तुम न हो बदनाम ये सोचकर जीता हू वरना
तेरी चौखट पे मरनेका इरादा रोज होता है

Have a nice weekend and Take care, folks!

Few days back I wrote about the ads that are simply maddening. There is one ad, however, that I absolutely love. Idea has always come up trumps when it comes to their ads. This time is no different either. In a country such as ours where diversity in religions, languages and cultures is sowing discontent rather than becoming its source of strength, this ad brings a welcome message. What an idea Sirji! Please keep them coming :-)

बाप्पा येणार, येणार म्हणताना दीड आणि पाच दिवस राहून आपल्या घरी परतले सुध्दा. काल गौरीदेखील घरी गेल्या. तरी ११ दिवसांचे गणपती आहेत म्हणून बरं नाहीतर सगळं कसं एकदम भकास वाटायला लागलं असतं. :-( मला स्वतःला तर विसर्जन बघायला अजिबात आवडत नाही. कसल्या गोजिरवाण्या मूर्ती विसर्जनाला घेऊन जात असतात. बाप्पाना खरं तर त्यांच्या घरी जाऊ द्यायलाच नाही दिलं पाहिजे. :-)

एरव्ही गायब झालेला पाऊस पण विसर्जनाच्या दिवशी नेमका बाप्पाला भिजवायला येतो. आणि मग त्याच्याबरोबरच्या मंडळींची मूर्तीवर छत्री धरायला एकच लगबग उडते. ज्याने सगळ्या जगावर क्रृपाछत्र धरलंय त्याला पावसापासून वाचवायची धडपड पाहिली की हसू येतं पण आतून कुठूनतरी भरूनसुध्दा येतं.

बाप्पा, पुढच्या वर्षी अजून लवकर या. ह्या वर्षी जाताना सगळ्यांची दु:खं बरोबर घेऊन जा. आणि विसर्जनानंतर घरी घेऊन जायची मूठभर माती असते ना त्यातून सगळयांच्या वाट्याला भरभरून सुख पोचवा!

There are 3 ads which are responsible for my hair loss these days because every time I see one of them I tear out a clump of my hair in frustration :-(

The first one has to be the new Fair & Lovely ad. The lesser said about the national obsession with fair skin the better. They make it worse by implying that a girl needs to have a fair complexion so she can either impress guys or win sponsorships - as is shown in this latest ad. So we see a girl who wants to win a cycling tournament and shift the family to a bigger house. Her kid brother (seriously, I never heard of an elder sibling taking a younger one seriously!) remarks that winning the tournament is not enough for raking in the money - she needs to have a 'peaches & cream complexion'. So this girl reaches for the fairness cream and voila! She wins the race, some photographer notices her flawless skin and calls someone. Our girl gets a call and she is the brand ambassador of some Sports brand. She then takes mommy dearest on a tour of the neighborhood for selecting their new bungalow. Bye bye hard work and Adios dedication! What rot, I say!

Then there is this Lenovo ad which has such a lousy presentation that I reach for remote control's Mute button in a rush of panic every time it airs. That's why I don't know (and don't ever want to know!) why that guy is clinging to the feet of another man, probably his dad. This ad has "Low Budget" written all over it!

The last one is Priyanka Chopra's Hero Honda ad. I must confess that the concept is good - especially in the Indian society where a girl has to be answerable for lot of things whereas her male siblings enjoy more freedom. But they have fouled up the execution big time. I am not sure why Priyanka has made such a loud attempt at being bubbly. And I feel the ad has failed to bring out the connection between riding Hero Honda and having fun. :-(

Thank God for small mercies! At least there is something on the Sports front to cheer about - what with Rohan Bopanna reaching a career high of 19 in the Doubles Ranking and Sushil Kumar becoming the first-ever Indian wrestler to win a Gold medal in the Moscow World Championship. :-)

Trust the ministers, however, to mess things up everywhere. Sports Minister MS Gill proved how clueless he is by asking the wrestler's coach to stand aside during the photo shoot. When will these people learn to do some home-work?

What is it with us Indians? Why do we think that destruction of public property is the only way to give vent to our dissatisfaction? I am not sure exactly what is going on in J&K. Are we sure that those who are setting fire to schools and vehicles have come from across the border? Or are some of the Indian residents part of this mob? How can anyone tell them apart? Did our leaders make a mistake by allowing some of the Muslims to stay in this country at the time of the partition? If yes, then how many generations are supposed to pay the price for it? Is this rampaging, destroying mob, in fact, the true face of Islam?

My secular mind is not at ease asking these questions. But I can no longer stop myself from raising these either. I am sick and tired of these scenes - as I am sure most of the Indians are. When are these people going to stop? Why can't they live and let live? What is this insane desire to make everyone follow their faith?

Lots of questions and no answers in sight. :-(