i-Pill - The chill-pill way to build Business and Brand

Oooops...!! I got it all wrong. Where there is 'excitement', there is an i-Pill and IPL is just about excitement, isn't it? Hence that slip of the tongue ;-) Call it 'Indian Paisa League' for the money that's splurged in it or call it 'India's Premiere Lalit' for the way he has left behind many a CMOs in terms of popularity and successful implementation and maintenance, the IPL 'Business' has kept everyone in a state of being busy. If guys are too busy to date their Sanias (!) in the evenings, so are several business establishments busy doing nothing, thanks to the reduced foot-fall into shops and malls. The IPL bug has even kept '@shashitweeroor' aka Shashi Tharoor Tweeting about the matches. So has been the IPL craze in India, which, when first took off, was regarded to have a mixed response. But now indeed it has been a massive success. Success of IPL and the strong promoter behind it i.e. the BCCI has ensured that a lot of top business houses and brands get associated with it.

The acceptance of IPL brought more avenues*- to the IPL in terms of generating more revenue and to the various Brands to increase their Recall Value. This exercise to become a TOM Brand (Marketing terminology, defined in the end) is being tried by a few Brands through IPL. Observe those 'Big hits into the stands'. Commentators never say "Big Six", but say "DLF Maximum". A wicket falls and they say "CITI Moment of Success'. 'Time Out' is 'MAX MOBILE Strategic Time Out'. IPL can think of more such unconventional ways of advertising/promoting Brands. Probably, as the batsman goes back to pavilion - 'PARAGON Walk', a Man of the Match - 'TVS VICTOR of the Match', a catch could be - 'HAVELLS Safe catch' etc.

Can these backfire? There are chances. Assume, a team not doing well in the entire IPL, losing 8-9 wickets in every match. Every batsman going back to the pavilion becomes a 'PARAGON Walk'. Hardcore fans of that team or a batsman might find it unpleasant to hear 'PARAGON Walk' frequently. As a result, Paragon might not be a preferred Brand by that city's or the player's fans. With most ardent IPL fans already turning frenzy, such risks are always on the cards. For all we know, India is also a Cricket crazy nation.

Associating with IPL also gives you an opportunity to network with industry big-wigs, celebrities, some top-notch Cricketers but most importantly - LAW MAKERS i.e. politicians. Do not forget most politicos in India like Sharad Pawar, Rajiv Shukla, Narendra Modi, Farooq Abdullah, Arun Jaitley hold lucrative positions in either the National level of State Level. Chetan Bhagat in a column in Times of India pointed out that if you show Corporate India a big reason to spend, you can generate big bucks from their wallet. Yes, you only got to show them the BIG REASON. Lalit did exactly that.

Thats about Business and Branding with IPL... If all this you thought was lucrative and glamorous, there is another side to it, though not associated directly with the IPL but courtsey to IPL. From what I see around. Hotels and eateries which do not have a TV see a dip in the customer turn-out. I stopped going to my regular hotel for dinner and have switched to a hotel which has got a TV for I can watch the match. Of course, it is coming at a cost. I now order extra dishes once I am done with my regular paratha/thali, so that I can watch some more of the match. Specially, if Sachin is batting, I would have a grand dinner that night and end up spending Rs. 110- Rs. 130 when on any other day I would not spend more than Rs. 30. Expecting a dip in the turnout for late evening shows, Inox and a few other theatres play IPL matches instead of movies. So what if you couldn't afford a ticket for it is too expensive or 100% sold-out a week before you thought of buying! Enjoy it in the big screen in the multiplexes. Pubs too are playing IPL matches and lavish hotels like the Taj and the likes too hold special screening of the IPL!

IPL has even made it to the Social Networking sites. Twitter and Facebook users give updates faster than Cricinfo! Most die-hard fans and supporters do not waste a minute to appreciate or criticize their favourites and their villains. Facebook 'Status Message' have temporarily turned form 'Employee Grievance Cell' to 'Player/Team performance appraisal form'. Friends have turned 'foes' for they now support different teams. 'City-based loyalty', a term coined by Lalit Modi has given him a 'Cricket-derived Royalty'.

No wonder Lalit Modi is currently the Best Indian CMO. He has sold the right product in the right market to the right customer. What is India Inc. waiting for? Hire him!

Common Man
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TOM Brand - Suppose I were to question someone "Name the IT companies of India you have in your mind" and he or she answers "HCL, Cognizant, TCS, Wipro, Infosys.... ", it would mean HCL sits on top of his mind which will be known as TOM Brand (Top of Mind), followed by Cognizant which will be known as SIL (Second in line) and it goes so on (TIL, FIL etc.). Biggest IT company is of course TCS, followed by Infosys and Wipro.. but what matters here is what sits in the top of a person's mind. Brands normally want them to be comfortably seated on TOM of the market, not that we should buy them, but because they are an option when we intend to buy. And they become some real strong contenders to other options!
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* - 'Avenues' have to do with legal and ethical ways of earning revenues and not with what Lalit seems to be more interested at. The placement of the picture adjacent to 'avenue' is highly co-incidental but the decision not to remove it is highly unintentional (Khi khi khi....) :D

My Country, My Countrymen's Life

To the South of Asia, with the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal as it's Coastal Neighbours and Pakistan to the West as a terror, stands India, My Country, whose unique achievement is never to have conquered any other nation in the world, but only liberated itself from the British and East Pakistan from it's Western counterpart and is today known as Bangladesh, is a land of diversity - diversity in terms of religion, tradition, culture, food habits, language, clothing, opinions (?) etc. It houses Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsees, Jains, Buddhists, Athesists as much as it houses Hindus who form a considerable majority of the population chunk. There is so much within My Country to see and experience and feel that never ever have I been fascinated by the eulogies of the Vegas or the Roland Garros, ascending the Qutub Minar always seemed to be worthy than earning the Kuwaiti Dinar, Taj Mahal at Agra is probably more picturesque than Niagara, Jantar Mantar would perhaps amuse me more than Eiffel Tower!

If those last few words inspired you, hang on! There is the other side to My Country as well. Not seriously exposed, or perhaps, we are too scared/busy/least bothered a lot to see it. The travails and tribulations of 'Common Man', who according to my parents, Social Studies teacher, CSR Professor, Industry bigwigs, Economists and not to forget my (abhi)Netas* form a 2/3rd of My Country's population i.e. 67%, and they have only been increasing day by day and years by years! Sometimes I wonder why this 67% is referred to as 'Aam Aadmi' or 'Mango Man' when actually Mangoes are not easily affordable to them (*Netas are the most precious assets of My Country. I will never be able to fix a value for them. This is why I pay for their security, lavish quarters with even more lavishly spread gardens bearing close semblance to the Lumbini, the trademark laal batti-stainless steel antenna-tinted glasses-bright white Ambassador which of-late has paved way for the Honda CRV, Ford Ikon, Toyota Innova - all foreign made luxurious SUVs and MUVs and from that steps down the 'UV Rays' aka Netas with an Indian made Khadi outfit and not to forget the 'Bharateeya Sarkaar' on the number plate, which should appropriately be renamed to *Bharateeya Sir's Car*. Oh.. I also pay for their regular trips to their constituencies, their 1st Class travel by Air India, their regular pilgrimage to Kashi/Tirupati/Gaya/Badrinath/Vaishno Devi, those tens and thousands of free BSNL calls, those free units of power, those thousands of rupees a day as allowance for attending the Parliament where they either dose off and gain more weight or 'Walk Out' and still lose none, those pensions and perquisites which they are entitled to post-retirement and the list is endless. Yes, I was right. You cannot fix a value to them. Priceless!)

From Netas, I move on to my favourite industry - MEDIA. The following quote which I found in one of my friend's 'Status Message' on G-Talk befits the modern day Media. "If you do not follow the Media, you are uninformed. If you follow the Media, you are misinformed". When most news channels and newspapers have remained a mouthpiece of some or the other groups, mind dates back to those DD 1 era where News was just 2 hours a day affair but gave you requisite information, though restricted but the same crap wasn't replayed, censored but not stitched. Of late, Media has also assumed the role of the Judiciary. From Reporting, they have moved a step ahead to Judgment. For example, 'Support SRK' campaign during the SRK v/s Shiv Sena tussle last month. Further, some of the 'disastrous' LIVE or EXCLUSIVELY ON XYZ has only aggrieved the situation and made it worse for the authorities to handle. The 26/11 attacks, which brought the entire news crew to one platform (if there is one at Gateway of India) was telecast LIVE on most news channels including the statements of the Heads of the Security and Intelligence Agencies . The perpetrators sitting elsewhere got a free access to the possible future steps of the NSGs and spot information which helped them weave an attack accordingly. Our Media bigwigs have more degrees and channels but less common sense perhaps.

Let's take a look at some hypocrisies in India. To begin with, the most recently concluded EARTH HOUR. How could I forget that! Switching off your lights and electric appliances for an hour to raise the awareness towards the need to take action on Climate Change. When celebrities from Bollywood and Politics supported the movement, elsewhere IPL matches making use of flood-lights were all in full-swing, notably, IPL is endorsed by several celebrities and politicos and also industry leaders who preach a lot of ethics and goody-goody CSR. Ohhh... the most CSR-centric ad by the Aditya Birla Group, 'Use Mobile-Save Paper'. Waiting for another CSR-centric ad by the same group conveying the harmful effects of heat and radiation generated by the Mobile Phones. Too much an ask ehh? I am also told that majority of the India is seen in it's villages and a majority of them are poor. Our leaders scream to make it audible to every nook and corner of the nation. Aila.... how come foreign delegates in the guise of being showcased REAL India are shown only the Rajpath and the Akshardham, Victoria Terminus and the Marine Drive, Bombay-Worli Sea Link and the Lotus Temple? But then, thank god there is a Danny Boyle who shows the world that which is censored by our leaders! And then, every year, Page 3 Toms and Jerrys gather in the Capital and participate in the Lakme India Fashion Week. I get to see costumes which are worn by probably less than 10% Indians and it is showcased and publicized as if it represents the whole of India or the REAL India. It's high time to rename it sensibly as Lakme Bollywood Fashion Week or Lakme New Delhi Fashion Week as it only represents a select few elite of the metros or the Bollywood.

Amidst all these going around and countrymen being taken for a ride, what's in store for the 'Common Man' of My Country? Is there anything rather?

"If they answer not to thy call, Walk alone, Walk alone, Walk alone" - Rabindranath Tagore.

Regards,
Common Man.
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Corrigendum to the previous post

I had a few queries from what looked to me as disgruntled readers. Let me try to clarify them.

1. If I have a proof (an URL/written literature/recorded document perhaps) of M F Hussain saying that he draws nude only those whom he hate - Let me clarify that this is something which I either read in some website or heard during a debate on a news channel. I must confess I am not able to recall in which one of these two did I come across that piece of information, but come across I have for sure. I did some Googling to find out the URL, but did not get any. It directed me to some discussion forum though, where one of the readers claim the same about MFH as I did. But I find it unworthy of producing as a proof. Hence I confess that I do not have a proof right now. But that doesn't change my opinion(s). I am not a critic of MFH but that particular act(ivity) of his. Hate the sin, not the sinner. Mahatma or Christ told this perhaps.

2. "how do u feel that he should not respect the goddess of other faith"? - Respect has to come from within. One cannot force the other to respect someone or something. This is the point I was trying to make when I mentioned that I don't expect MFH to respect the goddesses of other faith. I also did not say 'disrespect that which is Holy to others'.

'M'other 'F'orgive Hussain - Why we don't need more Hussains!

Whenever a great returns to soil or is on the verge of retirement, the big question arises - WHO NEXT? Be it after Gandhi's and Nehru's death or during this twilight time of Sachin Tendulkar's career. It is always difficult to fill the shoes of the greats. India's Picasso, M F Hussain too 'retired' from India recently. But the question "Who will fill MFH's shoes?" did not arise. Why? Well... he walks bare foot! His claims are that he wants to feel 'Mother Earth' which is why he stays away from footwear.

This reminded me that 'Mother Earth' is represented in various forms. Some see Goddesses as Mother Earth, some see Mother India as Mother Earth. Motherland is often referred to as 'Janani' (One who gives birth). When Laxmana eulogized Lanka, Ram said "Api Swarnamayi Lanka Na May Laxmana Roachathi, Janani Janma Bhoomischa Swaragadapi Gariyasi" (Lanka might look like heaven, Laxman, but Mother and Motherland are more sacred than Heaven") This is true not only to the followers of one group or inmates of one country but to each and every soul on this very 'Mother Earth'.

It is not that Hussain cannot exercise his rightful 'Freedom of Expression'. But it is the haughtiness of using his vague 'Freedom of Eccentricism' to hurt the feelings of a group of Indians that irks me the most. On questioning, he reportedly replied that he draws nude paintings of those whom he hates. One (or rather, I) could still forgive him for the blasphemous image of the Hindu Goddesses but not 'Mother India' for sure. He being a follower of a different faith, I don't expect him to have any love or respect towards the beliefs of other religion, but certainly, I expect him to show respect towards India, one of the few countries in this world which can boast of endless religion and faith and still lives in harmony, treating all as equal (barring a few bizarre incidents). Moreover, it is also the duty of every Indian to uphold and maintain the secular fabric of this country rather than give scope to tear it apart. This is where Hussain has erred, and this is where I see him not being apologetic about!

What put me to AWE (rather than WOW) was a few people putting forth the Khajuraho carvings as a justification of Hussain's blasphemy. Nowhere in Khajuraho would one find Hindu Gods being depicted nude. Moreover, it just depicts common human beings in the act of sex which is common human tendency to indulge in (responsibly and legally I mean). Khajuraho paintings haven't hurt the religious sentiments of any group so far, atleast none have claimed so. So it is a spineless point to justify Hussain's paintings using Khajuraho carvings. No human being mates in open like depicted in Khajuraho, do they? The reason for all such turmoil prevailing in our country is too much emphasis on RIGHTS. For every mean act of ours, we refer the Constitution and take refuge under copious sections and laws. It's a tad too late but we rightfully need to have some sessions on DUTIES. Duty to preserve peace of the society, Duty to uphold the unity of the country, Duty not to hurt the beliefs and religious sentiments of fellow citizens etc.

Hussain is now India's past. With him accepting Qatari citizenship and India not permitting an individual to hold two citizenship simultaneously, he has naturally lost his Indian Citizenship. He claims to have not lost his Indianness though. Whether he is still the same M F Hussain to Indians matter more than what he speaks for himself. We Indians have a rich tradition of respecting the aged and the old. He is 95 and we wish him a peaceful life ahead. One only hopes he doesn't 'express' much in Qatar, for we all know how 'liberal' are the Gulf countries.

Oh My Dear Holy Mother Forgive Hussain!

'Cult Culture' clash with 'Pub Culture'

India, as known to all has been a land of rich cultural heritage. We have countless religions, communities, languages, dialects, customs, festivals, Gods & Saints - all bundled in the 3.2 odd million sq. kms and spread across in 30+ States and UTs. Largely peaceful, but occasional differences leading to violence has also been the highlight of this diversity. Yet, it is a country that can be a guide to others on how to gel well with diverse customs.

But somehow of-late, 'attack on culture' bug has caught up big time with most of them. There are now hordes of saffron brigade opposing everything that has been the boon or bane of globalization and ends up with DAY. DAY is synonymous with 'bright' but this very DAY and the petty fights and debate associated with it looks to take us towards 'dark'. Call it irony or misfortune, but it is the reality currently.

Whats the solution for this nuance? May be we must tread the middle path and walk the tightrope. Afterall, every group in India has got the right to oppose or propose. Let all Days which entered during the 'Opening of the economy Day' be in intact. But let the reason for celebrating it be different. Possibly we can reschedule Valentine's Day, Fathers' Day, Mothers' Day, Friendship Day for the time being, review the scenario, and then move ahead accordingly. Some of the proposed solutions from my side are as follows (could also be opposed as I mentioned before)

1. Valentine's Day - May it be celebrated on the Day when Lord Sri Ram broke the Shiv Dhanush to earn Sita Mata at Janak Maharaj's court. The catch here is Shiv Sena could take offence since Lord Sri Ram broke SHIV Dhanush and not an ordinary dhanush. That can be resolved. Lord Sri Ram's ardent followers, BJP, will woo them. With the current political scenario in Maharashtra, they can afford to only stay united. We may also have to slightly alter this to Lovers' Day since St. Valentine doesn't come into picture here.

2. Father's Day - Bhishma Pitamaha in the Mahabharata on knowing that Satyavati's father doesn't want to give her hand to Shantanu (Bhishma's father) because, Bhishma would steal the chance of her son ascending the throne, Bhishma takes the oath to renounce the throne and also pledges to promise life long celibacy. The day on which Bhishma took this oath and sacrificed power and pleasure for his day can be celebrated as Father's Day.

3. Mother's Day - Kaikayee utilized the long pending wish to demand from Dasharath and asked him to send Lord Sri Ram into exile for 14 years so that her son Bharath could ascend the throne. On knowing this, Lord Sri Ram readily accepts it without any wrath or ill-feelings towards his mother, leaves to the forest. This day of great regards and respect towards a mother who wished evil for her son can be marked as Mother's Day.

4. Friendship Day - Sudhama makes it to Dwaraka to meet his childhood friend Lord Krishna. He doesn't forget to take a pack of beaten rice along with him which was Lord Krishna's favourite during their childhood days. Appalled at Lord Krishna's glory, Sudhama holds the beaten rice back and is ashamed to offer it. However, Lord Krishna spots it and forces Sudhama to give it to Lord Krishna. Surprisingly, Lord Krishna doesn't show any signs of his well-being and accepts the beaten rice with joy and hugs Sudhama for getting his favourite thing. This day when 2 friends, though financially opposite to each other showed great character and displayed true friendship can be celebrated as Friendship Day. The day when the mighty Hanuman brought an entire mountain on not finding the Sanjeevani, to save the life of Lakshamana can also be celebrated as Friendship Day.

The depth of relationships displayed by the aforesaid characters indeed have a meaning. It can move even the stone-hearted. By doing so, we don't take away the freedom of those who have embraced the entrants of globalization and also keep the conservatives happy. Those like me, who know that the various meaningless Days are just some commercial ventures for Archies, Papyrus, Expressions et al can read some better news rather than see abuse of relationship a day after the Day or read about the attacks on greeting card stores.

Now what do we do for those who want to celebrate My Beautiful Neighbour's Day, My English Teacher's Day, My Kaamwaali Baai's Day and the likes?

From 'Not Required Indians' to 'Now Required Indians' - NRIs bring opportunity galore.

Recently our PM Dr. Singh made a statement which might have brought joy and smiles on many a NRI faces. Some NRIs who normally have a lot to brag about the 'system' in India might take it as one more "So what?" The PM's optimism that the NRIs too will vote in (or from) 2014 elections, though did not become a talk of the town in India, did attract the attention of some ardent Indians settled abroad. The Indian diaspora is a very powerful lot. Be it in terms of intellect, power, wealth, bringing in changes etc. The statement of our PM which did not become a talk of the town is what I am focusing on this time.

The technicalities of their voting first of all needs to be worked out. Whether it is a postal vote or whether it is a e-voting (highly impossible for the next 50 years though) or will there be electoral booths will be set up where there are Indians residing. That too looks an uphill task. Amidst all these complications, I see an opportunity that has gone unnoticed.

Like MNCs have an India CEO or Head for South East Asia, political parties too will now have similar posts. There will be an USA CEO, UK CEO, UAE CEO etc. Like NASSCOM or ASSOCHAM, there will be NAPPY. NAPPY = 'National Asymmetry of Political Parties for You'.

If you thought only tecchies and Managers flew on foreign assignments abroad, you will be proved wrong soon. Local MLAs and MPs will be flying to Europe, America, Middle East as Project Managers. Grassroot level workers, ward Corporators will be herding abroad as 'Resource'.

The country's hiring spree will continue further it's upwardly trend. Now you will get calls or emails from job consultancies. 'Opening in a Political Organization. Present in 16 States. Now hiring for their new operations abroad'.

MBAs from IIMs and IFIMs of the nation will have an extended Industry to choose from the lot, the companies making it to their Institutes for placements. Summer Internship will be a smooth sailing since we have by-polls and ward-elections most times of the year. Budding Managers can gain hands on experience during these chhoTa-moTa elections.

There will be an upsurge for International Marketing courses. B Schools will no more highlight 'Free Laptops'. Instead it would be, "We conduct guest lectures from eminent industry people like Vajapayee, Advani, Mayavati, Buddhadeb, Tytler, Chidambaram".

In sync with IIIT, there would be specialized Institutes catering to studies and research in politics which will be incorporated in joint association by NAPPY and resepctive State Governments. IIMs would soon have sister concerns called IIPM - 'Indian Institute of Political Mis-management'.

This will also be a recession-proof industry since our netas are the most precious assets of the nation and elections are inevitable. No ups and down will be seen and all employees would have their jobs guaranteed.

So is the red-carpet for political parties ready at B Schools?? Are youngsters willing to take up jobs in the most 'dynamic' industry of the world???

DElight horror by Shobha DE

Nonagenarian and Former West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu is in a very critical condition in the Hospital. I personally do not have much hopes on his recovery. He is put on the ventilator for almost 2-3 days now and looks like the end is near.

But I was surprised 2 days back to see Shobha De tweeting that Jyoti Basu is no more. I logged into a couple of news websites but to my awe there was nothing mentioned about his death. His condition was still the same. I did take a screenshot of Shobha's Tweet. Have a look (Click the picture to enlarge it and read)


What a DElight horror from Shobha DE. Pathetic!

Nuisance filled New Year Celebration, sad and sadistic

It was New Year's eve and like millions of people, I too was overjoyed. The very idea of celebrating it on the most happening place of Bangalore i.e. Brigade Road had enthralled me all day. I had heard a lot about Hotel Imperial, which is famous for its Kabab and Ghee Rice and decided to make it to that place with a friend of mine, since it is economical compared to the lavish ones on that locality. Such hotels and eateries are always a respite for students and those in low earning jobs. We decided to jay-walk on Brigade Road upto M G Road and then come back and have dinner at the decided venue. This was at about 8PM and the street was jampacked with little space for air to wriggle. Me and my friend somehow managed to proceed further, me utterly cautious about my cellphone, wallet and my priced possession of 2009 - the digicam. The crowd which was mostly young was drunk, something not so unusual on Brigade Road, especially on a New Year's Eve. On our way towards M G Road was Rex Theater to our left and the poster of the much acclaimed '3 Idiots' grabbed my attention. In less than half a minute, me and my friend were at the ticket counter and soon we had 2 tickets for the movie. It was a 10:15PM show which meant we would be celebrating New Year inside a theatre. Very strange, last year I had celebrated it in Mangalore, riding from a New Year party at a residential locality to Mangalore Club. We moved upto M G Road and then came back to find TV 9 and Times Now news channel covering Brigade Road fun and frill LIVE. The scribe was interviewing few people and as the camera focused over the crowd, they went berserk, with arms stretched upto sky, jumping and dancing with joy.

So far so good. I was pleased to see the crowd and the enthusiasm they carried. Old and young, men and women, youngsters and kids - all were out on streets. Me and my friend made it to Hotel Imperial where we ordered the much talked about Chicken Kabab, Chilly Kabab for starters. It was indeed worth the hype. We concluded with Ghee Rice and started to Rex Theatre straightaway. It was about 9.30PM and things weren't anything different than what we saw an hour ago. I set the reminder to wish my friend Ganesh at 12 in the midnight, whose birthday falls on January 1st. We were now in the theatre, the seating of which did not please me in any way. Perhaps we are so accustomed to watch movies in the multiplexes that we forget this is where we started watching movies from. Behind us was a young couple, in the corner 2 seats of the last row. Ahhem...! The movie began and as Aamir Khan was shown for the first time on screen, the young crowd welcomed with a huge roar, something which goes to show the fame of Aamir Khan in Bollywood. The movie hadn't been through the first 15 minutes and I started getting a call from an unknown number, the code which confirmed it to be an ISD call. I did not receive but soon I got a call from the same number. Fortunes can come anytime, any-day, anywhere. Bearing this in mind, I decided to answer the call and moved out of the theater. To my surprise, it was an elderly gentleman from Kazakhstan, with whom I had developed friendship through a debate forum. I couldn't speak much though, the anxiety of making it back to the theater and also the surprise call from him had caught upon me big time. I then made it back to the theater and continued with the movie. The curiosity of turning back to watch those couple was playing with me, somehow I resisted myself :-)


By 1:15PM the movie was over. I had sent an SMS to my friend wishing him for New Year and his Birthday. It's economical if your friends celebrate their anniversaries on New Year Day, Independence Day, Diwali, Christmas et al. You can use only one call or SMS to wish them on both occasions. I called my friend up and wished him and exchanged a pleasantries as I came out of the theatre. Well... now starts the description of what I wanted to convey through this piece of write-up. Unruly mob welcomed us out of the theatre premises. People were coming upto us and wishing us Happy New Year by way of howling as if this was the last New Year on the planet. Some even contemplated hugging, showing you how much they love you this New Year though they might not even be your distant relatives or aliens. The 'spirit' of New Year had sunk in them and was clearly visible in their behaviour and attitude. Those with their family had a tough time in safeguarding their wives and daughters and other female members of the family. Needless to say that most of the unruly crowd was that of youngsters. Riding and driving was in a 'harrakirri'. Pillion riders managed to stand on the seat and those in the cars had thrown half their body into open air, causing inconvenience to other traffic lane and rules followers. There was a traffic block near Eva Mall and what I saw there was something which I never imagined. A girl who was in her mini-skirt with a guy on his bike became the point of 'contact' for many a ruthless drunkards. People went upto her (and many a girls like her) and deliberately made contact, some even going to the extent of touching thighs, chest and back. There were some who had gathered outside pubs and bars. Later my friend told me that they were waiting for the girls to come out of those places, so that they can establish 'contact' with those girls as well. I almost got hold of a 12-13 year old lad who established 'contact' with a girl's chest who was in an auto, looking for change in her purse or bargaining with the auto-driver for fare. I was fortunate enough not to hold that lad and create a scene, else, I myself would have had to face the brunt of his like-minded 'god(dammned)fathers'. The mob outnumbered the police who did resort to 'lathi-charge' but all in vain. When the police were closing down the shops at about 2AM, several people bought soft-drinks, cigarettes, gutkas, water and fled the place without paying, taking advantage of the hurrying police. Some malls and buildings had arranged for protective nets for their entire edifice to avoid damage by way of stone pelting which gives fun and joy to some animals of Bangalore. We both witnessed this by jay-walking on the footpaths for almost an hour after the movie. But that could have been fatal as drunk & drive was happening even on footpaths. 0.5 stars out of 5 for law & order, though the cops were ruthless on troublemakers.

I only hope from next New Year nowhere including Bangalore are such celebrations witnessed. Brigade Road and M G Road are indeed heaven and there is nothing that you don't get on these streets. But on New Year eve stay away from these places, especially if you are a lone man with the female members of your family or with your girl friend or female colleagues. Be in large groups, preferably in cars (chances of stone pelting are still bright). Avoid pubs and make it to some family restaurants where there is good music and some games. Sooner you are at home, better it is for you. You can have all fun along with safety. No one will come to your rescue as everyone is concerned with their own safety. Last night I realized that Bangalore has a long way to go before calling itself a dignified and sophisticated city and we are no better than the lawless people of certain underdeveloped states. Shame on the IT Capital of India.

Wishing all my friends and readers a Very Happy and a Prosperous New Year. Have a fantastic 2010 with your family. Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.