Of all the things I've ever done...

This one's for biwi... My proclamation of my love if you will. Rest of you can continue browsing my other posts from here.

Of all the things I've ever done
Finding you will prove to be the most important one
I would never trade the tears
the conversations no one hears
the learning how to walk before we run

Of all the kites I ever flew
Most came tumbling down
except the one I sent up with you
I dont wanna change a thing
break the spell or cut the string
when every wish I make is coming true with you

Sometimes I forget to say how much I love you
Purposely I bet cause I'm so busy thinking of you

So in this world of odds and ends
I'd rather have a part of you than all of my so-called friends
You have taught me how to feel
What is false and what is real
of all the things I ever wanna do
I think I'll start and end with loving you

You have taught me how to feel
What is false and what is real
of all the things I ever wanna do
I think I'll start and end with loving you

- Dennis Lambert

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Crossroads

I am again at the crossroads... not literally but in that philosophical, intangible sort of a way wherein you say "What the hell will I do?".

I have been at these points all through my life, like when I had to choose between an engineering degree from BIT Mesra and a B.Sc. degree from Hindu (though BIT never stood much of a chance); or the day when I had to choose between my job with Wipro and my MBA plans; or like the day when I had to choose between whiskey and rum (a BIG choice for me). Well, I have had my share of such big and small choices and my choices define what I am today. And I can safely say am happy today that I made these choices (BTW I drink whiskey, graduated from Hindu and work with Wipro).

Being a veteran in this choice making business, I should be a great decision maker. Right?

WRONG!! I still hate taking decisions. Reason : I am one of those guys who go week in the knees when confronted with a choice.

So when today I find myself confronted with some more of these make-or-break scenarios, I am shivering with the fear of making a choice. Some of my most pressing concerns are :

1. Buy a Bullet or any other just-another-street-bike. I am fed up of driving around in a car and now want to have the freedom of driving a bike. The question is should I go for the bike-from-the-wet-dreams-of-any-Indian-male or for the economy of owning a street bike. I have not yet decided but biwi is leaning towards the later. For the uninitiated, biwi (and mind you, this is the universal truth I am speaking about) is always correct and I know I will go with what she suggests, but still... the choice is there. And where there is a choice there is a trembling Paritosh. Period.
2. Continue with my well settled earn-while-you-sleep job or go the hard way - the entrepreneurship way. Off late, I have been toying with this idea of opening my own upstart venture. However, this needs the guts and commitment of a madman and I don't know if I have reached the stage "yet". Anyways the choice is still there.
3. Go for an international MBA or go on the world tour I have always dreamt of. Both will cost a hell-lot-of money and use up 1.5 to 2 years of my life. I just have to decide which will be more useful for my future prospects.

Hmmmm... the questions are many and the answers vague, and I am sure I will take the correct decisions. But till all is said and done I will have to suffer through these bouts of decidophobia(whatever that means).

"Jai Ho!" A failed campaign?

When Congress bought rights to "Jai Ho" for a whopping $200,000 from Tips, it broke all conventions. It became the first Indian political party to buy the rights to a song solely for its election campaign. The plan was grand - Percept Media was to make 6 different 60 seconds clips, featuring different facets of development of India.

These ads started appearing everywhere, on TV, the theatres, on the outdoor media consoles. The "Aam aadmi ke badte kadam; har kadam par bharat buland." was forced on the faces of the gullible voters. It was what the guys in advetising industry talk about as "Carpet Bombing". Congress had the moolah and it was hellbent on using it to the fullest.

But then suddenly came the comparison between the BJP's "India Shining" campaign, the ill-fated campaign which brought the mighty party down to its knees in the last elections. At a time when the middle class was jhelofying the maar from mehngayi, bhrastachar, aatankwaadand what not, singing on the tunes of a victorious song suddenly did not seem to be such a good idea. The mandarins at the high-command at Akbar Road decided to pull off the campaign and only three of the films could see the light of the day.

Well, dunno how and dunno why but this strategy seemed to work. UPA won overwhelmingly, defying all psepologists and statisticians (who by the way have never been correct even within their tolerance range). Looks like this "Jai Ho" song is one lucky charm for its owners. Jai Ho India! Jai Ho!!

My Bucket List

Yesterday, I saw The Bucket List, and kept pondering all through the night about shitty issues like life, afterlife and what lies in between.

It was then when I decided to make MY bucket list, my own "n things to do before I die" kinda list.

1. Sail around the world. I have always been fascinated by the sea and the white, beautiful beaches. I would love to be on a small yacht sailing round the world.
2. Drive around the world. They say the best way to see the world is to go on a bike and I would definitely love to do that.
3. I want to be remembered , so would like to do something which is worth remembering (have not decided upon this yet but will let you guys know as soon as I do).
4. Teach Maths in junior school. Whenever I see kids fearing Mathematics, I know they are not being taught properly. With proper guidance and technique Maths could be fun.
5. Publish a novel. I have always been a storyteller, and would love to write a novel one day.
6. Say sorry to all those who I have hurt. I have been quite reckless all through my life but would like to meet all those whom I have hurt and apologize.

Well the list is unending but these are my most highly prioritized ones.

यादें

समय के पहियों के बीच पीसी हुई यादें,
भूली बिसरी सी वो बचपन की बातें -
वो उड़ने की चाह, नभ को चीर बाहर निकलने की मुरादें
वो गिरना, वो उठना, वो बड़ी बड़ी बातें॥

मुडके जब भी देखा है समय की गीली रेत पर
निशान अब भी बांकी हैं, और हर एक निशान पर
लिखा है - कुछ धुंधला सा, उस दिन की वो बात,
वो शक्ल, वो दोस्त, वो खेल, वो कहानी॥

कभी कभी सोचता हूँ - क्या बस यूँ ही दबी पड़ी रह जाएँगी ये यादें,
चीथड़ों की पोटली सी मिटटी में सन जाएँगी क्या ये यादें?

These two lines have been the gist of my life.

मैं छुपाना जनता तो जग मुझे साधू समझता।
शत्रु मेरा बन गया है छल रहित व्यवहार मेरा॥

- हरिवंश राए बच्चन

I love a girl from my class

I love a girl from my class!!

No, no, no, no, no...
not that one competing with the hourglass;
neither the one with her father called Midas!
Nah! you're wrong again, dear,
if your guess is that fair, fair lass.

Now, come on! Don't overburden your instincts.
I'll give your some vital hints
which will paint her persona in tints.

No! her hair is not the black, black cloud,
as would suggest you flirt,hard core;
But for sure the long black silk, always flowing free
make my heart beats go on a crazy spree.

Again, her eyes are not two deep-blue lakes
as metaphored in the old song tracks;
but one thing is sure - once you look into those 'black holes' -
I'll be required to impress you no more.

As to her beautiful smile -
Ah! What should I say?
You'll have to see the zillion dollar ones
to experience what causes my thoughts to go disarray.

Her voice is so sweet and loving;
Even Obama will surrender to the super cop Bush
just to hear her utter a "Sssh!".
And do I need to create any more fuss?

Her simplicity - a virtue which is virtually extinct -
she is simpler than simplicity itself.
What more proof do you need if I say -
she doesn't even know when is the Valentine's day.

Arrey yaar, I am now running out of thoughts.
Even now if you can't make her out,
I'll be compelled to indicate her in a manner roundabout -
The girl sitting farthest to me
Ya! Ya! the one nearest to the last
is the girl whom I love, from my class.

[I know, I know... Its pathetic. But what can I do... I have hit the blogger's block, so I had to publish this poem I had written long long back.]

Zoozoo : invasion of the egg-shaped men

If you have been following the IPL like I have been, you must have witnessed the advent of the egg-shaped little men. They are the new talk of town. And everyone is wondering are they for real or are they animated. I was of the notion that they are animated characters, till I googled them.

What I found out was amazing, these are completely home grown desi concepts which are filmed live with people in costumes. Wow! So Indian ad-makers have done something which the mighty Bollywood can only dream of : they have created a memorable character which is not human. These mad, lovable, laughable characters were the concept of Vodafone's Ad agency Ogilvy India.

The Concept

Last year after the successful 'Happy to Help’ campaign during the first season of the Indian Premier League(IPL), Vodafone came up with a new promotion campaign this year which was solely focused on it Value Added Services (VAS). They with their ad agency decided to create an uncommon characters – a common thread to link the ads in the campaign of around 25 ads. Ogilvy experimented with several characters and finally zeroed in on an ‘egghead’ character that don the colour white (with black dots for eyes and a mouth), have heads resembling eggs, and disproportionately thin bodies.

The idea was to tell the VAS stories in a parallel universe akin to, yet different, from those of us humans. The creatures were to lead simple lives, speak a language of their own (something that sounds like gibberish), move in a certain way, and even emote like human beings, with big frowns or big grins to do the trick. The execution is almost like emoticons.

The Execution

As I already said these aren’t animated characters. They are human beings who body suits. These suits are built in two parts : the body and the head. The body part of the outfit was stuffed with foam in some places, while the head was attached separately. To make it look bigger than a human head, a harder material called Perspex was used, which in turn was stuffed with foam.

The hands and legs were kept thin, which is why women – and occasionally children – were casted to wear the costumes. The thin limbs, contrasted with big bellies and a bulbous head, all add to the illusion that these creatures are ‘smaller’ than humans. Sets were created to suit the size of the Zoozoos. The speed of shooting was altered: the ads were shot in a high-speed format to make Zoozoos look the size that they do.

These ads were shot by Prakash Varma, ad filmmaker, Nirvana Films.

The Effect

Zoozoo has become greatly popular on the net with its facebook account having 72K odd fans. Its twitter page shows around 17 of the 25 proposed ads as have been released. The videos have been a great hit on youtube with some of them reaching the most popular ranks.

I love the ads and though I will never give up my Airtel connection for a Vodaphone (mostly due to logistical reasons) but would definitely suggest someone who wants to change his number to go for a vodafone. They have a lot more to offer as proved by Zoozoo.