Chor Police…

There are some very children-specific activities which sound and feel good when only children are involved in those games. The moment a few grown-ups enter the fray, they ruin the show.
And it is this precisely this ruin which a number of our government personnel are causing. I am referring to the (yet again) moral policing efforts by various “educated, cultured and honest” members of the state and national government bodies. I heard a minister on the TV confirming that in the IPL match in Mumbai, there would be a hundred-plus policemen keeping a “close eye” on what the cheerleaders are wearing. Certainly a much needed activity for the welfare of the nation. So now we know why the policy force has a little trouble in controlling crime in our country – they are busy checking out babes (as an official government duty).

These social guardians believe (even now) that the moral framework of our nation’s populace is within their control, and if the cheer leaders are removed (or more clothes are added), it will bring about a moral upliftment of our society. They believe that if our children do not watch these women, then they will focus more on their studies and will not indulge in the various sexual activities at which they are so adept already. They forget that we are a billion plus nation, and we wouldn’t have ever reached this target had our earlier generations fucked around a little less (pun absolutely intended).

If only these blackholes-of-our-tax would learn to identify what needs their attention (it’s somewhat disturbing to note that a murder or rape convict would be roaming free for years, while all kind of notices would be served on the teams’ managers within a few days).

In the end (as is usually the case), let’s again hope (this resource is fast depleting too) that some day better sense will prevail. Until then, keep on cheering…

Noiseless in Mumbai...

'Twas a strange Tuesday morning. The never-sleeping city woke up early from it's disturbing dreams. There are souls who feel comfortable in the noise that cocoons them, like the reassuring sound of the AC which perhaps serves as the backdrop for one to sleep. But there was something amiss this morning. As if the bass, or perhaps the treble control of Mumbai's ever-boisterous stereo had conked out. A set of frequencies could not be heard. The auto-rickshaws were on strike....

I had never thought it could get so un-nerving, the absence of a constant sound in your life. A particular color that runs through a fabric had been selectively washed off. The streets below looked disturbingly empty. Like someone had walked away with the screen, and had kept the projector running...

Perhaps no other city relies so much on public transport as Mumbai does. And just like all things which are taken for granted are sorely missed when they are gone, the three-wheeled, non-electronic-metered, CNG-operated lifeline of this city was missed. Both by those who avail of these ricks, as well as by those who don't, cause the latter variety was particularly surprised by the sheer absence of traffic on the roads. Where have all the people gone, was what I was thinking. Apparently quite a few decided to work from home today (what a wonderful excuse...). The rest took a forced leave. And those without whose presence things don't move in offices had to perhaps contend with the super-crowded buses, or the superlatively-crowded trains (yes, hanging onto a fellow traveler's collar, with one foot in the air and the other on another fellow traveler's foot, does qualify as "commute" in local Mumbai lingo)

Nobody of course was really bothered about the rick-guys. Some really convincing, well-oiled, well-politically-connected senior sales manager of the Electronic meters company did a good job of convicing the local authorities as to why all these fellows should shell out 3K INR for something that is as easily tamperable (visit Lamington road for more details) as the mechanical ones in use today.

Of course things didn't fly for long, and the strike was called off when the government promised to create yet another committee (all part of the afore-mentioned sales manager's plan) to look into this urgent matter. As is usually the case with government committees, it will take them two months (and a few crore rupees will again exchange hands) to decide whether to introduce these new meters or not...

At least till then, this city can find comfort in the noise again...

IPL - Fringe benefits...

No doubt it's an interesting game format. A la superbowl, or NBA, or other American and English forms of sports which rely as much on gameplay as on the hoopla surrounding the entire exercise, whether it's Katrina waving to the fans, or Mr. Mallya walking with his team in an exclusive RC ad, or ofcourse the interestingly-attired cheerleaders.

Talking of advertisements, there have been quite a few which appear to have been recently created perhaps just to catch the eye-balls during the matches (and there certainly are enough eye-balls, if the packed stadiums are anything to go by).

There's of course the new Vodafone "Happy to help" series, which seems to be an effort to ward off the evil aura surrounding customer care. Traditionally, customer care (of Vodafone, or any one else's) has been given the same treatment as people would give to an unhelping, old, cranky doctor at a lone hospital (the types who prescribe strange injections and then smiled fiendishly?). And it is this "visit-only-when-about-to-die" image that Vodafone is trying to wash away. Quite a cool ad...

The Max NY Life pension plans ad is another nice one which touches a cord somewhere, reminding one of decisions taken with everyone but yourself in mind. It is noticeable that the basic message is the same as SBI Pension fund, viz., live "your" life at some point...

There's the Samsung Freshtech thing, focussing on the freshness positioning (with a particularly creative act of the lady pushing in green plant leaves inside the refrigerator towards the end of the copy).

I suppose the advertisements have to necessarily follow the innovation and "newness" theme, given the creative, fresh (albeit copied from other worlds, but nevertheless very new from an Indian perspective) nature of the entire series itself...