BJP's "Chintan Baithak"

I was completely shocked when I was told that BJP expelled Mr. Jaswant Singh. Unfortunately, there was only Jaswant Singh(among few) in BJP whom I respected as an intellectual. He was the only man or I should say the Man-Mohan of BJP. He was intelligent, highly qualified and above all, apolitical like many other BJP leaders. If not secular, at least he seemed secular to the general public.

Moreover BJP's "Chintan Baithak" came out with reasons of loss in 2009 general elections. All the reasons were pointing only two things.
Firstly, poor strategy and secondly poor marketing of ideas.
As per me,BJP used all media tools effectively to convey their ideology. But the problem was never in the promotion.
The main reasons for BJP's loss are the other two P's.
Product: The ideology of being stubborn, the ideology of spreading hatred, the ideology of introspecting the past and not planning for the future, the ideology of non-secularism, when mixed together, forms BJP i.e. a poor product. Such a poor product can only be sold to your customers(electorate) once. Soon the customers realize that they have been cheated.
Price: If we would have brought BJP back to power, then the price we had to pay for it would have been huge.BJP's ideology disturbs the social coherence of India. I have always believed that BJP is an Allopathic medicine. They may solve India's problems; but would also give various side-effects(for e.g. hindutva,moral policing etc.) that would hurt our country later.

My dad, who was once BJP loyalist, amusingly used to say, BJP means " Bhaago Janta Peetegi"...

Team Manmohan !!!

I missed the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Manmohan Singh through my blog on 24th April. On 24th I was elated when I got the news that Congress is back. Or I should say, back with bang. I was so afraid, on 24th morning. I never wanted to BJP to be back, atleast until they drop their idea of hindutva.

Moreover, I am more or less happy with the list of ministers in Manmohan’s team. I personally wanted people like Shashi Tharoor and other young guns in some form of ministries. Inclusion of people like Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jatin Prasad, Agatha Sangma etc. as MoS was a great decision. People like Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram, Kamalnath, Kapil Sibbal, Dayanidhi Maran, Praful Patel and others all getting key ministries to bring results rather than promises. Yes they had to compromise bit due to politics, but Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and adamant Manmohan hand-picked most of them.

I guess for the first time ever on Indian news channels, we found so much discussion on list of ministers and portfolios. As if Team Manmohan is on a mission to change India. Team Manmohan gives me hope, a hope for progress, hope for social security, hope for secularism. I trust Team Manmohan, because most of the ministers are extremely qualified with education and experience. Moreover we can see a nice blend of youth and experience in the team.

I salute you Mr. Kamlesh Patel !!!

These days, on Friday late evenings, whenever I call up my loved ones, I get a same reply from all, ‘We are busy watching, Dance India Dance, so can we talk later!’ After months of being neglected on Friday evenings, I decided to check this show out. And believe me or not, I got hooked up to show! I was mesmerized by the emphatic dance performances of the contestants. I saw the whole show with the feeling of awe! I was personally impressed by the prince of popping and locking, “Prince” from Baroda.

But one performance made me cry (you know how emotional I am!). In fact everyone cried, including Mithun Da, the jury, the contestants and the audience. The credit goes to a man named, “Mr. Kamlesh Patel”. I was touched by his performance! As if, I was taught a great lesson of life, by that dance performance. You all must be thinking, what was so special in that performance?

Kamlesh Patel is a physically challenged man. He cannot stand on his legs, as his legs are paralyzed (at the age of 5). So he danced with his hands on Indian patriotic songs! We were all speechless by his performance with moistened eyes. We felt so small in front of him. As Mr. Remo (jury) said, ‘No one in this world can judge this performance’. When everyone was crying, Kamlesh Patel was smiling. I guess he was smiling on God, on the whole world, on us!

Kamlesh Patel had the fortitude and determination to fight against the odds. Even being paralyzed, he never bogged down, practiced dancing and honed his talent. Today, for me he is the man to look up to. He is the man, who teaches us, even in adversities, one shouldn’t accept defeat. Kamlesh Patel is an answer to all those who think, that being physically challenged is a curse.
Friends, learn not to complaint. Instead, learn to fight against the odds and emerge as the winner. And as always, be a step ahead.

Watch his dance performances here:
Kamlesh Patel Video 1
Kamlesh Patel Video 2

Coke Ke Sath Dost Free...

Coke has come up with a new TVC "Coke ke sath dost free" with Gautam Gambhir. As per me, I really liked the idea as well as the advertisement. Its riveting and refreshing. Its refreshing especially after horrible series of ads, Coke recently had. Earlier ads (Hrithik and Diwali ads) were really boring and unattractive.

People are able to connect with such ads. Cricket season is starting in India with IPL and T20 Worldcup to follow. This ad with Gautam Gambhir and Cricket as background has a great potential to click with the customers. If these "Coke ke sath dost free" ads are extended with the same theme, I believe, it could really help in building strong relationship with the customers.

It seems Coke has tighten its belt to compete with Pepsi's "Youngistan" ads in this advertising space. Hope Coke doesn't falter again in brand building through such ads.

Coke has also roped in Aamir Khan back for a 2 years contract. I still love the Coke ads with Aamir Khan theme. Hope to see these two iconic brands back in action again.

Admit your mistake...!!!

I have always believed that there are three kinds of people in the world.

One, who does a mistake, never admits them, neither improve on them.These are offensive, arrogant and over-confident people. In the long run, these people are generally unsuccessful.

Second, who does a mistake, admits it, but never improves on it.They are humble, defensive and unconfident people. In the long run, these people live an average life, without risks.
As per me, I belong to category Second.And working on to become a part of Third category.

And Third, who does a mistake, admits it, and never repeats it. They are the leaders, who are confident as well as humble. They take risks in life and live a successful life.

Why is it so, that most of people lie in the category One?

Which category, do you belong to???

Dr. Manmohan Singh... My next PM...!!!

Yes! I believe, in Congress. Led by,a qualified person like Dr. Manmohan Singh, is the best choice for India as PM.
Before that, first lets follow the link to the Resumes of both the candidates:

Dr. Manmohan Singh

Shri. L. K. Advani

Clearly, in terms of experience and qualifications, Dr. Manmohan Singh is way ahead of Shri L.K.Advani.
In Congress, there is long list of highly experienced and qualified politicians like Mr. P.Chidambaram, Mr. Pranab Mukherjee etc.Adding to it, there is Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, handling politics very well,just to keep politics out of governance.

Moreover, Congress has more no. of promising young politicians like Rahul Gandhi, Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot etc who could lead India in future.BJP led NDA clearly lacks on this front.

Even if,I consider the fact that BJP can give a better or equivalent governance, then also, I don't believe them coming into power.Reason,their ideologies i.e. Hindutva!
This moral policing and the idea of "Hindutva" will ruin the Indian society.

Whom you are voting for???

Shashi Tharoor... On Indian Diversity !!!

Once, in HINDU newspaper, I read an article by Mr. Shashi Tharoor, on Indian diversity. I was so impressed by one of his statements that even after couple of years, I searched for it on web, to blog it.

 

He said, 

"If America is a melting-pot, then to me India is a 'Thali', a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast."

 

And those who have heard the name,"Shashi Tharoor" for the first time, or know less about him, beneath is his profile.

 

Shashi Tharoor was born in 1956 in London and educated in Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi (BA in History, St. Stephen's College), and the United States. He holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Since May 1978, Tharoor has worked for the United Nations. He served over 11 years with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, whose Singapore office he headed during the "boat people" crisis (SAJA). In October 1989 he was transferred to the peace-keeping staff at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. In this position, he served as Special Assistant to the Under-Secretary-General for Peace-keeping Operations. Dealing with a range of issues in this capacity, Tharoor addressed a variety of peace-keeping issues around the world and led the team responsible for the United Nations peace-keeping operations in the former Yugoslavia. On January 1, 1997 Shashi Tharoor was appointed Executive Assistant to Secretary of the United Nations Kofi Annan.

As a diplomat and writer, Shashi Tharoor has explored the diversity of culture in his native India. By exploring the themes of India's past and its relevance to the future, he has produced both works of fiction and nonfiction. His most recent work, India: From Midnight to Millennium, is a nonfiction account of India's past and projected future inspired by the 50th anniversary of India's independence.

KFC -- "Kentucky Fried Cruelty"

As soon as you enter Forum Mall, our taste buds gets flooded with a yummy feeling. Reason? KFC !!! Many of my friends, love to eat at KFC. Those who love chicken dishes, prepared in american style, can't resist KFC.But PETA has started an advertisement campaign against KFC. They have come up with very interesting billboards, print ads, posters, leaflets, stickers to spread awareness to boycott KFC globally.
PETA says,"KFC suppliers cram birds into huge waste-filled factories, breed and drug them to grow so large that they can’t even walk, and often break their wings and legs. At slaughter, the birds’ throats are slit and they are dropped into tanks of scalding-hot water—often while they are still conscious."
They raised this issue in 2001 and soon when they found that KFC is coming up with false promises to improve,they went a step ahead by using advetisement campaign. Here are some interesting ads by PETA.





source : PETA