Fab-ruary

Everything about February has been quite fab.

(Except that I haven't written a single post & I broke my iPod.)

I read an awesome book. - The fault in our stars by John Green.

Thats my favorite part: 

Read it before the movie is up! Its coming in Summer '14.

Apart from the book, February has been fab for a lot more things!

The best friend's birthday on a yacht ; Baking cheesecakes ; Sending college applications ; Reading real things ; Teaching little kids Bonsai ; Valentine's Day Lunch; Wine and Dine, GPA-Happiness ; Jitters about college Decisions ; Little shopping trips;  Creating Ad-campaigns and Posters; Stationary Happiness :A new set of 250 Felt pens ; New songs to sing at Karaoke ; A new favorite Cocktail ; Learning to cook ; www.tut.com- notes from the Universe (Please Check it out! It'll make your day) ; Making a clock; Painting pretty things ; Redoing my dreamcatcher ; Winter in summer ; Smiles.

That is what the Mumbai Sky-line looks like from the yacht :

Salty air & Sunshine,

Juie 

Ink-blue finger tips

I wanted to write something.
You know those nights when you're just itching to write? I'm not sure if you know,
But you crave to hear the intensely fast clatter of the keypad as you move your fingers at lightening fast speed or the squeaky high frequency scribble on a sparkling white piece of ruled paper?
Yes that.

Writing is immeasurable happiness to me,

So I thought I'll start writing and see where it takes me,
Because words, they take you traveling. You start at one pole and end at another, and the story in the middle is what manifests on its own.You think you're doing it, but you're really not. That's the thing about wordplay, its insanely mysterious and double-insanely powerful.
This could be really messy because I'm letting my words flow,
But then again,
That's writing to me.

Today I use the keyboard to type words, 

but writing with a blue fountain pen with ink dripping all over my fingers was close to heaven.

The smell of ink is divine. If dawn and dusk had a scent then the smell of ink is the smell of dawn and dusk with a white lily in it.

The shabby ink blue finger tips that last for days is a happy memory of a peaceful hour gone dreaming, rummaging and scribbling. 

Writing is a life within a life. Blue words on white crisp paper take you into a new world where you need nothing but your words to add color, glitter and sparkle to your story. These same simple words have the capability to make us feel things. Deep Human emotions! Two words can make you want to rip somebody's head apart and one word can make a life-long friend.Sometimes half a word is enough to fall in love. Some power isn't it?

And words, they make you feel so vulnerable and vulnerable is so damn scary but so beautiful! Where you let it all out and place it messily on a piece of paper. This is me, all of me, nothing more, nothing less. Nobody else could bring out that kind of unconditional vulnerability.

But these words, little buggers made of alphabets, they've got double standards too,
They make you feel vulnerable yet extremely powerful. They help you communicate and sometimes they help you stay away from communication. They help you love and hate, they help you imagine and ideate. Little love letters, novels, a thesis on archeology. Emotions, history and philosophy. They're all but words. Nothing more nothing less.

After all,
It all starts with ink blue finger tips and a whole lot of happiness.

Pajamas or Killer Pants?

Aren't we lost sometimes in this extremely convoluted world?
Don't we feel really little sometimes?
Like tiny humans in this big world of lots of  choices?
Between all the big dreams and all the humongous desires, between practicality and idealism, between people and between things, amongst feelings floating deep inside?
Its funny how we get lost so often,
In the midst of what we have and what we really want, whether its love, money, success or fame? Or maybe we're just greedy (Insert cuss word).

I had to make the decision too,
Between I-am-floating-in-soft-cotton-clouds-and-I-dont-think-Im-wearing-anything-oh-my-god-this-feels-so-Liiiiiiberating Pajamas, and tight black pants with a sexy golden zipper and cutesy pockets. I did not know what I wanted to be.
I felt like lounging around reading a good old smelling book in a grey sweatshirt and those dream pajamas.
But then, I also wanted to strut around wearing those killer pants with a sparkling cocktail in one hand and a Chanel Bag in the other.

& Then I thought, who am I?

Okay, this was just about clothes. Such a silly thing. Go on, I can hear the snigger.

But don't we feel like this often?
About really crucial choices in our life. The tug of war between simplicity and fanciness. Two sides of the same coin?
Choosing between a cup of skimmed milk coffee and a caramel frappuccino topped with a thick payer of cream swirls? Choosing between a small job that pays a big buck and a big job that hardly pays? Choosing between soul searching and clothes hunting ? Choosing between saying the truth and hurting feelings or saying a lie and creating sparkles? and obviously between Pajamas and Bodycon dresses?

 Is it really the choices in life that makes us?




Too Sombre for the first post of the year. Blame it on the hormones ;)

PS - I bought both the Pajamas and the Killer black Pants. Complicated beings.

Human Marketing

I've never posted a Marketing specific post before. I wrote this today for an essay to a prospective university and just after that I watched a mind boggling video!

Felt like sharing,

Describe a major trend in the marketing communications industry that will change the way organizations communicate.

In my opinion Marketing has become ubiquitous in today’s age. Everyone from a freelancer to the biggest of global organizations need to market themselves. It has become an indispensible part of any product or service. Due to this nature there is a lot of competition due to the sudden influx of products and services, organizations, companies, advertisements, media sources and overload of information. In the marketing communication industry new ideas spread like wildfire and turn into ideas that everybody uses. For example the use of advertising on Facebook started full fledgedly in 2008 and by 2013 it is a concept that the smallest of businesses use. Nothing stays unique for long in marketing, as the success for one company becomes an observation for another who ends up using the same strategy.

In this time there is a severe need to cut through the mediocrity and come out with a marketing communication trend that is as ever changing as the subject itself.  I think that trend is the trend of Context Marketing. Although content marketing has existed in the field since a long time in the future content marketing will evolve concentrating more on context marketing. It won’t just be about delivering information through various medias but it will also aim to target exactly the right context that the customer needs.

For example, a Youtube advertisement will not be a general mundane advertisement but will concentrate on exactly what problems its potential customer is facing and will attempt to solve just those problems. There will be personal handwritten notes, applications will talk to you knowing who you are! It is already visible in breakthrough ideas. Siri, concentrates on just who you are and addresses you by your name, answers just your questions and gives you exactly what you need. Once in a while it also sings a song or cracks a joke for you. Instagram, facebook they access your location. Foursquare provides you restaurant just based on where you are. Vodafone, India’s leading telecommunications network calls customers and comes home to receive payments just to save customers the trouble of depositing it in a payment box just 5 minutes away from their house. Big brands send birthday letters with fat discounts. Insurance companies send anniversary cakes with the picture of the couple printed on it. All of this is nothing but targeting the right context.

 Context is nothing but the amalgamation of content and the consumer. In today’s time of information overload the precision can only be created using content in the right context marketing. Everything will become more personal and it will build long lasting relationships, as the information will be more focused just to the right type of consumer looking for just what the information is providing. Communication will also become more idiosyncratic in terms of its company. In today’s time there is a lot of overlap of information but the use of context marketing will lead to unique information about each product offering something very different than another. It will be original, it will contain information, facts and figures, feelings and perceptions and innovative ideas. There will be an influx of contextual information, design, presentation and participation. It will also lead to the realization of why people make certain consumer choices. Everything will lead to context. What the consumer is doing when exposed to the information, what thoughts he’s thinking, what is his lifestyle and what are his needs. Intricacies of every consumer will be focused on to ensure maximum productivity and there will be more use of real time conversation and real relationships. 

It will be the generation of human marketing.

 & This my friends, is the Father of Context Marketing :

WATCH!

http://www.godvine.com/What-This-Airline-Did-for-Its-Passengers-Will-Make-You-Tear-Up-So-Heartwarming-4378.html

Almost Merry Christmas! 

Being Twenty

So , I am exactly 17 days away from turning 21. I just realized I still count using my fingers and It is slightly embarrassing,

but I love this stage that I am at and this post is just to sort of "report" how thankful I am for this year!

But first,
Ill tell you why 20 is such an amazing age.
There's no better age I'd want to be at. Of course I know that my "twenties" are going to be worth looking forward to but twenty, plain simple twenty is so awesome!

1) You're not even a teenager and you're not even in your actual twenties. You're not a girl but not a woman. You're not sure about your adult status. Its nice to hang in there!

2) You're allowed to act responsible yet be a little irresponsible.

3) You're metabolism is sky high. Gorging brownies is fine. Exercise shows its effects quickly and you know where to hide the fat!

4) You graduate (unless you're an engineer or doctor!) You feel cool about going through years of school and junior college and college and you also see school time crushes sometimes and you feel so flattered and you remember how you failed at chemistry and also the merits you've got for acing certain subjects and you remember good teachers and really horrible ones and you suddenly realize that you've emerged quite fine :D

5)You're allowed to clubs without being legal. Its sort of a discounted age where even if they check your ids you go in! 

6) Your parents turn into your friends. You probably don't discuss everything but you pretty much can discuss anything you couldn't just last year!

7)You start dreaming real dreams, the kinds that you know can come true! You also magically start working towards them and sometimes you also end up making them come true! You handle money , sometimes a lot of money. You gift classy gifts and you go to nice parties and you also learn to give an interview. You save money and you also feel the satisfaction while blowing it up *-*

8)You're at the age where its okay to not have it all figured out. Its okay not to be in a relationship, not to have a job, not to know what you're going to in life and still be happy about being confused.

9) Hangovers aren't as bad as the ones you got during the teenage and your choice in drinks gets classier ;) 

10) You can wear long maxis and really short skirts and still carry them off with elan.

11) You're out of college. You realize who your real friends are. You know who your 3 am buddy is :)
You realize you don't have to please anyone because the ones who matter always understand. You learn to say NO!

12) You can plan what it will take to be young and rich ;) You can plan on looking for your Mr.Right! You can plan your life without actually having to do it. Its a good age for strategizing. Yes, plans don't always work but its a good feeling having a plan!

13)You get to know yourself better, trust me I did! You know why you;re feeling bad when you're feeling bad.

14) Life is suddenly a little less complicated than it was in your teenage. 

15) We're not stuck. There's going to be change and so much change to look forward to! Its scary yet so exciting!

16) You're balancing the heaviest workload of your life! A tleast you think you are! 

17) Hormones start taking it easy and PMS isn't all that bad anymore. But a little bit of drama blaming PMS and craving dark chocolate ice-cream is fine! 

18) You learn something new for sure. Something significant like  driving a car, managing a bank account, learning to bake a fine cake, learning math (for me), or prioritizing and putting yourself first!

19) You actually educate yourself. You learn things that school or college didn't teach you. You meet new people, make new friends, travel and learn to stay alone and suddenly there is so much to imbibe from others!

20) You're twenty. You're not stuck to anything. You're everchanging, dynamic, prone to horrible mood swings and full of taking risks.You're passionate and you're enthusiastic and suddenly there are no rules because you know what is wrong and right. Suddenly there's so much to look forward to and you start working hard. You know when to party and you know when to stay in. 


Twenty has been a good age. I did a lot of things I always wanted to do :) 

1) I learnt to drive. Yes, I still can't drive confidently and all that but at least I learnt. A road-trip on my own would probably be on 21's list.

2) I taught 9 year old school girls simple things like loving themselves, protecting themselves and being strong.
And trust me I emerged stronger! I also solved a 9 year olds dating problem. 

3) I graduated from college. YAAAAY. I also have a degree now B-) I also graduated with amazing grades so I made my parents slightly proud ;)

4) I recorded for a movie. An actual Bollywood Movie. I might see my name on the credits next year and my inner goddess is sort of dodging the paparazzi ;) 

5) I made new friends, lost touch with a few friends, strengthened friendships and loved :) I realized that a lot of things are temporary. I also realized I have a lot of friends who I might not be constantly in touch with but I always have them :)

6) I took a trip to GOA :D It was the biggest accomplishment because I thought I'd never be allowed O:)

7) I wrote a lot of things, sang a lot of songs, studied throughout the year and still managed to have a lot of fun!

8) I learnt about failure and dealing with it. I did horribly at the GMAT. Cried sulked and got over it.

9) I planned my future, more seriously than I ever have. 


&

10) I started writing my Blog :) 

Song-Write-Mode

I woke up and wrote a song. Between the pages of a boring math textbook is where inspiration seeps in and all that (:
Never posted  a song onto the blog so thought of posting this one!
Any composers who can make my rather novice sounding song sound awesome?

Here it is :

(Un-named)

I don’t know where I’m going from here,

I don’t know what it’s going to be like,

I feel the atoms rushing up through my veins,

Pumping through my heart,

Giving me a start

Ooooh,

Im scared and I’m overwhelmed,

And I feel like I’m breaking the red li-ight

But I see the glowing neon signs,

They’re telling me that I’m going to be fi-ne

Its so exhilarating so sublime,

Its like taking a leap into faith and time,

And when you’re scared and you still go o-on,

Nothing can replace the shine in your eye.

There’s fire and ice,

They’re both so strong,

But you’ve got to choose,

Where you belong,

And they’ll tell you that,

You’ll never get through,

but dancing through the storm,

Its all upto you

Coz the atoms, they run through your veins,

Pump through your heart,

And give you a start,

You’re scared and your overwhelmed,s

And you feel like you’re breaking the red-light,

But you see the glowing neon signs,

They’re telling you that you’ll be fine

Just leap into faith and time...

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

This is a mandatory blogpost.
I just got off the television after watching his farewell speech and the tears couldn't stop rolling down my cheeks.

---

Today I realized what drew me towards the game the MOST. It was during the farewell speech that it dawned that I probably loved Cricket solely because of this wonderful gentleman giving this extremely emotional speech. He is undoubtedly the Best Cricketer in the world and his statistics are beyond imagination but today what sparkled right through his face, what made the thousands cry, what made the people chant his name like a prayer, what made the atmosphere so surreal - was the person he is.The way he spoke, the way he took every name that mattered, the way he kneeled down and touched the stadium in respect, the wide smile he gave to the people while holding the flag and the way he spoke about his family spoke so much about his charachter  He played extraordinarily and made India proud but what made it so lasting through a few failures and many successes was something beyond his game!

 Beneath all the skills, all the layers, all the media attention, all the hooting and shouting and cheering he seemed crystal clear today. Anybody who heard him talk could see how passionate he was about his game, how true he was to what he was doing, how humble he was to people and how grounded he was to his belief. Thats what set him apart and added a zing to his aura. There might be better players some day after a few years, and better statistics and maybe even better media attention but  the connect that he built with people through his heart is what is rare. They say that we are innately good people and we connect to people who are innately good. That connect is what made people tear up, what made people sad and what inspired people to be just like him.

Today like many others I want to be Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. I want to be true to what I love, passionate about every single thing I do, humble to everybody around me and unaffected by any attention or praise that I receive. I want to be remembered for the person I am, and the things I did by not changing the person I am and above all I want to love what I do and do what I love :')

I just read this somewhere and I think its amazing : I Imagine Ramesh Tendulkar going up to Sir Don Bradman in heaven right now and saying, "See there, That's my son!."

You Inspire us, Sir. We are very very proud of you.

(I've never been a crazy Cricket Fan, I have watched a couple of matches, cheered a lot, danced on the roads at Midnight after the Worldcup and followed a little bit of IPL but my knowledge about the game is minimal. Its just enough to understand what's happening. But today, I read my way through the first two pages of Google after hitting "Sachin Tendulkar". Thats the effect he has on me. That's gotta be something ! Something more than mere statistics. Something close to the person he is! )