Anna Flickers Like a Candle

Everyone knows about the "Pawar Slapgate" - the incident in which a citizen slapped Sharad Pawar in full public view. There is even a funny video on the slap- popularly known as the "Chamat Song"- which you can watch here.

When Anna Hazare was informed about the incident, he replied with a witty- even slightly acerbic- one-liner, "Ek hi mara kya? (Only one slap?)". The statement gained much mileage in the media, and some people pointed fingers at Anna for supporting violence against the politicians. Realizing his faux pas, Anna quickly backtracked and distanced himself from the comment.
(There was a very interesting article on this whole episode on firstpost, which you can read here)

Today, Anna has again done a somersault and justified his "Only one slap" remark on his blog. He has even justified the violence saying that if violence is for the betterment of the country then it is not wrong.
(Read the full report here)

I am not complaining against Anna for taking sides with the perpetrator of the slapgate incident (though personally I am against such acts). I do have a problem with his swaying back and forth on his views on the incident. He justifies, condemns and then justifies again. We need a leader who is more sure of his views, and doesn't surprise us with a new statement everyday.

CST takes a break

People waiting for their trains in Mumbai CST were in for a surprise on Sunday when the announcement system of the station started playing the title track of the movie 'Rang de Basanti' instead of the routine drone of the arrival and departure of trains. As if the music was not enough, a group of people started dancing enthusiastically to the tune in full synchronization. Random people on the station kept on adding to the group, and they were almost two hundred in number in the end.

And thus Mumbai witnessed its first flash mob- a phenomenon pretty popular in the West. According to Wikipedia, "A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an ununsual and sometimes seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse..." It all started in 2003 in New York, and the concept has been lapped up by enthusiasts in various corners of the world. One can find several videos of flashmobs on youtube.

Here's the video of Mumbai's first flashmob. Kudos to Shonan Kothari who made it possible, along with the multitude of dancers. I am sure it's the first of many more to come. Enjoy!

P.S. I had seen a video of a flashmob in Ahmedabad many days back. I searched for it on youtube and found the link. Here it is:

Team Anna to protest, again

Team Anna is at it again. They have got the nod from the local civic body to stage protest in Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi from Dec 27 onwards, if a strong Lokpal bill is not passed by the Parliament in the winter session.
(Read the news here)

I don't know about the popular sentiment but I have kind of grown tired of these continuous agitations and protests, which seem to be falling flat completely. Also, Team Anna members including Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal have done a lot of harm to their images recently with their actions. Their involvement in the Hisar by-poll elections was a disaster to their brand, and then Kiran Bedi's tryst with money related to her NGO. And, finally, Anna Hazare coming up with a witty one-liner after Sharad Pawar's Slapgate, and then backtracking completely and saying that he had said something else, even though everybody knew the truth.

Also, Team Anna has to learn that compromises are a part of democracy. You cannot have everything your way. You got to give away a little to gain a lot in the end.

Anyway, let's hope that whatever happens our country comes out as the winner in the end.

Thank You!

It's Thanksgiving Day and I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

According to a website, "Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have." 
(Read the full article here.) 

It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in USA every year. With time it has found favours in other countries also, and is not celebrated in USA and Canada alone. Each country celebrates it with its own flavours and traditions. Read how various countries celebrate Thanksgiving day here.

Overall I find the concept of Thanksgiving Day very nice, and it would be nice if families in India too start celebrating this day. Western influences are nice if they lead to a better society. What do you think?

By the way, if I had to thank someone it would be my family (including all my cousins) for being my pillars through thick and thin, and believing in me when I didn't believe in me myself.

Cola Very ;)

It's a viral with more than a million hits already. It's Rajanikanth's son-in-law on the microphone. It's a promotional video for his next movie being made by his wife.

And I am in love with this song! It's very catchy, and very easy to the ears. As a bonus, the video has the very beautiful Shruti Hassan in it :)

For those who don't know, 'kolaveri' means 'mental torture'. Enjoy the video!

By the way, what is a soup song!?

Impossible is Nothing

"Impossible is Nothing" is Adidas' catch phrase which it frequently uses in its advertisements, and it seems the management of Adidas firmly believes in it.

Adidas, according to news reports, is going to launch 1$ shoes in India, which it will sell in the rural circuit. Surprisingly, Adidas did a similar experiment in Bangladesh last year but failed to execute it successfully. I wonder how they will sell shoes at a dollar a pair and yet make a profit out of it! Respect to Adidas for even giving it a try.

Read the full report here.

By the way, I was going through stuff on Adidas and I came across a few interesting facts. Here I will point down three of the most interesting ones:
1. Adidas is a German company. (Which means Germans are not only the kings in car manufacturing, they are the rulers in sports manufacturing too!)
2. Adidas owns Reebok sportswear company.
3. Adidas and Puma were founded by brothers, and they are the biggest rivals of each other. The brothers split to form their separate companies after a misunderstanding occurred between them during the Second World War.

How Kingfisher can make money

A certain flight travelling from Amritsar to Birmingham, carring many Indian tourists in it, halted midway in Vienna and asked its passengers to cough up a large amount of money as the airline could not afford to pay for the journey's second half. This is not fake news- it's real!! Read the full report here.

Some of the lossmaking Indian airline services can take a cue from this. It's common knowledge that  Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Air India have been making huge losses. It's time they tried this trick in their domestic flights, and they will see how their balance sheets will take an about turn.