My Desire

Is it even desirable to desire, I asked myself one day.

What is it that I desire then ?

Do I desire friendship, or is it someone's company that I desire.

Do I desire a family, or is it the security that I desire.

Do I desire love, or is it lust that I desire.

Do I desire to drink, or is it getting drunk that I desire.

Do I desire to write, or is it being called a writer that I desire.

Do I desire freedom, or is it renunciation that I desire.

Do I desire the truth, or is just the facts that I desire.

Do I desire life, or is cheating death is what I desire.

I don't know what I desire and what I don't, all I know is that it that I have the desire to desire.

Happy New Year Fellas

So the much awaited New Year 2013 has finally arrived and I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year 2013.When I think of this year and the my past years behind me I see that while I have regretted and complained about things not working out the way I wanted them to be and being unlucky. However, I have never thanked God or my family for the many wonderful experiences and also for the fact that how lucky I am to be born to parents who are caring, understanding and supportive of my decisions in life and the resulting consequences whatsoever.

I think while we are so busy working for a better life and we ought to, we somehow never have time for the things that we love to do or would love to do. While we are constantly communicating with our family, friends, relatives and colleagues we never tell them how much we love them and value them. We are always buying things that would make us and our family and friends happy but we never ever do the little things that matter to them and would mean a lot more than physical things and gifts.

So this coming year for me is not only going to be about the things that I would want in my life, it’s also going to be about the things and the people that I truly care for. I want to thank everyone: my parents, my family, my cousins, my friends, my relatives, my  college mates, my school buddies, my colleagues and the various people that I have come in touch with for one reason or other for being mostly good to me and helping me being the man that I am today.

This life is very uncertain and highly unpredictable. I got just one life to live and I never really know when it would come to an end. So I would try and do the things that I love and have always wanted to do. It would be all the more fun if I do it with the people who matter to me and for whom I am important.I don't how long a life or successful a life a live but whatever the turn of events may be I would surely want to live a happy life doing things that I have always wanted to do.

So have loads of fun during the last day of 2012 and welcome 2013 and plan on making it a great year for yourself and everybody else around you. 

writeontop: What Young India does not Want

writeontop: What Young India does not Want: I am a regular viewer of Just Books that is telecasted on NDTV and it was a pleasant surprise to watch Hon’ble MP from Kendrapada, Od...

What Young India does not Want

I am a regular viewer of Just Books that is telecasted on NDTV and it was a pleasant surprise to watch Hon’ble MP from Kendrapada, Odisha Mr. Baijayant Panda and Hon’ble MP from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala Mr. Sashi Tharoor on the panel to discuss about Chetan Bhagat's new book "What Young India Wants". This show prompted me to write a blog about the topics that were being debated in the panel discussion.

I haven't read the book and hence wouldn't comment on it. While Mr. Bhagat said that young Indians only care about a good job and their love life which is not entirely wrong; it is just one part of the whole story. It holds true for those fortunate young Indians who were blessed with good genes and a good background and had the privilege of access to decent educational institutions. But as Mr. Tharoor rightly pointed out what about the millions who are not fortunate enough to go to schools? I am not very sure about those people and I can only hope these young people who are also a part of the India growth story don't have a defeatist attitude towards life.

The household help who comes to our house and that of our neighbours slogs for more than 10 hours a day so that her son and her daughters can wear decent cloths and she can buy books and notebooks for them and pay for their private tuition. I am sure many such young people who pass out of schools and colleges with low grades are unemployable and the matter of concern is these young people don't have a clue what they want to do in life and that's where the problem begins. There is nobody who is there to guide these people and nobody seems to have the time to bother about them.

I have seen and observed many a times that people like us (me included) think that these people are born poor and would die as poor and as destitute. We don't even bother to think that they have their own lives to live, that the waiter who serves us at the restaurant likes good food as much as we do, that the household help who comes to our house likes watching movies, that the chauffeur who takes us around aspires that someday he would also own a bike or a car.

Talking about higher education, Mr. Panda pointed out that India produces the lowest number of Phd holders in the world. Most young Indians view higher education as a short cut to a good life and selection of colleges and Universities is based on campus offers and pay packages and not on the background of the faculty and the strong research background the institution holds. It is so because very few parents encourage their children to get doctorate or post doctorate degrees. They are more concerned about the company that the sons and daughters of their relatives, neighbors and colleagues have got into and the high packages that these young people are drawing. The only thing that a student pursuing higher education is bothered about during the final years of B.Tech,M.Tech,MBBS or MBA or other professional or general course , thanks to his circumstances and pressure from family and peers, is a good job and a good pay package. How can he/she even think of a Doctorate degree under such circumstances where he/she has been made to feel that the sole purpose of higher education is a good job and higher salary that would ultimately lead to higher social status ?

I cannot say much about politics because I never seen politics from close quarters. But I can say that not every young Indian despises politics or politicians. But today’s young Indian is getting a very wrong signal as far as politics and politicians are concerned and this needs to change. Young Indians residing in villages have seen and observed that the local politician is the most influential person who can get things done. Today’s politicians are viewed as someone who has power and financial backing of influential people in the society and they can get things done for something in return. This very thought has done more damage to the image of politicians than any other thing in the past and the present. To me it seems like offering prasad at the temple and bribing the priest in the form of dakshina so that the lord may grant all their wishes.

Today’s young Indian has also observed that getting into politics and fighting elections as an independent candidate is by no means an easy task and this can be compared to the days of License raj when businessmen had to fight intense red tapeism to set up legitimate businesses. They see that only those young people do well in politics who are members of various regional or national political parties and who inherit the political legacy of their fathers, uncles and grandfathers. Dynasty politics is one of the single biggest deterrents and it is one of the major reason as to why today’s young Indian is distancing himself/herself from politics and politics is being termed as ‘dirty’. I can cite examples of many national and regional parties to prove my point. Be it the Congress party at the Centre; the Samajwadi Party in UP; NCP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra; DMK in Tamil Nadu; BJD in Odisha ; the TDP and YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh ; the Akali Dal and INLD in Punjab and Haryana respectively – all these parties have thrived upon and indeed perfected the art of dynasty politics.They have even created a sort of a successful template for other to emulate.

Young Indians certainly don't want this. I am not as sure as Mr. Chetan Bhagat as to what young Indians want but I can only say a few things about what young Indians certainly don’t want. Young Indians don’t want a society which is divided on the basis of caste, colour and creed. Young Indians certainly don’t want a society where one’s caste becomes the basis of selection for a certain job and an institution while merit takes a back seat. Young Indians certainly don’t want to go to schools and colleges that are run by the state governments and private institutions which merely make them literate rather than educating them. Young Indians don’t want to vote for political parties that merely view them as vote bank and not as the future of the country. Young Indians don’t want to work for organizations and people who think that they are doing a big favour by employing these bright young people and can treat people in any way as it pleases them because they are being paid to work. Young Indians don’t want to be part of a governance system that doesn’t hold those people accountable whose primary job is to find ways to improve the lives of people whom they represent in the Vidhan Sabhas, the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.  

I think perhaps the best way to sum up my views is to quote one of my favorite singers of all times – Bono who had said, “This is a time for bold measures. This is the country, and you are the generation.”

What is this life?

What is this life?

A culmination of minutes and hours, days and years.

A culmination of endless searching and life long wait.

What is this life?

A culmination of ambitions and aspirations, defeat and despair.

A culmination of sending resumes and waiting for that all important call.

What is this life?

A culmination of rents and EMI’s , landlords and bankers.

A culmination of life and living, if there is a life at all.

What is this life?

A culmination of friends and family, enemies and competitors.

A culmination of judging and being judged by one and by all.

What is this life?

A culmination of loving and being loved, hugging and being hugged.

A culmination of a lonely heart and a lonelier life that is all.

-          Akash Mohanty

Brand Speak : When a Package Drinking Water Bottle Tries to Strike a Conversation

Being an advertising guy, I have always been a big fan of Cafe Coffee Day and its brand promotion strategies.The way the brand has established itself has been the subject of many a case studies across B - schools and ad agencies across India.

While I was visiting the CCD at Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar ( my favorite CCD of the town) today, I could not help but notice the new packaged drinking water that is sold at the CCD. The drinking water bottle has had a complete makeover and it looks fantastic.

As I was admiring the packaging design, I could understand that a lot of smart thinking has gone behind this new packaging design for the humble bottle of mineral water. I actually like what they have done with the the bottle. It gives the bottle a cool, clean and minimalistic feel. The matte finish gives the bottle some resemblance to the packaging design of the cult vodka brand  ABSOLUT Vodka. 

The ‘Coffee Day’ in bold, large , red font gives the brand a strong and unique identity and a touch of youthful rebel. This is a very smart move as the brand has now become a lot more prominent and is clearly visible even from a distance. By distinguishing its packaging, CCD has played it smart by giving the bottle of water a very youthful and lively look.

But that is not all. What struck me instantly and inspired this blog is not just the new packaging design but the copy on the bottle of water, “Get acquainted to the fountain of life in a bottle.In between that go - get - it, just - missed - it, just - for - fun moments,pause for a quick recharge.Sip it or swig it, this water is for the hearts unabashed and souls who dare to love, to enjoy and to dream...”

The brand is capitalising on every opportunity to interact with its primary TG - the youth. Be it the menu, the ambiance or the humble bottle of packaged drinking water, brand CCD is in a constant conversation mode with the young and the restless and for good reasons. I don’t know about other cities but young college goers  and young professionals comprise for almost 70% of customer profile across CCD’s 10 outlets in Bhubaneswar. The very lingo of this beautiful and pacy copy is testament to fact that CCD takes it customers very seriously and hence such keen attention to details.Be it Mumbai or Moradabad,Bangaluru or Bhubaneswar, Delhi or Dhanbad - brand CCD has managed to create an entirely new definition of a good hang out zone.

Kudos the the agency and especially the brilliant copywriter for coming up with such a pacy and relevant copy. It feels as if the bottle is speaking to you, one - on -one. Great job !

Its so damn difficult to say Good Bye

  

Good Bye. That’s what we say when we see someone off. This phrase comes from “God be with you’. It has been shortened over the years since 16th century. The substitution for good for God seems to have been mainly due to the influence of such phrases as “Good Day" and “Good Night."

While saying Good Bye to someone comes naturally to most of us and I must have used it thousands of times in my life, yet it was particularly difficult to say when I said those two words today. Of course I wish that God be with her in every step of her life – watching over her and protecting her from all the troubles that she might encounter in her life. But today, for those few seconds, it felt as if good bye was the most difficult thing to say in my life. It almost felt like an eternity.

Why was it so difficult to say in the first place? Someone had once said, “You know you are in love when the hardest thing to say is good bye”. The guy was darn right. This feeling is very difficult to describe. For or a moment it feels as if you are underwater and the only place that you are going is down. You can’t breathe and you can’t see a thing. You feel as if you are going to die right then and there. It’s nauseating.

I wish I could meet her. I wish I could tell her not to leave. I wish I could look straight into her deep and beautiful eyes and tell her that she is the only thing that matters to me. I guess no such thing was supposed to happen and she left. Just like that. I wonder what’s more difficult. Coming to terms with the reality or challenging it? I know you don’t know what to say. Well just don’t say anything. Just listen to my silence and answer back in silence. Perhaps if we can ever do that then that would be the best conversation that we have had so far. Don’t say it. Just feel it.