Black Is Beautiful

Henry Ford had once said, “Any colour - so long as it's black” and every time I read it, it seems an echo of my mind. I have often wondered what would be life if there was no black in it and it would just be a void. To me black is not a colour it a hint of mystique, grace and poise. Everything seems more enthralling if its in black colour be it a wallet or a phone. 5 black things that I would have wanted to own or would want to own are as below:

·         I have had a crazy obsession for a black car. For me a black colour is a representation of a mean machine. For a long time my ideal car was a Black Tata Safari, an epitome of power and style. Imagine being on a long drive with slight drizzle on tar illuminated black grid road with a Black SUV drawing a contrast to the lush green background.

·         I am huge dog lover and I love them to bits however I have not been able to have one as a pet because my mom is not comfortable with dogs but I have made a promise to myself that I am doing to get a black Labrador.

·         They say a woman’s wardrobe is never complete without a Little Black Dress. Being a Punjabi- a huge rear is rather a genetic endowment and thus usually avoid wearing dresses. I therefore chase an eternal dream of a relentless mind is to be able to own a sexy little black dress to make me sexier.

·         I have a watch fetish and its compulsive! I can never go past a watch store without peeking at them. I have promised myself that by the time I am 35(two years from now)I will own a dream watch (one of those insanely expensive ones). I do not know what make or what price, the only thing I do know it will have to have a big black dial for I hate anything small ;)

·         Lastly they say a woman can never have enough shoes and its true for me but most often when I go shoe shopping, I end up buying black shoes, from platforms to stilettoes, from flip flops to peep toes, I have almost all types of shoes in black colour but I still want more ;)

But only if wishes were horses, so while I chase the unending dreams one thing that will remain common is my love for black for I do love believe black has cast a spell on me. So be it a black tea, black coffee, black forest cake, black alphabets on a pristine paper, black khol lit eyes or the beauty spot that accentuates beauty and adds sensuality, black is all I see and love, Black magic indeed!

Mere Paas Cine...Maa Hai

 

People around me know me and my love for movies and call me Filmi, while I do enjoy English movies and world cinema with great relish, I am self confessed “keeda” of the Hindi Movies.

I am also the person who is not very discriminative when it comes to taste in Cinema so for me basically “Kuch Bhee Chalega!!” I love the movies with great story lines and deep impact but also go equally crazy for Govinda, David Dhawan type movies and I can proudly say I have never walked out of a movie hall despite how bad the movie be. I am no pseudo critic who talks about narrative or the camera shots (while I do appreciate the technicians), for me movie is just dhmaal and make belief for that time

 

I have danced in movie halls, whistled in movie halls and rolled my eyes at hideous dialogues and cried my eyes out!!

The first movie that I saw in a movie hall was Kranti and I remember crying for most part of it because I thought people were dying in real. What really got my romance with movies was also the music. My friends tell me I have a song for every situation in life (filmi I told you!)

 

While the movie hall business has evolved from single screens to multiplex, I still occasionally love going to single screen halls to watch the movie from first row, uska mazaa hee alag hai!!! Also I don’t know what is the big deal about it but every time I ask for a single ticket at a ticket window they always repeat “ Aapko ek hee ticket chahiye” and then I have to tell them yes while it might seem difficult I still can adjust myself into a single seat

Also at each phase in one’s life there is a movie one can relate to and for me more so,

While during school days related to Maine pyar kiya (ek ladka aur lakdi kabhee dost nahee hote), My first crush in life was a man 10 years older to me and thus related with Lamhe,  First year of college Dil chahta hai bonded me with friends like nothing else. Then when I was turning thirty kept reciting the dialogue from the movie “I am thirty jobless and manless” much to the agony of my friends!

But that is just that, my all time favorite movies include Mera Naam Joker, Chupke Chupke, Jaane Bhee Do Yaaron, Andaaz Apna Apna, Sholey, Guddi, Mili, Abhimaan (Yes I love Big B to the hilt!), equally crazy about Bombay to Goa, Half Ticket, Pyaasa, Masoom, Anand, Umrao Jaan, Udaaan, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, the list is just way tooo long!!!

Suffice to just say I love hindi movies, Koi Shak!!!!

Thank You (Meda w'asé)

 

Travel is a fascinating thing; it takes you to places only read about or often unheard of. It makes you meet people whom you may never see again but still feel an association with.  I am not articulate enough to express the experience of travel but it’s my own way of saying thank you and marking the memories.

I recently travelled to Accra in Ghana and from the moment the travel was decided I was keen and not knowing what to expect, I just kept myself open to the experiences that would lie ahead.  Also official trips are kind of constraining because there is a limitation on time and whatever exploration needs to be done has to be done within those very constraints but it’s still better than not being there at all.

 

My journey commenced with in the early morning and was transiting through Dubai and though the initial lag between the flights was that of an hour and fifteen minutes, due to the delay in Delhi that time was reduced to 20 minutes thus my sprint across the Dubai airport made me feel less guilty of having missed my morning gym

I landed into Accra in the middle of afternoon but found the breeze to be surprisingly pleasant despite the sun. Once into the hotel and a quick shower later I was out to deal with the official duty for the day, on returning back to the hotel I was too tired to do anything else but sleep courtesy the long haul and the time lag of five and a half hours.

Next morning I was up at 5 and the official things were only slated to begin at 10 so I decided to go to the local beach called the Labadi beach.

The beach was a wonderful expand which I was told is maintained by the hotels in the vicinity and is yet open to the general public. Since it was really early, it had less occupants but one got to meet a lot of local people who were out for a stroll, a swim or just peace.

What made it really comfortable was the fact that people greeted with warmth that was genuine. I also did meet an Italian who tried to flirt with me and ask me out but yeah who can resist such a beauty as me (modest am I not!)

I have this theory that you can know a lot about the place by the way of how people eat and pray. Since it was a Sunday I decided to go to the church for the morning mass and therefore dashed to the hotel for a shower and change.

My experience at the church was very spectacular. The men and the women extremely well dressed came into the mass almost ceremonious and wedding like. One thing I have to say here is that I am absolutely in love with the confidence of Ghanaian women; they are so comfortable with themselves and celebrate their curves. Each curve of the body is wonderfully highlighted in their attire with lovely patterned fabric and weaved kente (local weaved fabric). Music is an eternal part of people’s lives and was also seen in the mass with choir songs on a conga and dancing, don’t know if it was spiritual but it was certainly very refreshing.

With that done I was off for the official work for the day and during lunchtime decided to experiment with the vendor food which included coconut water, roasted corn, roasted banana and a substance that looked like blackberries with hard shell, once I started eating it my navigator Togo told me that usually men feel shy in buying because it were tiger nuts which are considered aphrodisiac when consumed by men ;-)

Post work I wanted to go for a place where they played live music and my hotel guided me to a club called +233 that played hiplife which is a Ghanaian special and as luck would have it turned out to be the night there biggest artist was performing, Gyedu Blay Ambolley was mesmerising with his vocals and amazing tunes of the saxophone. I relished the music just as much as I relished a local company. I had several interactions with the locals there, danced a bit and got an insight into people’s thoughts on several things such as India, their own country’s politics, music, etc.

 My official event had an element of a cultural performance by both Indian and Ghanaian Troops while the Indian artists enthralled with fusion of Kathak, Bharatnatyam and Odissi dance, their counterparts presented a 5 phase dance performance which depicted the 5 tribes and the music was foot stomping with high voltage energy.

My last day was barely half a day and I visited the local markets and saw some beautiful bead work and kente, picked up some authentic coffee, made a friend in a 3 year old boy Nana Bauachi who said “I lub chockolat”. I also tried local speciality called Joll of Rice, the flavour seemed a lot like our own Hyderabadi Biryani and before I could realize it, I was back at the airport to head back home.

On my way flight back I was thinking that though the finding of oil and a growth rate of 15% has not yet transcended into people’s life perhaps it is this very simplicity that is most endearing.

 

Changing Times

 

When as kids we were asked to write essays on things that got us thinking. One such essay was Scenes I see in my morning walk.

As a kid the scenes of my morning walk were that of loud chirping of the birds, the milkman on a cycle, kids walking to school with backpacks, uncles laughing loud in groups, moist leaves from the overnight dew, empty roads with fallen leaves, couples sitting on a porch indulging in a cup of hot tea, pets being played with, overall there was a symphony and harmony and it was a relaxed affair to stroll and take in all that was happening and return home feeling fresh.

 If I were to look at how things have changes with progression of time, it is somewhat disturbing; with all the advancement there is clutter and chaos that has been added.  The chirping of the bird seems to have drowned in the loud honking of the vehicles. The milkman now uses a bullet without a silencer. Kids don’t seem to walk to school anymore rather most of them are seen either driving or being driven in scooty, bikes and cars. Now uncles need the help of laughter clubs to laugh to release the stress. The roads are being broadened to absorb the vehicles on the road and thus the trees have been reduced and no fallen leaves just a lot of plastic bags and other sort of waste. Now the husband is rushing out of the door with a slice of bread clasped to his mouth while reversing the car ( identical to how most animals would fetch their food), pets being taken for a nature call for barely few meters outside the gate, the symphony is lost in the mayhem, while walking one has to be careful of not being run over.

 

Times sure have changed!!!

 

 

 

Penning It

I received a letter (yeah the pen and paper one) today from one of my juniors and she had written to me some most lovely things and it made me smile non-stop.

In this era of emails, IM’s, calls, skype, etc.  people don’t write to each other as often as they used to.

 

I for one have been a lover of writing letters, despite my awful handwriting; I have always maintained that writing long letters is the most personalized form of communication.

 

I started initially by writing to my cousins, growing up we were scattered and did not meet as often as we liked therefore long letters was a way to let each other know how things were going, of-course the luxury of phone calls was reserved for the elders in the house and also most of the stuff could not be discussed in adult supervision and each letter would be labelled with disclaimer such as only to be opened by the receiver, private and confidential and what not!

 

Then during the later years I used to listen to this show on FM that used to come late at night and used to play the recent English numbers but what was more unique of the show was that in the show people used to write letters to their pen pals through the show and I used to find the idea very romantic. The language of the letters, the fun and the way the RJ read them made up for a beautiful presentation. I could never muster up the courage to write into the show, for I felt the others writing in were so refined and eloquent that I would come across as a fool.

 

I did later have few pen pals and three of them I continue to write to, first one being from Philippines, another from Ukraine and the third one from Canada.

 

The thrill of tearing away the sealed envelope to find out the contents is something that is not to be explained but to be experienced.  I vie for this mean of communication!

 

 

 

Sarhad

 

 

I am Punjabi girl and my both my paternal and maternal grandparents were from Pakistan who came to Delhi post partition. Growing up I had heard the names of their ancestral towns often and had also heard numerous stories that mentioned the lanes that they lived in and people they were with. Since grade 10 or so I have had this desire to visit Pakistan and see the country. I don’t want to label it as knowing my roots but I guess the need is to be associated to the legacy and experience it first hand.

 

I finally had the chance to travel to Lahore for my work and when my management asked me if I would be keen on the travel, I immediately agreed.

 

As a preparation of the travel I read on Pakistan, was very thoughtful of how I would dress there and greet there amongst other things. When the day of travel came I was a bundle of excitement. We were to cross into Pakistan through the Wagah border. While the cab dropped us off at the India side of the border we had to cross the zero line on foot (about 100 meters of stretch) before entering into Pakistan. For some unknown reason walking that zero line gave me goose bumps.

 

As I entered into the Pakistan side of the border was greeted very warmly by the immigration and the custom officers. They inquired about the reason for visit and other things and promptly assisted me with the baggage clearance. A car was ready to receive us and take us to our hotels, because of it being an official visit we were exempted the typical every day reporting into the police station( a norm for any person travelling from Pakistan to India and vice versa).

Lahore being a Punjab prominent area, the main languages are Punjabi and Urdu and because of my grandparents I happen to understand and speak both languages rather fluently. It was something that helped me a lot in my interactions especially when I visited the older part of the city. I was there for the total of 6 days and each day is now filled with fond memories of numerous people who have walked upto me during the days and asked me “aap hindustaan se hai” followed by “Allah aapko salamat rakhe.” Restaurant owners refused to take money from us. Shopkeepers wanted to present us with beautiful fabrics. My most touching experience was when auto rickshaw driver hearing my Punjabi asked aap Karachi se hai and I said nahee Dilli se he did not take any fare from me and requested if I could agree for a picture with him so that he can show his Children that a Hindistani Aapa met him today because though half of his family stays in India, he can never meet them due to the visa norms.

 

On the day of the return I was surprised to find a gift parcel into my hotel room which was from one of the girls who had helped me in the event and it had a beautiful stole and a hand written note saying “AApa hindustaan jaaker zaroor yaad rakhiyega” and I could not hold back the tears.

 

While walking back the zero line I realized the importance of the Lakeer, ever more so!

 

Social Media!

I am a Social Media Buff!

This statement is more of a confession than anything else. My attachment to the medium began with Hi5, progressed to rediff, orkut, blogspot, and now to the level of Linkedin, Google +, Pinterest, Facebook, Slideshare, Scribd, YouTube, twitter and the list just goes on.

Now before anybody labels me as a techie geek or one of those early adapters on the TLC, let me clarify that I don’t think of it as technology but rather as an enabler. For me it is a way of communication whereby reaching your TG with preciseness that is not likely with most mass media avenues.

We have graduated into a world of peer competitiveness where our goals get aligned to others and our intrinsic motivation comes from what others do. So if the guy in your cubicle gets an iphone next day you are checking the prices, if he talks about getting a car, you start evaluating and yeah if there is a marriage in your neighborhood, your mother expects you to hop on the alter next (okay that may not be the case with everyone!) . In the immediate environment there is strong competition and thus the need to associate externally becomes far larger.

Given the crazy life patterns most of us have, the physical interactions are limited and thus the digital fits the bill perfectly.

We all vie for the company of like minded people which gives us a ground for conversation, they can be the most natural association of city one belongs to, movies one likes, books read, to precise associations like school, collage, organization, etc.

Each social platform right now is trying to create niche for itself by the way of the association they create and thus creating segmentation. So where Linkedin may look at professional association, Twitter allows you to peep into the lives of the celebrities you “Follow”, Pinterest lets you create an image gallery of all things passionate about, etc. But these segments allow the user to be multi dimensional in their communication and what one wishes to convey differs from platform to platform and a clash is the segments is best avoided, for ex: Linkedin is a professional networking site but if a user decides to spam and starts talking about hobbies and status messages identical to facebook its not taken appreciatively.

This is the people’s story but I feel in the social media, the brands have a huge scope to create an engagement. Lots of brands are doing some real interesting things in the space.

Recently read a lot of articles which talked extensively on the debate that if or not does the social media presence influence the market for the brand. Though there may be several empirical ways to demonstrate the linkage, as a consumer, as well as a marketer I feel that whenever an engagement is created somehow the brand is pushed on the top of head recall or even conditioned to prefer a brand over the others. I may not even be a remote prospect for a car at the moment but a constant engagement with a brand ensured that it is in my consideration set when the time actually comes.

This is somewhat a crux of what I perceive the Social media to be about but in actual the discussion it is way beyond that and would definitely take more than this article to talk elaborately on the further aspects of the Social Media. I hope to write back again shortly with certain illustrations on the usage of the media