'Zoozoo' in the age of romance

Finally we’ll see the new government holding the cabinet on Tuesday morning after much fanfare spread across elections and politics. UPA came out as a clear winner despite various odds against its favour. ‘Elections’ was not the only topic of this month, for least interested citizens there was Indian Premier League (IPL), a series of cricket matches that took more than 45 evenings of your schedule (matches are still going on..). People are still shuffling between sports channel and news channel to get latest of the news from both spheres.

In the midst of these two occasions I came to see one interesting ad: -Vodafone’s new character called “Zoozoo”…!!! I wasn’t interested in its first ad in which a group of ‘Zoozoo’s were lined up for getting Xeroxed…!!! As the concept matured, the ad seems to be quite amusing and these characters were getting comical. Each and every ad represents a functionality being offered by Vodafone and it is described in a very simple and efficient manner. The customers could relate to these situations quite comfortably and can laugh at the characters as they behave.

‘Zoozoo’ is a character that is played by actors wearing a white, body hugging suit and having an enormous looking shaped head. These heads were painted with every possible expression that needs to be displayed. Every shot of the ad consists of a situation and ‘zoozoo’s acting in that and finally how the particular functionality of Vodafone can help you in these situations. The expressions are quite good and hilarious. On the contrary Airtel has also launched its ad featuring Madhavan and Vidya Balan representing a romantic couple and showing the add-on functionalities of Airtel. But since the IPL has started (around a month or so) Airtel has changed its theme hardly twice. On the other hand I have seen almost 10-15 different themes of ‘Zoozoo’ since they appeared first time on television. The popularity that Vodafone has gained over the month shows that viewers would still prefer humour over romance.

Despite of being age-old Airtel customer, Vodafone holds the edge for me this time on television..!!!!

"Hum 7 saath hain..."

Last week was filled with lot more activities than normally what we are occupied with. Our newly rented house had played the host for seven people including me and my wife. Mummy, papa, my sister and two of my cousins had visited Hyderabad for a week passed by and it was the first time after our marriage that we were hosting a big gathering. It was an amazing feeling all together.

I remember last time my parents had came to Hyderabad and all were bundled into a single small room. I had no cooking gas in house and can’t afford a house made meal for them. I bought a defective hot plate that brought me shame while cooking a Maggi. I know that parents are most flexible to stay with their children, but I could sense the displeasure while they left for Jaipur.

As the last week passed by, I could feel the sense of contentment that I could present my parents with better living style than before. Credit goes to my wife who was able to manage guests mostly without my help. We had already started the preparation for this occasion a month before. Everyday we used to load my bike with odd-shaped stuffs…we paid minute attention to every detail that could be sensed by any guest. We had experienced many things during this vacation…we tried sizzlers at the most famous restaurant “Indijoes”…tried biryani at “Paradise” , the most famous hotel for biryanis in Hyderabad…had done some pearl shopping (not on my account this time..!!)…went to “Eat Street” at Hussain Sagar Lake where we were sweating like anything …and most importantly chatted like never before.

Finally all of them left our place on Sunday leaving a vacuum in our ‘home’. All our efforts were finally converted to smiling faces…. atleast this 'kodak moment' says so..

Sabse bada rupaiyya

"BSP candidate Deepak Bhardwaj declares assets worth Rs 600cr"

*

The recent news in Times of India hadn’t shocked me with awe. Seems it was so obvious that such amount is bound to be possessed by ‘public servants’ of this nation..!!

Phew..!!! They are not talking about thousands or lakhs, it whooping 600 CRORES..!! If I count the personals who could/should or are expected to possess such huge pile of money, than I can name: Industrialists of good running companies, film makers and actors having good number of hit movies under the belt, prime positions holders in government like prime minister or president, few rare lucky chaps having won the miraculous lottery tickets and finally the thieves.

*

I don’t think these MLAs can be categorized in any of the personals mentioned above except the THIEVES. It amuses me that how a person can possess 600 crores in one lifetime. If a normal service man starts working at the age of 20 and gets 30% increment every 3 years (which is nearly impossible in any company and almost impossible in today’s recession hit economy..!!), even than he can not even come close to a crore in his entire lifetime. And this MLA being a ‘public servant’ possessed 600 crore in 75% of his lifetime. The best thing is that this is the amount he has declared to the election commissioner; the actual black money is still under wraps..!!!

*

I along with my wife have been setting our house for quite some time and everyday we are seen loaded with abnormal shaped items over my bike. When we try to consolidate the expenses we incurred during our shopping, it gives me a head roll and I could see some birds chirping and stars shining over my head..!!! I just pray that the current month end fast so that our monthly expenses are within our prescribed ‘heart-attack limits’. We had to bargain for almost everything, keep credit cards as far as possible, overlook BMWs and AUDIs parked nearby, resist going to home décor showrooms…any many more. And these MLA guys slapped us with his declaration. Why shouldn’t we take an easy route through forgeries and get the max out of this profession. Who care about the simpletons? Why should I overlook BMW, rather shouldn’t I possess one of them? I would get all luxuries I can ever dream about..BUT..think about someone who is writing such a blog about you. You might have lost the respect that you always long for in your life. I would prefer those birds and shining stars than sitting over pile of currency that you aren’t capable to possess.

*

Vote for someone who care about your pockets rather than spending time in filling their own…!!!

The 'Iron' in Me

"Why is that we are born so fragile that we end up being a flimsy piece of junk? I was not the same before. I was not brought up like the same before. I was not destined to be like same before. Then why was I made so brittle in the end…”

*

“I was as hard as rock when I was smacked with a heavy hammer. The ambience was smelting with heat emanating from blacksmith’s oven. He was scary and had a face covered with dense, grave moustache and his head covered with cloud of filthy hair. He seems to be like evil and had beaten me like anything. I was shattered with every blow that ripped apart my tough scalp.”

*

Every human being is born with a confidence to live a life full of ornamental trails and throbbing pathways as well. The sore experiences make the man taste the blood and take revenge against the unfavorable expected circumstances in future. I am talking about a piece of iron that is as hard as a human being, which is shattered with painful blows of incidents that had featured in its life. A life seems like an evil, covered with dense, grave moustache and his head covered with cloud of filthy hair.

*

“I wasn’t expecting him to surrender and offer me to the perilous fire that has been burning the oil beneath…But he did that. Fire was as intense as my beliefs were. It was hard like a solid and firm like a destiny. I resisted the fire and tried to breathe in the hell…But failed”

*

We are acustomed to face the pain that can be controlled in our limits and have a tendency to retain our comfort zone. But the actual real life is far from our expectations. More audicious we try to become, more are the obstructions created for us. These obstructions are cruel as fire and some call it one’s destiny. But there is a limit for the audacity, there is a limit for the patience. Beyond a certain point it is hard to resist the fire and eventually the metal like iron turns pliant.

*

“The pain is no more…I became immune to the thumps of hammer. I was shattered and was loosing my brittleness. I was gradually chiseled to form a sharp pointed weapon. I was waiting for the hammer that can make my edges sharp as a razor. I was growing. I was turned into a weapon from a mere junk. He poured me into the cold water and heat from my body released to air above water as fumes. I was turning grey. I was as hard as diamond. He turned to me..he winked and then smiled. He appreciated his job. I smiled him back. I thanked him for his job. I was ready to create my beginning.”

*

It is hard to believe that there are many things that are not under your control. Its frustating. People call it bad culture or intellectuals calls it a destiny. When you have reached the extreme, you will become immune to all the pains that you are suffering. They hardly matter to you anymore…

*

But this is not the end of the narration. In our life, we have faced so many sufferings that we pretend having reached the extreme. We become immune to any atrocities showered upon us. Its tragic and it feels like the end of the world. But this is not the end of the narration. Junk piece of iron will turn into sharp edged weapon. And the weapon need not care about the fire anymore. There is a mount at the end of the hope. The fire will bring the best out of you without which you will remain trash as before.

*

Many a times in my career and relationships I use to think, why is that I was born so fragile that I end up being a flimsy piece of junk? I was not the same before. I was not brought up like the same before. I was not destined to be like same before. Then why was I made so brittle in the end…and then I came to realize the piece of iron turning into a sharp weapon and this is exactly I am supposed to think. I am shattered and beaten but slowly carving into weapon.

*

I am waiting to create my beginning…!!!

Mumbai Meri Jaan

Well, I am not the best person to write something on Mumbai because I had spent not more than 3-4 months in this city. My first experience with this city was in 2002 when I came from Chandigarh to Mumbai to pursue my summer internship. Last week I had another chance to step in Mumbai and I could feel the same intensity in the city ‘that never sleep’.

It’s really true that this city hardly sleep. We were coming back from late night movie show in auto rickshaw and still could anticipate the crowded traffic jams on our route. The time was around 2 AM..!!! The city has grown over-crowded with people, automobiles, slums and pollution. A distance of 10kms can take hours to reach during office hours…number of auto rickshaws seem to be more than total private vehicles…you inhale more of pollutants than fresh air during jams. Sometimes I feel politicians were right in saying that this city has more number of ‘outsiders’ than it can accommodate. There was one sad situation while we were in auto and traveling over highway road…we saw the ambulance carrying a patient and it was continuously honking the siren to clear out the way within traffic jam. Not only the ambulance guys, the traffic owners were too feeling helpless and feeble that they couldn’t give the way either. The roads are perfect companion of vehicle’s mechanics. It seems that roads all over Mumbai are ripped apart for getting repaired at the same time. Right from the small street roads to big highway roads, they offer a tough time for vehicles plying over them and the credit are normally reaped by mechanics..!!!

Apart from all the negatives this city has its own flavor of people. People have aggression that makes them good at profession as well as towards life. People have developed stamina that can keep them charged up for longer time. The average daily routine of individuals are so planned that there is hardly any time to intrude into other wasteful thoughts. There was an interesting incident in Mumbai…while we were strolling a very crowded street in Mumbai called Alpha where we entered one of the busy general shop, we (I) found a beautiful girl wearing a mini skirt got out of auto rickshaw and entered the crowded shop where the situation was looking more like trading hall in BSE (people jostling their way out towards the counter and shouting at attendants to grab their view and get the items they are looking for). I asked my wife about the boldness these ladies can possess in Mumbai which is un-imaginable in other metropolitan cities (these ladies and their dresses can actually make main headlines of local newspapers in places like Delhi..!!). She told me the basic reason behind such situation is that the normal Mumbaikar is already occupied with so many complexities in his life that he hardly gets time to get attracted by other’s affairs. He has to travel a long distance, face the tragic traffic, attend the office, think about his family, make purchases for home etc, that he hardly care about what the lady standing adjacent to him is wearing. On other hand the fashion has become so common because of film industry that people are tired of gaping at others. On a positive note, I feel women can feel more secure and safe in Mumbai as compared to other cities.

We went to Marine Drive in the evening and this place is called the heart of Mumbai. The famous Necklace road was full with many strangers resting over the sea boundary. Parents were holding their children, enthusiasts were jogging with their i-pods, couples were mingling their heads, bachelors were frolicking with beggars, tired ones were laid on their back and some were looking at the half grown moon over the restless sea waves (and we were watching all these). Life seems so calm and in peace when you reach here.

Mumbai has all the ingredients that can capture every aspect of life…struggle, peace, love, sympathy, hatred, aggression, poverty, boldness, attitude etc. I don’t know my reply to the question if someone asks me that whether I would like to settle in Mumbai but certainly I would like to associate some more interaction with this city in future.

"Hell Down Under"

It was really awkward to hear so many beeps in between despite of the fact that I could understand the flavor of abuses exchanged among six handsome guys and gals standing along with their Karizma bikes. I am talking about ‘Roadies’, the famous reality adventure show that is being aired on MTV. I have been following this show since mid of 5th season and now it is in final few stages of 6th season in Australia.

I am not really fond of reality shows, so much so that I would write a blog on these. But there is something special about this show that I can’t resist my temptation to deify it. ‘Roadies’ is the show that is a adaption from popular reality show of AXN known as ‘Fear Factor’, or we can say it is the Indianized version of AXN’s one. ‘Roadies’ had started with the audition rounds that were worth watching. Many aspirants were interviewed (or I would say persecuted) by two bald gentlemen named Raghu and Rajiv (creators of this show). The candidates seem so traumatized on screen that reminds me of our ragging days in college. And now after seeing their reaction, we feel so entertained as if Raghu is taking revenge against our seniors on our behalf. I think these candidates should be given a prize for atleast attending these interviews.

Anyways, after interview rounds, we got to see some 20 odd people fighting for their survival in game show. They compete among themselves in different tasks and bitch against others through vote-outs. Some tasks are too exciting and funny that can send shivers down your spines. In one of the task the guys had to take a hit on their private parts…another one had a mud pit that host two small agile crocodiles and participants had to collect some reward chips that were scattered around the two beasts, and some of the chips were tied to crocodile’s tail…!!! Not even dangerous but these tasks were exciting to watch over television and these are certainly not meant for people with weak hearts. There was one episode that had left many guys ogle the screen with their limping tongue… for one of the task, the participants had to dive in a small swimming pool and create maximum splashes that can wet the white, skinny t-shirts worn by three sexy Australian models standing nearby, so much so that the alphabets printed over their tummy could be visible through their translucent garment…and then two participants had to unscramble these letters to make as much logical words as possible…!!! The whole concept was so thought off, that I couldn’t imagine comparing ’Roadies’ with ‘Fear Factor’. This is the height of creativity..!!! The show not only involves task performance but politics and bitching behind, during vote-outs. Sometimes your favorite one and most deserving candidate gets voted out and show takes a new turn.

Sometimes I imagine why this show has attracted so many viewers of different age groups. Apart from exciting tasks, unexpected vote-outs, glamour, fear and creativity involve in making the show, there is something in our mind that aspire us to see candidates struggling in the show. Talking about self, it takes hell lot of courage to sit beside the fiery crocodiles or hang over the river or fighting against two heavy weight WWE wrestlers. And it is this courage that attracts me to see these episodes again and again. Every individual has a dream to do something courageous, outstanding and against all fears and odds, and when he gets the chance to see someone performing on his lines, I guess it is natural for one to get charged up. My favorite participant in ‘Roadies’ is Sufi because even after being hurt in wrestling, he managed all his further tasks while on crutches. It is this spirit that can make a person stand against their personal comfort zone and be noticed in the crowd. How many of us can afford to do that in real life???? How many of us have the courage to quit the normal office job and work for a NGO…how many of us can challenge the government and ask them about their performance…how many of us can go to police station and complain about injustice if seen by you??? There are many ‘how-many’s that can reflect in negative responses and still we want to prosper in our life. It’s not like, to show courage you need to jump over a wall; the real courage is to get out of your comfort zone and start experimenting or else wait for the experiences that can tumble you down with shaken feet.

Southern expedition

One fine afternoon, as we were strolling through the beautiful lanes of Infy campus towards food court to have our lunch, I initiated a interesting topic to infuriate my colleague …'South Indians'. He is a Tamilian and had been in Chennai for quite some time. So I could find the true companion to answer my queries. I was always fascinated with different cultures and behavior that can be observed in different part of this nation. Although the points that we had pointed out were discussed in jocular manner, but the following content may hurt people who hails from South India. Anyways on a lighter note....

The food

I must admit, they have a great appetite when it comes to eating rice. Sometimes I fathom, if rice wasn’t grown at all in this country than entire southern generation would have wiped out. Almost everything in a meal has some imprints of rice like idli, plain rice, biryani, wada, dosa etc. During the lunch break, I could see people carrying a big 15cm diametric plate and stuffing it with all the rice at once making a huge pile till the crest. One of my team mate used to carry his lunchbox which had three compartments: first section consists of plain steamed rice, second one consists of curd rice and the last special one consists of colored rice (I couldn’t find it different from the first one in taste). Mostly the people use their hands to have their meal, mixing rice with curd, sambhar, special chutney etc. at one go. So a new special dish comes out of their creativity..!!! Believe me, it gives you great pleasure to eat rice with your hands but the worst part is to accompany those stained fingers to the wash basin while the sambhar still trickling down.

Movies

The south Indian movies are the great innovation of the Indian cinema. They have the due potential to beat Matrix or any of the James Bond’s flicks and the heroes are more than the idols who are worshipped by the fans here. Some of the names I could recall are Chiranjeevi, Balaya, JrNTR, Balakrishna etc etc…In these movies, the actors are the real heroes who can fight, dance, emote, laugh at the same time and in the same movie…!!! Even Keenu Reaves would have fainted to see hero on the motorcycle toggling the roof of trains or on the horse sliding beneath the lorry or lifting the tractor out of the field or cutting the bullet into two pieces etc etc…Apart from the action scenes, they could be found dancing with heroines with half the age as them. I don’t know what for these actresses are paid for in movies when 80% of the frame is occupied by the actor, 15% for the dance numbers and rest 5% in the rape scenes.

Festivals

South India is very famous for its temples, festivals and religion. No offence to mention, but these festivals and corresponding celebrations are limited to worship of God only. I once asked my colleague, how would he like to celebrate Diwali or Ugadi (which is comparatively more famous here) and the reply was that he would decorate the huge ‘puja ghar’, will call all relatives to the home and offer prayers. More auspicious occasion is for celebration, more is the intensity to offer prayers. Their sacred devotion is much more prevalent than pump-and-show that is famous in North Indian celebrations. If these guys are invited to attend Diwali in Delhi, than I fear they would go blank after seeing so much of lights and hearing the clamor of crackers…!!!

Nature and behavior

By nature, south Indians are simple, down-to-earth and intelligent. It’s a known fact that the secondary board examinations are best in South India and you could easily perceive the fact that maximum percentage of Indians found in US belongs to this region. When I was boarding my aircraft to Amsterdam, I could see 85% south Indians sitting and chatting with air hostesses in their typical English accent. Infact the south Indian languages seem so indifferent to me that I couldn’t recognize them by hearing to their pronunciation. Once an autorickshaw driver made perfect use of this language when I was travelling in Bangalore. After my trip in the auto, while bargaining for the fare, all of a sudden, he had forgot all the Hindi dialogues he remembered and resorted to Kannada to fool me that he doesn’t knew a word of Hindi (though he was speaking fluent Hindi with his friend on cell phone...!).

Its not that the other parts of the country are devoid of such observations, but all they seems to be peculiar to me during my 2.5 years of stay in south India. North Indians have their own language, festival, ways of celebrations, food habits and nature similar to as South Indians have. I am sure foreign guests would have hard time to understand the entire gamut of culture we have.