Ad Watch

A couple of weeks back, got to watch an interview with Louis Banks on Times Now (Brand Equity show). It was nice to see and recollect some of the good old ads.

Listing a few of them and other jingles that were my favorites of the yester years:

In random order:

1. Washing powder Nirma, washing powder Nirma...Ellorum potrum Nirma
2. Yeh zammeen, yeh aasmaan....Hamara Bajaj, Hamara Bajaj
3. Sila vishayame, visheshame, vaazhvile... Cadbury's Dairy Milk
4. Titan Watch - Mozart music
5. As crazy, as crazy as Goldspot...Goldspot, the zing thing..Goldspot
6. Sottu neelam doi, regal sottu neelam doi..enna venmayo, aha, enna venmaiyo
7. Am too old for... too young for...But I think you are just right for Amul chocolate
8. La....la la la la....la.la.laa...lyril
9. Saapiduvai, en uyire kozhi muttai..murgi ki andae(Hindi version is better)
10. Hai, Am Sanjana Got another Pepsi (not for the music though)
11. Ting, tingta ting.. Britannia
12. The taste that gets you started up – Nescafe

Good old DD days (or probably early days of cable channels)!

But nothing can beat this popular the radio commercial...'Ivandhaan my son..ivan......Bison' :-)

Apple of the eye - I

Read the intro here.

What is in a name?

When a baby is born into the family, a generation is created. The kith and kin are proud. Parents, grandparents are in bliss. The newborn is considered a gift from God to save the lineage. With, so much value added to the baby, parents feel the responsibility of being in charge of another human being. They vouch to do everything right for the little one. Right from the first bath, to the medicines, to the diet and most importantly, to the name. They hunt, analyze, dream, visualize, calculate and plan before choosing a name!

Dad: 'The name should be short and catchy. She might end up working in the US and the Americans shouldn't have a problem pronouncing it'

Mom: 'It should be unique and an uncommon name yet simple.'

Grandpa: 'Use letters from her grand ma's name. She will grow up to be an excellent women'

Grandma: 'Most preferably Devi's name from Sahasranamam'

Astrology: 'pri', 'shy', 'zhi' should be starters for a great life

After all deliberation and argument, the Murthy's were proud of 'Preetha', the little girl and her name. Time sped by and now, Preetha, 5 year old, goes to school.

One evening, Preetha came back home dull, sober and burst into tears. The family was shattered at the state of the little one. They gathered around, consoled, pampered and waited for Preetha to speak up.

Preetha, with a Dairy milk in her mouth said, 'I want to change my name!'

'What?' gasped Mommy.

Pr..(Err. As of now 'Preetha') said, 'I don't like my name and I want to change it right away.

'But, why? What happened?' Dad asked patiently.

'I just don't like it. There is 'Sulthana' who is my class leader. My teacher likes her. I also want to be called Sulthana'

(Grandma almost fainted. Grandpa wonders, how to tell Preetha, she can't be called Sulthana, without saying too much on religeon)

Dad says, 'But Preetha is a nice name. Like a little angel's. special'

Preetha retorts, 'It's not nice, my friends mock calling me 'pee..thaa'. And moreover, there is a bully in class, who is also Preetha. Can you change it or not?' she begs, with tear filled eyes.

Mom, collecting herself, said, 'that Preetha is different. You are our special little one, and God gave you this name'

Preetha replies, 'Then, I will ask God. I will cry to him. If I am Preetha, I know, 'I will die soon, be a bad girl, and not study well'

'DIE SOON? Who taught you such words?!!' mom yelled.

Preetha mumbled, 'I know, I am grown up. All my friends told.'

There was silence in the room and Preetha spoke up again, with determination in her voice

'If you don't like Sulthana, you can call me 'Anusha'. She is a smart akka in school who tells daily prayers and salutes in assembly. I will also be good like that'.

When the family was seriously thinking on how to handle this situation, in came Prashanth, Preetha's brother, a 7 year old.

He said 'Amma, call me Dhoni hereafter. I am going to grow my hair like that and hit six'.

Family:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Apple of the eye - An Intro

We have seen enough movies like ABCD(American Born Confused Desi), Bend it like Beckham and many more of that genre. We have also heard enough on stories and lifestyle of a confused NRI generation which is torn between cultural divide of India and the west.

'Apple of the eye' is an attempt to bring out such obscurities, that children are facing within our country. India Inc., is growing and the world is becoming a global village. India is slowly transitioning from an orthodox setup to an open culture. But, what about our mindsets? Are we in pace? Are we ready for handling the next generation? How much can we allow?

If Calvin (of Calvin & Hobbes) is a troublesome American kid, what havoc can his Indian counterpart cause? Gone are the days, when slogan 'Maatha, Pitha, Guru, Deivam' was the de facto for 'good' children. Younger generation parents prefer to handle children as friends. They prefer to guide them than command. But, what is their tolerance level? How much can they handle?

This is just an attempt to bring to light the situation and confuse more on a lighter note. I leave the task of devising a methodology of dealing with such situation at the hands of the individual. I leave it to you, for the simple reason that, you will know your child best and the solution should be personalized.

Spiderman dialogue, “With great power comes great responsibility” might be true. But the converse definitely is not, especially when handling kids. Greater responsibility can never give you greater power over the child!

Beat the Heat!

Thanks to -

Maavadu, Watermelon, Vadaam Koozh, Honeydew melon juice,

Puzhungal arisi pazhayadhu, Neer ahaaram, Paanai thanni, Jil moru,

Cool sea breeze, Rain tree and yellow gulmohur blossoms and

Noisy naughty kids..

Chennai can be a cool place to spend the summer!

Thanks to mom - Haven't missed much of the tradition being in a metro on hot summers!

Ooty - Owner's Pride Neighbor's Envy

How many of us remember the days when our mom used to have a bowl of pappu mammu or thachu mammu, run around and feed us?

I hardly can recollect! May be she had to do it when my tiny brain couldn't really coordinate the hand-to-mouth movement and when I didn't know the usage of thumb. Today, even if she tries to put something in my mouth, I fret, back-out, get it in my hand and help myself!

Well, I have seen my cousin run around to feed my niece and it is a wonder to watch the kid have rice smeared all over the face, run around, pretend to throw up, spit out, et al

In one of the recent marriages that I attended, I have also seen the groom feed the bride during lunch, spilling some juice on her high-priced pattu saree. She had a funny expression on the picture that captured the moment - happiness of getting fed by the man, over-shadowed by the cost and the state of the saree

Many more such instances! We've seen an attendant feed the patient, birthday cakes at parties, couples at restaurants and they are all normal incidents. It is something that happens in day-to-day life, and nobody complains.

But, But, why do you have to do it at work? At Tidel Food Court, sitting right opposite me, when I am helping myself, swallowing that sub-standard gruel with the company of three empty chairs!! Not that I protest, but it sure caused an envious 'fire in the belly'(causing severe acidity) for the fellow diners at surrounding tables.

* The geek who was thinking of a bug in java script, in the next table, forgot his 'helloworld' program.

* The french-beard manager, who had fought with his wife, (obviously, that landed him at food court) sighed heavily, cooling down his hot soup in that one sigh

* The young programmer whose girl friend is on a long-term onsite assignment, almost burst into tears

* And I, looked vaguely at the three empty chairs around me!

Why food court? And why right in front of my eyes?!

Now, to link the title…

'Ooty vidradhu thapillai... aana, idam, porul, eval arindhu ooty vidavum'. Ungal Ooty, suthi irukaravangaluku Sahara!!
[Roughly translates to: Nothing wrong in feeding, but just do it in the right place. Owner's pride neighbor's envy.]

PS: And, that makes post no 50!

Happy Fool's Day!

It is a pleasure to to play a prank and get fooled on this day! Have Fun!

And, this is the closest picture I could take (obviously, of you) when somebody played a prank!



You look very smart! Just live the spirit!