Archive for September 2014
My God, Your God
It was waiting to snap any moment. Whether a prominent Fakir is God or not, has been debated for some time. However the level of discourse seems to have come down of late. With self-proclaimed representatives on either sides uttering choicest of expletives on prime-time, it has become an embarrassment for the followers.
My parents are practicing Hindus and heed to every temple under the sun. They also go to Baba’s shrine to pay respects. I am agnostic to idol worship and have never given too much thought into.
More than faith, the issue seems to be the struggle for power. With the rise of the followers of Baba, a new religious authority has come up with equally fat belly and equally fat purse. So who takes the cake?
Whether Baba can be considered a Hindu God and can be placed in Hindu temples is the contention here. The body that guides the temples says NO with the other side lobbying for it. There are allegations of power play, money changing hands and what not.
As if it was not bad enough that successive generations have become disillusioned with idol worships, these fights have made it worse.
Pro-Baba lobby says, “Our sentiments are hurt; when you say remove him from temples”. The other side says, “Our sentiments are hurt; when you force his idol in our temples”.
I say, my brain hurts. Help me God!
What has become of Media?
“Ma’am, any comments on the young actress nabbed for prostitution? Ma’am any comments?” “This was the star actress ladies and gentlemen, who is seen dodging our questions. Bollywood it seems does not want to speak.”
A leading English news channel that talks of one-upmanship aired this. Why in the hell should the actress have commented? Because her movie on this sensitive issue is running in theaters? Because media could connect these two and chalk out a 30 min segment? Kudos!
No one should have aired her identity in the first place. Media has crucified the young lady for the sake of a story. I agree it’s a grey area legally. But given that media regularly question people on propriety, they doing such things is a huge low. What if she was the family member of one of the media honchos? Would things have been the same?
TV media were at least sensitive to blur out her face, but print and online media were the worst. No point naming individuals. Everyone at large was the culprit. Also Naming and Shaming don’t work nowadays as there is no longer any shame; only a race to an attention grabbing news segment.
It’s very sad. Even if she is pronounced guilty (which by the way she has not been yet), no one has the right to parade her story publicly. I know most media people would agree but are helpless given the deteriorating editorial freedom. Money has completely taken over.
Friends, Just so you know, what you have done is beyond repair.
iPhone 6, Apple Watch and us
iPhone 6, Apple Watch. These two names have been trending since morning.
A number of people remain lined up 24X7 outside Apple Stores since last week. Places in those lines are being traded for serious dough. What is it that makes us so crazy?
We can find analogy in the cinematic world. Salman’s movie releases in the North or Rajnikant’s movie releases in the South. People tend to go one over other. They rejoice, enjoy and try to outshine the ever opulent neighbor. Why?
There are two sides to it. One is the devotion to the brand and the personality. People believe in Apple. They want to celebrate it. They want to rejoice. It’s a festival as I have stated sometime before.
Next aspect is jealousy. With the ever expanding world and ever spreading wealth, there is a certain desire to better the other person. People like me follow the set trends and gloat in the possession of the marquee. Why people in a country like India would save money for months to get their hands on the Holy Grail, is not that difficult to understand.
I guess what lies underneath is the satisfaction it provides. I don’t agree that iPhone 6 will provide substantially better services than other market leaders. Then again it has never been about real performance. Why would we love to dine in a 5 star regardless of the taste? It’s about feeling special.
Splashing money is considered an age old reflection of social status. That’s why one goes beyond means to buy an Audi. That’s why one despises Nano. It’s about getting societal acknowledgment. I remember a colleague who looked crestfallen when no one acknowledged his new iPad that he so obviously was trying to flaunt.
For those who disagree, Have you ever seen someone spending beyond his/her means and not flashing the iPhone in front of his peers and not gloating in self glory?
वो रात
बहुत दिनों चली आंखों-२ में बात,
आज हो गयी सच में मुलाक़ात,
बहाने मिले, न ढूँढने पड़े,
तभी थे आमने सामने खड़े।
वो आई कपड़े पहनकर गुलाबी,
उसके कजरारे नैन लग रहे शराबी,
बड़ी मासूमियत से मुखवाणी निकाली,
है उसकी जुल्फें या घटा काली-काली।
आज लग रही वो सम्पूर्ण नारी,
पांडू के बाद हाय मेरी मती हारी,
कामदेव का बाण चल ही गया,
सारा संसार लगने लगा नया।
होने लगी पुष्प की वर्षा,
बजने लगी प्रेम की त्रिवेणी,
इतने दिनों का इंतज़ार,
कर रहा था हमें जार-जार।
लगा था जैसे बीती हों सदियाँ,
बहने दो आज स्नेह की नदियाँ
बंधे सारे तार, झुके सारे नैन,
दिल को करार औ हृदय को चैन।
दो जिस्म एक हो ही गए,
दोनों के नयन भी एक हुए,
उसके गाल पर काला तिल,
बन ही गया हमारा दिल।।
Best Hindi News Anchor
In this era of 24×7 media, the number of news channels is increasing day by day. Most look clones of each other though. For those who doubt, here are some names, India News, News India, India TV, News Nation, News 24 and News Express.
The fight is on for the prime-time with each channel lining up its own set of debate moderators. I claim to be one of the avid viewers of these debates. Even then if you ask me who the best Hindi debate anchor is, I will struggle.
Each one has his/her own style. There are likes of Gentle Shweta Singh Aajtak, Probing Neha Pant Abp News, On the money Saurav Sharma India TV, No nonsense Abhigyan Prakash NDTV, Luxuriously lazy Deepak Chaurasia India News among others.
But one Gentleman that stands out for me is Ravish Kumar NDTV. Hailing from the Hindi heartland, Mr. Kumar is one person who holds debates in the true sense. He eases the participants into such a comfort zone where there are no high pitch voices, no headaches. He passes such canny silent remarks which rattle even the toughest. He gives everyone so much time that the real nuances of the debate come to the fore.
He take no side, lose no temper and raise no voice; still is able to bring out the story. He laughs; he seems lazy; he jokes; he uses vintage proverbs and brings in a mystic touch. He proves that to make your voice heard, you need not be loud. He believes that all views need to be heard, however absurd they may be.
He speaks the least, still is able to steer the debate with his wit and wisdom. He shows that true value of a smile is not lost as yet.
Well done Mr. Ravish Kumar.
The Air
Remember that moment; when you were alone with a beautiful girl in an elevator. Ah! That ever rising elevator with a stranger. You tucked in your tummy; took out your new Smartphone; swiped your hairs; a curious peak; the most charming smile. Just when you were about to hit pay dirt, a whiff of that air, breaking the silence, causing her to cover her nose and leaving you embarrassed.
Has happened to the best of us. One wonders that air can be this critical. Timing is important too. I had a friend who felt disgusted when someone did it in his presence. His solution was you should go out of the room in case you feel the itch. I reckon what his solution would have been for the elevator.
Another scenario. You are giving an interview. Things are going hunky dory. Then come the air. In a panel interview you can probably deflect the blame. But in a 1-0-1, what can you do? One might even lose the rhythm. No pun intended.
Similar thing could occur during the first date, first day at job, during a presentation. The list is endless. Can we do anything? Well I for one have not been able to. I guess some things are beyond our control. One can either let it pass, or twist in agony till it pass.
BJP goes the Cong way
What is happening in Delhi today saddens me. Horse-trading has been a cruel reality of Indian politics but expectations from Modi era was different.
The anger among youth was the reason for ouster of Cong at the Centre. This anger was largely due to corrupt practices and policies of quid pro quo. BJP seems to have failed the very first test.
“L-G will take his decision. Let us be invited by L-G first”. Such hiding behind the LG/Governors/Presidents back was what Congress did for last 10 years. It was good for TV debates, but the common man was not fooled; given all above constitutional posts toe the Home Ministry.
What BJP has to realize is youth of today is not as patient. We see through the deception. The arrogance that I see today from BJP spokespersons is like a slap on my face. Congress was voted out due to this very arrogance. Sad to see BJP repeating it.
Today’s sting operation was just a formality. Everyone was aware what was happening behind the doors.
We all lapped up to each and every Modi-vachan through elections and beyond. There was a Modi speech on the TV today. I changed the channel.
Déjà vu
Don’t the below logo seems similar. I am sure it’s just a coincidence. Some are a bit far fetched. Interesting though.
1. Google Chrome v/s Doordarshan
2. Bluetooth v/s Bajaj
3. Katrina v/s Nirma
4. Twitter v/s Ek Chidiya (Children Song)
5. Google Drive v/s Superman
6. Drona v/s Dettol
Predatory pricing of Airlines
Almost all Indian airlines are running into huge losses. This begs a question, “Why do they operate at all? Why not shut down altogether?” The answer lies in getting funding and tapping potential future market.
With absurdly low fares (less than even bus/train fare) how can the airlines survive? Should they keep living the life of attrition till they go bankrupt and eventually shut down? This ridiculous pricing is one of the major reasons for their current state.
I feel the Time for airlines has not yet arrived in India. The current crop of airlines will keep on bleeding till the air traffic increases leaps and bounds and the fares stabilize. When this will happen in a country like India is a question to answer.
When customers regale in 500/- pricing, what they don’t realize is the hidden cost. Such pricing aims to give the common man a taste of air travel, and hopes that he gets addicted to it. So when the fares become higher eventually, he will have no option but to choose air travel.
Given the bleeding Air India, Defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Struggling Jet-Airway and On ventilator SpiceJet, I strongly believe it is not the right way. Airlines eventually default on bank loans/government help, burden of which indirectly falls on the same traveler.
I think DGCA should come up with minimum airfare policy which the airlines need to follow. This minimum airfare should compensate the cost to the airline for a single trip. The fuel cost, airport charges, salaries and aircraft maintenance charges among others. This will result in the real foot-fall and not the created surge. Airlines will grow according to this real market.
The predatory pricing has to go if air industry needs to survive.
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