the Film festival ends, and.....

After 'ChinaTown', the next day I went to see 'Citizen Kane'. Initially I felt out of place watching it but later I got what was it all about!The day after, I went for 'Rear Window' and it was good! Somewhere in the middle I thought that the actor is just sufferring from some psychological problem because he has been confined to a place for long! Thus he was reading too much into a non-issue, but then things happened.Grace Kelly was really graceful and this was my first Grace Kelly flick!You can also read its review here.
Today it is 26th February and it is Convocation-eve for the batch of 2004. Most of my seniors are already here. Today there was a play by OORJA, the theatre group of IMDR, followed by Mushaiyara, which is still going on. Then we have a party because they cannot stay till late on Sunday! Anyways, I met my mentor after a really long time. And it is good to see him again.
That's all for now.Got some work.

Mystery Theatre

As I promised myself two days back that I would do something different, a different experience, everyday; on Wednesday I was wondering what to do because almost the whole day had slipped out of my hand in classes, etc. And then suddenly one of my friends asked if I would like to go with him for a movie "ChinaTown", in a Film Festival running at the National Film Archive of India or NFAI. And since I do not lose any opportunity to be a part of anything like a Film Festival and since I have not really decided upon what to do, I accompanied him. I was extremely tired ny that time, but a promise is a promise, and that too to myself. I never lie to myself!
When we reached there, we found a really, really long queue, and we were wondering whether we would be able to get in or not, but after the earlier show finished, we got the chance. Two of our other friends were there too.
It is a Film Festival organised by Indira School of Communication, and it is called 'Mystery Theatre'.I would go there today also. Theatre and Film Festivals are new experiences, I never had in my life.

War and Peace

That is again another award-winning documentary by Anand Patwardhan. As described by one of the websites "WAR AND PEACE" examines not merely the militarization of India, but analyzes the human cost that is extracted from its citizens in the name of 'National Security."It is shot over a period of 3 years in India, Pakistan, USA and Japan. I saw only the first part and next week I would see the second part. It was about Nuclear tests in Pokharan. It talked about do we really need nuclear weapons, and if yes, why do we need them? They just pose threat to our national security and nothing else! The most contentious issue is that how justified is it, when it eats up millions of dollars when on the other hand we are absolutely helpless about what to do about poverty. Is it justified spending so many of the tax-payers money for such ends? General notion of people who supported nuclear tests was that it was about self respect even if costs a lot of money and diseases to people staying in the vicinity of tests sites. But are we so rich that we could spend so much for just a superficial self respect? How much respected are we otherwise?
Another issue which cropped up after India’s nuclear tests, was Pakistan’s step forward towards nuclear weapons acquisition. It deteriorated the already worse situation between India and Pakistan, but self respect was intact!!!
After watching this documentary, I thought about only one thing what is that which motivates people like Anand Patwardhan? I mean if we look at the general people like you and I, some of us do not care about such issues at all, some give it a thought and move on. But there is something so passionate about works of Anand Patwardhan that it makes me think, what is that which keeps them going against all odds! Perhaps, we are all very ill-informed or atleast not well-informed, thus it is very difficult for us to decide what is our stance about any and every issue. To come to think of it, we know so little about everything!!!Thus we do not really stand for anything, like these people do, because they believe in something and that too quite passionately!
I am really looking forward to see the second part of ‘War and Peace’ and also ‘In the name of God’.
Atleast I did something different today! Tomorrow is another day!

My Resolution

I got so much frustrated by present scheme of things that I promised myself that I need to do something about it. So I promised myself that I would do one interesting thing everyday, interesting or different from what I usually do.Everyday I must have something to think about!

The Assassination of Gandhi

Ashish Nandi has written about 'The Politics of the Assassination of Gandhi', and it is quite informative. I am not going to reproduce that piece verbatim because it is an extremely boring thing to do. Rather I would like to comment on the content.
I must confess I was a complete ignorant as regards knowledge about Nathuram Godse is considered. I felt he was just a petty, fame-thirsty person. But Nathuram Godse and the assassination was a complete case in itself. During his early childhood, Nathuram was brought up as a girl, which eventually, perhaps, led to the indispensablity of proving his masculanity to the world.There were two things which Gandhi dreamed of, alongwith his struggle for freedom from British rule. They were--the eradication of power structure or the caste syatem in the society which accumulated power and respectability to a few; and the second thing being his negation of the concepts of masculinity and femininity. Godse was against both the ideas.
Nathuram belonged to the community of Chitpavan Brahmins of Maharashtra. Gandhi's call to disintegrate the caste system meant losing the power status which the Brahmins enjoyed, more so by the Chitpavan Brahmins because in Maharashtra there is no one equal to Kshatriyas, thus the divide between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins was huge.
Along with this, Godse had to open a shop when he was 16 and later become a tailor because of poor economic conditions, but resorting to economic activities were considered to be demeaning for Brahmins. Thus there was all the more reason for him to establish his superiority in the society.
Submissiveness was equated with femininity and legitimate violence with masculanity. Perhaps this was the premise for his choice of a violent way to freedom struggle.
But it would be really unwise to say that it was because of Godse's planning that such action could meet its end. Rather it could be said "it was an idea whose time had come!".
There were mounting security issues regarding Gandhi yet nothing substantial was being done. The police force turned lethargic and even his contemporaries felt that Gandhian principles had become anachronistic for Post-independence.
Gandhi himself had lost his zest for living because of Partition and the riots thereafter.
All these laid the foundations for a drama which was enacted by Nathuram Godse!Perhaps!

Happy B'day Mum!!!

When you came into the world, she held you in her arms.
You thanked her by wailing like a banshee.
When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
You thanked her by crying all night long.
When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
You thanked her by running away when she called.
When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.
When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
You thanked her by coloring the dining room table.
When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
You thanked her by plopping into the nearest pile of mud.
When you were 6 years old, she walked you to school.
You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING!"
When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.
You thanked her by throwing it through the
next-door-neighbor's window.
When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
You thanked her by dripping it all over your lap.
When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
You thanked her by never even bothering to practice.
When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day, from
soccer to gymnastics to one birthday party after another.
You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.
When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies.
You thanked her by asking to sit in a different row.
When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows.
You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.

Those teenage years
When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.
When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.
When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.
When you were 16, she taught you how to driver her car.
You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.
When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
You thanked her by being on the phone all night.
When you were 18, she cried at your high school graduation.
You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.

Growing old and gray
When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition,
drove you to campus, carried your bags.
You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't
be embarrassed in front of your friends.
When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
You thanked her by saying, "It's none of your business."
When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
You thanked her by saying, "I don't want to be like you."
When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.
When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
You thanked her by telling your friends it was ugly.
When you were 24, she met your fiance and asked about your plans for the future.
You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther, please!"
When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told
you how deeply she loved you.
You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.
When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
You thanked her by telling her, "Things are different now."
When you were 40, she called to remind you of an relative's birthday.
You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."
When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.


And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did came
crashing down like thunder.

"Rock me baby, rock me all night long."
"The hand who rocks the cradle...may rock the world".
Let us take a moment of the time just to pay tribute/show appreciation to
the person called MOM though some may not say it openly to their mother.
There's no substitute for her. Cherished every single moment.
Though at times she may not be the best of friends, may not agree to our
thoughts, she is still your mother!!!
She will be there for you...to listen to your woes, your braggings, your
frustations, etc.
Ask yourself.....have you put aside enough time for her, to listen to her
"blues" of working in the kitchen, her tiredness???
Be tactful, loving and still show her due respect though you may have a
different view from hers.
Once gone, only fond memories of the past and also regrets will be left.

**DON'T TAKE FOR GRANTED THE THINGS CLOSEST TO YOUR HEART. CLING TO THEM AS
U WOULD YOUR LIFE, FOR WITHOUT THEM, LIFE IS MEANINGLESS*

Inner dialogue

Sonia Gandhi talked about it, I think about it. Inner Dialogue, that is!I guess, in our fast-paced life, inner dialogue is something which could be called a blessing, your own territory!
Today I saw WHAT WOMEN WANT.
So you see what I am coming to!Isn't it a blessing that nobody could hear our inner dialogue otherwise life would have been too difficult. You would have to constantly check your thoughts. Talk about freedom of expression...atleast to oneself!
Well, coming back to my inner dialogue, while I was coming to this cyber cafe, I had this thing going on in my mind.Have you ever realised how repressed women are in our society??!!You would see hordes of men drooling over girls or eyeing pretty women, but how many women have you seen doing that on street?Perhaps in our patriarchical society, we are brought up that way! I seriously think there is something wrong somewhere. I do not fight for rights for dressing up (or down?)in whatever way we like, but yeah, I would love to be left alone from constant and irritating male gazes. Thankyou, I could do without them! Perhaps men have not realised yet or nobody has told them yet, but women do not like it at all to be constantly looked upon as 'things'. That is some of my piece of mind.
So I was also telling about movies which I have seen lately. I saw 50 FIRST DATES 2 days back. It was a really cute movie, and I really loovvvvve Drew Barrymore, she is sooooo cute!I wonder if there is really any such disease, and if there is. I would be sad much much more for 10-second Tom. For a romantic movie, it was OK to have such a wife, but imagine how life would be with someone who really forgot everything about you everyday, and everyday you would have to start with a whole lot of explaining. Would you like to do that everyday of your life? I am not sure!
It also happens to be my mum's birthday so
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM

Father,Son and Holy War

There is a documentary of the same name as above by Anand Patwardhan. I chanced upon it through my class on 'Individual and Indian Society' and I must say, it was really good! Most of all I was impressed by the man's commitment towards he cause. You could read about Anand Patwardhan here.
His War and Peace was recently shown at the Goa Film Festival.
After I saw this documentary, one thing is for sure, that my attitude towards documentaries has really changed. Earlier I used to be completely uninterested towards them. In fact, the last time I participated in FTII Film Festival, I did not go to watch even a single documentary.
Documentaries are in your face. They are gross. But they are as things are!Yeah, at the end of the day it is the director's view. But it tells you something without scripts, without dialogues.
For example, there was this woman from Rajasthan, an illiterate cook, talking about Sati. She had a photograph of Roop Kanwar at the Sati-site on her husband's pyre. In the picture, there was also a photograph of God, and rays from God were falling on Roop Kanwar. When the cook was asked about that photograph, she said she got it at the Sati site and that the photograph was real and that morphing is impossible. The most hilarious pf everything was that she believed that the God's picture was real, otherwise who would believe that God is for real. Also, she said that God is invisible to the naked eye because HE hides behind trees, and it was by chance HE could be clicked in that photograph.It was laughable alright, but it also throws light on the degree to which such illiterate and ignorant people are disillusioned.
There were alternating accounts of Hindus'Sati and Muslims'Talaq. The only thing that was apparent from those accounts was suffering of women in the name of religion, no matter which one! Both the religions claimed that they in fact put their women on pedestal through these ways but the reality reflects in the lives of those who suffer!
In the second part, Hero Pharmacy, there was this sequence where people are celebrating Shivaji Divas, and there was a man telling about the entire decoration. There was this mobile statue of a semi-nude woman aho was bathing. He said that it was Mandakini and it represented the fact that as against earlier times, when fear of Mughal Emperors had made it unsafe for women to bath openly. But after Shivaji, peace resumed and women are no longer unsafe in that way!!!???
I also plan to see 'In the name of God' and if we are fortunate we might be able to hear Mr Patwardhan himself.
As we were informed that he has been into documentary making of this genre for years and he has been harmed physically also to stop him. But it is really admirable that he is continuing all this despite people against his blood.
Read more about Anand Patwardhan's works.

Ek Ruka Hua Faisla

It is a movie by Basu Chatterji. I saw it yesterday night.I got this bit from Google search about the movie............
"This one was inspired by Henry Fonda's Twelve Angry Men. A film entirely devoid of songs , it revolved around twelve men called for jury duty in a murder case. The entire action takes place in a single room in which the jury is deliberating. K.K.Raina excels as the lone dissenter who fights for the defendant's cause and gradually brings the others around."
In my opinion it was an exciting movie, in the sense, it does not show any emotional melodrama but really keeps you stuck because of its plot, story and acting, boss! The 12 characters and most importantly K.K.Raina & Pankaj Kapur, their arguments and counter-arguments keep you interested.
It reminded me of the Group Discussions, which we often indulge in. Anybody would appreciate how K.K.Raina turns the table around from 11 Vs 1 vote. It was really a matter of being clear on your thoughts and arguments! Because most of the times, people want to hide behind others and accept whatever majority says. But the point is "if you do not stand for anything, you will fall for everything".Right?

Girlie Talk

These days we have so much time on hand that we end up doing nothing but indulging in a bitching session on anybody and everybody. No matter how much we try to understand people, we are seldom successful and we end up criticising them endlessly. It generally takes off from one particular incidence, takes off to another and so on!And trust me it takes a lot of time. You would not realise where time flew off!
Day before yesterday, all three of us (I share a flat with 2 of my classmates) started on a gossip marathon, talking about just anything under the sun. And since I am very interested in filmy gossips (courtesy:film magazines and websites), I share my knowledge with my roomies. It is a good time pass. One of them sleeps midway, but the other, who is very illiterate about actors, actresses and their gossips, sits through these session wide-eyed. I also tell them what is happening in all the serials (courtesy:indiantelevision.com), as we do not have TV here, they are so amazed at my knowledge.
So that day we somehow ended up discussing DIL MANGE MORE (the Shahid Kapur starer), and since she sees almost all the movies, she actually narrated the entire story to me. And you know what happened? We ended up driving each other crazy about who played Shahid Kapur's mother in DIL MANGE MORE. And we don't know yet! Everyday, in fact, every night we discuss this issue, rake our brains and then just give up, just to ask somebody the next day. But nobody remembers the mamas in the movies, do they? Most of them have Farida Jala or Himani Shivpuri or Smita Jaikar or Kiron Kher. And there is one more problem. My dearest roomie does not even knows any names of anybody in movies or TV except the lead characters, which means only heros and heroines. So even if I ask her, if she was Smita Jaykar? She would not know, because she does not knows who is she!!!
Everybody fails to understand whay there is so much fuss about Shahid Kapur's screen mum in DIL MANGE MORE!!!But you know na, it is like, you listen to a song somewhere and get crazy finding the name of the movie or the actors!!!

Time Pass

I am now in my 6th and last Trimester. We have 5 subjects. One of them has not been sceduled yet and for the rest 4 we have 2 continuous classes each. One subject in one day and 3 of them are in the latter part of the day, which means after 2 p.m.This great detail was to make you realise how much of free time I have on my hands. There is absolutely nothing to do!!!
So that means reading, reading and more reading! But that also does not actually happen.Thus looking for some part time. Lets see!

Individual & Indian Society

That is the paper I opted for, this Trimester from the electives. It includes a few movies, books, plays and documentries. The objective of this course is to create awareness about the social aspect and understand social responsibility. Basically, it is an attempt to look at an individual and at society with respect to him.To understand different perspectives and broadening one's horizons by relating it to one's own context. Too abstract, is it?
For example, in the first class, there were a set of statements translated from Marathi in English. These statements said negative things about an individual for example,
"I am scared of doing anything greta. I scare off people doing great things."
"When I was young, I used to park under a 'No Parking' sign and get away by bribing a policeman."
"I behave secretively. I do everything in hiding, without anyone knowing of it."
There were several from the ilk, but my favourite pick was....
"In India in 00 A.D. there was a great movement against dowry. In 1 A.D. there was a great movement against dowry. In 2 A.D. there was a movement against dowry. In 100 A.D. there was a movement against dowry. In 2000 A.D. there was a movement against dowry deaths, in 3000 A.D., 5000 A.D. 50,000 A.D. there was a movement against dowry deaths. In India, in 1 lakh A.D., 1 crore A.D., there was a movement against dowry. In doomsday A.D. in India there was a strong movement against dowry, casteism, poverty, corruption and for an undivided India."
I hope you got the point!

Long time No see!

I am back after a long hiatus. I got busy with my exams and I got lazier, as I am already Lazy!!! Meanwhile I read a couple of books and lots of Filmy magazines! Yeah, I love those filmy mags with lots of gossip about phillum-stars!!I read The Godfather by Mario Puzo through my exams. And I must say I was very sad when Sonny was killed! That is the problem with me, I take emotional scenes, whether in movies or books, very seriously! Can't help it!!!And yeah, now that I have read this immensely popular novel, I am waiting for all those movies based on this one like Sarkaar, The Family, etc.I missed the International Film Festival this year because of my exams! I heard it had all the recent releases (like Page 3, Kisna, Amu, Black Friday, etc) plus several good ones from all over the world.
I was talking about Page 3. I am a sort of fan of Madhur Bhandarkar's movies. I liked Chandni Baar, and I loved Satta. I still think Satta is his best one.Anyways, coming back to Page 3. I would say it is a good movie--good theme, good star cast and all. It is something which you would not like to forget so soon. You would recall things long after coming out of the theatre, but having said that, I would also add that the movie lacks a pull which is essential to keep the audience interested. The movie talks about so many things--page 3 people, child molestation, abuse of struggling starlets, bomb blast, journalists, models, homosexuals, people taking advantage of others, and so much more. But still it lacks a thrust.
Konkana Sen lives the character. But I personally loved Sandhya Mridul and Atul Kulkarni. I could not have enough of them. Both were too good! I was wondering if Madhu Bhandarkar could have used an in-your-face type journo in the form of Sandhya, it would have been interesting. Konkana has done justice to her character. The character itself was a little vulnerable sort. And Tara Sharma does not knows acting at all, and to top it she has a very funny voice! I remember when we went to watch Masti, the moment she would say something, the whole theatre would be in splits of laughter--not because the dialogues were funny or she acts funny, but her voice is rather too funny and lacks any emotion! I wonder how directors 'okay' her scenes or dubbing!!!
I have also read somewhere that Mira Nair is making Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake and Konkana has been hired for the role of Ashima Ganguli. Since I read this one also recently, and liked it too, so I am waiting for the movie. Another movie which I want to see is Amu. Looks like I have become a Konkana Sen fan, but the fact is that it is sheer coincidence!
Currently I am reading Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, as I wanted to see what is so good about this children's book series!!! Right now I am in the middle of it, and don't know how I would complete it. It is too childish!!!
I love John Grisham. In fact I love any novel on legal tussles!But I have yet to try several authors. I am so ignorant! What have I been doing all these years, I have not read so many authors yet!

My Bangalore visit, and more!

I left for Bangalore on 8th January by bus (much to my dismay). It is a 17 hour journey by bus. But since I could not get any ticket by train, I had to explore this option. This was my first overnight journay by bus, that too for such long hours. Few minutes after I boarded the bus, a black, sinister looking guy (with a huge mole on his cheek) came to me and asked if anybody was expected next to me. I was terrified, he might plan to seat himself there. So I said-yes! Actually a girl was supposed to come. In fact I was shifted to that seat in order to be next to a girl. It is India after all. And we girls prefer women around during long journeys, you see! But the girl did not materialise. That guy approached me again, and I had to tell him the truth; later I came to know that he was the driver of our bus!!!Anyways, my next trouble was that, the travel agency where I had got my tickets from, called up on my cell to talk to the driver!!!I literally had to sleep for 17 hours, because there was no TV (actually there was a TV, but it was not working, you see).
I reached Bangalore at 7 am, got down at Majestic and called up my brother to inform about where exactly I was standing. I saw my brother after one and a half years. And he has put on weight, though he does not like to believe that. My stay in Bangalore was a sum total of three movies--Choker Baali, Hulchal and Hum Tum--, meeting my family and getting through the nostalgia of that place. I was actually preparing for CAT when I last stayed there for 6 months. So that place is reminiescent of my so-called struggle and uncertainty!
I left Bangalore on 10th Jan by train, reaching Pune on 11th Jan,while my parents and brother left for Goa, for meeting my Uncle and Aunt. I have my 5th Trimester papers from 18th Jan!Another Trimester and MBA at IMDR would be over for me. But it really seems a lifetime of relationship with this institute. Of course when all your friends leave, it no longer would be the same place, but it would be great to come back with my whole group of friends again after a few years!!!

from Bangalore

I am on my short trip to Bangalore to meet my parents and my big Brother, who has come back after one and a half years in San Fransisco. It is a fleeting visit. I came today morning, and leaving on day after tommorrow.I would be back when I return to Pune. Till then, take care of yourself!

Life in present tense

I have become quite a lazy bone and regretting that too. I am in the habit of getting up early, walks and exercises! But since last few days, I am rising pretty late and that has taken a toll on my health. Nothing serious, just that I feel drowsy and frail all the time! So I bounced back to my ususal routine today, but since it is a new beginning so I am yet not feeling good! May be in 2-3 days!!!
Anyways, currently I am reading a very interesting novel called ELEVEN HOURS by PAULLINA SIMONS.Actually I started THE EVENING NEWS by ARTHUR HAILEY but somehow, in the few pages which I read, I did not find it interesting! May be I would start it again later. So I chanced upon this one, and it would be finished today. It is about the kidnaping of a pregnant woman from a shopping mall, who is being trailed by her husband alongwith an FBI agent. It is good this far!
Another thing I wanted to write about is RAINCOAT. Well, I would say the best thing about this simple story is the extent to which the director has emphasised on detailing. Rituporno Ghosh has really portrayed the characters well! Although story is simple, inspired from O.Henry, you would find pleasure in discovering the little nuances, which would have gone unattended by some novice director. The added flavour is Aishwarya's close to natural acting! She has done her best job so far. She is not Aishwarya here, but Niru; and you would be almost convinced. Check it out if you are not madly into fast bikes, item numbers and nail-biting excitement!!!"Mathura Nagarpatti" by Shubha Mudgal is beautiful!

New Year Ahead

It has become more or less mandatory to wish each other a very Happy New Year, at this time of the year. So I wish a very promising and exciting new year to everyone out there. Go ahead and enjoy life! That is what it is meant for, right?
Well, speaking about my new year plans, I never had any!I have spent most of my new years quite casually, just like any other day. It is not that I don't like celebrations, but more than just passing years, it is important to sit back and take note of my life, where is it going? If at all any new year is important, it is so because I would like to ponder for sometime over how I would like this year to be and what am I going to do in that direction, for the organised sort and a plan-freak I am!
Anyways, it is a personal opinion and choice. At the end of the day, or as the case is, at the end of this wonderful year (I got a job, remember!), I wish freedom for everyone, freedom to be able to do what each one of us want to do!
See you next year!

Ethics in Romance

I have been thinking about this for sometime now. So having a blog at my disposal, what could be a better place to express my feelings!
Being a small place girl, I had only been exposed to stray cases where young girls and boys would elope and get married, only to be brought back by their parents or return themselves to their homes after realising their foolishness. What would you expect from the typical, filmi, college or sometimes scool romances! In short, I had only heard about some foolish acts in the name of love!
But what I want to talk about here is Ethics, that too in Romance!Yeah, spending one and half years at Pune has really made me more sophisticated, in terms of what I have seen and my exposure to big city life! I found girls hanging around with more than 1 boy friends, I found guys two-timing a couple of girl friends. It might seem very trivial to somebody who has seen this before. I haven't. I associate Ethics with this , because it is after all an ethical issue. After all, it is about emotions and lives. I like to believe that I have learnt to accept people as they are, but when I see these kind of people, I cannot help hating them. I know it is categorisation and judgemental on my part, but I cannot help it. I cannot help disliking a guy, who is two-timing 2 girls at a time. I cannot help hating a girl who claims to have a boy friend but moves around with some other "good friend", incidently a guy!
Somebody said,"I do not hate anyone, for I understand everyone!" Read it closely and you would realise what it means. All of us are individuals, each with our own set of experiences and backgrounds, which eventually shapes our personality. Thus, what we have seen in life, makes us what we are! When we understand people, we understand why do they do things which they do! The point is, we are tempted to catagorise people as soon as we know them. We do not try to understand the WHYs and WHATs of everything. But that is how most of us are! Although each one of us are neither good nor bad, but when we look outside, we judge others as good or bad. This is one weakness I want to conquer.
Coming back to Ethics in Romance, I cannot really write my angst about this issue in precise terms, but one thing is for sure, this world I realised recently, is full of deceit, hypocrisy and double standards! But anyways, I cannot help it. And like everything else, I guess, I would come to terms with it and would learn to live with it! That's Life. Isn't it?

Oh Brother!

I dedicate this one to my Big brother who has influenced my decisions and has been a constant source of support, especially during the times when it mattered. And I hope he remains that reference point forever!Today he came back to India and touched Bangalore in the afternoon, from San Fransisco.He had been away close to one and a half year.
Facts apart, I want my brother to find this blog entry someday and know what he means to me! Of course, words would only create something close to what I mean, but nevertheless!!!
He is four and a half years elder to me, so all through growing up years, he bullied me, taking small favours in return for promises to reciprocate with something better. So all along he showed traits of being a good politician.Who knows, may be one day....!!! Even now he pulls my leg referring to my naivete as a kid!
After completing his Xth, he left for Bhilai, and completed his XIIth there from Delhi Public School (of course, DPS has some other connotations now!!!). After that, he did his Production Engineering from BIT Sindri, then joined IIIT, Bangalore; and before he left for San Fransisco, he had worked with Caritor (then IT Solutions, Chennai & Bangalore) for close to 3 years. Thus, since the time, I was in Class 6, my brother visited us (I and my parents)only during vacations! It is altogether a different story that nobody could argue or stop him if he declared holidays every month during his Engineering days!
When people leave home early, they develop either of the two orientations---either they completely lose touch with the family or they forever dwell in a sense of longing for the family. My brother falls in the second category!
When I was completing my graduation, and had got over with my desire to be a designer, I was practically clueless about what I wanted to do next. At that time, he motivated me towards MBA, and he has always been successful in influencing my thoughts. I was not really a confident type but he has always trusted my abilities more than myself, and honestly, that has kept me going. After I achieve a certain milestone, no matter how small, he makes me feel proud of myself. He always says I am the Best, and not to be complacent or aim low because I am capable of something higher!
He is not the one who would follow rules (much to my mum's dismay), but that's how he is! He would always carry loads of books but would never study them (something which I also have picked from him). But I think he was capable of IITs and IIMs because he never really tried that hard and that seriously!He has always done, what I call, over-night preparation!
And like any other Big brother, he is extremely protective about me, to the extent that he says, had it been possible, he would have started a company for me, so that I could not be over-worked!
That's my brother!!!
Dearest Bhaiya, Welcome Back to SWADES!

My Favourite Poem: 'If' by Rudyard Kipling

Image courtesy: Wikipedia

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

What next?

When I joined IMDR, I had fixed a goal for myself, to get into Advertising. Roughly after 17 months, I have achieved that goal. The question that I face now is what next? I like to live with a goal. When we are in school, exams are our obvious goals. Same is true with college also. After college, getting into a decent professional college became my goal. At this point of time, I want a concrete goal to work on, otherwise life becomes a little directionless. There are a few things on my mind.
The first thing I want to do is be prepared for the field I am going to join in a couple of months, to be update and know the ins and outs of it! Another thing I want to do is do some research study. I realised that we do not really think about any issue as such. We read newspapers, magazines, even make passing comments or references about certain issues affecting our present environment, but we do not really THINK about it! How it affects us, if it does? For example, the feud between two Ambani brothers, the trail it is taking, the loss of market capitalisation of Reliance industries' shares; and on the other hand Sensex touching new highs--how do we relate and interprete these? There are so many things to think about. Are there not?

Movie maniac

I don't watch every Friday release but I like to call myself a movie maniac!!!I am selective about what I watch!I do not have a favourite actor or actress per se, but I have several favourite movies.
Lemme first add something more about SWADES, which I have already written about!It has the usual little moments that make you smile, it has some beautiful songs, it has a pretty heroine, and as Shahrukh would say "Main Hoon Na"! The visuals of Shahrukh in a train, bus and boat create a good impact. Besides, if you are looking for sarson ke khet and naachna-gaana in the name of village, then you would be dissappointed. OK erecting a hydroelectris power station in barely 2 weeks is difficult to digest but then apna Bollywood has always been a little larger than life on facts. The bottonline is not to pick up such faults but to understand the overall message. Gayatri is good but sometimes she is unimpressive, which is acceptable from an actress who looks that good!!!Anyways, we have so many non-actors and actresses, who don't even look good!!!
Talking about my favourite films, I guess I would have to write an entire mail on that with links.So just wait for 1-2 days.

SWADES

I saw SWADES today, well, just for the heck of it! I mean, I had not been to any movie since a long time, so SWADES seemed a wise enough choice to get back to apna Bollywood.
So, how was it?You might want to know, right? Well I would say, SWADES was LAGAAN Part II. I would not say it was good. I would not say it was bad, because that is totally an individual's choice. It is a movie which puts across a message.
One thing I have begun to appreciate in Ashutosh Gowariker is that he tries to make a movie the way this medium was intended to be. I mean, to put across a message. Look at his debute movie. Some management colleges are using that movie to study team work. This one could work for Brain Drain!!!That is the issue this movie addresses. It is forthright in saying that We, the Indians, like to blame any Tom, Dick and Harry; or may be UPA or NDA for our predicament. For every problem, we like to put the blame on the system. And the biggest problem is that we are pessimists! We want quick results. We want to get things right overnight, not willing to accept that as an individual also one could make some difference. This reminded me of the book I read on IITians by Sandipan Deb. It also mentions about the same problem that the IITians fail to realise the importance of work at the grassroots level. But of course, there have been several IITians, (as quoted in this book) who have made a difference at the lowest level.
I liked the message that this movie encapsulates. Well done, Mr. Gowariker!!! But although Shahrukh Khan is a good actor, he cries much too often!That really kills the effect. Control Yaar! Secondly, the movie also needed a certain pull, which was missing. Although Shahrukh Khan tried to put in the energy but something else was required to make it a well-told story!
For the good motive behind the movie's sake, go and watch it! Anyways we watch a lot of junk, then why not SWADES!

The Dilemma

Since this is placements season, so I cannot write about anything except Placements!So the dilemma I am talking about is that although companies, in fact good companies like TCS, HCL, FCB Ulka, Bajaj, Kotak, HDFC etc, are coming to campus but there are several cases where interests lie elsewhere. For example, some of my friends want to get into Retail or FMCG but as you can guess the companies are generally software or automobiles or financial services, so these guys are in a dilemma what to do! Because we don't know whether companies of their interest would come or not!
Life thy name is uncertainty!

My Website

I am trying to create a decent website for myself just because I have all the accessories to, so why not!!! The link is http://reemasahay.tripod.com/. It is still in the process of improvisation and a lot needs to be done but at least it has started off!I have to add so many photographs, but that would take some time!Actually now I am just jumping around to hunt for some good websites and then improvise.
But sometimes I really think, technology has done wonders!

Our First Placements Party

Well, the trend is that when people get placed they have to give party to the rest of the class, and this is done in bunch of ten people. Yesterday we had our first placements party by the first 11 people who got placed, and I was one of the hosts.
We had booked a popular disc here called 10 Downing Street, and there were only our people, that too only our classmates, so we really enjoyed! It was the best party ever in Pune!We danced a lot and after our dinner on terrace, we came back inside, relaxed and chatted. It was really sweet and warm because we never get time or indulge in chatting in that manner. It was a memorable party as most people from our batch were there.
Now we wait for the next 10 to get placed soon enough! I think we would be done with our placements by this December and would have a rocking New Year party!!!

The Moment

I am talking about the moment which changed my life!
I remember, on 4th December, after I was through with the interview, I came down to my classmates at our beloved Quadrangle--which is a square shaped space surrounded by classes, Auditorium and the office. I was unable to eat or sit or talk!!!I was just walking in circles waiting for the result. I remember everyone was nervous. Then remember, I heard people coming out of the office and I heard our placements coordinator saying 'Reema Sahay' behind me. I would not forget that moment! I cannot!Everyone rushed to congratulate me and I hugged my friends. I remember going to our Director's office and meeting the interview panel again. I remember coming out and all my friends taking me to the sacred Placements Pond!!!Well, there is a small pond which has all sorts of dried leaves and rubbish including eggs, etc.Whoever gets placed is taken there for a 'holy' dip followed by anointment with eggs!!!And believe me, people want to be there, they dream about being there!!!

My Interview

OK,Lets move on from here.

Q.Convince us that you are genuinely interested in advertising from anything that you have done or do.
A.Whenever I see an ad, I try to analyse the target audience for that particular product or sometimes I try to judge the effectiveness of the ad as regards the product. For example, sometime back I saw lots of huge hoardings on roadside of BPL mobile, which said “Thankyou BPL”. I had this curiosity about the kind of people those ads were targeting because the faces those adorned the hoardings were, what you would call as Metropolitan, and not the average Indian public. Besides, there are some ads, which are very entertaining, but we are unable to remember the brand names. Thus the residue from such ads, if you consider for the brand, is zero.

Q.Which is your favourite ad?
A.I like the AMUL hoardings very much. It is an old idea followed by the brand but still so contemporary.

Q.Which of the TV ads do you like?
A.Since I do not have TV over here so I cannot track the recent ads but yeah, during my trip back home I liked TATA AIG ad (a little boy planting a small plant which later grows to a tree through which he enters to flirt the neighbour’s daughter) & SBI Life ad (here ko kya pata ki tumhari umar kya hai). Besides, I also loved the recent ZEE Cinema’s ad (the one I described earlier).

Q.Why do you want to join FCB Ulka?
A.This is the only company I am interested in among those, which are coming for campus. I have prepared really hard for this because I do not want to lose this opportunity of getting into advertising.

Q.What did you do? How have you prepared?
A.I read the book by the Executive Director of FCB Ulka Mr M.G.Parwesaran, which is available with our library. I read several other books on advertising. I tracked several information about FCB Ulka and Advertising sector on net. I followed a few advertising mags like Pitch, USP and The Brand Reporter. I followed a few websites like agencyfaqs.com and exchange4media.com.

Q.Everyone in this institute follow these websites?
A.No, only those who are interested in advertising follow agencyfaqs.com.

Q.So if you have read so much about FCB, tell us 5 things that you remember.
A.(1) According to last year’s records, FCB was the 5th ad-agency in India (It is 4th now as told in the PPT).
(2) Recently FCB appointed three COOs for New Delhi,Mumbai and Cogito Consultancy.
(3) FCB won the account of ZEE group a few months back.
(4) It manages Whirlpool’s account also.
(5) Mr Anil Kapoor is the MD & CEO of FCB Ulka Advertising.

Q.Do you know what is Regression?
A.It is a statistical tool. But I am sorry I do not remember anything else about it.

Q.Are you interested in Media Planning?
A.Yes sir, Media Planning is an interesting field where one is responsible for assigning budgets for various media according to the effectiveness depending on the product. I know it requires a good knowledge of Statistics.

Q.What about Client Servicing?
A.Client Servicing Department is the face of the agency and it coordinates between the Client and the Agency. It thus plays an important role and is crucial in the final output or solution provided to the Client. It is an interesting field because it gives a first hand exposure to the requirements of the Clients, which forms the basis for any campaign strategy.

I think this was it. I might have forgotten one or two questions. But I think this much gives the idea about the interview.

My Interview of 4th Dec........

.....that changed everything---my Past, Present and most of the Future!
Well, at first there was a Pre Placement Talk or PPT by FCB Ulka panel, which included Ms Savita Mathai and Mr Shashi Sinha.At the beginning, they showed 10 of their ads, which included
1.AMUL
2.Mahindra Scorpio
3.Santoor
4.Sundrop Oil
5.Indigo Marina
6.naukri.com

I would like to add that the latest Zee Cinema's ad, which is about a little girl who gets abducted by dacoits and becomes a dacoit herself, and whose life changes under the influence of Zee Cinema, and she opens a dance school; is also a product of their creativity.
FCB Ulka group includes 7-8 companies, which includes FCB Ulka Advertising, Cogito Consulting, etc.
So where were we? Ya, they talked about the company, the profile that they offered and the selection procedure.
The selection procedure started off with a 10 minutes written test, which was very Kotler-ish and something about FCB also. From that test, 4 people were short-listed and I heard that I was just below the cut off or something like that. Then we had an interview.
The interview was as follows........

Q. Tell me something about yourself.
A. I am basically from Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. I did my schooling till Class 12 there and then I shifted to Orissa, from where I completed my Grad with Commerce. In 2003, I appeared for CAT (I was smart to sneak 1 year gap in between my graduation and CAT), got through NIFT, NIRMA, IISWBM and IMDR.

Q. Why did you join IMDR?
A. It was the introducing year of MBA at NIFT, so I cancelled NIFT. Another reason was that NIFT is known for Fashion Designing and the quality of Management education was uncertain. IISWBM's HR (as far as I knew) was more popular, so I ruled it out because I was interested in Marketing. Ahmedabad was politically disturbed with riots, too far away from home and nobody of acquaintanc there. Besides, they were doubling the seats, and my director at TIME also suggested that you better go to IMDR than NIRMA!
I knew an alumnus of IMDR (Gurucharan Singh Gandhi), who told me it’s all about priorities. If you are looking for huge pay for placements, IMDR is not the place to be in, but if you are looking at quality education, this is the place to be in.
When I came here, my first reaction was what do we have here???But now I realise, there's nothing else we need for a quality management education. We do not have air-conditioned auditorium or carpets here but we have enough of what is actually needed!

Q.Have you read any book in Advertising? Which one?
A.I have read FCB Ulka Brand Building Advertising. But I read it right at the time when I joined IMDR, but ya, yesterday I glanced through it again because I thought it necessary, and I am glad I did (a few questions in written paper were from that book). Actually, I found it missing from our library since 1 month but tracked it down with 1 of my classmates finally.

Q.So you must have read the cases discussed in it? Which one of them did you like?
A.I had read it thoroughly one-year back but I can tell you which one I liked. It was Santoor.

Q.Why did you like it?
A.This ad attempted to position soap in a different way which none of the other soaps were doing. Other soaps featured filmstars or soft skin but something like this (age-defying positioning) was unique.

Q.Now that you have talked about Positioning, there are 7-8 variants of Positioning. Which one of them did this ad use?
A.Benefits

Q.Which other books have you read on Advertising?
A.The Uncommon Sense of Advertising, The Craft of Copywriting, Advertsing--Pure and Simple, etc, but I try to read more of Indian authors, no matter what the subject is!

Q.Why is that?
A.Because it gives an Indian context to relate to.

Q.So you must have read fiction or non-fiction by Indian authors as well?
A.Yes sir,Scenes from an Executives life by Anurag Mathur, Kiran Bedi's biography, The IITians, etc.

Q.What's your rank in a class of 42 students?
A.10th. But I would like to add that along with the class activities, I have always been involved with the extra-curriculars like campus reporting for Maharashtra Herald, participating in inter and intra-collegiate festivals, being part of editorial boards for close to five years!

Guys, I would continue the remaining part of the interview tomorrow because I have got to rush.OK, so just wait for one more day.
Thankx guys for visiting my Blog!
Take Care

Post-FCB Ulka selection

When I look back now I feel how things change in a matter of hours! How at one time, you try to get somewhere, and how in just few hours, you reach there! Life is truly amazing. But I must say one more thing. The confidence I had just before FCB came to our campus was amazing. Some how God had already indicated to me that this was my calling and my time had come! Contrary to what my brother says, I believe whatever happens, happens for good. When you don't get what you want, you complain but later on you realise that in fact that thing was not what you were meant for! For example, at some point I was crazy about NIFT but somehow I could not get through. In fact, I was the 15th one when they had to select 14 people from General category for 20 seats of Fashion Communication. At that time, I felt that I was the most unfortunate person. I realise now that I was meant to get into Advertising. Rest is all history!And I appreciate every bit of it because history has shaped my present!

Got Placed!!!

Yeah, I got placed, and that too in FCB ULKA, nothing less. When I look back at the string of things, I feel it is really a dream come true. Last year I came to know FCB visits our campus. But they take only one, and I was not sure that could be me! Since the time I joined MBA I wanted to get into advertising, but did not know how! To come to think of it, it is really difficult! PGDM from MBA and Advertising????!!! But there I was, skimming thru advertising books like FCB ULKA Brand Building, advertising, or The uncommon sense of advertising or the craft of copywriting. I must say I have worked hard, really hard!! I used to spend hours reading Economic Times, Indian Express, Business World, magazines on Advertising--Pitch, Brand Reporter and USP, and websites like agencyfaqs.com & exchange4media.com. I have spent fewer hours in sleeping in Pune than what normally people spend. I have done campus reporting, poetry writing, publishing blogs and designing website. I have read endless number of pages of industry information.
And before I finish, I have reading like a crazy since a couple of days, reading Kotler in between PPTs of other companies, reading cut outs on client servicing, info on FCB Ulka.
So don't you think, I deserved this???
For now I am extremely happy and thankful to God! He gave me exactly what I asked for with all conditions fulfilled. Actually, I believe God is a little biased on my side!

To keep your cool!

Our placements season is on. Some really good companies are coming to campus. I remember in May when election results were announced, people were so much worried after the sensex dipped. But when we look at the number of jobs those have been created this year, the opportunities seem to be plenty.
The problem is when your friends start getting placed being happy for them is one thing, and keeping your cool is another. When you are surrounded by people who are placed and are realxed, you are a little worried about your own future. I am glad this feeling has not affected me as yet! Because the kind of companies, no matter how good, which are coming into campus is not where I want to be. My priority is Advertising. And I have a feeling that I would get it.
I had never dreamt in life that I would do MBA, I always wanted to be a Fashion Designer.But later I realise Advertising is a much more creative field and it affects all of us in one way or the other. Designers are still considered for niche market(some marketing jargons!).Thus since the time I decided about MBA, I knew it has to be advertising. In fact most of the people in campus know where I want to be. I have been so voluble about my objective.
At the end of the day, I trust that
"Whatever happens, happens for good!"

History of Mangalsutra

One of my friends' got this one for his Group Discussion topic--"Men should wear Bangles and Mangalsutra". This kicked off my search on origin of mangalsutra. Following is what I came across in one of the articles---
Historically, the custom of tying a mangalsutra, the auspicious emblem or cord, on the wedding day, appears to have become popular only after the 6th century AD. Before this, a yellow protective cord known as 'kankanabandhana' was tied around the wrists of the bride and the groom to signal their commitment to marriage.

The mangalsutra is considered a talisman to ward off the evil eye. The black colour of the beads is said to absorb all negative vibrations before they can reach the bride and her family. The stringing together of the beads into one thread has its significance as well. Just as each bead contributes to making a beautiful necklace, so does the woman have to blend and integrate into the new family after marriage.

I personally think everything was initiated for a noble cause or because of some scientific reason but it later evolved into something which became a bonding for women or started to be seen like one. For example, sindoor was meant to keep women's temper in control, now more and more women are giving up flaunting sindoor. Most interestingly, all jwelleries have relevance in their scientific outcome. If we say that men should wear mangalsutra and bangles, it sound like nothing else but a feminist statement. before we say so, we should ask why men need to do so? just because over the years women had been made to do so?

Integrity and Growth

Integrity or integration is all about making a combined effort. The concept of Synergy borns out of this idea. When a few systems integrate and function together they create a synergistic result and produce a result which is more than a mere addition of the individual results of the systems involved. Simply put it means when united we produce better results than we could produce when function individually. For example, sometime back, there was huge downsizing in human resources took place in most of the companies. We focussed only on installing better technology and improving our output but along the way we forgot that we cannot prosper unless we prosper as a country. Now we have realised the potential of our huge human resources, and in fact half our GDP comes from services sector. Thus Integrity has led to Growth.

Ships are safe in harbour but....

....they are not meant to be there!!!
Yeah, this was one of the topics for essay for XLRI last year.
I think it is an easy topic as far as interpretation is concerned. This topic has a striking parallel with the state of Indian companies pre-liberalisation. Foreign competition was not allowed so that indigenous companies could grow. But take for example, Bajaj scooter or Padmini cars in those days. People had to wait for months and sometimes even years to get the number and get hold of a scooter or a car. There was no alternative because there was no competition. Both these companies made money but they did so in a highly uncompetitive environment. Post-liberalisation, when MNCs flooded Indian markets, and competition grew by day, everything changed. Why! I don't remember seeing any Padmini car myself since sooooo long. The true test of the business is when it faces competition.
Same is the case with several sectors in India which are protected by government. Telecom used to be one such sector but now recently our Telecom and IT Minister Mr Dayanidhi Maran has declared that a hike is expected for FDI in telecom from 49% to 74%.Till now apart from oppositions from Left, security agencies have also not cleared the idea.The underlying idea is that when there is major stake of foreign investors, they bring competition and better technology with them, this leads to growth of the company as well as test its adaptibility according to the needs of the consumers.
Thus although ships are safe in harbours, they are not meant to be there, they are meant to venture out and face the tide, take people and goods across the sea.
Even in our lives, there are several safe alternatives, which most of the people resort to but Dhirubhai Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas are made out of taking risks and facing challenges.

Happy Diwali

I know it is still some time for Diwali but since I am going home today so Wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali. It is really a beautiful festival. I quit cracking Pathakhas some years back, because of several reasons.To begin with I hate the loud noise it creates and disturbs my tranquility. Secondly, it is actually wasting money. The more you buy them, whether you realise or not you are actually burning money.But try arguing with those who love doing it!!! Besides, to bring in a social angle to this, most of us are aware that these pathakhas are made by children, because of which they acquire several dreadful ailments for their entire lives. And finally, I am scared of bombs.
So Diwali for me is decorating house, making Rangolis and lighting diya.
Ever since I could remember, I have been filling up little earthen utensils with sweets and dhaan. When I was little, I used to be extremely excited because I would have lots of toys to play with but now I give them away to children of servants. I still get those tiny colourful animals made of sugar. I used to nibble them when I was little but now I acquire them because Diwali means all these! Can't help it!
So guys, have a ball, and enjoy!These are memories to linger forever, especially if it is a family get together because in this fast pace of life, it is difficult to get together too often!
Take a break!
Chill Out!

Before I am Gone....

On 3rd November, I am leaving for home. So no posts until I come back!!!
But there's time to go, and much to write before I go!!!
Well, anyways, this is a crucial time for me, and for everyone else. Because when we come back, it would be placements time. So whatever we gonna do, we have to do during these 20 or so days!
I want to build my website but things are not really materialising. First thing is that I don't know anything about coding. So it is really difficult doing that singlehandedly!Of course, my much more computer-savvy brother, who happens to be a Project Leader in a software firm, would help me. But how much can I really expect from him when he is sitting in US. And anyways, I think I should do it myself. These 20 days could have been excellent to do that but alas, there's no internet back home!

Today I finished with The Street Lawyer by John Grisham. It was a good one except for a little filmy-ishtyle ending and some other sequences. I find Sidney Sheldon really filmy. My all time favourite remains Man, Woman and Child by Erich Segal.
I never felt Love Story was as good. And also I could not ever understand why Pride & Prejudice became such a huge hit??!!
But then all of us have individual opinions, which others might not accept. Right?
Catch u later. I guess, I can write one more post before I bid u good bye!!!

CAUSE & effect

I have been reading 'The Street Lawyer' by John Grisham for 2 days. It is about how a lawyer who worked for a hot-shot law firm, is hit by the realities of life after an incident. Everything changes from that point. Suddenly his ambitions and priorities change. He was a rich guy making a lot of money and climbing the ladder of success at a great pace. But suddenly, he realised that when death stares at you point black, money and career is the last thing on your mind. For the first time he gets close to life at the street, and he definitely changes for life!
This made me think about our own lives and where are we going. At some point of time, all of us talk about injustice, opportunities for the common man, service to the society, upliftment of the poor...blah...blah...blah, but what we do is put the entire blame of doing nothing about the poor, on government. Governments change on these issues but issues still are very much alive.
All of us spend almost half of our lives studying to spend the rest half drawing a fat salary. And no matter how fat the salary, the aim is to get it fatter. No matter if we draw Rs 5,000 or Rs 35,000, we always feel that it is not enough for our own needs, how can we think of any kind of donations. May be after I get a hike!!! Isn't it? But that day never comes! Selfish! Ego-centric! that's what we are!
So what do we do? Why can't all of us pledge a certain percentage of our salaries for donations, according to our willingness and convenience. Is it too bad--providing a child with a meal or may be providing her with a book!
Why don't we realise that if we are able to spend extravagantly on clothes, food and luxuries, most of the times it is good luck and not our hard work! I don't earn now, so whatever I enjoy because of my father and brother, as they earn! But I could have been one of those on strret, had I not been lucky!
So why can't all of us think and find out a cause, each one of us would like to be associated with! Remember, even the smallest of effort in the right direction, means humanity and compassion is still in the vicinity!
Take care!

The Week Ahead!

I am a comparatively early riser. My day begins normally at 7 am.I like to go out at that time, and get paper and bread etc for breakfast. I come back, get bath, do Puja, then make a quick breakfast and settle with a novel or the day's newspaper. I plan at that time what needs to be done in the day, and I am so used to planning that if I don't I feel something is amiss. Although it is a good exercise yet I think I make unrealistic plans, so it does not turn out the way I plan but the main thing is that I don't forget something important, which I don't because of my schedule.
I am still on a schedule. And my internet deadline finishes at 20 mins from now.
What I wanted to write here is about the week. What I would be doing this week! Since the next week I am leaving for my home, where I would not be connected.
This week I have 2 assignments and 1 case study to submit.
Besides I am going to increase my speed of reading manyfold. I want to finish lots before I leave.

Big Bad World

Meet myself.Yeah,after 21 postings, I feel I should make an introduction so that you could relate to whatever I say.I am a 23 year old girl from a small hamlet in remote Jharkhand. Hamlet does not mean, I did not have education and other things. It just means, it was not a happening place. I had my schooling in a decent enough school--DAV Public School--till Class XII. Then I shifted to Orissa,because at my place, it took 4 years to complete graduation, so what's the point to waste 1 whole year when there are alternatives! Till my Graduation, I had not imagined for once that I would do MBA someday. Frankly speaking, I had Group Discussion fear. I was into NIFT, I wanted to be a Fashion Designer. I was the one who would be glued to TV, not blinking for once, to watch Miss India, Miss Universe, Miss World Contests. Designer clothes seemed bizarre to me but even then I would think they are creative....blah..blah..blah. And then I got over this Fashion phobia. I wanted to get into Indian Institute of Mass Communication. The first time I could not make it, as I was not prepared, and then my brother, who wanted to do MBA, somehow convinced me that MBA is THE profession these days. So here I am.
But I actually drifted from what I wanted to say.
I was telling about how entirely different is life at that small hamlet--Jhinkpani--and here at Pune.There are ways in which you grow up, and there are ways through which you lose yourself, in the crowd of such a huge city! I am glad I have grown, but I fear that others do not lose themselves.....I fear!!!

Festive Season's here!

Tomorrow's Dussera!!!Yeah, it is that time of the year again. But in Pune, it does not look like it. Back home, it would be one big event for the entire place--Music blaring at full volume, people dressed in new clothes for atleast 4 days on a row till Dussera. But here I have to ask people again when is Dussera, so that I don't miss Dussera. Mum-dad are also missing us but oce you grow up, you hardly kow where you are going to celebrate your festival. It depends on your commitments and priorities at that point of time.When we were in school, it was so simple, whenever you would have holidays, you would be home or may be out to some relative's place. But these days, the time you reach home is supposedly festival time!
I would be home for Diwali. But the problem is you become so out of reach at that place, that I have to think 10 times before scheduling my holidays. There's no cellular service except Cell One, and no Internet!!!Yeah, it's that remote! But you do not find fault in your child, do you? So good or bad, it is yours!!!The home, that is!

Trite & Prejudice

My weekend was not really full of books as I presumed. Sunday is always my favourite in terms of spending time doing something or nothing. My room-mates can't digest why I get up early on a holiday but I have been like this always. My logic is simple, if I get up early on a day when I have to attend classes early in the day, I would only get up and get ready for the class. But when its holiday, I wear my shoes and go for a leisurly walk, get newspaper, milk, prepare garma-garm Tea, take bath; and then settle down to reading something. It is Bliss.
Yesterday, I went to watch 'Bride & Prejudice'. I would say it was yet another ordinary Bollywood movie, only difference was that, it was in Hindi!And yeah, the male lead, Martin Henderson was the breather, if you know what I mean!
But I particularly loved one song--"Show me the way, take me to love....!!!"It's beautiful!
By the way, I am refreshing the original story of 'Pride & Prejudice' at www.bartleby.com.

My article

By the way, here's my article.................

RURAL MARKETING IN INDIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Rural Marketing is the latest buzzword in the Indian Market. The villages and small towns, which were once inconsequential dots on maps, are now getting the attention of global marketing giants and media planners Two-third of the country’s consumers live in rural India and almost half of the national income is generated here. Thus not only a large consumer base stays at the backwaters but also because of the stagnancy in the urban demand, the only way out for the companies is to target the Rural India.
Is it that easy to target semi-urban and rural customers? It is in fact easier said than done. There are scores of issues associated with this, from poor infrastructure to low income, from the difference in the buying habits of the urban and rural customers to their wants and desires, from different lifestyles to consumption trends, and several other issues. Think for yourself, would it be a cakewalk for a Korean company to understand the idiosyncrasies of a resident in Siwan (Bihar) or a Marwari in the remote Rajasthan?
This article dwells into the opportunities enfolded in the Rural India and the challenges, which companies need to consider before taking the plunge.


OPPORTUNITIES AT THE HINTERLAND

Volumes

The most lucrative aspect of Rural Marketing is to reach the untargeted 700 million potential customers, which would bring huge volume Sales to the company. What this data means could be sensed from the case of LIC. Almost 55 percent of LIC's business today comes from villages and as much as 47 percent of the total Sum Assured is accounted for by village folk. Of a total of 1.7 crore life insurance policies bought in the country, more than half have their origin in villages.

Untapped Potential

The estimated size of India’s rural market stated as the percentage of world population is 12.2%, which consists of largely untapped markets. Besides, introducing the existing products to the rural markets, companies are also bringing the rural customers face-to-face with several new concepts. ITC has been extremely innovative in this regard with its e-chaupal and first rural mall ‘Chaupal Sagar’ (Madhya Pradesh).
It works like this. With its network of e-chaupals, ITC communicates its latest commodity prices to the farmers via the Internet or VSAT lines. If they find these attractive, they sell their produce to ITC. Now, by setting up the mall next to the warehouse, ITC is trying to monetise the footfalls from farmers. Most of the brands sold here are national. You would find Marico, LG, Philips, torches from Eveready, shirts from ITC's apparel business, bikes from TVS, and tractors from Eicher.

Government Initiatives

With government’s focus shifting to agriculture, rural development and infrastructure, the economics of the agricultural sector is expected to see an upward trend. For example, the increasing focus on organic farming in the Planning Commission, and impetus on growth of rural sector in this Budget show positive signs.

Vanishing Urban-Rural divide

The Urban-Rural divide is shrinking as never before. The aspirations of Rural India are scaling new heights. Increased literacy and greater awareness in rural markets create new demands and discriminating buyers. Villagers who used to spend the entire day munching paan-tambakoos now demand chocolate candies. Charcoal-cleaned teeth have given way to Colgate and the likes.
In fact there are categories where rural market share is greater then urban like batteries, blues, tea, washing cakes/bars, etc. 38% of the two-wheeler consumers are rural. Besides, LG has clearly set a target of 70% value growth in rural market. It anticipates the contribution of the rural market to be 65% this year. As also, 50% of the confectionery market lies in rural areas, and the market is growing at a rate many times more than the urban market. Even Coca Cola India claims that 30% of its sales come from rural markets.

Competition in Urban Markets

Intensified competition in urban markets increases costs and reduces market share. The situation is that the total market in Urban India is not increasing substantially, thus companies are fighting hard to maintain their market share, sometimes at the cost of their profits also. For example, the recent case of price-cuts by HLL and P&G in detergent powder segment has led to drastic cut in the profits of both the companies. It is also not viable to sustain market share in this way because low profits rely on volumes to sustain it.
The rural market thus provides the obvious scope for furthering company’s market. The automobile market brings this out clearly. Bajaj scooters and Ambassador cars find ready acceptance in the rural market in the present scenario, where the urban market is flooded with brands of motorbikes and cars in a variety of range.


CHALLENGES

Low Income level

Rural consumers have a lower disposable income. A majority of these comprise of daily-wage earners, who rely on their daily earnings for sustenance. Since their disposable income is low, so their needs are also restricted to minimum requirements. For example, if they decide to buy a TV, they would not look at Flat-screen or surround sound system or golden eye. They would buy a TV with the basic functions and no more specialties or value-addition, simply because they cannot pay for it.
In the Television segment, LG’s ‘Sampoorna’ and Onida’s IGO, at lower cost, are targeted towards rural consumers. 14-inch economy colour TV models also saw competitive pricing.

Inadequate infrastructure facilities (electricity and roads)

Poor infrastructure leads to poor physical distribution. When companies target rural markets, availability is also a very important aspect. Poor electricity facilities and poor roads leads to difficulties in distribution of product on time and storage problems.

Retail & Distribution Network

Unlike the variety of stores in the urban market, rural markets have only small retailers in the form of kirana shops. There is no proper display of products and most of the times there is hardly any brand-loyalty.
The rural India had first brush with the concept of shopping malls with ITC’s Chaupal Sagar.

Different Buying Behaviour

It is observed that the buying behaviour of urban and rural consumers is very different. For example, since a majority of rural consumers are daily-wage earners, they cannot possibly buy big ‘money-saver packs’ simply because they are cheaper in effect. The companies fear that if they introduce such packs in the rural markets, it would lead to loose retail of their product by the retailers and they would loose control over quality, brand presentation and price.
HLL had been able to gauge this and it introduced the concept of ‘nano-marketing’, which meant products made available in small sachets especially for the rural consumers. After so many years of introduction of this concept, today everything possible is available in a sachet, from edible oil to shampoo, from tomato sauce to coconut oil, from coffee to milk powder. This concept brings affordability with variety to the rural consumers.
For Coca Cola also the launch of the Rs 5 pack has reaped rich dividends in terms of sales. 50 gm packs of Godrej’s FairGlow and Cinthol at Rs 5 each, and HLL’s Lifebuoy at Rs 2, are examples of how companies are reacting according to the rural markets

Inaccessibility of conventional advertising media

Since TV is accessible to only around 50% of the rural consumers. Thus the conventional advertising media does not really work in these quarters. Thus companies have to take a different route to reach out to the consumers. Rural marketing discourse, Wall paintings Calendar advertising and outdoor advertising are most common. Besides, companies target gatherings like ‘Kumbh Mela’ festival, where they provided ‘touch and feel’ demo and free samples like Colgate-Palmolive distributed free samples of its herbal toothpaste. There are Consumer Video Vans, which carry informecials to rural villages.

Seasonal consumption

One more problem with this market is that it is more-or-less seasonal. In most of the places, there is acute dependence on monsoons. Besides, there is also increase in disposable income and more willingness in the rural consumers during harvests and festivals, unlike urban consumers, who buys throughout the year.

Understanding local tastes

It is easy to imagine how difficult it could be for MNCs to understand the local tastes and preferences of people. To solve this problem several companies go for Joint Ventures o tie-ups. For example, in early 90s, P&G tied up with Godrej, as it was oblivion to local tastes.

Cheap alternatives

Since rural consumers comprise of illiterate people also. It forms ground for the cheap copies of established brand. For example, Fair & Lovely could be Fare & Lovely or Parachute could be Farachute. Since the packaging is so similar that the consumers are easily fooled. Thus, companies also need to monitor what goes on in the rural markets in this respect.


CONCLUSION

Thus, rural marketing is not a child’s play. It calls for an extensive research about the market and the consumers. Meanwhile, the investment for improving the basic conditions of water, electricity and roads in rural areas must be strengthened so as to create a better environment for growth in all respect.
Looking at the opportunities and challenges in the rural market, it is certain that the rural sector is extremely lucrative but only for those who understand its dynamics and are able to make the best use of it, otherwise it can become a trap in the sense where the companies lose focus of their core customers.



REFERENCES

www.indiainfoline.com
www.businessworldindia.com
www.rediff.com
www.worldisgreen.com
www.sify.com/finance/insurance
www.maxwell.syr.edu
www.exchange4media.com
Pitch-The Advertising, Marketing and Media Review
Rural Marketing by Sanal Kumar Velayudhan

Saturday has arrived. Finally!

This day was extremely taxing. I got up at 6.30 am for a class at 8 am. After the class, at 9.30 am, I sat down finally to write my pending article for our college magazine LINKPIN. I have been an editorial board member for more than a year and did not write one article!!!That was really, really bad. So by 2.30 pm, I completed my article on 'Rural Marketing in India-Opportunities & Challenges'. That done, I went to canteen to grab a quick lunch of Masala Dosa (although I have got sick of it!). Then I spent time in the library flipping through Economic Times till 4.30 pm. I had a class till 7.30 pm. And after everything, I am here at our good, old computer lab to post stuff about something atleast. Everyday I logged into Blogspot, wondered what to write, close it and leave for home! It had been days since I last posted!
Anyways, my reading cruise is still on! Now that my article is completed, today I would start 'The Da-Vinci Code', then I have also got a collection of short stories, Interpreter of Maladies and one from Harry Porter series (I finally decided to have a look why JK Rowling is creating so much buzz everywhere!) piled up! Besides, I have 2 issues of USP, 1 issue of Pitch, 1 old issue of 'The Brief' and bound A&M issues. Anybody would think I am completely drowned in Advertising! Well, atleast I am trying.
Its a dream to be there, in Advertising, creating wonderful ads!
You know something? I really love Saturdays, it has a Sunday a day after to relax!
OK, enough of dreaming. My back is aching like hell! I have been working since morning without rest, so catch you later, sweetie!

Reading like a Maverick!

Yeah! That's what I am doing these days. As time is running out and I am counting days in this institute, I want to read all the books which I want to read!I read Kiran Bedi's Biography 'I Dare'. I found it really motivating. This woman is really something!
Secondly, I read R.K.Narayan's 'Malgudi Adventures', stories of our good old Malgudi!!!I remember its Tana..na..tana..na.na..na tune. And infact Malgudi's ringtone is quite popular!

And today I got hold of "The Da Vinci Code" finally!

Life hits you really Hard!

Last two days had been difficult. It seems that those were not just two days but several!!!!They were long, really long!
On Saturaday, two of my friends met with a very severe accident on a bike while driving back from a picnic in the outskirts. The accident was so severe that we lost one of our friends, and the other is fighting for his life at ICU.
I feel really sad when I look at his parents! At this age they have to go through this. His Father is sitting outside ICU since the time he got admitted, barring few trips home. He looks normal but anybody could imagine what it is to see your child in such state. You really need nerves of steel.
I just pray to God that he gets well soon,back to his normal self. I really miss him around. Just a day before his accident, all of us dined together. And now we are seeing him stuck inside life-support system.
Life is really, really difficult. But keep the Faith!
I must add here that Pune is a really a nightmare for two-wheeler drivers. (Hope my brother doesn't reads this!)But then in India where do you find people abiding by rules? But this incident has made me extremely afraid.

Yahoo!!!!!

Actually I had been searching for Online Books since a very long time and finally today I found two links. I don't know whether these are the most popular ones or not, but they would do for the time being.They are

www.bartleby.com

http://www.pagebypagebooks.com

The first book I am going to hit is Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. I had read this book before but a very long time ago. So, since apni Aishwarya's Bride & Prejudice is creating so much hype. I should get through the original scipt before getting to watch the movie!

Deamz Unlimited

I don't know why but I have always felt this attraction for books, book shops and even magazine stalls. I like to be in the close vicinity of lots of books. I might not read all of them, as I love reading, yet there is some sort of strong pull.This has given me idea to own a chain of book shops like Crossword or Landmark but better and beyond their scope. It has to be exotic! Something which no one has ever seen! I know I would love to own such a thing!
Another of my dreams is to have my own Greeting cards company. Sometime back I used to design greeting cards myself for the B'days and Friendship days for my friends. It would start with a picture that I would be hit with while going through magazines or books. It would somehow relate to some mood or some moment that is close to me and then it would turn into a card complete with a poetry. I used to make cards mostly for my best friend as she understood the feelings that makes a mere picture in some obscure magazine into a card! It would have a poem that would be specially for her! But I have not made any card since a long time, may be soon I would get back to my love once again!
Yesterday I was discussing about The IITians by Sandipan Deb.
I remember, somewhere in the book, the author mentions that IITians do their work only when they have no other option, that is, at the last moment. But that is true with all of us. Here at IMDR, we think it is an IMDRite trait. But I guess, it is an Indian mentality or shall I say Lethargy. They do not do anything till the last moment.
It was also a new discovery for me to read about the social skills of IITians. I would rather say that I never thought about it! Imagine 400 guys and 12 girls!!!Crazy situation!
About the deadline thing----it is true everywhere in India. Women are meant to be protected and hence all sorts of absurd rules and regulations even after you reach the Age!!!At our hostel in college, the deadline was 5 pm! Anyways, there was nothing to do in any case outside, before or after the deadline!

Booked!!!

Last week was intellectually fulfilling. I read 2 books--first being, Scenes from an Executive's Life by Anurag Mathur and The IITians by Sandipan Deb.
Let me first dwell on the first one!It was truly typical exercepts from an Executive's life.The same old office politics, which all of us have gone through or heard about! The same old mistakes people commit! The same old consequences of promiscuous rendezvous!But it all made for an interesting reading.
I want to write more about the second book so I leave you here with the review of the first one to go ahead and explore for yourself. Because that is what I did!
I had read about this new book called The IITians and I thought, now that Five Point Someone (another one about IIT but a fiction) has become so popular, the market would be flooded with all sorts of details and statistics of IITs! But then I chanced upon this book in my college library. I had not intended to read it earlier because I thought such books would make sense only to the IITians! But then somehow I picked the book and after a few chapters was hooked to it! I would not be as dramatic as saying that it changed my life! But when I think in terms of Pre-The IITians and Post-The IITians, it has definitely made me more aware about several things related to the most coveted and respected professional brand we have--The IITs!
I came to know about so many IITians and the way they are affecting our lives and the lives of the people around them and across the globe!
Over the years we have been talking about Brain Drain. I came to know more about it--the Whys and Whats!Earlier I did not understand anything much on this issue. But now I understand much of it! I was impressed by the grassroots level work done by several IITians and was filled with awe by the enormity of achievements that so many of the IITians carry!Even to general people like us it is of some pride to connect ourselves in some way with some IITian! My friend studies at IIT Delhi. We are hardly in touch but I do mention this to my newly formed friends at some point of time! IIT also fills me with some awe. I feel that those who go to IIT must be people of some other planet, extremely intelligent and outstanding, and yeah, with a lot of out-of-box aptitude ( I am a management student afterall)!
I never dreamt of going to IITs! And thank god for that! Because those who do, sweat it out for atleast 4-5 years these days, in such extremely competitive environment! I am the creative sort! Thinking about machines and motors, make me sick...but I admire all those who do wonders with these things.
I was really impressed by the work done by Prof. Jhunjhunwala of IIT Madras. And also of 'The Toymaker'( I forgot the name!)that the book had a chapter on.
I had this argument yesterday with some of my friends who clearly were irritated of seeing me hooked to this book day in and day out! The issue was why people crib so much about IITians not doing enough!What they are doing at grassroots level, even other engineers could also do, then why people raise eyebrows on only what the IITians have not done!
I would continue with The IITians in my next posting.
Till then, enjoy!!!

In touch with me

I am a bundle of Introspections, Retrospections, and yeah,Contradictions. Like everyone else, of course!

These days all of us are talking about placements, jobs, etc,etc.I feel, and mind it, it's no gyaan, that there are lots of jobs outside the campus. OK! Let me begin this afresh.

I am doing PGDM at IMDR, Pune. Many of you would think....ok, yet another institute, at yet another corner of Pune. You might as well be thinking, what must be the situation at Pune and Bangalore, really??!!These places are being over-crowded with institutes and more institutes, and the number is just increasing in such a way that the rate would might beat our population growth rate as well!!! But jokes apart, IMDR means Institute of Management Development & Research.It has been around 30 years in Management education, and it does not believes in Advertising itself in order to attract more application forms. So forget that it would resort to several of those antics, so many of the institutes do these days in order to attract companies to come for placements!It stands by its values. Some say it is all crap! Some say the values have become outdated! I think it surely needs some integrity and strength to stand by your values. In fact, situations--good and bad--really test your values. Otherwise all of us could write great sounding words as our Values!!!

The point is why should this institute follow that suite , which all others are following. Just because it is convenient to get placed through campus? Just because campus placements come with some pride? What else?

I live in reality. I think this institute is great but I also know tht none of the kind of jobs I want would be available in campus, and that does not make this institute any less great! I know everone would say it is easier to give gyaan rather than stick to these principles! Lets c!

So the point is when I know that no matter what I do, the kind of companies I would like to join would not come for campus placements, then rather than cribbing wouldn't it be far wise move to plan things with this assumption! Only because HLLs and P&Gs do not come to my campus, my institute is inferior? I cannot buy this view!

Personal Opinion, of course!!!

Job...............less???

The first thing on everybody's mind is Placements!!!Mine too!But surprisingly, I am not worried, like others.
My institute does not believe in advertising, and it has stood by its values through all seasons. I think it is really commendable, considering the fact that there is a Management institute in every nook and corner, and each one advertises obscenly to attract more students and companies!Sad, it might sound, but truely, education has become a booming industry.
Some of us get frustated and abuse the IMDR that it is playing with our careers, blah...blah...blah!But what is really beyond my comprehension is that why campus placements is the only way of getting a job? There are several wonderful jobs out there, and people need you! In any case, no company pays you out of charity, it needs you!Why do we always underestimate ourselves???