Bangkok Post: Day 9

Another of those 'check-out-the-malls' day, this time to MBK, one of the favourites with foreigners. The place had hordes of foreigners flocking to buy goods, mostly garments & accessories. In Bangkok, there is a system of walkways, which connects the skytrain stations to the malls at those stations. So coming out of the station, you could directly walk into the bustling malls! Now thats called 'Applied Thought' for convenience!

We entered MBK through one such walkway & soon we found ourselves amidst a sea of shoppers. We entered a shop selling purses & it reminded me of good old India! And not for a good reason mind you... there were Indian shoppers around & they were shopping more with their mouths than their eyes & hands. All other shoppers were quietly shopping with toned down voices if at all they had to speak or ask, but not Indians! Indian shoppers are a class apart! They make their presence felt with their loud-mouthed shopping. I mean I was feeling so ashamed observing the salesgirls' faces while they were attending to Indians. I think we seriously need to rectify this bad habit of ours.

Walking around that floor of the mall, we spent around 3 hours on that single floor... shopping. And checking out the trends & varieties of clothes, shoes & accessories. Here there is scope for bargaining, but if the price we quote is unacceptable to the sellers, they don't call the customer back unlike that in India. In Bangkok, you would find salesgirls (salesgirls because in most of the shops you will find salesgirls... and yes the trans-sexuals) doing only 2 things apart from attending to customers with a wide smile & a sugar-sweet HELLO; that is eating & doing make-up. Yes! we have literally seen these petite girls putting their lotions & cosmetics quietly at a corner of their shops. They maintain themselves very well & will always keep themselves spic & span.

It was also after 8 days I saw Thai people wearing colourful clothes. Ever since we had arrived here, the nation was in mourning since the Queen Mother had just passed away in 1st week of January. So Thai men & women were wearing blacks or whites during the mourning period. Everywhere you could see a crowd of blacks & whites, especially while using public transport. But I really did appreciate their love for the Royal family. Imagine almost over 95% of population wearing mourning colours for so many days. Even the manequines at malls adorned various new arrivals in black & white. I can never imagine Indians putting on a specific dress code, rather a colour even for a day if a national mourning is declared. Even if they were to, they would put them on unwillingly for sure. But here, people willfully put their mourning clothes for almost 2 weeks. That really makes me appreciate them.

Bangkok Post: Day 8

Day 7 was not a day to blog about. So I let my fingers rest for a day...he he. Yesterday was a day filled with a visit to one of the grandeous malls in Bangkok; the Siam Paragon.

If you are contented with the huge malls springing up everywhere in metros like Mumbai, you have too small an appetite. Thats because the malls in Bangkok are far more sprawling, spacious & offering almost all the lifestyle options for your needs. If you think thats comparable to what our urban malls offer, eat your words NOW! Indian malls may be far too nascent when it comes to boasting. My eyes popped out when I saw the Siam Paragon showcasing dream cars like Lambhorgini, Ferrari, BMW, Lotus, etc. Now if the best Indian mall could speak, it would have screamed, "Show off!!" (he he he)

And if thats not enough, how about an entire floor (and a floor means acres of space) filled with elite brands like Versace, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Playboy and hordes of others. In another of the malls I had been to, the entire floor was filled with nothing but only women's lingerie! From push-ups to thongs, you could find all types & brands of lingerie there. It was lingerie everywhere... every type, every colour, every shape... the ones that would give even Mallika Sherawat an inferiority complex!!

And its not just the goods on sale that make up an unforgettable shopping experience. Its got a lot to do with the ambience, the decor, the lightings on the floor which are an essential ingredient of a mall. And Bangkok's mall have it all.

One more thing about the goods is that you get value for money in these malls. The typical frustration of an Indian shopper is not getting satisfactory item for the cost he has to pay. The quality of item is not in accordance with its price tag. Here, the item is worth the bucks you shell out for it. That is the most important thing for a shopper.

The gist of it is that Bangkok truly stands tall to its name of 'Shopper's Paradise'. Its a fantabulous shopping experience like no other. A word of advice: check out the floorplan of the mall before you start. You will get confused in the maze of escalators & corridors!

The Pursuit of Happyness - Must Watch!!

After a long time, I have seen a sensible & thought-provoking movie. Although it has been almost an year after it released, I was still yearning to watch it. Based on a true life story, this movie is about the struggle of Chris Gardner to find a good job to support his family; his wife & his son Christopher whom he loves very much. And eventually the story of the pursuit of a little part of his life he calls 'happiness'.

It wouldn't be effective if I had to tell the story here, coz words would take away the sensitivity & intricate treatment given to each part of the movie. Will Smith reaffirms why he is a great actor, given the kind of role he has played. The movie aptly portrays a myriad of human emotions & situations; situations which sometimes we have experienced. Situations which make us think about the extent of human resolve. Situations in which we can 'try' to imagine what it would be to support yourself & your child with only 21 dollars in your wallet!

Though Will Smith is at the centre-stage in the whole movie, his son Christopher played by Jaden Smith equally makes his mark in the movie with his befitting piece of acting.

The bottomline of the movie is that happiness doesn't come to you in life just like that. Happiness is always preceded by a long pursuit that brings out the best in man. And those trials & tribulations alone can bring out the true essence of happiness!

Bangkok Post: Day 6

It was a rest day today, the day was spent lazing around. I got up late & spent the morning on internet, catching up with some friends back home.

Since there is nothing to blog about today, coz there was no going out, let me just write about the traffic discipline in Thailand. Venture out on the busiest road here & don't be surprised if no one honks inspite of a snail-pace traffic. They honk only if it is absolutely necessary. So noise pollution on roads is substantially reduced, except for the vehicular noise. Secondly, lane discipline is strictly followed & hardly any car cuts the lane. They will wait for the vehicle at the front to move rather than cut the lane & move ahead. Thirdly, no one parks their vehicles on the sides of a main road. So congestion of lanes is reduced.

When it comes to pedestrians, they will always use the footpath to walk & when it comes to crossing the roads, they will cross at the crossing or use overhead bridge wherever possible. That saves motorists the trouble to watch out for jay-walkers. I wish we Indians could learn something from this!

(The photo above is that of a Tuk-Tuk, Thailand's auto-rickshaw. Tuk-Tuks don't have meters. Only the cabbies have meters.)

Bangkok Post: Day 5

Thailand's famous floating market was on the agenda today alongwith the wax museum. Since the market starts winding up after 10 am, it was advised by mama to leave home by 7 am so as to reach the floating market by 8:30 - 9 am. Our driver was on time & had brought us local food for a morning snack. It consisted of pieces of chicken, pork, pork liver, chicken liver barbequed & arranged on a long toothpick along with a pile of sticky rice in cylindrical shape (imagine how we eat frankie). After having this new street food taste, we drove off.

The Floating Market

Reaching the floating market, we booked a boat. Tourists are taken around the market in small wooden boats in narrow water lanes, fillled with vendors selling fruits, street food, souveniers, hats, drinks, wooden crafts, etc. The vendors are of 2 types: those who sell moving about in their boats & others who have shops on stilts on both sides of the lanes. Normally, food-items are sold on boats & others in shops. Buyers (ie. tourists) have to go about in boats to buy their items. It was a market I had never seen before anywhere. But, the water lanes reminded me of Kerala's backwaters where I had enjoyed in a 'vallam' (the wooden boat with oars is called vallam in Kerala). We started off & soon there were boats everywhere around us. Here, most of the vegetable sellers are women, unlike our 'bhaiyyas'. We bought a few fruits there after mama did a 'taklong' (taklong=deal, in this case bargain) with the seller. I shot the entire video of the water lanes & the market. It would now always remain in my 'memory'.

Don Wai Talat

For afternoon lunch, we came to Don Wai Talat, another 'sight & smell' market (talat=market). But here, there were no non-vegetarian items on sale. Different types of fruits, flowers & vegetables adorned the stalls & there was quite a crowd in the market. Vendors were calling out to sell their eatables. But surprisingly, there was no shouting out aloud & no chaos. The women didn't shout & not one of them had a harsh voice. The entire decorum of the market was full of discipline. Even the buyers didn't push the person in front & patiently waited for that person to move in the crowd. I need not elaborate how the scenario is in India!

Another quality of Thai people apart from discipline & cultured behaviour, that you can't help notice is their hard-working attitude. An example of this was when I asked a florist for a photo of the flowers in her tray. She was having her food & she nodded in affirmative. I was about to click when she kept aside her food & arranged the flower bunches in the tray so that I could have a good photo. I hadn't expected this at all & thanked her for that. She smiled & resumed with her chopsticks. Taking the photo I thought, "could I have expected this in my own country?". The quality of hard-work is inherent in every Thai citizen. They never shirk work & they believe in 'work is worship' in true sense of the term.

Human Imagery Museum

In the afternoon, we headed to the 'Human Imagery Museum' where wax structures of real-life people are exhibited (like Madamme Tussad's museum). The exhibits included people from all walks of Thai culture & life; the monks, king, poets, musicians, children, fairy tale characters, villagers, farmers, etc. It also housed world's eminent personalities like Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln. The statues are intricately made with detailed attention to even the most negligible attribute. The museum is simply marvelous & is one of 'must-sees' in Thailand.

We returned home by late afternoon & made a dash for the swimming pool in the evening. The pool situated on the 6th floor of mama's building, offers a good view of the Chaophraya river. The pool has sections where some could laze out in bubbling water, others could swim or just enjoy a view of the river! It made my evening & it was after many years that I swam. It felt refreshingly good & was all ready for a pizza waiting for me back home.

Bangkok Post: Day 4

Shop till you drop

If I ever lived the phrase "shop till you drop", it was today. The venue was Bangkok's famous shopping centre - Baiyoke. This is the highest building in Bangkok & houses a huge shopping arcade. Tourists visiting Bangkok swarm this place only to return with dozens of shopping bags with them. And we religiously stuck to this 'tradition' today. 7 hours of shopping was all it required to experience the 'shopaholic syndrome' peculiar to tourists here. We bought many clothes & apparels at prices very much less than what would it would have cost us in India. We came across all kinds of fashion while wandering in the arcade... from local Thai to fancy western t-shirts & denims; Baiyoke had it all!

By the time we came out of the arcade back into our car, everyone was ready to drop off to sleep after a hard day of shopping. Now thats what they mean by 'shop till you drop'. Enough written! I may drop off to sleep anytime on this soothing bed! Yaaaaawwwnnn...

Bangkok Post: Day 3

Day 3 was spent at a local flea market, where we had to go by a ferry. The market was called 'Sampeng market', & it reminded me of Mumbai markets. A narrow lane with shops abound on both its sides. And hawkers clogging it at occassional distances, with most of them selling local street food. We checked out many shops & also bought some gift items & takeaways. While asking the prices, holding the article or sometimes pointing to it, mom used to ask in Marathi, "Hyaachi kimmat kaay?" (what is the price for this?). And the shopkeepers used to quote their prices. Then mom & me used to laugh saying the Thai vendors understand Marathi... he he he!

One thing that struck me was that inspite of the crowding in the lane, neither anyone was pushing the other person, nor was anyone shouting irately. Discipline & utmost respect for the other person are inherent in Thai culture, and it shows!

We returned from the flea market in the evening with our shopping bags. By that time mama had returned from office & he took us to a nearby joint so that we could enjoy some street food. He told me that the best way to taste Thai food was to opt for street food. You find many varieties in street food & thats how you get introduced to a plethora of cuisine. Mama ordered hoithot (shells in omlet), sea-food yakisoba (japanese preparation of sea-food in noodles), phad thai (noodles with sprouts & prawns) & auy suan (oysters in egg base). We tasted each if these turn by turn & liked all of them. It was very 'aroy' (aroy=delicious). We returned home & topped the delicacy treat with a bowlful of 'rum & raisin' ice-cream!

Bangkok Post: Day 2

Day 2 in Bangkok was a day to venture out as tourists are meant to. But this day was not just another day... it was my birthday! 1st time ever, I was not celebrating my birthday in India. Last time I remember I had cut a mango cream cake in the Bangalore-Mumbai Udyaan express when we were returning from an Industrial visit. I had a good time with my friends then. Ok now coming back to Day 2:

Hitting the gym

In the morning, I was wished a happy birthday by mama & mami. Mom, as per her traditional practice for so many years, wished me at 08:09 hrs IST; my birth time. After a breakfast of Tuna sandwich, I blogged about my Day 1 experiences. Having finished with that, I decided to hit the gym which mama had shown me the earlier day. Since it was a working day, there was no one at the gym at 11 in the morning. I turned on the music on my Palmtop & started with my workout. I pumped iron for about an hour & returned home with inflated veins. Thats a pleasing sight to my eyes! Yeah...

Sky train & shopping centre

At about 3 pm, we left home for some sight seeing & shopping. For crossing over to the opposite side of the Chaophraya river, we had to board a ferry. Soon, we were at the other side & bought tickets (self-service through ticket vending machine) to a station called 'National Stadium'. Alighting at the platform, we straight made our way into the 'Tokyu' shopping centre which is connected directly to the platform. Now thats what I call convenience! This multi-storeyed shopping centre had a lot to offer on the shelves & we didn't have much time to explore each corner. We mostly did window-shopping there, while checking out some local stuff.

Gender-bender

Mom got particularly interested in some dress which she wanted to try out. The salesgirl, a petite Thai cutie was helping her with the size & other things, in her sweet-spoken crude english. For a guy like me, coming across a variety of Indian girls all these years, almost all the Thai girls look the same: petite, fair, chinky eyes, slim & yeah... very beautiful! I jokingly told myself that if I ever were to marry a Thai gal, very soon I would be charged with infidelity! (he he he...) Because they all look very much the same! Now coming back to this cute salesgirl... she took mom to show her the trial room. Mami & me accompanied & when we were waiting outside for mom to change, mami told me, "you know what mihir, this salesgirl is a trans-sexual"(I later learnt that they are called 'kathay' in Thailand). I gulped in disbelief! I mean she... er... he... was actually a male! And quite a beautiful male I must admit! God!!... Thai boys would be facing a tough time! Mami also added that there have been some cases where guys found out after marriage that their 'wives' were... well... guys! Now whoever said "Ignorance is bliss" was 100% not a Thai lad!!

Celebration time!

In the evening when we returned, mama's secretary had come home to see me & mom. She was eager to meet the guests from India. She had brought a cake with her since she came to know from mama that it was my birthday today. I cut the cake, with everyone singing "happy birthday to you". Pom (mama's secretary) also joined in the jingle with her elementary english. (imagine english given a thai accent). Pom then gifted me a set of lovely red chopsticks with a golden design on it. I thanked her & said, "Khun Pom, ani suaay". (Pom, this is beautiful). I was very delighted by this gesture of my new Thai friend to arrange for a cake & gift me chopsticks. Pom then asked for a photograph with me. Now my mama was pulling my leg, saying that I was lucky... a Thai girl arranging a cake for me & wanting a photograph with me. He quipped teasingly, "I wasn't so lucky at 22... celebrating birthday with a foreigner gal". Pom then had Indian dinner with us. While leaving she said she enjoyed meeting me & mom. We also thoroughly enjoyed having her for the evening. It was indeed a memorable birthday for me and also for my mama & mami... their nephew celebrating his birthday in their house!

Bangkok Post: Day 1

Incidently, 'Bangkok Post' is to Bangkok as 'Times of India' is to Mumbai. I thought of posting daily experiences of my Bangkok trip under this blog name. This is the 1st of the blog series to come. Reclining on a sofa after a good start to my trip, now is the time to write about the day's findings & visits.

We said Sawaddikhap (sawaddikhap=hello) to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport at 04:55 hours Bangkok time (03:25 hours IST) on 9th Jan & I was spellbound seeing the expanse & the ambience of this magnificient airport. The long corridors/walks of the airport were facilitated through conveyor belts with paintings adorning the walls. The rendezvous with the airport ended shortly after we completed the formalities & were warmly received by my Mami. We then drove off to my Mama's residence which took us about 30 minutes from the airport. Cruising on the highway at 120 kmph in Mama's black Toyota Camry was a welcome change for a Mumbai lad used to the banal slow moving traffic scenarios.

Soon mom & I arrived at Mama's place...& what a place! The 25th floor apartment overlooking the Chaophraya river offered a magnificient view of the city, the riverside & the speeding highways! And not to mention, the building has its own gym & swimming pool apart from other places of interest. This is going to be my home for the rest of my stay here.

Till evening, the day was spent in freshening up, lunch & sleep. In the evening, all of us (me, mom, mama, mami) went to a local market to buy some vegetables & eatables. This is one experience we Bombayites never have. The place can be told about or photographed; but you can't make somebody experience the smell! You have to be there to smell that. Its basically a medley of sorts; fish, fruits, vegetables, meat... all being sold next to each other. So you can 'try' imagining the 'aroma'!

We came home & had Tom Kloang (tom=soup) which is a Thai soup, Yam (yam=salad) & Laab paduk (Laab=mince & paduk=type of fish) with rice for supper. Tom Kloang had pieces of octopus in it and tasting octopus for the 1st time, I enjoyed it! The night-view of the Chaophraya river is all the more beautiful, with colourfully illluminated boats ferrying up & down the river. I end my day watching the bedecked boats & bridge and enjoying a dollop of tender coconut icecream!

Dating a million beauties!

I am writing this while on board the flight to Bangkok. Currently experiencing turbulence & having a lovely cuppa of coffee served by the teenie-weenie eyed airhostess of Thai Airways, i look out of the window. Since this is a night flight & its 1:15 am, the cabin lights have dimmed & everyone is ready to doze off. But for me, sleep is the most uninteresting thing to do in a flight.

I try star-gazing at 35000 feet... its something that i feel is much more worth than sleeping on a night flight. Through the tiny window on my right, I peep to have a hearty look at the galactic beauties! Beauties which shy away from me & hide behind their curtains of cloud when i try to seek them from the city sky, filled with smoke & dust particles. But today, no one can stop me having a sumptuous rendezvous with them! I have never felt more closer to them than I am feeling now. And while everyone is having a good sleep, there's no one to disturb me on this 'date'. Not even the mobile phone!! Enough of words I feel, now let my eyes do the talking!

(Reminds me of the song "We are going to the moon and back" by Savage Garden!!)

Boyfriends v/s I-pods

I happened to hear a conversation between my friend & her friend (both girls), one fine evening & from their conversation, I couldn't help drawing similarities between the 2 'omnipresent commodities': Boyfriends & I-pods. So I let my mind run free in its own humorous sway & lo! It churned out certain similarities & differences between these 2 'must haves'...

1) Boy 1: Dude!! Look at this cool-drool... the latest I-pod... Its 80 GB & loaded to rock your ears out!

Boy 2: Thats nothing man! Look at this 120 GB bombshell!!

Now a parallel version of this conversation between two girlies would be:

Girl 1: Babe! My guy is a macho. He weighs 80 Kgs & can make guys 'run for' their gals.

Girl 2: Sigh!! My boyfriend is 120 Kgs & I hope he doesn't 'run down' any poor girl.

Moral: Kgs & GBs don't mix... Bigger is not always better!

2) Boy 1: Shit man! Its only 3 months & my new I-pod is pissing me off. I think I better grab the latest one on the shelves.

Boy 2: Hmmm... I was luckier. I bought another one only after I enjoyed an entire year of a music blast with mine.

And girls have their fair share:

Girl 1: Buddy, its only 3 months with my new boyfriend & he is already pissing me off.

Girl 2: So soon? I enjoyed a whole year with my boyfriend before I called it quits.

Moral: STATUATORY WARNING: Sooner or later, boyfriends & I-pods may piss you off. It all depends how much patience you have (or can try to have!)

3) Boy 1: (After an year of full-volume music on his I-pod) You know what? I think my I-pod is deafening me out. I can't hear anything which is on a lower volume.

Boy 2: Sorry..come again. Didn't hear you!

And then girls are not to be left behind:

Girl 1: (After having a boyfriend for an year) My boyfriend just doesn't talk sweetly with me. He is always croaking out loud like a frog. I pretend to be deaf while listening to him.

Girl 2: Yeah!... Its the same old story. Sigh!!

Moral: I-pods make you deaf, boyfriends make you wish you were deaf!

So guys, go ahead... enjoy your ear-throbbing I-pods

& girls, enjoy your boyfriends with all their inherent, quintessential qualities!

Girl 3: (shocked!!) Qualities??? Mihir, you said Q-U-A-L-I-T-I-E-S???? (faints!!)

New Year Cops (version 2008.1)

Whats so special about this picture? Yes, from a photographer's point of view, nothing makes it special. But, hold on... for all the people of Mumbai out there, isn't this picture pleasantly surprising? Still didn't get it? Look at the traffic cops (we 'fondly' call them as 'paandus')!! Ever seen paandus without an ounce of paunch on their tummies? Maybe these are new recruits, thats why! (no, I am not hinting ;-)). And a little bird told me about what these two were talking about ... the New Year Resolution!!

They have resolved to flaunt paunches by the year end! Now thats something of an 'achievable' resolution. I sincerely pray that their kids get 'home-grown' punching bags as their next year's New year gift! (that will be version 2008.12... lol).

Lost!

I can't find myself in me
Trapped in the wilderness of thoughts
In this world full of dreadful cynicism
I am Lost!

Looking in the transparent mirror

I find my mind & soul at daggers drawn

And in between this gruesome clash

I am Lost!

Who am I? Am I here with a purpose?

Thinking seems to be the cruelest enemy

In the mixed bag of thoughts & actions... somewhere

I am Lost!

Unnoticed goes the silver lining; at the cloud I stare

Yearning for the rain of comfort to wash me away

And then like a drop in the ocean... unidentified

I am Lost!

Why animals are different from humans...

A Leopard takes care of Baby Baboon after killing its mother !! Does the 'civilized' man show such a compassion??

Scheduled = Arrived?

No.. don't reach out for your thesaurus... you won't find it there. You may find it this equation the next time you go to fetch someone arriving at Mumbai's International Airport.

It so happened that yesterday, mom and I happened to go to the airport to receive Mama (uncle) who has come down to India for a brief stay. This is an annual ritual for us and so upon reaching the terminal, I checked out the arrival status screen put up outside the arrival lobby. The CX751 Cathay Pacific (mama's flight) was showing the 'scheduled' status. I told mom and we geared up for an impending wait. I chitchatted with mom for some time discussing miscellaneous things and again after 15-20 minutes, I went to check the refreshed status. It showed the same old 'scheduled' status and I again returned. For about 30-40 mins we were waiting for the change in status, but no luck!!

Then suddenly, mom saw mama on the other side of the glass in the lobby and told me so. I said, "Mom, the flight has not yet arrived. Don't you see... the screen is still showing scheduled. Its not even arrived yet." But then in less than a minute, I saw mama merrily coming out with his trolley! I was astonished & in disbelief I again glanced at the status screen. The screen still showed 'scheduled' for a flight that had already arrived long back!

I couldn't believe this. We all trust the arrival status screens so much that we don't ever question it. But for this incidence, it truly shattered my trust on the display system. And come to think of it... this airport is ISO certified (what a joke!). I left the terminal with mama & a skeptical look at Mumbai International Airport.

The November Errata

Well, November is almost about to make an exit... and this blog should have come up much earlier!

Whoever said B-schools in India produce world class managers, all accoutred for the corporate hot-seat need to do a serious rethinking. And especially when the spotlight of this quetching piece of blogging is one of India's Top 10 B-schools, churning out MBAs with their dosage of 'Six Sigmas' and 'Peter Druckers'!

I am referring to this year's desk-calendar of SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai (one of India's leading B-schools). The month of November 2007 in this calendar starts with Monday being the day on 1st of November, whereas November actually starts on Thursday! If you think thats all, behold... November has 31 days in this calendar (ouch! God bless my knuckles).

Apparently, it seems just a minor mistake. But then, when it comes from a B-school of a great repute, it certainly makes me think for a minute. The Institute which instills discipline of thought, meticulous behaviour & perfection in its students, ought to practise what it preaches. If this errata has gone unnoticed by any of the authorities, it surely makes me think about the standards the B-school works on! And just like I got a copy of this calendar, many people, many corporate houses related with SP Jain may have also got a copy. When you are creating a brand name in the market (like SP Jain in this case), its absolutely essential to live by that name!

I do not wish to offend anyone from that institute, but as a critical and a little fastidious person, I felt that I had to bring it up on this page. Its just another constructive criticism!

Its Diwali time!

Greenhouse? Ozone? Sounds familiar.....

Pollution? Smoke? Sounds familiar.....

Noise? Toxic gases? Sounds familiar.....

Cough? Respiratory disorders? Sounds familiar......

Accidents? Fires? Sounds familiar.....

Decibel levels? 10pm deadlines? Sounds familiar......

Be responsible? Have sense? Sounds familiar.....

But hey!!! Get a life...after all its Diwali time... Enjoy!!! Who cares????

The Beauty in the Crowd

Far away she stood, away from the chaotic crowd

The merrymaking seemed hard to douse

The claps & whistles would never drown

She stood there, alone & unmoved..

Oh! I fell for that girl ... the Beauty in the crowd!

I stopped in my tracks, ignoring the human abound
My gaze fixed at her, hypnotically as it may sound
Her pretty face with a void expression

Evoked my attention, I knew there had to be a reason..

Oh! I fell for that girl ... the Beauty in the crowd!

I observed her face, trying to read her

A hundred thousand emotions resonating on it

Hope, despair, love, tragedy .. I almost lost count

Never had I seen them so vividly, I fail to recollect..

Oh! I fell for that girl ... the Beauty in the crowd!

My feet stepped forward, I knew I had to talk

But she moved before I could, and joined the pervious crowd

I cursed myself in an utter despair

And the next moment, it was all over with a deafening sound..

Oh! I fell for that girl ... the Suicide Bomber!

Sex Sells !!

Well, I am not talking about prostitution or pornography. I am talking about sex selling in broad daylight, overtly, in front of thousands of people & corporate delegations. I happened to be a witness to this 'sleaze marketing' about 3 weeks back.

Crudely put, it was much of a 'soft sleaze' analogous to 'soft porn'. I happened to visit Asia IT Expo '07 and there I was a witness to this widely used marketing tactic. Many of the visitors may not have been in a state to comprehend these situations, because rationality loses ground in visually tantalizing scenarios. One may not realize that he is getting lured into visiting that stall & checking out the products. Its one of the most successful marketing mantras & is unfortunately, here to stay.

The fact that surprised me was that the corporate houses using this 'soft sleaze' were among the top companies of that segment. Normally, a lesser known company would resort to such gimmicks in order to attract visitors to their products. Why does the world leader in processors require pretty girls in micro-minis to markets its new range? I mean, the name is enough for a consumer like me, to whom features of a new Notebook PC would appeal rather than those of a girl wearing a skimpy outfit. The same applies to a company dealing with security equipment like surveillance cameras, hiring girls in order to rake in visitors to their stall. The visitors' surveillance on the girls was much more prominent than any of their peeping security lenses!

These practices are rampant on most of the marketing checklists. May it be TV shows, advertisements, billboards - sex truly sells. And even 5 star hotels & reception desks in offices are no exception. After all, what matters at the end of the day is the Sales Graph! And sex is a tried & tested way to boost it. The visit to this "Asia IT Expo(sure) '07" turned out to be quite a first hand experience on these 'practices'. And yeah, of course I did come across some great products too!

The Lady in the Blue Jumpsuit

"We are not powerless specks of dust drifting around in the wind, blown by random destiny. We are, each of us, like beautiful snowflakes - unique, and born for a specific reason and purpose." These words by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross aptly metaphor the essence of Sunita Williams, the NASA astronaut who has made mankind proud by her achievements. She has become a youth icon to say the least, moreover a perennial source of inspiration for our generation. I am feeling highly elated and fortunate to have attended an interactive session by her, yesterday at Indian Institute of Technology - Bombay.

A keynote interactive session was arranged by the Aerospace Department as a part of their ongoing festival "Zephyr '07". After eagerly standing in a long queue for about an hour, finally it was the moment to see Ms. Williams live in person. My excitement knew no bounds and shortly she was right there, before our eyes waving and approaching the centre-stage. This 'lady in the blue jumpsuit' - a term I coined after her trademark blue NASA jumpsuit - got a standing ovation from a packed audience of about 3000. The claps resonated the convocation hall and looked like they would never cease. The enthralled audience (many of which were school children) finally took their seats and waited for Sunita Williams to address them. Ms. Williams begin her session desribing her 195-day spaceflight as her 'Summer Vacation'. She shared her experiences with the help of a video clip from inside the Internation Space Station. We watched, spellbound and agape, as she went about describing her daily chores, eating, drinking, exercising and conducting vital scientific experiments in a zero-gravity environment! It was surely and literally an 'out-of-the-world' summer vacation! She also emphasized on the role of the space station and the various experiments carried out there, much of them oriented towards getting to know the behaviour of living things in a non-terrestrial environment. "This" she said, "would help mankind to find other possible options for human habitation, like the moon!"

She also described her vivid memories of seeing the earth from up there. “From space you realise how beautiful our planet looks with all its mountains, crevices, valleys and streams and you can't see any borders from up there. All kinds of borders - national, caste, creed, gender, etc - exist only on papers and in your mind!", she exclaimed, with an underlying message of a holistic approach that we should not restrict our identity as a citizen of a particular country, but as a citizen of the Earth.

Then the interactive session kicked off, with the school kids dominating the session with their curiosities about the space and Ms. Williams. The organizers had a busy time running about the hall, trying their best to get as many people to ask questions. Ms. Williams gave comprehensive answers to queries ranging from her thoughts on global warming, space tourism to that of encountering any aliens! When asked about her source of inspiration, she replied that firstly it was her parents and then Mahatma Gandhi.

Time flew quickly, and soon it was time to bid farewell to her. A roaring applause showered affection and good luck for her future endeavours - the least we could do for a befitting role model. I came out of the hall with a happy heart, wishing these inspiring memories would forever remain undiffused in my mind and heart. I had just been with one of the beautiful snowflakes in that quotation by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross!

Sunita Williams - A Factfile

Commander - US Navy

NASA Astronaut

Records As a female Astronaut
» Longest Spaceflight (195 days)
» Number of Spacewalks (4)
» Cumulative time of spacewalks (29 hrs 17 min)