Mobiesta: The future is here

the article mentions me as the spokesperson of my company. it had appeared in the Pioneer Newspaper in 2010. well, it won me the guilt free pass from my mom. i cud be irresponsible for a while.

What's cooking in Delhi?

Of all the businesses in Delhi, one which would never die out is that of food. The other competitor is the real estate of course. Food however is something the Delhites would never compromise with. The delicious victuals we find here have become a Part of Delhi’s rich culture.

I have often wondered what has Delhi got what we don’t find elsewhere? One of my random trips to the JNU took me to Mamu’s Dhaba. It’s a beautiful open air Dhaba in the midst of JNU’s beautiful environs. Mamu answered to my query in his typical poetic self. He in his extravagant Urdu (which I can’t recollect much of) said that any cuisine is a combination of subtle tastes. The flavours added are as varied as the climate and as exotic as the people of Delhi. Fragrant spices, pungent and warm spices are blended in different proportions for the dishes. Delhi being a melting pot has absorbed the best from every cuisine that came its way. The people here find an ease in indulging in food from their restless life.

From age-old eateries in the bylanes of the Walled City to glitzy, specialty restaurants in five-star hotels, Delhi is a moveable feast. It offers a choice of Indian and international cuisine's in different ambiences to suit varied budgets. Delhi's vendor stalls offer all sorts of food, ranging from deep-fried tikkis to fresh fruits chats. One just can’t say no to a tempting choice of Papri Chat, Gol-gappas, Raj Kachori, Kulfi Faluda etc which are on offer in the market. Furthermore, there is always a local restaurant where one can try the curries or thalis. The innumerable Chinese food outlets of the meals-on-wheels kind can gauge the popularity of this cuisine. Also, Delhi is synonymous with the omnipresent tandoor. Tandoori chicken, Chicken Tikka, Boti Kabab, tandoori roti all freshly drawn out from the tandoor, make the mouth go watering.

Delhi's restaurant landscape has always been changing since the time of Kareem’s and Moti Mahal. Numerous restaurants open up every month. Globalisation (thanks to Friedman and outsourcing) has led to the mushroom growth of Italian, Thai and International cuisine restaurants, much to the relief of the big diplomatic crowd. No wonder Delhi has also become the restaurant capital with foodies like us hovering all around.

it's a beautiful world out there.....

Meeting Jason... and knowing Edward Bernays

Deep blue eyes... excitement in his grin...smile so innocent... and a V-shaped body for a 35+ man... It was inspiring to meet Jason.. Thanks to NTK again. Well, Jason introduced me to the Great Edward Bernays (The Father of PR). I have through the night read about him and am in complete awe of him. To begin with, he was the nephew of Dear Uncle Freud!

Edward Bernays was one of the first people to expand what had been a narrow concept of press agentry seeking to influence and change public opinion and behavior. He helped shape public relations by favoring the use of endorsements from opinion leaders, celebrities, doctors and other "experts" to strengthen his clients arguments. In addition, he favored surveys, releasing the results of experiments and polls to make a better case for his clients' positions and products.

Culture saw a big change when Edward Bernays pulled off a major public relations coup called the "Torches of Freedom" march, promoting women's right to smoke in public. About a dozen society women dressed as suffragettes marched in the 5th Avenue Easter Parade, smoking openly while it was still illegal in New York and other cities.

I have always believed that Public Relations potentially holds immense Power. And I seek backing in Edward Bernays' book Propoganda which opens up with the following lines: "THE conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society." It is not surprising to note that he is refered to be the one 'who orchestrated the commercialization of a culture' by his critics.

In the year 1920, Edward Bernays first used application of psychoanalytical techniques on the masses for advertising and asked a simple question, “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group-mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?”

We are not at all aware but in the 1950s, some of Edward Bernays' ideas and vision helped in creating our country as a Democratic Republic by having the Indian National Congress of India adapt a Bill of Rights. Freedom of the Press, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Assembly, and Freedom of Petition were added to the Constitution of India.

Bernays defined the profession of "counsel on public relations" as a "practicing social scientist". However his Propoganda did not make him win many friends; he was called a professional poisoner by his envious enemies. Along with this, the 2002 BBC documentary The Century of the Self describes him as "undemocratic", which if given a thought to seems inclined towards rationality.

Notwithstanding these, the point which I drive home is what Edward Bernays said in an interview when he turned 100, "if this (PR) could be used for war, it can be used for peace."

How many roads must a man....

How many roads must a man walk down before he finds him a job...

How many cvs must a fresh bird file before he has a job in his hand.

And how many times must the naggings and sympathies fly before they're forever banned
The efforts my friend are blowin' in the wind, the smiles is blowin' in the wind...

I was adamant and arrogant. I knew that they didn’t know I exist. I just have to reach them and let them know, I told myself. And I posted my resumes to them. I knew I was made for ‘my kind of job’ and not the hackneyed careers that my counterparts would choose.

I realized its not working, maybe my resume needs some changes. One draft, two draft , three draft four!

I had to compromise on my dream. Yet, my optimistic self made me remember Kenny Rogers’ “little boy in a base ball hat stands in the field with his ball and bat. Says i am the greatest that is a fact, but even i didn't know, i could pitch like that.

Pitch I could, had there been a field. They blame the recession. I wouldn’t buy that.
Creativity won’t lose its value, even in recession.

If the industry can set aside its paranoia, what rational judgments can it make about the effects of the economic downturn? For a short term, clients will trim their adspends. They always do when economic gloom threatens and they always will. But such cutbacks are always cyclical. The bigger concern always is the agencies' collective bargaining power with clients. Every time the economy tumbles down, client-procurement specialists demand more bang for their bucks. These demands look set to become ever more ruthless, further jeopardising agencies' ability to service accounts effectively. This is where is the NEED for people like us!! It's not that the clients stop spending. They'll continue spending so long as they can be convinced that measured responses to their advertising are accurate.

Now having done all, my bit that is, i wait as i sing............

"O listen... Jus how many roads must a man walk down before he finds him a job..."

Pacifying the Photographer(s)

I was randomly going through my photo albums and i thought there are many pictures very meaningful lying solitary. I am sharing them here for the enthusiasts, the friends and the satisfaction of the photographer in me.

"Six feet under"

"It's Kaali's day today"

"Li'l Foodie"

"the Banana Song"

"A housewife in the shoes of an artist"

"The Bride, my Sister"

"Dino, on the mountain"

"My friend in Kullu"

"God's Day Out"

"Now, isn't He whimsical?"

"My friend at JNU"

"Brilliant Beautiful Colours of God"

"Getting ready for life, my niece"

"Thodi si zameen, Thoda asmaan"

"Rays of a Dawn"

"Bustling Life: At a standstill"

"Ek tha Tushy"

"the Gigantic Himalayas"

I called this one "the cognizant".

Michael Jackson, MJ

Dearest MJ,

Its still a shock to me that you are no longer with us on earth.

Its not been long that i wrote to you.

(http://uditjoshiblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/we-do-really-care-about-you.html)

I am sorry if I ever hurt you with it, it was only my concern.

And now, you are no longer there...

I have nothing to say, but that we love you.

God Bless You. And may you forever in every birth create the music that you did.

Loved you and Love you,

UJ

Screw sLoWdOwN: Let's Get It Started!!

"When we were young kids growing up in America ,

we were told to eat our vegetables at dinner and not leave them.

Mothers said, think of the starving children in IndiaAnd finish the dinner.'

And now I tell my children:'Finish your homework.

Think of the children in India who would make you starve, if you don't?'

No wonder that the Friedman bloke is scared. He knows how the Indians are fighting the Slowdown with doing even more challenging stuff. They are Starting up! and what startups! my friend's have come up with YoHelp a killer for the Americans.

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Afterglow

The wait at the station, the anticipation,
the excitement... of a journey in train.
Those sundry chats with no beginning and no end,
the sharing of the candies and the frills,
the jokes on each other and friends,
the exaggerated mimicry of how each other walks..

The holding on to the feet,
the softness of the curves of the toes...
the warmth of being inside the same quilt.
The coaxing each other to go to sleep,
the sitting beside each other and gazing,
out through the window in the dark.
The deepest affection that makes you pat,
and caress the hair,
hold hands the longest times...

The fatherly pampering that follows
soon after getting up from the sleep.
sipping the tea and see the sun rise behind the mountains...

The preparation to leave the train,

only when you wanted the journey to go on..

the togetherness at the new-small station,

how one helps pull each other together.

The love that grows,the petite memories,

the remembrances seeked,

And holding on to the afterglow...

my cats... Cafeine and Nicotine...

i have today adopted two cats and kept their names Caffeine and Nicotine. I have no reasons to state as to why i gave them such names. Its neither my liking for the words, nor my detest or their utility to me for that matter.

I somehow liked the names when put together. Calling two cats by these names gives me a bizzare 'kick'. whatever the case maybe, i now have two loving cats to play with during a writer's block.
:-)

Contemplation...

Is it Indulgence or Surrender?