NSWORLD

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ust few days and the first leg of Assembly elections kicks off in Karnataka, amidst hot sun sucking glucose or whatever from our head using a plastic pipe(Remember Glucon-D advertisement).Many pre poll surveys are doing rounds, each one suiting the ambitions of the author or the brain behind the survey.

 A quick check at the temperature stats across India shows an average increase of one to one and half degree Celsius compared to last year, strengthening the Global warming and glacier meltdown theories. Still our cities and semi urban areas are growing with more and more flashy multi storied buildings sporting jazzy glass and fancy steel.

Big thanks to Chief election commissioner and all other responsible for conducting elections, for having made this election, relatively noise and plastic free and there by contributing towards green and clean environment. Reduced noise pollution, curb on use of plastic for banners and buntings have really made this election tolerable even during this hot summer.

Inflation much to the embarrassment of ruling coalition at the center has come as a handy weapon for the non ruling parties fighting elections. Will this inflation do what increased `Aalu Pyaaz` price did for Vajpayee government few years back? Will have to wait and see.

Latest food for thought: Here comes another salvo fired by US President on the reasons behind global inflation. According to Bush, increased consumption by Indian middle class along with China is the main cause for Global inflation and increased commodity prices. Our political parties are already up in arms and have started making Bush’s effigy for the protest rallies.

President Bush is not completely wrong when he says that increased demand for food and oil from India and china is driving the global prices. At least he is partially correct from `Demand` side perspective. India and China are the fastest growing developing economies (8+ percentage growth) in the world driving demand for commodity and oil world wide.

But there are big and compelling reasons from supply side also, coupled with excessive shifting of focus on bio fuels and many more from various other quarters.

Finally… Exercise your franchise.Don’t forget or neglect.

You don’t have right to complain or blame also, if you don’t vote.

My obsession of appreciating good advertisements continues. This time its an Ad. made by agency Lowe, for Havells cable.

A building under construction, poorly lit room and in a labour class family mother is preparing chapatis. Her son is sitting a little distance away . Each time she picks up the chapati from the fire, her fingers get burnt. An idea flashes in son`s mind , he gets up and brings a piece of Havells cable laying near by and turns it in to the shape of  `Tongs`(chimta) and gives it to mother. Mother starts using it and picks up the chapatis effortlessly. Then comes the base line “Fire resistant wires from Havells”

Wow! what a nice and touching way of describing the quality of a cable. First and foremost it perfectly delivers the message “Fire resistant wires”, and also makes a great impact on the target decision makers, psyche.

Here is the Ad.

http://www.havells.com/movie/35 sec.mpg

Brand and Branding has got into our nerves. In today’s world of hectic and cut throat competition, you can`t live without Brand and Branding.

There is a Brand for everything we wear from socks to Hair gel, we use. Sometimes the environment we live and the peer pressure forces us to go for everything branded. What is the one particular aspect that forces us to go for a particular brand? Quality, Reliability, or any other thing more than that?

If we analyse the whole phenomenon of `Brand`, key aspect we can observe is that, everything is played around a small thing called ` Human Ego`. `I want to be different`, `I want to be recognised, appreciated`are the simple and most common `Human Egos`, which Brand Builders exploit.

Another simple question is, When a particular product/service can be called as a superior Brand?  Answer is, when a product/service is superior in quality, reliable, costly and not easily reachable to each and every person desirous of having it. Then only it can satisfy the `ego` of select privileged people , who flaunt it before `have nots`. And this is also the simple `funda` of building a Brand.

Another hard reality of life is also that, we need to create a brand for ourselves so that our objective/goal in life is achieved. How do we do it? Just follow the strategy adopted for product/service brand building? i.e. `cashing on ego`? or it should be a different one?

Definitely we should not follow the strategy of `cash on ego` when we are in the process of building brand for ourselves. Instead it should be based on the broad principles such as strength, courage, self-reliance, simplicity, harmony and our aim should be to create such a brand for ourselves which is perfectly in sync with our noble Upanishadic concept of `Vasudaiva Kutumbakam`.(The whole world is mine and everybody living here belong to one big family) Then only it can be a successful brand such as ,Vivekananda, Ramakrishna paramahansa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, to mention a few.

  It was 12.05 in the dusty afternoon of a hot summer. The Compartment of ,12.00 noon, Mysore-Bangalore Express, in which i was seated, was sparcely populated and resembling a microwave oven. Though the scheduled departure was 12.00 noon, the Train somehow was reluctant to leave calm and serene station of Mysore.

At 12.10 it started slowly moving. Suddenly two girls ,seemingly, in their early 20s came running and entered the compartment and sat infront my seat with a sigh of relief. As soon as the Train started moving cool breeze started reducing the inside compartment temperature.

I was immersed in a well researched article on SEZs in Business World.Few minutes later when I moved my head out of magazine I found them conversing. Yes they were talking to each other! “Whats great deal in that?” you may ask.

Yes there is, they were communicating using `Sign` language. I was taken aback for moment.Then I could observe, both of them wearing small and sophisticated `Hearing aids`.

They went on talking, talking, using sign language. They were laughing, at times disagreeing with each others` point of view. I could sense their feelings but not their language. It seemed to me that they didn`t have any barriers of communication.They were so immersed in their conversation that they had conveniently forgotten the presence of a stranger sitting just infront.

Suddenly one of the beautiful girls took out a Stardust magazine from her bag and started showing a photograph of Shahruk Khan to her friend. Then they went on exchanging their thoughts on each and every article and photo in that magazine. They seemed enjoying each and every bit of information  in that magazine.

“What they would have felt, if they were able to hear the melodious songs and dialogues of the movies they liked?” suddenly this question flashed in my mind. But they seemed least bothered about that. Both of them had Mobile phones and messaging was their easiest mode of communication.They were exchanging their messages and showing each other those special and funny messages they received from their near and dear ones.

With everything at our disposal, still every day and night we think and worry about the things and facilities we don`t have and keep on postponing our happiness. Suddenly these two happy and fiercely independent beautiful girls looked like Swans floating over the calm waves of Ganga, least bothered of the things and facilities they don`t have in their life and making most out of the gifts bestowed upon them.

Back Home I still feel that , I was not able to strike a conversation with them, and in their world of Happiness and Joy and I was the one Handicaped Person!!

Media is in full swing on the story of “Prince Williams and Kate, Split”. “The Sun”, which broke the news, says that a five year old relationship has come to an end. It has already given it the colour of  “Army first Girl friend next”.

Private affairs of celebrities/Royal families have always been the favourite topic of Paparazzi and Tabloids mostly in Western world.

Frequently “Breaking and Making of relationships” is not only the story of Western Civilization, but of late we are observing this phenomenon in our own back yard.

Why Relationships these days are not strong, stable and long lasting or Is `Ad hocism` is the favourite flavour of the today`s generation? 

Partly we can blame it on the chaotic and confusing environment prevailing in Liberlised and Globalised World of today, where Standard of Living takes the first seat and the Standard of Life takes back seat.

Media`s Overglorification and Tracking of each and every movement of Celebrities is also sending wrong signals to the youth who are struggling to arrive at clarity of thought with respect to what is right or wrong.

Last week a Radio Station of the city ran a programme , in which listeners were asked to respond to a question  as to , What would they gift to their Ex Boy friend/Girl friend in their marriage. Most of the callers to the Radio Station had Bad wishes/ gifts for their Exs.

What can we interpret from this, Should we appreciate the `Life goes on` attitude of Youth or Have we forgotten the famous lines of Mohd. Rafi, Yeh, Dua hai meri Kush raho Tum Sada Ke Liye?