Saturday, October 22, 2011

Crowning glory

It's the black gold on your head that gives u a facelift. Hair fall, dry hair, withering hair, tangled hair, wavy hair, thorny hair, problems due to changing climate… we have been hearing these complaints since ages. Many companies assail u with a lot of hot (h)air.
Hmm! The day starts with a whine. How to go about with it. Grandma is always there in the corner. U hear her say, “Huh! Days have so changed. When I was a girl, (that was for a brief period for she got married before she turned 8 and became mother by 13!) we used gingelly oil and washed it off with soapnut.
Another problem. Your mother-in-law - and hmm it’s always she – who finds a follicle in the dal or chutney - and raises an accusing finger at u. Oh! However careful u r, u end up with a hair-raising experience at the dinner table. U braid it with sensitivity but end in a bad hair day.
But time has changed. SO have the quality of water and the impact of climate. The feeling – quite enthralling – of waving back the flowing tresses is marvellous. But many think it’s only the advertisement gals who can have the luxury to do so.
It need not be.

If u r chick enough u will realize the benefits of Dove – it’s heads and shoulders above its competitors. Realise your dream of crowning success.

Dove hair Wow moment contest

Hair never lets down those who never let their hair down.

To look fair
U should have hair
Treat the strands with love
Not tough. U have Dove!
Follow Dove for many a good lock
Wow! See how people to u flock.
Give a minute to your tress
Your rival suitor reels under stress.
Wave away your fears
Era of curly waves nears.
Use Dove for that shine
A one-stop product and no more u whine.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Present sense

You must be a gifted person to choose the right gift. Not for nothing
it's also called a present - it should adhere to the current trends.
And weigh in the number of occasions that have burgeoned. Previously,
there were only birthdays and wedding days. But now mother's day,
father’s day, friendship day, Valentine’s Day. Hardly a day goes by
without some such nomenclature. You should be really inventive and
innovative to match the gift not only with the occasion but also - yes
you guessed right - your purse.
Some people have a vision and a generation is benefited. Like Ratan
Tata. He saw a struggling family of four on scooter, pondered over it
and came up with Nano.
Not all are so altruistic. Many people think twice what they get in
return before making a present. They give a small amount but
uncharitably insist on a host of names - father, mother, grandparents
- to be mentioned in the list of donors.
Gifts play a big role in diplomacy too. For e.g., gifting a panda by
the Chinese. It wins over a country.
Many people consider life itself a gift. Pity then those who end it
abruptly - in a fit of emotion. Though the suicide of the Tunisian
cartman gave birth to Arab Spring, ending one's life is unacceptable.
However, even after death some people live in others’ memory - when they gift
their eyes, kidneys etc.
But not all gifts are acts of friendship or kindness. When the king
gave an elephant to the courtier, he is saddled with its maintenance.
A costly affair. He can neither neglect its upkeep nor can he get rid
of it.
A big gift packet need not reflect a person's large-heartedness nor
should it necessarily contain an expensive article inside. Sometime
ago, the groom was presented a big packet. When the newly-weds opened
it, there was another packet in it. And another and another till it
became a small one. When the final packet is opened, in the presence
of wedding guests, it consisted of - to the embarrassment of all - a
condom. Pranks of youngsters!
Not all gifts need to be costly either. Tirupathi laddu. Costs
nothing but you are sure of getting your work done.
The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its
donation, says a proverb. Blood donation ranks in it at the top.
Many people are endowed with various gifts - gift of gab is one. You
can sweet talk your way to success. Gift of imagination. See Rowling.
Howling all the way to bank. Nothing new in her books esp for those
who read Chandamama. Children have a gift of fantasy. But it is
smothered now-a-days by over-ambitious parents who swamp them with
various tailor-made activities. Running them from one class to another
and ruining their creativity.
Like everything, the art of gifting evolves. When my dad and mom
married, my dad was given a cycle. A big thing at that time. Now in an
Andhra family, I saw a golden razor presented at the engagement
itself! While some people request you not to bring any gift (may their
tribe increase) - your presence and blessings are in themselves one -
there are others who started giving gifts along with the wedding
invite. A box of dry fruits, chocolates et al. Some repulsive people
expect gifts both when they come to your house or when you call on
them.
A friend always bought local ghee but presented it to our professor
claiming it to be from their farm - pure. Since the professor knows
not to look into a gift horse's mouth, he accepted and rewarded him
too. But you better check the horse - Beware of Greeks bearing gifts -
lest it should turn a Trojan one!
A word of praise is also a great gift. Tell your wife the food is good
or her dress is gorgeous, you will receive a return gift!! A wise
lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the
giver, goes a saying. But not so with the wife. Esp. during Diwali.
You should gather what your neighbor is giving his wife and better
match yours with it!
But the best gift is showing concern and kindness. Share what we have
with the orphans or at the old age homes. No need to dole out
expensive gifts. Spend time with them, tell stories to children and
hear stories from the elderly. You are blessed.

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Monday, February 21, 2011

An idea

An idea changes the world.

Deng Xiaoping said: The colour of the cat does not matter as long as it catches mice." And see how the moribund dragon has recast itself. While it plays cat and mouse with the U.S. on yuan evaluation, it emerged as the big cat among the economies.

Well not all ideas are appreciated or realized so fast. Remember Copernicus? When he said the Earth rotated on its axis once daily and travelled around the Sun once yearly, he was ridiculed and incarcerated. And so was Galileo. Imagine the giggles their wives had to endure. And they themsleves in turn their wivies' frown for propounding the idea. How about Newton? What an idea? Why should apple fall down!!! These thoughts stray as they looked ushered in a revolution and enlightenment.
There are others who sell outlandish ideas to starry-eyed customers - like land on Moon. Really people should be men from Moon to buy this idea. On the other hand are the people who have blinkers. Mbkei, former South African President, believes there is no link between HIV and AIDS. His controversial HIV/AIDS policies caused the deaths of 365,000 people — including 35,000 babies — between 2000 and 2005, researchers at the US-based Harvard University have estimated.

Such things are not merely associated with the African states and voodoo practices. It's gasping to see that there is still a Flat Earth Society in the U.S. Yes. They still think that the Earth is flat. (http://www.alaska.net/~clund/e_djublonskopf/Flatearthsociety.htm). And they think we are living in Dark Ages to think that it is not!!!
People have queer ideas about UFOs - extraterrestrial matter. Sometimes it emerges they are new types of (spy) planes being tested by advanced countries. And that's all.
Often people end with their foot in the mouth like New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key who described British actress and estranged wife of Indian business tycoon Arun Nayar, Liz Hurley, as "hot".
Women’s rights campaigners said the remarks were “boorish”. The sexist row erupted after Key was asked on a radio show if he would like to be Australian cricket star Shane Warne. He replied: “Yeah, well, given his current liaisons with Liz Hurley. I reckon she’s hot.”
The father-of-two, who is married to his childhood sweetheart, Bronagh, went on to name the 45-year—old actress as a “definite” dream date.
Key, who has two teenagers, Stephie and Max, said in his dream date top three Hurley was “a definite”, especially as she’s only “slightly older“. Warne’s and Hurley’s names came up after Key was first asked what sporting star he would like to be. He said he wouldn’t mind being Tiger Woods —— for the money.
But then he added, perhaps hinting at Tiger’s list of women friends, “there are other benefits that clearly come with the job.” (courtesy: PTI)
Some are sheer audacious. See the very gestation of the idea - that they can hoodwink the mighty American intelligence, hijack so many planes and crash them - nay the whole world's economy - into such vital installations. Abhorrent the act is though. The world is never the same again.
Some others are quite stupid. Consider this. Pakistani extremist leaders, including JuD chief Hafiz Saeed, have stepped up calls for jihad against India, even advocating the use of nuclear weapons if needed in the “war for Kashmir“. The effects will wipe out both the nations and what these stupid people want they will not survive to enjoy.
Some others are unintended puns. Outside a secondhand shop: We exchange anything - bicycles, washing machines, etc. Why not bring your wife along and get a wonderful bargain?!
Some others are quite fantastic. One is laying roads that move - walkalators - to avoid congestion - read during schol times. Aldous Huxley?
It's sheer lack of thought for others' sensitivity like these folks peeing right in front of the passengers as the train passes by. Unabashed creatures. The idea of hero bashing baddies without as much as a drop of sweat is sheer ridiculous.
Very many times the affinity, the values change. Earlier people thought they belonged to Earth and flourished. Now people think the other way. Accumulate huge tracts, leave them untilled and grumble about food prices.
Some leave a bitter taste in your mouth. India's chances went for a toss when Chetan Sharma bowled full toss to Miandad - feversih moment.
It was a national shame when Ramar Pillai made us believe that he could soak some herbs in water and convert it into oil which can be used to run a combustion engine. It proved to be just well gas.
And they are those die-hard fans. Like Tamil Nadu politician Vaiko who thinks LTTE supremo Prabakaran is still alive!!!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

a fast one

politicians are very fast in pulling a fast one on the public by going on fasts. their hunger for publicity is such after all. when they take up the cause of the trodden, they ensure it appears above the fold in the newspapers.
fasting as a weapon was of course invented by the Mahatma. the skeletal images of the indians esp rural folk, stirred him. but the modern politicians don't have the stomach for such unto-death fasts. they have invented relay hunger strike - that is fast till the food he had is digested and hand over the baton to the next man who just had his lunch. the post-mortem of a leader, who was murdered during one such fast, it was widely rumoured, showed he had idlis a few hours before the assassination.
look at the recent launch of such one by former Andhra Pradesh ex-chief minister chandrababu naidu - suicide by a farmer stirred his conscience and he launched a fast. soon his rivals plunged head on into the act. if they are so concerned let them till the land along with the farmers to highlight the problem. instead they till the fertile vote ground. the hunger of the poor is the fodder for their survival.
of course the one tamil nadu chief minister karunanidhi undertook was the acme of the vaudeville. the way his two wives - one sat at at his head and and the other at his feet - and competed to serve him in full glare, a spectacle indeed. the real cause is gobbled up. millions go sans a meal, as the mealy-mouthed politicians solganeer.
every year the government reels out statistics on shining india only to induce a reeling sensation among the distressed. the poor continue to eat a humble pie. the question what's cooking elicits (apart from the figurative sense) an empty stare - simply because nothing is cooking. for many, the meal is simply coarse grains, pour water and add salt. this gruel - a watered down version of food - is their staff of life. a pickle is a luxury and vegetables not even a dream. for them aphorisms like "The right time to eat is: for a rich man when he is hungry, for a poor man when he has something to eat" are meaningless. this leads to crime and in fact many people prefer the hardships of jail so that they would get something to eat. many a time, the rumble in the stomach gains traction as grumble and tumbles the governments - remember let them eat cake grandstanding?
the government has introduced shops to sell food at subsidised prices. for many, the ration shop has no rationale - after all they don't have the means to buy the articles.
while some people are forced to go empty stomach, others prefer to go so by choice. there was this actress who would spread all kinds of dishes, desserts, ice creams - quite mouthwatering - on the table and well simply watch them. afterall pencil-thin figure is importantna? instead of eating, they apply cheese, honey, vanilla extracts and eggs on their face and skin!
empty stomachs evoke sympathy. this leads to charity. read this story. every year in some american town, the school organises charity drive. the students collect food items and keep them safe in the school because of the threat from a poor white neighbourhood nearby. then they send it to the native Indian tribes. once one of the boys meets a native indian at a soccer match. the native thanks this boy for the food items but wonders how they eat a particular yoghurt item. the boy is puzzled and asks what they do with the yoghurt stuff. well, said the Indian. we have our own charity drive. we always send it to the poor white neighbourhood near your school!!
i sign offf beffore your appetite goes down.