astute perceptions

Went to the Micromax blogger’s meet in Delhi yesterday. The founders made an interesting speech, and received new-found respect from me and many others. Micromax starts at the roots level, making simple, understated, feature-rich phones in a mass market. Is it this that has made them the third largest selling brand in India in such a short time? There is no way to answer that question for certain. But there is one certainty in the fact that they base their assumptions and their products on the needs of the people, not just you and me laptop-toting-car-driving-technology-flashing dudes, but a net-surfing hairdresser, a CNBC-watching maid, a truck-battery-powered phone booth operator, android-aspiring college students , woman with a fancy for crystals (yes, they have a phone specially targeted at women). For one, they have their premises right. They have spoken to the right people – the commonest of the commoners, and have the best in technologists. How else would they deliver expensive

Chinoy seth, jo log doosron ki BMWs se impress hote hain, wo kabhi khud ki BMW nahin khareed paate.

Never spend an evening thinking life is peaceful. For the next morning, you will wake up to Murphy laughing his ass off at you.

It's only human to want to be right. But it takes immense compassion to let others be, till they find their own truth.

I'm sick of coming across blogs which say nothing original. I'm sick of people trying to be oversensitive with them 'ooh's and them 'my poor dear's when they don't actually feel a thing. I'm tired of hearing frozen faces say fake lines. I'm tired of seeing a little knowledge passed around like a badge of honour, yet discussions around them unwelcome. I'm done with the rules that say you act a certain a way or you're a bad person. And above all, I'm f*ucking tired of those who spend hours trying to concentrate on your flaws and the discussing them behind your back. There's still value in a genuine conversation. Try having an open mind. There's more to life than trying to be in agreement with people around you. Step forward. Everyone around you is flawed in their own way. Expecting something otherwise is plain and foolish. Wake up. Those who like to talk about others will talk behind yours the moment you step away. Figure it out.

Came across the saying 'You are the average of the five people you constantly interact with.' And it struck me, why I've always craved the company of people far sharper than me. In this, I've been called obtuse, rude, insensitive, but that's probably because I wasn't going about it the right way. There is a grain of truth in the fact that your interactions shape a lot of your personality. I've always enjoyed intellectually stimulating conversations. I've pondered for answers to questions over nights. I've felt the thrill of reaching the optimum solution in a situation of crisis. So what does this mean? To me, it means, find the sharpest people in your trade you'll ever meet. Then get to work with them at all costs. For free, if it's worth it. It's the value-ad for you seek that is a greater reward than the value you'll provide to them. The take-off is in similar proportions too.

When you're a copywriter, all too often you try to make projects read crisp and emotionless. And personal interactions more human. Always takes a little effort.

Fall came with falling grace, I thought about free falling, Got a call, someone said, Fall is here to be. Rise with the fall, rise instead, Rise with the rising costs, For if you stay free falling, You’ll only be seen as lost. So with them, I discovered, What rising was all about, To rise with us, you must only Fall in line, or fall out. So I fell out, a nd I’m free Free as free could be Fall comes, brings with it More offers to rise with thee But free I was, free I am Free is all I have. Free to think, write, express, And travel the world a tramp.

The first time I saw this, I was in school. That was the first time I realized the power of words. The power these words had on me. They made me feel powerful. And they weren’t written by an acclaimed writer. They were written by someone not known for writing. They were from a world-champion boxing legend – Mohammad Ali. And no, he didn’t pen these for Adidas. Those were times of finding myself. I was enrolled into science, with plans to be an engineer. I had been writing for as long as I could remember. A release of poetry once in a while. An occasional practiced short-story. The day I saw these words, I wanted to pen something similar. Something this powerful. On closer analysis I realized, it was the thought behind the poster, said in simple words of raw energy, that made the line so impactful. It was superhuman. It was human. It was eye-opening. It was embarrassing. It was inspiring. It was irrefutable. But it didn’t make me want to buy Adidas. It didn’t make me dream of

Got an interesting email from a smart guy. It said – ‘Frequently Wrong but Never in Doubt’. And it hit me how far I’ve come away from that. The problem with being wrong in a day job is, sometimes, you can be penalized for being wrong. Often, you are. So the motivation to make mistakes and explore new possibilities loses air faster than a football deflated with a pointed heel. Making mistakes in a job affects one’s growth. Making mistakes in business catalyzes one's growth. That’s the irony of doubt.

While most briefs portray lofty, and often manifold ambitions from an ad, most ads in the newspaper merely do a good job of informing. No paradigm shift in consumer behavior, no ‘creating a buzz’ by an old offering because ‘we tweaked it a certain way’. Just information. And how some of them are better suited to fit your requirements. A new laptop from Lenovo promises to have an 8hr battery backup for SME users. A news story (read, PR) talks about Apple’s new line of iPod Touch, Nano, and TV. A full-page ad of IDBI talks about savings account that doesn't charge banking fees. Now the IDBI ad might create, to some extent, a paradigm shift. Which is to say more shifts to the said bank. It’s the offering that is great, and the ad carries it in a fluid manner. There is a little mess in the boiler-plate area, but that can happen anywhere given the last minute tug-of-war between the client and the agency, so I will give the said agency a pass on the blame. Were there lofty expectat

Back in the day, there was a railway station in a small village called Buxar in Bihar. People would take trains all over the country from that station, more people would come and drop them, see them off. Most bought platform tickets while seeing people off. Then one day, a guy couldn’t buy a platform ticket in a hurry. While exiting the station, he told the checker that he had forgotten, and the checker, reasonable man that he was, let this guy go, with a promise to not lapse another time. “How much difference can a 5p ticket actually make?”, the guy thought. The next time, he again forgot, and got away. The word spread. Soon, many people were not buying tickets. They were flouting other rules as well, like crossing the tracks on foot, and not on the bridge. Bringing 2 wheelers to the platform. And so on. Today, if you enter the station, and go to buy a platform ticket, people laugh at you for not having enough sense that a ticket is not required. Isn’t that how, over the years,

•                      Brief != Underpants •                      ‘Copy’ should be ‘Original’. •                      ‘OOH!’ is a kind of media (It means Out-Of-Home) •                      ‘Positioning’ has nothing to do with the Kama Sutra •                      ‘Bleed’ is a completely legitimate design term. •                      ‘Scribbles’ are meant to provide you clarity. •                      A ‘Serif’ is not a ‘Cop’ •                      A ‘Gutter’ does not mean ‘Drainage’ •                      A ‘Jingle’ has nothing to do with Christmas •                      ‘Pantone’ is not a shampoo brand •                      ‘Mock up’ doesn’t mean ‘Make fun of’ •                      ‘Crop’ doesn’t mean ‘Plant’ •                      ‘Grab Eyeballs’ doesn’t refer to something violent •                      ‘Add stickiness’ doesn’t mean ‘Pour glue all over’ •                      ‘Flash’ your client if he needs something ‘dynamic’ •                      You cannot eat all ‘Cookies’ •

"The time has come," the Walrus said, "To talk of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings-- And why the sea is boiling hot-- And whether pigs have wings."