Election 2014: Battle of Nerves

The upcoming Lok Sabha election in 2014 can prove to be real battle of nerves with most of the areas witnessing triangular contest between UPA, NDA and Third Front/Regional Parties. Whereas Congress is still struggling to go with a solid strategy in the elections and fumbling to take some solid ground, BJP on the other hand under NaMo wave is sweeping so fast that there is a chance that it may fizzle out by the time real battle starts. The Third Front which has yet to take any formal shape may not become a reality but one thing is clear, some of its major constituents like SP, BSP, Trinamool, BJD, JD(U), CPI, AIADMK will be in advantageous position to support the formation of  government at the centre and grab lucrative portfolios in the cabinet.

Now, the question is what the Aam Aadmi will decide, whether it will show anger on the way things are managed in the country today or it will go with the promises of a better tomorrow or as usual surrender to its helplessness in taking decisions. Even though the Lok Sabha elections must be fought on national issues, they are still very much dominated by the local or regional issues which later on result in policy paralysis at the centre. Whatever any of us decide, we should keep in mind that there should be a stable government at the centre which is not dependent on smaller fractions to survive or our condition as a nation will remain same or may even become worse. So take informative and calculative decision on whom to choose and that is what my heart whispers to me..........

A Society Losing its Morality

When we hear or read about brutal acts of rape around us in our so called society, we always wonder how people committing such heinous acts can go to such low levels of morality which no religion, no caste and no education approve of. Is being a female or a girl child a curse in itself? How a society advocating equality between the genders even has appetite to let such acts of brutality happen? Why females like Nirbhaya have to succumb to their fate or live in constant fear throughout their life? Why even a 5 year old is not safe in her childhood? Why instead of shame and anger we feel more of helpless? Why we are unable to punish the guilty who are well connected and why people are still playing the passing buck game? Questions are plenty and answer none. Moreover nobody actually wants to answer, neither police department which is meant to protect the citizens nor the politicians who are responsible for the law and order. Instead they pass comments which only add salt to the injury.

It is true that such crimes happen everywhere from ancient times and thanks to media come out in open more often now than in past but the main question remains that whether this is helping the cause and whether we as a society able to find a solution to this menace. We have yet to understand that whether these acts are committed just for pleasure or for the elated feeling of power over the weaker gender or both. On one hand our law makers are struggling with question of whether prostitution must be made legal or not on account of morality of the society and on the other hand by displaying such horrible acts of rape the society has already lost all its levels of morality and further going down with each passing day. Where people are demanding death penalty for such crimes without any concrete law still in force, such cases are piling up with alarming rates and law makers are still struggling to decide how heinous such crimes are.

With a society losing its morality at such pace and lawmakers entangled in their own red tapes, parents like us only feel and pray to god that does not give us a female child as we will always be scared for her safety and well-being. These thoughts may not be doing justice to the already unjust society and its pole bearers but that is what my heart whispers to me................

The GODS of HOLLYWOOD

Movies have always been great source of entertainment, inspiration and way of living for most of the viewers over their entire life cycle. More gossip is enjoyed over them between friends than any other subject and it has always been who sees it first race among the followers. I am myself a great follower of Hollywood movies and my viewing averages 12 to 15 of them per month and I have always wondered about the people who had made it happen. I would like to mention and credit the work of twelve Hollywood directors/producers who according to me are true GODS of HOLLYWOOD.

Steven Spielberg: He has always been experimenting with various ideas on science fiction, war stories and special effects including aliens or monster creatures. He is best known for his Jurassic Park series, Schindler's List, Jaws, E.T., Minority Report, Indiana Jones Series, Transformer series, Men in Black series (as executive producer) as well as war stories such as Saving Private Ryan, War Horse, Black Hawk Down and Enemy at the Gates. Some of his work on the lighter side which can be counted as commercial success include Catch me if you Can, Adventures of Tintin and The Terminal. His other movies which won him critical acclaim are Munich, A.I. and Amistad. Truly one of the most gifted personality in current Hollywood fraternity who had truly added the word great ahead of Hollywood films.

James Cameron: His every outing is as grand as celebration of life. His canvas of movies stretches beyond imagination and he always taken viewers on a journey of fantasy and visual treats. He is best known for his Terminator series, Alien, The Abyss, Titanic and Avatar. Even though he has always been in his own different league, Titanic and Avatar (creation of whole new planet) had immortalised him in the world of Hollywood.

Clint Eastwood: He is one personality who had successfully donned the hat of Actor, Director and Producer in many Hollywood masterpieces and can easily be termed as one of the most versatile personality of the motion pictures. He will be always known for his work in Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Some of the other critically acclaimed work by him worth mentioning is Changeling, J. Edgar, Invictus and Gran Torino. He clearly displays the true never dying spirit of Hollywood.

Christopher Nolan: According to me he is the master of intelligence. The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Memento and The Prestige are shear brilliant works of intelligence. All these have garnered standing ovation from the movie buffs like me and I have always believed that somehow this gifted personality missed on his due credit from the world of Hollywood even after changing the game of how motion pictures are created.

Quentin Tarantino: He is master of blood and gore. He is best known for his work in Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill series, Inglorious Bastards and Django Unchained. Even though his creations are coming after long durations yet his crafty work cannot be ignored easily. He has given true meaning to the world of raw action but with a heart filled sorrow.

Ang Lee: With his recent success at OSCARS with Life of Pi, he has been termed as one of the most promising creator of movies with a heart. His truly amazing works include Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Life of Pi and Hulk. Leaving apart his great work in the past, much more heart filled work at grand canvas is expected of him the coming years.

Tim Burton: He is the master of horror tales and thankfully most of them had happy endings LOL so there is always a heart-warming twist for good. His creative works in the formidable league are Batman series, Sleepy Hollow, Alice in Wonderland, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Mars Attacks, Corpse Bride, Sweeny Todd, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Dark Shadows, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Frankenweenie. Johnny Depp has lately featured in many of his horror adventures and essayed the grey roles quite easily. According to me he can be easily termed as the one who has given meaning to the world of dark movies.

Peter Jackson: How can we forget the adventure of The Lord of the Rings which he had given to the world of movie buffs. Every instalment is a masterpiece in itself and I am sure it will continue with the on-going prequel series of The Hobbits. King Kong, Tintin, Heavenly Creatures, The Lovely bones and District 9 are some of the other brilliant work from him. Dreams and world of fantasy will always have name of this personality written in golden words in their hall of fame.

Martin Scorsese: The moment you hear his name associated with any movie, you are sure you are in for a helluva ride. Shutter Island, Gangs of New York, The Departed, Hugo, The Aviator, Raging Bull, Casino, Cape Fear, Goodfellas and The Age of Innocence are some of his masterpiece works over decades. His movies always manage to keep you at the edge of your seat with story folding at its own pace. You can just sit and watch the marvels he has created. His liking for Leonardo DiCaprio is quite visible in his recent works and the gifted actor has also never let him down in any of the outings.

Ridley Scott: Although till date he has only done selected work but he has always been able to churn out heart felt stories or science fiction treats. Best known for his work in Alien, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Prometheus, Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heavens, American Gangster, Matchstick Men and Blade Runner. He has always shown his affinity with the history and science and we can expect many more heart-warming stories from him in the future.

David Fincher: He has always been a balanced story teller and created some of the fine works of art. His noticeable pieces of works are Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, Seven, Alien 3, Fight Club, The Game, Panic Room and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He has always knitted intelligence and suspense brilliantly in many of his works and his contemporary way of storytelling has won him many followers over the years.

Steven Soderbergh: He has always been known for his controversial subjects and treatment of tales from the neighbourhood. Some of his famous works as director include Traffic, Ocean's Eleven series, Contagion, Haywire, Erin Brockovich, The Informant and Out of Sight. As producer also he has developed masterpieces such as Insomnia, Syriana, Michael Clayton, Solitary Man, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Criminal and The Jacket. I am sure he will continue to give us more thought provoking movies in the coming years but as of now according to me he is one of the most prominent members of Hollywood hall of fame.

These 12 personalities have given much more to the viewers than they had given to Hollywood itself. These intelligence minds have created worlds of their own and truly can be termed as GODS of HOLLYWOOD. Sometimes they are inspiration, sometimes they entertain, sometimes they make you think and sometimes they give you pain. Whatever it is, you live a whole new life during their movies and forget about your problems just to live in the moment and that is what my heart whispers to me.....

New Entrepreneur: Fire, Steel and Ice

Any new entrepreneur (like me LOL) always arrive at the business arena on wings of hope and with raging fire in the belly to do something great in the world and make lot of name as well as money. But as the time passes by he/she understands that it is not as simple as living a dream instead for successful ones it turns out to be great saga of three elements Fire, Steel and Ice whereas the unsuccessful ones loses themselves in the world of despair. Before we dwell further I would first like to congratulate the successful ones for achieving the great feat which very few can actually dream of and second I would also like to congratulate the unsuccessful ones because in this world very few have guts to do what they had done.

Any new entrepreneur always pass through these three phases of the entrepreneurship saga (until and unless you have a back-up of loads of your parents money to ride on because then failures do not come with a price dear to you). So all the budding entrepreneurs and my fellow businessmen, it's time for the show to begin.

Fire: At first every new entrepreneur's mind buzzes with new ideas and innovations. The idea of name and fame, dreams of luxury and loads of money, almost certainly convince him/her to go for the new business as the raging fire in the belly and fog from its smoke clouds their judgement of what can go wrong and why. They fail to interpret that there will be plenty of people during their journey which will affect the outcome of their plans. But do not worry guys this itself is a big accomplishment that you have at least decided to live your dream (because now a days most of the people have restricted their dream to a good job with handsome pay-out) and this requires helluva lot of guts to give up an easy life for your entrepreneurship ambition. Trust me this element 'Fire' is very essential for your future success and you will go as far as you keep that fire raging in your belly and your dreams hunger for more.

Steel: During the journey of being a successful entrepreneur, you always realise that it is actually much more than just your ambition of money and fame. Not only yours but so many other families (of your employees / suppliers / associates) depend upon you and your decisions. There are times when you will come across rejection, desperation (for business, for money and most likely for peace of mind) and frustration. It is very difficult to accept failures and move ahead but you have to understand that what else you can expect on the path to success and that is why the path has been created otherwise it will not be required at all. Those who move ahead know the importance of our second element 'Steel' and those who want to move ahead must always remember that most of the stories end with sadness and desperation without this element. Now by this element steel I do not want you to make yourself steel physically (so after reading this blog please do not go and hit your gym ..LOL..) but make yourself steel mentally. Face the failures bravely (since nobody else is going to come to help you without any of their hidden agendas), try to find a way out of it or around it or whatever but hang on with the thread of hope and do not give up. Keep on moving ahead because if you will stop now, you will not be able to make a move at a later stage since that will hardly come as this cruel world of business does not give many chances. Avoid too much of desperation or frustration since either people known / unknown to you will try to take advantage of you or mostly your near ones will tell you push you to change the track. Do not worry guys about any of them as it is very easy to preach and give suggestions whereas it is very difficult to be in your shoes and live your dream and your life. People suggest or advice freely but do not help so ignore them but be careful about the people who want to take your advantage. So make yourself steel to face all these challenges and always remember anybody who have helped you in these difficult times so that you can show your gratitude later when you have reached your goal.

Ice: Now if you are able to pass the two phases of entrepreneurship, it's time to taste some success in your endeavour. However be careful, it is time to make yourself like our third element 'Ice'. Always remember do not melt away with the initial success as the key is sustainability of this success. We come across many stories where people go to top very fast but go down even faster. Now is the time not to enjoy but to first remove all your liabilities as soon as possible and reach to a stable ground in order to build strongly further. Do not spend to live in the present but save for the future contingencies. I know it is very difficult since you have suffered a lot but trust me if you do not want to suffer again in the future be ice to all these things. Enjoy but do not be an extravagant and most importantly be careful about the bee like false friends who will come along with your success as they are there only till you are on top.

If you are able to manage all these three elements in your business life, trust me nobody can stop you from achieving success. I am also going through the second phase now and hanging with the thread of hope and doing my level best to achieve success which I am sure will definitely come as that is what my heart whispers to me............

3 Laws of Wealth

Recently while revisiting Newton's laws of motion; somewhere back of my mind I was also bickering over the current economic condition in the country as well as in the world. Both the stream of thoughts got merged (god only knows when) and I was surprised by the similarities between the motion and the wealth of an entity. Unable to contain the growing desperation, I thought it will be wise to pen down the 3 Laws of Wealth which my mind created but with strong references from our great Newton's laws of motion (so please do not charge me with plagiarism):

First Law: If there is no net effort (mental / physical / social / political) behind an entity or an individual, then its wealth will remain constant. The entity or individual is either enjoying its inherited money (LOL) or its income is increasing at a rate (meagre salary increments) getting negated by the inflation and rising costs.

Second Law: The increase in wealth 'I' of an entity or an individual is parallel and directly proportional to the net effort 'E' (mental / physical / social / political) generated by the entity or the individual, is in the direction of the efforts, and is inversely proportional to its expenditures and borrowings collectively called as liabilities 'L'. E = LI

Third Law: When an entity or an individual creates a wealth W1 in the economy, somewhere in the environment a second entity or an individual loses a wealth W2 = -W1. This means that W1 and W2 are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

These 3 laws of wealth holds true considering that at a given point of time, the overall wealth available and that can be generated in the entire world remains constant. Just see the simple application of the above laws: If you purchase something, manufacturers, dealers, government (LOL through taxes) earn that money which is spent by you. If you will not put any extra efforts, you will not be able to earn extra money. The more liabilities you have, more efforts you have to put in to generate that extra money. I am not sure what will be your take on these laws but they are fully applicable to me and that is what my heart whispers to me..........

OSCARS: Time to Re-invent Magic

Hmm.... so the grand OSCARS this is year went as expected and most of the winners were almost quite easy to guess. Best movie 'Argo', Best Director 'Ang Lee' for 'Life of Pi', Best Actor 'Daniel Day-Lewis' for 'Lincoln', Best Actress 'Jennifer Lawrence' for 'Silver Linings Playbook' (though I would have voted for 'Jessica Chastain' for 'Zero Dark Thirty'), Best Animation movie 'Brave', Best Visual effects 'Life of Pi', Best supporting actor 'Christoph Waltz' for 'Django Unchained', Best supporting actress 'Anne Hathaway' for 'Les Misérables' and so on.

Now here is the surprise, the most popular and successful movies last year 'Avengers' and 'The Dark Knight Rises' failed to get any OSCAR and top of it they were able to earn only one nomination. 'Zero Dark Thirty' even after so much acclaim and its controversial plot failed to create any ripples. No new debutante stars ever felicitated for their performances. No life time achievement award was given to anyone. So may be its time for OSCARS to re-invent magic and plug such voids because awards are not for few distinguished ones but for the gifted ones. It should propagate feeling of triumph rather than the feeling of loss. 

A nine year old kid like 'Quvenzhané Wallis' (for her superb and heart moving performance in 'Beasts of the Southern Wild') would have gone home triumph if there would have been a category for best child artist. 'Avengers' would have at least got most popular movie award if there was such a category in the OSCARS. While watching a movie, we live a life with it and just imagine how many people would have lived that life how many times while making it. So according to me OSCARS should be celebration of that life which means it can be more grand on scale in which people can believe and not only dream and this is what my heart whispers to me................

The MOBILE WARS

With new age mobile phones or so called the smartphones literally doing job of a phone, a computer and a companion (by keeping you informed and entertained), it was but natural that there is bound to be a horse race between world's top manufacturers to dominate this segment. But in recent times in India, because of this segment gaining huge popularity among the helpless population succumbing to these handheld attractions, this race has turned into a war among the top players (with host of models or in our case ammunitions) which I think is the biggest after 'The STAR WARS'...LOL...So that's why I thought I will cherish few facts and fiction on this on-going saga of 'The MOBILE WARS'.


In this epic battle (raging within the Indian market), main characters are obviously Samsung, Apple, Nokia, Micromax, HTC, LG, Sony, Motorola, Xiomi, Karbonn, Gionee, and Blackberry.


Apple: The Inventor
Apple has all its current and outdated models in its current ammunition namely 'iPhone' - 3, 3S, 4, 4S, 5 and soon there will be 5S for sure. So you can see the barrel is same but bullets keep on changing...LOL...SIM is getting smaller while budget is getting bigger. Pride of ownership remains but otherwise it is very hard for a normal user (until and unless you spend more time with your phone than your regular work) to actually experience the change. Screen size has just got bigger but still feels less than the Samsung canons. Nevertheless it still has best and trouble free application store as well as the user interface. Even with all its hits and misses, Apple will always be Numero-Uno of the game because it has actually invented the world of smartphones.


Samsung: The Reigning King
There are so many models or ammunition with them in entire price band spectrum that one will actually lose count of all the types. Samsung Galaxy Y, Y Duos, S2, S3, S4, S5, Note, Note 2, Note 3, Note 4, S Advance, S Grand, Ace, Ace Duos and god only knows what else. Largest screen to host of functions, to best brand image in affordable pricing or you can say any band of pricing has made it click for Samsung literally. Moreover Android application store is not much behind the inventor and almost all the necessary or commonly used applications are already available in it. So if nothing drastic is done by any other contender, Samsung is bound to be on top for a long-long time.


Nokia: The Fallen Legacy
Even though Nokia is trying to break its jinx in this smartphone market but it is still considered as a poor man's device and such a brand image is hurting it in positioning as well as in matters of pride of ownership. With Nokia Lumia 510, 610, 710, 800, 820, 900, 920, 1120 (God only knows on what basis they keep name of the phones) and Nokia Asha series, it is still far from the top of the range. Even though user interface is good, lack of functions and applications is further hurting their chances to reach on top of the branding matrix. Something drastic and more innovative approach is required to penetrate the mind of the users as well to create good old times.


Micromax: The Challanger
Micromax started on a good note by providing smartphones to the general public at the most economical prices and suddenly there are plenty of new models from its stable in the market. From the begining itself Micromax was the real contender for Nokia's place in the Indian market, and now it is challenging even the big daddies. Recently there were some really good surprise launches suddenly and with its A90, A110, A116, Knight, Turbo and so on things are falling in place for the ingenious manufacturer provided there is enough availability of its models to sell.


HTC: The On-Off Contender
Even though people knew about its smart range before they knew about Samsung or Apple, the manufacturer has been in on-off mode in Indian market. Suddenly there were no new models and recently there are many in the market. Suddenly there was lot of marketing and suddenly there was none. Even though the products are good and reliable, the brand image fails to appeal to the masses as of now and something dramatic has to happen if they really want to create a mass appeal. Product range is fairly balanced and covers lot of price band, so there is a very good chance if they take Indian market seriously, they can play a major role in the on-going mobile war.

Blackberry: The Lost Cause
Blackberry even though was one of the most preferred model of businessmen and professionals (due to their BBM service) lost the initial plot in smartphone game. The earlier launched models in a hurry, failed to steam up the market and upgraded versions took too much of time to make an appearance and still not in sight soon. So the only advantage with which Blackberry would have survived and flourished in the Indian market would have been its BBM service only and nothing else but with BBM services now available for IOS, Android and Windows users as well, I don't think Blackberry will be able to cash on it any further. Moreover, they will surely be hoping that applications like WhatsApp, LINE and WeChat must not take this advantage away from them any further otherwise it will be an impossible task to crack the tough nut called Indian market once again.

 Sony, Motorola and LG: The Pursuers
With Sony Xperia series, Motorola X / G series and LG Optimus series, these companies have waged battle against all others and surely making their strong presence felt in the Indian market. Their smartphones are loaded with features and boast of excellent quality. With competitive pricing against peers, these can be true pursuers to Samsung and Apple models. In fact the smallest smart phone by Motorola E series is quite a big hit among budget buyers. What all path breaking models and innovative strategy these giants are going to introduce that only time will tell but they are bound to make competition tough in the on-going war in the mobile market.


Gionee and Xiomi: The Carnivores
Xiomi has become synonym for flash sale in Indian mobile market with thousands of pieces selling into minutes on Flipkart. Its models are not only packed with top most hardware and software, their prices are almost 50% of the competitors models. Gionee on the other hand can also boast of power packed mobile range at amazing prices including world's slimmest phone in Elife S5.5. In future once their infrastructure set-up is complete, like carnivores these two companies can eat lot of market share which right now belongs companies like Samsung, Nokia and Micromax.

Anyways the consumer is always in a dizzy while current 'MOBILE WAR' is going on. You set your heart on a model and next day there is another one better than that in the market. You purchase a tiny wonder and tomorrow it is available at a cheaper rate somewhere else. Since you cannot own each and every great wonder available in the market today and tomorrow as well as cannot upgrade your device every month, it is better to be content with what is available with you today and wait and watch for the right time, right device to upgrade and that is what my heart whispers to me...........