Sunday, April 20, 2008

Punjabi Weddings...

Went to a wedding recently.. dint know anyone there.. So jus observed things…
Well, we Punjabis are said to be loud…. Loud in everythin.. our soice, celebrations, music n whatnot.. So it was a Punjabi weddin with huge doses of music, lights of course foodJ
So in a wedding, u ll find different types of ppl.. Ppl from the bride n groom’s family, relatives , friends n some unknowns.. some tense, some happy n some simply unaware of whats happenin around n some jus looking at the food as if they haven’t eaten in years…
So there s me jus sittin and wondering what the hell m doin here…So only time paas was to look at girls.. Punjabi girls have their own theory.. they will dress up in their best of attires.. doesn’t even matter whether its their own weddin or some person they don’t even know.. So u ll find lots of girls giving the bride run for her money.. n there ll be ladies heavily dressed.. Punjabi women tend to put on a lot of weight after their marriage.. n I really don’t know whyJ
So then comes the groom.. With all his friends and relatives dancing n makin him dance.. So there are his friends making jokes about the first night and teasing him.. I always used to wonder what goes on in the groom’s mind during the wedding. With all the attention n nervousness, I guess his situation s really funny…
Punjabi weddin cannot be over without music.. n that too loud n Punjabi music… So there are small kids unaware of the happenings n dancing adorably.. some guys dancing in a weird way obviously tryin to impress some girl they think is looking at him.. ladies dancing n making sure their hair n make up doesn’t go out of place… makin poses for the cameraJ n at the other extreme are the girls family. .extremely tense .. tryin to make sure that every one s happy…cos even a single mistake from their side can lead to taunts n what not..
Drinks go on in a very remote corner. Drinking responsibly I guess was never in Punjabi men’s nature n I guess will never be.. I guess that’s why drinks stall s always at a distance from the others. Old uncles drinking their scotch, youngsters trying to hide their vodkas n scotch in Pepsi n juice.. n in another corner r displayed the things that a girl s bringing with her to her so called new home… There s all kinds electronics n t=imagine everythin needed to start a new house placed there… Everyone wants to tell what girl s bringin with her…Now its not called Dowry.. Its something that has been acceptable in the society..
N then comes the bride.. n music suddenly turns romantic “ Bahrao Phool Barsao” n all eyes are onto bride.. walking slowly with eyes down.. dressed so heavily that its even getting difficult to walk with 2 ppl jus managing her dressJ n then comes the biggest test of both bride n groom.. They have to pass each n every judgement…whether she s beautiful, fit for the groom or not, whether her dress s gud or not n what not.. n suddenly the music accidentally puts off… n u can hear the comments like “ Arre, ladka zada sunder hai.. ladke ko toh is se achi mil jati” from the aunties sittin behind u…I wonder when will this scrutiny end… I guess never… We are born in such a society where being acceptable socially s still a big thing…
So finally I decided to have my food n believe me lots of it.. I guess the no of food items decides the scale of the wedding…
So this was the time that I decided that I ve had enough.. Time to leave.. had dinner n ok then.. Tata.. Good bye..

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Dad !! Your son is a man now...

William Wordsworth once said “ Child is the father of the man”.
Well when does a child becomes a man… I guess in parent’s eyes, never…but I guess it really happens over a period of time when this boy stands on his own feet… start looking at this world from his own eyes… It must be really difficult for a father to come to reality that suddenly his son is starting to have an opinion of his own… on politics, money, household matters, relationships, friends, career n everything… n that too most of the times contradicting than his own…But somehow both are adamant about everything.. Father who has lived all his life very successfully and built his family on certain principles and son who is a 21st generation guy ready to step into this competitive world and somehow doesn’t believe in many of these principles…From teaching him everything from riding a scooter to innumerable mathematics sessions to how to build and maintain relationships with ur relatives.. he has taught him everything right from his childhood… But today there are some differences of opinion trying to tell him “Dad, your son is a man now”…
Ever wondered why does this happen? What lead to the christening of the word “Generation Gap”? Why the principles on which a father believes in doesn’t hold good for his son? I guess the debate will go on… They say that only thing constant is change… People change.. Situations change n even principles change... What matters the most is how much both of them are ready to adapt to the present situation...Is the son ready to take a one step back for his father?
But u know what inspite of a little niggles this person is still this boy’s best friend.. A friend he can still rely on in any difficulty.. A friend that has taught him everything.. A friend who is his Father…n a Father who is his best friend forever…

Friday, April 4, 2008

Good Marketing can sell anything....

Hmm...Well this is my first post n what better topic than my favourite n my bread n butter- Marketing...
What is the common link between Om Shanti Om, IPL(Indian Premier League) , I-Phone and Mr Modi (CM -Gujarat). All these entities are one of the most talked about in the recent past. Take a breath for a sec.. OSO is the one of the biggest grosser in Bollywood grossin more than 100Cr in India alone.. IPL, even before its first tournament is a $3bn enterprise.. I-Phone-ofcourse the most talked about phone last year n who can forget Mr Modi.. Inspite of all odds won the Gujarat Elections by a huge margin...
Well the common link is the kind of marketing efforts that went in making these entities a huge success,... Welcome to the new world of Savvy Marketing where it would not be wrong to say " Good Marketing can sell anything" n i mean anything.. Ofcourse, there has to be something good in the product but even good products fail if its not marketed well...Jus look around. How many products u bought in the recent past that u would have done without.. Well for me a lot of them... So what induces u to buy such a product-- its jus the way the product is marketed that u feel- Wow... i need it.. But sometimes the fact is that actually u dont... Well frankly i dint like OSO.. I dint find anythin new.. But still its one of the biggest hits of all time n to tell u the truth i too spent like 200 bucks on that.
Look at the number of awards that Indian Ad Agencies won at Cannes last year.. Look how Mr Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan have build themselves as the hottest brands..Ever wondered what is the need for company heads like Mr Mallaya n Ratan Tata need to become public figures...Its an era of ppl who are smart, ppl who know the pulse of the nation, ppl who know what to sell and how to sell anythin and everythin. They are ones to look out in the near future...
Watch for this space for more... Till then..