Here I'm .... :)))

SAGAR/BHARATH MR
TG 328 23NOV BLRBKK 2245 0400
TG 999 24NOV BKKMEL 0810 2120

If you can read this intinerary.. u'll probably know where i am!! :p
Watch this space for more.. soon!!

Warne-Muralitharan Trophy!!

Children's Day Thought

The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any - Fred Astaire
APJ Abdul Kalam starts a newspaper "Billion Beats"

Former Indian President APJ Abdul Kalam was the people's President, and on the occasion of Children's Day, Kalam dons a new hat by turning editor for an online paper. Never one to sit idle, former President APJ Abdul Kalam has moved on. Today (November 14) is Children's Day - a day when Kalam launches his own e-paper, which will celebrate the success stories of ordinary Indians. Anantha Krishnan, National Affairs Editor, 'Billion Beats', puts it, "It all started with an informal chat with Dr Kalam. He felt that there's an overdose of politics, murders, crime and there's a lot of negative stories in print. So, he felt that we should celebrate the victories also. Children's Day seemed to be the right time to launch the paper. Dr Kalam wants all the success stories of scientists, agriculturists, farmers and technocrats. Basically 'Billion Beats', will try to bring to the fore, the tales of unsung heroes."

Source: Timesnow.tv

Which one, which one..

OSO vs Saawariyan

Which one is a Bigger Hit? Which one did you watch this diwali?.. any reviews/thoughts/ opinions/warnings before i watch them (which i am planning to this weeknd)?

Btw bought the Sony Handycam Camcorder DCR-SR42 this diwali. Was into it all weekend, cant compare with the best Handycam ever, but should say, a cool piece of gadget.

Indian Advertising

Advertising in India has grown leaps and bounds from the 80's and the 90's. Todays ads are one of the most creative and innovative we get to see in the entire world. Arguebly the toughest job is convincing a customer to buy your product in the competetive Indian market. Ads are of many different kinds, the ones u watch on televsion, print ads that appear on mags and newspapers, and scores of them that you get to hear on Fm channels (which are not visual ads), and obvsly the ads from the wide web world. I came across some online ads which made me giggle and laugh. Hope you also enjoy them...

Each one is better than the other. Simply amazing to see how creative Indian advertising have become. I wont say these are the best, but they are certainly some of the funniest :). I am not giving out the product names, you gotta watch them to enjoy. The Chaalis Chor (click on the link to see), adopted from the 1971 anime Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, has been quite a hit. The next ad Udi (click on the link to see) sends a clear message to the consumers. The third on the list, Daddu's blessings (click on the link to see) is certainly entertaining, giving the ad a Bollywood touch, which has been aped by many. Next one is an innovative ad, Mast Bahaar (click on the link to see), giving out a message to all the youth, spreading awareness on one of the important issues plauging today's world. The fifth on the list is also inspired from Bollywood. I enjoyed, Train (click on the link to see), which has some Bihari (Laloo yadav) accent in it. The next one is quite creative as well. You like or hate ghazals??? then u must watch Chitti (click on the link to see), where the world's richest and popular product company is targetting Indian customers. I did smile after watching it. How can todays ads leave out the Sholay theme from wooing the cosumenrs. You might have seen many ads revoving around the sholay theme and this one is one of them. Watch Sholay-Thakur (click on the link to see) and enjoy!

PS:Make sure u have the speakers turned-on when you watch these ads :)

My all time favs however have been M-seal and the Nike ad, igniting the passion for cricket (n how Nike did it? Click here).

M-seal


Nike

Happy Deepavali

Wishing all the readers a joyous Diwali :)

Safdar Hashmi (Apr 12, 1954 - Jan 2, 1989)

"It was when JANAM was enacting a chillingly prescient play called Halla Bol, which touched on issues of workers' rights and the right to perform in the face of injustice, that the group was attacked. Even as Safdar attempted to help others escape, he was bludgeoned to death with iron rods. "The horrific murder caused immense revolution across the country," says artist Ram Rehman. "I will never forget the funeral, the staggering number of people who marched in solidarity with us." The mourning cut across political affiliations, and linked artists, thinkers, journalists and concerned citizens in a visceral reaction to the outrage.

Two days after his death, his wife Moloyshree Hashmi went back to Sahibabad with the Janam troupe to finish the performance of Halla Bol, saying: "It is what Safdar would have wanted."

Safdar Hashmi

Article about Safdar

JaNaM
Poem by Safdar Hashmi
A tribute to Safdar - SAHMAT

People who Ignite Minds

No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men. - Thomas Carlyle.

There are innumerable such men and women, each one with a dream, a vision who have written the history of this world. Many, not so popular, yet been an inspiration to the masses. Working for the people at the grass root level, living, being, sharing and making them see new dreams was their dream. Recently i heard a scholar on one of the popular Indian news channel criticising people who laud and treat the achivements and victories of Bobby Jindal, Sunitha Williams - as victory for India/Indians. He said "First of all, they are not Indians.... get that straight into your heads... secondly... its NOT a victory for India... should we (Indians) feel elated of a person who wins a Governer's race in US, merely because his forefathers had their roots (very very faintly) linked with India?? Now, we must not take away the victory and achievements of the Jindals, the Williamss', and other people who have risen to fame and glory. No doubt they are fantastic people having achieved great feats in their streams, but there are scores of people who have toiled for the sake of India, lived and died for a social cause, for the sake of the poor and downtrodden. These are the people who have given their entire self in bringning a change to the narrowest mindsets of people, and made them realise their rights and duties as responsible citizens of the nation. True nation building happens when people realize, look and act at social issues, to eradicate the scums in whatever possible way they can. The impact it has on the generations to come will be immense. But the stories of such great men and women have always been short lived in the memories of the people. The struggles and pains in bringing these revolutionary changes have been soon forgotten. When someone scores a century in a cricket match, or make a class act in one of the Bollywood flicks, we (and the media) worship them, they become Gods in no time.... they become our role models!! How sad that we forget the true legends and live in a fantasy world.

Speaking out on my blog, i will be introducing and talking of some great Indian personalities, who have not been as popular as Jindals or the Khans or the Bachhans on the world stage, but of some lesser known people who have had a huge impact on the lives of a common man and India. These are the people who really ignite minds.