Moby Dick on a Stick

Whale meat resurfaces on Iceland menus.

Diners at the upscale Lobster House restaurant in Reykjavik, Iceland can enjoy familiar appetizers such as lobster bisque or smoked eel. But the hot new starter is minke whale sashimi with wasabi crust and a shot of ginger tea on the side.

"It's traditional food made in a modern way," says chef Ulrich Jahn, who is now perfecting whale ceviche -- raw, thinly carved slices marinated in lime juice, lemon grass and garlic.

The recipes are mouthwatering to Gunnar Bergmann Jonsson, the man on a mission to introduce whale meat to a new generation of prosperous Icelanders.

After a 20-year ban on commercial whaling, Iceland in 2006 resumed limited hunting of minke whale, one of the smallest and most numerous of the main whale species. Mr. Jonsson is the sole landlubber at the country's only licensed whaling company, Hrefnuveidimenn ehf. Marketing is among his many tasks.

However, the marketing for it remains a challenge, especially to the younger generation. Iceland and Japan are among the few countries that still hunt whales amid global opposition.

Read on about this interesting story here.

TATA NEN -- Hottest start-ups

In its search for the most innovative start-ups in India, the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) in association with the Tata group has launched the Tata NEN Hottest Startups awards. In a first of its kind contest, winners will be chosen through a public voting process, rather than a panel of experts. The voting begins today.

Some of the startups include Seventymm, MobiYard, oCricket, Stylus, Lucifer Lights, MobiLearnTV, Rupeetalk, The Loot.

Check out the competition site (www.hotteststartups.in) for more details. on the complete list of nominations, reviewing experts, nominee profiles, and ratings and additional entrepreneurial resources. The site is indeed a well of knowledge and creative ideas, even for the non-participants. I personally like the sections -- Knowledge bank, Bright ideas and Fun Box, among others.

Unique Story Proposition -- the new USP

Advertising works in today's interactive world if it tells interesting stories that resonate with the viewer.

Forget the hard sell. Advertising works in today’s interactive world if it tells interesting stories that resonate with the viewer and don’t bore her even after repeated airings. Still, the ad man as a storyteller is a role rife with dichotomies: is it possible to be a friend of the viewer and also sell to her? Besides, if stories are usually equated with fiction, can they be truthful—without the hyperbole and posturings of being eco-conscious, or socially responsible?

Paul Woolmington, co-founder, Naked Communications, tells me the word storytelling does not mean ad men are creating fiction; instead, it is about how messaging evolves and builds engaging consumers.

Woolmington’s point: Today, brands stand nude in front of the consumer than ever before, requiring changes in the way we communicate. With infinite channel choices and new media, a one dimensional world of push communications has to make way for four-dimensional storytelling where the agency, or the advertiser cedes control of the message to the consumer. These stories need to be rooted in an authentic base and dialogue, but play out in a non-traditional, non-linear way. Thus, marketing moves away from being a mere hawker when consumers are an integral part of the dialogue, he says.

Ad pundits say that the story should be born from the brand’s raison d’etre. There’s a unique story (not selling) proposition (USP), which every piece of communication should cue into, they say. Pepsi’s stories, for instance, are about change. The pundits add that customers, stakeholders, employees, distributors and others should co-write the brand story and take it forward.

The brand’s story need not always be told. It’s usually experienced at each and every point of consumer contact: packaging, retail and service. Genuine product promise and innovation, not advertising, made Bodyshop an iconic brand. Its parallel in the digital world could be Google, recently voted as the most reputed company in America.

More importantly, the brand story must never appear false, or contradictory. Unilever’s Dove tells a great story of real beauty, though online talk that the ads used touch-up artists did cause some dissonance.

A classic story should be built on enduring brand values, but capable of entertaining and surprising—with twists in the tale and space for creative change. I’ve loved the ongoing brand stories of Apple, Nike, Adidas, Fevicol, Matrix, Cadbury…all high on USP.

Above all, a great story should move you enough to open your purse—after unlocking your heart.

Source: Marion Arathoon

Fight For Kisses

Well-o-well! You gotta check out this viral, which has climbed up in my personal favourites list. It's a commercial for Wilkinson Quattro Titanium blades, launched in 2007.

Animated brilliantly, it tells about how there's always a fight for the kisses, from the lady in the house, between her baby and her husband. You definitely gotta watch it!

Mardaangiri

Well, as one of the takeaways from the Marketing Summit mentioned in the post below, is the newest definition of MBA -- Mard Bachao Andolan. This is a pseudo public service ad featuring Sanjay Dutt, lashing out at metrosexuals and urging the Indian men to be more 'manly'. It is actually a surrogate ad for Haywards 5000 beer.

Haywards 5000 has initiated a Mard Bachao Andolan, whose objective is to rescue Indian men from the jaws of sissy drinks, coloured hair, pomeranian dogs, salsa, cooking Thai food, etc. Good luck to them!

I won!!

One of my favourite quotes is:

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

My answer to that would be August 29, 2008. Today, I won a cash prize worth Rs. 10, 000/- for the first time in my life! I have won numerous prizes in quizzing and dumb charades but never a cash prize. I have won all sort of things from a fish bowl to CDs to gift vouchers to blessings but a cash prize had always eluded me somehow. It was a very weird feeling till now when I used to see people -- juniors as well as seniors, walking away with all the moolah. But thankfully, the jinx is broken now.

For those of you who care to know what did I win the prize for ... well, it was the annual Marketing Summit & National Level Paper Writing Contest at IMI, Delhi called Srijan'08. The title of my research paper was "Innovations in Sales & Distribution".

But, jinhe naaz hai voh kahan hain?

1984 in 1954

Check out these front and back book covers for 1984 on Amazon, posted by David Rolfe.

They are from the 1954 Signet (#S798) paperback edition, and are quite unlike the covers for any other editions that I've seen for Orwell's most well-known novel, which tend toward minimalism, with the numerical title almost always taking up the majority of the space.

In case you can't read the over-the-top text on the back cover (which manages to not mention Winston Smith, Julia, O'Brien, Room 101, Ingsoc, or Oceania), here's what it says:

Which One Will YOU Be In the Year 1984?

There won't be much choice, of course, if this book's predictions turn out to be true. But you'll probably become one of the following four types:

Proletarian--Considered inferior and kept in total ignorance, you'll be fed lies from the Ministry of Truth, eliminated upon signs of promse of ability!

Police Guard--Chosen for lack of intelligence but superior brawn, you'll be suspicious of everyone and be ready to give your life for Big Brother, the leader you've never even seen!

Party Member: Male--Face-less, mind-less, a flesh-and-blood robot with a push-button brain, you're denied love by law, taught hate by the flick of a switch!

Party Member: Female--A member of the Anti-Sex League from birth, your duty will be to smother all human emotion, and your children might not be your husband's!

Unbelievable? You'll feel differently after you've read this best-selling book of forbidden love and terror in a world many of us may live to see!

P. S. -- Note the button on the girl's shirt: 'AntiSex League.' Heh!

Source: Jason

Positioning paradox

This post deals with the power of simplicity in marketing and explains some important terms in marketing.

The superstars in branding are the ones who have cracked the “positioning paradox”. The positioning paradox says that in branding, the more features you show, the less you are seen. The more details you provide, the more vaguely you communicate. The more directions you give, the harder it is to be located. The higher the number, the lower the value. That’s why it’s called a paradox.

Amateurs are afraid to leave even a single feature or benefit on the table, fearing they’ll lose some corner of the market. So they say everything, and communicate nothing. It’s the “bed of nails” effect in reverse. A bed with a single nail sticking out will penetrate the second you lie down. But a thousand nails can’t penetrate anything. The pressure of each nail is completely diffused by all the others around it.

The positioning paradox is also behind many other axioms. For example, the “least number of words” principle. Generally, the shorter and crisper the expression of the core idea, the greater the impact. Messaging can be shorter and crisper when the idea is singular: ADP—the payroll company; Rolex—the luxury watch; Duracell—the longest-lasting battery, etc.

This is all common sense. But still many companies fail to realize that and deluge its audience with heavy showers of mindless 'extra' information, losing the main message they want to convey. Thus, apt is the conclusion that the simplest message wins.

Evolution of Gmail Chat

Well, it's always good to read about what goes inside the world's biggest facilitator amongst all the Web 2.0 companies -- the inveterate Google. So, here comes the confessions, the insider stories and usable technology ideas, straight from the horse's mouth i.e. the official Google blog. Read here to find out about the evolution of Gmail chat -- how it is a result of very obvious and simple design ideas.

The Google Saree

Satya Paul adds a new dimension to search:



Too bad there wasn’t a kid behind wearing Yahoo boxer shorts.

[Source: Who else?]

Contract cheating

British students are using Indian expertise in information technology to complete their course assignments by posting them on outsourcing websites and buying the completed coursework.

Called “contract cheating” in academic circles, lecturers in computing department in universities are in a tizzy since such coursework is of high quality and difficult to detect through normal plagiarism detection software.

The students pay amounts ranging from £5 to 50 for the completed coursework that they then pass off as their own work and gain their degrees. The trend is particularly seen in IT courses, in which students need to write programmes.

Well, that's the power of outsourcing!

Read the full story here.

Method in madness

Well, it's been a long time that I blogged. A lot of movement has taken place and lots have happened. Writing about everything is not possible and not consequential either. So, just a few basic updates.

I'm back in Delhi, after spending 2 lovely months in Chennai -- the place where I started this blog! In between, I spent a week in Chandigarh, at home. The 2nd year of MBA at IIFT is about to start in a couple of days and the madness is about to begin again. How I wish that there were no more of studies! But anyhow, I can't help it and have to live with it.

I've moved to the new hostel and boy oh boy, it was painful to shift all my belongings to the new room and then set it up. But now it's done, almost everything's in order. The new room is far better than the room of the old hostel and is the only good part thus far. Hence worth the pain to set it up. So, I'm all geared up to face the next war! Wish me luck.

Sisters & brothers

I don't have a sibling. Did I miss having one? Not particularly. Being the lone child, I'm the pampered one. I got all the love & affection my parents could give. I got almost everything what was reasonable to ask for. I fared well in academics as well as in extra-curricular activities. But for long, I didn't have any body to share things which you wouldn't normally share with your parents. I had a good friend circle but still it wasn't close enough to penetrate my thoughts -- me being a typical Cancerian. I mostly tried to figure out everything by my self. Be it issues related to life, adolescence, family fights, studies, comics -- anything and everything. My parents were there for me always, all the time. And I just loved the growing up period. I used to hang out with my father for a very long time. For shopping, for a cup of coffee, even for a walk beside the lake, I went out with my dad! We shared an amazing chemistry. And mom was there to put us right back on earth when we both of us shopped too extravagantly or didn't get something to suit her tastes. That was just so much fun. So, I never really missed having a brother or a sister.

Luckily, I have a few cousins with whom I spent many of my school vacations. Out of them, I have 3 loving sisters. And I love them all. Today, the youngest one -- A, chatted with me for the first time on Google Talk. She had added me a few days ago on Orkut (with a caution though -- not to tell her mom about it). She used all the short words in vogue today and the related lingo. I kind of enjoyed it. Before this we had never really 'talked' with each other apart from the usual bro-sis talks in front of relatives -- Hi, how're you? How're studies? Exams? Work? Job theek hai na? Aur mujhe kya karna chahiye? Kuch guide karo na bhaiya... Blah.

Today, we talked something different. She asked me whether I remember her birthday or not. I quickly checked up on her Orkut profile and blurted out the date to her surprise. I later found out that she's turning 18 years next month. I was taken aback for a moment. She! My little sister has grown up to 18! Man. I calculated my age and suddenly felt old -- turning 25 years in a couple of months! Anyway, she wanted to talk. And so we did. You might have already guessed. She told me about her boyfriend on my constant query. She was hesitant first but then poured her feelings like anything. 2 boyfriends, one whom she loves, one who loves her, 1 year into it. Advice bhaiya, advice! Well, feeling happy that she could trust me for not telling about all this to her mom, I gave her some advice (actually, in these matters, no advice works and it is quite pointless but anyway). Before she could even thank me or ask some more, her mom came nearby and she quickly logged off.

I thought what would it have been to have a sister. I had previously had such long talks with my other cousin sister, another A. We'll leave this for future musings though. But something happened today. I don't know what.

Are there any alternative pronunciations?

Well, we Indians have a way with words, even if the rest of the (western) world thinks otherwise. ;)

Sameer Mishra, a 13-year old boy of Indian origin, has won the title at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee, as reported here. He correctly spelt the word guerdon -- meaning 'something that has different language roots'.

I keenly watch this contest whenever it comes on TV. This is the story for the past several years. I also take pride in the fact that my spelling sense isn't that bad and wish (still) that something of this sort should be there in India as well. I just love this show. And what amazes me is the cornucopia of wordpower which these lads have. Every year, Indians rule the roost over there. If you have watched this show, you'll understand the part when the participants ask the judges in their heavy accents, rolling their tongues: 'Are there any a(w)lter(r)native pronunciations?' or 'May I have the language of origin please.' Then they go on to spell even the toughest words you could ever think of, with utmost ease -- A-P-P-O-G-G-I-A-T-U-R-A. Ha! It's damn interesting. That's what Anurag Kashyap spelt to win the 2005 contest by the way. How I wish to participate in one of these contests ...

Bhatt on AB, SRK, Aamir

Talent -- Mahesh Bhatt, on being asked what Emraan Hashmi had that Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan didn’t. (as reported by ToI on June 1, 2008)

Heh!

Zerostock -- Retail Innovation

Imagine a men’s apparel store… where no stock is available! A Hyderabad-based retailer began Zerostock early this year, a concept which centralises the inventory process. This is how you shop – you go into any of their stores, try out the sample clothing on display and select one – and later, the apparel is dispatched to the customer within a specified time from their centralised warehouse.

The USP, will be in the cutting of cost of maintaining inventories for each store, of sourcing products on demand – all to keep overheads low. Cornerstone, is the brand of men’s wear they sell and the plan is to open 300 stores across the country by year end. The customer’s benefit through the prices, that will be significantly lower, without overheads and real estate costs.

Some cost cutting, eh? But will it work? Isn't shopping an impulsive decision (many times)? Would you like to wait for a shirt or a trouser you saw 1 or 2 days ago? How much of the cost saved due to zero inventory would be passed on to the consumer? All these questions need to be answered before it enters the big league. I also heard that they offer clothes in 11 sizes -- right from 29 to 46 (with odd sizes like 33/35 as well)! The concept looks good to me. Let's see if it works.

(Story source: The Hindu)

Quote of the day

"This system is new for all of us. Now that we have played one season in the new format, next season we will play better."

-- Sourav Ganguly, reviewing the Kolkata Knight Riders’ performance in the IPL

Heh!

Slum tourism

Last Sunday, The Times of India carried this very interesting piece on slum tours (Dharavi through a peephole). It came as a shocker. It raises a lot of issues about such tours and their feasibility. Is it simply tourism or voyeurism -- into poor people's lives? However, one thing is for sure. It'll give you jitters. It'll lay bare the naked truth about all the development taking place in the middle-class India. How sensible are we to the realities of life? We can't live without such people. We need them to wash our clothes, utensils, do odd jobs for us. But we don't want them on the city scape. We would like them to go, live somewhere far from the locales of the city. Howsoever far that may be or howsoever painstaking the daily travel may be, it's not our headache. Read this piece to get shocked.

Related stories:

1. Slum Visits: Tourism or Voyeurism? (Link)

2. Slum tours: a day trip too far? (Link)

FESPACO -- the pan-African film & TV festival

This week, the Alliance Francaise of Madras showcased a selection of award winning African movies. FESPACO, the Pan-African film and television festival, is the biggest, regular cultural event on the African continent. FESPACO was started in 1969, and is held every two years. At the end of the festival the grand prize of the mythical Yennenga Stallion is awarded to the best film. The Alliance Francaise of Madras in association with the Indo Cine Appreciation Forum presented four of the films that have previously won this prestigious award. I could see only two of them due to my engagements elsewhere -- Ali Zaoua & Sarraounia.

Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets

It is a 2000 Moroccan crime drama film directed by Nabil Ayouch about the homeless street children, who steal, fight, even kill for the sake of survival. It has won numerous awards, including the 2000 Stockholm Film Festival and 2000 Amiens International Film Festival.

Ali -- the movie's central character, Kwita, Omar and Boubker, are street children who wander the streets of Casablanca, sniffing glue. Ali is killed in a stone-fight by one of members of the rival gang, headed by deaf and dumb Dib. Now, the 3 remaining friends do whatever they can to give their friend a burial like a prince.

They even arrange for the robes of a sailor as Ali wanted to be a sailor who wanted to sail away to his fictitious island of two suns. Interspersed with rib-ticking dialogues and performances from the kids, some of whom are real life street urchins, and some thought-provoking scenes, the movie is a beautiful depiction of the street scene of Casablanca. It reminds me of the innocence found in most of the Iranian movies. However, the movie doesn't tell us what drove the kids to such a state in the first place. But it's definitely worth a watch.

Sarraounia

This 1986 film from Mauritania, by Med Hondo, is a powerful story about the historical Queen Sarraounia, a great leader of the Aznas' resistance against the French in 1899, after many other tribes had succumbed to the attack of the colonizing soldiers. It starts with an old man asking his friend to look after her daughter Sarraounia. The foster father not only looks after her, but also teaches her to use various weapons.

It reminded me of Chinua Achebe's much acclaimed novel, Things Fall Apart. The European armies invade Africa, trying to spread their empire, are faced by a determined tribe of Sarraounia. The movie was intense and slightly long. Sarraounia's role as the warrior princess could have been given more air-time. But with its beautiful traditional music and visually appealing shots, you'll not forget the movie for a long time.

The film, touted as 'the first African epic' by Le Monde, was featured at festivals in Montreal, San Francisco, Berlin, Moscow, Atlanta, and London, and won several awards at the annual African Film Festival at Ougadougou.

Other movies

The remaining two movies which I couldn't see were:

1. Tilaï (1990) from Burkina Faso, directed by Idrissa Ouédraogo

2. Guimba the Tyrant (1995) from Mali, directed by Cheick Oumar

East Germany's Ampelman

Read this nice piece on how a beloved relic of the former East Germany, the jolly Ampelman has guided children across the road since 1961.

India recycled

Read/see this interesting story , in pictures, of how clothes donated at UK charity shops can end up half way across the world, among pavement traders and tailoring shops in India, as well as the contrasting flow of recycled silk saris to the UK.

Romancing in Saudi Arabia

Love is universal, they say. It can happen to the toughest as also the cruelest. It has no rules, no bars. But not in the Arab world. Read this fascinating account of forbidden romance in the land of the Arabs where the young Saudis are vexed and entranced by love's rules.

--

Nader al-Mutairi stiffened his shoulders, clenched his fists and said, “Let’s do our mission.” Then the young man stepped into the cool, empty lobby of a dental clinic, intent on getting the phone number of one of the young women working as a receptionist.

--

Enad al-Mutairi, left, shared a light moment with family members including his cousin Yousef al-Mutairi, right, 22, at his grandfather's
house in the village of Om Salem. Like many Saudi families, theirs is large and insular, and they have spent virtually all of their free time together since childhood.

In the West, youth is typically a time to challenge authority. But what stood out in dozens of interviews with young men and women here (Riyadh) was how completely they have accepted the religious and cultural demands of the Muslim world’s most conservative society.

--

“If you want to know what your wife looks like, look at her brother,” Nader said in defending the practice of marrying someone he had seen only once, briefly, as a child. That is the traditional Nader, who at times conflicts with the romantic Nader.

--

Soon his cellphone beeped, signaling a text message. Nader blushed, stuck his tongue out and turned slightly away to read the message, which came from “My Love.” He sneaks secret phone calls and messages with Sarah. When she calls, or writes a message, his phone flashes “My Love” over two interlocked red hearts. “I have a connection,” he said, quietly, as he read, explaining how Sarah manages to communicate with him.

--

Saudi traditions do not allow for romance between young, unmarried couples. There are many stories of young men and women secretly dating, falling in love, but being unable to tell their parents because they could never explain how they knew each other in the first place. One young couple said that after two years of secret dating they hired a matchmaker to arrange a phony introduction so their parents would think that was how they had met.

[This is a part of the 4-article series, Generation Faithful. Read all the articles here: 1, 2, 3 and 4.]

Enna rascala ... mind it! -- Dhoni style

M. S. Dhoni, captain of the IPL Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing DLF Premier League, does an SRK with this new Pepsi ad.

The ad starts with a voice: 'Dhoni, from Jharkhand'. But Dhoni, all transformed into a Southie star (cricketer) replies: 'Aieah! Yumm (Y)Ess Dhoni from Chennai ... mind it! (amazingly rolling his tongue).' Then he continues: 'All you fast bowler rascals, I have the bat, though you have the balls.' And what follows is the typical Rajnikanth fare.

The ad is for Pepsi's current campaign of Youngistaan and ends with Dhoni smilingly saying: 'Maaiiind it!'

A hilarious ad. Enjoy.

The Lives of Others

Last week, I saw 'The Lives of Others' (original German: Das Leben der Anderen) -- a wonderful German movie, which won the 2007 Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language film. Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (what an interesting name!), this movie is set in the East Germany (GDR) of 1984 when idealism and socialism ruled the roost. It somehow reminds me of 1984, George Orwell's acclaimed novel about life in an authoritarian regime.

Ulrich Mühe as Stasi (GDR's secret police) Captain Wiesler (Code name: HGW XX/7) and beautiful Martina Gedeck as the playwright Georg Dreyman's lover and a renowned actress Christa-Maria Sieland are just superb in their roles. Moreover, Martina is more than a treat to watch. Dreyman's role is played by Sebastian Koch.

The movie is a fine balance between emotions and thrills of life. It captures those turbulent times (5 years before the breaking of the Berlin Wall) in a fascinating way. One could not live even his own life in a peaceful manner as almost everybody was kept under the eyes of the Stasi, Ministry for State Security. By listening to people's conversations and their mannerisms, each one's fate was decided -- whether the person is reliable or not.

Wiesler is asked to spy upon the lives of the playwright Dreyman and his lover Christa-Maria. In the process of observing their lives, Wiesler himself gets absorbed and even plays an active part in trying to alter some situations. However, what causes this stern and authoritarian Captain to soften up, is not told clearly in the movie.

Martina Gedeck & Sebastian Koch in 'The Lives of Others'

The events of the movie are layered upon the viewer and he doesn't feel loaded by them. This gradual build up of drama and emotions is one of the strong points of the movie. The closing scene of the movie is really touching. The times are post-Berlin Wall and Weisler, doing some small jobs, sees a novel published by Dreyman and purchases it. On asked for an option to gift-wrap it, he replies: "No, this is for me." It is one of the best scenes I've seen of late.

The music of the movie is worth mentioning. It's an elixir for the ears. There's a piece of Beethoven - Appassionata about which Dreyman tells Christa-Maria that Lenin once said of it: "If I keep listening to it, I won't be able to finish the revolution."

The movie has strong after-effects and you continue to think about something even on coming back to your home (in fact more so then). All-in-all, a must watch.

Nudes disrobed!

Disrobing in front of strangers, lying to friends and family, not being able to celebrate the excitement of being immortalised by art. It’s just another day at work for Mumbai’s nude models, finds Labonita Ghosh in this worth-reading urban tale.

“What would my neighbours say if they knew that I sit naked for hours in front of people young enough to be my grandchildren?,” says Arai Shankar Naidu, a sprightly grandmother-of-two and a full time nude model for JJ School of Art.

Framed Desire (2006) -- Anita

Pangea Day

Yesterday, while watching Star World (after ages), I saw this show and just could not change the channel because the show was just so engrossing. I later found out that it was the inaugural Pangea Day. And believe me, it was a fabulous showcase of some of the best short films from across the world – all packed in a 4 hours show. It was just so beautiful. Films from Iran, Egypt, France, Australia, Mozambique, from everywhere -- truly a treat.

About Pangea Day

Pangea Day was an international multimedia event conducted on May 10, 2008. It was coordinated from 6 locations – Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro – in 7 languages – to produce a 4-hour program of short films, live music and speakers. The program was broadcast live across the globe from 1800 to 2200 UTC, culminating in a global drum circle, symbolizing the common heartbeat of the world. According to the festival organizers, "Pangea Day plans to use the power of film to bring the world a little closer together."

Pangea Day originated in 2006 when documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize. Jehane wished to use film to bring the world together.

Pangea from the Ancient Greek pan, meaning entire, and gaea, meaning Earth was the supercontinent before each of the component continents were separated into their current configuration. Used in this way it is meant to imply the "connectedness" or unitary nature of all people on Planet Earth. [By the way, Nokia was the global partner of the event – Connecting People!]

The films

Pangea Day was a celebration of the power of film. It featured films that were funny, sad, gorgeous, stark – and powerful. Voices that had never been heard before. Things many had never seen. Scenes from worlds few had visited. A cross-section of our amazing, complicated, noisy, beautiful world.

The films in this program were chosen by Pangea Day's panel from more than 2,000 submissions and a long roster of curated suggestions. Together, these films moved us, frightened us, made us laugh and smile, and helped us feel closer to the world.

Learn more about Pangea Day films.

The speakers

In between the films of Pangea Day, some astonishing speakers talked about our world in surprising ways. From Jordan's Queen Noor to former boy soldier Ishmael Beah, from journalist Mariane Pearl to planetary explorer Carolyn Porco, we heard powerful stories and mind-expanding new ideas. And in one unforgettable moment, two historic enemies met on the Pangea Day stage.

Learn more about Pangea Day speakers

The music

The music of Pangea Day came from Brazilian legend Gilberto Gil, rock stars Bob Geldof and Dave Stewart, and the elegant and soulful Rokia Traoré – plus underground Iranian indie rockers Hypernova – and a few surprises.

Learn more about Pangea Day music.

In the end

Well, I just loved the concept. And some of the short films shown were truly outstanding. You can check out the Highlights from Pangea Day here.

Keep smiling!

Source: Wikipedia & Pangea Day Website

AXE Cottage -- Help the ladies out, will ya?

AXE Canada has just released a new commercial to promote the exclusive 'AXE Cottage'. As we can see on the website, this cottage is full of women, but there's a lack of men. And that's where the AXE buyer comes in. He can win a trip to the cottage, together with his buddies, and help all these lovely ladies out. Nice!



Source: Martina Zavagno

Bas 2 minute!

Most of you who have grown up in 80s and 90s would be familiar with one of the most useful inventions made in the history of food – especially for bachelors – guys and gals alike. Yes, I’m talking about that loyal yellow packet peeping out from one of your kitchen drawers or shelves – Maggi instant noodles!

Unlike in relationships when you start taking your partner for granted you may end up on the losing side – with Maggi, you can be rest assured. Maggi has formed an unending, loyal relationship in almost each bachelor’s life even though we don’t realize the importance of this heavenly snack, which doubles and triples its job by not just acting as an in-betweens but also as a trustworthy companion for breakfast, lunch and dinner and oh those mid-night cravings.

I stand in gratitude to a noble man named Julius Maggi, who was the founder of Maggi Company in the year 1872 in Switzerland – though the Maggi noodles came some time later.

It has saved one too many from numerous crisis situations by acting as the noble saviour. When you doubt your cooking abilities or feel too lazy to get up and cook something elaborate, what comes to mind first? Think Maggi – and it’ll be there – bas 2 minute! (It takes a bit more than 2 minutes though – but hey, who’s complaining!)

Even the dhabas lined outside my hostel in Delhi have mastered the art of cooking Maggi and we sometimes zero-in on a dhaba who makes the better Maggi . Every other evening, post classes, Maggi remains my favourite.

Recipes

Although Maggi Noodles page on Wikipedia lists down more than 20 types of formulations, my personal favourite remains Maggi Masala – some things are best left original. You open the packet, break the cake into 4 parts, put them into boiling water, add the taste-maker and start stirring (the contents of course). And voila! In about 2 minutes or 4, if you’re like me (I like to give some ‘extra time’), it’s there – the fruit of labour, your very own yummy noodles now smartened up to take a lovely shape! If you like, you can sprinkle some oregano on top of it, like I used to do when I was in Pune, to make it taste even tastier. Right Akshaya?

And oh, I like it sans any vegetables or elaborate recipes – it’s meant to be simple, without any pomp and show, so keep it simple stupid (KISS principle)! Besides that I love it if there’s a little (mind you just a little) water left in the noodles. Umm ... I can smell it!

Maggi also demonstrates with great efficiency how coiled things in life ease out when put in boiling water.

Marketing Gyaan

What Xerox is to photocopier and Colgate to toothpaste, Maggi is to noodles in India. And this is no idle boast. “Indians eat most Maggi noodles in the world," said ex-Chairman and Managing Director of Nestle India, Carlo Donati, not too long ago.

It was Donati who brought the instant noodle brand to the country during his short stint in the early 1980s. Maggi went on to create a whole new product category and caught the fancy of kids across the country in no time. It made the phrase ‘Bas 2 minute’ iconic. It wooed mothers with the promise of ‘fast to cook and good to eat’ snacks. It added that bit of ‘different’ to the popular ketchup. And offered 'health bhi, taste bhi' through its no-MSG soups.

To conclude

Well, nobody can truly measure the and express the impact of Maggi on a bachelor’s life and one blog-post is just too insufficient for that. It is just a small way to pay my tributes to one of the most important foods of a bachelor’s life.

[Oh! My roomie has woken up and is going to the kitchen. I ask him, lunch plans? With a grin on his face, he replies, Maggi!]

My father's suitcase

I haven't been moved so much, of late, as I was on reading the 2006 Nobel lecture by Orhan Pamuk. Read the full lecture here.

Excerpt:

As you know, the question we writers are asked most often, the favourite question, is; why do you write? I write because I have an innate need to write! I write because I can't do normal work like other people. I write because I want to read books like the ones I write. I write because I am angry at all of you, angry at everyone. I write because I love sitting in a room all day writing. I write because I can only partake in real life by changing it. I write because I want others, all of us, the whole world, to know what sort of life we lived, and continue to live, in Istanbul, in Turkey. I write because I love the smell of paper, pen, and ink. I write because I believe in literature, in the art of the novel, more than I believe in anything else. I write because it is a habit, a passion. I write because I am afraid of being forgotten. I write because I like the glory and interest that writing brings. I write to be alone. Perhaps I write because I hope to understand why I am so very, very angry at all of you, so very, very angry at everyone. I write because I like to be read. I write because once I have begun a novel, an essay, a page, I want to finish it. I write because everyone expects me to write. I write because I have a childish belief in the immortality of libraries, and in the way my books sit on the shelf. I write because it is exciting to turn all of life's beauties and riches into words. I write not to tell a story, but to compose a story. I write because I wish to escape from the foreboding that there is a place I must go but – just as in a dream – I can't quite get there. I write because I have never managed to be happy. I write to be happy.

so you want to be a writer?

- Charles Bukowski

if it doesn't come bursting out of you
in spite of everything,
don't do it.
unless it comes unasked out of your
heart and your mind and your mouth
and your gut,
don't do it.
if you have to sit for hours
staring at your computer screen
or hunched over your
typewriter
searching for words,
don't do it.
if you're doing it for money or
fame,
don't do it.
if you're doing it because you want
women in your bed,
don't do it.
if you have to sit there and
rewrite it again and again,
don't do it.
if it's hard work just thinking about doing it,
don't do it.
if you're trying to write like somebody
else,
forget about it.

if you have to wait for it to roar out of
you,
then wait patiently.
if it never does roar out of you,
do something else.

if you first have to read it to your wife
or your girlfriend or your boyfriend
or your parents or to anybody at all,
you're not ready.

don't be like so many writers,
don't be like so many thousands of
people who call themselves writers,
don't be dull and boring and
pretentious, don't be consumed with self-
love.
the libraries of the world have
yawned themselves to
sleep
over your kind.
don't add to that.
don't do it.
unless it comes out of
your soul like a rocket,
unless being still would
drive you to madness or
suicide or murder,
don't do it.
unless the sun inside you is
burning your gut,
don't do it.

when it is truly time,
and if you have been chosen,
it will do it by
itself and it will keep on doing it
until you die or it dies in you.

there is no other way.

and there never was.

Sainath on the moral universe of the media

Yesterday, I attended a lecture by P. Sainath, given at the convocation of the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. The topic was ‘The moral universe of the media’. It was a very interesting and insightful lecture though a bit of rehash of what he says all the time – in his writings or otherwise.

Sainath, as usual, was at his witty best. He started off with statements by George Bush and Condoleezza Rice about how Asians esp. Indian & Chinese are eating a lot more, which is one of the reasons for spiraling prices of food the world over and how their middle-class population is higher than the entire population of the USA. He pointed out that they were still speaking in general about the Asians but our own agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has directly blamed the South-Indians for eating a lot of rotis these days which is adding on to the food crisis and inflation. All this happening in just over the last 6 months – they must be having an orgy of rotis I presume!

He talked on various issues. You can read more on it here.

Here are a few interesting observations.

1. Human beings & economists are contradictory terms.

2. Those who can’t – teach!

3. ABC and BBC of Media – ABC stands for Advertising, Bollywood & Cricket while BBC stands for Big Business & Cricket. These are the only preoccupations of media these days.

4. Indian media is politically free but chained by profit.

5. If excessive drinking is cause of suicide then there would be no journalists alive.

6. Be clever – don’t stick your neck out.

7. All your good ideas are boss’ ideas – always remember that.

8. M. K. Gandhi & B. R. Ambedkar – best Indian journalists.

9. Murray Kempton, Thomas Payne & Mark Twain – best American journalists.

10. Private-client treaty – In this, media companies acquire stake in large companies and assure them of continuous & positive coverage in their media.

11. (Condoleezza) Rice commenting on wheat!

12. Structural shut-out of the poor – when we refuse to talk to over 70% of the population by not having any agriculture or rural affairs journalists.

Let there be a blog!

Hi all!

As I take my first steps into the world of blogging, I just sit back and laugh at my procrastination. The idea of starting a blog came more than 2 years ago when I started writing a few reviews. However, like many of us, I too fell in the trap of 'perfecting' myself and acquiring more 'suitable' knowledge before leaping into the virtual world. I could not have been wronger! I'm almost at the same level (if not worse) or in the same position, which I was in then -- skeptical. However, I'm happy that suddenly something happened today and a voice came from inside to go for it. As they say, 'let there be light'. It said, 'let there be a blog'. And here it is. So, ladies and gentlemen, presenting before you the ruminations of a soul who has just started discovering the finer nuances of life -- each day.

The blog's title is an Italian saying -- 'Vive bene, spesso l'amore, di risata molto!’ which means 'Live well, love much, laugh often'. As you might have guessed, this blog is about life, love, joy, eating, drinking, travelling, people -- basically to fulfill the joie de vivre or a keen enjoyment of living (as my most convenient dictionary WordWeb tells me). This blog would also talk about the issues/topics governing our life -- without addressing them there can be no laughter or love.

As W. Somerset Maugham says, "The artist produces for the liberation of his soul. It is his nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down the hill". I'm no artist -- not yet. However, I would produce -- I would continue writing, telling anecdotes, addressing your attention to things close to my heart -- making you learn and in the process learning myself from the same. I expect the support from all of you to make this journey a success.

Keep reading!