A Time To Reflect

charukesi August 26th, 2008

My status message across places on the internet reads - cross between a zombie and a junkie. and that is how I have been feeling these last couple of weeks, especially the last few days.

Just up after two days of forced bed rest - which happened only because the husband worked from home to keep a watch on me - am up and about. Barely. Was just telling him - I’d forgotten what the pain is like…

One. forgets. so. easily. The everyday every minute pain I live with anyway… But I’d forgotten what the debilitating enforced bed-rest type pain is like. I am feeling somewhat cheated now that it has crept back into my life. Hey, I thought you’d gone away…

The zombie-junkie mode I can live with. I am on a new course of medication for my fibromyalgia pain and that keeps me drowsy and disoriented through the day. But that I can live with - there is hope at the end of all the daze.

What is disturbing, distressing, is what I have found out now when I have started seriously researching fibromyalgia on the net.

On a message board I came across - I have fibro, I was told by dr.s for years the pains I felt were all in my head, I was glad when I figured out I have fybro - a stranger half way across the world - in the western world of advanced medical care. And she says what I think and say…

But you look fine to me…

Think of all the people who have worse pain than you…

From doctors and from people whose worst experience with pain has probably been a foot sprain back in school… And I grin and nod my head and move on. And wonder - maybe it is all in my mind. And like this stranger, I was glad when the diagnosis was first made. Glad to know what it was that kept me awake and tired and in pain all the time…

All this moaning - I have a point. I read And I wonder how many people in India are going through the it is all in your mind treatment from their doctors and friends and family. Fibromyalgia cannot be diagnosed with x-rays or blood tests, it takes a learned and sensitive medical practitioner to understand this syndrome.

So I have been thinking about a support group for this in India - except I have no idea where to begin and what it can do.

Like I’ve said earlier, pain is a very lonely place to be… And all I know at this time is that I want to provide a space where it is possible for fibromyalgia sufferers to be able to share that pain and loneliness… Something on the lines of these sites National Fibromyalgia Association and Fibromyalgia Network - in India.

So what are your thoughts? ideas? Maybe a good way to begin would be to write about it in a health magazine - any thoughts on this?

Please respond… This is very important to me. And perhaps a lot of others too…

***
the truth is that my will power has a hundred re-births each day. it lives when i foolishly expect to live normally like everybody else. it dies when others foolishly expect me to live normally like everybody else. it thrives when i am fighting by myself. it is murdered when i visit the doctor.

From a fellow fighter-survivor…

You know, R, maybe we need to stop pushing ourselves so much. let go, V keeps saying to me. Maybe I just need to learn to let go and not worry about proving a point. To me. Least of all to others - who anyway think - but you look fine

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charukesi August 24th, 2008

From today’s Bombay Times…

It’s true. Bollywood’s leading stylist Manish Malhotra has been roped in to design the garments worn by the idol of Lord Krishna at the Iskcon Temple in Juhu for today’s Janmashtami celebrations. What’s more, the Kalash Abhishek of Lord Krishna at puja time will be performed by Manish in the presence of other Bollywood personalities like Raveena Tandon, Rani Mukerji and Sonam Kapoor. Neeta Lulla, who designed the outfit for Lord Krishna’s consort Sri Radha, will also be part of the festivities. For this auspicious occasion, Manish has used silk and velvet with heavy gold sequin work and hand embroidery.

It is true - that one wonders, what next…

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charukesi August 22nd, 2008

So soaps are born, soaps die and soaps even get married. After over a decade of being in the thick of such action(!), some of it - most of it - does not make sense to me. Rexona is now Hamam. Why? Granted, Hamam is one of the largest (or still the largest?) selling soap brand in India, but Rexona was no small brand, especially in the South - so I wonder about this “merger”. And this after a price slash a few months earlier in both brands. And earlier, Moti soap being eased off the market - is there just no market for the classic sandal variant?

And on the other hand, the barrage of new soaps from ITC - Fiama Di Wills came first a few months ago, soon followed by Vivel Di Wills. And I recently also saw a Superia on television, and I am told there is also a Vivel without the Di Wills. Why? I wondered about the point (some would say, the ’strategy’ -but me, I am just a jaded market researcher) behind all this. Turns out, there is a point - as this interview made all clear.

On the name Fiama Di Wills - The name has been created fundamentally looking at the aspect of soft feminity and a feeling of joy, comfort and beauty. Er, yes. And what about the name Vivel then, with or without the Di Wills?

I have looking at the advertising for the different ITC soaps - and try as I may, I cannot understand how the brands are different. Fiama Di Wills was launched with Deepika Padukone as the face, while Kareena Kapoor represents Vivel (plain vanilla or Di Wills, I am not sure now) - so how are the two celebrities different enough to represent different values, benefits, whatever?

More from the interview, Fiama is the value proposition which is designed on gentle and effective care, with the benefit of nature and science. The brand Vivel Di Wills is based on certain understanding and provision of an emotional benefit of a confident young women.

I have no doubts that this entire process has been carefully thought through by ITC, but I am no so certain if this differentiated positioning with respect to benefits is getting communicated at all - consumers are most likely to pick up the new soaps based on price, and where does that leave all the positioning strategy? Or is the plan just to be present in every possible segment within soaps, which given the muscle of ITC is very possible.

Somewhat like the limited edition variants that Lux throws out into the market, every few months, just to keep the excitement alive. And speaking of Lux, I wonder which ‘filmi sitarey‘ will now appear for Lux, what with the ITC soaps signing up the hottest ones?

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charukesi August 21st, 2008

A holiday with a view…

Three days in the middle of tea and coffee plantations. And bird song and cicada noises. And electricity only for a few hours late evening. Taking long walks in the muddy hill roads and making friends with tea plantantion workers. Bliss is was this.

Why I did not want to come back to Bombay… and other things. So read - long weekend in Wayanad…

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charukesi August 13th, 2008

Welcome to BPOshaadi.com - a place to find your BPO soulmate.

Why would someone need only a BPO soulmate, even a BPO soul?

Other sites from the same network - Mangliks.com, Govtshaadi.com, Specialshaadi.com, Thirtyplusshaadi.com, BPOdating.com. Oh, wow. Go figure. I already have.

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charukesi August 11th, 2008

I learn - Now, with the completion of 100 days in the Southern metropolis, TOI celebrated the occasion with a special 104-page pullout, ‘Chillax’, with its August 7 edition. Chillax? (cringe). But celebrating a hundred days - really? What were they expecting - to be thrown out of the theatres market, end of the first week?

And oh sorry - I just read on - ‘Chillax’, a combination of ‘Chill’ and ‘Relax’, is a common enough lingo amongst the youth and represents vigour, cosmopolitanism and youthfulness. That makes sense. Now I go try some Sleepax to see if the flu I am coming down with gonishes.

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charukesi August 11th, 2008

I have been thinking about this since I first saw it on afaqs - Do signature tunes for brands work? - (okay, maybe not thinking as in all the time, but I thought about it when I clicked on this forgotten link to see what it was I had book-marked!). I still don’t know what the article says, in fact, I don’t even understand what the question means… but among the many clever things David Ogilvy said, this hits the nail on ts head - when you have nothing to say, sing it.

From the article -Jingles were prevalent when media was not as cluttered as it is today. Now merely singing the virtues of the product will fail to engage consumers - I agree.

Looking great and feeling good with Lakme…
As crazy as we are about - Gold Spot - the zing thing…
Trrrriiiinng - washing powder Nirma…

Even in this cluttered market today, I think the key is to memorability is the signature tune - it is the single identity that people associate with the brand, even as it goes through several (sometimes pointless) avtaars of variants and pack changes and relaunches. For instance, think of Nokia, and the first thing I think of is the signature tune. Or Thums Up - taste the thunder!

There are also brands which have used their music as almost the single point of their advertising - The best example for me would be Titan and the way the basic tune gets modified and repackaged with each new product - Fast-track for instance has a peppy, younger version of the tune, while Titan Raga carried the tune in a soulful rendition by Shubha Mudgal. I only have to hear it from anywhere and I know the ad is for Titan - and it is great fun for me to guess what kind of watch the ad is for, and for which target segment - based just on the way the tune is rendered.

SO why do brands who spend several hours and bottles of antacid, not to mention lakhs of rupees before changing any other aspect of their identity give no thought to this vital element - the music. I would contend it is one of strongest elements related to a brand - sit down today with a bunch of people your age (my age!) and recall ads from the past - and I can assure you the ads remembered are those that can be sng.

Vajradanti Vajradanti Vicco Vajradanti…

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charukesi August 7th, 2008

Two recent ads that have turned accepted advertising rules on their head.

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk - this lovely ad brought a smile to my face…

India has lost the cricket match - yet that is no reason to not eat CDM. Clever, and bold communication that says, you don’t really need a reason to eat Dairy Milk…

I love the way the ad ends - hey, but where is this Kenya? - after finishing the chocolate…

And ICICI Prudential Life Insurance - starts off with a bang and though ends with the usual apologetic whimper, carries forward the idea of insurance for life and not death very strongly.

The husband asks with a mocking smile, will you be able to live without me? and the wife, taken aback says in a whisper, no - before smiling back to say, I will marry again, I will go on a world tour… Two can play at that game, and I enjoyed that game till it lasted - for she goes on to explain to him how the life insurance policy would take care of the daughter’s education and future, blah blah.

However, what a long way life insurance advertising has come from morose widows seeing off the married daughter before turning to the garlanded portrait of the deceased husband… and also the constant refrain of ’son to be educated and daughter to be married’…

The last time I remember advertising say something so startling was when Surf Excel said - daag acche hain…

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charukesi August 5th, 2008

It’s Sunday morning and the roads leading to Chandni Chowk are deserted. We cross the chaotic merry go round of Connaught Place in a trice and head to old Delhi. Where are all the people? The buffaloes that carry on listlessly and children who dart at unexpected moments across the road. It is so quiet. Where are all the vehicles? There is no orchestra of blaring horns, no tinkle of cycle rickshaw bells as they weave their way through the narrow lanes, just managing to miss running over innocent feet and getting run over by speeding cars. And before I realize it, the Red Fort is to my right, imposing and grey in the early morning light, not fully awake.

And inside the Jama Masjid, the sense of stillness follows us. On an earlier trip late one afternoon last September, I remember the contrast the interiors of Jama Masjid presented to the babel of the streets and market surrounding it. Once inside, it is another world, people finding themselves quiet corners to pray and meditate and even sleep, all outside noises filtered by the thick red walls along with their worries and anxieties.

The cap seller is just taking out his stock, arranging them carefully into a delicate house of cards. He looks indifferent to my intrusive camera; even when I show him his photo on the camera he shrugs in a careless manner. I can see he is pleased - he calls his friend to show him the image and then calls out to me a few minutes later to share the meagre breakfast they have all started eating from the packets carefully carried from home.

I stand near the gate that looks on to the Red Fort, sharing the moment with families sitting on the steps. My mind keeps going back to the past, to the place this must have been, to the better days this area has seen… Now, people are washing their clothes on a tiny stream between the mosque and the fort, vendors are setting up shop all along the road, children are running about trying to catch chicken and each other in a game that makes sense only to childhood.

Inside the mosque, people are quietly doing their own thing. Near the pool in the preliminary cleansing ritual , under the arch staring out blankly into space, on the corridor offering prayer, near the pillars fast asleep…

Each individual has found his own space.

And from the top, from another day, another time… life inside and outside the mosque goes on as usual…

***
Cross-posted at Itchy Feet
Also see: Jama Masjid photo gallery

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charukesi July 7th, 2008

This month on Himal - the heritage mass market

***

In a city where the skyline has long been defined by massive hoarding boards, there was one on Marine Drive a few years ago that captured Bombay’s ethos perfectly. Restless to get ahead, it proclaimed, and that is exactly what the much-touted spirit of this megalopolis is all about – getting on, getting ahead. Yet, in all of its hasty, focused march towards the future, Bombay remains a city that continues to look to its past with much sentimental fondness. ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus’ it may be to those who decide these sorts of things, but it is still Victoria Terminus – or more correctly, VT – to those millions who walk in and out and past the iconic railway station every day. For that matter, Mumbai itself remains Bombay to many of those who live and work in it.

And so it is with Crawford Market. Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Market announces the arch marking the entrance to this sprawling area, but it is by the name of Arthur Crawford, who as the city’s first Municipal Commissioner established this market in 1869, that it is still known to all. But Crawford’s creation, which has been declared a Grade I heritage building and precinct, could currently be seeing its last days.

At a time when ‘foreign’ goods were banned in India’s closed market through the 1980s, this was the spot where the discerning South Bombay shopper headed to pick up tins of Kraft cheese, packs of creamy Camay soap or electronic gadgets. And so today there are giant packs of Persil from Dubai, diapers from the US, pizza sauces from Europe – Crawford Market continues to stock everything from everywhere around the globe. These days, even though most of these products, and more, are widely available in shops everywhere, the market still attracts loyal customers, who go there for the wholesale bargain prices and perhaps the sheer excitement of down-home shopping. Indeed, there is remarkably little method to the madness inside the market. Immediately next to shops selling exotic beauty products sit rows of pink and green cashews, while the next stall is occupied by a coconut vendor who moonlights in mobile-phone recharge cards. The market marches to a rhythm that only regulars seem to be able to hear and identify, even against the din of the wholesale vegetable trading.

Built in Gothic and Norman architectural styles, Crawford Market originally included three stately fountains and a central clock-tower, all of which are currently slated for demolition to make way for new development. The municipality’s idea, floated back in September 2007 and estimated to cost more than INR 1 billion, is to ‘redevelop’ the entire market area through a private developer, eventually putting up two massive towers that will offer a total of 66,000 square metres of rentable space.

In reaction, a number of citizens’ groups have sprung into action to oppose these plans. Recently, one group urged Bombay-ites who disagreed with the decision to raze the market to wear all white for two days. And, though some concerned citizens did do so, they have been unable to influence the decision in any way. The crores being made by builders and politicians in kickbacks are evidently worth much more than preserving the past. Indeed, the die seems to have been cast. But for the moment, as can be seen in the accompanying photographs, beneath the high arches of Crawford Market it is still business as usual throughout the week.

(cross-posted on my travel blog, Itchy Feet)

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