Am in Delhi!!
Yipee!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
good times...
had a good time with select folks from work when the boss took us out for a drink at the radissson.while i am nt drinking people are always happy to have my company, so I don t mind...i ws happily sipping away on my fresh lime soda while listening to the others tlak about almost everything under the sun from the history of DDB Oman,its interesting specimens and how they came on board, work bloopers, to technical glitches during presentations, the interesting clients we work for to the mental damage they do to us, to movies and how one has not been able to crack the Matrix so far,LOL theories about celebrity deaths,food u name it and we were on it. all this followed by some exciting rounds of juicy lamb sausages and feta cheese. By the end of it we were all happy high, the boss even got senti! all in all it was a very good evening.....we shud all get together more often I feel, its a great way to get to know each other better and unwind.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
I miss you MJ :(
showcasing a real touching tribute to the 'King of Pop' as featured in the -London Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/5644319/Michael-Jackson-this-really-is-it.html
Michael Jackson: this really is it
“This is it, this really is it,” announced Michael Jackson in his last official public appearance, at the O2 centre on March 5th, 2009. He could have had no idea how true that phrase would turn out to be. The self-styled King of Pop is dead. There was to be no triumphant comeback just a final bizarre twist in pop’s strangest soap opera.
And that is what Michael Jackson’s existence had long since turned into, a particularly weird real life melodrama, played out in tabloid newspapers, gossip magazines, TV inquisitions and a succession of court rooms.
It was a story of a prolonged and ugly fall from grace told in whispers and innuendo, but all too rarely (sadly) in song. It was eight years since he made a record, and probably twenty since he made a good one.
Jackson rose like a showbusiness meteorite from much loved child star to the greatest pop icon of his time, but once installed on the throne he craved, he seemed to unravel before our very eyes. He mutilated his appearance in a vain attempt to turn himself into his childhood fantasy hero, Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. He installed himself in a playground that he called Neverland, with monkeys and other animals for company. He entangled himself in inappropriate relationships with young boys.
He married and divorced Elvis Presley’s daughter. He acquired children through some surrogate shenanigans with his nurse. His nose apparently fell off. He blew an astonishing amount of money and wound up an itinerant superstar, pursued through the courts by creditors and sheiks baying that he owed them millions of dollars.
Neverland closed its gates. His belongings were exhibited for auction, including such prize items as an actual throne and an oil portrait of Jackson as a fairy tale ruler. He grew skinnier and paler (quite something for a black man) and apparently explored every possible avenue to return to the limelight without actually having to perform live. And then he surrendered to the inevitable and announced his return to the stage. Only even then, he seemed to be simultaneously announcing his retirement, telling us it would be the last time we would ever see him, in London at least. Or the last 50 times. “This,” he kept repeating like a mantra he didn’t even believe himself, “is it.”
I was asked last week by the LA Times why I thought Michael Jackson was staging his comeback in the UK rather than the US. “Are the British more forgiving?” the journalist wanted to know. My off the cuff reply was that because we watched the whole Jackson saga unfold across the Atlantic, tuning into scenes from LA on our home screens, we always treated it as a kind of fantastic Hollywood soap that said as much about America as it did about Jackson himself. And ultimately it didn’t really matter to us whether his comeback was a triumph or failure, we just wanted to catch the next episode. Well, this is it, this is really it. The final twist turns out to have been both impossible to predict, yet strangely anti-climactic, as our hero (or villain) shuffles off the world’s stage, not with a bang, but in an ambulance, to die behind closed doors, out of the public eye.
I wanted to believe, against all the odds, that this rather lost and bewildered fifty year old superhasbeen was going to stage one last rally, that he had it in him to reconnect with his extraordinary talent. I tried to convince myself he was a showbiz trouper and that the call of the footlights, the impatient rustle of the audience gathering beyond the curtain, would somehow snap him out of his lethargic, disassociative state, and that he would rise to the occasion.
But his behaviour at his press conference suggested otherwise. And rumours from LA grew steadily worse, as he failed to turn up to rehearsals, appeared at a dermatology clinic carrying a bag labelled ‘Skin Cancer’ (which seemed to be more of a photo op than an actual health complaint) and then postponed his opening shows for the vaguest of reasons. As famous last words go, “This is it” has a certain iconic ring to it, but Michael Jackson’s final recorded public utterances are actually less edifying and a great deal more disturbing. "I don’t know how I’m going to do fifty shows. I'm not a big eater - I need to put some weight on," Jackson whined to fans gathered outside the rehearsal studio.
So did the concert promoters do for Michael Jackson? They certainly have some questions to answer. It is pretty clear that he was, in some respects, a reluctant participant, driven back to the stage as a last resort to pay off overwhelming debts, whatever promoter Randy Phillips, head of AEG Live, has said about Jackson wanting to do it for his kids, while he still could. Dismissing rumours of Jackson’s frailty and ill health, Phillips declared on 21st May: "I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He's in fantastic shape." I think this particular medical expert will probably be trying to keep a low profile for a while.
The death of someone so famous shakes us to the core, because it is like a death in the family. Love him or loathe him, Michael Jackson was part of the fabric of all our lives. Or maybe worse, it is like the death of a God, a sudden unexplainable absence in the mythos of the times. President Kennedy, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Lady Diana: these are the kind of deaths that confront us with our own mortality, the realisation that the end is unavoidable, death stalks us all, no matter how anointed by the fates. Such a death is usually greeted with a kind of incredulity. But this is it. This is really it.
And as the dust settles, what are we to make of Michael Jackson, who had denied us, and himself, the ultimate showbiz redemption? Do we remember him as the extraordinary musical talent that he undoubtedly was? With one of the most distinctive and gorgeous voices known to pop, an incredible gift for rhythm and melody, and for combining different musical elements into a seamless pop whole and wrapping it all up in image and movement? The Jackson 5 sprinkled the airwaves with pure joy. His funky string and disco classic ‘Off The Wall’ remains one of the most sinuously addictive dance albums ever made. ‘Thriller’ is an extravagent plastic pop masterpiece to rival ‘Sergeant Pepper’. Even ‘Bad’ is, well, not bad, although the mania for physical transformation and the almost messianic self aggrandisement had started to cast a shadow over the music he was making.
Do we focus on the delights of ‘ABC’, ‘I Want You Back’, ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’, ‘She’s Out Of My Life’, ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Beat It’, ‘Human Nature’, ‘The Man In The Mirror’, ‘Black And White’? Or do we think of the Lost Boy, and the ugly rumours, and the way his talent seemed to turn against him, snatching tragedy from triumph? I remember looking at Jackson in the mid-nineties, a white, cleft-chinned, thin-nosed, stick figure miming onstage during his egomaniacal yet somehow shabby HisStory tour while footage was projected of his younger, smiling, black, handsomely boyish self, and thinking did some alien kidnap our sweetest star and replace him with a monster? Whatever really happened to Michael Jackson?
I guess the inquests will start soon enough. Maybe, for now at least, we should stick with the music. I had a conversation about Jackson quite recently, with an engineer who did some recording with him just a couple of years ago, working on a song for the victims of the New Orleans hurricane disaster. He said Jackson turned up to the studio in London on his own, and he was really focussed, totally on the music, and full of sharp observations and bright ideas.
But then his entourage showed up. Then news leaked of his presence and the tabloids and fans turned up, bombarding the studio to such an extent that Jackson had to be carried from his limo on the shoulders of a security guard. And his focus seemed to be lost. The recording sessions ground to a halt. The record never came out. But when he was in the studio, when he was working on the music itself, the engineer said Jackson was totally present, totally alive, comporting himself not as a star but as a true musician. Whatever became of that talent, whatever damage fame wreaked on his psyche and his life, my own guess is that the records are where we can continue to hear the real Jackson, the lost boy inside, singing and dancing to his own private beat. This really is it.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/5644319/Michael-Jackson-this-really-is-it.html
Michael Jackson: this really is it
“This is it, this really is it,” announced Michael Jackson in his last official public appearance, at the O2 centre on March 5th, 2009. He could have had no idea how true that phrase would turn out to be. The self-styled King of Pop is dead. There was to be no triumphant comeback just a final bizarre twist in pop’s strangest soap opera.
And that is what Michael Jackson’s existence had long since turned into, a particularly weird real life melodrama, played out in tabloid newspapers, gossip magazines, TV inquisitions and a succession of court rooms.
It was a story of a prolonged and ugly fall from grace told in whispers and innuendo, but all too rarely (sadly) in song. It was eight years since he made a record, and probably twenty since he made a good one.
Jackson rose like a showbusiness meteorite from much loved child star to the greatest pop icon of his time, but once installed on the throne he craved, he seemed to unravel before our very eyes. He mutilated his appearance in a vain attempt to turn himself into his childhood fantasy hero, Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. He installed himself in a playground that he called Neverland, with monkeys and other animals for company. He entangled himself in inappropriate relationships with young boys.
He married and divorced Elvis Presley’s daughter. He acquired children through some surrogate shenanigans with his nurse. His nose apparently fell off. He blew an astonishing amount of money and wound up an itinerant superstar, pursued through the courts by creditors and sheiks baying that he owed them millions of dollars.
Neverland closed its gates. His belongings were exhibited for auction, including such prize items as an actual throne and an oil portrait of Jackson as a fairy tale ruler. He grew skinnier and paler (quite something for a black man) and apparently explored every possible avenue to return to the limelight without actually having to perform live. And then he surrendered to the inevitable and announced his return to the stage. Only even then, he seemed to be simultaneously announcing his retirement, telling us it would be the last time we would ever see him, in London at least. Or the last 50 times. “This,” he kept repeating like a mantra he didn’t even believe himself, “is it.”
I was asked last week by the LA Times why I thought Michael Jackson was staging his comeback in the UK rather than the US. “Are the British more forgiving?” the journalist wanted to know. My off the cuff reply was that because we watched the whole Jackson saga unfold across the Atlantic, tuning into scenes from LA on our home screens, we always treated it as a kind of fantastic Hollywood soap that said as much about America as it did about Jackson himself. And ultimately it didn’t really matter to us whether his comeback was a triumph or failure, we just wanted to catch the next episode. Well, this is it, this is really it. The final twist turns out to have been both impossible to predict, yet strangely anti-climactic, as our hero (or villain) shuffles off the world’s stage, not with a bang, but in an ambulance, to die behind closed doors, out of the public eye.
I wanted to believe, against all the odds, that this rather lost and bewildered fifty year old superhasbeen was going to stage one last rally, that he had it in him to reconnect with his extraordinary talent. I tried to convince myself he was a showbiz trouper and that the call of the footlights, the impatient rustle of the audience gathering beyond the curtain, would somehow snap him out of his lethargic, disassociative state, and that he would rise to the occasion.
But his behaviour at his press conference suggested otherwise. And rumours from LA grew steadily worse, as he failed to turn up to rehearsals, appeared at a dermatology clinic carrying a bag labelled ‘Skin Cancer’ (which seemed to be more of a photo op than an actual health complaint) and then postponed his opening shows for the vaguest of reasons. As famous last words go, “This is it” has a certain iconic ring to it, but Michael Jackson’s final recorded public utterances are actually less edifying and a great deal more disturbing. "I don’t know how I’m going to do fifty shows. I'm not a big eater - I need to put some weight on," Jackson whined to fans gathered outside the rehearsal studio.
So did the concert promoters do for Michael Jackson? They certainly have some questions to answer. It is pretty clear that he was, in some respects, a reluctant participant, driven back to the stage as a last resort to pay off overwhelming debts, whatever promoter Randy Phillips, head of AEG Live, has said about Jackson wanting to do it for his kids, while he still could. Dismissing rumours of Jackson’s frailty and ill health, Phillips declared on 21st May: "I would trade my body for his tomorrow. He's in fantastic shape." I think this particular medical expert will probably be trying to keep a low profile for a while.
The death of someone so famous shakes us to the core, because it is like a death in the family. Love him or loathe him, Michael Jackson was part of the fabric of all our lives. Or maybe worse, it is like the death of a God, a sudden unexplainable absence in the mythos of the times. President Kennedy, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, Lady Diana: these are the kind of deaths that confront us with our own mortality, the realisation that the end is unavoidable, death stalks us all, no matter how anointed by the fates. Such a death is usually greeted with a kind of incredulity. But this is it. This is really it.
And as the dust settles, what are we to make of Michael Jackson, who had denied us, and himself, the ultimate showbiz redemption? Do we remember him as the extraordinary musical talent that he undoubtedly was? With one of the most distinctive and gorgeous voices known to pop, an incredible gift for rhythm and melody, and for combining different musical elements into a seamless pop whole and wrapping it all up in image and movement? The Jackson 5 sprinkled the airwaves with pure joy. His funky string and disco classic ‘Off The Wall’ remains one of the most sinuously addictive dance albums ever made. ‘Thriller’ is an extravagent plastic pop masterpiece to rival ‘Sergeant Pepper’. Even ‘Bad’ is, well, not bad, although the mania for physical transformation and the almost messianic self aggrandisement had started to cast a shadow over the music he was making.
Do we focus on the delights of ‘ABC’, ‘I Want You Back’, ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’, ‘She’s Out Of My Life’, ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Beat It’, ‘Human Nature’, ‘The Man In The Mirror’, ‘Black And White’? Or do we think of the Lost Boy, and the ugly rumours, and the way his talent seemed to turn against him, snatching tragedy from triumph? I remember looking at Jackson in the mid-nineties, a white, cleft-chinned, thin-nosed, stick figure miming onstage during his egomaniacal yet somehow shabby HisStory tour while footage was projected of his younger, smiling, black, handsomely boyish self, and thinking did some alien kidnap our sweetest star and replace him with a monster? Whatever really happened to Michael Jackson?
I guess the inquests will start soon enough. Maybe, for now at least, we should stick with the music. I had a conversation about Jackson quite recently, with an engineer who did some recording with him just a couple of years ago, working on a song for the victims of the New Orleans hurricane disaster. He said Jackson turned up to the studio in London on his own, and he was really focussed, totally on the music, and full of sharp observations and bright ideas.
But then his entourage showed up. Then news leaked of his presence and the tabloids and fans turned up, bombarding the studio to such an extent that Jackson had to be carried from his limo on the shoulders of a security guard. And his focus seemed to be lost. The recording sessions ground to a halt. The record never came out. But when he was in the studio, when he was working on the music itself, the engineer said Jackson was totally present, totally alive, comporting himself not as a star but as a true musician. Whatever became of that talent, whatever damage fame wreaked on his psyche and his life, my own guess is that the records are where we can continue to hear the real Jackson, the lost boy inside, singing and dancing to his own private beat. This really is it.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Randomising…..
Meeting time
Inane mindless meetings -That don’t yield any results. From time immemorial, I have observed that in the corporate culture ppl go for meetings real looong ones and by the end of it nothing productive really comes out of it…mostly.
Sometimes ure just listening to the client jabbering away to glory! He’s having a monologue and NO he doesn’t care about your attention span, body language, the fact that ure some 5-6 cups of tea/coffee down or even ure sarci ones’ he’ll just jabber on like kal ho na ho….Sometimes everything but the agenda is discussed…from global warming to IPL….My past agency devised a clever name for such meetings i:e- ‘bridge building meetings’ which means a perfect non agenda meeting which wont yield any results and will be inane to the core. Irritating to say the least! I mean guys if u don’t value your time atleast value ours, we have better things to do in life (or so I’d like to believe) Also did u notice how we agency people suck up to the clients! When in our minds we are thinking, “ Wat a sad excuse for a human being!’ and outside we wear the perfect expression and go, “ I couldn’t agree more! Or Why dint I think of that! Wow that’s a brainwave! I mean we guys should win Oscars for such amazing acting skills! And mind you we don’t put them to work once in a while but its almost an everyday phenomena…sometimes multiple times in a day! Ho Hum!
Blogs- Yes I read a minimum of 15 posts everyday. Each one of these so similar yet so different…providing different perspectives to either the same issue or beautifully bringing out the variations in each! Yes I am addicted! But its not a vice and I am happy about it! These are people I know but some of these are also people I don’t! But that doesn’t stop me from meandering into their thoughts and expressing mine in some very relevant virtual forums. This explains exactly why I have more virtual friend’s dan real! And No, I don’t mind! I also don’t mind the fact that I am not so articulate when it comes to translating my thoughts into words and mostly I won’t even comment on a post I loved reading and most significantly my own blog is kinda passive but that doesn’t take away from my passion for blogging. Go bloggers go!
Inane mindless meetings -That don’t yield any results. From time immemorial, I have observed that in the corporate culture ppl go for meetings real looong ones and by the end of it nothing productive really comes out of it…mostly.
Sometimes ure just listening to the client jabbering away to glory! He’s having a monologue and NO he doesn’t care about your attention span, body language, the fact that ure some 5-6 cups of tea/coffee down or even ure sarci ones’ he’ll just jabber on like kal ho na ho….Sometimes everything but the agenda is discussed…from global warming to IPL….My past agency devised a clever name for such meetings i:e- ‘bridge building meetings’ which means a perfect non agenda meeting which wont yield any results and will be inane to the core. Irritating to say the least! I mean guys if u don’t value your time atleast value ours, we have better things to do in life (or so I’d like to believe) Also did u notice how we agency people suck up to the clients! When in our minds we are thinking, “ Wat a sad excuse for a human being!’ and outside we wear the perfect expression and go, “ I couldn’t agree more! Or Why dint I think of that! Wow that’s a brainwave! I mean we guys should win Oscars for such amazing acting skills! And mind you we don’t put them to work once in a while but its almost an everyday phenomena…sometimes multiple times in a day! Ho Hum!
Blogs- Yes I read a minimum of 15 posts everyday. Each one of these so similar yet so different…providing different perspectives to either the same issue or beautifully bringing out the variations in each! Yes I am addicted! But its not a vice and I am happy about it! These are people I know but some of these are also people I don’t! But that doesn’t stop me from meandering into their thoughts and expressing mine in some very relevant virtual forums. This explains exactly why I have more virtual friend’s dan real! And No, I don’t mind! I also don’t mind the fact that I am not so articulate when it comes to translating my thoughts into words and mostly I won’t even comment on a post I loved reading and most significantly my own blog is kinda passive but that doesn’t take away from my passion for blogging. Go bloggers go!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
The Kargeen Cafe'
ok time for my 1st food review...a topic ive been pushing to the back burner for a long time now but given the food enthusiast that I am, I think its inapparopriate on my part to keep trying out new and exciting places and share the experience with you guys....so I begin with the Kargeen Cafe'.Kargeen in arabic means an 'Omani house'.This Café in Muscat today is one place that is in the 'Must Visit' list of travellers an residents alike. You simply can't tag it either as a restaurant or a coffee bar, because this outlet has everything in the offering.But my vote goes to the ambience.It is by far the most innovative set up that one can see in Muscat, one that makes you want to break into a belly dance immediately!The large tents on benches in company with palms, ironwood trees, frangipani trees, and bougainvillea in the backdrop, this venue truly comes alive.
The 1st time I went there was in Nov last year for lunch with some visiting clients. I must admit that at first glance I was completely taken in by the set up.the outdoor is a colorful mix of a garden intersperced with very antique rusty looking furniture, large tents on benches in company with palms, ironwood trees, frangipani trees, and bougainvillea in the backdrop all nicely lit up with pretty bright lights.Not to forget the aroma of fresh kebabs mingled with the strong omani bukhoor, it is what one would assume an authentic omani decor would look like.
On the inside, the set up looks just as rustic, villagy (if u know at I mean) and at the same time classy.this place pretty much reminds me of a classic Indian village home but just for a few omani features thrown in here and there…like the unmistakable kahwa pot, khajoor, hukka dani, mandoos
OK, now wat kind of food wud u expect frm tis kind of a set up-I would expect typical arabic fare and nothing more! But surprise surprise! Wat u get here is not just authentic omani/arabic stuff but an entire platter of homous, mezze, Salade Niçoise or even French onion soup pizzas, pastas, sandwiches n salads!!!!! I mean I just cant digest the Italian street fare at an authentic omani café! that kinda kills the spirit of the kargeen I say…. Anyway now let’s come to the food. Foodwise its thumbs up to their succulent lamb kebabs and mutton stew with steamed rice! Also don’t miss out on their smoked tahina(or grilled fish in sesame sauce) which is quite a teaser. Everytime I go, I can’t help over-ordering these and then packing some for home. The famous arabic kabsa rice is not soo great though...ive had better fare at Taza (the arabic-filipino cafe next to my place) the regular Italian fare and salads are good but a total waste if you were to have them here.I guess they whipped up this part of the menu just to cater to the exceptionally gora crowd that haunts the place anytime of the day u go! Also recommended is the weekend lunch buffet they serve every thu-fri. here you will get to pick from a wide array of salads,deserts and the usual 1 veg and 2 non veg dishes. As an assortment it works out pretty well.
If you love your lamb this is the place for you!
I give it a 3 and a half stars for its ambience and a 3 for food.Kargeen is today among the coolest and trendiest hangouts in Muscat.
Go check it out folks.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
O-zone: I deserve better, I am special
A wonderful article I came across today, which I'd like to share with you guys..this has been penned by Vinita Nangia from the Times of India
O-zone: I deserve better, I am special
12 Apr 2009, 0948 hrs IST, VINITA DAWRA NANGIA, TNN
Come on, admit it... all of you at some point have felt bigger than the situation you are in. It’s like you can give much more to life than life
I deserve better, I am special seems to want from you; much more to your work than the office demands of you — more in quality and bigger roles, that is, not in quantity of work. You feel you deserve more than is on your plate and a larger chunk of that pie called life. Your mind is restless because you are not stretching it to its limits and it tells you that life is passing you by — whizzing by real fast. I deserve much better than this, is the constant refrain in your head. I am special. That’s what Kate Winslet and Leonardo diCaprio (April and Frank Wheeler in the movie) tell themselves as a young couple in Revolutionary Road. Convinced they are “special”, they chafe at the bit that ties them to their mundane existence and the ordinariness of regular life. Frank swears he will not end up like his dad, but can see himself heading exactly that way. April cannot see herself as a housewife involved in routine chores and is yet doing nothing beyond that. It’s a case of life refusing to match their vision for themselves. Their reality has taken a completely different tangent from the life they planned and dreamt of and they do not like it. Sounds familiar? Is that self-delusional? When we think like that, are we deluding ourselves that circumstances are holding us back from the greatness we deserve and aspire for? Is it abnormal or is it the way the rest of the world thinks too? Does anybody anywhere believe “This is it! This is the life I want and this is exactly where I want to be at this point in time!” Why do we all get the feeling we are in the wrong place at the wrong time? We feel this all our professional life and feel it even more when one fine morning, we retire from work. With mental faculties that are sharper than ever, we wonder why the office suddenly doesn’t need us anymore. April feels deeply caught in the little life of suburban America in the 1950s in Revolutionary Road. She dreams of a life in Paris and plans to relocate her entire family in an attempt to shake off her angst and feeling of dissatisfaction — “running away from the hopeless emptiness of life here,” as they explain to a friend. However the whole thing boomerangs in her face because her husband apparently doesn’t feel the same depth of dissatisfaction and the movie ends in a tragedy. So many of us feeling caught in our circumstances, rue the situation and seek to change it. Is that good or bad? It can be argued both ways. A permanent state of dissatisfaction can only lead to misery and frustration, and so should be avoided. On the other hand, complete satisfaction with a situation leads to complacence and a lack of drive to achieve bigger and better! Is there a path between the two? Wonder if April had sought to deal with her angst in some other way than by changing towns, would the result have been as disastrous? She wails to her husband, “It’s what we are that’s being stifled; it’s what we want that’s being denied...” Can we possibly, as spiritual gurus suggest, change circumstances by changing ourselves? By looking within? Quite often, circumstances may be beyond our power, but we can certainly change the way we respond to them. All you need to do is step away and take a good, hard look. What is it that you really want to do with life? What is it that you hope to achieve? You can either focus on your limitations and lead a defeatist life, or resolve to turn your adversity into an opportunity and make the best of a given situation. Astrologer Sunita Chabra says, “Is there an end to wanting? If you achieve what you want today, you will want something else tomorrow.
There can be no peace from wanting and needing. The only peace can come from acceptance.” But acceptance sounds somewhat defeatist, unless taken in well-measured doses. We should have the wisdom and capability of figuring out what we need to accept and what needs to be challenged and overcome. The idea is not to quit dreaming and planning. Because it’s from those dreams that we evolve. The idea is simply to make sure we live life to our full potential. For as someone said, it isn’t dying that we need to be afraid of, but of an unlived life...
O-zone: I deserve better, I am special
12 Apr 2009, 0948 hrs IST, VINITA DAWRA NANGIA, TNN
Come on, admit it... all of you at some point have felt bigger than the situation you are in. It’s like you can give much more to life than life
I deserve better, I am special seems to want from you; much more to your work than the office demands of you — more in quality and bigger roles, that is, not in quantity of work. You feel you deserve more than is on your plate and a larger chunk of that pie called life. Your mind is restless because you are not stretching it to its limits and it tells you that life is passing you by — whizzing by real fast. I deserve much better than this, is the constant refrain in your head. I am special. That’s what Kate Winslet and Leonardo diCaprio (April and Frank Wheeler in the movie) tell themselves as a young couple in Revolutionary Road. Convinced they are “special”, they chafe at the bit that ties them to their mundane existence and the ordinariness of regular life. Frank swears he will not end up like his dad, but can see himself heading exactly that way. April cannot see herself as a housewife involved in routine chores and is yet doing nothing beyond that. It’s a case of life refusing to match their vision for themselves. Their reality has taken a completely different tangent from the life they planned and dreamt of and they do not like it. Sounds familiar? Is that self-delusional? When we think like that, are we deluding ourselves that circumstances are holding us back from the greatness we deserve and aspire for? Is it abnormal or is it the way the rest of the world thinks too? Does anybody anywhere believe “This is it! This is the life I want and this is exactly where I want to be at this point in time!” Why do we all get the feeling we are in the wrong place at the wrong time? We feel this all our professional life and feel it even more when one fine morning, we retire from work. With mental faculties that are sharper than ever, we wonder why the office suddenly doesn’t need us anymore. April feels deeply caught in the little life of suburban America in the 1950s in Revolutionary Road. She dreams of a life in Paris and plans to relocate her entire family in an attempt to shake off her angst and feeling of dissatisfaction — “running away from the hopeless emptiness of life here,” as they explain to a friend. However the whole thing boomerangs in her face because her husband apparently doesn’t feel the same depth of dissatisfaction and the movie ends in a tragedy. So many of us feeling caught in our circumstances, rue the situation and seek to change it. Is that good or bad? It can be argued both ways. A permanent state of dissatisfaction can only lead to misery and frustration, and so should be avoided. On the other hand, complete satisfaction with a situation leads to complacence and a lack of drive to achieve bigger and better! Is there a path between the two? Wonder if April had sought to deal with her angst in some other way than by changing towns, would the result have been as disastrous? She wails to her husband, “It’s what we are that’s being stifled; it’s what we want that’s being denied...” Can we possibly, as spiritual gurus suggest, change circumstances by changing ourselves? By looking within? Quite often, circumstances may be beyond our power, but we can certainly change the way we respond to them. All you need to do is step away and take a good, hard look. What is it that you really want to do with life? What is it that you hope to achieve? You can either focus on your limitations and lead a defeatist life, or resolve to turn your adversity into an opportunity and make the best of a given situation. Astrologer Sunita Chabra says, “Is there an end to wanting? If you achieve what you want today, you will want something else tomorrow.
There can be no peace from wanting and needing. The only peace can come from acceptance.” But acceptance sounds somewhat defeatist, unless taken in well-measured doses. We should have the wisdom and capability of figuring out what we need to accept and what needs to be challenged and overcome. The idea is not to quit dreaming and planning. Because it’s from those dreams that we evolve. The idea is simply to make sure we live life to our full potential. For as someone said, it isn’t dying that we need to be afraid of, but of an unlived life...
Monday, April 6, 2009
the kid in a pink frock and pigtails
Why should I grow up???? I don’t understand…y am I giving in to circumstances that demand I grow up? Afterall there are valid reasons Y I shud, but is that enuff…I hate to suppress the child in me…and yeah I love watching cartoons, splashing in the rains, messing up my room, cuddling up to my soft toys, dressing up my barbies, heavy petting, wearing brightly colored tic toc hair clips and earrings, wearing hello kitty or Johnny bravo t shirts or be completely naïve! This is me! If growing up means-cooking for your husband everyday, doing the coy bahu act in front of your in-laws, watching or weighing my words in public gathering’s, dressing up according to a code or form intellectual opinions about anything and everything that matters-I don’t wanna grow up! Really I don’t think its Fun enough!
Yes I am married but I still want my boy to pamper me, take me out for loooong drives, buy me the best chocolates and ice creams, take me out for animation flicks sometimes….Do u think I am being selfish-I guess to some extent I am… but dats the very essence of ‘Being Ureself’ !
I am not really looking forward to it but I know that there will be a time in my life where I will break into a new person! I can only dream that she’ll be an extension of ME and not someone who’s a total stranger!
Amen
Yes I am married but I still want my boy to pamper me, take me out for loooong drives, buy me the best chocolates and ice creams, take me out for animation flicks sometimes….Do u think I am being selfish-I guess to some extent I am… but dats the very essence of ‘Being Ureself’ !
I am not really looking forward to it but I know that there will be a time in my life where I will break into a new person! I can only dream that she’ll be an extension of ME and not someone who’s a total stranger!
Amen
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Ho Hum...
A few things that occupy my mindspace these days….
1.The Tata Nano finally launched on 23rd Mar. It brings a new dawn in the lives of majority of Indians, who have been chugging along in cranky 2 wheelers for way too long. This car makes it possible for them to fulfill their aspirations of owning a car that doesn’t burn a hole in their pocket. As the world touts the NANO to be the cheapest car in the world, a gimmick, a harbinger of doom etc etc, for an average Indian it’s no less than a dream come true. I salute the true genius of Ratan Tata for his vision and the power to fulfill his promise (which sounded unreal to begin with).Its Innovations like these that will propel India into the big league and out of the clutches of global recession, maybe sooner than the others.Meanwhile my inbox gets flooded with funny nano mails
2.The Next holiday-Though I have several places in the world circling my head almost every second of the day and I can’t wait to take off for another much deserved holiday….it seems like a faraway prospect for me. Why you ask? Watch the space!
3.Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston’s character ‘Rachel’ from FRIENDS, my mom, Sarah Palin’s daughter, my friends- Alex, Sheenu, Meenakshi , Pooja, a girl called Attica…are some of the people who I think about quite a lot lately. Various reasons, various personality traits, a close look at their kinda lifestyles…hmmm
4.Food- I am always torn in a tug of war between eating healthy and eating yummy with yummy invariably winning. As a result ive compromised on the strength of my liver a lil bit and now more often than not I find myself doing a balancing act. This is crazy as I am solely responsible for the state of affairs at home, but what the hell, I am still craving yummy food!!!!! Chicken stroganoff, goan fish curry’s, Spaghetti Bolognese, ilish macher paturi…… yummy umm yumm
5.Frieda Pinto-I fail to understand why on earth she manages to grab so many eyeballs. She’s not drop dead gorgeous or talented. So what’s her claim to fame? An Oscar winning movie where she had bare minimum to do? 1st she goes to the Oscars and every other prestigious award function, then she bags a film with Woody Allen and Antonio Banderas! And now I read, talented Gwyneth paltrow being threatened by her with regard to her estee lauder contract!!!! I mean what’s the world coming to???!!!!
6.Soumya, Jigisha, Amann Kachroo-No mater how upset I get with the state of affairs, they haunt me and I sit back and think-If India is really a progressively shrinking society that it claims to be or is it just a bubble waiting to burst anytime now! Such unfortunate incidents not just destroy the moral fabric of our country but also send it 100 steps behind the back of beyond.Real Shame!
7.Jade Goody-When it comes to her, I am not sure of what to think !!!!! The ultimate feeling is obviously one of sympathy but I find the entire act of securing a deal to film one’s death outright bizarre! Despite the racism slur she unleashed at shilpa shetty during big brother neither Goody nor Shetty really matter to me. They are insignificant people and insignificant they shall remain! But Jade Goody’s heartening fight with cervical cancer and her ultimate death has touched me a lil! May her soul rest in peace
8.The upcoming Elections-I really dunno what to choose from-The bad from the worse or the worse from the never mind… given a choice between our kind of uncharismatic and worthless leaders, I believe India can just about do as well if not more…God bless India. I know I sound like a smart alec making smart comments without any substance but trust me guys this is one area where I need to be alert as its a matter of our country’s future and thanks to this new found alertness, I strongly believe that India as a country is quite miraculous and we can chug along together even without compromising. Having said so, my balance tilts little towards the Congress. Jai Ho!
1.The Tata Nano finally launched on 23rd Mar. It brings a new dawn in the lives of majority of Indians, who have been chugging along in cranky 2 wheelers for way too long. This car makes it possible for them to fulfill their aspirations of owning a car that doesn’t burn a hole in their pocket. As the world touts the NANO to be the cheapest car in the world, a gimmick, a harbinger of doom etc etc, for an average Indian it’s no less than a dream come true. I salute the true genius of Ratan Tata for his vision and the power to fulfill his promise (which sounded unreal to begin with).Its Innovations like these that will propel India into the big league and out of the clutches of global recession, maybe sooner than the others.Meanwhile my inbox gets flooded with funny nano mails
2.The Next holiday-Though I have several places in the world circling my head almost every second of the day and I can’t wait to take off for another much deserved holiday….it seems like a faraway prospect for me. Why you ask? Watch the space!
3.Britney Spears, Jennifer Aniston’s character ‘Rachel’ from FRIENDS, my mom, Sarah Palin’s daughter, my friends- Alex, Sheenu, Meenakshi , Pooja, a girl called Attica…are some of the people who I think about quite a lot lately. Various reasons, various personality traits, a close look at their kinda lifestyles…hmmm
4.Food- I am always torn in a tug of war between eating healthy and eating yummy with yummy invariably winning. As a result ive compromised on the strength of my liver a lil bit and now more often than not I find myself doing a balancing act. This is crazy as I am solely responsible for the state of affairs at home, but what the hell, I am still craving yummy food!!!!! Chicken stroganoff, goan fish curry’s, Spaghetti Bolognese, ilish macher paturi…… yummy umm yumm
5.Frieda Pinto-I fail to understand why on earth she manages to grab so many eyeballs. She’s not drop dead gorgeous or talented. So what’s her claim to fame? An Oscar winning movie where she had bare minimum to do? 1st she goes to the Oscars and every other prestigious award function, then she bags a film with Woody Allen and Antonio Banderas! And now I read, talented Gwyneth paltrow being threatened by her with regard to her estee lauder contract!!!! I mean what’s the world coming to???!!!!
6.Soumya, Jigisha, Amann Kachroo-No mater how upset I get with the state of affairs, they haunt me and I sit back and think-If India is really a progressively shrinking society that it claims to be or is it just a bubble waiting to burst anytime now! Such unfortunate incidents not just destroy the moral fabric of our country but also send it 100 steps behind the back of beyond.Real Shame!
7.Jade Goody-When it comes to her, I am not sure of what to think !!!!! The ultimate feeling is obviously one of sympathy but I find the entire act of securing a deal to film one’s death outright bizarre! Despite the racism slur she unleashed at shilpa shetty during big brother neither Goody nor Shetty really matter to me. They are insignificant people and insignificant they shall remain! But Jade Goody’s heartening fight with cervical cancer and her ultimate death has touched me a lil! May her soul rest in peace
8.The upcoming Elections-I really dunno what to choose from-The bad from the worse or the worse from the never mind… given a choice between our kind of uncharismatic and worthless leaders, I believe India can just about do as well if not more…God bless India. I know I sound like a smart alec making smart comments without any substance but trust me guys this is one area where I need to be alert as its a matter of our country’s future and thanks to this new found alertness, I strongly believe that India as a country is quite miraculous and we can chug along together even without compromising. Having said so, my balance tilts little towards the Congress. Jai Ho!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Top 25
This is a random Top 25 things that one doesnt know about me! As a disclaimer I'd like to add that -I know Ive put it together but there have been times when I disagree with a few here and there...but since its supposed to be stuff you dont know about me...its largely true.
1.I don’t like being compared to anyone- even to celebrities! I feel it takes away from the novelty of being ‘Me’
2. Though I like my life here at OMAN, I dont mind moving elsewhere
3. I tend to become more complacent than ambitious
4. I hate the fact that my husband does not share my love for animals
5. Sexually, I can be very fiesty if I want to!
6. I want a baby boy more than a baby girl
7.Though I pile up a collection of classics and bestsellers, I love to read chick lit
8. I guess I will forever be in love with Hrithik Roshan
9. I love to bitch ppl out completely(regardless of reason or how well I know them)
10.I am insecure about everyone in my close circle
11.I still give that 'benefit of doubt' to all my ex flames
12.I want to go backpacking in Europe before I become a mommy
13.I can wear a protective mask at all times-This helps me ward off unnecessary influences and keep my sanity intact
14.If I was not into media, I wudve been a TV actress-Yea it might sound corny, but I always aspired to become a a Soap Opera actress...inspired from the real life Drama Queen that I am
15.I am not religious…simply scared- I follow whatever my mom prescribes here. I don have my loyalties to any one god or faith but I simply do certain things as a matter of practice…and to keep the gods pacified….but I certainly believe in the power of prayers
16.I hate cooking….everyday
17.I don’t want to die before doing my bit for animals- this is one cause I am extremely passionate about and feel for(my personal favorites being tigers and polar bears)
18. I can be an animal myself!
19.I follow trends coz I am incapable of setting my own
20.I don’t like writing
21.I want my own quaint little house in London
22.I am shit scared of becoming a mommy
23.I want to reunite with my family(physically)….in a different part of the globe
24.I have recurring visions of my paternal grandfather...who was a freedom fighter and died before I was born!
25.When I say ‘I don’t care’- I mean - I care a helluva lot!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Being Sexy is no Big Deal!
Are we Indian women getting comfortable with our sexuality lately? Now that times are changing, are we getting more and more conscious of the fact that we can be as HOT and Stunning as some of our western counterparts or even some of the hotties closer home ? I wonder…..
Because of family and societal conditioning , too many Indian women are sexually repressed and not even comfortable with exploring their own bodies. Sexually open women in India are most likely to suffer negative reactions, ostracism and verbal abuse. I notice that a lot of Indian men HATE to see their women act sexual. Even having sex with just one guy before marriage makes you a ****. The definition of a "good Indian woman" therefore is to act sexually demure and pretend to be virgin teritory! A bad Indian woman is one who is comfortable with the notion of sexuality, and is only meant to be used and abused.Not to forget ,your prospects of marriage too gets bleaker….
However today, it feels good to see a lot of our young crop of girls looking Hip in some real neat designer/ branded outfits that comfortably reveal more than they cover…but does it really end there? Nah, this is FASHION but there is more to sexuality than just looking good. But how do you define SEXY? Are all fashionable women SEXY or are all SEXY women fashionable? SEXY, STYLISH, SENSOUS,TRENDY, BOOTYLICIOUS, HOT, STUNNING My gawd!!!! Neverending words/ expressions/adjectives/watevers that at the end of the day I cant help but ponder-If it is really important for women to be all those and more to get noticed or is it OK if she is any one of those or none at all and still be comfortable in her skin?????
Sadly,in todays times the increasing exposure to sexual content shown on movies,TV, internet and magazines have not created any sense of liberation in the minds of women to actually make them comfortable with their sexuality but created a lot of undue pressure on them to pretend to be sexy without actually understanding the concept. There are millions of women in our country who try to blindly ape somebody they consider SEXY (without really understanding what it means) and end up becoming sad clones of each other!
Even I have been a confused soul and no matter how much I have tried to remain unflustered, I did fall victim to the magnetic nature of these expressions and tried hard to create a niche for myself( yes, u might think I am vain in trying to create a niche in this area rather than something more serious in life, but I know u thought about it too but are too serious to admit it and since its my blog, I have the right to be candid!)
Since there has been no one who has been able to simplify them for me, let alone differentiate between them…I have been left all by myself to deal with strong external influences to ultimately fathom their meanings and arrive at sometimes sensible and sometimes really funny conclusions. Personally,I choose and practise, “being SEXY with a subtle sense of individual style and loads of attitude to top a somewhat sensous mind and body!!!!!”
It helps if you’re naturally attractive (great assets, a smoking body, a deep tan, flawless skin) but I believe that too can be engineered(Think jargon-Makeovers!)Fortunately, things are changing even in India, and Youngistan seems to be opening up to the concept of sexual liberation.But an overdose can lead to sexual excesses, which again are not good for healthy self-esteem, but I guess it comes with the territory.
So you see, it's a cultural thing. When Indian men start to lighten up and begin to accept that their women are sexual beings, maybe Indian women will start being more open and more sexy in their own skin and trust me, its a great high !
So all you women out there, STOP BOTHERING AND GET SEXY!!!!!
Because of family and societal conditioning , too many Indian women are sexually repressed and not even comfortable with exploring their own bodies. Sexually open women in India are most likely to suffer negative reactions, ostracism and verbal abuse. I notice that a lot of Indian men HATE to see their women act sexual. Even having sex with just one guy before marriage makes you a ****. The definition of a "good Indian woman" therefore is to act sexually demure and pretend to be virgin teritory! A bad Indian woman is one who is comfortable with the notion of sexuality, and is only meant to be used and abused.Not to forget ,your prospects of marriage too gets bleaker….
However today, it feels good to see a lot of our young crop of girls looking Hip in some real neat designer/ branded outfits that comfortably reveal more than they cover…but does it really end there? Nah, this is FASHION but there is more to sexuality than just looking good. But how do you define SEXY? Are all fashionable women SEXY or are all SEXY women fashionable? SEXY, STYLISH, SENSOUS,TRENDY, BOOTYLICIOUS, HOT, STUNNING My gawd!!!! Neverending words/ expressions/adjectives/watevers that at the end of the day I cant help but ponder-If it is really important for women to be all those and more to get noticed or is it OK if she is any one of those or none at all and still be comfortable in her skin?????
Sadly,in todays times the increasing exposure to sexual content shown on movies,TV, internet and magazines have not created any sense of liberation in the minds of women to actually make them comfortable with their sexuality but created a lot of undue pressure on them to pretend to be sexy without actually understanding the concept. There are millions of women in our country who try to blindly ape somebody they consider SEXY (without really understanding what it means) and end up becoming sad clones of each other!
Even I have been a confused soul and no matter how much I have tried to remain unflustered, I did fall victim to the magnetic nature of these expressions and tried hard to create a niche for myself( yes, u might think I am vain in trying to create a niche in this area rather than something more serious in life, but I know u thought about it too but are too serious to admit it and since its my blog, I have the right to be candid!)
Since there has been no one who has been able to simplify them for me, let alone differentiate between them…I have been left all by myself to deal with strong external influences to ultimately fathom their meanings and arrive at sometimes sensible and sometimes really funny conclusions. Personally,I choose and practise, “being SEXY with a subtle sense of individual style and loads of attitude to top a somewhat sensous mind and body!!!!!”
It helps if you’re naturally attractive (great assets, a smoking body, a deep tan, flawless skin) but I believe that too can be engineered(Think jargon-Makeovers!)Fortunately, things are changing even in India, and Youngistan seems to be opening up to the concept of sexual liberation.But an overdose can lead to sexual excesses, which again are not good for healthy self-esteem, but I guess it comes with the territory.
So you see, it's a cultural thing. When Indian men start to lighten up and begin to accept that their women are sexual beings, maybe Indian women will start being more open and more sexy in their own skin and trust me, its a great high !
So all you women out there, STOP BOTHERING AND GET SEXY!!!!!
The Other Side...
Dard jaata hai’… muskurakeDekh le dekh le… aazmaake…
Apne saaye se… tu nikalkeDekh le dekh le tu badalke…
Have you ever noticed how when you ask a lil girl if she wants to get married when she grows up? And you get reactions like, “Nah…am not going anywhere leaving my parents’’…you find it real cute. But just as she grows up, Life pops its head to indicate the beginnings of Phase 2 where this perspective takes a 360 degree turn and she eventually leaves them….a lil anxious, a lil pensive but largely fanciful of what lies ahead...
Among the many wonders of the inexplicable human nature ,this is one of the most fascinating…according to me, no other situation better defines ‘A woman who is the epitome of strength in odds!’ Having experienced it myself like many others, I know for real that no matter how unflustered we may look, it takes a mighty heart to actually give up the comfort zone, the support system created by your family, where you have cozied up all these years, to move on and explore what lies beyond…Am amazed how we women do it! If I can take my example here, am living so faaaar away from everything dat defines HOME…..am in a new country, amidst new people and new challenges yet I find myself getting up everyday to a new dawn, creating a lil world of my own…learning, tripping, rising, learning, tripping, rising, living in constant HOPE but ever losing heart.All in the process of creating a home away from home. My own HOME !
The initial steps into this new phase is really intense, but what can make the ride smooth and unforgettable is a very old and effective booster called LOVE. Yes LOVE is something that gets you going, when the goings get tough. U can live in constant HOPE but you cant keep going if there is no LOVE. And this comes from nowhere but your mate, with whom you embark on this meaningful journey called Matrimony’
Does ur love for your parents get any lesser? No, it just grows stronger with time and before you realize you have created a whole new world where every object of your affection resides with peace.
Apne saaye se… tu nikalkeDekh le dekh le tu badalke…
Have you ever noticed how when you ask a lil girl if she wants to get married when she grows up? And you get reactions like, “Nah…am not going anywhere leaving my parents’’…you find it real cute. But just as she grows up, Life pops its head to indicate the beginnings of Phase 2 where this perspective takes a 360 degree turn and she eventually leaves them….a lil anxious, a lil pensive but largely fanciful of what lies ahead...
Among the many wonders of the inexplicable human nature ,this is one of the most fascinating…according to me, no other situation better defines ‘A woman who is the epitome of strength in odds!’ Having experienced it myself like many others, I know for real that no matter how unflustered we may look, it takes a mighty heart to actually give up the comfort zone, the support system created by your family, where you have cozied up all these years, to move on and explore what lies beyond…Am amazed how we women do it! If I can take my example here, am living so faaaar away from everything dat defines HOME…..am in a new country, amidst new people and new challenges yet I find myself getting up everyday to a new dawn, creating a lil world of my own…learning, tripping, rising, learning, tripping, rising, living in constant HOPE but ever losing heart.All in the process of creating a home away from home. My own HOME !
The initial steps into this new phase is really intense, but what can make the ride smooth and unforgettable is a very old and effective booster called LOVE. Yes LOVE is something that gets you going, when the goings get tough. U can live in constant HOPE but you cant keep going if there is no LOVE. And this comes from nowhere but your mate, with whom you embark on this meaningful journey called Matrimony’
Does ur love for your parents get any lesser? No, it just grows stronger with time and before you realize you have created a whole new world where every object of your affection resides with peace.
A dilemma called...PR!
I am essentially a PR girl, I live, love, drink and sleep PR...but when someone asks me what I do, am tongue-tied! Paradox, u might think...but try asking any PR professional the same question and chances are, u might come up with similar kind of reactions. Reason being...PR in India unlike the US or UK is still a fledgling industry but it is taking some giant strides to make its presence 'significant' for corporates across industries.Indian corporates have slowly but steadily warmed up to the idea of PR being a prominent influencer alongside advertising and marketing to communicate the Big Picture as well as the inherent aspects of their business
But even after 6 years in PR, when I sit for a job interview or even try explaining my profession to the generallies(even my in-laws, wen dey met me for the marriage interview....)I am faced with inane questions like, so when u say PR, what exactly do u mean? So wat is it that u exactly do?how does a typical day in the life of a PR professional look like? So wats ure role in it??? etc etc And inane reactions like..."Oh so ure a journalist!!!!!!"
Honestly in my experience,its easier to explain PR to a commoner than an experienced professional who claims to know it all! Coz u never know wat new jargons he comes up next with!
It seems my dilemma is not unique and while I was reading up, I came across a brilliant piece co-incidentally written by the CEO of my ex company, Genesis Burson Marsteller, that sheds light on perceptions related to PR as an industry, what we do and how does it impact business and also where do we go from here. So here is Ashwani Singla's piece that I wanted to share with you guys, who still wonder what is it that I am exactly into!
To be or not to beBy Ashwani Singla on Apr 22, 2008 in Indian PR industry, PR professionals, industry
Recently, I read the report on public relations consulting industry by a leading industry association based on a random survey of PR professional projecting the size of the Indian public relations industry at USD 3bn or an incredible INR 12,000 crores!! It claimed that the industry will double by 2010. The numbers seem incredible. As I was deliberating on its contents, I received an enquiry from a highly respected journalist who writes exclusively on public relations seeking some insights into the size of the industry. It was interesting to see some of the back of the envelope calculation he had done.
He estimated, given the industry reportedly has 30,000-40,000 professional the average billing per professional would be a minimum $75,000/- pa or INR 3mn per annum. At this level of billing per professional, we would be competing with some management consultancies!
Clearly, it does not seem to be the reality on the ground. I wish it were.
Interestingly, the same report mentions “Lack of understanding of PR: It may come as a surprise but most people still have a very vague notion of PR” as one of the constraints to attracting good quality talent into the profession.
What is public relations? Let me share with you my notion of public relations.
Whilst I am told there are 386 definitions, I learned only one definition of public relations “A planned, deliberate, sustained campaign aimed at enhancing trust between a company and its various publics”
What the definition failed to tell me was the aim of achieving the trust? That I was told would depend upon the objective of your programme. Therefore, I put two and two together and concluded – the objective of a public relations programme is to “achieve trust that provides a reassurance of action taken by a stakeholder in relation to that particular company.”
So what skills and capabilities we need to achieve trust that provides reassurance and be seen and recognised as true blue professionals? I share an excerpt of a conversation with my young colleagues entering the profession.
“What business are we in?” A question I often ask. Answers range from reputation managers to communication specialists!
We are in the business of influencing behaviour,” I say. I am asked: why do we influence behaviour? “To help create preference,” I reply. We help create preference for whom? “Our clients company, its products or services, etc, etc.” I reply.
How do we achieve that preference? Is effective media relations enough? Here’s where encourage them to discover their own answers. I urge them to read Crystallizing Public Opinion by Edward Berneys to understand how he understood and used public relations. He should know. He coined the term ‘public relations’. Incidentally, he was the nephew of Sigmund Freud and he wrote this text around 1920, a few years after the First World War.
Do we really see ourselves as students of the art and science of influencing behaviour? Do we work acquiring the knowledge and skill for understanding and influencing behaviour? Are we able to merge our understanding of human behaviour with its application in the commercial world?
The point I am making is that our myopia in seeing the true purpose & application of our own profession is responsible for how others see and value us. Isn’t it ironical, a profession which claims to help ‘manage image’ suffers from a lack of it?
When we can improve our own vision, work towards understanding and influencing behaviour, apply that knowledge in the commercial world by choosing the most appropriate tools and channels, only then will public relations be truly understood and valued for its contribution.
This has been my journey and learning as I made the leap of faith from hotels, business school to public relations! I remain a student of fathoming the exciting depth of understanding the true value of public relations.
But even after 6 years in PR, when I sit for a job interview or even try explaining my profession to the generallies(even my in-laws, wen dey met me for the marriage interview....)I am faced with inane questions like, so when u say PR, what exactly do u mean? So wat is it that u exactly do?how does a typical day in the life of a PR professional look like? So wats ure role in it??? etc etc And inane reactions like..."Oh so ure a journalist!!!!!!"
Honestly in my experience,its easier to explain PR to a commoner than an experienced professional who claims to know it all! Coz u never know wat new jargons he comes up next with!
It seems my dilemma is not unique and while I was reading up, I came across a brilliant piece co-incidentally written by the CEO of my ex company, Genesis Burson Marsteller, that sheds light on perceptions related to PR as an industry, what we do and how does it impact business and also where do we go from here. So here is Ashwani Singla's piece that I wanted to share with you guys, who still wonder what is it that I am exactly into!
To be or not to beBy Ashwani Singla on Apr 22, 2008 in Indian PR industry, PR professionals, industry
Recently, I read the report on public relations consulting industry by a leading industry association based on a random survey of PR professional projecting the size of the Indian public relations industry at USD 3bn or an incredible INR 12,000 crores!! It claimed that the industry will double by 2010. The numbers seem incredible. As I was deliberating on its contents, I received an enquiry from a highly respected journalist who writes exclusively on public relations seeking some insights into the size of the industry. It was interesting to see some of the back of the envelope calculation he had done.
He estimated, given the industry reportedly has 30,000-40,000 professional the average billing per professional would be a minimum $75,000/- pa or INR 3mn per annum. At this level of billing per professional, we would be competing with some management consultancies!
Clearly, it does not seem to be the reality on the ground. I wish it were.
Interestingly, the same report mentions “Lack of understanding of PR: It may come as a surprise but most people still have a very vague notion of PR” as one of the constraints to attracting good quality talent into the profession.
What is public relations? Let me share with you my notion of public relations.
Whilst I am told there are 386 definitions, I learned only one definition of public relations “A planned, deliberate, sustained campaign aimed at enhancing trust between a company and its various publics”
What the definition failed to tell me was the aim of achieving the trust? That I was told would depend upon the objective of your programme. Therefore, I put two and two together and concluded – the objective of a public relations programme is to “achieve trust that provides a reassurance of action taken by a stakeholder in relation to that particular company.”
So what skills and capabilities we need to achieve trust that provides reassurance and be seen and recognised as true blue professionals? I share an excerpt of a conversation with my young colleagues entering the profession.
“What business are we in?” A question I often ask. Answers range from reputation managers to communication specialists!
We are in the business of influencing behaviour,” I say. I am asked: why do we influence behaviour? “To help create preference,” I reply. We help create preference for whom? “Our clients company, its products or services, etc, etc.” I reply.
How do we achieve that preference? Is effective media relations enough? Here’s where encourage them to discover their own answers. I urge them to read Crystallizing Public Opinion by Edward Berneys to understand how he understood and used public relations. He should know. He coined the term ‘public relations’. Incidentally, he was the nephew of Sigmund Freud and he wrote this text around 1920, a few years after the First World War.
Do we really see ourselves as students of the art and science of influencing behaviour? Do we work acquiring the knowledge and skill for understanding and influencing behaviour? Are we able to merge our understanding of human behaviour with its application in the commercial world?
The point I am making is that our myopia in seeing the true purpose & application of our own profession is responsible for how others see and value us. Isn’t it ironical, a profession which claims to help ‘manage image’ suffers from a lack of it?
When we can improve our own vision, work towards understanding and influencing behaviour, apply that knowledge in the commercial world by choosing the most appropriate tools and channels, only then will public relations be truly understood and valued for its contribution.
This has been my journey and learning as I made the leap of faith from hotels, business school to public relations! I remain a student of fathoming the exciting depth of understanding the true value of public relations.
The painful official Email...and some of my most memorable email goof ups!
If you are making your dough in the world of communication, you cannot get away with not knowing the art of writing official e-mails. Oh! so u didn’t know there was an artform like that??? Well then Good Morning buddy. I say it is an artform becoz I truly believe it is...One cannot deny the significance of emails to our everyday work and contrary to public opinion, it is not a vanilla affair but pretty much the crux of what we do and how we do it!
According to the set standards of email etiquettes for official mails, a couple of points have to be kept in mind like:
1) The font of mail should be uniform
2) The mail should have a Pyramid Structure i.e. it should contain:
* Situation* Action items* Information* Conclusion
3) For writing use only Black or Blue color. For highlighting purpose make the word bold. Avoid using Red color as Red signifies danger, so use it when urgent.
To be formal we could use Dear Mr. /Ms. followed by Last name or Full name. We should not use Dear Mr. /Ms. followed by First name alone.
4) We should not put '/' in greetings like Hi X/Y. Instead we should say Hi X and Y.
5) We should not use 'Thanks and Regards'. Instead we should say:
Thank youRegards
6) We should not use sentences like 'As per your mail' because 'per' is used only with units like per Kg etc. Instead we should write 'According to your mail'.
7) In our mails we often write 'Please revert back'. Instead we should only write 'Please revert'.
8) For the Signature in mail, if we are sending to people in our company only then we should not write our company name in the signature because they already know that we are part of the same company but if we are sending mail to an external party like client etc then we should write our company name in the signature because there we have to brand our company name in front of others.
OK, so some of us are aware of the norms mentioned above…..however in our daily rigmarole, many a times we end up doing a hasty job and that leads to several email goof ups!
It’s happened to me quite a few times, let me recollect a few unforgettable ones:
1. I was once pitching a story for one of my Top clients to 3 publications simultaneously and I told each of them that its gonna be an exclusive! (following the rule of elimination which stated that pitch to 3/4 publications out of which one would definitely bite the bait and do my story) so I prepared a pitch mail and sent it to one journalist and the very next moment I sent it to the other…only this time I forgot to customize the mail and change the name of that journalist to the other ! So that screwed my chances of getting an exclusive in either !!!! The journalist ofcourse thought I was one cheeky kid and let me go… He and me are great friends now
2. My 3rd day at work at a new place and I sent a layout of an ad to one of my clients(the big one really!) for his approval. This was the 3rd time that the layout was going to him and each time he would suggest multiple changes. I was pretty ruffled with so much of back and forth. So I forwarded the mail to my supervisor saying, “More brainwaves…” So far all was under control, but suddenly I notice a mail from my supervisor to the client responding on the revisions suggested… where my supervisor had accidentally written above my cheeky comment and sent it to the client!!!!! A quick message recall did not help as the client had already read my comment and wrote back nasty stinkers saying all sorts of things…. Wat ensued was a heated mail war between my supervisor and the client and I got a good piece of mind from the super boss! So you see it was technically not my fault but an accident committed by my supervisor for which both of us had to face the music…and this is how I managed to ruffle some feathers on my very 3rd day of a very new job!!!!
3. Once I sent a raunchy forward by accident to a senior editor of a big business publication!!!!!! No excuses here, his name popped up on my address list automatically, and I was meaning to send it to someone with the same 1st name!
4. At another time, when gmail wasn’t working in d office, I happily used my official id to chat with my then boyfriend now husband! But again my perfect sense of timing took the best of me and callously I forwarded the entire mail trail to my colleague sitting in the next work station. She was famously known for her bootlicking skills with the boss and there flew my chances of a good appraisal! ( U might be thinking y I mailed my chat to her???? Well, I remember it was for a reason but can’t really remember d reason rite now!)
5. Also some years back while I was still in my initial stages of learning the nuances of the corporate culture and the protocols associated with it, there was another incident which was a result of my sheer ignorance….I was mailing something across to my client in Australia and accidentally hit the caps lock, further when I finished composing the mail and read it through, I thought that the caps lock made the content look more serious…so I sent the entire mail in caps lock!!!!!!!!! My client ofcourse was quick to point out that it was very rude on my part to caps lock the mail whatsoever!!!
So you see there are several occasions at work when we are running around, trying to make things work and meet unrealistic deadlines. And in the process we tend to get casual about minute details and send out mails left, right and center! Today I am doubly careful about each official mail I send but that too does not guarantee me from never committing email goof ups in the future! But email etiquettes are not really taught at B schools or even form a part of the general curriculum of communication courses… so this is something you learn on the job, end up making mistakes, rectify them and eventually set quality control standards.
I’ve listed below some of the lessons I learnt and am still learning about official emails, like:
1. Read and Re-Read your mails when you are sending it to an external stakeholder! It is not a matter of your personal image but your brand/company’s image which might be at stake!
2. Never use you’re official email id for personal correspondence!
3. If you have to share a cheeky remark with your colleagues about anything official, please DO NOT put it in writing !Go talk about it!
4. Never type an official email in all CAPS!
5. DO NOT MAIL just for the sake of it! This not only shows u have nothing better to do but also screws up the server bandwidth!
So guys this is to reiterate that emails are indeed an integral part of any corporate culture…so don’t haste them and do spend a few minutes reviewing a mail before you push the ‘Send’ button. Some goof ups can lead to dire consequences and that is something which is not under our control...But like any other corporate ethic, this too is an ongoing learning process and one should not shy away from the lessons taught on the job!
Happy Mailing !
According to the set standards of email etiquettes for official mails, a couple of points have to be kept in mind like:
1) The font of mail should be uniform
2) The mail should have a Pyramid Structure i.e. it should contain:
* Situation* Action items* Information* Conclusion
3) For writing use only Black or Blue color. For highlighting purpose make the word bold. Avoid using Red color as Red signifies danger, so use it when urgent.
To be formal we could use Dear Mr. /Ms. followed by Last name or Full name. We should not use Dear Mr. /Ms. followed by First name alone.
4) We should not put '/' in greetings like Hi X/Y. Instead we should say Hi X and Y.
5) We should not use 'Thanks and Regards'. Instead we should say:
Thank youRegards
6) We should not use sentences like 'As per your mail' because 'per' is used only with units like per Kg etc. Instead we should write 'According to your mail'.
7) In our mails we often write 'Please revert back'. Instead we should only write 'Please revert'.
8) For the Signature in mail, if we are sending to people in our company only then we should not write our company name in the signature because they already know that we are part of the same company but if we are sending mail to an external party like client etc then we should write our company name in the signature because there we have to brand our company name in front of others.
OK, so some of us are aware of the norms mentioned above…..however in our daily rigmarole, many a times we end up doing a hasty job and that leads to several email goof ups!
It’s happened to me quite a few times, let me recollect a few unforgettable ones:
1. I was once pitching a story for one of my Top clients to 3 publications simultaneously and I told each of them that its gonna be an exclusive! (following the rule of elimination which stated that pitch to 3/4 publications out of which one would definitely bite the bait and do my story) so I prepared a pitch mail and sent it to one journalist and the very next moment I sent it to the other…only this time I forgot to customize the mail and change the name of that journalist to the other ! So that screwed my chances of getting an exclusive in either !!!! The journalist ofcourse thought I was one cheeky kid and let me go… He and me are great friends now
2. My 3rd day at work at a new place and I sent a layout of an ad to one of my clients(the big one really!) for his approval. This was the 3rd time that the layout was going to him and each time he would suggest multiple changes. I was pretty ruffled with so much of back and forth. So I forwarded the mail to my supervisor saying, “More brainwaves…” So far all was under control, but suddenly I notice a mail from my supervisor to the client responding on the revisions suggested… where my supervisor had accidentally written above my cheeky comment and sent it to the client!!!!! A quick message recall did not help as the client had already read my comment and wrote back nasty stinkers saying all sorts of things…. Wat ensued was a heated mail war between my supervisor and the client and I got a good piece of mind from the super boss! So you see it was technically not my fault but an accident committed by my supervisor for which both of us had to face the music…and this is how I managed to ruffle some feathers on my very 3rd day of a very new job!!!!
3. Once I sent a raunchy forward by accident to a senior editor of a big business publication!!!!!! No excuses here, his name popped up on my address list automatically, and I was meaning to send it to someone with the same 1st name!
4. At another time, when gmail wasn’t working in d office, I happily used my official id to chat with my then boyfriend now husband! But again my perfect sense of timing took the best of me and callously I forwarded the entire mail trail to my colleague sitting in the next work station. She was famously known for her bootlicking skills with the boss and there flew my chances of a good appraisal! ( U might be thinking y I mailed my chat to her???? Well, I remember it was for a reason but can’t really remember d reason rite now!)
5. Also some years back while I was still in my initial stages of learning the nuances of the corporate culture and the protocols associated with it, there was another incident which was a result of my sheer ignorance….I was mailing something across to my client in Australia and accidentally hit the caps lock, further when I finished composing the mail and read it through, I thought that the caps lock made the content look more serious…so I sent the entire mail in caps lock!!!!!!!!! My client ofcourse was quick to point out that it was very rude on my part to caps lock the mail whatsoever!!!
So you see there are several occasions at work when we are running around, trying to make things work and meet unrealistic deadlines. And in the process we tend to get casual about minute details and send out mails left, right and center! Today I am doubly careful about each official mail I send but that too does not guarantee me from never committing email goof ups in the future! But email etiquettes are not really taught at B schools or even form a part of the general curriculum of communication courses… so this is something you learn on the job, end up making mistakes, rectify them and eventually set quality control standards.
I’ve listed below some of the lessons I learnt and am still learning about official emails, like:
1. Read and Re-Read your mails when you are sending it to an external stakeholder! It is not a matter of your personal image but your brand/company’s image which might be at stake!
2. Never use you’re official email id for personal correspondence!
3. If you have to share a cheeky remark with your colleagues about anything official, please DO NOT put it in writing !Go talk about it!
4. Never type an official email in all CAPS!
5. DO NOT MAIL just for the sake of it! This not only shows u have nothing better to do but also screws up the server bandwidth!
So guys this is to reiterate that emails are indeed an integral part of any corporate culture…so don’t haste them and do spend a few minutes reviewing a mail before you push the ‘Send’ button. Some goof ups can lead to dire consequences and that is something which is not under our control...But like any other corporate ethic, this too is an ongoing learning process and one should not shy away from the lessons taught on the job!
Happy Mailing !
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Filmy Fundas....
So I have been devouring movies left right and center over the past few days and that's eaxctly what I love doing best....old,new,unreleased, unedited almost everything.I am one of those viewers who likes to keep her brain out and carry her heart in once into a theatre(all cosy with some caramel popcorn and coke).Hardly a critic who understands the finer nuances of film- making, I opine about the overall look and feel of a film and that's what stays with me forever. I can enjoy an 'Atonement' as much as an 'Om Shanti Om'! So there lies my novelty...or so i'd like to believe.
Among a few good films I saw this year, yeah top of the mind is Slumdog Millionaire...I saw it at home in saddi Delhi in the 1st week of Jan when it hadnt even released in India. Ah the thrill of watching pirated movies before they officially release is something else...I swear....OK so Slumdog,well there's nothing much left to say about the flick which has enchanted the masses and the crtics worldwide...after having bagged 7 BAFTAS , 3 Golden Globes,a few Screen Actors Guild, the next big one is that elusive Academy.Which am sure is not a distant dream for this flick..... What a Lagaan or a Taare Zameen Par couldnt a SLUMDOG definitely has and how! Its become kinda fashionable to either root for it or pan it but dere's definitely no escaping Slumdog.So what's so special about SM- Not that the book on which it's based is a masterpiece or even the performances of the ensemble cast( which I thot were pretty above average but not brilliant.) According to me what sets the film apart is its 'treatment'.For the majority of western audiences who are writhing under the excruciating weight of a global meltdown, a fairy tale about the ugly side of India should certainly come as an orgiastic catharsis! “Slumdog Millionaire” should be considered as one of the most gratuitous fantasies to be created about India in the 21st century. Over 200 scenes whizzing past in 120 minutes leaves one completely incapable of registering the complex layers that make up the garbage dump presented in “SM” called India.
But nonetheless a thumbs up to Danny Boyle and his crew for a stupendous effort in showcasing the brilliance of India even at the lowest shackles!
The curious case of Benjamin Button-The story is a fantasy all right but what struck me most was good Ol Mr.Pitt. Was that really him I saw as a crippled old man who gets an elixir of life ???? or was that some other actor??? I still dont believe that make up can actually transform one COMPLETELY. David Fincher's haunting and uneven fable is a radical portrayal. It tells the tall tale of an infant who is born as an old man—tiny but suffering all the infirmities of an 80-year-old—who lives his life in reverse, becoming younger with each passing year until he achieves real infancy at the end of his life.Button is a heart warming story, very very fantasy yet so believable. The actors who play Brad's black mom an dad and his childhood sweetheart pitch in a good performance.So does Cate Blanchett.I kinda liked their pair in Babel too. The poignance of this love story lies in its impossibility. She will grow older as he grows younger; their daughter will grow up as he returns to childhood. Only for one magical moment will these lovers share the same age. Yet for all of Fincher's formidable filmmaking—this is one gorgeously shot and designed movie
If Brad Pitt picks up the best actor academy this year, I can understand.
Luck by Chance- Another attempt at exploring the underbelly of the hindi film industry (HHF) (sorry I am not to use, 'Bollywood' here) Luck by chance’ feels like a dream. There’s a scene in the movie when a character mentions – Hindi film heroes dance AND act too. The latter part of the sentence need not be there.HHF doesn’t need talent. It needs good-looking faces and people who are willing to make 'compromises'. It’s an industry where u must know how to work your way to the top. Debutant director Zoya Akthar must be noticing all that since she hails from an filmy family. Her brother,Farhan Akhtar is blossoming into a fine actor, all set to carve a niche for himself just like an Irrfan Khan or a Rajat Kapoor. His unventional good looks and charisma definitely work for me. Konkona too is in her mettle and together they look good.
more later.....
Among a few good films I saw this year, yeah top of the mind is Slumdog Millionaire...I saw it at home in saddi Delhi in the 1st week of Jan when it hadnt even released in India. Ah the thrill of watching pirated movies before they officially release is something else...I swear....OK so Slumdog,well there's nothing much left to say about the flick which has enchanted the masses and the crtics worldwide...after having bagged 7 BAFTAS , 3 Golden Globes,a few Screen Actors Guild, the next big one is that elusive Academy.Which am sure is not a distant dream for this flick..... What a Lagaan or a Taare Zameen Par couldnt a SLUMDOG definitely has and how! Its become kinda fashionable to either root for it or pan it but dere's definitely no escaping Slumdog.So what's so special about SM- Not that the book on which it's based is a masterpiece or even the performances of the ensemble cast( which I thot were pretty above average but not brilliant.) According to me what sets the film apart is its 'treatment'.For the majority of western audiences who are writhing under the excruciating weight of a global meltdown, a fairy tale about the ugly side of India should certainly come as an orgiastic catharsis! “Slumdog Millionaire” should be considered as one of the most gratuitous fantasies to be created about India in the 21st century. Over 200 scenes whizzing past in 120 minutes leaves one completely incapable of registering the complex layers that make up the garbage dump presented in “SM” called India.
But nonetheless a thumbs up to Danny Boyle and his crew for a stupendous effort in showcasing the brilliance of India even at the lowest shackles!
The curious case of Benjamin Button-The story is a fantasy all right but what struck me most was good Ol Mr.Pitt. Was that really him I saw as a crippled old man who gets an elixir of life ???? or was that some other actor??? I still dont believe that make up can actually transform one COMPLETELY. David Fincher's haunting and uneven fable is a radical portrayal. It tells the tall tale of an infant who is born as an old man—tiny but suffering all the infirmities of an 80-year-old—who lives his life in reverse, becoming younger with each passing year until he achieves real infancy at the end of his life.Button is a heart warming story, very very fantasy yet so believable. The actors who play Brad's black mom an dad and his childhood sweetheart pitch in a good performance.So does Cate Blanchett.I kinda liked their pair in Babel too. The poignance of this love story lies in its impossibility. She will grow older as he grows younger; their daughter will grow up as he returns to childhood. Only for one magical moment will these lovers share the same age. Yet for all of Fincher's formidable filmmaking—this is one gorgeously shot and designed movie
If Brad Pitt picks up the best actor academy this year, I can understand.
Luck by Chance- Another attempt at exploring the underbelly of the hindi film industry (HHF) (sorry I am not to use, 'Bollywood' here) Luck by chance’ feels like a dream. There’s a scene in the movie when a character mentions – Hindi film heroes dance AND act too. The latter part of the sentence need not be there.HHF doesn’t need talent. It needs good-looking faces and people who are willing to make 'compromises'. It’s an industry where u must know how to work your way to the top. Debutant director Zoya Akthar must be noticing all that since she hails from an filmy family. Her brother,Farhan Akhtar is blossoming into a fine actor, all set to carve a niche for himself just like an Irrfan Khan or a Rajat Kapoor. His unventional good looks and charisma definitely work for me. Konkona too is in her mettle and together they look good.
more later.....
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
As Barack Obama Takes Oath of Office, the World in Crisis Embraces the Moment
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/21inaug.html?ref=us
As Barack Obama Takes Oath of Office, Nation in Crisis Embraces the Moment
Doug Mills/The New York Times
After the inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol, Barack and Michelle Obama walked part of the way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
By PETER BAKER
Published: January 20, 2009
WASHINGTON — Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday and promised to “begin again the work of remaking America” on a day of celebration that climaxed a once-inconceivable journey for the man and his country.
Mr. Obama, the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, inherited a White House built partly by slaves and a nation in crisis at home and abroad. The moment captured the imagination of much of the world as more than a million flag-waving people bore witness while Mr. Obama recited the oath with his hand on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration 148 years ago.
Beyond the politics of the occasion, the sight of a black man climbing the highest peak electrified people across racial, generational and partisan lines. Mr. Obama largely left it to others to mark the history explicitly, making only passing reference to his own barrier-breaking role in his 18-minute Inaugural Address, noting how improbable it might seem that “a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.”
But confronted by the worst economic situation in decades, two overseas wars and the continuing threat of Islamic terrorism, Mr. Obama sobered the celebration with a grim assessment of the state of a nation rocked by home foreclosures, shuttered businesses, lost jobs, costly health care, failing schools, energy dependence and the threat of climate change. Signaling a sharp and immediate break with the presidency of George W. Bush, he vowed to usher in a “new era of responsibility” and restore tarnished American ideals.
“Today, I say to you that the challenges we face are real,” Mr. Obama said in the address, delivered from the west front of the Capitol. “They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America, they will be met.”
The vast crowd that thronged the Mall on a frigid but bright winter day was the largest to attend an inauguration in decades, if not ever. Many then lined Pennsylvania Avenue for a parade that continued well past nightfall on a day that was not expected to end for Mr. Obama until late in the night with the last of 10 inaugural balls.
Mr. Bush left the national stage quietly, doing nothing to upstage his successor. After hosting the Obamas for coffee at the White House and attending the ceremony at the Capitol, Mr. Bush hugged Mr. Obama, then left through the Rotunda to head back to Texas. “Come on, Laura, we’re going home,” he was overheard telling Mrs. Bush.
The inauguration coincided with more bad news from Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 300 points on indications of further trouble for banks.
The spirit of the day was also marred by the hospitalization of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, whose endorsement helped propel Mr. Obama to the Democratic nomination last year. Mr. Kennedy, who has been fighting a malignant brain tumor, suffered a seizure at a Capitol luncheon after the ceremony and was wheeled out on a stretcher.
The pageantry included some serious business. Shortly after he and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. were sworn in, Mr. Obama ordered all pending Bush regulations frozen for a legal and policy review. He also signed formal nomination papers for his cabinet, and the Senate quickly confirmed seven nominees: the secretaries of homeland security, energy, agriculture, interior, education and veterans’ affairs and the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
When he arrives in the Oval Office on Wednesday, aides said, Mr. Obama will get to work on some of his priorities. He plans to convene his national security team and senior military commanders to discuss his plans to pull combat troops out of Iraq and bolster those in Afghanistan. He also plans to sign executive orders to start closing the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and could reverse Mr. Bush’s restrictions on financing for groups that promote or provide information about abortion.
Delays in the confirmation process have left both the State Department and the Treasury Department in the hands of caretakers. But Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to win Senate confirmation as secretary of state on Wednesday, and the Pentagon remains under the control of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who was kept on from the Bush administration and did not attend the inauguration so someone in the line of succession would survive in case of terrorist attack.
In his address, Mr. Obama praised Mr. Bush “for his service to our nation as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.” But he also offered implicit criticism, condemning what he called “our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.”
He went on to assure the rest of the world that change had come. “To all other peoples and governments who are watching today,” Mr. Obama said, “from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.”
Some of Mr. Obama’s supporters booed and taunted Mr. Bush when he emerged from the Capitol to take his place on stage, at one point singing, “Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.” By day’s end, Mr. Bush had landed in Texas, where he defended his presidency and declared that he was “coming home with my head held high.”
The departing vice president, Dick Cheney, appeared at the ceremony in a wheelchair after suffering a back injury moving the day before and was also booed.
The nation’s 56th inauguration drew waves of people from all corners and filled the expanse between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. For the first transition in power since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, much of the capital was under exceptionally tight security, with a two-square-mile swath under the strictest control. Bridges from Virginia were closed to regular traffic and more than 35,000 civilian and military personnel were on duty.
Mr. Obama secured at least part of his legacy the moment he walked into the White House on Tuesday, 146 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, 108 years after the first black man dined in the mansion with a president and 46 years after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared his dream of equality.
Mr. Obama, just 47 years old and four years out of the Illinois State Senate, arrived at this moment on the unlikeliest of paths, vaulted to the forefront of national politics on the strength of stirring speeches, early opposition to the Iraq war and public disenchantment with the Bush era. His scant record of achievement at the national level proved less important to voters than his embodiment of change.
His foreign-sounding name, his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and his skin color made him a unique figure in the annals of presidential campaigns, yet he toppled two of the best brand names in American politics — Mrs. Clinton in the primaries and Senator John McCain in the general election.
Mr. Obama himself is descended on his mother’s side from ancestors who owned slaves and he can trace his family tree to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. The power of the moment was lost on no one as the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, one of the towering figures of the civil rights movement, gave the benediction and called for “inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.”
The Rev. Rick Warren, a conservative minister selected by Mr. Obama to give the invocation despite protests from liberals, told the crowd, “We know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.”
For all that, Mr. Obama used the occasion to address “this winter of our hardship” and promote his plan for vast federal spending accompanied by tax cuts to stimulate the economy and begin addressing energy, environmental and infrastructure needs.
“Now there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans,” he said. “Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.”
He also essentially renounced the curtailment of liberties in the name of security, saying he would “reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” He struck a stiff note on terrorism, saying Americans “will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense.”
“For those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken,” he said. “You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
But Mr. Obama also added a message to Islamic nations, a first from the inaugural lectern. “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” Mr. Obama said. “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history — but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
Mr. Obama’s public day started at 8:45 a.m. when he and his wife, Michelle, left Blair House for a service at St. John’s Church, then joined the Bushes, Cheneys and Bidens for coffee at the White House.
The Obamas’ daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, joined them at the Capitol, as did Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain, as well as former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and the elder George Bush.
While emotional for many, the ceremony did not go entirely according to plan. Mr. Biden was sworn in by Justice John Paul Stevens behind schedule at 11:57 a.m., and Mr. Obama did not take the oath until 12:05 p.m., five minutes past the constitutionally prescribed transfer of power.
Moreover, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. stumbled over the 35-word oath, causing Mr. Obama to repeat it out of the constitutional order. Instead of swearing that he “will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States,” Mr. Obama swore that he “will execute the office of president of the United States faithfully.”
Following time-honored rituals, the Obamas attended lunch with lawmakers in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, then rode and walked to the White House, where they watched the parade from a bulletproof reviewing stand. They planned to attend all 10 official inaugural balls before spending their first night in the White House.
In his Inaugural Address, Mr. Obama seemed at times to be having a virtual dialogue with his predecessors. “What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility,” he said, “a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly.” Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton likewise called for responsibility at their inaugurations, but Mr. Obama offered little sense of what exactly he wanted Americans to do.
Mr. Obama also seemed to take issue with Ronald Reagan, who declared when he took office in 1981 that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Mr. Clinton rebutted that in 1997, saying, “government is not the problem and government is not the solution.”
Mr. Obama offered a new formulation: “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.”
Mr. Clinton, at least, applauded the message. In a brief interview afterward, he said Mr. Obama’s installation could change the way America was viewed.
“It’s obviously historic because President Obama is the first African-American president, but it’s more than that,” Mr. Clinton said. “This is a time when we’re clearly making a new beginning. It’s a country of repeated second-chances and new beginnings.”
As Barack Obama Takes Oath of Office, Nation in Crisis Embraces the Moment
Doug Mills/The New York Times
After the inaugural ceremonies at the Capitol, Barack and Michelle Obama walked part of the way down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House.
By PETER BAKER
Published: January 20, 2009
WASHINGTON — Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday and promised to “begin again the work of remaking America” on a day of celebration that climaxed a once-inconceivable journey for the man and his country.
Mr. Obama, the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, inherited a White House built partly by slaves and a nation in crisis at home and abroad. The moment captured the imagination of much of the world as more than a million flag-waving people bore witness while Mr. Obama recited the oath with his hand on the same Bible that Abraham Lincoln used at his inauguration 148 years ago.
Beyond the politics of the occasion, the sight of a black man climbing the highest peak electrified people across racial, generational and partisan lines. Mr. Obama largely left it to others to mark the history explicitly, making only passing reference to his own barrier-breaking role in his 18-minute Inaugural Address, noting how improbable it might seem that “a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.”
But confronted by the worst economic situation in decades, two overseas wars and the continuing threat of Islamic terrorism, Mr. Obama sobered the celebration with a grim assessment of the state of a nation rocked by home foreclosures, shuttered businesses, lost jobs, costly health care, failing schools, energy dependence and the threat of climate change. Signaling a sharp and immediate break with the presidency of George W. Bush, he vowed to usher in a “new era of responsibility” and restore tarnished American ideals.
“Today, I say to you that the challenges we face are real,” Mr. Obama said in the address, delivered from the west front of the Capitol. “They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America, they will be met.”
The vast crowd that thronged the Mall on a frigid but bright winter day was the largest to attend an inauguration in decades, if not ever. Many then lined Pennsylvania Avenue for a parade that continued well past nightfall on a day that was not expected to end for Mr. Obama until late in the night with the last of 10 inaugural balls.
Mr. Bush left the national stage quietly, doing nothing to upstage his successor. After hosting the Obamas for coffee at the White House and attending the ceremony at the Capitol, Mr. Bush hugged Mr. Obama, then left through the Rotunda to head back to Texas. “Come on, Laura, we’re going home,” he was overheard telling Mrs. Bush.
The inauguration coincided with more bad news from Wall Street, with the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 300 points on indications of further trouble for banks.
The spirit of the day was also marred by the hospitalization of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, whose endorsement helped propel Mr. Obama to the Democratic nomination last year. Mr. Kennedy, who has been fighting a malignant brain tumor, suffered a seizure at a Capitol luncheon after the ceremony and was wheeled out on a stretcher.
The pageantry included some serious business. Shortly after he and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. were sworn in, Mr. Obama ordered all pending Bush regulations frozen for a legal and policy review. He also signed formal nomination papers for his cabinet, and the Senate quickly confirmed seven nominees: the secretaries of homeland security, energy, agriculture, interior, education and veterans’ affairs and the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
When he arrives in the Oval Office on Wednesday, aides said, Mr. Obama will get to work on some of his priorities. He plans to convene his national security team and senior military commanders to discuss his plans to pull combat troops out of Iraq and bolster those in Afghanistan. He also plans to sign executive orders to start closing the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and could reverse Mr. Bush’s restrictions on financing for groups that promote or provide information about abortion.
Delays in the confirmation process have left both the State Department and the Treasury Department in the hands of caretakers. But Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to win Senate confirmation as secretary of state on Wednesday, and the Pentagon remains under the control of Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who was kept on from the Bush administration and did not attend the inauguration so someone in the line of succession would survive in case of terrorist attack.
In his address, Mr. Obama praised Mr. Bush “for his service to our nation as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.” But he also offered implicit criticism, condemning what he called “our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.”
He went on to assure the rest of the world that change had come. “To all other peoples and governments who are watching today,” Mr. Obama said, “from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born, know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.”
Some of Mr. Obama’s supporters booed and taunted Mr. Bush when he emerged from the Capitol to take his place on stage, at one point singing, “Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.” By day’s end, Mr. Bush had landed in Texas, where he defended his presidency and declared that he was “coming home with my head held high.”
The departing vice president, Dick Cheney, appeared at the ceremony in a wheelchair after suffering a back injury moving the day before and was also booed.
The nation’s 56th inauguration drew waves of people from all corners and filled the expanse between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. For the first transition in power since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, much of the capital was under exceptionally tight security, with a two-square-mile swath under the strictest control. Bridges from Virginia were closed to regular traffic and more than 35,000 civilian and military personnel were on duty.
Mr. Obama secured at least part of his legacy the moment he walked into the White House on Tuesday, 146 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, 108 years after the first black man dined in the mansion with a president and 46 years after the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. declared his dream of equality.
Mr. Obama, just 47 years old and four years out of the Illinois State Senate, arrived at this moment on the unlikeliest of paths, vaulted to the forefront of national politics on the strength of stirring speeches, early opposition to the Iraq war and public disenchantment with the Bush era. His scant record of achievement at the national level proved less important to voters than his embodiment of change.
His foreign-sounding name, his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and his skin color made him a unique figure in the annals of presidential campaigns, yet he toppled two of the best brand names in American politics — Mrs. Clinton in the primaries and Senator John McCain in the general election.
Mr. Obama himself is descended on his mother’s side from ancestors who owned slaves and he can trace his family tree to Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. The power of the moment was lost on no one as the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, one of the towering figures of the civil rights movement, gave the benediction and called for “inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.”
The Rev. Rick Warren, a conservative minister selected by Mr. Obama to give the invocation despite protests from liberals, told the crowd, “We know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.”
For all that, Mr. Obama used the occasion to address “this winter of our hardship” and promote his plan for vast federal spending accompanied by tax cuts to stimulate the economy and begin addressing energy, environmental and infrastructure needs.
“Now there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans,” he said. “Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.”
He also essentially renounced the curtailment of liberties in the name of security, saying he would “reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.” He struck a stiff note on terrorism, saying Americans “will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense.”
“For those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken,” he said. “You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.”
But Mr. Obama also added a message to Islamic nations, a first from the inaugural lectern. “To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect,” Mr. Obama said. “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history — but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”
Mr. Obama’s public day started at 8:45 a.m. when he and his wife, Michelle, left Blair House for a service at St. John’s Church, then joined the Bushes, Cheneys and Bidens for coffee at the White House.
The Obamas’ daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, joined them at the Capitol, as did Mrs. Clinton and Mr. McCain, as well as former Presidents Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter and the elder George Bush.
While emotional for many, the ceremony did not go entirely according to plan. Mr. Biden was sworn in by Justice John Paul Stevens behind schedule at 11:57 a.m., and Mr. Obama did not take the oath until 12:05 p.m., five minutes past the constitutionally prescribed transfer of power.
Moreover, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. stumbled over the 35-word oath, causing Mr. Obama to repeat it out of the constitutional order. Instead of swearing that he “will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States,” Mr. Obama swore that he “will execute the office of president of the United States faithfully.”
Following time-honored rituals, the Obamas attended lunch with lawmakers in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, then rode and walked to the White House, where they watched the parade from a bulletproof reviewing stand. They planned to attend all 10 official inaugural balls before spending their first night in the White House.
In his Inaugural Address, Mr. Obama seemed at times to be having a virtual dialogue with his predecessors. “What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility,” he said, “a recognition on the part of every American that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly.” Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton likewise called for responsibility at their inaugurations, but Mr. Obama offered little sense of what exactly he wanted Americans to do.
Mr. Obama also seemed to take issue with Ronald Reagan, who declared when he took office in 1981 that “government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Mr. Clinton rebutted that in 1997, saying, “government is not the problem and government is not the solution.”
Mr. Obama offered a new formulation: “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.”
Mr. Clinton, at least, applauded the message. In a brief interview afterward, he said Mr. Obama’s installation could change the way America was viewed.
“It’s obviously historic because President Obama is the first African-American president, but it’s more than that,” Mr. Clinton said. “This is a time when we’re clearly making a new beginning. It’s a country of repeated second-chances and new beginnings.”
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The Great Depression 2009.......
Yes it does happen this way, one day u wake up to realize that the ground beneath ure feet is freakily shaky. That the stuff on your wish list is several dreams away. Life is such and we are witnessing tuff times each day y of our life. There is an eternal struggle that pursues inside of me and it is now that I must realize what life is worth, what my greater goal is and whether or not I can work my way up there. Everyday I log on to news from allover the worlds reading about people losing their livelihoods left, right and center. They say it’s the Great Depression revisited –only this time its manifold! U feel the pangs when ure own workplace looks somber, when the business from your key clients start drying up….when all you do from start to finish is read online reports and inanely surf the net for anything that can hold your attention for 5 mins atleast, when you have just come back from your 1st trip abroad and start planning for the next just to realize that this is not exactly the right time to plan anything at all! You realize you have been hit by it. Its not a distant phenomena that you only read about and are not unfortunate enough to witness. This is right here and right now! We have to live it, survive it and conquer it!
Now my point is how do u live through it, survive it or even think of conquering it! It seems the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off coz of the recession!!!!!!!
I need assurance every minute, I feel the jitters, I am scared and I am simply praying...at home, at work, in the loo everywhere. After all a new series in my life had just begun and it seems the joyride is almost getting over. God not just me but everyone across the world needs a miracle!
Now my point is how do u live through it, survive it or even think of conquering it! It seems the light at the end of the tunnel has been switched off coz of the recession!!!!!!!
I need assurance every minute, I feel the jitters, I am scared and I am simply praying...at home, at work, in the loo everywhere. After all a new series in my life had just begun and it seems the joyride is almost getting over. God not just me but everyone across the world needs a miracle!
To London To London.......
4th Dec- off to the airport, butterflies in my tummy, no agenda in mind but sure of one thing- To have the time of my life!
Arrival at Heathrow meeting pisho for the 1st time ever and totally in love with his concerned yet not so interfering demeanour. In the evening just went around in the wembley park and heathrow neighbourhood. Pisho took us to an Indian supermarket to pick up some paranthas and samosas for his beloved jamai and namesake Amit. With monkudi and baju joining in the fun by late evning, we just had to sum it up with some amazing adda session and catching up on anything and everything.
5th Dec-Our schedule is being worked out by Baju and Monkudi and we zero in for the Madame Tussauds-London Dungeons and London Eye combo with Chhopishi for the day. Also pack some stuff in a stroller for staying over at Anu-Pallavi’s for the night. Had an out an out fun day walking through the London streets, getting acquainted with the brilliant London underground and pretty much soaking it all in. Met up anu over coffee in the evening and headed to his placee at Deptford Bridge (nice and compact pad) which is a very organized gated community(complete with super market, gym, tennis court, swimming pool, lounge etc) Another adda session by the evening with some free flowing booze and a movie called Oye Lucky Lucky Oye much later. The next day’s agenda- Undecided!
6th Dec-Waiting at their place for the entire 1st half of the day, trying to figure out what to do today!!!! No agenda no guideline nothing fixed. Ultimately left the house at 4pm to hit the Greenwich Village Market (A videshi version of our very own Dilli Haat- but with an explosive repertoire of world food and lifestyle goods) I tasted some yummy mulled wine for the 1st time and must say was quite blown out with its spicy tangy taste. Moved to the GMT next which honestly I couldn’t make much sense of during the night. I knew the gates closed at 5pm everyday and we were missing out on some real good stuff unless we plan another rendezvous at this place. Ferry on the Thames was next- This was a pretty novel ride which took us around some of London’s choicest landmarks (from Greenwich-to London eye-to tower bridge-to London bridge-the HMS Belfast moving past canary wharf, St.Pauls, The Museums etc. London by the night looked utterly gorgeous. Finally we went to Oxford Circus to watch the famous London Westend theatre staging the evergreen play-The Sound of Music. I am speechless! What do I say,every word would sound like an understatement! The actors, the sets, the music, the theatre-GORGEOUS! To say the least. As long as I was in, I knew I was going through the experience of a lifetime and I was happy that Amit was with me in it! I sorely missed baba, nanu and maa and wished they could take it in too. While I was still reeling under the hangover from the play- we all decided to hop on lil rickshaws which took us around the frenzy of the oxford street, all dressed up in its Saturday night and countdown to X-Mas fervour. Next we did Soho, Picadilly and Trafalgar and finally headed home for some yummy dinner whipped up by Chhopishi
7th Dec-We cover the magnificent Tower of London, St.Katherine’s Dock and the not-so-great Spitalfield marketplace. The best part of the day was the lovely family dinner buffet we all had at Sakoni’s. Never imagined vegetarian food in faraway London could be so delicious. After stuffing ourselves like Pigs, Amit and Me took off to Canary Wharf to meet with anu-pallavi once again for yet another night-out at their place.Had a quick drink at a nearby pub and headed homewards.
8th Dec- Today we are on our own and there is an immense sense of confidence in the air, ‘All alone in big big London!’ Wow What Fun! We get separated at the Canary Wharf station…as I reach Westminster and he is still stranded at Canary Wharf. Later I panic and plead Baju to help coordinate between us and like they say-It pours when it rains-our mobiles decided not to work either. Anyway after wasting an hour in coordinating back and forth. We meet at exit 4 of the Westminster station and set forth to explore the Westminster Abbey. It took us exactly 2 and half hours to cover the whole of the abbey; simply coz there was so much to see. Its rich history and architecture simply engulfed us and we were swept in the grandeur. I mean just imagine walking over the coronations and burials of the Elizabeth 1, Mary queen of Scots, Jane Austin, Shakespeare, DH Lawrence, Einstein, Newton et all I mean I couldn’t believe my luck. It darkens in London post 3pm everyday and our camera gives up on us, so it’s typically between-12 and 2:30noon that we can flash as much as we can. We are hungry but we take a leisurely walk down the beautiful St. James Park watching the lovely flock of birds and naughty squirrels all around up to the Buckingham Palace. And here we are at 'The Buckingham palace'! But honestly it dint fascinate me as much as the other places did! Wonder why….Checked out the Queen’s gallery and picked up some real nice souvenirs though ended up shelling out a lot of money for the same….We split again as the boy went to spend the evening at a friends Budday while I decided to stick with my sisters and have a fun girls night out which included gorging on a delicious Chinese buffet. Ah sheer bliss!
9th Dec- Again all by ourselves, meeting at Westminster. An unbearably cold day today, we just went Brrrrrrrrr all through….we walked down St. James again…much more beautiful by the day and what do we see now the ‘Changing of Guards’ at the Buckingham Palace! Now this was something! Charming guards in their smart attires and the long black headgears marching past everyone else. Brilliant indeed! OK head towards the breathtaking St. Paul’s cathedral. Again no flashes allowed inside so all we have are beautiful memories of the magnificent cathedral resplendent in its rich architecture, history and culture. A wonderful thing that we got to experience in London were the brilliant audio guides that one gets to pick up. These guides simply make the overall experience all the more effective and organized. And now the best part of the day-enroute to the British Museums, I come across Dorothy Perkins-An impulsive buyer all my life, I head straight to the accessories section, then clothes, then cosmetics and then another, till I finally get to the shoes section..try out some 8-10 pairs of boots till I pick up one that we both seem to like.So that’s how Ria Mukherjee ends up purchasing her 1st pair of knee high boots that she is going to be very proud of all her life. Shopping done,burnt a hole in Amits pocket, day made! :) Later we catch a quick dekko at the museum for about 10 mins before it shuts shop. Very hungry by now, we stop at a pretty lil café called ‘Munchkin’ for some fish an chips and whiskey before we head home to Anu-Pallavi’s again.
10th Dec-Today is technically our last day in London, so we decide to make the most of it. We start early today from Greenwich again this time. I was glad that we came to this side of the town during the day and got up close and personal with the Prime Meridian. Ah bliss! We are joined by Amit’s friend-Dahiya, who happily takes us around. So here we are going click click click on the streets, stopping over at subways, McDonalds, the Thames , the nearby bookstore(from where I picked up The Golden Notebook) and then head towards the National Maritime Museum and the GMT. En route I go click click click at the famous Trinity College of Music! Where I once dreamt of being admitted! But fine, I was having fun and that was important! Some more walking and hot dogs later we reach Covent Garden- one of my most favorite places in London, known for its quaint charm and piazzas. Shopping at The Body Shop, Disney’s (bumped into Ayesha Dharker) and then watching 2 very entertaining street performances, we finally went home, had dinner and sat for wat I was looking forward too an unending chat session with everyone all night long. We discussed life, love, fate, faith, food, fantasies an lots more till we finally hit teh wee hours of morning
11th Dec- I woke up fairly somber, trying to live up every lil moment left in the trip. We chat, we eat, we shop, we pack and finally its time to go. Back to Muscat, back to reality and we bid adieu to London-The city which enamoured me right from my childhood, the city I only dreamt of visiting, the city that pulls me so close that its difficult to let go, the city that I just cant get enough of.
Our trip has come to an end and I am badly hung over….even after 2 months!
Arrival at Heathrow meeting pisho for the 1st time ever and totally in love with his concerned yet not so interfering demeanour. In the evening just went around in the wembley park and heathrow neighbourhood. Pisho took us to an Indian supermarket to pick up some paranthas and samosas for his beloved jamai and namesake Amit. With monkudi and baju joining in the fun by late evning, we just had to sum it up with some amazing adda session and catching up on anything and everything.
5th Dec-Our schedule is being worked out by Baju and Monkudi and we zero in for the Madame Tussauds-London Dungeons and London Eye combo with Chhopishi for the day. Also pack some stuff in a stroller for staying over at Anu-Pallavi’s for the night. Had an out an out fun day walking through the London streets, getting acquainted with the brilliant London underground and pretty much soaking it all in. Met up anu over coffee in the evening and headed to his placee at Deptford Bridge (nice and compact pad) which is a very organized gated community(complete with super market, gym, tennis court, swimming pool, lounge etc) Another adda session by the evening with some free flowing booze and a movie called Oye Lucky Lucky Oye much later. The next day’s agenda- Undecided!
6th Dec-Waiting at their place for the entire 1st half of the day, trying to figure out what to do today!!!! No agenda no guideline nothing fixed. Ultimately left the house at 4pm to hit the Greenwich Village Market (A videshi version of our very own Dilli Haat- but with an explosive repertoire of world food and lifestyle goods) I tasted some yummy mulled wine for the 1st time and must say was quite blown out with its spicy tangy taste. Moved to the GMT next which honestly I couldn’t make much sense of during the night. I knew the gates closed at 5pm everyday and we were missing out on some real good stuff unless we plan another rendezvous at this place. Ferry on the Thames was next- This was a pretty novel ride which took us around some of London’s choicest landmarks (from Greenwich-to London eye-to tower bridge-to London bridge-the HMS Belfast moving past canary wharf, St.Pauls, The Museums etc. London by the night looked utterly gorgeous. Finally we went to Oxford Circus to watch the famous London Westend theatre staging the evergreen play-The Sound of Music. I am speechless! What do I say,every word would sound like an understatement! The actors, the sets, the music, the theatre-GORGEOUS! To say the least. As long as I was in, I knew I was going through the experience of a lifetime and I was happy that Amit was with me in it! I sorely missed baba, nanu and maa and wished they could take it in too. While I was still reeling under the hangover from the play- we all decided to hop on lil rickshaws which took us around the frenzy of the oxford street, all dressed up in its Saturday night and countdown to X-Mas fervour. Next we did Soho, Picadilly and Trafalgar and finally headed home for some yummy dinner whipped up by Chhopishi
7th Dec-We cover the magnificent Tower of London, St.Katherine’s Dock and the not-so-great Spitalfield marketplace. The best part of the day was the lovely family dinner buffet we all had at Sakoni’s. Never imagined vegetarian food in faraway London could be so delicious. After stuffing ourselves like Pigs, Amit and Me took off to Canary Wharf to meet with anu-pallavi once again for yet another night-out at their place.Had a quick drink at a nearby pub and headed homewards.
8th Dec- Today we are on our own and there is an immense sense of confidence in the air, ‘All alone in big big London!’ Wow What Fun! We get separated at the Canary Wharf station…as I reach Westminster and he is still stranded at Canary Wharf. Later I panic and plead Baju to help coordinate between us and like they say-It pours when it rains-our mobiles decided not to work either. Anyway after wasting an hour in coordinating back and forth. We meet at exit 4 of the Westminster station and set forth to explore the Westminster Abbey. It took us exactly 2 and half hours to cover the whole of the abbey; simply coz there was so much to see. Its rich history and architecture simply engulfed us and we were swept in the grandeur. I mean just imagine walking over the coronations and burials of the Elizabeth 1, Mary queen of Scots, Jane Austin, Shakespeare, DH Lawrence, Einstein, Newton et all I mean I couldn’t believe my luck. It darkens in London post 3pm everyday and our camera gives up on us, so it’s typically between-12 and 2:30noon that we can flash as much as we can. We are hungry but we take a leisurely walk down the beautiful St. James Park watching the lovely flock of birds and naughty squirrels all around up to the Buckingham Palace. And here we are at 'The Buckingham palace'! But honestly it dint fascinate me as much as the other places did! Wonder why….Checked out the Queen’s gallery and picked up some real nice souvenirs though ended up shelling out a lot of money for the same….We split again as the boy went to spend the evening at a friends Budday while I decided to stick with my sisters and have a fun girls night out which included gorging on a delicious Chinese buffet. Ah sheer bliss!
9th Dec- Again all by ourselves, meeting at Westminster. An unbearably cold day today, we just went Brrrrrrrrr all through….we walked down St. James again…much more beautiful by the day and what do we see now the ‘Changing of Guards’ at the Buckingham Palace! Now this was something! Charming guards in their smart attires and the long black headgears marching past everyone else. Brilliant indeed! OK head towards the breathtaking St. Paul’s cathedral. Again no flashes allowed inside so all we have are beautiful memories of the magnificent cathedral resplendent in its rich architecture, history and culture. A wonderful thing that we got to experience in London were the brilliant audio guides that one gets to pick up. These guides simply make the overall experience all the more effective and organized. And now the best part of the day-enroute to the British Museums, I come across Dorothy Perkins-An impulsive buyer all my life, I head straight to the accessories section, then clothes, then cosmetics and then another, till I finally get to the shoes section..try out some 8-10 pairs of boots till I pick up one that we both seem to like.So that’s how Ria Mukherjee ends up purchasing her 1st pair of knee high boots that she is going to be very proud of all her life. Shopping done,burnt a hole in Amits pocket, day made! :) Later we catch a quick dekko at the museum for about 10 mins before it shuts shop. Very hungry by now, we stop at a pretty lil café called ‘Munchkin’ for some fish an chips and whiskey before we head home to Anu-Pallavi’s again.
10th Dec-Today is technically our last day in London, so we decide to make the most of it. We start early today from Greenwich again this time. I was glad that we came to this side of the town during the day and got up close and personal with the Prime Meridian. Ah bliss! We are joined by Amit’s friend-Dahiya, who happily takes us around. So here we are going click click click on the streets, stopping over at subways, McDonalds, the Thames , the nearby bookstore(from where I picked up The Golden Notebook) and then head towards the National Maritime Museum and the GMT. En route I go click click click at the famous Trinity College of Music! Where I once dreamt of being admitted! But fine, I was having fun and that was important! Some more walking and hot dogs later we reach Covent Garden- one of my most favorite places in London, known for its quaint charm and piazzas. Shopping at The Body Shop, Disney’s (bumped into Ayesha Dharker) and then watching 2 very entertaining street performances, we finally went home, had dinner and sat for wat I was looking forward too an unending chat session with everyone all night long. We discussed life, love, fate, faith, food, fantasies an lots more till we finally hit teh wee hours of morning
11th Dec- I woke up fairly somber, trying to live up every lil moment left in the trip. We chat, we eat, we shop, we pack and finally its time to go. Back to Muscat, back to reality and we bid adieu to London-The city which enamoured me right from my childhood, the city I only dreamt of visiting, the city that pulls me so close that its difficult to let go, the city that I just cant get enough of.
Our trip has come to an end and I am badly hung over….even after 2 months!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Ashche bochor aabar hobe!
Durga puja over, but dint realize where it flew by exactly.Out here it was more like a quick sneak out of office for a bit of ashthomi onjoli with my 2 bong colleagues and then back to business! Oh words cant describe how I felt since Mahalaya. I constantly visualize myself back home in chit park, in a complete state of festive frenzy and pandal hopping happily.To add to it, friends put up happy pics of the gorgeous goddess, resplendent in her equally gorgeous abode (read pandal) and my heart wont stop bleeding.
People think am being naïve, how can I be so charged up about a mere festival (can you believe it-that’s what some of the bongs wud tell me…) and I simply tell them- I cant stop being the bong I am, so cant help the childlike enthusiasm that builds up during Pujo time,cant stop being nostalgic of pujo days from the past, cant stop looking forward to the countdown,learn new songs or even shop like a maniac …I really don’t wanna help any of it.
It is true that during festivals , the cravings to be with one’s family increases manifold and no matter how much ure friends here make up for it , you just crave…. anyway those 5 days of my life called 'Pravasi Bhartiya Durga Pujo Sammeloni' just flew past me and I was left longing for a more eventful Durga Pujo 2009. Ashche bochor aabar hobe!
People think am being naïve, how can I be so charged up about a mere festival (can you believe it-that’s what some of the bongs wud tell me…) and I simply tell them- I cant stop being the bong I am, so cant help the childlike enthusiasm that builds up during Pujo time,cant stop being nostalgic of pujo days from the past, cant stop looking forward to the countdown,learn new songs or even shop like a maniac …I really don’t wanna help any of it.
It is true that during festivals , the cravings to be with one’s family increases manifold and no matter how much ure friends here make up for it , you just crave…. anyway those 5 days of my life called 'Pravasi Bhartiya Durga Pujo Sammeloni' just flew past me and I was left longing for a more eventful Durga Pujo 2009. Ashche bochor aabar hobe!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Children…
Out here every other family we socialize with are with children…infants, toddlers, prep school to high school. they are present in all shapes and sizes….That ofcourse is not wat this blog is about. Its about how the couples transform into full time parents and nothing else once they are blessed with kids. My neighbor’s wife has just 1 occupation: She is a full time mom to her very spoilt 2 year old. The kid is irky, irritated and throwing tantrums almost all the time. But how much delight her parents take in her is something that is beyond me! I say this, becoz I really do not understand wat is the objective of such profound dedication. Does that mean, I don’t have the right motherly instincts! U may think…but I don’t think so! I don’t think an individual should stop being his/ her personal self once they become parents. I agree that giving birth to a new life is one of the best things that womankind can experience....but we shouldn’t let it overwhelm us to such an extent that everything else ceases to exist! I mean I don’t have a problem with parents going ga-ga over their children, my folks have done it all their life too….but What I do seek is answers to certain questions like….
On becoming parents, y is it that everything else ceases to exist apart from their kid?
Do they do all that they do willingly? Or it is sheer acceptance of a situation?
Do parents see kids as a future investment or is it truly unconditional?
Are children really worth such selfless love?
Are children good ROI’s ?(for the uninitiated its Return on Investment)
Well who knows if i’ll ever get answers to these…maybe I’ll need to wait an watch till I become a mother myself. And dats when I will too be expected to tread the delicate balance between being a parent an also being an individual. Inshaalah!
Monday, August 11, 2008
The A-Z of Punjabi!
This one's not just for Punjabis but for all those who have faced Punglish.
I like 'A is for Aiscreame' infact am half punjoo too(post my marriage to one) but read on.....
A is for Adjust. Punjabis will always ask you to adjust whenever they want to push you around.
B is for Backside, and it has nothing to do with your bum, it is an instruction to go to the rear of a building, or block, or shop or whatever.
C is for Cloney and its not a process for replicating sheep, nor is its first name George. It is merely an area where people live e.g. 'Defence Cloney'.
E is for Expanditure (yes,as per the Punjoo lexicon, this IS the correct spelling and pronounciation). Punjabis are never shy of spending money – the latest cars, gadgets, marble floors: their ambitions are always expanding.
F is for Fackade, and even though it sounds like a bad word it is actually just the front of a building (with backside being the back, of course).
G is for Gaddi, and the way a Punjabi can pilot his gaddi puts any F1 driver to shame. (If the Grand Prix does come to Delhi there's no way Hamilton, Alonso or Kimi can overtake Balvinder, Jasvinder or Sukhvinder.)
H is for 'Ho Jayega Ji', and the moment you hear that you have to be careful because you can be reasonably sure it's not going to happen.
I is for Intezaar, and to know more about it see P.
J is for Jindagi, and if there's one person who knows how to live life to the fullest it's a Punjabi.
K is for Khanna, Khurana, etc, the Punjabi equivalent of the Joneses (e.g.'Keeping up with the Khuranas ji')
L is for Lovely, but unfortunately she almost never is. Also for LOIN!!!
M is for 'Mrooti', the car that an entire generation of Punjabis were in love with.
N is for 'No Problem Ji.' To find out how that works see H.
O is for Oye, which can be surprise (Oyye!), a greeting (Oyy!), anger (OYY!) or pain (Oy oy oy...).
P is for Panch Mint, and no matter how near (1 km) or far (100 km) a Punjabi is from you he always says he'll reach you in panch mint (5 minutes...).
Q is for Queue, a word completely untranslateable into Punjabi.
R is for Riks, and a Punjabi is always prepared to take one (risk), even if the odds are against him.
S is for Sweetie, Sunny, Simmi and Sonu, who seem to own half the cars in Delhi. (The other half by their Pappas - like 'Sweetie de Pappa di Gaddi')
T is for the official bird of Punjab: Tandoori Chicken.
U is for when you lose your sex appeal and become 'Uncle-ji'
V is for VIP phone numbers @ Rs 15 lakh and counting.
W is for Whan, as in 'Whan are you coming, ji?'
X is for the many X-rated words that flow freely in all Punjabi conversations.
Y is for 'You nonsense', when anger replaces vocabulary in a shouting match.
Z is for Jigjag. (Please refer to G, M and P)
I like 'A is for Aiscreame' infact am half punjoo too(post my marriage to one) but read on.....
A is for Adjust. Punjabis will always ask you to adjust whenever they want to push you around.
B is for Backside, and it has nothing to do with your bum, it is an instruction to go to the rear of a building, or block, or shop or whatever.
C is for Cloney and its not a process for replicating sheep, nor is its first name George. It is merely an area where people live e.g. 'Defence Cloney'.
E is for Expanditure (yes,as per the Punjoo lexicon, this IS the correct spelling and pronounciation). Punjabis are never shy of spending money – the latest cars, gadgets, marble floors: their ambitions are always expanding.
F is for Fackade, and even though it sounds like a bad word it is actually just the front of a building (with backside being the back, of course).
G is for Gaddi, and the way a Punjabi can pilot his gaddi puts any F1 driver to shame. (If the Grand Prix does come to Delhi there's no way Hamilton, Alonso or Kimi can overtake Balvinder, Jasvinder or Sukhvinder.)
H is for 'Ho Jayega Ji', and the moment you hear that you have to be careful because you can be reasonably sure it's not going to happen.
I is for Intezaar, and to know more about it see P.
J is for Jindagi, and if there's one person who knows how to live life to the fullest it's a Punjabi.
K is for Khanna, Khurana, etc, the Punjabi equivalent of the Joneses (e.g.'Keeping up with the Khuranas ji')
L is for Lovely, but unfortunately she almost never is. Also for LOIN!!!
M is for 'Mrooti', the car that an entire generation of Punjabis were in love with.
N is for 'No Problem Ji.' To find out how that works see H.
O is for Oye, which can be surprise (Oyye!), a greeting (Oyy!), anger (OYY!) or pain (Oy oy oy...).
P is for Panch Mint, and no matter how near (1 km) or far (100 km) a Punjabi is from you he always says he'll reach you in panch mint (5 minutes...).
Q is for Queue, a word completely untranslateable into Punjabi.
R is for Riks, and a Punjabi is always prepared to take one (risk), even if the odds are against him.
S is for Sweetie, Sunny, Simmi and Sonu, who seem to own half the cars in Delhi. (The other half by their Pappas - like 'Sweetie de Pappa di Gaddi')
T is for the official bird of Punjab: Tandoori Chicken.
U is for when you lose your sex appeal and become 'Uncle-ji'
V is for VIP phone numbers @ Rs 15 lakh and counting.
W is for Whan, as in 'Whan are you coming, ji?'
X is for the many X-rated words that flow freely in all Punjabi conversations.
Y is for 'You nonsense', when anger replaces vocabulary in a shouting match.
Z is for Jigjag. (Please refer to G, M and P)
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