30th November

The first stepping stone faltered. I fell down and hurt myself a little. But I am glad the step which I was holding onto was only the first one. It would have hurt a lot more if the step was somewhere in the middle of the climb. People who started with me have managed to climb ahead and I’ll have to start the climb afresh. I’ll miss my fellow climbers who were there with me. They were always there to make it easier. They were there to help me out. But no worries, I’ll find new fellow climbers and new steps. Eventually I have to leave them all and reach to the top alone, right? ;)

The Close-up man!

A small music studio on a 21st floor on a high rise building is cluttered with guitars, computers, music cds, and a couch. Tapas Relia, the music composer of kya aap close-up karte hai who uses this studio for a living is a very simple and a soft spoken man. He patiently showed my cameraman and me the studio so we could figure out the right frame to shoot his interview. As the interview unfolded, an interesting story emerged.

About six years back when Relia was approached to make the jingle, he was just a scratch melody maker. “It all started when I got a call from Ronnit Desai, a popular radio producer in our industry. And he said that there were three close up ads that had to be done,” he recalled. However on the ‘big break’ day, Tapas reached the studio almost an hour late which left him hardly anytime to work on the ads. And when he came down to the last ad which had the kya aap close-up karte hai lyrics, he was appalled. “I said this is not right, it doesn’t make sense!” Relia said. He made the jingle in just about 20 minutes before the singer arrived in the studio to practice the melody.

After the singer tried many funny styles of singing, he experimented with the K. L. Saigal’s nasal style. Relia recalled, “We turned around and said yeah that’s it. Its funny, it’s new and nobody has every attempted it.” But it didn’t go as per plan. The jingle got stuck with research and got turned down by HUL, close-up’s parent company. Only after a lot of convincing by Prasoon and Piyush Pandey, was the jingle allowed shooting.

But the lesser known secret of the jingle is that it was never re-recorded for the final advertisement. The jingle that we all heard on television and loved was the same one which was recorded on the first day of practicing. The same scratch track for which the music was made in 20 minutes. “We were so paranoid about and superstitious we became, we might not get it right if we re-record. So the sound track in the film today is scratch that we did in the first day on scratch recording,” Relia shared.

And then life changed for Tapas Relia; from being a scratch music composer to a full fledged music composer. “People started recognizing me with the jingle. They started calling me the close-up man,” he smiled. Today, Relia has several popular advertisements to his credit. Dominoes, Lays, Clinic plus are the few brand names he has produced music for. Apart from jingles, he has worked on the animation movie, Hanuman and its sequel.

Happens…

It feels strange… very strange. Maybe it was always was suppose to be like this. But seeing it happen was not the happiest thing. But can’t control and don’t even want to control every event of life. Let things shape up for itself. Life moves on and moving with it is the best that can be done. Trying to modify and change it will only bring more pain. Happens!

Sundays

It is the only day in the week when you are allowed to feel sleepy and still not open your eyes at ten in the morning. You can just lie back on your bed and look outside at the bright blue sky and the rising sun.

Lazing around in the house in your crumpled clothes and watching n number of F.R.I.E.N.D.S episodes and enjoying every bit of it. Wasting time is also a perfect Sunday activity. The day also makes the tedious task of cleaning up drawers and wardrobe quite enjoyable. Finishing unfinished books and chatting with your neighbours.

Sunday is also about catching up with long lost siblings and college friends. It is about reminiscing those old days and fondly reliving the memories. This day of the week makes you feel at peace and still feel alive…

Getting set to click away!

A whole new world is going to be formed. The way to look at the world to going to change. It will now be in frames and the people will turn into objects to be photographed. I welcome my new Sony digital camera into my life and also introduce myself to photography. Happy clicking away!

Cracking a deal with God

How are you? How have you been? Mine was crappy… I tracked a crappy story for the whole day. I dint even get time to have to have lunch. But guess what? It was dropped at the end moment. Don’t know whether to be happy, sad or frustrated! Anyways, you tell me, how was your day? How many million almost impossible sorts of requests in form of prayers did you receive today? I am sure a lot of them must have come from my end.

But what to do yaar! You know what I really want. Please come on now fulfill it this small request and I promise to be quite for one whole week. That’s a good deal. Acha okay two weeks… now that’s a deal to be grabbed! ;) Look at it this way… I’ll be happy with the gift from you and you’ll be happy with my gift... two weeks of complete silence.:)

Irony!

In a purple sleeveless dress, Ms. XYZ stood feeding a stray dog on Mahalaxmi station. She must have been in her late forties. The dog however wasn’t looking very interested in the biscuits. She had to keep going back to him to coax him to finish the food on the floor. When I asked about this strange behavior of the dog she said, “Must not be in a mood… I feed him everyday, he knows me.” Seeing an amazed expression on my face, she continued her saga. She told me that she feeds almost 50 to 70 dogs daily. “I love animals, I have a dog and nine love birds at my home. They are in a big cage!” she proudly asserted. The nine love birds’ statement left me with an unsettled feeling. But she defended herself by saying, “they won’t fly away even if I free them, they love me.” Not very convinced with her defense though, I just let the conversation end there and not let it spiral into a worthless argument.

Dream on...

Dreams give you the courage to take risks when the odds are daunting
Dreams tell you to go ahead when everyone else is pulling you back
Dreams become your strength when everything else fails
Dreams give you the hope when the future looks bleak
Dreams make you look beyond the obvious
Dreams make you do the impossible
Dreams make life worth living
Dream on…

The petite teacher!

She is a short girl with long hair. There is always a twinkle in her eyes and a mischievous smile on her face. She speaks at a speed of maybe 10 words a second. It’s over before you even comprehend it. The thing that excites her the most is studies! Heaven knows why? She loves teaching and it actually doesn’t matter whether the ‘student’ wants to be taught or not. She’ll teach anyway.

More the notes she has to study and teach from, more life is beautiful for her. She’ll flip through them with concentration and mark out what can be studied and taught first. Then she’ll make a plan on how the process of ‘knowledge imparting’ can be taken forward. Five morons are staring at her clueless, not sure how they are going to pass the exam next day.

And then it all begins…Notes, formulas, accounts, shouting, screeching, and obviously lot of food! But at the end of the day, everyone is full with facts and figures to crack the exam next day. All thanks to the petite teacher who managed really difficult to manage Mithibai BMS students.

Gazab!

Comparing a film like to this to Andaaz Apna Apna is outrageous. Andaz Apna Apna had interesting characters, a story and humour to it. Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani was seriously bizarre. No story line, no direction and no acting. It didn’t have any meaning or direction it. Characters were clichéd and the humour was forced. Ranbir and Katrina other than concentrating on their clothes need to do something about their acting too. The only thing worth in the movie was the songs. The movie had nothing more to it, absolutely nothing. It just went on and on and chewed my brain for some two and half hours.

The day that isn’t…

Work on Saturdays should be banned. And the arguments in the case are: The office bears a dead look. Disgruntled employees don’t make for a very productive day. Only the rundown for the weekend is prepared. Movies to watch and places to visit is the topic of brainstorming. And obviously editors and cameramen look at you with scorn if you loiter even at a distance of 10 feet from them. The day just passes away without much ado. So to sum it up, it is a waste of human resource, a waste of time, a waste of electricity and a waste of a good morning's sleep. I rest my case with this. Any counter arguments?

Step by step towards it

I have made up my mind. And I am not going to change it. It hasn’t been an easy decision but it is the only way to go. I don’t know what lies ahead but I certainly know I don’t want what I am leaving behind. Ambiguity of a destination is better than certainty of a dead end. The road ahead is full of uncertainties but it will lead to somewhere someday. I am sure it will. I am taking it.

Getting clicked!

Once the camera starts rolling, the grumpiest of faces break into a smile. The laziest of creatures with full vigor start flexing their bodies into weird poses. And the shyer ones of the lot turn red but still manage a sweet smile. Such is the power of photography.

This is what I realized on my recent visit to Khandala. No matter how much you hate your boss, you are always ready to be clicked with him/her. The fake love and affection is sudden. On the bus, in the grass, beside the lake, with the ruins… just everywhere. The moment someone says, ‘hey! I am taking a pic; you’d see people rush in front of the camera. The expressions ranges from a nervous smile to the roaring laughter; from the sane standing to the crazy pushing and pulling; from the contemplative looks to ‘dil chachta hai’ posing. Some girls couldn’t resist being clicked even while coming down the rope from top of a rock hill.

And why not? When the beautiful hills, green valleys and a clear blue sky provide for a perfect backdrop…

Peace!

Have you felt the power of silence in the last few years of your lives? Maybe this question will take you back to your school assembly days where the teacher’s scary stare made you shut your eyes and pray. That was, in a teacher's vocabulary, 'pin drop silence'. But today, a few moments of silence is rare. The noise of cars, the boss, the machines around you, the crowd on the train and of course the noise of your own voice in your head reminding you to finish off this work and that… can be quite overwhelming and over powering at times.

Try this sometimes; close your eyes to the world. Sit on a patch of green grass under the rising sun and shut yourself to the unnecessary and mostly self imposed pressures. Hear the rustle of the wind which blows past your ears; hear the cracking of the dry yellow leaves on the ground, hear the chirping of the birds, hear the laughter of kids when they board their school buses, hear your own heartbeat, and hear the sound of silence. It has a terrific calming effect. It will give you some moments of peace before you again lose yourself to the brainless chatter of the day.

Phew!

I run run and run. Nothing stopped me. The fastest 45 minutes of my life. Oh damn! I have only one hour to reach some random place to Andheri east to catch bus to Khandala and I get up in kandivali west at 5.30 am. From home to the rikshaw to station ticket window (damn! My honesty). Oh f*** the train is coming. Run run and don’t look back for the coins that have just slipped your palms. Phew! I catch the train. On the way I make a few frantic calls to jot down the address (damn! My forgetfulness). I jump off the train and run up the stairs onto the footbridge. I argue with the rikshaw wala to take me by the meter but all he says, “yeh time pe meter se koi nahi jata.” I give up (damn! My vulnerability). I reach the destination finally 15 minutes before time.

The jungle trail

There was electricity in the room. Every face was shining with determination to crack it. The room had four teams which were strategizing for the task ahead. The mission was to collect different coloured bands in the jungle at 10.00 in the night. Each team was given a map and a compass to find their way. The task was made up of four stages. In each stage, the teams had to collect bands. The first stage had white bands which were worth 100 points, second stage has orange which were worth 200 points, third stage had blue bands which were worth 300 points and last stage had black bands which were worth 500 points.

After all the strategizing, the teams ran towards the goal as the ‘thumbs up’ was signaled. And the way they ran… woho!! As if the bands were not just that but a lot more… like a trophy. And then they entered the jungle which was pitch dark. Being outside is one thing, going in and executing the plan is another. Outside, the plans are based on assumptions and expectations but when reality hits, things are not as beautiful. That changes a lot of things but actually only if you let them to. Few teams marched on with the same grit while others started losing the vision in the dark. Some plans went haywire and some didn’t.

There was one group which with the right strategy and spirit to win found their trophies. With torch or without torch, with cell light or with the lighter… they didn’t give themselves a chance to lose. All of them tried, all of them looked but the only ones who found and won was the team for whom winning was the only option! Maybe its one of those things, ‘how can someone else win when I am present!’

In the middle of everything and nothing

The valleys of Khandala were green and yellow. Through these valleys, the wind was blowing continuously. If you would close their eyes and concentrate, you’d hear the rusting of dry leaves which has fallen off the trees due to approaching winters. In this scenic beautiful landscape, there was a group of 30 people atop a hill starring at a rope which was tied up between two trees. They were imagining or maybe were not being able to imagine themselves hanging from the rope. Actually, their task wasn’t to hang on the rope but to cross from one end of the rope to the other. The only problem was that the rope was above a valley which was about 100 feet deep.

One by one people got onto the ropes. They had the experience of their lives. If you’d dare a little on that rope and look around, you could see yourself in the middle of beautiful green valleys, a waterfall on your right, bright blue sky above you and railway tracks below you. These tracks came into every few minutes when trains passed over it making a peculiar engine sound. It is an experience beyond words and you can understand it only if you do it. Trust me on that.

My riding mate

She was my riding mate. With her, every morning I cycled to my 10th std. coaching classes. She frowned at me whenever my cycle tyres went burst. But as always she waited for me to mend it. While riding our cycles, we managed to gossip even in the crazy morning traffic. She helped me with my Maths and Science, English and Marathi. As we grew up, nothing changed. We didn’t go to same school and after the results of 10th were out, our colleges were different too. But it didn’t matter and I don’t think it ever will. Today after seven years of meeting her, both of us are completely different people. But our friendship hasn’t changed. We still share the same dreams, the same profession and the same bond.

Random random random

Is it necessary to write? What if I don’t want to write? What if I don’t have anything to write? And it might just happen that what I have on my mind to pen down is nothing but of irrelevance to you. Will you then want to read about it? And but the most important question is, would I want you to read about everything that goes on in my mind? Nahh... I don’t think so. So then why am I wasting my time writing this and you reading it? Go and spend your time on something more fruitful, till then I rack my brains to write something of consequence ;)

Just...

There was a time in a girl’s life when all she wanted was to work with this advertising agency. This week, after three years she walked into the office she had always dreamt of working. The feeling it gave her was something even I am sure even she can’t explain. She just smiled and moved on to interview Kaizad Pardiwala, President of Ogilvy One.

A boy called Ramesh…

Long taxi ride can be quite alright and uneventful. Mine was quite boring too when suddenly a boy aged maybe around 14 or 15 came to my taxi which was waiting at the signal. He was carrying large stack of pirated books. He looked at me and then blurted out, “Mujhe worli naka chod doge?” Though a little taken aback, I nodded and said haan. In the next 15 minutes, I must have asked him 15 questions which answered rather matter of fact manner. Twice in the middle of me throwing questions at him, he tried to sell me Chetan Bhagat’s 2 States.

He told me his name which was Ramesh. He lived near Worli Naka with his younger brother and sister. He was studying in 8th Std. He reasoned out with me on why he can’t go to an English medium school. He said, “English medium mein toh fees hoti hai naa…” So he was happy going to a Hindi medium night school thought he had bunked school for the last five days. He was from a small village near Lucknow.

During this 15 minute journey, Ramesh gave me an interesting peace of information on how I can recognize a duplicate book from an original one. “Dekho duplicate book ka pages idhar se peela dikhta hai, original ka hamesha white hi hota hai,” he explained. Here he pitched his sale, “Chetan Bhagat aur Paulo Coelho original hai, le lo.” After a few minutes of silence, he told the driver to halt the cab at a signal. With a small thank you, he hopped off the cab…

Fascinating ads to look into

If you are ever getting bored in a train and don’t want to look want to look outside the window… then take my advice and look inside. The yellow walls around you hold enough entertainment to amuse you throughout your journey.

‘Can a coffee sip grow your business?’ asks a tiny red and white poster to every traveler who passes by it. This poster sponsored by the U & I Club is hell bent to include YOU in their club. It keeps asking the same question again and again, and is waiting for you on every side of the compartment. But if it does not appeal to you much, move on to other interesting ads put up. There is one yellow colour poster who only wants you to TALK. The Just Talk Institute comes to your rescue if you have any issues with the ABC of queen’s language. The magic of the JTI is about to work on you when a smaller blue advertisement catches your attention. It is the ‘Easy English’ tutorial.

If you are getting confused on whom to choose to improve your command over the language, then don’t worry at all. The ‘Takdeer baba’ is address is available on the yellow walls. He will help you make the right decisions in life and also solve other problems too. You just need to call him up or reach the ‘almightily’ baba’s place.

In case, all of these posters baffle you, call up the helpline number put up by the railways. But if it is just gives you a headache, then Parivar chay is smiling down at you to as an answer to the current situation. Just enjoy one sip of a chay or these bizarre ads everyday to kill your time in the train.

Just an amusing event...

He smiled at him as the young man walked out of his classroom. The bond of brotherhood was suddenly established between them. I stood there amused thinking about how strong is the Marathi manoos connection. From the bored, disinterested cameraman, he turned into a more than enthusiastic man behind the lens. ‘adi assa ubhe raha, haan he barobar’, he kept repeating.

After the ‘balasaheb barr aahe?’ finally got over, the young man was allowed to retreat to the classroom. He thankfully had given me his ‘precious’ byte, which I really didn’t need. But obviously the college students thought I would be kicked about taking a byte from a successor of a saffron party. So they made him stand in front of the camera even before I could blink.

As the grand occasion for the college students got over, the cameraman told me with a sly smile, “I have seen adi grow up; I used to visit his place when Raj was the president of the youth wing… and then he packed up everything up and moved on to the next student. But the gloating expression still lingered on his face for a while. Too much to comprehend for me. But I just let it be.

Screwed economics?

‘The kirana stores across India will shut shop and the malls will take over’. This was a prediction made a few years back. From marketing gurus to business pundits, they all said, organized retail will negatively affect the mom and pop shops. The media too went hysterical with the same debate and discussion. We saw passionate debates between capitalists and communists on television, where the anchor looked more alarmed than the kirana owners themselves. Politicians made it their polling issue and so called social activists held rallies.

Today after a few years, the kirana shops seem to be doing just fine. Take walk down any street of Mumbai today, you’ll the see those humble shops bustling with the same activity and energy. Each one of them has several customers fighting for owner’s attention. In fact, the malls don’t seem to be doing too well for themselves. The excitement surrounding the mall culture has gone down. The crowd which visited the malls just for sight seeing also has lost interest.

I think our understanding of economics is still screwed. Maybe only the media got its economics bang in place. It managed a lot of drama and good advertising revenues around it. Everyone else just wasted their time. ;)