fit itna mast, karo thoda adjust!

These days I have started stopping on traffic signals right next to the footpath. You know why?Otherwise you have the two-wheeler riders trying to get past even with hardly space on either side! I wonder how do they even spot that space. I wonder if I would even want to walk between that kind of space, and here they are riding their bikes in that as if its an open field! I am sure you would have noticed how they wriggle, shake and squeeze between two cars standing at a traffic signal. They almost seem to get a hidden pleasure in getting ahead by that 3 ft from where they were standing earlier. And spare some thought for the car owners... poor guys secretly pray and hope that these motorists don't leave any scratches on the car. Most often you have your side mirror knocked and all you get is that cheesy smile and the most abused word in english dictionary - Sorry! 

the trivialising of news

If you stay in Bangalore and if you remotely follow what's on and what's not on the city billboards, you would have noticed a semi-clad (is there is anything lesser than that?) model with newsprint on her body. Most of her is without clothes. There is just one word on the hoarding - Addictive. And then the product logo. Now if you don't stay in Bangalore and I tell you to take a guess what product is she selling, you probably will not it right. Let me tell you. Its an ad for a newspaper. Surprise surprise. And now guess which one. Did I hear you say a tabloid? Nope. Its not a tabloid. Its Deccan Chronicle. 

I am not just surprised at this campaign but am also deeply pained. Is this what Advertising has come to? I have a lot of issues with this kind of advertising. One, its a newspaper that's making an entry into a new region and all it can offer its readers is Sleaze? There are no issues, no USP's and no claim of better journalism! Two, the agency couldn't come up with anything other than skin show to sell a 'newspaper'? Is this what advertising has come to? You replace that logo and you can well be advertising a porn website! 

And finally, if the agency has recommended this to the client and the client has accepted this route, I am sure they would think that this campaign would work. Which means that they consider the local population to be so desperately wanting of sex and sleaze that they would just trample each other to get their hands on editions of this newspaper. Which brings me to the most important aspect of this post. Is this what our society has come to? Would we buy anything which would have skin to show in it? Is the media so bereft of issues that it has to rely on sleaze to sell itself? I think this is serious underestimation of the intelligence of the audience. And it is about time somebody takes stock of what goes out in the public space. Two reasons why I say that - one, we have a lot of young kids still wanting to read the newspaper for news and for making their 'language' stronger. And second, I don't want motorists to stop in the middle of the road just to gaze at a hardly-clad women throwing the traffic behind them completely out of order! 

The price for freedom

Have you ever thought how much would you be willing to risk for your freedom? We take our freedom for granted. What if it wasn't. Its a very discomforting thought... My be you would like to think about it sometime and then appreciate that. Watch a movie Papillon. Rather read the book. Its far better! 

Happiness Inside

Its 2 in the morning! I just finished watching a movie. Its called "into the wild". Its about a boy who leaves home and goes in search of his being. He starts to travel, on the way he meets a lot of people who grow to like him but then he leaves them and continues his journey. Somewhere he has decided that he will go to Alaska. He does reach there and then eventually dies there. But in the end, he does discover what he set out to unearth.

Its a touching movie. I associated myself with parts of it. Too often we look for happiness outside when it is within us. Happiness is not a function of what happens to us. Its what we chose to make out of all that happens to us. Its a choice, so its upon us to exercise it whenever and however we want it... So everything that we come in contact of is capable of making us happy. I have taken comfort in a lot of times. I feel happiness in some strange things. A good movie, a walk, drizzle, a drive, a smile, a look, a nod, order of things, nature, wind, shower and many more. Thats because I chose to be happy. And then the pain hurts a lot less. 

You know what he discovered at the end? Happiness has meaning when shared with others. Like now :) 

Goodnight! 

The shop opens :)

So today the shop opens! Its been a while since I have been wanting to start writing. What's with a Bollywood angry not-so-young man also having a blog now. How cool is that! But unlike him, I have never managed to sit down and pen my thoughts down. Probably thats why - because you can't "pen" down your thoughts any more. You have to key them in. (Is there a phrase like that?)

Ok, so I don't know what to write on... May be I will write about the crazy monday that it has been. No its the Monday blues. I don't believe in that. I think all days days are equally blue or bright. Whatever. Its just that it has been a strange beginning for what I see as a fun filled week. 

I have a sales representative who has come to Bangalore for the first time. He doesn't understand Kannada and my sales boys don't understand Hindi and I am supposed to get him trained with my local sales boys. As if my own language problems weren't enough that I have to deal with this now! He is at the bus stand and cant understand the address to my office. The guy at the STD booth doesn't know hindi so that option of explaining him and he in turn explaining to the salesrep is also gone. I think I will have to hire translators on full time duty. 

Somewhere in another part of Karnataka, I have an agent who, I have recently discovered, has been engaging in trade malpractices (thats as mildly as I could put it). The guy who I sent to enquire about the malpractice, has been conveniently 'khilaoed-pilaoed' by the agent and now he has given a green signal to these guys. How wonderful!

I have my trade partners telling me that I am not replying to their mails. I patiently told them that I have no personal problem with them and that I have not received any mails from them. They insist they have sent it. I insisted further that they haven't. Thats when a good soul called me and said the mail that he sent has bounced back because the inbox is full. I wonder with a 120 GB hard disk, what has someone sent that its full! I was about to call Apple helpline when I figured why not check with the ISP guys once. They tell me that the settings on the mail delivery has been changed to such that after every 30 MB i have to delete all mails from server. How interesting. Wonder why no one told me about the change in my mail box settings!! 

The best or may be worst is my mobile network. The name of which is spice and which has really added some spice into my daily conversations. People tell me that if they get through my number in the first dial, they consider it their lucky day and bet on Bangalore Royal Chalengers winning the match! I joke with them saying that my network filters calls and keep unwanted people at bay. 

But thats not it. I have had more cross connections than I have had decent conversations. If it cross connects me, I am okay. It connects the incoming calls to people talking in strange languages. By the time the poor guys figure its not me playing the prank, the damage is done. Once they do get through to me, the call drops just when I am about to say goodbye. They think I hung up without saying BYE! Hey bhagwan. I wish I could pluck the hair out of someone in Spice. 

But other networks are no less. Imagine you are in the middle of something important, the airtel landline rings, you pick up only to hear "Wrong answer! Wrong answer! You have given the wrong answer. But you still win..." If I wouldn't have disconnected, my ear drums would have burst with the woman's shrill voice shouting from the other end. 

Last but definitely the most quirkiest was when I found most of the bathrooms in the office occupied. I had just spotted a good cover story on the latest Tehelka issue and could not stop the urge to read it and what better place to read than the pot. So unable to wait I slipped inside the toilet in my Director's chamber. It only after I had read the article and given it due thought that I realised that there is no soap for hand wash! I am too embarrassed to put down the later details. 

Add to all this the comment that a friend had to make when I shared with her what I had gone through in half the day - "really very cute". 

Its been a nice beginning to the week. And may be a good end to my first post. :)