Mad-ads,Bad-ads

Just watching some of the Ads on TV, these days, is like an exercise in catharsis. You just feel that you must have committed some terrible atrocity on the ad-maker in your previous birth, for which he is punishing you in this one, making you relive the hell you must have put him through, each time you turn on the TV.

For one there is that new Airtel Ad, that features SRK and Saif. I hate it. I can`t really put a finger on why, but I do. Airtel has come up with quite a few notable commercials in the past, most notably the ones which depict familial bonds. Such ads work for you, because the common man can identify with the concept being highlighted. I really don`t understand why they had to dumb down, that too by spending a bomb. " I miss you so much, it hurts" goes the ad, but every time I see it, I go, "The ad is so bad, it hurts".

The other segment I have a grouse against is the fairness cream one. Come on! They make it seem as if having a dark complexion is a crime; one that deserves capital punishment. We made a huge hue and cry when Shilpa Shetty was targetted by Jade Goody; but, can we honestly say, we are not racist ourselves? These fairness cream ads certainly make me feel, we are. From portraying the darker sibling, to be the butt of jokes, and urging her to emulate her fair-complexioned sister in the colour department, we are indulging in something akin to modern day apartheid, driven by the commercial frenzy to boost market sales. They have taken it a step further by targetting the Indian male too. Men, who earlier were indifferent to this particular aspect of their personality, are preening themselves in front of the mirrors, like there is no tomorrow. They call him the 'metrosexual' man, huh! We now also have 'ubersexual' and 'retrosexual', a category, which, I think you are classified under, depending on whether or not you use a beauty product. Gimme a break!

The soft drinks industry is making a mockery of the Indian sensibility, and no one is batting an eyelid . If I were to take the cola ads seriously, I should be able to take a leap from the 10th floor of my apartment,land in the middle of a highway, swerve out of the path of a speeding truck, while at the same time, flicking a thums-up from the back, without breaking a bone, or being run over. Wowweee! I always wanted to be Superman!!!
I would also be able to metamorphose into a smooth-talking alien, who would very easily gain entry into his girl friend`s house, by convincing her non-pepsi drinking, alien-obsessed brother, that you were actually sent by extra-terrestrials to guard his sister. Guys, getting a Rakhi tied is so passe`.If you really wanna do your job as big brother responsibly, go guzzle a can or two of pepsi every day.
You could also unearth, your hitherto hidden talents as a shrink, by making a Mowgli-like character, overcome his fear of both fire and humanity, and befriend them, all by making him take a sip of Coke. Why spend millions on tracking Osama, when the secret to controlling him is so easily available. Just make sure, that for a week, instead of water, you supply coke, in his prospective lairs, and voila, at the end of the week, you`ll see Osama walk out of his hide-out with a smile on his pepsi-dribbling lips. If only, our world leaders had the vision to make use of this miraculous beverage at the turn of the 20th century,we could have averted the World wars.

There are plenty of other ads , that make me want to break the TV, and it is only some of the genuinely good ads, that still remain on television ( And, of course, my Dad`s presence), that help me rein in my destructive impulses. For every bad Cola ad, that makes you want to tear your hair in frustration, there is an ad that helps you in retaining your crowning glory; Case in point, those Fevicol ads, which I actually look forward to, for their ability to promote the brand, without having to make celebrities indulge in histrionics. India, today is a force to be reckoned with, with nearly all the top brands, wanting to foray into the Indian markets. Notwithstanding the slump in the economy, India is where the moolah is, as far as all the ad-gurus are concerned. For the sake of the millions of prospective buyers, I hope the advertising campaigns too,live up to expectations.

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The White Tiger, Indeed

All of India rejoiced when Aravind Adiga`s book, "The White Tiger", won the Booker a couple of weeks back. As is the case when in the grip of patriotic euphoria, all the copies of the book, that used to grace the bookshelves of all the stores, gathering dust, were snapped up in a matter of days. That`s a pity actually, because it is a genuinely good book, and Booker or no Booker, Mr.Adiga has come up with an authentic page-turner, that grabs you from the very first page and will not let you off the hook, till you flip the last page.

The protagonist, is a spirited young man, who grows up in one of the many villages that dot the banks of the Ganges. So uneventful is his life, that he starts of not knowing his name(and just being called Munna), or age, just because his parents are too busy working, in order to provide their children, with two square meals a day. Seeing his mother`s body being cremated on the banks of the river and the ashes being blown into the Ganges, proves to be a profound life-changing experience for Munna who vows that he will get out of the clutches of an over-bearing grandmother, and a well-meaning but timid brother, so as to not be relegated to the same fate as her. His journey to make it big, is not without pitfalls, as he is forced to quit school, so that he can work at the local tea-shop, and be yet another bread-winner for a family, that demands more and more from him. That Munna, who is christened Balram Halwai, by a teacher, is able to make this experience into an enlightening one, is a tribute to his undying spirit and his ability to assimilate knowledge from all quarters. Indeed, as he himself says, "The best enterpreneur is the one, who is self-taught".

Adiga narrates, in his own irrepressible style, how Balram faces hardships at the hands of the local Zamindars,always transforming a situation that would have threatened to engulf him, into one from which he emerges a person, better equipped to face the rigors of a life, that is hell-bent on being hard on him. It is not a goody-goody book, that talks about only the humane aspect of the human psyche. What makes the book so believable, is the moral dilemna that faces Balram, whenever he is faced with a decision to make, and even though, you get to see his Dark side, his justification for his behaviour, only increases your respect for the man, who dares to rise against the destiny that life had planned for him, and make it big. Essentially, it is a story about every Indian, who faces countless obstacles in his quest to eke out a better living, for himself and his family, and how one in a million, chooses a path, different from the rest. That redeeming trait, is the one that gives birth to 'THE WHITE TIGER'.

The book, is a glowing tribute to the never-say-die attitude of not just a Balram Halwai, but the several anonymous Balram Halwais, who manage to be successful, battling the bureaucratic red-tape, that one is forced to encounter on his path to redemption. It blows into smithereens, the perception, that the country is on its way to achieving glory, and forces us to confront the stark realities, that stand in the way between us and greatness. For painting a picture of an India, that not many are willing to acknowledge exists, Adiga deserves all the accolades being heaped on him. For once, I have to grudgingly agree, the Booker committee, has got it right.
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IIM-B - an outsider's prespective

I had the opportunity to visit the pristine IIM-B campus yesterday, for a quiz contest that I was taking part in, as part of one of the numerous fests hosted by the institute, VISTA-2008. The verdant greenery surrounding the campus, is indeed soothing to the eyes. You feel transported to a totally different world,as soon as you pass the main gates and enter the precincts of the institute. From the dusty and chaotic Bannerghatta road, to the serene surprise awaiting you,as soon as you are past the entrance, it is indeed like chancing upon a paradise. That was my first impression and it was definitely, a most favourable one.

What wasn`t so impressive though, was the way the event was conducted, which I thought, could have been planned better. The prelims of our quiz, which was scheduled to start at 4, as per the notification on their official website, ended up being delayed by almost an hour and a half. This lapse, from one of the lesser institutes,, would have been acceptable, but coming from one of India`s premier institutes, was a bit surprising. After all, when you are Indian Institute of Management, Time is also something which you should be able to manage efficiently. That was definitely not on display, as, the organisers themselves appeared to be at a loss,as to what was expected of them.

After a lot of running around, we were finally ready to get cracking. The questions in the prelims were quite simple, so it was a little surprising, when we learnt that the top score was 30, out of a possible 40. We, unfortunately, failed to qualify, as we missed more than we should have. Most of the people present seemed to be bosom buddies, as they were all regulars on the quizzing circuit. Indeed, the excitement was so palpable, that even I, who gave up active quizzing almost 8 years back, felt a frisson of anticipation, creep up my spine, and got caught in the maelstrom of emotions that cascade through the psyche of an ardent quizzer.

Finally, the finalists were chosen and boy, was it close! 4 of the top teams all got the same score and the other 2, a point less. The team names too bordered on the extreme-sample this, there was a team called N2C2E(name too complicated to explain), and a team which had a very offensive name, which the quizmaster, Barry O'Brien, was not too gung-ho to reveal. After a bit of coaxing, he agreed to reveal the initials of the team name, which was TM. I`ll go one better, and tell you, that Harbhajan would have easily figured it out.

While the responses of the prelims were being evaluated, we decided to explore the campus. We came upon a group of 7 people, who were so engrossed in a quizzing session, that they were totally oblivious to the gigantic mosquitoes, that call this campus their home too. IIM could be ,Indian institute of mosquitoes too. These guys were so good, that , among them, I think, they know everything in this world. The surge of adrenaline, that I felt, when I answered a question, that this elite group couldn`t, will flow within me, for a long time to come.

Barry O'Brien was a revelation. The consummate quiz master, he combined easy humour with serious quizzing, to create an ambience, that none of us present are ever likely to forget. Blessed with the gift of the gab, he kept the audience in splits with his one-liners. There were audience questions too, which was something, that Barry enjoyed tremendously, as by his own admission, he likes to host a quiz amongst a large gathering, than be cooped up within a studio. The quizzing was of the highest standards, with most questions being answered, within seconds of them being asked. Some of the questions, for those of you who might be interested were, - What is nomophobia, what do you understand by the word co-preneur and In relation to a company, what is it`s Elvis year. The answers are quite interesting too, Nomophobia is quite simply, no mobile phobia, a fear of being totally out of mobile reach. Copreneur, is a husband-wife combination that sets up an enterprise, and an Elvis year is one, in which the company has its most profitable year.

The quizzing went on well into the night. Unfortunetely, I couldn`t be there to watch it in its entirety, because I had to depend on the BMTC for conveyance, which is notoriously conspicuous by its absence after 9:30 in the night. So, with quite a few longing glances, we trudged our way out of the campus, to the concrete jungle awaiting us. My tryst with IIM-B albeit, a short one, was quite a revelation, and something I will not forget in a hurry.
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Gift of the Gab.

Met my friends from iGate after a long, long time today. Felt really good indulging in some good old-fashioned banter running it`s course from the situation in wall street to the hottest girls in their respective companies. It is just so refreshing to just talk. It is said, that a good conversation, improves the mental faculty. It gives your brain, a mental work-out, which is equivalent to solving a jumble, or cracking a basic Math problem. Isn`t that cool? Chatting is something, I would go for any day, considering the other options. Definitely, seems to have worked for me, judging by how easily, I managed to write a blog, after a period of indefinite literary hibernation, I had slipped into. Hail the gift of the gab.
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