Novelty Stores - All Types of Fancy Items Available

Cramped stores with plastic toys hanging outside. Rows of colourful buckets and footmats near the entrance. A few clothing items that you move out of your way when you step inside. Ladies purses, bangles, shampoo bottles, fairness creams and chunky necklaces on mannequin necks in window display shelf. You will find anything to do with decoration, women and children in this shop.

More often than not, they will be named 'Novelty (General) Stores'.

I always wondered about people who decided to name them so, instead of immortalizing their family names. There must have been a unanimous decision taken in the household to call it 'Novelty'. Or maybe they were just following a trend. Either way their target customers are women and children. They seldom keep anything for men. 

The reason is simple. It is women and children who go 'Oooooh' and 'Aaaaahhh' whenever they see something new or innovative. They are driven more by the novelty factor than the need aspect. When the novelty wears off, so does their interest and off they are to the 'Novelty stores' for new buys. They are the repeat customers, not men.

Freshness of an idea appeals more to them. Innovation just for the sake of innovation is something they appreciate. Gainful utility is seldom a thought that crosses their mind before they walk into a store, all starry eyed. Every glittering piece of plastic and various beads take them into the fairy land they dream of. Banners, swirls, confetti, ribbons, toys, imitation jewellery, combs, creams. Anything that holds the promise of a more beautiful world attracts them.

Even if you don't want to buy anything, just browsing through the supplies to your hearts content is a good enough reason to walk in.

Whenever you have bigger questions looming large over your creased forehead, do try and find such a place nearby and visit it. It will take away all your worries. It will take you back to the times when you were a child and wanted to build castles and empires of sparklers. Cheap satin and fake gold lace might feel coarse to touch but it has the power to take you into a time when you were a princess and the kingdom belonged to your father whom you lovingly claimed was the strongest person in the world. 

Economy of OTS (One Time Settlement)

I got this in the email. Makes a lot of sense to me but if there is anyone who has different  vuew or cut to it, would love to hear that as I am not a number cruncher or an 'eco' guru. This piece is not by me. The credits are at the end.

A professor of economics put this together to show how our current tax system works based on each segment of our population.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

 

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

 

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. 'Since you are all such good customers, he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers?  How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

 

And so:

 

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25%savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59  (16% savings).

 

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

 

'I only got a dollar out of the $20,' declared the sixth man.  He pointed to the tenth man,' but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I did!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two?  The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction.

Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

Bhook Laagli Aahe

"Aai, mala bhook laagli aahe (mom, I am hungry)", I would scream when I entered the house after a herculean day at school. The table would be set before I could throw my school bag on the sofa or toss those pointed shoes under it. Mother saw it all but never said anything until my meal was over. 'A hungry child is not to be scolded' was her policy. I took the food she prepared for granted. She had learnt to prepare marathi cuisine after her marriage and she was good at it. Dad loved it. It reminded him of his childhood. I hated it. it was ruining my childhood. I wanted noodles, pizzas, sandwiches, burgers.

One day she was gone. So was the marathi food from our lives.

Next time I went home, aamti had been replaced by katti saaru and masale bhat had lost out to bisibele anna. Uppitu substituted for Kanda Poha and paayasa had knocked down shrikhand/basundi. It saddened me and my father but there was nothing we could do about it. It was the sign of times to come.

Marathi Cuisine at its best

A couple of days back we bid farewell to some friends. The menu was Marathi.
It brought back beautiful memories of a plateful of lost time. The last I had this food in a silver thali was at my wedding :)

Times have changed. Yes there is a glass of sparkly wine next to the traditional platter but it still brings alive the charm of an era long gone by.

Thank you Jacob & Niyaz for having arranged this for us. You have no idea how special the evening was because of all this.

बिदाई (Farewell)

बड़े-बड़े जाँबाज़ों को

बच्चों सा बिलखते देखा है

बीच समुंदर की तह में 

अंगार सुलगते देखा है

हैवानों की दुनिया में

पीरों का मेला देखा है

अनहोनी का होना और

पत्थर का पिघलना देखा है

मुड़-मुड़ के बिछड़ना देखा है 

रुक-रुक के चलना देखा है

पलकों पे थमीं उन बूंदों का

बेबाक़ छलकना देखा है

रह-रह कर आनेवाली उन 

यादों का सताना देखा है

वीराने में बेबस से 

देखा है हमने उनको चुप

कहते थे कभी जो सीना तान 

'हमने तो ज़माना देखा है'

जाँबाज़ = daredevils, बिलखना = weep, तह = sea bed, अंगार = burning coal, सुलगना = smolder/ignite, हैवान = devil,  पीर = saint, बेबाक़ = unabashed/not ashamed, वीराना = ruins, बेबस = helpless

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

Many many years back (almost 8 or 9) I had seen a French movie called 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie'. I saw it for three reasons - it was made by Luis Bunuel, it was French and it was the in thing to do for a film buff.

I saw the film out of sheer reverence for the director. It made no sense to me. I had all my mind to switch it off many times but continued watching it just to see what the end would be. As all world classics, this one too had an end which only the super elite can decipher. For a lay person like me, it was a waste of 100 odd minutes.

However, it did leave me feeling a little.....what should I say...a little unfulfilled. It is like you search you whole C Drive for a document and don't find it till the end. I didn't know why I felt that emptiness.

Many years passed by. Google happened and so did Wikipedia. I searched for it again. I found out why I was restless after seeing the film. It was as if the document was sitting pretty on the desktop while I searched the whole drive.

The film is about 6 people who, through bizarrely linked scenes, sit down for a meal but are interrupted every time and have to get up without having a morsel. Dreams within dreams confuse you by ending with an aborted meal in every sequence. These are so subtly strung together that one is left feeling extremely hungry by the end of the film just by seeing the plight of the characters.

I was happy I finally understood the film and why Bunuel is considered so great.

What I couldn't understand was why would he want to make such a movie and how this was relevant to anybody to be able to sit through it.

At almost 11pm today, a lightning struck me to explain this very feeling that he had tried to depict. The feeling of 'waiting the whole day to grab something which is right in front of you. You want to wait till the right moment. But when the time comes, it gently slips away as you reach out for it'.

Deprivation of the privileged.
Starving of the bountiful.

Every-time a much envied city settles down to its peaceful co-existence, someone comes and rocks it.

I understand you today, Bunuel.
Mumbai had to get up once again from the dinner table this evening.

Raindrop & Windows

I am staying at Iru's. She is out at work and there is no one at home.

I am experiencing Mumbai in rains after two years. What an experience!!! I am at home.

We are alone right now. Me and the rains. Raindrop and the rains. Windows in between. Figuratively, literally and by design of fate as well. Last two days have been hectic.

I have never had to make a powerpoint presentation in my 14 years of work life to tell people 'look at me, I am a such visionary'. It felt odd. Why do you have to stand on a dais and explain what a wonderful person you are to get an award?? It made me squirm.

But I did it anyway. I had reached till here and if this is what it takes to win it, so be it.

There were five finalists. 2 from Delhi, 2 from Mumbai and 1 from Hyderabad. The judging had been delayed by an hour. All five of us sat in a conference room, waiting for the other person to speak. Me and Phani got into a conversation. He is from Hyderabad. They are into high end CGI for Tamil & Telugu films. All of us were doing something on our own. Something new, something risky. We had a bond we shared. The bond of being out there in the market where nothing comes free.

Pranav from Enlighten Film Society (I am a proud Enlighten Socitey ex-member by the way) had made no PPT. I was mighty impressed. He was the first one to go in. He walked back with a handful of DVDs and looked at all of us. We looked at him to give us some tips. He smiled and said, "Be prepared to feel like an Indian Idol Contestant". We didn't know how to interpret that. Was there going to be a Good Cop/Bad Cop Judge or was there going to be emotional drama?

I was the next person to walk in. It went well but for the Long term Revenue Model aspect wherein they differed from my opinion on how archival footage from Documentaries/Corporate films/AVs or thesis/research films can of be future monetary importance. 'A collective database of ethnographic films into a Videopedia as a revenue source' is something which got discussed into length and how it was different from National Film Archives, Qwiki or Youtube.

All I know is that if today someone came to me and said, "I have unedited footage of how Nariman Point was reclaimed from the sea in the 1940s ", I would be willing to pay a handsome price if I were a TV Channel.

Or if I take my footage of 'Gulzar Ji' reciting 3 of his unpublished/unreleased poems, out into the market, I am sure there will be buyers for it.

Today is tomorrow's history and people pay to get a part of their history back. Money might not grow on trees but it is definitely hidden in the roots. I believe High Definition Video Archive (not cinema but pure documentation/research video bank) does have some future.

Let's see.

The winner will be announced on the 20th at the Awards Night.

All in all a very very positive experience. It helped me organize all my business strategies in an extremely methodical order. I never knew competitive spirit can make one's resolve go stronger. I couldn't sleep last night wondering what would be my next step. How am I going to make it more foolproof. Who could help me? Who are the people I am going to meet the moment I get back to Delhi?

Three prominent Judges looked into my eyes and spent twenty minutes wanting to know my dream. They wouldn't have done that if they didn't see something in there. They had a few genuine queries. Now it is upon me to take care of them, awards aside.

Raindrop is looking at the world through this window that just opened up.

The Trainee

I spoke with Sumira Roy today. She had hired me at JWT way back in 1998 when I was a gawky 23 year old with nothing but two years of ad film production experience.

For a small town person, the production experience had done little in terms of grooming or making me understand the business of Advertising. Apart from running like a headless chicken trying to follow orders or getting chairs for the Ad Agency people at shoots, my learning was quite modest.

At JWT, it was a different world. I was a part (albeit the junior most) of the glass and chrome world that I so admired from the outside. I was there without any professional degree. It was like rising from the ranks (in fauji terms).

Technically I was a ‘colleague’ to all the industry bigwigs. Letting it sink in was an experience in itself. To have an opinion and be heard was a luxury. I lapped it up. I must have swamped Sumira with silly questions and nervous antics which not just doubled her work at times but also made her answerable to her seniors for my mistakes.

I never came to know if anything like this ever happened because at that time I thought I was always right and could do no wrong. She never scolded me, just hinted. Gentle and firm.

I had a choice last week. To or not to take a trainee anchor for a film I was doing. The first thought that ran across my mind was – Why should I take someone who is so fresh. This is a tight budget and tightly scheduled film. I must not experiment. I haven’t opened a training school. I will get someone more experienced, it will save me time. Money was an issue too. It is a professional suicide to get someone new.

Then I remembered Sumira. What if she had also thought like that and never hired me?

What if all the bosses in the world thought like that and never wanted to hire anyone new?

It doesn’t work like that. There are jobs that only a trainee can do. Yes the bum jobs. Jobs that no seniors want to do. Jobs that everyone else is too big for. That is how trainees get a break. That is what gives them an opportunity to show what they are capable of. And they are the ones who will do it with utmost sincerity and passion.

However small, all jobs deserve passion.

That is how trainees come into the picture. They work on the smallest task with the dedication of an Olympian. They do not behave like pigs on high heels which is how a lot of veterans would act like, if they took it up. Rheumy eyed trainees will burn the midnight oil and put their heart and soul into something that the pros don't want to touch with a barge pole. That is how happy professional accidents happen. That is how talent is discovered and everyone goes, "This one has the potential to be a biggie". The strangest part is they don't even get paid for all this. Most of the trainees in most of the companies don't get paid at all.

Sometimes they are even made to feel like an outcast. Many years back, I was in the editing room in our office. It was quite late. Maybe 9:30pm. A trainee with a very reputed brand came into the room. She asked, "can I sit with you and see the editing?" I said fine. Few minutes in, she was crying. I didn't even have to ask and she said,"They all left without me. The whole team has gone out for dinner with the Client. They didn't take me. No one told me."

I understand it is not always possible to take everyone along, to meet the Client or to present an idea. But the least someone could have done was sat her down and explained the situation to her. Finding out on your own that the team doesn't think of you as a part of the team is one of the toughest challenges a trainee faces.

Yes, there is a bit of confusion. There is some angst arising out of the time crunch. Sometime you even waste a bit of money trying to accommodate the lack of experience. But nothing that a few advices or co-operation from colleagues can’t handle. Takes a couple of months and they are an asset. No one is as loyal to the Company as a Trainee is.

Few firm instructions from time to time and lot’s and lot’s of patience. That’s all you need to welcome the new kid on the block.

When I saw Simi (a trainee news anchor with a channel) for the first time last week, I remembered myself 14 years back. And I remembered my mentors. I remembered how kind they were to me. How patient.

There comes a time when you have to stop being a trainee yourself (even though you will feel like a newcomer all your life) and start taking others under your wing so that you can nurture them well enough for them to fly on their own. Yes you do feel a little older (you are not the bacchha anymore) but I guess that is called growing up.

It is time to pay it forward.

I called up Sumira today and told her how nice it felt to pass the baton on!

(Just finished the offline edit. Simi did a good job of holding the film together as a narrator. She still has a lot of learning ahead. After the shoot she said, "This is going to be my first paycheck ever. I will keep it with me and give it to my mother when I visit her next month." I sincerely pray that she keeps this innocence, even when she becomes a well known news reporter. She is at the Parliament today to cover something, on her own :)

Simi