1. To take up the Page Rank on Google and Alexa -- I would be needing your help on this
2. To complete the long list of ToDo at office -- more about that in another blog entry :)
3. To concentrate on those conference calls. Make them worthwhile.
4. And finally, stay away from all trouble ;)
In line with the changing times, added a few new features (Guest Book, Site Meter) etc and also changed the template to give it that new winter look :)
Feebdack welcome.
Hello All
A little different theme this time around.
Have decided to stay back in Kolkata for the Pujas instead of going home. And man, did it pay off or what?
I wouldn't say nething more. See it for yourself. But yes one thing. I have seen Diwali in Delhi Chandi Chowk and Ganesh Chaturdhi in Bombay and Hyderabad. But let me tell you, Puja @ Kolkata beats all of them just on hte back of enthusiasm and excitement shown by the general public. They just go crazy. Yes, they take off the rest of the year but Bongs during Puja are the most passionate people I have seen.
More in photos,
More Photos from Ashtami, Navami and Dasami to follow.
luv
Whoa... 3 months is a long time to be away from action. But i guess these are the sacrifices one has to make for a successful career (rofl in background).
Anyway, so what has been happening? On a personal front, things look good. Hope it stays that way.
And career bole tho, nothing exciting. But I shall not bore my readers with menial stuff like this. Straight to action --
What has been appalling me is the way marketers think (yours truly included). Why do we think that we can sell any damn product by saying that it will get you women. Let me just list a few ads from the top of my mind that have used this approach...
a. Axe
b. Wild Fire (or sth like that)
c. Cinthol
d. Zen Estillo
e. Wagon R
f. SX 4 (I see a pattern here)
g. Scorpio
h. Hair Gels
i. Pulsar
j. Some other bike which i dont even rmr now
h. Mouth Fresheners like Minto
i. Chewing gums like Wrigleys
So basically, if i am using soap, shampoo, hair gels, deodarants or even cars and suvs or bikes and even if i am chewing gum my only objective is to hook up with women.
Now this actually poses problem. If i use axe, I will have women swimming the seas and climbing down the hills but if i use this wild fire (or is it wild stone) i hv a chance to get laid (and that too a bong babe -- hint - puja chantings behind) while if i use a cinthol i can be sure of getting a lift from a set of hot babes. So now what do i choose -- if i am the type of f*ck and forget i should use Wild Fire but if i am of the type who wants to be centre of attraction i should use Axe while i am the seeda saada whose dreams end at creating a positive first impression i should use Cinthol.
This moral / mental dillemma can be extended to other product categories as well. If i buy a wagon r, i can invite my photographer friend over to click photographs of me along with hot babes (ohh... along with the car). But if i buy a SX4, i can proudly proclaim that men are back (now that makes me feel truly like a man). But wait, if i buy a scorpio i will have women chasing me on water scooters (now that is sexy). But the best, i should buy a zen estillo in case i am harboring plans of eloping with my girl friend so that i can make my would be father in law forget that i am eloping with his daughter.
And should i chew a gum that promises babes jumping out at me from most unthoughtable locations or should i settle for rakhi sawant (yuck!!).
I always thought advertisements were suppose to make an impression on my mind so that next time around i have a requirement for that product category -- i shd rmr the ad and make a choice. But, now whenever i have to buy a car, i hv to first decide what are my intentions -- frget the stats.
Advertising is supposed to make my buying easier -- not inflict moral dillemmas on me and make it difficult :)
Warning -- Some of them might be a little senti :P
In no particular order
1. Rudraveena starring Chiranjeevei and Shobhana -- Language - Telugu
There is this scene in the movie where Suryam (Chiranjeevi) goes to a poor farmer's house. He finds the farmer's daughter there and inquires about her father's health (who met with some accident or sth like that). She replies saying that he is still a drunkard, comes late in the night, beats up her mom and abuses her and that nothing has changed. Meanwhile, he asks her about her mother who is inside the house (it is btw nth more than a shack). This girl calls out for her and the mother responds by asking her to come in. The girl goes in and the mother comes out. Mom and daughter whisper to each other and though we don't get to exactly hear the conversation, we realise that the mom is berating the daughter for something. Mom comes out finally and starts talking to Suyram. In the conversation, there is a reference to the daughter and she answers without coming out to which Suryam asks her to come out. The camera moves on to the mother and she says that if her daughter has to come out, she has to go in as there is only one saree in the house and that they have to share it.
The camera moves on to Suryam and we here Sri Sri's nenu saitam in the background. Amazing scene, not for the way it is picturized or anything. Just for the simple concept. Poverty at it's worst. And I am sure, this is not an exaggeration.
2. Saagara Sangamam starring Kamal Haasan and Jaya Pradha -- Language - Telugu
Both the protagonists are sitting in a park when Jayapradha (don't rmr her character's name) asks Balu (Kamal Haasan) if he has ever attended a particular music and dance festival. He replies saying that quite a few years back he managed to source an invitation from his guru but in the last minute had to cancel the trip as he was out of money. She says that she has a few invitations to this years event and that she can lend him one. Balu is like very happy and says that it is a forum where the greatest dancers of the country come together. She takes out an invitation and hands it over him. He starts going thru the contents and remarks that this year around, all the dancers are very talented. Suddenly he sees his own picture in the invitation and he goes speechless -- to which Jaya pradha says that even the person in the picture is a great dancer. We suddenly see tears rolling down Balu's face and he hides his face behind the invitation. Few seconds later, he looks up and we see him laughing / smiling.
The way Kamal Hasan acts in this scene is simply remarkable. There are scenes from other movies too (like Mahanadi where he goes in search of his daughter and manages to find her in a whore-house in Calcutta) where he manages to make audience senti. But this particular scene -- I don't really have words. I always end up having goose-bumps when I see this. The way his emotions change in a matter of few seconds is really really worth watching.
3. Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith
The last scene where he manages to secure himself a job with the company. He is extremely happy / thrilled and the way he dances once he comes out of the office -- again remarkable.
There is something in these two emotions -- sadness and joy that makes them universal. Was reading this book called emotions. He says stuff which most of us are aware that sadness and joy are universal emotions and people across the world react in a similar way to similar triggers. No wonder, we sometimes tend to understand the moods of the other person without them explicitly saying anything.
