India Shining!!-2nd Innings???
Anyone taking a glance at one of the major national newspapers will be amused to find the government competing with other companies for advertising. This is just the people in power blowing horns about their so called ‘achievements’ during their term. This trend was last seen with the NDA government’s India Shining campaign during the election year.. which though made us feel proud about ourselves, turned tables for the party in the battle. The party allegedly spent close to 84 crores for the campaign which used both television and print media. The campaign was professionally executed, using Creative directors and Advertising firms. This gives an indication of the changing trends in Indian Political scene. The parties are increasingly targeting the youth especially the urban folk.. with focused campaigning.
Now, we can already see efforts of the ruling government what looks like a warm up months before the elections are due. Already full page advertisements give indication of things to come. To get an idea of the seriousness of the issue, the cost for a full page ad in a major newspaper is around Rs.18-20 lakh. Throw in the television campaigns too, and the money spent will be huge. The Presidential campaign during the recent US elections involved, in total, more than a billion dollars. But the issue of concern is, the extent of aping being limited to the bad/negative things. There is a very long list of things which we have ’selectively’ copied from others, mostly from the West. OK.. let me stick to the point on hand… the Election Commission keeps a tab on the money spent during an election. But it cannot do anything about these campaigns as the Ads in reality are not asking anyone to vote for them.. They are just blowing their trumpets and proclaiming their achievements, embedding them into the minds and letting the viewers and reader do the thinking. The parties in opposition cannot do much, as they have nothing to advertise about in a similar manner. They can only do direct campaigning.. hollering about the misdeeds of the present government and issue promises about what they can and will change. At most, they can dance around in the states they are in currently power. They can advertise about their local achievements and drive home the same point in an indirect manner. Precisely what is happening now. In all this trumpet blowing, the taxpayer’s money is being burnt and no one’s least bit accountable. They openly defend themselves, saying that all they are doing is making the junta aware of the work being carried out by the govt. The result is each department, each ministry coming out with full and half page ads for every inaguration, foundation stone laying.. and effectively reminiscing with ‘Then’ and ‘Now’ type of Ads.
Looks like we need something like the Opensecrets.org.in 
I hope it will not be long before it materialises.. Looking at the way Citizen activism is becoming effective. Bangaloreans cringe at the thought of rallies, the JD(S) one strangling the city for half a day. The Activism resulted in the High court asking the Police not to give permissions for gatherings of strength >15k people. Hope this is implemented, with the controversial Anti-terrorism campaign’s valedictory function expected to converge 2 lakh students.
With the current CEC seeming like an avatar of the erstwhile legend T.N.S, we were looking forward to the elections being suffocatingly strict.With the Election Commission of India occupied with its own issues, internal blame game and controversies….. We can only hope for the successor’s efficiency.
India Shining???
Well that was the NDA’s tag line during 2004 polls. Now that the next episode is just around the corner, I am spending a few lines on the issue.. Well India IS shining with respect to some areas, and still rusting in many more. One of those rusty corners is Product based Industries. A friend of mine recently bought one of those chinese mobiles for Rs 4500. I almost fainted looking at the list of features it had: A huge maybe 3.0 inch 262000 color touch screen, 2.0 MP camera, FM, Music player, iPhone like menu, and all the basic stuff- expandable memory, but the most important thing: It had TV.. Yes.. I am serious, Came with a pretty compact (also wonderfully built) antenna.. pull it out and WELL… there was good old DD in better than TV clarity. Agreed, DD is hopeless for entertainment, but you can watch a cricket telecast on it… (Govt having forced the private channels to share the telecast).. and an odd movie.. Just imagine flaunting one of those, forget walkman… forget live scores, The point is, for the same price, all you get in Nokia, Moto or Sony is a vga camera, 65k screen a crap looking phone (in front of the chinese that is….) Hey one more thing, it also accommodates 2 sims. The call lists, network level everything is separate. Even has dedicated keys for sim1 & 2. My friend liked this feature the best, he’s staying away from home-One sim with low std plan for calling home, other with good local tariff.
It got me thinking… There aren’t many companies in India which manufacture products which are world class, giving those big MNCs a run for their money. The impact of this is huge…Why else do we have to depend on others for our defense supplies, even 50 years after independence, when countries like Korea, Japan, having been ruined completely.. are up there at the apex. Why else, the fastest train in the country cannot cross 85mph, having had the first train run way back in 1853. Why isn’t there an Indian Google or MS or Yahoo, considering the scores of people make their living with computers. The list is long, but all is not covered by rust.
Enough of whining, lets look at the shine: How many of us know that the single reason Chinese automobile manufacturers aren’t daring to enter Indian market, is… TATA.. Aye.. they are scared of the low cost, quality automobiles of the Tata. They along with Mahindras have made some world class cars, There’s the ISRO, having set a world record by launching 10 satellites at one go. There’s HAL, having joined the elite with the Tejas. There’s Titan, having ruined the sleep of Timex in India, is making its mark in eye care. There’s Bajaj, coming up with newer technology in its every new bike. There’s HCL, having products on par with the Hps, Sonys and others… All in all… taking India to the world.. as an Aditya Birla ad says…
Well, All I can say is, we may be slow, but guys… watch out!!
And I keep on waiting….
Its 8:15 a.m. and I stand here in the bus stop waiting for the office
bus to arrive. I stand here in the same manner as I did a few years
back waiting for my college bus. Little did I know then that things
would change so much in 2 years; the sky under which I am standing
seems to be looking at me and smiling .. It is perhaps the only thing
that has acted as a witness .. watching the transformation of a loud
and bubbly person into a quiet professional.
I wouldn’t blame the professionalism for the change though. It is
destiny, or may be you could call it life. Yes Life, esoteric in the
true sense, for one does not understand why you meet hundreds of people
everyday, work with so many, and still remain lonely.
I am now in one of the corner seats in the bus, looking out of the
window watching people trying to catch up with “life” .. It’s an hour’s
journey and the only company that I generally have is the chatter of
the RJ. I seldom notice the person sitting next to me, for its going to
be yet another stranger or may be you could say another acquaintance.
It is annoying at times when the radio is switched off, not because I
am cut off from the melody but because I would now be thrust with
thoughts of the solitary journey ahead.
I can’t help thinking about the short bus journeys to college … well
it’s a paradox to call a distance of 30 KMs “short”, but that is how it
always seemed. A typical college day always begins in the bus with all
the familiar faces; you look forward for all your friends to get in
from the various stops, the reasonless giggles, the loud laughter that
were stifled to avert the eyes of the lecturers and professors who
would watch on us as if we were their prospective prey for the day …
well as I said it was a different life then. The pleasant memories of
college are in itself good enough to save me from the misery of the bus
journey.
I notice that it is time for me to get down and flash my smile of
acknowledgment to all the known strangers that I see as I approach my
cubicle. A few of my colleagues greet me with their morning wishes and
as always, we exchange our pleasantries. Discussions jump to the
weekend plans and I wonder what I’d do over the weekend.
It would be just another day staring at the mobile, wishing it would
ring and bring back some wonderful moments that are now missing in life
or maybe the safer option would be to come to office, for it’s my new
founded asylum these days. A few years back, weekends or weekdays
didn’t matter to me, I was always busy. I always stood doubting the
authenticity of the wall clock that seemed to be in running too fast to
perceive its movement. Alas, now it seems as though my clock is
suffering from some kind of paralytic attack.
There is a time in life, where one needs to go ahead, leaving behind
your friends and carrying along only memories. You do make new friends,
but then you never get the old close ones … you do meet people who’d
be so good to you that you could tell them anything and everything, but
you do not find a person to whom you needn’t say things … friends who
just know you. Occasional calls from such friends, have been the only
thing that I seem to look forward to …However, I cant help but notice
the uneasy pause that lingers around the conversation ..A pause not
because of the relationship, but because it is too short a duration to
say everything, and of course you cannot completely rule out the
paucity of words!
As I sip coffee from the ubiquitous coffee mug, watching the drops of
rain, trickling down the tinted glass panes, veiling the scenic beauty
outside, I tell myself, may be there will be a day when things will
change, when life will offer a rewind, a recap of all the events and I
just have to wait.
Capricious are the ways of life, for I know there would be many who’d
be able to empathize with me, ironically, even the dear ones that I
miss this moment, waiting perhaps…!!
And I keep on waiting……
Perfect Husband!!!
There are several men sitting around in the locker room of a golf club. After a round, showering and getting changed for the 19th hole.
Suddenly a mobile phone on one of the benches rings. One of the men picks it up, and the following conversation ensues:
(H – Husband, W – Wife)
H – “ Hello ?”
W – “Honey, it’s me. Are you at the club? “
H – “Yes.”
W -”Great! I am at the mall two blocks from where you are. I just saw a beautiful leather coat. It’s absolutely gorgeous!! Can I buy it?”
H -”What’s the price?”
W – “Only $1,000.”
H – “Well, OK, go ahead and get it, if you like it that much…”
H – “What price did he quote you?”
W – “Only $65,000…”
H – “OK, but for that price I want it with all the options.”
W – “Great! But before we hang up, something else…
H -”What?”
W – “It might look like a lot, but I was reconciling your bank account and I stopped by the real estate agent this morning and saw the house we had looked at last year. It’s for sale!! Remember? The one with a pool, English garden, acre of park area, beach front property.”
H – “How much are they asking?”
W – “Only $450,000 — a magnificent price.. .and I see that we have that much in the bank to cover…”
H – “Well, then go ahead and buy it, but just bid up to $420,000. OK?”
W – “OK, sweetie…Thanks! I’ll see you later!! I love you!!!”
H – “ Bye…I love you too…“
The man hangs up & closes the phone’s flap. The other men are looking at him in astonishment and derision. The husband raises his hand while holding the phone and asks ” Does anyone know who this Cell phone belong to???”
Historic!!
Okhil Babu’s letter to the Railway Department
Okhil Chandra Sen wrote this letter to the Sahibganj divisional railway
office in 1909. It is on display at the Railway Museum in New Delhi. It
was also reproduced under the caption “Travelers’ Tales” in the Far
Eastern Economic Review.
“I am arrive by passenger train Ahmedpur station and my belly is too
much swelling with jackfruit. I am therefore went to privy. Just I doing
the nuisance that guard making whistle blow for train to go off and I am
running with lotah in one hand and dhoti in the next when I am fall over
and expose all my shocking to man and female women on platform.
I am got leaved at Ahmedpur station. This too much bad, if passenger go
to make dung that dam guard not wait train five minutes for him. I am
therefore pray your honor to make big fine on that guard for public
sake. Otherwise I am making big report to papers.”
It apparently led to introduction of toilets in trains!!!!
Any guesses why this letter was of historic value?
