22 Crossroads

An established brand changes its brand design/ logo, and there you have it – the eternal debate between the old and the new, the classy vs. the peppy, the understated vs the wannabe. Usually its just a manifestation of people wanting to cling on to something they loved, but sometimes the rolling stone gathers a bit too much moss. GAP and Tropicana have learned the lesson the hard way , and judging by the initial reaction to Airtel logo (on Facebook and elsewhere), I guess things might just be heading in similar directions. So what is the deal with a brand logo? My very limited experience of presenting in a couple Ad-Design competition had me memorized (more or less) my introductory speech when the logo part came in. A logo is judged on its aesthetic values – the colors , the fonts , how it fits with the overall brand image , on reproducibility and on the story it tells (I believe that every logo should have a story). But I guess, in the end its just one thing – RECALL VALUE, RECALL VA

कुछ रातें ऐसी होती हैं अधखुली आँखें आधी सोयी, आधी जागी ख्वाबों की दस्तक पर चौंक उठती हैं कुछ रातें ऐसी होती हैं रेडियो वाली लड़की हंसती है, खिलखिलाती है बेनाम उस आवाज़ से जाने कितनी गिरहें खुलती हैं कुछ रातें ऐसी होती हैं खिड़की में चाँद और करवटें, और करवटें डेढ़ पहर रात्री चांदनी में कटती है कुछ रातें ऐसी होती हैं ज़हन में कुछ शब्द आते हैं अधूरी जो नज़्म बनती है उजाले से डरे दिल का सच अँधेरे में बेख़ौफ़ कहती हैं कुछ रातें ऐसी होती हैं धुंधलाने लगता है सब चांदनी फीकी पड़ने लगती है सब अधुरा सा रह जाता है अधूरे ख्वाब, अधूरी नज़्म अधूरे गाँठ, अधूरी रात सुबह की पहली किरणें रात के स्लेट को साफ़ कर देती हैं कुछ रातें ..... For those whose hindi font is not working Kuchh raatein aisi hoti hain adhkhuli ankhen aadhi soyi, aadhi jaagi khwabon ki dastak par chaunk uthi hain kuchh raatein aisi hoti hain radio wali ladki hansti hai, khilkhilati hai benaam us awaz se jane kitni girhein khulti hain kuchh raatein aisi hoti hain khidki mein chand aur karwatein, aur karwatein dedh pahar raat chandni mi

Preface: This is a sequel / prequel to " Stupid Roses ". Do read that as well, if you haven't already. He glanced around the room. He did not want to be late. There was something missing but he could not figure out what. A dozen or so items lay on the table, neat and tidy. He ran through the list once again. Chopped onions, mashed garlic cloves, tomatoes, capsicum, coriander leaves, butter, salt, pepper and of course eggs. Ah, chilies, he had forgotten green chilies. He rushed to the refrigerator. He did not want to be late. Not tonight. She could handle this on her own, she told herself. Vials of various sizes were spread around. The pills, at last. She gulped down two at a time. This should ease things down, for a few minutes at least, though she could never be sure. They came in waves – these attacks, in ebbs and flows – and they were becoming far more frequent; and punctual. For now, though, she was calm. In the distance, the second hand of the wall clock was loud as

A lot of you keep asking me, “ tu din bhar karta kya ha i ” (what do you do all day in your free time). Here’s the answer. In what follows, most of the lines were spoken in the head, some aloud. And it’s not this coherent in original, it’s been paraphrased. “ I need a plan. I really need a plan. I need to retire, retire early. I can't work for long. I should retire by the time I am 40. Yeah 40 seems reasonable. That gives me 16 years of working life. Spend a couple years doing MBA, and I am left with 14 years. Not bad. I hope I will be able to retire at 40, and not get bogged by social obligation. Obligations? Will I have a family to take care of? A kid maybe? [No comment on this status update yet? Why isn’t anyone online?] Hmm, I can have a kid. How old would he be then? Around 7 I guess. Yeah 33 seems to be a good age to have a kid. And when the kid is 7, that’s a good time to retire. Give my nurturing instincts a way to express themselves [chuckles to self] . Seriously, 7 is a

Disclaimer #1: I am going a bit off the cuff with this post. Reader discretion is advised. Disclaimer #2: This one too is dedicated to Dr Stephen T Colbert and that brings us to tonight’s WORD: ACTIVE LEARNING . Now folks, every time I am home, I see this commercial on TV - this (kinda hot?) Mom bragging about how a certain DTH operator helped her learn English. Most of you would have seen it. And well, the first time I saw it, when she makes that transition and says pro-"noun"-cia-tion initially, I said to myself, Its pro-"nun"-cia-tion for god’s sake. Thankfully the ad makers took care of that. So, why am I discussing pronunciations here? Well the simple fact is that most of the people get that pronunciation wrong. This is ok, considering it’s not our first language. People also get "restaurant" wrong. Hell, even I don’t know how to pro-NOUN-ce " restaurant ". You see, French may be damn seductive, but it’s not the most phonetic of languages.

Hello KGP In all probability this is the last blog written/posted from KGP. I started blogging after I came to KGP, and it’s been five years of rambling for me, and just somehow as I get ready to pack my computer for one last time, this turns out to be the 50th post on 22 Crossroads. Five Years. Five years can do a lot to you. They can make you well up at a stupid farewell ceremony holding a stupid cup in your hand trying to make sense of some stupid words while kids around you chant 'speech speech'. Well, goodbyes are full of clichés -- it’s the end of an era, life will never be the same. And as Myth pointed out in his blog ( link ) , Life outside Puri gate is a bitch . Five Years. I started writing this blog on the day Sanjay Da, while serving, in the mess said, 'Aaj mere haath ka akhiri fish hai. Fir na aap rahiyega, na hum rahenge'. He always used to save a good (if not the best) piece of fish for me, and well, so the sento nerve was struck. Thank You Sanjay Da and

Top 2 ON. Baby ON !! 4 years. 7 events. It’s been a long journey ... one filled with roadblocks, preconceived notions, mindsets and apprehensions. For you I have been a long haired devil, a fat bare-chested cannibal, a camouflage-trousered terrorist and a bald megalomaniac. In these 7 events I have probably managed a total of 7 different expression at max (you know where I tilt my head a little, open my eyes big, then rotate the head in a plane and them smell something weird :P (watch 6:10 to 6:20 of this video for reference) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9BvDtiD7gg ). A loudspeaker in my vocal chords and my audacious experiments with hair has been my saving grace as an actor. I have been as lethargic a director (Mythun will vouch for that) as I have been whimsical -- cracking jokes and shouting at people within 5 minutes of each other. But, I have dreamt and fortunately seen some of them come true (we pulled off a f***ing MUSICAL dude). Yes, in 2006 Patel Drams was a dream -- 1 Bron

1. JEE counseling brochure 2. Morrison and Boyd 3. Constitution of the Patel Hall 4. Half a bottle of Kahlua 5. Manuscript of two 13 year old poems (written in 97-98) 6. Script of "The Pie and the Tart" and "Me Against Myself" 7. Secretary election funda diary 8. A half written ____-letter ish thingy [;)] 9. A bottle of hair oil (yes from those times) 10. Load Runner Quarter Final Result Sheet 11. This photograph Top-10(+1) things found while cleaning the room.

It was 4 pm. I was hungry, having not eaten anything for close to 15 hours. I had spent the last two hours in an examination hall where I had found out the actual name of the course for the first time. Common sense dictated – get food and get rest. Thankfully I had 2 missed calls, when I checked my phone after the exam. They were from Mom. I called back and found out that He was batting on 75. If I did not believe in serendipity earlier, I do now. We all know what happened next, and papers tomorrow will be full of it. In few or more words they will all call Him a living legend – there was never a doubt over that. They will all salute His genius – one would be blind not to have observed that already. They’ll say men like Him are born once in a century – and surely time will stand witness to that. They’ll all say cricket will never be the same without Him – and I dread to think of the day when He decides to say “that’s all folks” . Somehow, I always feel that my words will do justice to