It's time to protect "Brand India"

I still live in this belief that we are living in a democratic nation, where some nice to read terms like equality, freedom, human rights, law etc., exists in a lovely bound document written over six decades ago, by some wise old men called "constitution". Though there are  many reasons to convince myself, that the belief is nothing but hallucination and what we have is a flawed, depleted,  poor distant cousin of what it should have been termed as democracy, But I am yet to come in complete terms with that. That reasons my sporadic outbursts and meaningless musings, like this.

We all know that civil rights, freedom and liberty are wrested by a powerful few, and rest just manage to float around or rather float for them.  But still a few good things tend to filter down to the common man (probably the left over after the use and abuse of the powerful and mighty). Again I also have this hallucination (perhaps because getting used to seeing the tax deductions on the salary slip month after month)  that there is something called national resources, where every citizen of this country have equal rights on (which we call public property) and name of the nation (India - which itself was a gift from Persian invaders like the term Hindu), is one among them.  In that line of thought, representing the country in any international fora should or rather must rest with democratically elected civil bodies (what we call government). Which means that the nation cannot be represented by a any private individual  or group of individuals or clubs that are neither authorized by the government/civil bodies  nor a part of the democratic institution.  Logic says any individual or group of Individual who are representing (or supposed to be representing) the nation should be at least controlled by the government and accountable to every citizen of the nation.

Now apply this logic about the Cricket Goliath, BCCI. They themselves have declared that they are an independent entity, a society which is registered under the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act. and the Government of India or any democratically elected civil bodies have no control over the administration of BCCI. And they are using government owned stadia  across the country at a nominal annual rent. They are a "private club consortium", that enjoy tax sops time and again, with a notion that they represent country India.  But above all they get the right to use/abuse the brand name "India" absolutely free. When their team looses in a bilateral series, the media across the world beams headlines - India bites dust, India beaten, India defeated... whatever. And the responsibility or shame of loss is comfortably passed across to the country and the people. While BCCI stays completely unaccountable and above every law of land. I know they have bottomless coffers to keep the mouth shut of even powerful imperial powers these days. They sell the brand name India for corporates and exploit the brand India commercially and restricting the benefits out of it within themselves. and India becomes Sahara India, or Nike India or whatever...  I think it's time for us to get united to fix this. I don't think it's in any means different from encroaching public space, or misusing public property. Not sure how can proceed though. It's high time that we should join forces to protect the misusse/abuse of brand India for commercial exploitation, on which every Indian citizen has absolute rights. Why don't they send their team in the name of BCCI.. not India. May be they can employ the best lawyers in the country and may counter legally,... but still there should be the people power that can ultimately reign, over all else.

Stars chasing records, let teams to loose

By the time I have completed writing this piece, it would already have become the sixth straight overseas test loss for team BCCI. Not so long ago they were staking claim for the world no.1 test team title.... One can talk about the uncertainties of the game endlessly, but to me this loss was absolutely predictable. As every one would admit, a five day match is real cricket, and the limited over matches are it's entertainment versions. It needs an overseas test series to determine, how good you are, as a pack of cricketers. And we have to admit that this bunch of cricketers are awfully short of being there. Even while considering the "manufactured win" against West Indians they are mediocre as the bunch. (some occasional individual exploits not withstanding)

 "Manufactured win?"... many of you may have doubts.. No it's not about fixing the matches... but  about doctoring the environmental factors to favor the hosts.  No one would disagree if i say the current Windies team will sweat a lot, to beat Boyc;s mom at her kitchen garden track. They are indeed a pale patch of the much feared predecessors, and that too without Chris Gayle. Still we struggled, puffed and panted to secure lead and seal the series... every test could have swung either way even In those environment that is tailored for you to win. If you struggle to succeed at those doctored pitches., how better the expectations could be when you venture out on hostile waters.... against a much tougher opponents.

In this country each and every man on the street, consider themselves as an expert and be always fit for the shoes of Duncan Fletcher. They will demand him to deliver win after win after win.. nothing else. It's no fun to be in that shoes. It needs oodles of luck along with the desired skills to succeed as coach for the team BCCI.  Being said that, I would reiterate Duncan Fletcher had been an absolute and colossal failure. He took charge of the team on it's crescendo, and it was mere maintenance that required for some period of time. But still...

One has to admit, we had an interesting bunch of talents around in the team (a great concoction of experience with freshness). Man to man, each one of them can match with any of their counterparts from other test playing nations. Also they have the best reigning captain in the world now. Still we are loosing terribly, match after match while travelling. The fact is that it's not on the talent front we loose, it's in the application that we fail. That is a problem that could not be tackled by the player himself... they need guidance and support from tacticians and management.  Take the case of Ishant Sharma..When was the last time he took more than two wickets in an inning?  He has been sleep walking so far series after series, without any success. He may be plain unlucky not getting enough wickets even after bowling well (?)..But taking wickets is the only thing that matters, in test cricket. So any exceptional bowling performance is useless if you don't have wickets to show.  I am not sure, if he is getting any support in orienting himself towards conversion. It is the case if he is not succeeding even after supported... then what is the point is continuing with him...I don't think the problem lies, when they get unsure about performing their designated roles, as the situation demand. Sehwag remains Sehwag all the time... likewise everyone... they all are considered as individual stars, not the one's who had to perform together towards a solitary team goal.

Again it's very easy to sit in an armchair and criticize post facto. But always better to aware of the situation and be better prepared. Sooner or later they are going to get hit by a tonne of bricks, when they can only see empty stands (as Rahul Dravid has already expressed  his concern) across the country, and waning resources sponsors let out filling their coffers.

And finally it seems they are getting it right....

When Tata Motors launched its so called "sub-one lakh" car - Nano, with so much of hype,  not too many expected a quick descent. But within an year post launch, market witnessed a gradual waning of demand, which was steadily doing justice to the nomenclature (nano), while compared to the mammoth expectations and projections. Though it's too early to write off such a path breaking offering, but cracks in the strategy and execution from the marketers side were evident to anybody who had been watching from outside.

To point out a singular reason for the slow down, I have nothing other than the gross under-estimation of the Indian customer by the brand. Whatever said and done, you cannot look down to the customer whom you would want to loosen their purse strings for your brand. But Nano did that... May not be intentional, but the initial communications from the brand conveyed the following perceptions to the intended customers.

a) Indian lower middle class families are suffering without a car and they would be just fine with box and four wheels for peanuts that they could spare. 

b) Tata Motors is doing a great favour to society by providing them a "cheap" car.

c) I am picking up a Nano because I cant afford a "better"one. 

May be the agency got communications speak in different language, the essence of every messaging was invariably around  the above three points. But then what was the reality?

Even if you have coughed up the money required to pick up the Nano, by stretching your family budget quite a bit, do you like to be seen as somebody who settle for a "cheap car" because you cant afford a better one?. A good second hand car was available - for much cheaper. 

Again, it was never a one lakh car, as most of us perceive. You have to shell out almost double of that  money to own one with fairly decent specs. So  for the people who gets turned on just with the "one lakh price tag", it became a terrible let down. So "the break through to fulfill a social obligation" has become nothing but just another corporate crap planted by the PR machine. Again, the quality... the reports were not as rosy as it intended to be. In short, the so called sure fire winning formula turned to a sour concoction in no time. I believe the marketers (who could be as usual a self-indulgent lot) may have only realized this when the dust settled.

Better late than never. The last quarter of 2011, showed a remarkable change in the outlook - especially from the packaging and communication. From a "cheap car" to a "young and peppy" avatar.. it's quite a positive transformation of all sorts. The marketers are doing a fabulous job in giving the little one a badly needed makeover. The cosmetic corrections on the product may also have connected in bringing it back into the consideration set... perhaps well in time. Hope what is under the hood have also got improved by gauging the pulse. I am sure the numbers are going to substantiate this as 2012 catches up.... I presume the launch of "autorikshaw with the fourth wheel" -  from Bajaj motors will also help to gather a better public opinion. 

The Lokpal Hullabaloo

The old man gearing up for his second round of the Great Lokpal Show, promising more fodder to the sensation peddlers who are otherwise called "News Channels", from tomorrow. There are for sure some attrition in the follower fraternity and a significant reduction on the levels of  enthusiasm displayed by the  pop activists in the past. It may take some extra efforts from his image managers to bring back the vigor and sheen that brought the likes of Kapil Sibal down to their knees.

Anyway it appears to me, wrongly timed to kickstart the agitation now, while the houses are discussing on the very matter on their floors.  May be a hogwash, but still we must provide them some time and space right away to demonstrate, their true commitments. This indiscreet display of impatience can only result in more disillusionment among the people, who otherwise support him and the noble cause. It is a known fact that most of the political establishment we have, are hotbeds of corruption and there are hardly a few who wanted to change it for good. But still we are a unique nation which is standing upon a strong fabric of democracy, which is threatened with this extra constitutional agitation. I don't think any sensible citizen would have a different opinion about the need of inducing accountability to the governing bodies and ensuring their commitment towards people. But the ways and means are questionable. Let it not degenerate to a mere petty political war, which will ultimately shatter the common man's hopes and expectations.

I feel he should have used the golden opportunity of UP elections to prove the point and push the envelope than  going ahead and locking horns again for another round of "all excitement no action" drama. A sensible group of advisers should have got him to think and focus on the forthcoming UP elections, to prove the point staying within the ambit of democracy. They should have started engaging right away, to identify candidates with clean background and promising credentials, field them, and show the establishment that people power can prevail and make the difference. It would have provided tremendous credence to his campaign than any "dramabaazi" on Mumbai or Delhi. May be a move in those lines could have also alerted the current crop of political parties to be careful to field better candidates which would have resulted a transformed poll scape.

Another ironic fact I have noticed is that there is a significant chunk of the vocal followers of this campaign belongs to the upper-middle class families who are among the biggest beneficiaries of the corruption in the system. Some of them are second generation of corrupt beurocrats and businessmen who abused the system and amassed wealth, to offer their offspring, high quality education and lifestyle that provided cushion in their  life to be a cyber warrior  fighting "facebook activism". Anyway one can ignore the irony, thinking that there should be a point where you need to draw a line and make the difference. Hope good sense prevails. 

Rawalpindi Loose Canon and Eternally Returning Retiree

An appeal to the folks down there – It has been over a week since Mr. Rawalpindi loose canon released his toilet paper throwing dirt against one of the most respected Icons of World Cricket… And the sole reason behind such malicious outburst is to extract money from our own pocket by kicking our sentiments.  As a firm believer of freedom of speech, I am against any ban or below the belt tactics exercised even if the concerned party deserves more than that. Now that his soul mate and partner in crime Mr. Eternal Retirement Returnee has joined the fray and started throwing more dirt, and our gentleman cricketers will hardly stoop down to their level, it has become our responsibility to provide befitting response to such creeps. We all should refrain ourselves from shelling money from our pocket by buying copies of his toilet paper,  at any cost, so that he atleast don’t get rewarded from the share of money taken from our country to splurge on nightclubs and his post retirement activities. If anybody feels so itching to read out what that scum bag had written, try to grab the pirated copies, which may soon come to the pavements, so that he hardly gets his share. … Let the huge number of copies printed by the publisher get rotten in the bookshelves, so that no other intended followers should get inspired into such third rate publicity grabbing measures and get rewarded with . … please spread this message across the cyber space and enjoy the attached video…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPP89axrP7k&feature=fvwrel 

How once again we got exploited… but this time we claim victory

As I write this piece, the verdict is out- MNIK is indeed running successfully, in the glory of being one of the rare occasions in this nation were the middle class could claim a “so called” victory against the goons who disrupted the harmony and peace. As a citizen of a free democracy I always valued the freedom of expression, and had been extremely conscious of respecting the right of fellow citizens in expressing the same. I don’t subscribe to the views of the fundamentalist extra constitutional authorities who pop up issuing threats and statements that rupture the fabric of harmony and peace. And am happy to see the nation rallying around to condemn and defeat the fascist brand of hate politics.. But being said that, when I have logically analyzed the sequence of events, what came out glaring is the way the cunning and intelligent “superstar”, ruthlessly manipulated the stupid and superfluous “pop activists” belonging to Indian middle class, to further his commercial interests, and amass wealth. Looking at it from a neutral perspective, one can clearly feel, this was the second shot by the “megalomaniac” to create a controversy to gain eyeballs and create mindshare for his flick. While his first attempt to promote the flick by crying wolf at JFK has fallen flat, when the US machinery exposed the agenda, he fired the second salvo… And bingo, it hit the bull’s eye. The whole nation, media, and government machinery worked overnight to give him precious million dollar promo blitz which he couldn’t have dreamt off spending his life time earnings..

Fist of all analyzing the very premise… supporting the cause of “Pakistani” players who has been avoided from the IPL auction, once could make out, the lack of sincerity and the true intend behind it… If he had some intellectual honesty, he should explain, why he himself has not included any Pakistan player in his team. He has all the right and might to pull it out. Being failed to do so, what is the point in expressing his opinion, which has got not even a single iota of sincerity in it. It’s nothing but a pure commercial ploy. Now going about the sequence of events, the moment, the stupid “tiger” started “meowing” (oops roaring), the badshah went hiding in an overseas safe heaven… and monitored the buzz. The spineless machinery has played into his hands by playing along. And every stupid politician and public showed their shameless display of “pop patriotism” by expressing their “solidarity” towards his “flick”. The film makers raised the ante, by jacking up the ticket rates, basking in the glory of “free publicity”.. Government, though failed to secure the lives of dying common man, has provided fortress kind of security to his “Mannat” and money. And the so called netizens, who has not even raised a word against the soaring price index has rallied around creating blogs, clogging the discussion forums, and shouting at prime time… to create one of the biggest ever opening for a Bollywood movie. The “living room activists” who don’t even spare a dime for the hungry and needy, was shelling hundreds to get the movie ticket first day first show…. And the useless “news creators” ensured high decibel drama through out the week… If you see the sequence, the brave badshah has also issued a wielded apology (from which he conveniently backtracked soon after he realized the publicity power and weakness of the depleted opposition) the moment the first shows were cancelled in Mumbai. And we the so called educated, progressive, hypocrites, stupidly walked into the trap and helped him to amass wealth and fortify his imagery of “Bad - shah Khan”… Shame on us, to call this drama as the “expression of patriotism”…. It’s everything shamelessly commercial and nothing patriotic about it.


Tailpiece: Another title that he gained by supporting the “Pakistani” gamblers was the “messiah of minorities”.. Just look into the Times of India today and see the half page ad, where his pet knights and he himself adorning the logo of a brand promoted by someone who is associated with a heinous crime committed against minorities… picture perfect.

Racism – home and abroad

We have witnessed a spate of incidents classified as racial abuse against Indians, in Australia – which was amply exploited by media and Bollywood to boil the blood of urban Indian, whose only exposure of life is confined to the idiot box. The war cries from so called “elite socialites” and “political activists” to give a befitting reply to the “ugly Australian racial abuser” taken over the prime time news and banner headlines….. In this society of snobs – the issue will become an issue only if it happens to the “upper strata” of the society… No one really cares on the abuses that are happening in the lives of common Indian, day in and day out. No one bothers to worry about lacs and lacs of Indian citizens, in offices, homes, street, and every corner of life, subjected to every kind of torture (mental or physical)… be it your maid, your kid, your gardener, chauffer, sister, mother, or grand father…. If you belong to certain community – you won’t get a house in a locality, one will not consume even a droplet of water from a person belonging to other community, a dalit will get killed if he happen to fall in love with an upper class girl, your homes will get burnt and you get beaten up if you question the masters…. Can anybody imagine the amount of abuses one has to suffer, just because of being born as a girl…

If the sex is determined before birth – she may not see the world (which in one way is much better than living the whole life being a subject of torture).. after birth, right from being the bearer of blames for every misfortune that would have happened to the family, to being a daughter, sister, mother, widow, colleague…. Attacking poor taxi drivers or labourers, just because they come from some other state, speaking another language… Isn’t that an abuse? It’s quite ironic that same stalwarts who order these atrocities are making war cry against Australia… Let me sum up this way… All these happenings will never justify the racist attacks happen anywhere in the world.. The only thing is that we should also pay attention to set our house in order before crying wolf…