Raining Thoughts

Maggi’s brand building endeavors or magic masala flavors have never managed to woo my taste-buds as a much as a bowl of fish-curry rice or a platter of tapioca with ground onion & green chilli paste from my mother’s kitchen, but then.. that’s not what the whole concept of Maggi had been about.. to a huge population of the Maggi-loving, Maggi-trusting Indians over the past quarter of a century.  Maggi was India’s first instant noodle brand, easy to cook and light on the pocket & became as instantly the preferred choice of a quick bite, and sometimes even a major meal of the day for millions of children and adults alike who took to Maggi like ants to cubes of sugar; the widely preferred choice of a safe and healthy snack; be it right at home or miles away from home. I have memories of my mother, my aunts and my grandmother all tossing up that steamy bowl of Maggi with veggies & scrambled eggs, a loving welcome home meal after school or a game. This was and still ...

Of all my text books from primary school, the one closest to my heart was the colorful science text book full of vivid color pictures and fancily boxed fun facts. In comparison to the monochrome social studies and language books, the science book stood out like a beautiful rainbow full of promises… a beacon of hope in a color-deprived universe.  And of all the chapters in there, the very very multicolored seed dispersal chapter always looked best to me with its seeds of all hues, shapes and sizes, illustrated in different acts of getting dispersed. Seed dispersal was (and is) a gargantuan affair. It could alter geographies, flora, fauna, perhaps…the course of life itself. And all those fine techniques nature chose to employ. How strangely impressive! Flying seeds, floating seeds, hooked seeds, sticky seeds, clingy seeds, chewy seeds, shitty seeds…  Ah well…that brings me to the crux of the matter. About time I began my post. So… It’s one of those lull train journeys tha...

The plates of the earth are forever shifting, at times causing the planet to shiver in shocks of fever, causing waves of destruction, manifesting as tsunamis, quakes, landslides and so many other unforeseen catastrophes that threaten to shake the very foundation of life and intelligence on the planet. Being a resistant strain of life, determined to survive the vagaries of this planet, humans were astute enough to install, on and around the planet, state-of-the-art infrastructure to ensure that they be signaled in advance with signs and warnings that would enable them to gear up in resistance to such impending natural dangers. The plates of human existence are also in motion now, causing the entire humanity to shiver in shocks of indignation and outrage. The atrocities that now mar the human race are beyond any rationale. No machine has been designed to gauge the vagaries of the human mindscape; no state-of-the-art infrastructure exists to signal in advance with signs and wa...

           The mercury has climbed to a record high. The Indian General Election 2014, dubbed the nation's “first big social media poll” is now just a stone's throw away! As the poll fever shoots up…up…& away… we also witness a huge transformation manifesting itself across the dimensions of an age-old customary event associated with the elections. An event which has established itself  deep within the system  over the years, an affair which has come to assume the proportions of a rather ‘ necessary social evil ’ ...... Election Campaigning!           W ith a huge chunk of the campaigning laddoos  now being distributed to one and all through virtual outlets like instant messaging sites and social networking websites, electioneering has undergone a paradigmatic shift in style & strategy this year. Facebook,WhatsApp & YouTube have become the prime pulpits of political parties everywhere. Not to forget Tw...