Look what I discovered!!
In a previous post, I had mentioned my love for music and my desire to learn guitar....
Now, I was scourching through my vast library of music, well actually only 12 GB of it, I know ppl who can easily claim that figure with an extra zero. But I think the collection I have is pretty good. And add to that, the vast resource which I listen to online (coolmusic.com), I had enough on my hand for a year. But nevertheless, I was getting a little bored of the Indian and American artists, in fact, for that matter, with all music in English and Hindi. So, I took the help of another 2 American gifts to mankind to search for music, which was more classical and unadulterated with modern styles.
The 2 gifts were "youtube" and "globalization". And I found the music I always wanted to hear. You must have heard it a lot in the works of many a great bands like the Eagles. But this one was pure and classical.
The instrument is the spanish guitar and I chose my personal favorite, the acoustic version ....the music ofcourse spanish!!
and the artist, 'John Clarke' who, so rightly, is trying to reach a global audience with the help of youtube, has posted some amazing stuff...
Here...have a look yourself!!
Song name: "The Most Evolved"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHU-AJTn0I8&NR=1
There are many more music works shared by him..do check them out..
The work is exquisite and the music so rich!
And the great thing is...the artist here makes it look so easy!!
Spanish Guitar rocks!! It simply touches the heart!!
And am not gonna stop here...music is without boundaries and am gonna explore everything from Chinese to Malaysian to African to Latino to French to Italian to Russian and not to forget the unexplored and almost obscure but brilliant works in Indian music as well!!
Sunday 1 July, 2007
Wednesday 27 June, 2007
Inspiration - Terra Incognita!!
Inspirations can sometimes come from sources terra incognita!!
Unknown... unusual... but they inspire you more than the best inspirational lecturer can!!
Every evening while I walk down from my building gate to my apartment, I hear the sound of someone playing guitar. It is not the best effort...I have heard better...but there is a passion which comes through...You get a feeling that its being played only to satisfy the player...
I don't know who the player is and might never know him either and yet in a way, he has inspired me the most in recent times. He inspires me to live a life beyond the mundane affairs of regular eat-work-tv-surf-sleep (with a little more of eat and sleep) He inspires me to fulfil all my aspirations, things i have always wanted to try, hobbies i always wanted to have and little activities i always wanted to indulge in, activities which can make my life truly interesting and rich!
And the inspiration is not without effect...I love listening to good music and when i say music, it is not songs, it is the beats and rhythm and instruments which i love to listen more than the lyrics. So I upgraded my hapless pc speakers to new ones which are capable of delivering the right notes and boy I am glad!!
Small steps these but they have set me rolling...I plan to learn guitar or atleast begin guitar lessons in the next one year. I am inspired to do all those things in life which I always wished to. A little effort backed by a lot of passion is all it requires to set the ball rolling.
I have got the passion, now lets get that little effort on!!!!
Unknown... unusual... but they inspire you more than the best inspirational lecturer can!!
Every evening while I walk down from my building gate to my apartment, I hear the sound of someone playing guitar. It is not the best effort...I have heard better...but there is a passion which comes through...You get a feeling that its being played only to satisfy the player...
I don't know who the player is and might never know him either and yet in a way, he has inspired me the most in recent times. He inspires me to live a life beyond the mundane affairs of regular eat-work-tv-surf-sleep (with a little more of eat and sleep) He inspires me to fulfil all my aspirations, things i have always wanted to try, hobbies i always wanted to have and little activities i always wanted to indulge in, activities which can make my life truly interesting and rich!
And the inspiration is not without effect...I love listening to good music and when i say music, it is not songs, it is the beats and rhythm and instruments which i love to listen more than the lyrics. So I upgraded my hapless pc speakers to new ones which are capable of delivering the right notes and boy I am glad!!
Small steps these but they have set me rolling...I plan to learn guitar or atleast begin guitar lessons in the next one year. I am inspired to do all those things in life which I always wished to. A little effort backed by a lot of passion is all it requires to set the ball rolling.
I have got the passion, now lets get that little effort on!!!!
Tuesday 26 June, 2007
The Truth about Happiness
Read this somewhere...really liked this!
"Happiness is not about having everything you want but wanting everything you have"
I am a striver and continue to strive to get more than before as it is human nature and it is what keeps me going, but somewhere the truth in the statement above helps me strike a balance.
It helps me enjoy the things I already have while I am striving for more!!
"Happiness is not about having everything you want but wanting everything you have"
I am a striver and continue to strive to get more than before as it is human nature and it is what keeps me going, but somewhere the truth in the statement above helps me strike a balance.
It helps me enjoy the things I already have while I am striving for more!!
Saturday 23 June, 2007
I like Missy Elliott's music...ask me why?
Was just remembering the good ol' days when i was an engineering student. Those were the days when I was learning the real rules of life, rules I can use and make practical sense. Somehow I feel that all what u learn in school, all those 12 years of schooling is not really to learn the basics of life and get prepared for it. Those days are truly to get you prepared for college where u learn the real rules. And engineering teaches you more than u ask for! Neways u've got one more year in college than other under-grads, so u get to learn that much more, not abt the subjects but abt life.
U learn the rules of love, of politics, of personality, of friendship and the most important lesson u learn is that life isn't as simple as it looked when in school where u had limited and simple choices like 'do i want to do my homework today or do i want to go out and play cricket?' But then u learn that life's gonna be a lot more complex and there are a thousand choices at every stage and thousand people would advise u a thousand ways to do a thousand different things.
And the Indian engineer is even more confused, he's got more choices than any other damn professional in the world...
1. A thousand jobs profiles to choose from and a thousand jobs in each profile
2. Choice of MBA vs MS vs PHd vs Job vs Business
3. Work in India vs Work Abroad
4. Study in India vs Study Abroad
5. A thousand cute girls around you so u really don't know where to spend the efforts and where the real ROI is gonna be
6. Long distance relationship (LDR) vs Local Flings
7. A thousand places to hang out to and a thousand types of acquaintances to hang out with
and
8. Finally, since I wanna speak about music here...a thousand music genres to select from, go the indipop way, or the ghazals, or the rock n heavy metal stuff, or trance, etc, etc.
You are real confused with all those choice, atleast I was...
So, when I heard Missy Elliott's "Get your Freak on" for the first time, I just fell in love with her music...
Why? B'cos it was simple music - peppy nursery rhyme beats, extremely basic lyrics and sounds which must have been very common with us humans when we had not developed the art of language!!
And so I love the music, bcos its simple, all the songs have the message right up and makes me dance to it!!!
And talking about basic instinct...nothing can be more basic than the lyrics of Missy Elliott's famous rendition "Work It"....
There is no choice here, u just gotta 'WORK IT'!!!
Check out the lyrics at "http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/missymisdemeanorelliott/workit.htm" or hear the song on http://www.coolmusiczone.com/album/7858/Respect%20Me-Missy%20Elliott.html
Njoi and keep life simple!!!
The City with a Soul!!
I recently got a mail from a fellow Mumbaikar which discussed the essence of a Mumbaikar....one of the many 'You know you are truly a Mumbaikar when..' mails!!
But, it got me thinking about my own feelings about Mumbai.
Mumbai is a city of cities and there are thousands of worlds within this world, so what is the essence of Mumbai and is there an essence after all?
Well, my first impulse (and i still feel that) was that there is something about Mumbai, and its not the look, not the smell, not how the people dress, not the money, not the buildings, but something more sublime which instantly tells u that u are in Mumbai. Its the same feeling which u get on meeting a fellow Mumbaikar in a different city or country. So, I came to a conclusion that the city must have a soul, which gives it its essence!
Every city is made of numerous microcosms of itself each with its own flavor but there is only one soul to the city! The 'soul', like a halo, glows around the diverse flavors and colors which garnish the city. And no city exemplifies this better than 'Mumbai'.
So, the first thing about Mumbai and a Mumbaikar is their love for each other, a 'love' so different from any other known in the world...
Well, lets just accept the fact that its not easy to live in Mumbai and yet in a strange way it is truly 'a city with a life'. I mean Mumbaikars spend a quarter of their lives travelling and 'travelling' is a euphemism for a much more arduous feat which only Mumbaikars can achieve day after day. Whether its the flooding trains or bustling buses or the beeline of screeching autos...
And yet again, this very time which Mumbaikars spend travelling is the easiest way of getting a taste of 'Basic Instincts'. Not in the context of the famous movie ;) but something truly very basic, the 'instinct of survival'. I can truly make a strong argument against the director's claim for I truly believe that survival is the most basic instinct although the one conveyed in the legendary movie comes a very close second! :)
It is a state of Nirvana...the only thing u are capable of remembering at that point of time is that u are alive!!
So ,in a way, the city tests u every day and u have to prove your worth each day to the city, then only u can wear the prestigious tag of a 'Mumbaikar' and once you get the tag, its not easy, in fact almost impossible, to give the tag away.
So a true Mumbaikar loves his city like a man loves his long married wife....he curses her, he argues with her, dreams of prettier women he could have got married to, even has a few flings here and there but finally knows no other arms where he can peacefully sleep. He enjoys the flings but each time realises the worth of his own wife and draws closer to her.
Rajkapoor must have had this city in mind when he sung the song 'Jeena yahaan, marna yahaan, iske siva jaana kahaan...' in his insightful creation 'Mera naam Joker'. So, then what does the city offer to the Mumbaikar.
And a Mumbaikar myself, I can just feel, not really express, what the city has to offer for all the hurdles it presents. I can speak of it being the only city in the world which is a country's financial capital with 3 lakes, a national park, a mountain range, beaches, a naval base and port with the most accomodating people ever. But truly it is not just all this which defines the city, there is something more to it which I can't really express which differentiates itself from any other place on the planet. Think it is the soul...
The city's got a soul!!
But, it got me thinking about my own feelings about Mumbai.
Mumbai is a city of cities and there are thousands of worlds within this world, so what is the essence of Mumbai and is there an essence after all?
Well, my first impulse (and i still feel that) was that there is something about Mumbai, and its not the look, not the smell, not how the people dress, not the money, not the buildings, but something more sublime which instantly tells u that u are in Mumbai. Its the same feeling which u get on meeting a fellow Mumbaikar in a different city or country. So, I came to a conclusion that the city must have a soul, which gives it its essence!
Every city is made of numerous microcosms of itself each with its own flavor but there is only one soul to the city! The 'soul', like a halo, glows around the diverse flavors and colors which garnish the city. And no city exemplifies this better than 'Mumbai'.
So, the first thing about Mumbai and a Mumbaikar is their love for each other, a 'love' so different from any other known in the world...
Well, lets just accept the fact that its not easy to live in Mumbai and yet in a strange way it is truly 'a city with a life'. I mean Mumbaikars spend a quarter of their lives travelling and 'travelling' is a euphemism for a much more arduous feat which only Mumbaikars can achieve day after day. Whether its the flooding trains or bustling buses or the beeline of screeching autos...
And yet again, this very time which Mumbaikars spend travelling is the easiest way of getting a taste of 'Basic Instincts'. Not in the context of the famous movie ;) but something truly very basic, the 'instinct of survival'. I can truly make a strong argument against the director's claim for I truly believe that survival is the most basic instinct although the one conveyed in the legendary movie comes a very close second! :)
It is a state of Nirvana...the only thing u are capable of remembering at that point of time is that u are alive!!
So ,in a way, the city tests u every day and u have to prove your worth each day to the city, then only u can wear the prestigious tag of a 'Mumbaikar' and once you get the tag, its not easy, in fact almost impossible, to give the tag away.
So a true Mumbaikar loves his city like a man loves his long married wife....he curses her, he argues with her, dreams of prettier women he could have got married to, even has a few flings here and there but finally knows no other arms where he can peacefully sleep. He enjoys the flings but each time realises the worth of his own wife and draws closer to her.
Rajkapoor must have had this city in mind when he sung the song 'Jeena yahaan, marna yahaan, iske siva jaana kahaan...' in his insightful creation 'Mera naam Joker'. So, then what does the city offer to the Mumbaikar.
And a Mumbaikar myself, I can just feel, not really express, what the city has to offer for all the hurdles it presents. I can speak of it being the only city in the world which is a country's financial capital with 3 lakes, a national park, a mountain range, beaches, a naval base and port with the most accomodating people ever. But truly it is not just all this which defines the city, there is something more to it which I can't really express which differentiates itself from any other place on the planet. Think it is the soul...
The city's got a soul!!
Saturday 14 April, 2007
Run up to the alter!
Well, I celebrated my birthday a few days back and 't was quite a wonderful one with friends and colleagues making it truly unforgettable! And there were a lot of things which happened that day but one thing which really was unforgettable , was the naughty message on my birthday cake written by my flat-mates Tushar and Pranav.
It read
"Happy Bday Anky,
26 and Single"
LOL!!!!!
And Pranav, with his cutting sense of humor, further went on to wish me saying
"Happy Birthday dude.
It is a very momentous day for you, njoi it to the core,
u have moved from your 'fun early-20s' to the 'stormy late-20s' "
and the thought just stuck on to me.
Stormy, they are goin' to be...
So much happens in the late 20s...u get married, start 'saving'(what's that?), mebbe have kids, focus on career,....Just so much happens indeed!
So, this post focusses on the first late-20s 'storm' to come in my life->"MARRIAGE"!!
Just as I had passed out of NITIE (in Jan 07) and was about to join my job, my aunt made the legendary statement which scares the shit out of every bachelor when he hears it the first time -
"You are well-settled now. It's time you got married!!!!"
And now the statement was ringing back in my ears.
(what follows is purely a work of fiction, any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely incidental, although I am sure that most of us would relate completely with what follows)
Just a year back when a cousin was committed and crazily in love, her mom, worried by his crazy ways, had voiced her concerns to her brother, m y dad.
My dad, who always has a very witty style of putting things, plainly told his sister
"Don't worry honey,
Love is a temporary insanity curable only by marriage,
get them married"
And so my cousin got married with all fan fare and I, the best man at the ceremony was in the thick of that crazy little process with all its exitement and nervous moments, that it left me wondering, why is marriage so important?
But, now a year later, I saw myself call up my dad to tell him that I am thinking about marriage and need his advice on the same. I wanted to know if marriage was really that important and my dad in his usual style made it so clear to me -
"If it weren't for marriage, men and women would have to fight with complete strangers!!"
So with the importance of marriage so firmly impressed on my mind, I now wanted to know how should I best proceed with the entire process and he quipped "Son, the secret of getting married and being happy during it is to Keep your eyes open before marriage and Half-shut after it"
Just a little shaken by the tremendous message he had so plainly delivered, I went on to ask him what should I look for in a potential spouse and if my parents have any constraints on the kind of spouse I should select.
Now, as lucky as I am, my parents are a liberal lot and really have no caste/religion/language barriers to my choice of spouse (although I should admit that being from India and thankfully so, bride from opposite sex was a precondition ;) )
But there was one little piece of advice which my dad gave me which I admire it for the way it was delivered. He said -
"Marrying is like buying something you've been admiring for a long time in a shop window. You may love it when you get it home, but it doesn't always go with everything else in the house"
Truly so, I thought!
I was getting interested now abt this whole marriage thing, although going by the way my interests were swinging- be it games, hobbies, GFs or JOBS, I was not sure if this interest was gonna last. Lol!! ;)
But, nevertheless, I further enquired how to know if the lady I was meeting would be the right choice for me in the long term and he again had a very practical solution to this very tricky problem. He said that although it has always been a gamble, u can still improve the odds by doing a little bit of R&D. "Check out how the girl's mom looks like now and how your potential ma-in-law carries herself. Like mother, like daughter and you can also know if the shine on the cup u plan to win is gonna last or not!!"
Brilliant I should say and I would rather believe this, knowing that my nanny, even at the age of 84, has enviable beauty and my mom too has kept the unspoken promise she made, when my dad first saw her. ;)
Now, armed with some basic inputs on how to open the innings, I set out to discuss the issue with someone my own age, a college friend who, as I later realized, was not in the same life stage. He was truly taken aback by the mention of that word "marriage" and his countenance changed contour to an expression of disgust. He made me really think so hard with a solid logic, very typical of us engineers, that it really shook me.
He blasted me saying -
"If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many women
for the criticism of one,
go ahead, get married!"
He further went on to emphasise his point saying -
"That a married couple was able to live together happily, day after day, is a miracle even the Vatican has overlooked"
And even while I was understandably shaken by the strong words of my friend, another friend, who had recently got an early divorce to a failed marriage, tried in vain, to help me saying that I need not worry so much about it bcos, in any case, Marriage is like wine, it is not properly judged until the second glass and not fully appreciated until the third!!!
This was it...I knew now why marriage draws so much attention and importance in life. Its because Marriage is like an adventure, its like goin on war, a war u eventually have to wage for eternal peace or so they would have you believe!!!
Do put in the comments, if u have liked this post and also my style of writing :)
- Anky
It read
"Happy Bday Anky,
26 and Single"
LOL!!!!!
And Pranav, with his cutting sense of humor, further went on to wish me saying
"Happy Birthday dude.
It is a very momentous day for you, njoi it to the core,
u have moved from your 'fun early-20s' to the 'stormy late-20s' "
and the thought just stuck on to me.
Stormy, they are goin' to be...
So much happens in the late 20s...u get married, start 'saving'(what's that?), mebbe have kids, focus on career,....Just so much happens indeed!
So, this post focusses on the first late-20s 'storm' to come in my life->"MARRIAGE"!!
Just as I had passed out of NITIE (in Jan 07) and was about to join my job, my aunt made the legendary statement which scares the shit out of every bachelor when he hears it the first time -
"You are well-settled now. It's time you got married!!!!"
And now the statement was ringing back in my ears.
(what follows is purely a work of fiction, any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely incidental, although I am sure that most of us would relate completely with what follows)
Just a year back when a cousin was committed and crazily in love, her mom, worried by his crazy ways, had voiced her concerns to her brother, m y dad.
My dad, who always has a very witty style of putting things, plainly told his sister
"Don't worry honey,
Love is a temporary insanity curable only by marriage,
get them married"
And so my cousin got married with all fan fare and I, the best man at the ceremony was in the thick of that crazy little process with all its exitement and nervous moments, that it left me wondering, why is marriage so important?
But, now a year later, I saw myself call up my dad to tell him that I am thinking about marriage and need his advice on the same. I wanted to know if marriage was really that important and my dad in his usual style made it so clear to me -
"If it weren't for marriage, men and women would have to fight with complete strangers!!"
So with the importance of marriage so firmly impressed on my mind, I now wanted to know how should I best proceed with the entire process and he quipped "Son, the secret of getting married and being happy during it is to Keep your eyes open before marriage and Half-shut after it"
Just a little shaken by the tremendous message he had so plainly delivered, I went on to ask him what should I look for in a potential spouse and if my parents have any constraints on the kind of spouse I should select.
Now, as lucky as I am, my parents are a liberal lot and really have no caste/religion/language barriers to my choice of spouse (although I should admit that being from India and thankfully so, bride from opposite sex was a precondition ;) )
But there was one little piece of advice which my dad gave me which I admire it for the way it was delivered. He said -
"Marrying is like buying something you've been admiring for a long time in a shop window. You may love it when you get it home, but it doesn't always go with everything else in the house"
Truly so, I thought!
I was getting interested now abt this whole marriage thing, although going by the way my interests were swinging- be it games, hobbies, GFs or JOBS, I was not sure if this interest was gonna last. Lol!! ;)
But, nevertheless, I further enquired how to know if the lady I was meeting would be the right choice for me in the long term and he again had a very practical solution to this very tricky problem. He said that although it has always been a gamble, u can still improve the odds by doing a little bit of R&D. "Check out how the girl's mom looks like now and how your potential ma-in-law carries herself. Like mother, like daughter and you can also know if the shine on the cup u plan to win is gonna last or not!!"
Brilliant I should say and I would rather believe this, knowing that my nanny, even at the age of 84, has enviable beauty and my mom too has kept the unspoken promise she made, when my dad first saw her. ;)
Now, armed with some basic inputs on how to open the innings, I set out to discuss the issue with someone my own age, a college friend who, as I later realized, was not in the same life stage. He was truly taken aback by the mention of that word "marriage" and his countenance changed contour to an expression of disgust. He made me really think so hard with a solid logic, very typical of us engineers, that it really shook me.
He blasted me saying -
"If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many women
for the criticism of one,
go ahead, get married!"
He further went on to emphasise his point saying -
"That a married couple was able to live together happily, day after day, is a miracle even the Vatican has overlooked"
And even while I was understandably shaken by the strong words of my friend, another friend, who had recently got an early divorce to a failed marriage, tried in vain, to help me saying that I need not worry so much about it bcos, in any case, Marriage is like wine, it is not properly judged until the second glass and not fully appreciated until the third!!!
This was it...I knew now why marriage draws so much attention and importance in life. Its because Marriage is like an adventure, its like goin on war, a war u eventually have to wage for eternal peace or so they would have you believe!!!
Do put in the comments, if u have liked this post and also my style of writing :)
- Anky
Thursday 12 April, 2007
I still don't have a TV set and the culprits are the stupid advertisers!!
(A long one, but should be a mouthful I hope)
A cocktail of cricket, acting, IT and management...
---------------------------------------------
When I curse the advertisers for my not having a TV, I am not talking abt any abhorrence of the umpteen commercial breaks which riddle my favorite TV shows. In fact, given the lack of originality in current Indian television,it makes these commercials very inviting.
They are like the "20-20s" of TV, short and packed with humor, action and originality. The "Tests" of Indian television, its the Saas-bahu sagas of course, which i am referring to, have quickly started losing clout and so have the "one-dayers", the so called sit-coms, which are dying for lack of differentiation! (my tribute to Philip Kotler :) )
So, I see commercials picking up big time with channels which would only air commercials, mebbe even have an "on demand" advertisements model!! So, u are missing your girl and ur cell phones discharged, the famous "Hutch" ad with the cute boy and puppy might help your emotions.
But before i deviate from the theme of this article to the uncanny possibilities which consumerism presents, let me get back to my original thought (some thoughts are original after all, unlike my previous post ;) )
It was the run-up to the "cricket world cup 2007", an event, which thousands of "suited illusionists" were keenly awaiting. Ya i am talking abt the marketers and advertisers, the best in the breed, putting their sassy brains together, each one getting ready for his "pinch-hitter" role!
So, "the band of blue boys" are barraged with a host of photo-ops!
The budgets are blocked, the plans all laid out, our legendary stars put on their "acting gear" and take their stance in the adman's pitch and play the innings showing the "full face" (literally) with the flourish of a veteran (the veterans here refers to the Shahrukhs and Amitabhs and if even the thought of cricketing veterans like the Kapils and Gavaskars had crossed your mind, snap out, u are having a dream!!)
So, here a "lick" (Sachin's britannia ad), there a click!!
and the blue billion begins the cricketing anthem -
"Sehwag ki maa ko bulao,
Sachin ko Pepsi pilao,
Ganguly ko Chawanprash khilao,
Dhoni ke baalo mein Gel lagao,
Dravid ko castrol pilao
KAISE BHI INDIA KO JITAO!!"
And while the "blue billion" raises a billion hopes,
billions are paid out in contracts to our star "actors",
ofcourse the seniors like Sachin, Dravid and
the comeback star Ganguly would make the most of it.
In purely financial jargon, I have always felt that the ROI of actors above 40 is the greatest considering they get to act, dance and do more with 20 something - soon to lose their innocence - starlets and I can't help get the same feeling about our cricketing seniors. Playing probably their last world cup, their ROI seems to be the best from this world cup before they retire as expert commentators.
Ok, so the bets are made and these advertising bets run into crores.
From what i read,the combined commercial contracts signed by the big 3 sum up to about 250 crores worth of ad spend.
So, why blame the bookies, the real bets are out there on TV!!!!
So the ad curators have watered the consumer's pitch,
now its time to sit back and watch the show.
But "show" it wasn't going to be!! Khel khatam, paisa hazzam!!
The odds went against our seasoned betters this time,
the movie was a super flop!!
And so the blame game begins! The coach is under fire, questions abt senior cricketers' attitudes are raised, selectors are taken to task and even the BCCI is blamed
but u forget the most obvious culprit, who I believe is responsible for this debacle...
Its the "The ever-so-ready-to-woo marketer"
and not bcos he turned our cricketers into actors!!
I believe it as natural evolution and u can't blame the GOD for it..
But rather I blame the marketer for his unprofessionalism,
for not putting in place the basic management system for this business of cricket.
Cricket is a business after all, so run it like one!
Have a performance management system in place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dhoni scores a ton, confirm him a 10% payment of his contract money...
Bhajji takes a couple of match winning wickets, promise him a 15% of his contract money
Dravid leads India to the next stage of the world cup, offer him 30% of his contract money
Team India reaches the final, they deserve 80% of their fees..
They win the world cup, they get the entire contract money with a 50% bonus..
They can't get past the opening stage, kick their ass, give them a miserly 20% of their contract amount....
A very simplistic way of putting things but nevertheless conveys the idea.
I am talking about SLAs or "Service Level Agreements", a way of life in IT.
here speaks the IT engineer in me, nudging the manager in me aside)
Buddy, its the stupid advertisers to blame. I
ts the same stupid mistake a naive girl in love,
makes by losing her virginity to her lascivious boyfriend,
just to keep him happy and lets it happen again and again,
till she realises, he is never really gonna marry her.
Man, u let the dog have his bone even before he learnt to bark !!!
(don't blame me for this, this was inspired by Sidhu)
U were bound to be doomed! And doomed u were, the crores were promised before even the first ball was bowled, so why expect them to perform, performance or no performance, they got the money neways right!!
Mebbe u would argue that it would bring down the overall brand value of the cricketer who would loose out in the long run, but when u don't give the sting immediately, no one will pull up your strings, "baad ka baadmein dekhenge, abhi aish karte hain!!" sums up the attitude...
So, I had promised myself a biggie 54 inch HDTV if India reaches the last 8 in the world cup,
but the stupid advertisers goofed up!!
and I, in the game, lost my TV!!!
A cocktail of cricket, acting, IT and management...
---------------------------------------------
When I curse the advertisers for my not having a TV, I am not talking abt any abhorrence of the umpteen commercial breaks which riddle my favorite TV shows. In fact, given the lack of originality in current Indian television,it makes these commercials very inviting.
They are like the "20-20s" of TV, short and packed with humor, action and originality. The "Tests" of Indian television, its the Saas-bahu sagas of course, which i am referring to, have quickly started losing clout and so have the "one-dayers", the so called sit-coms, which are dying for lack of differentiation! (my tribute to Philip Kotler :) )
So, I see commercials picking up big time with channels which would only air commercials, mebbe even have an "on demand" advertisements model!! So, u are missing your girl and ur cell phones discharged, the famous "Hutch" ad with the cute boy and puppy might help your emotions.
But before i deviate from the theme of this article to the uncanny possibilities which consumerism presents, let me get back to my original thought (some thoughts are original after all, unlike my previous post ;) )
It was the run-up to the "cricket world cup 2007", an event, which thousands of "suited illusionists" were keenly awaiting. Ya i am talking abt the marketers and advertisers, the best in the breed, putting their sassy brains together, each one getting ready for his "pinch-hitter" role!
So, "the band of blue boys" are barraged with a host of photo-ops!
The budgets are blocked, the plans all laid out, our legendary stars put on their "acting gear" and take their stance in the adman's pitch and play the innings showing the "full face" (literally) with the flourish of a veteran (the veterans here refers to the Shahrukhs and Amitabhs and if even the thought of cricketing veterans like the Kapils and Gavaskars had crossed your mind, snap out, u are having a dream!!)
So, here a "lick" (Sachin's britannia ad), there a click!!
and the blue billion begins the cricketing anthem -
"Sehwag ki maa ko bulao,
Sachin ko Pepsi pilao,
Ganguly ko Chawanprash khilao,
Dhoni ke baalo mein Gel lagao,
Dravid ko castrol pilao
KAISE BHI INDIA KO JITAO!!"
And while the "blue billion" raises a billion hopes,
billions are paid out in contracts to our star "actors",
ofcourse the seniors like Sachin, Dravid and
the comeback star Ganguly would make the most of it.
In purely financial jargon, I have always felt that the ROI of actors above 40 is the greatest considering they get to act, dance and do more with 20 something - soon to lose their innocence - starlets and I can't help get the same feeling about our cricketing seniors. Playing probably their last world cup, their ROI seems to be the best from this world cup before they retire as expert commentators.
Ok, so the bets are made and these advertising bets run into crores.
From what i read,the combined commercial contracts signed by the big 3 sum up to about 250 crores worth of ad spend.
So, why blame the bookies, the real bets are out there on TV!!!!
So the ad curators have watered the consumer's pitch,
now its time to sit back and watch the show.
But "show" it wasn't going to be!! Khel khatam, paisa hazzam!!
The odds went against our seasoned betters this time,
the movie was a super flop!!
And so the blame game begins! The coach is under fire, questions abt senior cricketers' attitudes are raised, selectors are taken to task and even the BCCI is blamed
but u forget the most obvious culprit, who I believe is responsible for this debacle...
Its the "The ever-so-ready-to-woo marketer"
and not bcos he turned our cricketers into actors!!
I believe it as natural evolution and u can't blame the GOD for it..
But rather I blame the marketer for his unprofessionalism,
for not putting in place the basic management system for this business of cricket.
Cricket is a business after all, so run it like one!
Have a performance management system in place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dhoni scores a ton, confirm him a 10% payment of his contract money...
Bhajji takes a couple of match winning wickets, promise him a 15% of his contract money
Dravid leads India to the next stage of the world cup, offer him 30% of his contract money
Team India reaches the final, they deserve 80% of their fees..
They win the world cup, they get the entire contract money with a 50% bonus..
They can't get past the opening stage, kick their ass, give them a miserly 20% of their contract amount....
A very simplistic way of putting things but nevertheless conveys the idea.
I am talking about SLAs or "Service Level Agreements", a way of life in IT.
here speaks the IT engineer in me, nudging the manager in me aside)
Buddy, its the stupid advertisers to blame. I
ts the same stupid mistake a naive girl in love,
makes by losing her virginity to her lascivious boyfriend,
just to keep him happy and lets it happen again and again,
till she realises, he is never really gonna marry her.
Man, u let the dog have his bone even before he learnt to bark !!!
(don't blame me for this, this was inspired by Sidhu)
U were bound to be doomed! And doomed u were, the crores were promised before even the first ball was bowled, so why expect them to perform, performance or no performance, they got the money neways right!!
Mebbe u would argue that it would bring down the overall brand value of the cricketer who would loose out in the long run, but when u don't give the sting immediately, no one will pull up your strings, "baad ka baadmein dekhenge, abhi aish karte hain!!" sums up the attitude...
So, I had promised myself a biggie 54 inch HDTV if India reaches the last 8 in the world cup,
but the stupid advertisers goofed up!!
and I, in the game, lost my TV!!!
Monday 2 April, 2007
Insatiable quotes: A cranky quote on life!
"The Most unfair thing about life is the way it ends.
I mean, life is tough.
It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What's that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating......
and you finish off as an orgasm.”
I mean, life is tough.
It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What's that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you're too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating......
and you finish off as an orgasm.”
Sunday 1 April, 2007
Rise of the Insatiable Spirit...
Well it finally descended upon me!
This ain't gonna help...
Not the moon lit night camping at the banks of Ganges!
Not the 2 days of muscle-tearing, heart-stopping, nerve wrecking "White Water Rafting" at Rishikesh
Not even the 15 metres of butt-wrecking high cliff jumping. (ya, u read it right, try it to experience it)
Not the weekend tours to the malls in a city with a mall density of more than 10 per sq. km)
And surely not the "2 movies a week" frenzy since we landed in the city of malls (and probably nothing more)
These wouldn't take me too far...
And then these words from Linkin Park's master-piece "In the End" had a different meaning to me...
..................................................................................................................
This ain't gonna help...
Not the moon lit night camping at the banks of Ganges!
Not the 2 days of muscle-tearing, heart-stopping, nerve wrecking "White Water Rafting" at Rishikesh
Not even the 15 metres of butt-wrecking high cliff jumping. (ya, u read it right, try it to experience it)
Not the weekend tours to the malls in a city with a mall density of more than 10 per sq. km)
And surely not the "2 movies a week" frenzy since we landed in the city of malls (and probably nothing more)
These wouldn't take me too far...
And then these words from Linkin Park's master-piece "In the End" had a different meaning to me...
..................................................................................................................
All I know
Time is a valuable thing
Watch it fly by as the pendulum swings
Watch it count down to the end of the day
The clock ticks life away
It's so unreal
Didn't look out below
Watch the time go right out the window
Trying to hold on, but didn't even know
Wasted it all just to watch you go
I kept everything inside and even though I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory of a time when
I tried so hard
And got so far
But in the end
It doesn't even matter"
........................................................................................................
And indeed,
even these extreme indulgences didn't matter
to
"This SINGLE GUY
With a gr8 9 to 6 job
With Office @ 5 min from home
With 2 day weekends
in Gurgaon
(and wait for it)
Without a TV set!
............................................................................................
Bcos Time does speak
And when it does, never does it stop,
Worse, I was a compulsive listener,
An audience without an option
A spirit shackled in the ravines of time!
Oh, cut the crap!
I just needed to pass time
I needed to break free
And so I took the path
A mortal on his way to achieve immortality!
Immortality in Spirit and Words!!
I decided to BLOG!!!
and then,
the Insatiable Spirit took over!!
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