The 'where are the girls' question is, of course, not limited to corporations.
The gender issue crops up in just about every walk of life.
Here's another little piece from the women manager's special in Businessworld (issue dt April 4 2005).
Are women biologically different?
Why do so few women make it top level positions -- not just in corporations but in science and engineering? The president of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers, recently stirred up a hornet's nest by suggesting it could be due to "innate differences in ability between girls and boys".
Perhaps there are some biological differences. But in reality, women in science drop out of the race for most of the same reasons as women in management -- lack of conducive environment and female role models; and scarcely any support to enable a woman to balance her work and family responsibilities.
Top level research requires hours in the lab equal to or longer than any corporate job. After finishing a PhD and post doc, a woman is in her early 30s may want to start a family. Male-dominated academia quickly concludes: this candidate is "not serious enough".
Five years ago, the venerated MIT admitted that it had heavily discriminated against female scientists. The scathing report noted that despite a flood of women earning PhDs, in MIT's entire history, no woman had ever headed a science department.
MIT has tried to address that issue by giving an extra year to women whose quest for tenure may get slowed down after they have had a baby. The recent appointment of 53-year-old neuroscientist Susan Hockfield as president of MIT is also being seen as a breakthrough.
Deborah Blum, a Pulitzer-winning science writer, argues that early in human history "one gender gained the power position and has been really, really reluctant to share the space".
Which is why women continue to be 'hard-to-find' in just about any intense profession. Over 50 per cent of medical graduates in India are women, but barring gynaecology, every head of department in every major hospital is a male. As are most professional chefs -- despite the fact that women, going by Summers' theory, are probably innately better at cooking!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Women's revenge
Reminders to enjoy on -
THE REMOTE
"Cash, cheque card or charge-card?" I asked, after folding up the items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet, I noticed a remote-control for a television set in her purse.
"Do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked.
"No," she replied, but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."
UNDERSTANDING WOMEN - (FROM A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your legs, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.
WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."
REPETITIONS
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000.
The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men..."
The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"
The wife said, "See."
CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and beautiful all at the same time."
The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!"
WHO DOES WHAT
A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."
The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."
The wife replied, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."
Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me "
The wife fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says.......... "HEBREWS"
THE SILENT TREATMENT
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment.
Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM."
He left it where he knew she would find it.
The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't woke him up. When he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.
The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."
Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.
God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece !!!
THE REMOTE
"Cash, cheque card or charge-card?" I asked, after folding up the items the woman wished to purchase. As she fumbled for her wallet, I noticed a remote-control for a television set in her purse.
"Do you always carry your TV remote?" I asked.
"No," she replied, but my husband refused to come shopping with me, and I figured this was the most evil thing I could do to him legally."
UNDERSTANDING WOMEN - (FROM A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax, pour it onto your legs, rip the hair out by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.
WIFE VS. HUSBAND
A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word. An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position.
As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"
"Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."
REPETITIONS
A husband read an article to his wife about how many words women use a day... 30,000 to a man's 15,000.
The wife replied, "The reason has to be because we have to repeat everything to men..."
The husband then turned to his wife and asked, "What?"
The wife said, "See."
CREATION
A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and beautiful all at the same time."
The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!"
WHO DOES WHAT
A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."
The husband said, "You are in charge of cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."
The wife replied, "No, you should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."
Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me "
The wife fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says.......... "HEBREWS"
THE SILENT TREATMENT
A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment.
Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM."
He left it where he knew she would find it.
The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't woke him up. When he noticed a piece of paper by the bed.
The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up."
Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests.
God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece !!!
MBA Women
More young women than ever before are aspiring for MBAs. Of course, that's partly because the batch size has been steadily increased.As a proportion of the batch the figure is fairly constant. But, the question is, will this mean a surge in the number of women in middle to senior management positions 10-15 years from now?
I'm not so sure. In the initial 5-8 years years, yes. Young women will give the guys a run for their money. But once they get into motherhood mode the age old dilemmas kick in.
In a piece titled 'Price and Prejudice' printed in the Businessworld (issue dated April 4, 2005)
Think ‘female managers’ and enough Big Names readily roll off the tongue to make a convincing case for the rise and rise of women in the workplace: Chanda Kochhar, Naina Lal Kidwai, Vinita Bali, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw... .
No doubt, that gutsy generation has paved the way. It’s hard to believe that when Naina Lal applied to Price Waterhouse Coopers in 1977 for a chartered accountant’s post, the company had to think long and hard before hiring her. Because prior to that they had never taken a woman on board!
Three decades later, the first-woman-to-do-the things-women-never-did bit is definitely over and done with. No job — at the entry level, at least — is seen as inherently unsuitable for women.
And yet, these few well-known faces are but the tip of the iceberg. The huge, invisible mass of that iceberg consists of the thousands of extremely capable women who will never make it to CEO or senior management levels. And it’s not just about the ‘glass ceiling’, competence or leadership style.
The real reason why women ‘fail’ to get ahead goes beyond that. Women could be as smart (or smarter) than their male counterparts, but for the most part they cannot — and will not — put up with the obscenely long hours, frequent travel or sudden relocation readily embraced by those seriously attempting to scale the corporate summit.
Tracking the careers of a group of UC Berkeley MBAs, Stanford Business School professor Charles O’Reilly said:“What makes a difference at the top level is effort; ability has been equilibrated.”
In an interview to Fast Company magazine, O’Reilly elaborated: “Today’s women are equal to their male counterparts in education, experience and skill. But when it is a painful choice between the client crisis and the birthday party, the long road trip and the middle schooler who needs attention, the employee most likely to put company over family is the traditional, work-oriented male.”
Ask B-school graduates who have crossed the five-years-since-we-left-campus-mark, and the number of female batch mates zealously pursuing careers starts declining rapidly. Which is understandable, because these are child-bearing years. But for many of these women, a shift into lower gear becomes a conscious, long-term choice.
Access the rest of the article at www.businessworldindia.com if you like. There are two more articles in the issue "Mission Possible" and "How Working Couples Cope".
What, me worry?
Of course, one may argue, the 'new generation' of women will be different. But the biological reality is, women do -eventually - want to be mothers. Although some - what are called 'career primaries' - are opting not to.
The social reality is, men have made the rules in the workplace. And women, until they can alter those rules, have to live by the existing ones to succeed.
A price not all are willing to pay!
I'm not so sure. In the initial 5-8 years years, yes. Young women will give the guys a run for their money. But once they get into motherhood mode the age old dilemmas kick in.
In a piece titled 'Price and Prejudice' printed in the Businessworld (issue dated April 4, 2005)
Think ‘female managers’ and enough Big Names readily roll off the tongue to make a convincing case for the rise and rise of women in the workplace: Chanda Kochhar, Naina Lal Kidwai, Vinita Bali, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw... .
No doubt, that gutsy generation has paved the way. It’s hard to believe that when Naina Lal applied to Price Waterhouse Coopers in 1977 for a chartered accountant’s post, the company had to think long and hard before hiring her. Because prior to that they had never taken a woman on board!
Three decades later, the first-woman-to-do-the things-women-never-did bit is definitely over and done with. No job — at the entry level, at least — is seen as inherently unsuitable for women.
And yet, these few well-known faces are but the tip of the iceberg. The huge, invisible mass of that iceberg consists of the thousands of extremely capable women who will never make it to CEO or senior management levels. And it’s not just about the ‘glass ceiling’, competence or leadership style.
The real reason why women ‘fail’ to get ahead goes beyond that. Women could be as smart (or smarter) than their male counterparts, but for the most part they cannot — and will not — put up with the obscenely long hours, frequent travel or sudden relocation readily embraced by those seriously attempting to scale the corporate summit.
Tracking the careers of a group of UC Berkeley MBAs, Stanford Business School professor Charles O’Reilly said:“What makes a difference at the top level is effort; ability has been equilibrated.”
In an interview to Fast Company magazine, O’Reilly elaborated: “Today’s women are equal to their male counterparts in education, experience and skill. But when it is a painful choice between the client crisis and the birthday party, the long road trip and the middle schooler who needs attention, the employee most likely to put company over family is the traditional, work-oriented male.”
Ask B-school graduates who have crossed the five-years-since-we-left-campus-mark, and the number of female batch mates zealously pursuing careers starts declining rapidly. Which is understandable, because these are child-bearing years. But for many of these women, a shift into lower gear becomes a conscious, long-term choice.
Access the rest of the article at www.businessworldindia.com if you like. There are two more articles in the issue "Mission Possible" and "How Working Couples Cope".
What, me worry?
Of course, one may argue, the 'new generation' of women will be different. But the biological reality is, women do -eventually - want to be mothers. Although some - what are called 'career primaries' - are opting not to.
The social reality is, men have made the rules in the workplace. And women, until they can alter those rules, have to live by the existing ones to succeed.
A price not all are willing to pay!
Coffee shop crib
I happened to visit Barista during one of my visits to Madras. I just hate their coffee. It's bitter, yes even the cafe au lait (which has 1/2 tsp more of the white stuff than the non-lait), and even after demanding and dunking more sachets (lots more!) of that other white stuff.
So coffee bars are an American concept and they like it black, with no sugar if you please. Why torture brown skinned natives who didn't elect Barack Obama and live 3000 miles from Graceland?
Still, people are flocking to Barista and I'll tell you why. Because the coffee is just incidental. It's the place to meet. "See you outside Asiatic at 7?" That kind of thing is history.
The younger lot - students - seem to prefer Cafe Coffee Day, popularly known as CCD. Even though Barista has slashed prices. It's still perceived as being more expensive.
In Madras, Barista has better locations for example and although CCD has some neat outlets, many are really cramped and dinky ones.
There is of course Mocha which I am happy to see expanding its reach. There's a really cool outlet opened in Sardar Patel Road, a stone's throw from IIT. It's actually one of the most interesting of all Mochas as it's housed in a bungalow - which means lots more space to loll around! And there's a tree growing inside the place which adds a lot of character. Of course, Mocha cannot expand as rapidly as a CCD which has just opened its 200th outlet because mass-replication would kill the whole concept.
For one, they serve edible food - unlike the cardboard with sugar sprinkled on top that passes off for a doughnut at Barista. Each Mocha outlet is replicated in spirit - but not down to every last doorknob, as is the case with CCD/ Barista. I even like the fact that every chair in the joint isn't alike :)
There are other coffee shop chains too. I don't know enough about them to comment - they're more regional in nature. Given that anything which isn't making an impact in Madras can't really be national :)
On the other hand, there is a feeble attempt by the Tea Board to popularise tea bars. Coffee, however bad the brew may taste, has a cooler ring to it.
No thanks to 8 years of endorsement by Rachel & co in Friends.
Now, if they could just concentrate on getting the stuff they serve there to taste better!
So coffee bars are an American concept and they like it black, with no sugar if you please. Why torture brown skinned natives who didn't elect Barack Obama and live 3000 miles from Graceland?
Still, people are flocking to Barista and I'll tell you why. Because the coffee is just incidental. It's the place to meet. "See you outside Asiatic at 7?" That kind of thing is history.
The younger lot - students - seem to prefer Cafe Coffee Day, popularly known as CCD. Even though Barista has slashed prices. It's still perceived as being more expensive.
In Madras, Barista has better locations for example and although CCD has some neat outlets, many are really cramped and dinky ones.
There is of course Mocha which I am happy to see expanding its reach. There's a really cool outlet opened in Sardar Patel Road, a stone's throw from IIT. It's actually one of the most interesting of all Mochas as it's housed in a bungalow - which means lots more space to loll around! And there's a tree growing inside the place which adds a lot of character. Of course, Mocha cannot expand as rapidly as a CCD which has just opened its 200th outlet because mass-replication would kill the whole concept.
For one, they serve edible food - unlike the cardboard with sugar sprinkled on top that passes off for a doughnut at Barista. Each Mocha outlet is replicated in spirit - but not down to every last doorknob, as is the case with CCD/ Barista. I even like the fact that every chair in the joint isn't alike :)
There are other coffee shop chains too. I don't know enough about them to comment - they're more regional in nature. Given that anything which isn't making an impact in Madras can't really be national :)
On the other hand, there is a feeble attempt by the Tea Board to popularise tea bars. Coffee, however bad the brew may taste, has a cooler ring to it.
No thanks to 8 years of endorsement by Rachel & co in Friends.
Now, if they could just concentrate on getting the stuff they serve there to taste better!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Yeh dosti
At 18, you take the presence of friends in your life as granted. By 25, you no longer have that luxury. Because, you can no longer make new ones.
I think friendship is based on two vital parameters: history and chemistry.
History is essentially shared memories and experiences. History is born out of people hanging out together - without any particular goal or purpose.
This happens most easily at school and college, an important and impressionable portion of our lives when we share a common journey. A journey which necessarily involves spending a great deal of time together.
Attending classes, studying together for exams, sharing lunch dabbas. Even the very simple routine of taking the same bus everyday.
And though one individual may be the class topper and the other only interested in sports, these kind of differences don't really matter. X and Y can still be on the same wavelength, as the closest of friends.
This is what's called 'chemistry' and undoubtedly it's something we instinctively know from an early age.
Many minds, many kinds
Ideally, a friendship has both history and chemistry. These are your closest, dearest friends.
In my case they are 'colony friends' - the guys I grew up with. We spent several years together in the same colony where we stayed. And although we are far apart now, we can still pick up from where we left off. Anytime.
But even history alone can make for a good friendship. People you didn't really get to know that well can re enter your life on the basis of a shared experience.
While in college you generally make a few close friends - and tons of acquaintances. With the passage of time, a few of those acquaintances too are transformed into enduring friendships.
This happens because at some point later in life your paths collide - and you find there is some chemistry after all. Or a shared need. The shared experience acts as a comfort zone, which is the one element of friendship that's very hard to build as you grow older.
Comfort zones take time to evolve and time is the one single most scarce commodity in the modern yuppie's lifestyle.
Time kahaan hai?
So even though you may find you have a chemistry with someone you meet at a party, or in the course of work, the chances of you being able to keep in touch with that person are rather low. It can happen - if both sides make the effort - but that's often the crux of the problem.
Isn't friendship supposed to be effortless, natural? If you have to work at it - just like every other goddamn thing - is there any point?
Besides, the idea of spending time aimlessly with another human being appears to be a waste.
So you tend to make 'buddies' with whom you can share a specific activity - say sports.
Or, you make new professional contacts. People you've worked with in the past usually fall in this category. Some people actively 'network' - at industry seminars, at alumni reunions and even websites like Facebook or Orkut for that matter.
The Techno Touch
Earlier, maintaining a professional contact involved the effort of sending out New Year and Diwali cards. Now, modern technology - email, sms and most of all socializing groups make the job much simpler.
In fact technology has created a tangible difference - with respect to friendship in general - between those under 25 and those over it.
The 'history + chemistry' or extremely close friendships are necessarily limited - and that will remain true of both groups.
But young people today are going to have - throughout their lives - a larger base of historical friends ie school, college, first job chums. That's because they never 'lose touch'. One hotmail or yahoo id is all it takes to keep track of a person throughout his many changes of job/ spouse/ continents.
Secondly, the 'always-on' generation can and will find 'chemistry' online. Not sexual chemistry, just the general 'we-vibe-together' feeling that's so crucial to any friendship.
While you may not 'spend time' together in the physical world, chatting every night is a good substitute. As is being able to peek into someone's head via their blog :)
Bottomline: You continue meeting lots of interesting and not-so-interesting people as you journey through life. But 'true friends' are a rare and precious commodity. Hang on to those you have!
And if you've been neglecting your friendships do call up to say "I've been thinking about you". Today!
I think friendship is based on two vital parameters: history and chemistry.
History is essentially shared memories and experiences. History is born out of people hanging out together - without any particular goal or purpose.
This happens most easily at school and college, an important and impressionable portion of our lives when we share a common journey. A journey which necessarily involves spending a great deal of time together.
Attending classes, studying together for exams, sharing lunch dabbas. Even the very simple routine of taking the same bus everyday.
And though one individual may be the class topper and the other only interested in sports, these kind of differences don't really matter. X and Y can still be on the same wavelength, as the closest of friends.
This is what's called 'chemistry' and undoubtedly it's something we instinctively know from an early age.
Many minds, many kinds
Ideally, a friendship has both history and chemistry. These are your closest, dearest friends.
In my case they are 'colony friends' - the guys I grew up with. We spent several years together in the same colony where we stayed. And although we are far apart now, we can still pick up from where we left off. Anytime.
But even history alone can make for a good friendship. People you didn't really get to know that well can re enter your life on the basis of a shared experience.
While in college you generally make a few close friends - and tons of acquaintances. With the passage of time, a few of those acquaintances too are transformed into enduring friendships.
This happens because at some point later in life your paths collide - and you find there is some chemistry after all. Or a shared need. The shared experience acts as a comfort zone, which is the one element of friendship that's very hard to build as you grow older.
Comfort zones take time to evolve and time is the one single most scarce commodity in the modern yuppie's lifestyle.
Time kahaan hai?
So even though you may find you have a chemistry with someone you meet at a party, or in the course of work, the chances of you being able to keep in touch with that person are rather low. It can happen - if both sides make the effort - but that's often the crux of the problem.
Isn't friendship supposed to be effortless, natural? If you have to work at it - just like every other goddamn thing - is there any point?
Besides, the idea of spending time aimlessly with another human being appears to be a waste.
So you tend to make 'buddies' with whom you can share a specific activity - say sports.
Or, you make new professional contacts. People you've worked with in the past usually fall in this category. Some people actively 'network' - at industry seminars, at alumni reunions and even websites like Facebook or Orkut for that matter.
The Techno Touch
Earlier, maintaining a professional contact involved the effort of sending out New Year and Diwali cards. Now, modern technology - email, sms and most of all socializing groups make the job much simpler.
In fact technology has created a tangible difference - with respect to friendship in general - between those under 25 and those over it.
The 'history + chemistry' or extremely close friendships are necessarily limited - and that will remain true of both groups.
But young people today are going to have - throughout their lives - a larger base of historical friends ie school, college, first job chums. That's because they never 'lose touch'. One hotmail or yahoo id is all it takes to keep track of a person throughout his many changes of job/ spouse/ continents.
Secondly, the 'always-on' generation can and will find 'chemistry' online. Not sexual chemistry, just the general 'we-vibe-together' feeling that's so crucial to any friendship.
While you may not 'spend time' together in the physical world, chatting every night is a good substitute. As is being able to peek into someone's head via their blog :)
Bottomline: You continue meeting lots of interesting and not-so-interesting people as you journey through life. But 'true friends' are a rare and precious commodity. Hang on to those you have!
And if you've been neglecting your friendships do call up to say "I've been thinking about you". Today!
Aadmi aur Eve
Two days back a 13 year old and her two friends had acid thrown on them outside their school, situated in Madras' Adyar suburb.
The attacker undertook the 'job' for a mere Rs 300. The chap who paid the money was a 32 year old, rightly described by the Deccan Herald as a pervert. He decide to teach a lesson to the poor kid he'd become infatuated with for 'spurning' his advances.
What is it with Indian men? OK, before you exclaim "don't generalise!" I'll qualify that. Sure, there are honourable exceptions.
But there really has to be something wrong with the section of mankind which is in the news on a regular basis for :
a) Getting infatuated with underage girls
b) Trying to physically harm the object of their unwanted affections.
Acid attacks, in particular, are I am sure a phenomenon seen nowhere else in the civilised world.
Get a life!
Taking 'revenge' with someone you've actually had a relationship with is somewhat understandable - although not something I would condone.
Physically harming a person who had nothing to do with you in the first place is crazy. Men in other cultures simply shift their gaze to other women. They eventually find someone who reciprocates.
If not as a species, at least a subspecies of Indian man has an extremely delicate ego which can be shattered by the slightest rejection.
And the young women of this country are the ones paying the price for it.
Some person you're barely aware of could get infatuated with you and when you say 'sorry, not interested', the consequences could be dire!
Surely girls also go through one sided infatuations and get rejected. But I am yet to hear of a single guy who's had acid thrown on him by such a young woman.
Scheming bahus and vixen nanads may be the staple of soap opera television, there's no disputing the fact that in real life women would never ever stoop as low as men can.
And do.
The attacker undertook the 'job' for a mere Rs 300. The chap who paid the money was a 32 year old, rightly described by the Deccan Herald as a pervert. He decide to teach a lesson to the poor kid he'd become infatuated with for 'spurning' his advances.
What is it with Indian men? OK, before you exclaim "don't generalise!" I'll qualify that. Sure, there are honourable exceptions.
But there really has to be something wrong with the section of mankind which is in the news on a regular basis for :
a) Getting infatuated with underage girls
b) Trying to physically harm the object of their unwanted affections.
Acid attacks, in particular, are I am sure a phenomenon seen nowhere else in the civilised world.
Get a life!
Taking 'revenge' with someone you've actually had a relationship with is somewhat understandable - although not something I would condone.
Physically harming a person who had nothing to do with you in the first place is crazy. Men in other cultures simply shift their gaze to other women. They eventually find someone who reciprocates.
If not as a species, at least a subspecies of Indian man has an extremely delicate ego which can be shattered by the slightest rejection.
And the young women of this country are the ones paying the price for it.
Some person you're barely aware of could get infatuated with you and when you say 'sorry, not interested', the consequences could be dire!
Surely girls also go through one sided infatuations and get rejected. But I am yet to hear of a single guy who's had acid thrown on him by such a young woman.
Scheming bahus and vixen nanads may be the staple of soap opera television, there's no disputing the fact that in real life women would never ever stoop as low as men can.
And do.
Radio rocking
I am in love with an advertising jingle. Ridiculous, but currently true :)
The jingle was for a product called Parachute advanced and it was an after shower hair cream for guys.
The kind of ad that is usually devised for such a product is a permutation of the yo-use-this-product-and-you-will-get-all-the-girls.
However the ad that was actually running - on the radio at least - was surprisingly interesting. It was sung like a rap song, the lyrics went something as follows...
Page 3 cleavage, municipalty sewage..
Five star changa, bill kare nanga..
Chorus: Bure hain haal... Chak chaka chak baal.
Batti wali gaadi, hipster sari...
Girlfriend ka ditch, life's a bitch
Chorus: Bure hain haal... Chak chaka chak baal.
So - life is bad, but use our product and at least your hair won't be.
If I had hair on my head, I would!
Wish I could give you an audio link to it because really, I think it's extremely creative. Especially coming from a house like Parachute which for YEARS has been trying to live down its 'teli' image.
There's hope yet
In fact, all of a sudden, there's a burst of creativity in the radio medium itself. Both advertising and content.
You don't hear any more of those Sholay inspired ads. Or RJs with highly exaggerated firang accents. RJ's in particular have achieved a very cool and easy conversational style. They exchange the kind of banter that comes so naturally to radio show hosts abroad.
Also, mobile phones with FM radios seem to be everywhere. Commuters/ salesgirls/ even panwallahs are now into it.
Now if only the government could resolve its licensing issues and allow a hundred interesting FM stations to bloom! Well, not a hundred perhaps but at least a dozen?
The jingle was for a product called Parachute advanced and it was an after shower hair cream for guys.
The kind of ad that is usually devised for such a product is a permutation of the yo-use-this-product-and-you-will-get-all-the-girls.
However the ad that was actually running - on the radio at least - was surprisingly interesting. It was sung like a rap song, the lyrics went something as follows...
Page 3 cleavage, municipalty sewage..
Five star changa, bill kare nanga..
Chorus: Bure hain haal... Chak chaka chak baal.
Batti wali gaadi, hipster sari...
Girlfriend ka ditch, life's a bitch
Chorus: Bure hain haal... Chak chaka chak baal.
So - life is bad, but use our product and at least your hair won't be.
If I had hair on my head, I would!
Wish I could give you an audio link to it because really, I think it's extremely creative. Especially coming from a house like Parachute which for YEARS has been trying to live down its 'teli' image.
There's hope yet
In fact, all of a sudden, there's a burst of creativity in the radio medium itself. Both advertising and content.
You don't hear any more of those Sholay inspired ads. Or RJs with highly exaggerated firang accents. RJ's in particular have achieved a very cool and easy conversational style. They exchange the kind of banter that comes so naturally to radio show hosts abroad.
Also, mobile phones with FM radios seem to be everywhere. Commuters/ salesgirls/ even panwallahs are now into it.
Now if only the government could resolve its licensing issues and allow a hundred interesting FM stations to bloom! Well, not a hundred perhaps but at least a dozen?
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