RANN – Watch it for Amitabh Bacchan Outstanding Performance

I had been waiting for

RANN

, to watch a good movie from Ram Gopal verma’s factory after the highly unforgettable bad film

RGV ki AAG

. I was a die hard Ramu’s fan which has been subdued now after watching many ordinary movies from him post Sarkar.
Well, He doesn’t delight me this time as well, but doesn’t disappoint me also. He comes back with his style, though not with cinematic charisma, he posses and has the ability to deliver.
The script is ordinary with Amitabh Bacchan , the owner of India 24*7 , a man who believes that the objective of media is not to make money or create news, but to present the truth . He is a highly respected figure as a journalist in the whole country and his word commands respect of truth. A role of such a stature could have been played only by Mr. Bacchan or Mr. Dilip Kumar.
On, the other side is the sensationalism journalism card played by Headline 24*7 , a news channel owned by Mohnish Behl , who was an ex employee of India 24*7 and now heads the no. 1 News channel in the country.
While , Amitabh follows his ideology, his son wants to change the way India 24*7 works and this leads to a political, media and industrialist conspiracy with the powerful and corrupt politician , Paresh rawal and industrial Rajat kapoor, who also happens to be Mr. Bacchan’s son in law.
Though, the movie shows most of the Journalist character as opportunist and playable, there is one more journalist like Amitabh, played by Ritesh Deshmukh, who follows his heart and cracks the political, industrialist and media conspiracy.
Well, I am not going deep into the story as the script is average and predictable, but would definitely like to applaud the performances by the whole star cast which is really good, and that makes the film gripping and watchable.
Ritesh deshmukh, playing a serious role for the first time creates a good impact with his eyes and soft voice and his lady love Gul Panag , who looks extremely beautiful in the movie is also a good actress .
Neetu Chandra, as the beautiful girlfriend of Suddep ( Amitabh Bacchan son ) looks sensuous and does justice to her small role .
But, the movie is to be watched for Mr. Bacchan’s outstanding performance once again after “Paa”. The climax scene where he presents himself to the whole country and tells the real story behind the conspiracy involving his own son and his son in law, could have been delivered so strongly only by him and no one else.
Also, the last scene when his son kills himself and everyone is mourning near his body, and you see the tears in Mr. Bacchan eyes is just amazing. He is no doubt a gifted actor whose eyes tells as much as his voice.
Well, hope to see much more Bacchan Saab performances like this and I am waiting for “Teen Patti” now.
Go and watch it, only for Mr. Amitabh Bacchan powerful performance.
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Year Gone by and Year to Come

Hi All,

I have been writing recently on social issues and was missing on the creative side. But, yesterday I made a point to write a poem, and fortunately I didn’t have to think long about the topic. My last year has been filled with lot of emotions, fear, and has been happening on the personal and professional front.
But there is always a ray of hope, wave of optimism and a continuous passion and urge to succeed in personal and professional front. And there are always well wishers, friends and family who continuously support you and are angel for you.
This poem reflects the support and the light of hope in the coming year ….
Signing off with my last poem of this year and a happy new year of course 2010….

Year Gone by and Year to Come

I sit back today, and look at the year gone by
With a glass in my hand, trying to recollect
The good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful,
Masks and faces, which were part of my life
Some were haunting, few were daunting
Scaring the hell out of me,
But there was an angel too,
Wiping my sweat and fanning me with her hair,
Cuddling with her finger strokes,
And flaunting me like a child in her lap
Making my days beautiful and the year memorable
She is also gone by the year gone,
But the angel always remains an angel,
She takes care from the distance,
And makes you see the ray of hope,
Promising the coming year
To be free of evil and full of joy,
And a memorable year to come by,
The angel slowly whispers from a distant,
But still I can hear the voice so loud
Wishing me a “Happy New year”

Regards,
Amit

Ruchika Gehrotra – A Victim 19 years back and a Victim today

I would have never known about a 14 year old girl, Ruchika Gehrotre from Chandigarh , and am sure even most of the Indians would have not known her.
Thanks , to the Indian Judiciary system which kept the case in trial for 19 years , and sincere thanks to the Indian Media especially the electronic media like CNN IBN , NDTV, Star News which highlighted this lazy ness and sleeping investigative and judiciary system of India.
I suddenly asked myself, do I live in India where economy is growing at 7% per annum, when most of the globe is struggling with the economy. My readers would ask me why I am correlating with the economy growth, and my answer is that good economic growth leads to a creation of a more egalitarian society.
Ohhh..But don’t we know India always throws exceptions, and this case is one of them. Sorry, no comments as most of the Indians understand these exceptions very well.
My rage is not only towards the EX DGP, respected Mr. Rathore and his bubbling lawyer wife who came out of the court smilingly , but towards the investigative agency, the then state government and the judiciary system. Rathore and his wife were not making mockery of the CBI and the judiciary system or the poor soul of Ruchika or her friend Aradhana, or her family, but he made mockery of the belief of 100 Crores of Indians.
I always get hurt, when I had to hear the rich and powerful getting away with the law, and I often keep my patience not to write about them on my blog, but this time my patience gave away. This is also another dark incident about Chandigarh, the place where Manu Sharma stays and parties on Parole.
I have always loved Chandigarh a lot, and have spent some wonderful time working there, but this really sad that the girls are not safe there and the rich and mighty lobby works more than the law and order.
I just pray that the electronic media keeps up the case lighting and public pressure continues, with the politician’s like Renuka Chowdhary, Brinda karat sincere support and the case gets resolved quickly and Ruchika gets justice.
Remember, the old saying “ Justice delayed is Justice denied” , but lets give the CBI and Indian Judiciary one more chance to finally bring Rathore to books for his misdeeds who snatched away a budding life and affected a family for the whole life.
And, a final request that lets not be the victim who stays quiet , but a true warrior who fights against the odds. Warriors like Neelam katara, Sabrina lal, Aradhana Gupta have done that, and so can we.

http://twitter.com/amitsinha69

Durga Puja Celebrations-Revisited Memory Lane

I blog very less these days, though I am still involved in writing, but that’s altogether a different dream. But, thanks to all these social networking site and bloggers camaraderie, I was reminded by my one of my very talented blogger friend that I have almost stopped blogging and should write more frequently.
I had made up my mind, that I would blog on Sunday for sure. I was thinking today, while driving, while eating my Biryani in lunch, and while watching TV , on what should I write. I simply felt, that I haven’t read any books in recent time, have not traveled to any exciting place, had not any unusual incident in my life or relationship, not much is happening in current affairs (Shashi Twitter story is old, and doesn’t interest me at all), have watched Kaminey and Wanted, but did not wanted to write a film review, so was pretty confused on what to write.
I was just sitting and browsing FaceBook and Orkut today, looking at my old photographs and tried connecting with my school friends. This led me to think about the Durga puja celebrations during my school time , and the kind of fun that was attached to it. Being brought up in a small town, Jamalpur in eastern parts of Bihar, the town was full of Bengali population and Durga Puja was the biggest festival celebrated there. I remember, we all used to wait for Durga Puja 1 month before the celebrations and the countdown used to start. The city was full of Railway employess who used to get bonus during the Durga Puja , and they used to do a lot of shopping. The whole market and business used to gain momentum a month before the Puja .
The town had a big ground called Golf ground which was attached to a smaller ground , where a Durga Puja Pandal used to be made. The pandal used to be in typical Kolkata style , with loud Arti, Smoke, Dhol beats, Gulal and Firecrackers. On the periphery of the pandal , there used to be food stalls , of Mutton Chap, Mughlai Paratha, Biryani,Rosogulla, and tea , coffee and ciggarates. These stalls used to be full of customers and there used to be waiting time to get these delicious food itmes.
Everyday from the seventh day onwards , there used to some entertainment night like Orchestra, Dance,Children Competition which used to draw lot of participation and audience. My favorite was Orchestra, as I love live music, and most of the singer used to sing Kishore and RD Burman Songs.
The Pandal looked extremely beautiful, with all the people wearing new dresses, and enjoying with their friends and family. I remember, that was the only festival, when we used to go to market and get new dresses for everyone in the family. We were only allowed to wear these new dresses from Ashthami (eight day of Puja) after the dresses were awakened up. The whole house was awakened through vedic chants on the eighth night. After, the awakening, was done we all used to rush to the pandal and meet our school friends there. Typically, like any other small town, the town used to get sleepy by 9 pm on normal days, but Durga Puja was the only time, when the town did not sleep. I remember just roaming in the pandal , on the streets till 12 midnight and then used to get home by driving my vintage Bajaj Chetak Scooter.
Freedom was there during the festival, and we all used to exploit the freedom given by our families to experiment smoking and eating paan, since we were allowed to come late during the puja days. Also, it was perfect time to know about many beautiful females in the town whom you never thought that they existed also. Needless, to say that it was the right time to impress a girl or a guy.
This celebration style continued for me till I was in my graduation, as most of my friends used to come back home during the Dusshera holidays. Though, the friends count did started reducing soon after, we all passed our board examination and left for higher studies to big cities.
Today , that fun has almost ceased, but still the time cannot snatch away the beautiful memories of the Durga Puja celebration I had at my native place.
Its still the biggest festival for me and will always remain….
Signing Off…a memorable Sunday…

Racism,Ethnicity,Dicrimination-check the mirror

We all read so much about Indians being beaten up in Australia and Austrialns are being termed as racist. No doubt, I hated it , as an Indian citizen. Some prominent sociologist also termed it as ethnicity and not racial.
Whatever, it is theoretically, but they all are in same family of exploitation, where the attacks are made by a stronger group on a weaker group.
But are we as Indians doesn’t discriminate in day to day life. I was reading on net - zo-lengthe.blogspot.com and learnt some horrifying stories on how the North east people are being exploited and attacked in India. The incident pertains to an incident of molestation of two girls from Manipur, where the landlord molested the two girls along with a group of hooligans in wee hours of night. And, to my surprise, the women in the landlord family also supported it.
Is it not a form of discrimination against people from other states?
I also read another article where there was gender discrimination and that too within the same state. How, the rich North east men are abandoning their wives. Another, incident was, when the migrants from other Hindi speaking states were treated badly in Mizoram.
There are so many, that the incidents cannot be counted, but we as an Indian, that means truly Indian which says "Unity in Diversity" can raise ourselves beyond the race, statehood, gender, caste and creed and money.
Can we be an egalitarian society ourselves before we preach the Australians.
Do we treat the foreigners, the way we want ourselves to be treated. If that, is the case why the foreigners are being raped in Goa, Himachal and Rajasthan.
Its time to look in the mirror and realize ourselves before pointing a finger to others. Remember, when you point a finger, the other four fingers points towards yourselves.
Its justified to protest against the crimes towards Indians, but at the same time we should change ourselves and set an example to others.
I am leaving some pictures taken from net, to keep thinking on the attacks,protest and the harmony we need.
Don’t Kick off Guys, Embrace people!
Amit

Beautiful Sensuous and Mysterious - Istanbul

After a long long time , I am writing a travel diary which I always loved the most. This time, its about Istanbul trip which I made on behalf of my company trip.
Istanbul, a city unique in itself as it lies both in Asia and Europe. I have recently been to this city and got a chance to feel the pulse of Istanbul. Istanbul is a city similar to our Mumbai, economically important with a population of 1.3 million, the highest in Turkey.
Like as usual, my way of writing travel diary is not much about discussing the history or art of city, but more about the life style of people and the thrills the city offers in terms of living there.
The city is beautiful with tulips grown on both sides of the roads; multiple colors and even you can see Istanbul flag made of red Tulips on the road. Needless, to say I felt in love with tulips and I find them one of the most sensuous and mysterious flower. So you can already judge, my first impression about the city- Beautiful, Sensuous and Mysterious.
Istanbul is beautiful with clean roads, flowers, old palaces and mosques, trams running in between the roads, cobbled streets and yeah extremely beautiful ladies. In Istanbul, you will find people coming from eastern parts of Europe, Russia and yes the local people are also there who are extremely beautiful. I don’t remember spotting a lady who was not extremely beautiful right from my hotel reception to the streets. The population is 95% Muslim, but way of living is completely European with people dressing in jeans, shorts, skirts and tops. Also, you will see 95% of people moving on the road smoking. I need to check the data about per capita consumption of cigarettes, in Istanbul, I swear.
In terms of tourist living there , it offers a host of place to stay from star hotels like Hilton, Inter Continental, Moven Pick to shared apartments and small and cheap backpackers hotels.
I was staying in Moven Pick at levente , which is 4 station from the commercial hot spot of the city called Taksim Square. There are good public transport with metro, buses and running going across the city.Its best to travel by metro, as it saves lot of time and money also. A trip from levente to Taksim costs 1.25 Turkish lira( 1 TL = 34 Rs approx) whereas by taxi its costs 15 TL .In night the taxi charges gets 1.5 times more.
A must place to visit in Istanbul is the hamam. Hamam is an Arabic word which means a place for public bath. In Istanbul, you will find good hamas in Taksim areas, where you can rejuvenate yourself after a 7.5 hrs flight from India.Th men and ladies section are different in hamam with big Turkish guys who scrubs your complete body after you get complete sweat out for 15-20 mins on a very hot marble floor. The cleaning is really good and removes the dirt that might have accumulated on your body and you are not aware about it. Hmmm, this seems one of the reason for beautiful and clean skin these Turkish people have.
Food in Turkey is good especially for the Non vegetarians; you can get all the non veg delicacy like Kebab, grilled mutton etc. The sweets are also good especially Baklava, though it uses lot of cheese. You can always find road side cafes where some live Turkish music is being played and can see people playing chess and smoking Hukkas. Hukkas ‘s are very popular in Istanbul which still shows the footprint of Arabic culture in Istanbul.
Turkey seems to have good music and dance variety with folk dances, Belly dance and Pop and Turkish rock. Belly dancer is so common, that you will rarely find an overweight lady in Istanbul. It seems, they keep themselves fit with belly dance.
Belly dance is also something which represents the nightlife of the city. There are many clubs and discos in Taksim and Akserya areas where belly dance shows are played in night. But, many of these night clubs are also pick up joints or a place to rip off the tourist money with many hidden costs. You need to be highly cautious about any stranger or a girl approaching you. They might be employed by clubs and would like to chat with you and may ask you for a drink. The moment you buy her a drink, you fall in the trap. A drink to lady can cost as much as 150 TL or 75 Euro.
I don’t rate the nightlife in Turkey as very high, as most of the place seemed to be shady and filled with pick up ladies and pimps. These are a risky preposition in Turkey , as there have been cases of robbing the tourists.
But yes, the city does look beautiful at night, with glazing lights, many shops and restaurants open till mid night and the sensuous and mysterious aura of the city, which makes you want to explore the city more and more.
Another, salient feature of the city I liked was the roads in the residential areas. They are generally very steep and the way houses are built, it looks good. Istanbul is surrounded by camile hills , which also gives a breathtaking view of the skyline of the city.
The city is also famous for its spice Bazaar and its true also to its reputation. You see variety of spices, dry fruits, fruit tea like apple tea, pomegranate tea, variety of sea foods, fresh cheese and meat and Turkish desserts.
When these shopkeepers see an India, they try to attract them by calling the names of apna bollywood stars like Amitabh bacchan, Salman khan, Kareena kapoor. Yes, the bollywood songs and dance are indeed liked by Turkish people and they find Indian women beautiful especially their big eyes.
I want to end this diary with a revelation made during the trip, that “Amit” is a Turkish name which means very big. Good to know..Ahhahaha!!!

The "TajMahal" visit

Finally got to see The "Tajmahal" landmark of love, the white beauty , one of the wonders of the world.
everything was great, except the pic u would see , in which its written, pls dont keep your shoes here , and that is like showered by shoes and chappals..
we as citijens also need to get awake , then only blaming politicians and administration, that hindustan mein aisa hota hai..
one interesting thing - heard from a guide that Shajahan wanted to build a black Tajmahal just at the other post of Yamuna as landmark of grief, but was not built, because of some engineering constraints. dont know its true or not..
amit

Liive Mumbai Live Mumbai

Mumbai has never been so live shown on TV across the world as it was during the 26th November battle. Yes, a battle between a handful of merciless fiyadeen and people of Mumbai.
And the Mumbaikars defeated not only the terrorists, but the Indian politicians as well. Politicians like Shivraj Patil our ex- home minister who spends time in changing clothes more often than caring about our motherland security, R R Patil who still believes that Mumbai attack was a small incident in the big city, Vilas Rao Deshmukh who seems to be making career into movies after politics and our very beloved Raj Thakrey , the Marathi Manush , who go on beating unarmed poor Biharis and Bhaiyaas on the streets of Mumbai. So Mr. Raj, where were you, when the incident happened. Why you didn’t thrashed the terrorist out of Mumbai. I hope, they are much bigger threat than poor North Indians, sorry Indians who come to Mumbai in search of Roti, Kapda and Jhopdi.
Its high time our politician friends get over the regions and boundaries and care about the country and its people.
Mumbai is back on track, with the same spirit but still the pain is left. They are angry for the first time. The aam aadmi, fillam wallahs , rich business mans have shed their religious lineage and are together fighting for Mumbai right, to let Mumbai live and not be live on the TV, the way it was.
There are some lines I have written on Mumbai Strive for their rights-

Let Bombay be like it was,
When peace was there and not pieces on street,
When everyone living there was a Bombaiyaa,
and not Manush, Bihari or Bhaiyaa.
Let Bombay be like it was,
When love was there,
and hatred miles away,
when people loved their life,
and not dying in trains or streets,
when netas looked it as a city,
and not a political battlefield.
Let Bombay Live and not be
Live on TV as on 26th Nov.
Jai Hind !

Amit

Cheering the Cheerleaders at IPL

I got a chance to watch two IPL matched at Mohali, first on 23rd may and the second one on 28th may, thanks to my company and my Boss. The matches were good with Kings XI Punjab being the winning side and some good sixes and fours. However, there is something in IPL T20, which sets it apart. The S Quotient. S or Stars have been a critical factor in the success of the IPL Bonanza or product. I remember the matches I watched in stadium. Though, being an ardent cricket believer, I liked watching Preity Zinta and the sexy and sleek cheerleaders equally or may be more than Yuvraj Singh or Shane Warne. And, truly speaking that was the sentiment in the stadium. I know many people , who were not in stadium wont agree to me , but the TV camera were not showing the crazy spectators who were watching Preity more than the cricket. It was like the chant of “ Preeto – Match jeeto” and continuous. Thankfully, Preity obliged the spectators with her waving, dancing and yeah some flying kisses.
Yeah, so coming back again to IPL beauties minus Preity, Katrina were the white cheerleaders. I got a chance to watch CL’s of Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI and Deccan chargers. My favorites were the Rajasthan Royals. Not just because of their short skirts, but because of being more appealing to the public. The CL’s of Kings XI and Deccan chargers used to face towards the ground whereas CL’s of Rajasthan Royals used to face towards the public and also dance some 15-20 seconds longer than other CL’s.
Its like a better reach to customer and more customer friendly attitude.
Well, though Cheerleaders have been talk of town, media and the ministers, but still cricket rules and has not been overshadowed. People, who criticize IPL, should watch in future and mark my opinion like many for its success. People, want to see entertainment, and this is what IPL is “Manoranjan ka Baap”.
I am posting some pics taken from my websites....Waiting for some test matches now..

U Me Aur Hum - Falling in Love Everyday

After a long time I saw a good positive movie, and now I regret not watching Tare Zameen Par. Last time, I had a watched a positive movie was BLACK, and it was accidentally, but no doubt I loved that movie.
What do we mean by a positive movie? A movie which can inspire you, can help the society to develop and be more mature, and at the same time not a boring documentary.
Just to give a short brief on the movie, for all those who haven’t seen the movie –
Ajay is a doctor who is enjoying holidays on cruise with his 4 frens, two of them are married couple who are a mismatch couple fighting with each other. The two other frens are Boyfriend and Girlfriend looking for making a life together. Ajay is single, but no more when he finds Kajol, one of the waitresses in the cruise and falls in love with her.
He tries to woo her, fails initially, but makes his day one day. The two get married, enjoying every day of their marital bliss, till suddenly a strange incidence happen.
He discovers that Kajol is behaving strangely, forgetting things, because she is suffering with a rare, but a tough disease called Alzheimer’s.
Meanwhile, his married couple friends get separated, though they all still form a circle of common friends and are seen hanging together.
Ajay who tries to manage the things, suddenly finds him helpless and gets Kajol admitted to a hospital, so that she can be take care of. Things turn really hard for Ajay, thinking about her every moment, and missing her. The situation can become so tough for a family whose one of their member is suffering from Alzheimer is shown in a much matured way.
One fine day, he realizes that he should take a strong step, and bring back Kajol home and take care of her himself, rather than leaving her. Seeing, this decisions his married frens who were separated feel the importance of living together and get united again.
But, what will Ajay do, because Kajol has forgotten Ajay. Its simple, Ajay manages to win heart of Kajol every few days, by telling her their old stories and in turn he gets some bonus days, when Kajol remembers him for few days. Hence, the film is about falling in love with your loved ones everyday.
Whether, someone is well, unwell, suffering with a rare disease, the strength lies in not running away from it, but facing it bravely and winning over it. I am sure movies, like this, tare Zameen par and black is going to help in changing the society.
Some take on Ajay devgan’s direction – I think he has done a fairly good job, though not excellent. The first half of the movie is light, with some double meaning lines as well and decent comedy. The second half highlight is Kajol’s power packed performance. No doubt, she is still the best actress around. The movie seems to drag a little in the end , but when you leave your seat finally, the positive energy created by the film keeps you upbeat. Guys watch it, it will help the society.

The Paradox of Consumptive Evolution in Marketing

Consumption is good, but up to a certain level. It must ensure a sustainable and positive quality of life.

Why should I join the league in taking this world at the verge of collapse?

You might find the above question out of context as far as Ask Harish Bijoor is concerned.

Till now I boasted and felt proud of being among the sharpest and brightest minds of India or probably the whole world. But now, during my last few days of my MBA, when I look back over the last 17-odd months, what I see is that all I have learned is how to spread consumerism and thus, unhappiness. We are taught how to sell more than two mobile phones to the same customer when he can easily do with one; how to ‘connect’ people by making them talk more and moreover call rather than encourage them to meet each other; how to influence ‘impulse’ buying even when the object’s not on the customer’s list. The list is long and never-ending. We call ourselves strategists?

_ Ankush Lal, Lucknow

Ankush, nothing is out of context at all. All questions are really good and correct. It is the answers that are wrong. It is the answers that are out of context most of the time.

I like your question. You ask because you think. And you think long-term, quite unlike the harried marketer of the day and his ‘short-termism’.

I do believe consumption has a glass ceiling. Consumption is good, up to a level. It must be all about ensuring a good, sustainable and positive quality of life to all concerned in a consumer society. The height of the glass ceiling is really common to all.

If you peek keenly at what is happening in urban India, there is some cause for distress for sure. The marketer of the day is going a bit berserk in some categories. Selling has two dimensions: Selling of the necessities and selling of the un-necessities. Both are two sides of the same coin. There is a thin line that divides the necessity from the un-necessity. Is a refrigerator a necessity? Is a cigarette lighter an un-necessity? Is a Swarovski diamond an un-necessity?

The answers are contextual to a society on the rise, the rising income levels of a people, the yen for convenience and lifestyle, and most certainly the disjointedness of a society with the real way of living, as opposed to the new virtual way of living.

Consumers go through cycles of living. In the beginning they are satisfied with the real and natural things of life and living that surround them. They are happy with what they get. As they earn more and as they make progress happen, they seek out more. This is when they move from the basic and real things in life to the created and virtual joys of convenient living. And then finally, there will come a time when they will get fed up with it all, and will want to regress to the real and natural way of living.

In different societies, the point to note is that different clusters of people exist at different levels of what I call consumptive evolution. For example, in the US, a seventh-generation marketing economy, the size of the pie of each of these three clusters could vary. The early-stage market for real and basic is very small. All under 1 per cent of market. The size of market for the created and higher end virtual joys is as large as 86 per cent. The third category of the self-actualising consumer fed up with it all and wanting the real joys of natural living once again is as big as 13 per cent, and growing.

In an early second-generation marketing economy such as India, the size will surely vary. This is un-audited as of now, though.

I do believe marketers must be the ones to show self-governance and self-restraint. The marketer in India must not try to fast-pace the consumer onto the track of unwanted needs. Selling of the un-necessities as represented by the two-television set household and the three-car household is where there needs to be immediate restraint. Advertising as well has a role to play. It is time for restraint.

And this is where you come in, I guess. I do believe you must join the marketing bandwagon for sure. You must, however, join it at the responsible end of the spectrum. Minds such as yours can contribute a lot to bring purpose to marketing that can go, and has gone, awry in its besottedness with harvesting the new consumer in width and depth for every mobile phone and garment on tout.

Why should you join the league? To bring in responsibility. To bring in restraint. To bring in method to the marketing madness we see all around us. You will stand out like a sore thumb in the beginning. You will be pushed to a corner. You will be the maverick for a start. And then the world will follow.

Go for it, dude!

How does dominant ownership of a category impact brand valuation for the said brand in question?

- Jyotsna Tripathi, Mumbai

Jyotsna, owning a category is the biggest value-reap any company or brand can hope for. When you own a category, you alienate every other competitor, existing or new. You build barriers to entry which are rock-solid.

Brand valuation in categories totally owned are the highest for the owner of the category. The board game Monopoly owns the category, just as Scrabble owns the word games category. Valuation of these brands is the highest in the board games category.

(Harish Bijoor is a business strategy specialist and CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
This article is picked from my net surfing on brands and marketing and taken from Hindu Business Line , except the first few lines . I acknowledge all the views expressed in this article.

my views

India is no doubt becoming a high consumption society following the path of consumptive evolution like US. And, as a Marketeer , most of us are trying to sell all kinds of products, whether the consumer really needs it or not. As, a Sales and Marketing professional , would I do the same ? well, it depends but I feel that as a responsible marketeer , we need to understand the needs of consumer and design the product accordingly.
I also , feel that it should not be mistaken by upselling or cross selling the product, as upgrading the consumers is a perfectly ethical move by any sales or marketing person.
The focus is to make a genuine attempt to sell, and not fool the consumer becuase a untapped consumer is easy to win , but getting back a lost customer is a tough thing to do.

Chandigrah Karee Aashiqi.....

Time and again, one thing which has kept me kicking all my life living away from my home for almost a decade now, is traveling to new places, meeting lot of people and experiencing the lives of different cities.
Chandigarh is one such city which fascinated me and, I feel I should write about it because , the city buzzes with a romanticism imbibed in its rich architectural and planning heritage.
The city is red , with houses made of exposed bricks, many artistic monuments , rose garden and the happening sector 17 , also called as

ZOO

because of the bird watching( guys talk).
I visited the city , so many times before I really discovered the city life one day with one of my colleague and friend Akshat, who took me for a ride around the city minus the

ZOO

.
The city is bustling with young crowds around the University area, but its same everywhere, right? The difference lies in the open spaces around the university campus, the ART college, D.A.V college , Home Science College, Law college and University of Business Studies, the kind of eating joints in the open spaces, the guys hanging around , the bevy of beautiful gals from Himachal, Punjab , J&K and North East. Infact, my friend who has graduated from D.A.V College, Chandigarh told me that Yuvraj Singh often vistis the D.A.V cricket ground in his BMW, whenever he is in the city and plays cricket there. He was also known to be a big craze among the girls there, which can be accepted by without doubt.
When one moves around the streets, it can be often seen that, people are meeting and talking each other on the shaded footpath in hot summer over a ice-cream, which gives a retro romance look of 70’s movies. Guys moving around in Enfield, black classical style, lazily gazing around makes it more happening.
The food is good with lot of variety and also damn cheap. Though, You need to stand in line to get your hand on your favorite food, as the space is always full with young guys and girls.
Another , exciting observation I felt was the Brand Conscious youth in Chandigarh. It is rarely seen , that some one is having a simple mobile set. w people generally carry latest flashy mobiles, branded jeans and tees and yeah , it looks good on them.
I feel, that there is a perfect combination of city’s architecture and the romantic youthful life the city portrays, making me hum..a popular Punjabi pop..Chandigarh Kare Aashiqi...

The wanderer who never Lost

As usual I am writing after a long time, and also as usual most of the time it takes Paulo Coelho book,

The Alchemist

to ignite my passion for writing. I have been a staunch believer of the story of

The Alchemist

and the fact that, if you are really serious and want to achieve something, than the whole world conspires to help you achieve that.
The essence of my latest poem, The wanderer who never lost without any doubt is inspired from the books that I have read and is a reflectance of whatever learning’s about life and motivation I have gained from those books and not to forget the biggest teacher, one’s own life.


The wanderer who never lost

I was born so distant, from where I stand today
I was struggling so hard, from where I stand today,
I am a wanderer, who traveled so long and distant,
But never lost!

I read, heard so much about so many,
Thinking one day I would be one of the few,
Making my name count and people shout,
Though, I failed so many times, but I never lost!

Life is a journey and me as a wanderer,
Learning lessons and preaching some,
Transforming myself into an iron with a candle soul,
Fighting the odds, and loving you all,
I was hated so many times, but still I never lost!

I am what I am, still miles left to cover,
There is no way; the journey can get over,
I am a wanderer, who believes in moving ahead,
Exploring new horizons, conquering new heights,
And let the world recite his anthem,
I am a wanderer who never lost!

Amit

Travel to Tirupati from Chennai

Going for Lord Balaji Darshan always gives me a lot of strength, inspiration and peace of mind. The whole experience is very rejuvenating and grand.
I have earlier written on travel to Tirupati from Bangalore and I get quite a no. of response for that travelogue. I feel privileged to write on Tirupati travel and my post is on travel guidelines for Tirupati from Chennai.
There are ITDC, Tamilnadu Tourism, AP tourism and many private operator buses operating from Chennai. I have recently not traveled from private operators buses, but have heard from people that the ITDC, Tamilnadu Tourism, AP tourism are the best tour operators.
I collected info. on ITDC and APTDC and found their package as very good. To book an ITDC ticket, you need to book it at least 1-2 weeks in advance, as there is huge rush in ITDC. The ticket cost is Rs 950 and it starts at 5 am in the morning and returns to Chennai by 9.30 pm the same day.
I was not able to get the ITDC package and hence tried for AP tourism package. AP tourism package can be get in 2-3 days advance, if there is not any special occasion like Braham Mahotsav in month of September or any other special occasion.
There are 2 packages in APTDC: Rs. 850 package which starts in the morning 5 am and returns Chennai the same day by 9.30 pm. This package includes the breakfast and lunch in AP tourism restaurant.
The other package is Rs 1100, which starts at 6.45 pm in the evening and returns to Chennai the next day by 5 pm. The highlight of this package is that you can get Lord Balaji Darshan in morning hours (between 5-6 am) during the aarti. I has taken the Rs 1100 package and felt really good on having the Darshan during the aarti with lots of bells ringing, the priest chanting the holy mantra and the joy of having the Darshan as the first activity in the morning.
I traveled on 3rd of October 2007. My bus started from AP tourism office, T.Nagar , Chennai at 6.45 pm. The bus reached an AP tourism place by around 10 pm in the night. It stops at this place for the devotees to take their dinner. After around half an hour, the bus will start again and reach the AP tourism guest house by around 11.30 pm. This particular package includes accommodation in the guest house from 11.30 pm to 3.30 am.
The guest house is decent in terms of facilities and comfort. The accommodation is provided on a group basis, like if 2-3 people are traveling together, then they will get one room.
I was traveling alone, so I was sharing the room with another person, Rahul from Mumbai. But, with a single objective in mind of having the Darshan, a stranger doesn’t feel like strangers and devotees feel comfortable in sharing the room. The room is only for 4 hours, so its basically for taking some rest and getting fresh before the Darshan.
By 4.00 am we started again by a local AP tourism state bus, as the Volvos are not allowed on the hills. It takes around 1 hr to reach the temple. The tour guide, Mr. Reddy was very helpful and he explained us about having the Darshan. They have a fix place where you can keep all your belongings like cell phone, slippers etc and its very safe.
We started in the queue by around 5.15 am and it took around 1.30 hours to have the Darshan. After having, the Darshan, we came back the place where we kept our belongings. Then the laddus are distributed to the devotees. The package includes 2 laddus for each devotee; however one can take extra laddu by paying additional money which is around 55 Rs per laddu.
After the Darshan , is done the same bus returns back to the Guest house for having the breakfast. We had our breakfast and then started again by Volvo by around 9 am for visit to Padmavati temple and Kalahasti temple. The visit to this temple was completed by around 12 noon , and after that the bus started its journey back to Chennai. By around 1 pm , we reached the same place where last night he has stopped for the dinner. The passenger can take their lunch at this place. The bus finally reached Chennai by 5 pm in the evening.
The contact no. for AP tourism is 044-65439987 and the office is in Burkit Road, T.Nagar near Canara Bank. I don’t have the ITDC no. now, but you can get it by calling Chennai info at 044-24444444.
The whole journey is comfortable with good roads and nice facilities. And , whatever liitle pain is there , it gets over and transformed into joy after having the Darshan of Lord Balaji.
Please, feel free for any other info. on it and your valuable comments are always welcome.
I would also like to Thank Aditi, whom I have never met, but she was the one who asked me about info. on traveling from Chennai to Tirupati and is one of the motivating force behind writing this article.
Happy Darshan to everyone and may Lord Balaji bless all of us.

A Tribute to my Class teacher - Sister Mary Deepa

I feel lucky enough to study from one of the best convent school in Bihar, Notre Dame Academy.I remember my school days, when I was a real naughty boy who loved playing pranks,making noises in the class and bursting crackers in the school bathrooms.
The sisters used to make me understand , gave punishments also a few times, but my immatured soul full of pure fun was unable to realize these learnings and take their words.
Sister Mary Deepa, was my class teacher in ninth std, who was very strict and always trying to make us undersatnd the disciplined way of living.
She always used to say " Once you go out of this school, no one will stop you doing wrongs in life and then you will miss us". I soon realized it after passing from my school and still these words always linger in my mind.
She was a strict disciplinarian with a pure soul, very hard from outside but totally soft from her heart.
She died in 2003 fighting with cancer. I write this post as a tribute from my side and Notre Dame Academy students.
Following is the excerpts on her life, taken from the website http://www.ndindiamission.org/deepa_obit.htm
SISTER MARY DEEPA, SND

Born: Sept. 1, 1946

Died: July 12, 2003

Sister Deepa, nee Claramma Cherian Kadaprayil, was born on September 1, 1946, in the village of Peringulam in Kerala and was baptised on September 7th, receiving the beautiful name of Clare. She soon adjusted to a large family, being the ninth child of fourteen.

She was quite a tomboy in her childhood, running around and climbing anything she could. Claramma received her education under the tutelage of the Clarist Sisters whose tender care she always felt. She was brought up in a very spiritual environment. Morning and evening prayers were a must, and Our Lady bore a central role in the family. The family members all took a turn in attending daily mass. Since the church was a distance of two miles from the home and there were duties to be taken care of, not everyone could attend on a regular basis.

During her high school years, Claramma became a member of the Mission League and of the Sodality. For some time she had her eye on the missions in the North, and despite protests to the contrary from her relatives, she wrote to Rev. Joseph Maliparampil for information about the missions. He told her about different convents, and she chose to apply to Notre Dame. On July 8th, 1963, in the company of 21 companions, she ventured north with Sisters Anima and Pratima and joined the candidacy on July 13th, 1963. She entered the postulancy on June 17th, 1965, in Jamalpur and was invested on Jan. 6th, 1966, receiving the name of Sister Mary Deepa. She made her temporary profession of vows on Jan. 6th, 1968. Later, on June 21st, 1974, she made her perpetual vows in Patna.

Sister Deepa was privileged to have a younger sister, Sister Mary Shobha, who also entered the Sisters of Notre Dame. Sister is at present on mission in Shinyanga, Tanzania, East Africa. Sister also has a Salesian priest-brother, Father Jose Kadaprayil. Both arrived in time for the burial service at which Father Jose officiated. Sister Tanuja, her niece, who is also a Notre Dame Sister, made it in time to spend the last moments with her aunt. During Sister Deepa's long period of illness, Sister Tanuja periodically visited her and was a source of consolation to her.

Sr. Deepa had been a dedicated teacher in many schools: Hartman School, Patna; Notre Dame Academy, Jamalpur; Campus School, Pantnagar; Sophia High School, Bangalore; Notre Dame Academy, Patna; Loyola School, Gomia; and again a long period of teaching from 1993 - 2001 at Notre Dame Academy, Jamalpur.

Certain features stand out when we look at Sister Deepa:

* Her prayerfulness. She was seen reflectively reading the Bible many times a day. She was known to say three rosaries daily and to have a great devotion to Our Lady.

* Her general knowledge about things. She was a well-read person and was always abreast on current developments, especially in science.

* Her conscientiousness as a teacher. She loved the high school students, especially the boys, and they in turn admired and loved her. She found teaching in an all-girls school a bit boring. "Boys are fun to teach. They don't hold grudges," she said.

* Her love of fun time. She enjoyed a double pinochle game with anyone, especially with those who enjoyed a good laugh and an argument about the score,

* Her giftedness as a cook. Her mushroom soup and her various types of pickles and preserves gave much joy to her Sisters.

* Her loyalty as a community member and as a friend. She stood by her friends come what may.

* Her ability to challenge anyone on any topic. In fact, we could always expect Sister Deepa to refute whatever we said with a "No, that's not right!" Of course, she often recapitulated and came over to our point of view when she knew that what she was saying could be argued with.

* Her love of all created things, especially of plants. As a teacher of biology, she inculcated this love of God's creation in all her students.

Having fallen victim to cancer towards the end of 2001, it remained a mystery to her as to why she had been chosen to suffer this particular cross. It was a cross she courageously accepted, and she endured all the pain, discomfort, and distress unflinchingly. In fact, not one of us could really make out the depths of her suffering.

At the offertory of a mass celebrated by her brother Jose, Sister Deepa prayed: "Lord, I am not asking why or how. I ask for the grace that each one who is praying for me will grow in faith and trust. I am overwhelmed by the love and concern which I am receiving."

Her last days of illness were filled with suffering and uncontrollable moanings of pain, expressions which she had been able to keep well under control when she was better. She surrendered her soul quietly to the Lord at 12:35 on the morning of July 12th, the feast of Saint Julie, our spiritual Mother. It was also a Saturday, a day in honour of Our Blessed Mother whom she loved so well.

Sister Deepa cherished community life. Even in her illness, she participated in the daily eucharistic celebration and community prayers and gatherings. She was ever grateful for all the services rendered to her by the Sisters. Sister Deepa's presence will be missed by the entire province. May her memory live on and inspire her sisters, collaborators, and students.

And so we all say: May your soul attain that eternal happiness, Deepa, that we are all striving for.

Blue Ocean Strategy - how long it can work ?

W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne argue in their book “Blue Ocean Strategy” that tomorrow’s leading companies will succeed not by battling competitors, but by creating “blue oceans” of uncontested market space ripe for growth.
There are lot of reviews written on it by different Management Gurus, highlighting the pros and cons of the strategy. I have tried to analyze some of the questions which came to my mind on reading about the “Blue Ocean Strategy”.
First point, that comes to my mind that how to find an uncontested market, especially in the information rich globalised world where the information and competition is spreading very fast.
True, there are many uncontested market; let’s take an example of the Indian IT companies.
I was reading few months back in Economic Times, that the total IT market size of Europe is around 800 Billion $ , and most of the market is unconquered in terms of IT implementation. All, the Indian IT companies have majority of pie coming from US (more than 50 % for all the Indian IT companies) , and I was also reading that almost all the big IT companies are looking for Europe as their next destination with growing Rupee Appreciation against Dollar and the recent sub-prime crisis and fear of a slowdown in US economy.
Well, how does a company find an uncontested market is the biggest concern, because an uncontested market will always be attractive and this will make it competitive?
A positive point which comes in my mind regarding going for an uncontested market is the first mover advantage. A company for example, Satyam finds an opportunity in an East African country and is the first one to set up its shop there. The country’s economic landscape is low on the Business Confidence Index, and most of the capitalists don’t find it an attractive destination.
Satyam develops the infrastructure there, and starts getting return on its investment. The other companies will soon to be following in, and the advantage of “Blue Ocean Strategy” will fade away.
But, definitely Satyam can have a “first mover advantage” in terms of market penetration. But, with the innovation being copied easily, the lifecycle of first mover advantage has reduced in recent times.
So, I feel that there can be many issues for having a successful “Blue Ocean Strategy” in implementation, but theoretically its one of the best strategy which has come up in recent times. Not completely rejecting the theory, I also feel that it can be used as an advantage by the company with proper planning and execution by creating a high degree of “Brand Value” in the “Blue Ocean” to retain its first mover advantage.

Romance, Inheritance and Adventure

Hi Frens,

I am writing on

Word of the Worlds

after a long time. Life becomes challenging managing so many things, especially after one starts working. But, I always agree, that people can take out time for their interests and passion. I have also been taking out time for my interest i.e. writing, but for long time it has been offline then online.
A kind of trying to convert some dreams into realities, but anyways I am not going to bore you with stuff about me and come straight to the topic.
In this phase of introspection and silence from blogging, I watched many movies and read many books apart from usual work routine. I want to share about a movie, and two books (I am still reading one), which I really liked.
I watched a Hindi Movie called

Cheeni Kum

few days back. The movie is a romantic special as it shows romance between a 64 year old man and a 34 year old woman. The romance between them is simple, just like any other romantic pair of permissible age difference by the society.
They are together because they like each other. Its not infatuation, neither compromise and nor erotic. I felt while watching the movie, as if they are one of the best couple, I have seen in both reel and real life.
Tabu and Amitabh, both have acted very well, and I would recommend this movie to all those, who wants to see the simplicity of love between a couple minus the age difference.
I really liked the movie, may be I like more than many people, because I never felt age difference while making frens in life and some day I may fall in love with an older woman. Anyways, try out this movie, chances are most of you will like it.
One of the recent book, I really liked is by Anita Desai, an Author with an impeccable command over English. This Booker prize winner penned

The inheritance of Loss

. I would term it as a social fiction, which travels miles between America, England and remote parts of India, with such an ease.
The novel revolves around some 10-12 characters who are struggling to settle in a place, where they dont belong to (immigrants). A very surprising thing was the kind of detail, Anita knows about life in a small town or village in India. The psychology of people, the behavior, and the description of the physical features of a land, all seems perfect.
A very good read for all the book lovers!
The latest book, that I am reading (it’s a 950 page fiction) is

Shantaram

by Gregory David Roberts.
The book is a fiction, some sort of Autobiography as well, mixed with lots of his personal experiences. This is a book depicting the black and white shades of Mumbai through the experiences of the Author, who was a Drug dealer and also an absconding criminal lands in Mumbai, and makes Mumbai his first home. He stays in a slum in Mumbai, and narrates his day to day experiences from selling drugs, running a health clinic, working with Mafia, acting in Bollywood to falling in love. The majority of story revolves around Colaba in Mumbai, especially Café Leopold, where he meets many people, observes lots of things and discuses on philosophies of life.
This book is an internationally acclaimed one, and very famous among all the Mumbai lovers. I also heard from one of my friend, that a movie is going to be based on this book and is going to star Johnny Depp, as the Author. I recommend this book, not because of my love towards Mumbai, but the love towards adventures in life.

Ta ra rum pum !!! A simple and beautiful family

My last and current weekend has been really good after a really hectic week and weekend of work . I saw a good family movie and to some extent inspiring as well after a long time. Ta ra rum pum ..Ta ra rum pum..
The movie revolves around a family which faces the joys and sorrows together and always give each other the required support , the family members need at the time of the crisis.
Saif Ali Khan is a flashy car racer , who loves spending money and beleives in today and Rani, a rich girl with a typical middle class values , who wants to save moeny for the future.
They fall in love , get married ,live happily with kids in the posh Manhatten area in New York City . But , the cirumstances change and they have to move to a cab driver locality.They become poor , but they still have the love of esch other which keeps their wheels of optmism rolling and being each other support.
The love between the family has been so fantastically directed , that it never seems unreal or unpractical.
At , the end of the movie the good happens and they get back to their prosperity and sucess, but Saif becoming more responsible and starts beleiving in saving for the future.
The movie story is simple , but the direction is good . The film never seems to be going heavy , no crying fundas even while the family is in crisis.
I surely recommend everyone to watch this movie , to be reminded of the inspiration and support a family provides...
tumhein pata to hoga ...shona ...

Can U make it BIG! Guru

Heard so many success stories, watched people making fortunes out of penny, have you ever thought that can you make it big?
I am sure; you must have thought may be just for moments, but that moment remained as beautiful history, right! The one thing which can give me maximum high making it big, and not the beautiful and famous ladies of the world sitting legs apart for me, or the choicest wines of the world or exotic food, and seriously nothing except the divine power and family in which I truly believe.
It’s another thing, I dont have access to any of these yet, and I acknowledge it without any fear, but certainly I am free to express what I feel. It may be liked by most, hated by few.
The dream of making it big, vision had caught me from childhood itself, but it was lost in the fun of teenage and then struggle with life in making a stand in the 350 million middle class Indian household. I know people rate success based on their own parameter, but that’s not logically correct. It’s a myopic view, and I too was suffering with, till I met some of the people who are making good money in the corporate world. When, I completed my MBA, I wanted a good paying corporate job in hand. I got a decent one, and my family and friends think that I will definitely make good money in life. But hey, is earning 30-35 lakhs or may be 50 lakhs per annum for at age of 40 in corporate world, is really enough.
I am not being greedy, but what if you earn 50 lakhs, who knows you, who identifies you, may be some here and there a picture once in business column. No doubt, people like CEOs or very senior corporate czars as successful, because they influence life. But speaking generally, the world is very big and only few people leave their footprint behind, when they go. I have great respect and admiration for people who have earn millions in corporate world, because it’s a big achievement, no doubt. Please, be clear that I am not talking about achievements in general, but achievement which can influence lives, the world, that is what success is for me. I don’t differentiate between a Honda city and Mercedes; they can afford same comfort, though the latter may be marginally better. Also, this post is not all about money, as well. For me and many of people whom I asked, Ira Bhatt of Sewa (a famous NGO in India) is more successful than any other person who is earning 50 lakhs, but is lost in this big crowd. So guys, money is not the only parameter. But influencing life is making it big. Some do it as Ira, some as DhiruBhai, some as BigB, and some as Naina Kidwai. I am writing this post today, may be I will be lost in the crowd like most of them, but will definitely try once, what I always wanted to do in my life.

Journey on the Nostalgia track

This weekend has been special for me, as I celebrated my new year on this Friday with a friend, from IIFT. Though, we were just Hi hello frens in college, but lately I have known him a lot and also started respecting more than what I used to. He is known as Bali, more by his Nickname than Abhishek.
Well, I am here to discuss what binds between me and Bali. Its the memories... we share which transcends further to the reality today. Though, we didnt used to roam together in IIFT, but we still love discussing the gossips and the debate goes on.
The train of memory started on Friday night and its still moving into flashback with random selection of scenes. It started from my MBA College, moved to my undergraduate college and now I am in my high school surfing through the profiles of lost friends in high school on Orkut and remembering them. I suddenly remember, the naughty activities, the pranks I used to play with my classmates, numerous experimentation with the smoke and Whiskey...watching movies, bursting crackers in classroom and bathroom.
And suddenly, a scene flashes in my mind, and I have deepest regret for that. I had a fight with a girl(Miss M.) during my school days and I had spoken with her badly, which was totally immature on my part. I don’t know why, it seems a small thing in such a long life, but it still haunts and hurt me and hope to come over it someday in my life.
May be, this incident has helped me in respecting women more than what I used to do initially.
I remember , my MBA preparation days, when I literally transformed myself into a studious person, going home at the earliest from the college , increased intake of tea, quitting my favorite old monk and dreaming about my life and goals. And, the day I started getting calls from good colleges, I felt so elated like a winner. Its the passion which drive me towards success and which keeps me kicking.
How, can I forget my most recent beautiful memories which are fresh and live in Hyderabad, where I made a completely different set of friends and had a total different and great form of joyful experience with some of the best people, I have met in my whole life. Those countless games of carom, midnight walks, cribbing about the training schedules still and always linger in my brain and heart.
There are memories which make me embarrassed, but there are memories which also keep my head high. Setting up of the first CSR club Koshish in IIFT is one such achievement. I thank to the strong team of Koshish, which contributed so much for the cause and without them, it would have been impossible.
Let me halt my travel in the memories for some time........and join you in your travel.