The Last Empress

So, two noteworthy news came out of this week, Republicans finally found there Presidential nominee in Mitt Romney and Standard & Poor's on Wednesday downgraded India's credit outlook to negative but maintained India's rating at BBB-. But today I am taking a little detour from the real world issues of Economics & Current affairs to the fantasies of the Indian celluloid.  

            My all-time favorite movie is Lamhe (Moments) and the stars that starred in it.

            The ‘most versatile of Indian actors’, the ‘original Munna’, the ‘Hairy man’, the ‘only’ Main stream Hollywood Star of India, Mr. Anil Kapoor. (I know many of you might give me a sarcastic laugh!!). And the subject of my blog today, ‘The Lady Bacchan of Indian cinema’, ‘The first superstar actress’, ‘The Queen Bee’…Sridevi.

            If I trust my memory, the first Sridevi starrer I watched was Sadma. She plays a young woman suffering from amnesia & autism following an accident. That still remains the most definitive child-woman performance of Indian film history. Who could forget Nagin. The way Sridevi played nagin (snake) character in this movie is completely unmatched. No actress before or after this movie has done it so perfectly, and I sincerely doubt if anyone would be able to give such a performance in the future. How many of us still remember that chiffon sari in Har kisiko nahin milta yahan pyar zindagi mein from Jaanbaz? If Yash Chopra brought Switzerland to India in Chandni, Sridevi made a charming acting rainbow out of her white costumes. Either it was the sensational double-act in Chaalbaaz or the class of an acting in Mr. India, she has always tested the limits of her acting skills. Be it Khuda Gawah, Ladla, Gumrah, Judaai or the unforgettable Lamhe, she never fails to surprise the audience and her costars with her spontaneous and riveting acting.   

           Before the recent trend of Indian actress going to Hollywood, it was Sridevi who was approached by none other than Hollywood’s showman, Steven Spielberg for a role in Jurassic Park, which she refused because of her commitments.

            With all due respect to MinaKumari, Madhubala and Nargis, I feel that Sridevi is the only complete actress. She undoubtedly is ‘The Last Empress’ of the Indian film industry.

The (Proud) Last Benchers

My first love after Ravi Shastri’s Audi was ‘the last bench’ in my class. Although it wasn’t for my taking, since my class teacher followed the rotation policy. The policy came into being because all the parents, including mine, wanted their kids to seat on ‘the first bench’. All the parents want the best for their kids and what better than the ‘first bench’, for there was a theory making rounds in the parents circle that if the child seats on the first bench, he/ she will become one of the top rankers in the class. What else could the poor teacher do when there were over 50 students in each class and almost all of them were ‘First Rankers’ in there parents eyes. Little did the parents knew that mentally, I and most of my close friends were the lovers of the last bench…for life?

At this stage of life, I can comfortably say that I have never been a topper in my school life. I and students like me who form the majority after graduating from the school, are the famous ‘by products’ of our school system. The ‘real products’ of the school system were the true first benchers who were destined to become ‘someone’ in the world. I am sure most of us have watched Bollywood blockbuster ‘3 Idiot’s’. I just wished that movie would have come a little earlier, then we would have justified our very little interest in Science & Math’s & Social studies & Hindi & English a little easily to our parents and teachers.  

The reason I am talking about our great education system today is not because I got frustrated with life and wanted to blame someone but because I feel that the ‘last benchers’ are not given the ‘respect’ that they deserve. We, the last benchers strongly believed that you can learn more if you enjoy more. Of course the ‘enjoy’ part of the above statement easily overtook the ‘learning’ aspect. So what if we are not the ‘cream de la cream’ of academia, we were on top of all the ‘other extra-curricular activities’. Life has its own pace in the last bench…dreaming with open eyes, enjoying a snack, writing a poem (of sorts); scribing on the bench with our modern art, etc…etc.

I have utmost respect for the ‘first benchers’ for some my non-last bencher friends have become ‘someone’ in the world. As far as my ‘fellow last-bench countrymen’ are concerned, I feel that the last benchers are the intellectual ones, whose level is same as that of the intelligent first benchers but have an ‘unusual’ and ‘different’ opinion about the concepts.

Here’s to the misfits, the rebels, the crazy ones, the squares in the circle, the trouble makers; the ones who see things differently.

Be Careful What You Wish For

             Happy weekend, friends.

So the past week witnessed two main events, North Korea’s failed rocket launch and the worsening situation in Syria. The two authoritative states have failed economically, Syria to a lesser extent. There population is worse off compare to their counterparts, more so for North Korea. Influential nations are pressing for democracy to be established in these states for years. But recent events like the Arab spring and death of Kim Jong Il has brought the issue of democracy to the forefront. Only if these nations would have oil reserve, influential powers would have intervened long time ago.

As protesters threaten the Syrian dictatorship, no one knows when and whether the regime of Bashar al-Assad will fall, not even the ‘experts’ at the UN. At the outset, as Assad’s security forces gunned down democratic protesters, the Obama administration and its European allies reacted hesitantly.  Now, pressure is mounting against the regime and the protestors have proven to be a durable and resilient force. But the current regime is defending its stand very arrogantly. UN led a mission helmed by much respected Kofi Anna, but nothing came out of the meet, except for the future meetings!!

Not surprisingly, Russia and China recently vetoed an attempt by the Arab League to secure United Nations Security Council backing of its action plan for a political transition in Syria. Russia has clear interests in Syria. It has long given military and diplomatic support to the Syrian government. It supplies Syria with its tanks, guns and other military accessories. If the Assad regime fell Russia would lose much of its influence in the Middle East. China usually remains neutral, but given US influence in the Mideast oil, it wanted to take a stand. Or maybe China has some genuine issues. It might be worried that some radical Islamic groups are backing the uprising in Syria and that radical ideologies could end up spreading down the old Silk Road to China’s own Muslim populations in Xinjiang. Farfetched but could be true. I totally understand the ‘passive’ American approach in the Syria issue. This is an election year after all and I am sure Obama administration doesn’t want to be blamed for another American war against the Muslim state, especially when the US economy is still fragile.

The verdict of the ‘Arab Spring’ is still open. True that democracy or should I say pseudo democracy has been established in Tunisia, Egypt & to a very very lesser extent in Libya. But improving your ‘Political Lives’ (voting power) and making your ‘Economic Lives’ better are two different things. I just hope that the leadership vacuum created by throwing the dictator may not result in a ‘democratically elected fanatic Islamic power’, which could become a ‘genuine’ democratically elected government.

What will the ‘Oil Craving’, ‘Democracy Loving’, ‘Economically Powerful’ and ‘Politically Influential’ nations do then?

‘It’s the Politics, Stupid’

            In a true Globalized, Open, Capitalistic market, there is always a winner, no matter who the counter parties are. And that winner is NOT one of the counterparties!!

           My friends, it might be a cliché but history is indeed repeating itself.

          The year was 1979: The first Iranian oil embargo beginning in 1979 effectively handed Marc Rich, whose company ultimately became Glencore (one of the world’s largest physical oil and commodities traders), the keys to a multibillion dollar oil-trading kingdom.

          The year is 2011: EU placed an embargo on Iranian oil. Now, it was China’s turn. China’s growing global oil trading companies are in the driver’s seat. And unlike Marc Rich’s secret trades, Chinese firms can do it openly. Since, they are confident that Beijing values stable and secure oil supplies much more than cooperation with Washington or Brussels, on the Iranian nuclear issue.

         The EU sanctions, which will affect about 450,000 barrels per day of oil imports to Europe, will likely transfer billions of dollars in oil earnings from the Iranian government to China’s main oil trading firms: Zhuhai Zhenrong, Unipec, Chinaoil, and Sinochem. These firms have become major players in the global physical crude oil market.

        The crude oil prices have never adhered to the economic principals. The current $100+ barrel (Nymex) is not the result of increasing demand or decreasing supply. If you think the 2007 US mortgage market was a mess, you won’t believe what goes on in the oil trades. As of today global oil consumption is around 85 million barrel PER DAY and the oil futures markets routinely trade more than ONE BILLION (with a ‘B’) barrels of oil PER DAY. There is a reason why the largest trader of oil in the world is not an Oil company, but a trading and a financial services company.

        Hence, it’s proven again, the basic economics mantra of ‘Demand and Supply’ doesn’t imply to the Crude Oil market. In case of global oil trade ‘It’s the Economics Politics, Stupid’.

The forgotten story…

A small nation of 340 thousand with a GDP of around $14B is one turn around success story that has stayed under the radar of the international media. Who would have thought that a country that went belly up in 2008 will rebound and witness a growth rate of over 2%, (vis-à-vis contraction of 0.3% in EU) within 3 years of witnessing the Icelandic version of the Great Depression? In fact, according to The Economist, Relative to the size of its economy, Iceland’s banking collapse is the largest suffered by any country in economic history.

The 2008 world financial crisis was the coup de grace for first hydrogen based economy in the world, Iceland. The three main Icelandic banks, Landbanki, Kapthing and Glitnir, failed and were nationalized, while the Icelandic currency, Kroner, lost 85% of its value with respect to the Euro. At the end of the year Iceland declared bankruptcy. Sensing the urgency, the self-proclaimed international lender of last resort, the IMF came into the picture. In association with the EU, they asked Iceland to adopt their usual prescription of economic crisis, the austerity measures and taking IMF loan which are tied to Debt to GDP ratio. At that time Iceland’s debt was 900 times its GNP. If Iceland would have adopted these measures, each Icelandic citizen would have to pay 100 Euros a month (or about $130) for fifteen years, at 5.5%.

The people of Iceland started a revolution of sorts and forced the political leaders to not accept the above deal. While the domestic assets of Iceland’s lenders were protected – costing the state 20 per cent of GDP, according to the IMF – the lion’s share of the collapse was borne by foreign creditors. Iceland skipped on making there international debt payments. It defaulted. The Government was brought down. Of course the IMF and the EU were upset. But the most upset were the English & the Dutch, as the savings of their citizens in Icesave bonds were wiped out. One Icelandic leader said “We were told that if we refused the international community’s conditions, we would become the Cuba of the North. But if we had accepted, we would have become the Haiti of the North.”

As of today Iceland’s net debt stands at 65 per cent of GDP well below IMF’s target of 100 percent. Iceland remains committed to paying foreign creditors large sums of money following the banks’ collapse, although at its own pace. In August last year, it completed a three-year IMF-supported restructuring program, including loans of $10bn, and has started borrowing again on global credit markets. The government announced two weeks ago that it had repaid the IMF $400m ahead of schedule.

Everyone is watching the miraculous economic recovery of Iceland, but alas no one is reporting. Of course, I am not saying that the US or other ‘big’ countries should follow Iceland’s policy (because Iceland is just too small and doesn’t have the same economic clout as the other ‘big’ economy), but Greece can definitely take a page or two from Iceland’s model.

References:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8a0390dc-78c7-11e1-9f49-00144feab49a.html#axzz1qjXbhc8G

Asli Swad Zindagi Ka - The Real Taste of Life

History, Nostalgia and the good old days.

Since I am in the zone, I will attempt to write some historical aspects of my early childhood life. Today my focus is on advertisements of late 80’s early 90’s. India’s economy was going through a very delicate phase at this juncture. We were not ‘emerging’ then, but were trying to ‘evolve’ into some sort of market based economy. Hence, the advertisement of 80’s started selling hope and aspirations to an evolving nation. The great Advertising guru Alyque Padamsee once said 1980’s economic India was chained because of the restrictive policies, but the creative minds were not. 

One more trip down memory lane…

Amul: The Company that brought the ‘white revolution’ in India also revolutionized the Indian advertisement industry by its witty one-liners which capture relevant events that have caught the fancy of the nation. Utterly butterly delicious, Amul

Bajaj Bulbs: The funny, bald man describing how his mischievous childhood acts were brought to light by the brightest burning Bajaj bulbs. Although Malavika Tiwari played an older version of her, this commercial was her claim to fame. Jab mein chota baccha tha…

Cadbury’s Dairy Milk: Who can forget the generation defining ad…Kuch Khas Hai Zindagi Mein. While today’s commercial revolves around creating stylistic ads using celebrity endorsements, Cadbury’s commercials, where young, old and almost everyone were shown living and enjoying some lighter moments were like a breath of fresh air.

Dabur Lal Dant Majan: How could one forget the brown stained teeth of Raju’s class teacher, teaching about dental hygiene? Class teacher does notices Raju’s pearl white teeth and gives the famous compliment, “Raju! Tumharei daat to motiyon jaise chamak rahey hain!”  

ECE Bulb: The famous Paintal ad, reminds us of the days when people in the area knew each other. It showed a classic 80’s Indian mid-class family. “Bhool na jaana, ECE bulb laaan”

Fevicol: 3 Idiots fame director, Rajkumar Hirani’s first venture in the entertainment world was through this commercial. “Fevicol aise jod lagaye, aache che aacha na tod paaye”

Gold Spot: One of the first English ads, it talked about a generation that was discovering new crazes. Besides the characters that came under Gold Spot crowns, Gold Spot was indeed a great drink.  And add to that the advertising punch line: “Gold Spot. The Zing Thing”

Hamara Bajaj: This commercial could only come out of a Bombay Club company. One of the most remarkable ads of that time. The ad shows how a scooter is a family treasure. It used ownership of scooter as part of the nation building activity. “Buland bhart ki buland tasveer, Hamara bajaj,hamara bajaj ,hamara bajaj"

India: Mile Sur Mera Tumhara… The un-official anthem of the nation. One of the very few government projects, which was a success. It was launched as a national integration and unity in diversity, campaign using the famous TV, Sports and film personalities.

Jungle Book: After Chacha Chaudhary, Mowgli was the only cartoon we knew…Jungle jungle baat chali hai pata chala hai

Kayam Churan: "Bhavnagar wale Sheth brothers ka Aruvedic utpadan…Kaayam Churn!" This ad reflects the tech-savvy 80’s. Rakesh Bedi in his khaki shikari costume, complete with hat and a gun is trying to kill 3 devils (rakshas) ‘Gas’,’ Acidity’ and ‘Stomach ache’. A sage comes to his rescue and says, “Inka ilaaj goliyaan nahin, aayurved hai”

Liril: It was the first color commercial to be shown on Doordarshan during the start of Asian games in 1982. Liril gave us the first glimpse of the dimple girl, the chulbully Priti; “Laaaaaa…laa…laa…laa…laaaaaa…laa…laa…laa…laa…la…la…la”

Maggi Hot and Sweet Tomato Chilli Sauce: One of the first 80’s commercials that was launched as part of a series. It starred the famous pair of Javed Jaffery and Panaj ‘Karamchand’ Kapoor. The tag line “It’s Different” was indeed able to differentiate Maggie from its competitors.

Nirma: The iconic, young little girl swirling around in a skirt – the Nirma girl. The official advertiser of the cinema halls across India. All cinema halls always started there shows with the Nirma ad. “Washing powder Nirma, Washing powder Nirma”

Onida: It created larger than life product impact. Released on air during the 1980’s, its tag-line “Neighbor’s envy, owner’s pride” proved successful because it was derived from the analysis of middle-class mentality prevailing during those days J

Pepsi: Then known as Lehar Pepsi, the famous ad campaign starred Remo Fernandez & the kid singer, Penny Vaz. Undoubtedly the right ad of those times. “Yeh Hi Hai Right choice Baby…aaha!!”

Rasna: The simple innocence of a 3 year old, Ankita Jhaveri made the whole nation fall in love with the instant drink powder. Ad agency, Mudra’s classic from mid-80’s, “I love you, Rasna”. 

Surf: First brand icon of the Indian advertisement, Laitaji. Lalitaji was brought to life on television by Kavita Chaudhary with the tag line “Surf ki Kharidari mai hi Samajdari hai”  

Tata Salt: Coming of age of India’s 80’s consumerism, India's first packaged iodized salt brand. It positioned itself as “Desh Ka Namak”, signifying salt with trust.

Uncle Chips: One of the first domestic brands of potato chips. Noted film music director Shantanu Moitra started his composing career with the hit-jingle, "Bole mere lips. I love Uncle Chipps".

Vimal, Only Vimal: …and so the legend goes, ‘Apna’ Dhirubhai was briefing the ad agency and he said, "Only Vimal has the most sophisticated plant." "Only Vimal uses merino wool". "Only Vimal has the most designs". Only Vimal.... And very soon, a bright (or lazy) copywriter came back with the tagline "Only Vimal" which Dhirubhai bought.

And the rest as they say is history.

Woodwards Gripe water: Yes, the now famous question, “Kya Hua?” came from this commercial. The multi generation mothers shown in this commercial is a testament to the quality. And I know this for sure because we use to give it to Ashvy still last year. 

Zadu Baam: The 80’s baam that took the avatar of Munni badnaam in 2010, still heals people’s backache and heartache! “Zandu Balm, Zandu Balm, Peeda hari balm”

The Discovery of India – Part II

Our beloved first prime minster Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru wrote the original ‘Discovery of India’ during his imprisonment, between 1942 and 1946 in Ahmednagar jail. In the book, he presented a broad view of Indian culture and history through the eye of a liberal freedom fighter. He gives a lesson on history from the days of Indus valley civilization to the then British Raj.

No, I am not giving any history lesson here, but given the current socio-political state of India, I am trying to add my two cents and re-make the great book by Pandit Nehru into a short story…Discovery of India-II (DI-II). His original book examines the effect of the various people who came to India and influenced Indian culture, society & philosophy; mine will throw some light on how the current corrupt politicians (I hate calling them leaders) are infecting our youths and society as a whole.

In The Discovery of India, Pandit Nehru argued that India was a historic nation with a right to sovereignty. In DI-II, I will argue that India is a ‘mature, democratic’ nation and is high time that India and Indians should act as one and take back the nation. The dream of a free democratic India that was foreseen by our great leaders has since long become a pseudo-democratic nightmare. The free and healthy democratic principles have become some fancy phrases. Heck, the original copy of the constitution, which has the signature of the 285 leaders, is gathering dust on some shelf in some library in the city of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

The current crop of leaders has made a mockery of our democratic principles. The person, who has four sever criminal charges against him, is given bail and is allowed to run for a democratic election. The joke doesn’t end there; he wins with the help of his goons and thanks to the ‘party high command’, he is made the minister of the Prison’s. So the very same prison that should be inside, is now governing them ‘all’ from the outside. One minister who tries to bring some economic rationality to the money loosing, Indian railways, by revising the price of the tickets (unchanged since last 10 years) to stabilize the budget is politically massacred in the full public view on the very next day.

Gandhiji encouraged regional politics to bring stability and make the nation a true democracy. But little did he knew that the current crop of corrupt, cunning, class-less SOB’s will twist and turn the system in such a way that heads or tails they will be the winners and the ‘Aam Janta’ will always be on the losing side.

Panditji wrote his Discovery of India during the British Raj, I will write during the Corrupt-Poltic-Raj. His Discovery of India saw the bright light of democracy after the release, I will be happy if mine sees even a glimmer of a ‘true, free, open democracy’.

Here’s to the Hope…again!!