Are you truly free?

India celebrated its Independence Day yesterday. It's the day British gave the reign of India into Indian hands. Indians got their freedom. We became our own rulers. We opted for a democratic form of government on the principles of secularism and equality. 

Over the last 67 years we have come a long way. I am not going to list our accomplishments as there are too many to state and am sure you know about all of them. However even I am not naive or patriotic enough to deny that there are too many grave issues that still plague this so called great nation of hours. Infrastructure, cleanliness and women's safety are paramount in my opinion. As these form the basis of any civilized society. 

But there is no denying that Indians are free today. We are free to:

- Follow the religion of our choice, at our place of worship, with our community, celebrating our festivals
- To speak our minds without having to register at a speakers corner
- To travel to most parts of the country without the threat of being in midst of a civil war
- To have access to technology and uncensored information that enables us to learn and grow
- To be entrepreneurial and pursue a vocation of our choice whether it's a bar dancer or a doctor
- To think big. To aspire. To dream. And have tremendous opportunities to make it all come true

It's the freedom such as above that we take for granted as we have always had it. Freedom is one of the values that is recognized only when it's taken away from you. 

Question is what are YOU doing with this freedom? 

- Are you using it put others down in the name of religion?
- Or to constantly complain about issues and 'participate' in TV debates without actually taking simple steps towards change?
- Or to separate ourselves from each other on the basis of our language and state?
- May be utilizing technology to becoming more selfish  and self glorifying? 
- Are you really capitalizing on this freedom when you are chained to a desk for a job you despise?
- Are you merely at the beck and call of every materialistic acquisition which you feel will make your life fuller?

Our forefathers fought and died to give us a free nation. Yet today we are trapped in the world of our own making. A world where connections are more important than connecting. Where we have jobs but no passion. Passion but no love. Love but only on our terms. We have big houses and smaller hearts. Gourmet meals but low appetites. Exotic travels but no discovery. Penthouses with panoramic views but a tunneled vision. Lesser kids and even lesser time for them. We are surrounded by treasured objected but disposable people. We exist, but do we really live? 

As India struggles with its innumerable problems at multiple levels, you can do one of two things. Get involved and make a difference to our country's future. Or simply change yourself for the better. The freedom that you believe you have complete entitlement over, put it to some good use. Improve yourself by looking beyond your restrictive view of yourself and your immediate family. Take small steps towards your own growth. If we all do the same India will be taken care of by itself.

As Mahatma Gandhi said "Be the change you want to see in the world".

Jai Hind! 

Jingles that live on....

What’s with Indian jingles from the 80’s that make them so memorable?

Is it the lovely tune that stays in your head? “Jab ghar ki raunak badani ho...deewaron ko jab sajana ho....Nerolac, Nerolac”. Or is it the heart-tugging lyrics of “Yeh zameen, yeh asamaan, yeh zameen, yeh asamaan, humara kal, humara aaj, humara kal, humara aaj, buland Bharat ki buland tasveer...humara Bajaj, humara Bajaj”.

Over 2 decades later, these jingles are still fresh in mind (and heart) and they come back to me at the most obscure and unusual times. And sometimes at the most appropriate ones. Like this morning when I was contemplating painting a wall in my living room in a different colour and almost instantly I found myself humming “Jab ghar ki raunak badani ho.” Now that’s a powerful association between a consumer need and product advertising. Though I do need to admit until I sang the full jingle I remembered it as an Asians Paint ad! That depicts another key association- seasonality and product advertising. Asian Paints like all other paint companies in India, have their peak advertising period pre-Diwali which is now.

Another of my favourite jingle from that era is “Jab mein chota bachcha tha, badi shararat karta tha, meri chori pakdi jaati...toh roshan hota Bajaj”. The story line of that ad as was so adorable and the images are still vivid in my mind.

And then there was the all famous “Happy days are here again with Thums Up” and “Fresh and Juicy, Mango Fruity”. The extension of the Fruity jingle in today’s day and age with its new commercial is pretty cool too.

Of course there were the tremendously annoying jingles as well (but I still remember them!) like, “Tata ka OK, dhulayi ka saboon, OK OK ha Tata ka OK” or “Antiseptic, nahin cosmetic, Vicco Vajadanti Aryuvedic cream”- which incidentally, I saw recently on TV- non-expiring usage rights?

And the ever-so-irritating “Bhool na jana, ECE bulb lana” with the cliché use Bengali, Punjabi and Parsi talents. And who can forget (at least I can’t for obvious reasons) “Cema bulbs aur tubes” with Sridevi in an electric blue dress and thunder thighs. (Gawd I was incessantly teased in school about that one. And it did not help that Sridevi’s character in Mr. India was called Seema*).

The 90’s decade also saw some hummable jingles. The most notable amongst them was “Kya swaad hai zindagi ka” from Cadburys. And fantastic the use of Mozart’s 25th Symphony in Titan commercials. Not really a jingle of course, but the use of that music piece over various Titan commercials created very memorable ads.

A salute to all these ad makers (for their sheer brilliance), the media buyers (for the endless 60 second buys so we saw the commercials more than the Doordarshan programmes), the lyricists (for the beautiful words) and the musicians (for the lingering music).

Thank you! Thank you for creating commercials that I can still remember from my childhood. Now if that’s not compelling advertising, I don’t know what is?

*Nearly 75% of my brain is filled with needless and little known Hindi movie and song trivia. One example related to advertising- Aamir and Aishwarya have shared screen space only once (they have never starred in a movie together). They came together for the 90’s Pepsi “Hi, I am Sanjana. Got another Pepsi?” commercial. Pepsi was then called Lehar Pepsi. The other girl in the commercial was actress Mahima "Pardes" Choudhary, then a lesser known model called Ritu. Yehi hai right choice Baby a-ha! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyulvXIFrK0

British Raj Indians

…are the ones who believe that the British Raj was probably one of the best things to happen to India. They have a white fixation, prefer fish and chips to “kanda bajiyas” and speak with a put-on American accent which they get after one visit to the passport office.

They find Bombay dirty, Chennai hot, Bangalore noisy and Delhi polluted- does not matter that they lived there all their lives and have been living outside India for last few years only.

They snub their noses at local trains, look down on rickshaws and always have at least 3 “horror stories” about traffic jams on Indian roads.

They celebrate Singapore’s NDP and the 4th of July with gusto that makes you wonder about their origins. Their Indian-ness seeps out only when celebrating festivals which made a resurgence post Karan Johar movies and Ekta Kapoor serials like karvachaut and navratri.

They discuss Indian politics (in a know-it-all tone) - but never vote.
Watch every Hindi movie (on pirated DVD that too) - but insist of speaking in English only when in India.
Dance to desi tunes at night clubs (really bad dance moves too)- but want to make their daughters learn ballet over kathak.
Ok don’t get me wrong- Bombay is dirty, Delhi is polluted, ballet for little girls is lovely and I have plenty traffic jam stories too. But is that all what India and Indians are about? Do we define ourselves with Bollywood (HATE that term) movies and corrupt politicians?

I don’t want to get all sentimental via clichés but a country that gave Gandhi, Mother Teresa and Narayan Murthy to the world, has a lot more to be proud of.

We are today because of what our nation made us. None of us could have done it on our own. And if we belonged to any other country, we would not be the kind of people we are. Never forget that. Just the way we owe our upbringing to our mothers, we also owe the same to our Motherland.

So this Independence Day, remember your humble beginnings first and be proud of where you and India has reached today. Refrain from criticizing and find at least one good to say about India. And yes, wherever in the world you are, make your way to the Flag Hoisting Ceremony at the local consulate. It’s only once a year- find the time.