & Board Games

2007-06-06T19:41:00.000+05:30

Until yesterday, I’d forgotten how much fun it is to play board games. It’s been years since I played one. I used to love them when I was a kid. I had my own scrabble set, Scotland yard, monopoly and lots of other board games, until I discovered video games and the internet. Then my mother, noticing my disinterest in board games, passed them on to my growing cousins. Actually, her intention in giving those games away was rather selfish that philanthropic. She wanted to make more shelf space available for her doll collection.

Anyway, like I said, I’d forgotten how much fun those games were. Especially on rainy days, when you’re stuck indoors, those board games were a means to kill extra long hours of inactivity and boredom. Yesterday a friend of mine took me to BrewHaHa. Brewhaha is…how do I say it? Well, the way its co-owners Sreeram and Mansur (both products of IIM Ahmedabad) put it is “a community-driven entertainment lounge where there's always something to do. Whether it's one of our 65 specially imported board games designed at group audiences, our fun events or hobby classes, we assure you there's no way you're going to be bored in Koramangala any more. Unless of course you're not at BrewHaHa!” Yup, there’s no way you’ll ever get bored at BrewHaHa, as I discovered.

I am not going into details on BrewHaHa, because what I really mean to relate in this post is the experience I had there. So if you’re looking for intricate details on menu, games and stuff like that, go to the above link. Also you may visit this link – My Coffee Shop Dreams by my friend and fellow blogger – Dhivya. Although, I suggest that going there with a bunch of friends is a better way to discover what brews there.

Ok, so this friend took me to BrewHaHa at Koramangala. The first thing that struck me was that the place had a warmer welcoming ambiance. Not like one of those flashy, loud cafés or their clones which make me feel like I am being gawked at. Not like places that serve your bill before serving what you ordered. Those places make me feel really alien. I felt instantly comfy at BrewHaHa. My friend immediately pounced at the menu and started ordering, while I looked around a little more. The colours were earthy, the lighting was warm and the furniture was inviting (Bean bags, cushy carpets, fluffy pillows…you get the idea). Next was a shocker, a guy with a french beard came up and shook my hand and introduced himself to me (very cordially) as Sreeram, I was thinking ‘Sweet…how many guys do that? That’s going to be a real winner with the customers’. Sreeram, who my friend knew pretty well, chatted up with us for a while and offered to teach and to play a board game with us after we had feasted. So, like he promised, he came over to our table again after a while with a friend of his and we started playing a board game. The game was a real riot, Sreeram actually cheated on my suggesting it and we had a great laugh at my poor friend who became the Bakra. The objective of the game (I don’t remember the name) was not to win but to make sure your opponents don’t win. I can’t remember when I’d last laughed that hard. My eyes were watering and my tummy hurt. After a while it started raining like hell, so being stranded, we started playing another game. This one was called ‘Coda’. It’s a game that’s pretty much like poker, but instead of cards there are white and black plastic blocks with numbers on them. Wow…I must say this was a damn gripping game. I didn’t know how time passed by during the 3 rounds we played.

In short, my experience at BrewHaHa was fabulous. Next time my friends want to meet up at a café or some place like that. I am definitely suggesting BrewHaHa. It’s not expensive, it serves delicious food and beverages, it’s got great board games and the atmosphere is perfect for a gathering of friends. Oh…and most importantly, you can’t walk out of BrewHaHa without making, at least a couple, new friends. I made two…Sreeram and Vinu. What more do you need? The baseline under BrewHaHa’s logo says ‘We take your fun seriously’, and I believe they mean it. So next time you and your buddies want to have some serious fun…head to BrewHaHa.

Thunder Trails - Masinagudi

2007-05-24T17:33:00.000+05:30

I am not much of a biker, though I own one of the most muscular 2 wheel beasts available in India – The Royal Enfield Thunderbird. I have in fact done a few thousand kilometers of riding in the past. It’s a real pleasure to ride out to the outskirts. When you’re cruising on long, smooth stretches of tarmac, laid back in the amply spacious saddle of a Thunderbird, it’s a pleasure to listen to the whizzing wind and the precisely timed rhythmic thumping of the brute’s 350cc engine. They collide in a passionate entanglement and create soul stirring music.

My most recent ride was from Bangalore to Masinagudi with a bunch of road crazy rubber burners from the Ad fraternity. There were six of us in total and 3 bikes. 2 Thunderbirds and 1 all time favourite Yamaha RX100. We decided to start out early and swore to meet up at town hall at 6.00 am for kick off. But, as is in most cases, we had a black goat in our midst who partied away the night before and landed up at the kick off point 3 hours late. So, in actuality, we hit the road to Masinagudi at 9.00 am on Saturday morning.

The road leading to Mysore is very well laid. Though, at the starting point we had a lot of problems with traffic. Being a weekend every motorist in the city seemed to be heading out. You can imagine how our frustration would have heightened and how much we would have cursed the black goat for delaying our departure. Anyway, by the time we got on to Mysore road, all traffic had cleared out and the only thing between us and Masinagudi was a long stretch of smooth 6 lane highway. The road is absolutely well laid and is a pleasure for biking. The only problems on this heavenly stretch were cabbies. They drive like maniacs, breaking every road rule.

We made a lot of pit-stops on the way and hence our journey was longer than estimated. Nevertheless, we were in it for the pleasure of the ride and enjoyed it thoroughly. Our first halt was Café Coffee Day on Mysore road were we had a leisurely brunch. Next stop was for beer and refreshments on a roadside dabha before hitting Gundalpet. From thereon we only made minor stops to empty our bladders and to smoke. From Gundalpet we entered the Bandipur wildlife sanctuary. This part of the ride I thouroughly enjoyed. The road leading to Bandipur was the worst stretch we had to deal with. There are more potholes than road. But once you reach Bandipur the roads become tamer. The highlight of riding through Bandipur is that you are actually riding through pristine forest. To the right and left of the road you will see thick forest. I was lucky to come upon wild elephants while riding through. I also caught fleeting glimpses of deer and monkeys. The ride through Bandipur took us to Mudhumallai.

Mudhumallai falls into Tamil Nadu limits, hence we had actually done a cross border ride. The ride through Mudhumalai brought us face to face with more tourists. The place was brimming with people. It looked like the forest housed more people than animals. We stopped here for supplies (read booze), then proceeded on to our camping site.

We stayed in tents in a small, well maintained resort called Jungle hut – one of the oldest and most well maintained resorts in Masinagudi. It’s owned by the Mathias family. Jungle Hut is set up on a small clearing in the forest at the foothills of the Nilgiris. The place even has a nice little swimming pool to cool off in during the daytime. The food is absolutely delicious. For more details on Jungle Hut click the link.

We arrived at Jungle Hut at about 5.20 pm, exhausted and famished. We quickly ransacked what was left of the yummy lunch buffet and headed off to check the tents. Once in the tents we unpacked our gear and headed off to wade in the pool. The water was too inviting for us to avoid. As the day grew darker, we settled around one of the tents for a yakaroo session and a couple of drinks. It was loads of fun sitting there in a clearing in the forest just talking and drinking. We occasionally spotted a few wild hare’s bobbing around from bush to bush. It was quite a mesmerizing experience. Beneath our feet there was wild grass and above us a clear star studded night. I even spotted a shooting star. After joking and lazing about there for a while we headed to the bar and then eventually to the buffet hall. Dinner was even more scrumptious than our late lunch. Done with dinner we headed back to out tents, sat around for a while and then headed off to our designated tents to kill the remaining hours of the night.

One little incident that happened before we settled down put some of us in the group at unrest. While we had been at the tents, talking and drinking, we had noticed this security guy come around the camp every 15 minutes, whipping the darkness with his bright torch beam. Out of curiosity we approached him and enquired about his strange ritual. To which he answered “Nothing to fear sir, it’s just a routine watch that we keep. Animals don’t come through the fence, except once in a while a few black bears do cross over to feast on leftovers.” That was very reassuring to hear.

The night was pleasantly cool. We slept like babies. But we couldn’t stretch our slumber hours beyond 8.00 am the next morning. Reluctantly each of us crawled out of our tents which by now had become little boiling pots. We came crawling out like ants running out of a flooding anthill. After we’d done our toilet routines we headed to the pool to chill off a little. A brief beer session and breakfast followed.

It was time to leave this Shangri-La and head back to the concrete jungle. We made better time on the road on our return. The ride through Bandipur fascinated me again. On the whole, the ride back was quite pleasant and leisurely. We stopped outside Mysore at a place called ‘Fishland’ for late lunch. The food was mouthwatering. We devoured some ‘Neer Dosas’, ‘Crab Fry’ and ‘Prawn Curry’. After that it was an almost not stop ride to Bangalore. We reached around 10.30 pm and headed our own ways.

It was an awesome experience for me, riding into the jungle with fellow biking enthusiasts, experiencing the thrills of the road and coming face to face with the wild. Masinagudi is a wonderful weekend getaway about 240Kms from Bangalore. I’d love to do the trip again. But this time around I’d like to do a road trip till Bandipur and then a trek from there to Ooty, which I heard is an awesome experience. I hope at least this time we’ll have a couple of women in the group.

For more pictures click link.

Under Ki Baat 2

2007-05-01T20:59:00.000+05:30

Some time back I had posted a blog about how careless and tasteless people are when it comes to their undergarments. In case you haven’t read it yet, here’s a quick link Under Ki Baat. I’d like to show you a comment I got on that blog.

Manish said...
bang on...i handle an under garment client ... any thots on how we can make the men and women more conscious about their under ke brands:-)

I had no answer to his question then. I had just gone out and raised an issue to which I had no solution at all. But recently I came across an ad on TV that set me thinking. It was bold, it was quite wild, the brand wasn’t a very popular one but after the Ad I am pretty sure it’s being talked about by a lot of people. In fact, the other day a colleague of mine had sent me a link to the worst Ads poll by NDTV. To my surprise this undergarment brand’s Ad was one of them. When quizzed about it, the public reacted or rather acted out in genuine horror and labeled the Ad vulgar. Come on people, this is the land of the Kamasutra. What’s the harm in talking about a little sex? The Ad in question here is ‘Amul Macho’. The tagline says ‘crafted for fantasies’. If you haven’t had a chance to feast your eyes on this latest 30 second thriller, then here’s a gist of what it’s all about. This interesting post has been written by a true fan of the Ad TVC Hots & Nots.

Personally I think this is one of the most interesting ads that I’ve seen till date. Maybe it’s corny, but it does its job. I am sure that if you’ve seen it once, you’ll never forget it or the brand ever. That anyways is besides the point that I am trying to make here. I am not here to talk about what makes effective advertising. I am not here to tell you what works for a brand. I am here to tell you that it’s about time someone raised the standards when it comes to undergarments. Undergarments are just as important as any other piece of cloth on your body. Thus, I believe that a good label on an undergarment is essential. That’s exactly what this Ad does for me. The way I read the message in this ad, undergarments are a major turn on for the opposite sex. Hence it is utterly important that you choose them as carefully as you would choose your jeans.

We’ve come a long way from the days when our forefathers used torn off pieces of cloth to make ‘langotis’. We live in a world were there is no dearth of fashionable and chic undergarment labels. Even so we undertake that once in a year or twice in a year trip to a wholesale market like Tirpur to buy undergarments in bulk. Why? Why do people still think it’s a crime to spend a couple of extra bucks on a good brand of underwear? What’s with this whole mentality?

The ‘Amul Macho’ Ad has finally spoken up and stirred up a storm. Its high time more undergarment brands started doing a bit of bold advertising.

After pondering Manish’s question for some time, I had closely scrutinized several undergarment TVC’s. The segment is still very much in the low involvement purchase category. In actuality it has to be high involvement. I think Ads like ‘Amul Macho’ (of course this ad is not for the metro male), and in the recent past, VIP (where a flimsy pantie flys off to join a VIP Frenchie on the clothes line) and Hanez (Tagless comfort) are good examples of how we can raise the standards in this category.

Taking a poke at people, black humour, sexual humour and hints, even downright nastiness are things that I really think can work for this category. We need to use bolder means to create awareness in this segment. Yesterday was all about being macho, today is all about being sexy and desired. A self aware male or female would always dress sexy outside and inside. So, I say we’ve got to make people self aware about their sexuality. That’s how I think we can make people more conscious and careful about the choice of their under ke brands.

What’s in a name?

2007-04-30T19:31:00.000+05:30

Pop Quiz!

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when I say…

Nirma
Vicco
Dettol

I am sure you would have thought detergent, ayurvedic face cream and anti-septic lotion.

That’s what we’ve all associated these brands to, it’s been hammered in our heads for years now. Over the years these brand names and many more like them have become synonymous with the product itself. Need more examples? Think Xerox, Post-its, Scissors etc.

Over the last few years we’ve seen almost every company expanding its product line. For example Pond’s, which we all used to associate with talcum powder, broke into the personal care and cosmetics market with every possible product imaginable. They even have certified beauty salons. Likewise we’ve seen the Will’s ‘made for each other’ cigarette brand extend its product line to fashion.

When companies decide to go into such product line extensions, they have the option of doing it in two different ways. One, keep the same brand name across all their product offerings. Two, create a new brand name for each of its products. The former is called blanket branding or family branding, a single brand or company name which is used to identify a range of products. Both have their advantages and disadvantages.

When different products of the same company have different brand names the risk of one product’s credibility rubbing off on the other is very low or even non-existent. Supposing a new product from a company was to be a failure in the market, it really wouldn’t affect the credibility of another product of the same company. Manufacturers could pull out unsuccessful brands without damaging their other successful brands. But incase of blanket branding or family branding the risk of generalizing product credibility (regardless of product category) is very high.

There are some companies that have pulled of blanket branding across various product categories very successfully. To name a few, kingfisher, Virgin etc.

And there are those that have (in my personal opinion) fallen or are falling flat on their faces. There are two particular brands I’d like to take as bad examples of blanket or family branding.

Parachute as we all know has been the leader in the coconut hair oil segment for donkey’s years. Especially in the south, oiling one’s hair is more auspicious than hygienic. Oil baths are a weekend ritual that almost everyone follows religiously and without question. In the recent past Parachute revamped its image of being a traditional brand to a more chic brand. You might have spotted the Asin Ad for nariyal tel or more recently the Yuvraj Ad for parachute styling creams taking the free running fad route. I must say they look pretty cool and are doing wonders in making Parachute a more fashionable brand. But parachute made an even bolder move. They brought out a string of after shower products like hair gels etc. under the same brand, i.e. Parachute. The Ads look great but the name Parachute just doesn’t sound right for such products. In my personal opinion I would rather pick up a styling gel that’s called Set Wet than Parachute. Gel’s are all about styling and so I think they need to have stylish names. Parachute just won’t do. Period.

The other brand that I want to talk about is Kamasutra…yup, the condom brand name who’s very mention makes most Indians squeamish. Recently I came across these nice black teaser hoardings with pink and red typos. The message on one such hoarding read “She wears Kamasutra while studying.” That really got my grey cells working overtime, and while I was eagerly waiting for the revealer, I came across another hoarding with the same kind of art treatment. This one read “My boss used my Kamasutra.” Imagine my curiosity. A few days later I came across the revealer and was totally blown. The ads were for a range of Deos and perfumes that Kamasutra has launched. I really don’t know what Kamasutra’s game plan is. If their plan is to make Kamasutra a household name, and to spread the message that condoms are not a taboo thing, then I guess it’s a good effort. But personally I can’t see myself telling my mom to add Kamasutra to the monthly grocery list. I think it’s just a bad example of blanket branding.

It’s not just product association, in case of a blanket brand, which is a problem, it also becomes extremely difficult to market. For instance, a couple of years ago I worked on a launch campaign of a vodka brand. The client wanted to give it the same brand name as all his other products (theme park, food grains, transport etc). The client would have nothing else, and we gave up after several unsuccessful attempts to convince him. The whole launch exercise became a Herculean task, taking into consideration the rules and regulations on alcohol advertising in India. A Mischief Vodka or a Smirnoff has so much more possibilities to explore when it came to advertising.

Well, I am no Philip Kotler and all that I might have said here might be absolute nonsense, but this is how I feel about these two brands and their extended family of products. If you’d like to dispute my views on these two brands and straighten out my thinking, you are most welcome as always.

What the F**k am I doing in Advertising?

2007-04-12T21:57:00.000+05:30

Thinking back now, I am totally stumped as to why I chose advertising. And to top it all up I chose to be a writer. What was it that made me take such a suicidal decision? Why couldn’t I have just taken up engineering and gone on to be a marine engineer like my brother? Why couldn’t I have chosen to become a physiotherapist like my cousin? Why didn’t I just take up a BPO profession and earn a fat pay like my sister? Or I could have even followed in my dad’s footsteps and become a sales person. Of the millions of career options I had, I had to go and pick advertising. Well, guess what…I screwed up. Now there’s no turning back.

There’s at least one minute in every day that I regret having chosen the field I am in now. It’s been almost six long years, of waiting and hoping that things will get better, almost six long rigorous years of stretching my patience to unimaginable limits. But now I feel I am at the edge. I am hanging on by a finger over a bottomless trench. I am in a situation where I can neither pull myself up nor let go and fall.

My problem with advertising is not the pay or the inhuman amount of work. If left to myself I am just fine with it. My problem is with the whole machine-like work culture it’s heading towards. Agencies are no longer places that people covet to be part of. They are no longer places where gods and goddesses create new brands and ideas that change the face of humanity forever. They are just factories churning out precisely detailed pieces of communication that are written, designed and approved by clients. Over the years clients have become the creators and we simply their tools. The Indian advertising industry has reached maturity and is ready to die.

I find it so difficult to write when I am told…”we need a headline of five words and it has to have the words ‘Price’, ‘offer’ and ‘business’.” What am I supposed to do in a situation like this? How can I claim that I am a creative writer when all I do is fill in the blanks? To tell you the truth, I feel absolutely cheated. My dreams have crumbled before my very eyes. Advertising as an industry has failed to provide me the satisfaction I sought. In recent years, we have seen many veterans from various departments of the advertising world, walk out of the industry forever. Why? Their patience ran out, their thirst for good work could never be quenched. They realized that advertising had become an ever obedient slave to its master - the client.

Is there no way we can recreate the charm that advertising used to have years before? Are we spineless yesmen to the client? Are we just people who spare client’s time and money by saving him the effort of learning Photoshop, Coreldraw and Grammar? What does creative really mean in today’s agency? Oh yes, you might question me about the thousands of wonderful work you see in the archives and magazines like that. Well brother, wake up and smell the coffee, have you ever seen any of those actually in the papers or on TV? Other than a few of them, all are scam work. The real work is mundane, boring and most often so powerfully uninspiring that over certain duration of time it could make a creative person lose the ability to think laterally. You get so tuned, you become a one track mind.

This maybe the only reason why employee retention in the advertising industry is either really low or even non-existent. People jump agencies before you can say 3. People jump with hopes of working on better brands, of working with more open minded clients. But this seldom happens. The grass always seems greener on the other side.

What do we do? How do we boost the morale of the creative lot? How do we bring back the glory days when clients knew that agency people know their work? How do we tell the fat man in the MD’s chair to keep his personal fixation on blondes restricted to his bedroom and not let it loose in his company’s corporate communication?

Many in the industry today feel that advertising is a service. That we provide communication services. Pardon me for thinking otherwise, I for one think we are creators, and that we should be treated with the same respect and reverence that used to be given to artists like Michael Angelo, Piccaso and their likes.

Do you think that day will ever come again when we will draw ‘Ahs’ and ‘oohs’ in a crowd, when we mention our profession? Well, till that day arrives, I am still going to be hanging on with my finger over that bottomless trench, because I don’t know what else to do.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of the author are solely his own and are not meant to intentionally displease or hurt the personal opinions of any person or organisation.

Little Miss Panic

2007-04-11T19:24:00.000+05:30

Consider the following two incidents

Incident Uno

It’s 10.00AM on Monday and Dhivya walks into the office. She goes straight to her comp, switches it on, logs on to her numerous mail accounts, checks her schedule for the day, sips her coffee and then heads to the creative department for a brief chit chat session. After a ‘hi’ here and a ‘hello’ there, the topic turns to work, that’s when Vijay, the visualiser, tells Dhivya, “Hey! That reminds me, that 100cc ad you wanted me to transfer to the studio this morning…the file got corrupted, and…”

Even before he could finish what he was saying Dhivya erupts, “Aaaagh!!!!! That ad was supposed to reach the publication by 12 noon. What the hell Vijay? How could you not get the bugs in your comp rectified? You always do this to me man. Besides all the bull shit I have to endure to get work done from you guys, now I have to listen to some major crap from the publication too. You guys always let me down. Oh my god! Its TOI, you know how they are, they’re gonna castrate me. They’ll talk to my boss. I am finished here. Now, I’ll have to look for another job and I’ll never be able to…”

“Woo! Hey! Hey! Hold your horses…let me finish what I am saying. Yes, the file got corrupted so I re-created it and sent it to the studio. I just wanted you to take a look and see if it’s exactly how you presented to the client. That’s all. Jesus! You’re such a compulsive panicker,” retorted Vijay.

“Oh. Hee hee! So everything’s fine. God you gave me such a scare…uh let me go send an important mail to my client”, with that Dhivya sheepishly vanishes from the scene.

Incident Dos

It’s 10.30PM, same Monday, Dhivya’s at home, cozily settled with a book. That’s when her phone decides to sing.

“Trrrrriiiing….Trrrrriiiing”

“Hello…hi Ravi, what’s up?

“Hey. I was just driving through your neighbourhood. Listen, this friend I was supposed to go to a movie with, ditched me. So I got 2 tickets to that new flick you so badly wanted to go see. Wanna go? I can pick you in five.

“Oh no! you got tickets to that movie? Oh sure I wanna go…but wait, I can’t go tonight…I got this really big pimple on my nose and I reeeeeaaaally can’t be seen sporting it in public….oh god! I reeeeeeaaaally wanna see that movie man. Sniff, sniff, why do these things happen to me? God! I hate this…What do I do? What do I do? Waaaah…I so badly wanna go.”

“Hey chill yaar, why are you making such a big fuss about a lousy pimple? People will think nothing of it. You’re not a starlet for people to notice everything and anything about you all the time. Besides you’ll only have to be seen in the light a few minutes. I’ll whisk you into the movie hall quickly so that no one will notice the pimple in the darkness”

“You always make fun of me. You never take things seriously. No! I’ll see it with Ram another time. You can go see it alone or throw away the tickets for all I care…bye…sniff.”

“What the…Dhivya…hey...”

“tooon…tooon…”

A baffled Ravi…drives back home not knowing what hit him.

That’s little miss panic for you. I work with her, and often watch her panic for both the silliest and serious matters of life. She’s a real panic pot. I must say it’s quite a sight for the onlooker, but what do you think is going on through her mind when she’s having a panic attack?

Some people just panic about anything and everything. I think it’s a way of curbing a high dose of adrenaline rushing through their veins. A means to clear the traffic of thoughts honking at a four cross signal in their minds. It’s perfectly normal. Many times Dhivya has asked me “You get such a kick out of watching me panic don’t you?” Well, the truth is yes and no.

To an extent it’s comical and who wouldn’t like a nice laugh. It actually helps relax my mind and focus more clearly after watching such a comical display. But I don’t enjoy it all the time either. I am not saying you should never panic. But pick where to panic. If you panic for everything, people will never think you capable of handling responsibility. Part of being in the advertising industry is about being able to handle chaos. There’s always chaos, everyday. By panicking, you’re not gonna make the world stop spinning. And neither is the world gonna end if you don’t.

Panic when you see an accident on the road…not when it happens on the movie screen.

But I guess for compulsive panickers it is really hard. And probably I don’t really understand how they feel. But hey, I always tell Dhivya to go ahead and do her thing if it helps chill her.

That said I’d also like to add one last thing little miss panic…’Sorry for laughing at you when you panic and sorry for the exaggerated mimic act I keep doing of you panicking’…:)

Homemaker Man

2007-04-03T18:08:00.000+05:30

I’ve got this couple - Michael & Reena, who live next door. At first glance you’d notice nothing strange about them. They come across as the average young couple. Childless and very much in love with each other. But, watch them closely day in and day out and you’ll catch exactly what I am talking about.

Every morning you’ll see Reena come out of the house at about 8.30. She’d be wearing formal attire. No prizes for guessing she’s a working woman. Well, that’s nothing odd in our society. In recent years women have really challenged men at the workplace, and proven just as competitive as any man in every field. So, Reena is a working woman with a regular 9 to 5 grind. Michael on the other hand (and this is the odd part) can be seen watering and trimming their lovely little garden from 9 to about 11. Then, around 12 noon you can see Michael bringing out freshly washed linen to the drying lines. Shortly after that Michael can be seen driving off and returning in about an hour’s duration with brimming paper bags. At about 4 in the evening Michael clears the dried linen from the lines and takes them indoor. Following that you’ll find him sitting at their cute little tea table out in the garden, reading the paper and sipping chai. Reena arrives shortly, joins Michael in the garden, the couple sit around chatting over chai for an hour and then they head in for the night.

At first, I thought this was a temporary arrangement. My thoughts ranged from
‘Michael must have recently quit his job and looking for a better option’.
‘Maybe Michael is a novelist’
Or even ‘Michael must be working for one of those fancy work-from-home companies’
I never even came close to the truth of the matter while pondering.

Michael is actually a new age husband. A ‘revolutionary’, if I may term him that. Michael is a ‘House husband’. Don’t laugh. There is nothing to laugh about. If you spoke to Michael you’d be convinced that being a homemaker is what he enjoys best. And Reena (who loves him unconditionally) is absolutely fine with the arrangement. From a very early age, Michael showed no signs of fighting it out in the outside world. Being the bread winner to him seemed a drab. He always wanted to be the homemaker. And this position he enjoys thoroughly. He devotes as much attention to making sure the house is squeaky clean just as any other man would to make his presentation flawless. And on the other hand Reena displays all the attributes of an enterprising young woman. She is ruthlessly ambitious when it comes to her job. It’s a fine arrangement for this couple. Both doing their part even though the roles are reversed.

I don’t know what to think of this situation. I know a lot of people in my locality who think Michael is a pansy. But I for one, having known the man, know that he is anything but pansy. Like I said, he’s a military general when it comes to running the house.

Is it wrong for a man to differ from the pre-ordained societal role? Why should man always be the provider? In a world were women want equality in everything, why can’t a man do a woman’s job? What really is a man’s job and what is a woman’s job? Who makes these dumb rules anyway?

I don’t know the answers but I have no problem with accepting Michael as a man. He does exactly what he likes to do and thoroughly enjoys doing it. Reena has no complaints. She’s actually been freed from her pre-ordained societal role to pursue her interests. So, what actually is wrong with this situation? Nothing. But I guess it will take decades, or even centuries, before the Indian society accepts role reversals. It’s becoming quite common in other parts of the world, but it’s still not widely accepted.

This might be a very controversial topic for a blog. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying I like to be like Michael. I enjoy my work and I would definitely like to be the bread winner of my family. But, if Michael likes to be a homemaker, I have nothing against him. Then why should society feel any different?

Disclaimer: All characters in this blog are fictitious and any resemblance to any one alive or dead is purely accidental.

The most powerful Ad medium of them all!

2007-03-28T19:54:00.000+05:30

Zak walked into the café 45 minutes after the designated hour. Rahul, Susan and Megs looked up and sang in unison “here comes mr. fashionably late”. Rahul quipped “he’s so fashionably late that he’s still wearing last year’s fashion”.

“Hi guys” Zak blurted coming closer. “Wow zak that’s a sexy shirt” Megs yelled. “Yeah man, where did you get it from? How much did you pay for it? Is it still available? Is this the only colour?” the group quizzed Zak for the next half an hour on his new acquisition. Zak became a walking, talking and most accepted medium of promotion for that half an hour.

Believe it, all of us are Ad mediums. Everything we do, everything we say, every move is watched closely and aped. If you vouch for a new shampoo being the best for dandruff relief there will be a loyal fan following for that shampoo among your friends. If a friend of yours tells you that a certain restaurant serves the best pasta in town, you’d definitely try it out and if you like it you will in turn pass on the information to another friend and the virus will just spread on and on and on. Man (and of course woman) is the most penetrating Ad medium of them all.

The advertising world has definitely realized this. But seem to restrict creative use of the human medium to sports stars, film stars and celebrities of various fields. While the usage of a popular celebrity in an ad is unarguably effective, the use of common man (which is more penetrating) to endorse products and brands still remains untapped. Is there a way in which advertisers could possibly tap this medium? Yes, it is possible but several problems remain. As of now this medium is unorthodox and thus does not come with a set of terms and conditions of usage. For instance, Nike could give out hundred pairs of their latest running shoes to athletes in schools and colleges for free and just ask them to wear them whenever they are on the field. They could even pay them a small fee as an encouragement. But what would stop the athletes from wearing Reebok track pants or Adidas t-shirt along with the Nike shoes? Thus the problem of overshadowing across product categories and brands is inevitable.

Is there no way to formalize communication through this medium? Will formalizing this medium mean that each and every one of us will end up with everything free? Would it spell disaster for traditional media? Is it possible to use this medium without destroying its credibility?
Well I don’t have all the answers. But what I am positive about is that humans are indeed the most powerful Ad medium of them all. If only we could find the answers to the few questions I’ve asked above, and to the thousands that will stem from probing deeper into the subject, we will have found ourselves a truly innovative and powerful medium. I am hoping to get some in-depth takes on this subject from my brothers and sisters in the ad fraternity. Till then, carry on advertising…err…flaunting.

Chirpy God and the Reckless Man

2006-10-07T22:04:00.000+05:30

Once upon a time in the heavens above, a new breed of Gods was being created. They were made to be up to speed with the modern world below which they were destined to control. Now as among every mass manufacturing unit, one of the Gods had a slight flaw. She was prettier, chirpier and more emotional than the other models. When the Gods were passed through quality check our chirpy God failed and was like all rejects replaced with a human form and sent to earth.

On earth the God spent her days happily as a human being. Her chirpiness was her charm, it won her many friends. People who moved around with her found her very intelligent, hardworking, dependable and irresistible. The days flew and the God couldn’t have been happier. Until one day fate struck its blow.

A reckless man joined the same organization where our God was working. Over a few months a deep friendship developed between the God and the reckless man. For his part, the man found the God a very good companion. And for her part, she found him a nice human being. She did not realize then that the man was reckless, not to others, but to himself. He never cared for life or death. He drank and smoked and partied at the cost of his health. The God only saw one side of the reckless man and so this other side remained hidden to her.

Many days went by and the two were very happy in each others company. The reckless man developed a special liking for the God and after several unsuccessful attempts he openly declared his feelings to her. The God said she was fond of him but that their pairing could never be. This left the man crestfallen and from then on he tried to keep his feelings buried in a dark recess within himself. But such feelings can seldom be held down. From time to time they surfaced and created many unhappy incidents between the two of them. The God noticed a very great change in the man. She noticed that he grew less cheerful and amusing with each passing day. The God knew the reason for this and she also knew that there was nothing that she could do for him. These were his demons to fight and fight alone he must.

One day the God invited the man to join her and a few of her friends on a journey to a magical land. The man readily agreed. He would have gone anywhere just to be in her company. Throughout the journey the man drank and smoked and contended himself to being in the company of his beloved God. But the God was not happy with his behavior. After the journey was over and when all had returned safe, the God exploded on the reckless man with unadulterated wrath. She neither spoke to him nor smiled at him for a couple of days. This really hurt the reckless man very deeply. He had misbehaved on the journey; he had acted as if he cared about no one but himself. For the first time in his life he realized he was reckless. But alas, it was too late. Things between the God and the reckless man had changed forever. He had wanted her to love him but he ended up winning her hate. There was no way he could turn back time and set things right. He begged, he pleaded and asked for her forgiveness. But what would her forgiveness do? Could it right the wrongs of his behavior? Would it recreate the magic that used to be there in their relationship? He knew nothing would go back to being the same ever again.

The reckless man started changing his ways. He gave up his vices and began living a normal life. Not for the God. No, he knew his changing ways would little impact her after the damage he had done. He changed to prove to himself that he was better off without these vices. And if ever the God was to look again at him with the same affection that she used to, he wanted to be ready to be all that she expected and not the reckless man that she so hates.

Under Ki Baat

2006-09-23T15:05:00.000+05:30

Hello people. How you all doing? I’ve been ok…been very busy lately…working my ass off between Bangalore and Chennai. Literally getting my undies in a bundle trying to meet deadlines. Oh that’s exactly what this blog is all about. If you’re thinking deadlines, my friend I think you better read that title one more time. Yup that’s right, tidy whities, pink thongs, red brassieres and all the other bare essentials in their many splendor shapes and sizes, that’s what I am talking about.

Bad lingerie, I wonder why no one sees it as a wardrobe disaster. At least a majority of Indians – the socially active page 3 types seem to goof up when it comes to lingerie. Consider these situations. You go to this hep party and you see this foxy babe in a figure hugging pair of pants and a midriff revealing top. You size her up from top to bottom then bottom to top. Ok you can’t proceed higher from the bottom because you just saw something. It’s the stupid lining of her unarguably tasteless panty showing through her tight slacks. Your mind even guesses half a dozen brands like ‘Poomer’ and ‘Rasathi’ that might go well with her unders. I mean it’s the kind of thing that Helen or Mumtaz would carry off as a bikini bottom in the 70’s. Considering the kind of range and brands available in the market and considering the fact that we have FTV and Trendz don’t’ you think it’s time we brushed up our undressing sense? I don’t know about you guys out there but for me seeing spaghetti straps matched with a thick strapped brassiere is a major turn off. And so are the armor-like white brassieres that most women seem to be so dedicated to.

And before you think I am a sexist hell bent on criticizing only women’s sense in this matter, men are no better. Shaktivel better known as shaggy by close friends and secret admirers alike is known to be the hottest dressed stud in the whole neighborhood. I thought so too until he invited me into his dingy little bachelor pad for a drink one day. My sight was met by the most ghastly collection of briefs and vests, proudly drying away on a line under the fan. And what choice of colours they were. Brick red briefs with inch thick waist bands, Rin soap blue briefs with red stripes, vests with perforations. You can’t imagine my horror. It was obvious that shaggy bought his precious collection of privates from a factory outlet in Tirupur. I couldn’t believe that he’d spend a premium on his jeans and shirt but wouldn’t spend a little extra for a jockey or VIP even. I mean what if he got invited to spend the night with a hot woman? Would he feel comfortable dressing down and showing of his ‘Arasu’ under garments?

It’s time we paid as much importance to our under garments as we do to our other clothes folks. Even more than your outer clothes your inners reveal how conscious you are about your body and your looks. Undergarments aren’t just about holding up what’s hanging, it’s as much about fashion sense and personality as any other piece of cloth on your body. Outgrow the notion that nobody’s looking in there…what if someone does? Don’t you want to make the best impression at all times? Dressed or undressed? It’s definitely not undhar ki baat anymore it’s a matter of what’s under.