The Futile Walk

I walked foolish, I walked sane, I walked naked in the rain
I walked till eternity, little by little
For every step was a phase in itself
A phase of carefree tenderness
A phase of careful go-getter
A phase of bullied me
A phase of self-absorbed me
A phase of, me the rebel
A phase of evolution of thoughts.

The pace changed with every phase
Sometimes there was a desert of joy
Sometimes it was solitude my best society
I walked in a flock, guess I even left them behind
Some more joined and left again, cause nothing I had was truly mine.

I entered the land of known-unknowns and realized,
These are the ones I’ll have to walk with for years
They nudged me, I wanted to stop and rest
But there was never a choice, So now I walk with them
And am one of them and yet I walk alone.

I walk today, the scenery changes
Its morn, its noon, its eve, its night
I walk on the seen paths
And then come the unseen ones
And then the seen
And at times ones never known.

I walk through the woods
I walk through the streets
Through markets
Through theatres
Through brothel
Through taverns
Through corporates
Through houses
And I walk not knowing why.

I believe in NO
I believe in None

I believe-un-believe and Not believe at all
I don’t believe in you
Though you sound promising, and so I try to believe
Thus firm up my disbelief

I want to believe! Badly do
But the disbelief has taken over me
I am in the clasps of it and it teaches me to believe
Just believe! Just believe in disbelief.

A moment of belief even in myself would bloat me up
But disbelief in the other moment deflates my vanity, -
It questions my sanity. I believe-un-believe if I am sane or not
I question the belief of believing in myself.

You say you believe in me but do you believe in the belief of believing?
Yes, you believe in just being and leaving

Clinical Communication Skills

Clinical Communication Skills
Emerging Backhand For Designer Doctors

Dr Vivek Chhabra DNB, Faculty, Clinical Communication Skills, UK

Follow the links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St6g04cVLf4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvHRvd0iX64&feature=relmfu


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI9ov0EySlM&feature=relmfu


Thanks,

Aman :-),

Pyar ka Panchnama Review

I’ll begin the review of Pyar ka Panchnama with a slightly misogynistic statement. The movie should be prohibited for women. This is because if you go to this movie with a girl be sure that you’ll come out fighting.
The movie has shown the realistic situations but from the perception of a man or I must say you see the real situations from a man’s glasses. Surely the movie misses two sided opinion on the matter, but if you ask me two sided opinions are uncalled for at times. The beginning of the movie is fantabulous with Liquid’s superbly bone tickling, frustrated dialogues. The boys bonding and masti has been shown in a real cool manner. Rajat’s puking at every dhaba and commode after getting sloshed and Liquid’s shouting at every other person venting out his office frustration is highly amusing. The boys’ life is shown filled with fun, frolic and friendship until women enter their lives.
Rajo (Rajat) who is the charming lover boy starts dating a girl after meeting her at a Karaoke night. Rajat and Neha are shown as the conventional babu me – shona me couple. Rajo and Neha’s PDA and cuddling romance irks Rajat’s flatmates a little. Rajat wants to avoid it and so Rajo and Neha move into another flat together. Believe me their shifting together can run shivers down the spine of guys who are planning to move into a live-in relationship. Rajo is the one who has to wash all the dishes, clean the house, go out shopping with Neha for curtains and crockery missing the cricket matches, suffer her nagging and finally cuddle his babu. There is a little exaggeration in the presentation of this couple but is not too far away from reality either. The girlfriend in Rajo’s case has been shown as a nagging machine who at times would sulk on the things which Rajo wouldn’t even know. His pent up frustration is again vented out in a 5 min frustration speech which is extremely hilarious.
Vikrant & Riya: Here is a handsome dude and his hot-bod girlfriend who seems to be suffering with satyriasis . She is dating Chaudhary while she’s still not out of her ex-boyfriend. She has been shown to be sleeping with a number of other guys as well and finds it cool and flaunts it. At the same time the ex-boyfriend is still chasing her and sends her gifts and flowers also threatens Vikrant to leave her. He also starts stalking Vikrant. Riya goes to Varun’s (ex-boyfriend) place to pacify him when he is crying and succumbs into making out with him. Now to keep herself guilt free, she confesses this to Vikrant only to leave him in a fit of rage. This part of the story shows the changing norms of the society, as Chaudhary had accepted all of Riya’s previous sexual encounters and affairs but couldn’t accept her infidelity while she was with him. Also this part of the story shows that its' not only men who have been stereotyped as zombies, its time to take a look around and see that women do it too. Time for an egalitarian society :-)
Nishant & Charu : This is the perfect case of an office chick's exploitative tricks. Although Charu has a long-distance affair with a guy she is truly committed to. She needs a shoulder in the new town to adjust and enjoy. For this she woos a knave guy who’s not been much into girls before, Liquid. She makes him pay her beauty parlor bills, complete her office work, take her out to parties and tours. She treats Nishant like a page. The guy has been shown as an innocent puppy who follows the girl, despite of knowing that he is being exploited. The background music in which the whining of a dog can be heard in these scenes is amusing. The enlightenment dawns upon him only when Charu chides him like a cur out of her way, once her boyfriend comes back.
The story could be marked by a little degree of hyperbole but will never make you shriek out, “No it doesn’t happen!” Although the scenes when the women force to accompany men to go to Goa look a little incredible. Still the super hilarious dialogues, perfect timing of expressions make all the three actors babbar shers. The actresses have a done a great job too especially Ishita who plays Neha's part in the film. The movie has a great entertainment and information (;-) Wink) value. All in all a must watch for all the men!

Literary Review – 7 Khoon Maaf

Literary Review – 7 Khoon Maaf
Vishal Bhardwaj’s 7 Khoon Maaf is a giant leap in the domain of story telling in bollywood. Moving away from brainless movies such as Yamla Pagla Deewana or pseudo intellectual movies such as Dhobi Ghat, Vishal has shown the bollywood directors , how to do it!

Playing with an emphatic script inspired by Ruskin Bond’s short story Sussana’s Seven Husbands, the director has skillfully depicted literary symbols in the film. Breaking through the stereotypes of docile, beautiful movie actresses and macho, heroic male characters in Hindi films, 7 Khoon Maaf comes with an amazingly presented feministic approach. The movie seems to have derived it’s source from a number of literary geniuses’ works. One can draw a parallel between Susanna and Chaucer’s Alisaun (The Wife of Bath). Questioning the hush-hush concepts of monotony in conjugal relationships and enforcing Chaucer’s view, “Women desire what is forbidden and run away from what is forced upon them,” the movie has swayed the minds of intelligent viewers.

7 Khoon Maaf is laden with apt symbolism which makes it more of a drama, with realism acting as a catalyst - helping in the metamorphosis of drama. Any extra degree of realism would have tampered the entertainment and dramatic presentation of the film. The right usage of drama and realism has turned the story into a spectacularly credible one. Even before a doubt rises in the minds of the viewers the director answers the questions. Arun (the young admirer of Susanna) questions Maggie Aunty and the manager that why Saheb (Susanna) had to kill her Russian husband – Nikolai, which is answered by the manager when he dramatically recalls the dog killing episode from Susanna’s childhood. This immediately clears the scope of all doubts as it opens another approach - of delving into conditioning and psychology.

Bhardwaj is the master of the usage of literary symbolism in bollywood. The Shakespearean and biblical presentation of death bells was enigmatic. Amongst other biblical references are the, recurring depiction of Church for funeral and Sacramenting of marriages even for Keemat Lal (who was not a Christian) can be seen throughout. And doesn’t the name 7 Khoon Maaf insists you to relate it to the forgiveness of 7 deadly Sins? Then there are some obvious symbols such as the spider (which symbolizes entrapment) on the table when Sussana seduces Arun. The death bells are used just like the shrieking Eagle over Dolly’s head during her marriage in Bhardwaj’s previous flick Omkara. The gift book by Arun, “The Seven Wives of Bluebeard,” by Antole France and Tolstoy’s character Anna Karenin’s reference shows the team’s deep study about the subject. The symbolization in the name of Keemat Lal (Anu Kapoor) is the most pungent one Keemat Lal was the only husbad who Susanna doesn’t love hence the name Keemat was just the value being paid for escaping. Even the sex scenes here refer to bartering body for escaping legal probing.

The depiction of psychological theories such as sadomasochism in Wasiullah Khan’s sexual fetish, adaptation of masochism in Sussanna’s beating herself in front of the mirror and the final venting of repression in the murder of the nawab, won many a hearts. There is also a reference of Oedipus complex in Arun and Sussanna’s relationship as she admits that the need of a child for her was being contented by Arun. Whereas at one point she seduces him and throughout the film is fully aware of Arun’s romantic interests in her. Such mature attempt to even depict Freud and Lacan in the movie could only be done successfully by a genius. A movie such as 7 Khoon Maaf and Chakra (1981) are an add on to the libraries of the literature department of every University.

Radical Marketing of Books

Radical Marketing & PR for books.

The present situation of Indian publishing industry is diverse and incomprehensible. The figures of the copies sold is increasing incredibly in the newspapers and the magazines, yet it is tough to define the real revenue growth. Indian publishing comprises of a number of family owned units specializing in one category or the other. The competition is getting even stiffer by the entry of new publishers in the market.

This fierce competition and the lack of reading habit in people calls for an extra-push for increasing the sales of the books. With huge competition with the MNCs, what the Indian publishing needs today is effective marketing strategy. It is the need of the hour for Indian publishers to spend on sound marketing and PR facilities by hiring skilled professionals in this field. One of the reasons for not so effectual marketing in Indian publishing is of course the lack of funds. One way of helping this hiring a few highly skilled professionals at association level.When the MNCs are spending on the global marketing, Indian publishers have refrained themselves to a few obsolete PR tactics only. MNCs chalk their marketing plans months in advance before the book is released. Their marketing plans target the global readership with plans made by highly experienced professionals post effective market research and feedback accumulation.

Indian publishers need good marketing strategies to attract quality authors, readers and potential customers. A good marketing strategy can be compared to a fine cocktail which should comprise of several components but in perfect balance. The PR & Marketing in India is going haywire, with a number of distinct plans being enforced in futility. What lacks is a master plan to govern all the small plans. The primary objective of the marketing plan is amiss. The genesis of a perfect marketing plan is the assessment of the targeted readership. What lacks is the understanding of the psychology of the reader. Don’t sell fish to a potato lover! There has to be segregation of the readership on the basis of their likings. Most of the small bits such as pricing, framing of the blurb (back cover content), book cover designing, etc, has to be in communion with the targeted readership’s tastes.

Post the assessment of the targeted readership and making the product according to their need it is important now to make and implement a successful publicity campaign. The need is to have an integrated campaign instead of several small plans. First and foremost chalk out before hand the objective of the marketing plan whether it is direct sales or branding. Branding of the publisher, author and his genre of writing is as important as the sales of the book after all you can’t reap before sowing the seeds. Good distribution is the back bone of a marketing plan. The book needs to have a great reach. At least it should reach to the targeted customers. In the absence of a good distribution the complete marketing plan is bound to get diffused.

Entertainment Marketing: Books are not only a means of imparting information but also one of the oldest measures of recreation. So why sell them boringly? Discussions, competitions and contests, etc, are interesting channels of marketing. The impact of book reviews in magazines and newspapers is gradually declining, while at the same time it is becoming tough for Indian publishers to fight the international books to make their way to the best dailies and magazines. Still book reviews have their own share in making the book prominent and increasing the sales to an extent. Digital media has obtained great reach with the cable channels reaching most of the parts of the globe. T.V. channels have become a better option to publicise. Undoubtedly there is a need to bargain on the prices of advertising for books on the association level. The target has to be not only on the news channels but also on the other channels running reality shows, etc. There has been an apparent increment in the sales of the books in the west through this medium. FM Radio is another means of marketing books and has worked well for a few Indian fiction titles.

The only way to earn global exposure for Indian books with minimal expenditure is web marketing. Getting more traffic to your website through SEO tools and making one’s product visible globally through a number of online selling websites is making a difference to the sales of the books. One can increase the visibility of the book by the means of a number of networking sites and blogs, etc, by adding in the targeted readers for the book from all over the world. This will directly increase the online sales. Buying the international data for viral emails campaigning is another method which can out do the traditional viral emails campaigning. But it is very important to even segregate the data according to the likings, age and other considerations to avoid creating confusion and breaching the privacy.

Just like we expect the after sales services for most of the products we buy, it is important to provide the reader with after-sales services for books too. It is important for the publishers to keep in touch with their readers through feedback forms in the books and providing replacements in case of a binding or production error.

It is important to take the Indian publishing to the next level and provide delightful reading experience to the world.