Bill Watterson was so wrong when he said Mothers are the necessity of invention.. As these school kids really proved, indeed it is the school authorities that have been the catalyst behind the invention..
Well done, I salute your sense of creativity!! I think there may exist a huge market for this product, but what happens when these girls go out on a date in the evening ;)
Some of the recent advertisements have left me wondering where has all the creativity gone!!! The likes of the Hero Honda Hunk ad with the bulls and the latest Amul macho with a bunch of primates are in extremely bad taste, and I wonder why would anyone with even an iota of self-respect ever consider buying those products after seeing the ads.. At best, these ads insult the intelligence of the customers..
But all is not bad on the creative side, with the Idea Cellular ads starring Small B being my personal favorite.. The concept itself.. What an Idea!! Another great ad in my opinion was the T20 World Cup ad by Reliance Communications which said "Chote Match, Bade Sapne".. The Fevicol ads are also a delight to watch, whenever and wherever.. Kudos to the team that came up with these.. However, the most popular one of recent times is definitely the original Hutch ad with the pug.. An instant success..
The icing on the cake though is the Amul series of ads, ever since 1976, with the thumb sized moppet that "everyone loves to love".. I have literally grown up seeing these ads, and will cherish memories of them for a long long time.. Other memories from a childhood long long ago are the eternal "mile sur mera tumhara" and "ek chidiya, anek chidiya".. Classics, rather, Sholay of advertising.. Long live the creative brigade..
PS: I know I will have missed out a whole bunch of good (and bad) ads.. Please feel free to comment about your favorite ones..
The summer is here, and the heat can already be felt.. Met department says it will be one of the hottest, and given the planning and execution of our government, be prepared to face uninterrupted power cuts all along.. The country faces an acute shortage of electricity, so much so that many a times, the grids are in danger of tripping owing to excess demand..
It is in this back-ground that the Indo-US nuclear deal becomes all the more important.. I know even if the deal goes through without hiccups, and the government moves at a fast-pace on the execution, it is still a long ten years before we can see power from the reactors.. But then, atleast ten years later, we will have power... Going by the current rate of capacity addition of conventional sources, I do not see a major change in scenario anytime soon..
But then, everyone has gotten their priorities wrong.. The left thinks it will be able to win votes thanks to its anti-US stands.. West Bengal, will take time to forget the Nandigram episode, and Kerala will give left the incumbency heat.. Another major minus for the left, the delimitation will reduce the number of rural seats, a traditional vote-bank of the left.. On the other hand, the Congress has made its peace, and is infact promoting darkness in the villages.. This only makes me laugh, because instead of saying we helped electrify so many villages, they are saying, we failed in rural electrification, and now we give them cheap kerosene for their lamps.. The saffron brigade, now opposing the deal, will operationalize the same, if it comes to power the next time. This way, it can take credit for the deal...
The Left's concerns about the US are certainly more of a mental roadblock than anything else.. Anything to do with Uncle Sam (Aunty Sam???) is taboo.. And the Prime Minister's assurance is enough for me to know that our strategic interests are not jeopardized..
I write this, not because I advocate the deal since I am not aware of the nitty-gritties of the same, but because I think that energy security is very important for a growing economy.. And not just in terms of oil.. We need to do every bit that we can to make sure that India's growth story does not hit a road-bump due to energy shortage.. If it takes a nuclear deal, so be it..
After a very very long wait of more than a year, Sachin finally finds the answer to life, the universe and everything.. With his 42nd ODI century coming up, he looks better than ever, and is still capable of sending the world champions running for covers..
And last Sunday, the 2nd March gave us a second good news, the U-19 WC win.. This clearly means the age of the Aussies is over.. The time of Indians has begun!!
Lalu managed to do what I had expected him to do.. Live up to my expectations of not being able to deliver.. As he read out the railway budget for the year 2008-09, I could only stare at the TV in disbelief.. Does this guy know what he is talking about??
I strongly believe that for the country to continue its growth story, the railway infrastructure in the country must grow atleast 2-3% faster.. However, the railways plan to lay only 3500kms of new lines in the coming year.. This comes to me as too little, too late. There is no plans for real capacity augmentation on the country's most busiest sectors. Just changing the signaling systems is not enough. With plenty of railway land on both sides of existing track, laying of new tracks should be done much faster. I would love to see IR build new lines even at half the rate of its Chinese counterpart.
The reduction in passenger fares is a sham that most people fail to see through. The capacity of the existing coaches is being increased by 15-25%. This means more people cramped up in the same space. After such an increase in the carrying capacity per coach, how difficult is it to cut the fares by 3-7%, that too in the non-peak season. What a gimmick!!!
The introduction of the 63 new trains seems like a good move, but without the required infrastructure growth, would it be possible to ensure timely running of trains.. Or the cleanliness of toilets on board?? This apart, I see Bihar, and to some extent Tamil Nadu gobbling up a lions share of these new trains. Regionalism?? Nah, they are just taking the divisive politics to a new level..
What Lalu has effectively done over the last 5 years is disastrous, and his successor will inherit a overloaded, over fatigued network of rail lines, not to mention the sixth pay commission recommendations , which could topple the boat.. I have a feeling even if the UPA manages to win in 2009, Lalu may not want to be the railway minister again!!!
107 minutes of this left me completely enchanted!! It was a fantasy meets reality movie, and although it requires one to completely suspend disbelief, it guarantees entertainment. I actually came out of the theater humming, smiling, and generally feeling good about everything..
But entertainment apart, it asked me why we are not able to listen to our heart, and follow our dreams. And why dreams don't come true. Why there is no happily ever after in reality.. However, there are no easy answers coming.
The find of the season. Cricket in India has found its latest heroes, the kind who are putting the world champions into a tight spot, again and again..
One has only to watch Ishant bowl to Ponting to believe the talent that this young man has. So much so that Ponting has gone on record praising the young gun.. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma's contribution may not be well hyped, but his stands in the recent games with the skipper have saved India from batting collapse many a times.
It is on these young men that I pin my hopes of restoring the pride in 2011, after the mauling in the Caribbean last year.
In leadership, as in the martial arts, your stance is critical to your success.
If you have a weak stance, then every way you lead will be fundamentally flawed.
A small discussion in a casual gathering prompted me to do some deep thinking. And then, the above saying came to my mind.. And I realized how important it is to take a stance. Not taking a stance and waiting for things to resolve themselves is the worst possible thing. A good leader is one who has ears on the ground, and hands full..
Unfortunately, there seems to be a dearth of such leaders, everywhere I look. Not just in the government, but everywhere.. So called leaders are disconnected from their subjects, and refuse to take action till rumblings precipitate into a crisis.. In such circumstances, we can only be the change we want to be. And then, show others the way, and change the world, such that the people say, We did it ourselves, for it is rightly said, "Leadership is action, not position".
Bangaloreans can take heart, they will not be the only ones suffering from the connectivity issues on the new airport.. It seems even in Hyderabad, where the new airport opens in about a month, there is no proper road connectivity.. How have things come to such a turn?? Not one but two instances.. An airport takes atleast four-five years to plan, and another three to construct, and a connecting road may take, in the worst case, a couple of years.. But still, the airports are ready, but the roads are not.. Wonder where we went wrong?? And what should we do to prevent another infrastructure disaster??
Thats what the Democrats plan to do later this year.. Media reports suggests that this year is going to be the year of the donkey.. What remains to be seen is whether it will be a female donkey, or whether it will be an African-American one.. Either way, it will be a first.. Any change will be for the better, for it will be tough to be worse than Bush ;)
© Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008
Back to TOP
.JPG)
