Why the urban youth may not like slumdog?

Hey,

Its been much talked about and we know both sides of the coin. Apart from the concerns about how India has been shown and potrayed in the oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire, its not so encouraging for the urban youth of India when they are competing with global giants like US and other developed countries. But I have a different perspective on why the urban youth may not like slumdog apart from its much obvious reasons. Its a perspective which has been formed on the basis of the people I know and some observations.

Destiny plays a huge role in our life but can we rely on it?
The belief of destiny has actually lowered to a huge extent and thats due to a lot of the urban youth activating their own destiny. There are so many formulas that the urban youth have chalked out at an early age. There are so many ways in which we can actually plan and proceed to a successful career, life and whatever we want. We know the means to get there, there is less insecurity and more ability. Its the exact opposite of the film slumdog which completely relies on luck, belief, hope, never to give up and destiny and some more luck and destiny.
The belief that we have to shape our own destiny has grown and due to that, too much of a coincidence and luck seems rubbish. Among the urban youth, words like naseeb, destiny is used mostly when they fail. It also works as a good excuse.

But the scene is very different at the other end. Its almost picture perfect for people who hail from the small towns, who come to the city with big dreams. For them, destiny is almost an ability for them to judge themselves whether they are favored by God or not. It is not only hardwork. The biggest example is reality shows, if you notice most of them hail from small towns because they believe that maybe if they wake up tomorrow, it may be different for them. They know that to make it big, they have to take a big risk, which we know as well but most are not willing to take, only very few. Whereas, the urban youth already knows whats gonna happen tomorrow and has it all chalked out because we are in our comfort zones and we are happy and thats ok.

No doubt that there is a lot of hardwork involved and you cannot sit and rely on destiny, you have to work towards it, slumdog in a way reminds us not to forget about it and not to rule it out.

So, if slumdog reminds of destiny shaping itself up and your reaction being "Yeah, destiny plays a role buuuttt..". You probably fit in my perspective.


Cheers!
Moiz

Why scraps are out and chat is in..in Facebook and orkut!

Its extremely exciting, as to how closely facebook and orkut monitor people and their habits. When orkut and facebook had started, the best way to connect with people was to scrap them or write on their walls, even to people who were online but now that phenomenon is changing since both of them are social networking websites, which is they are windows into your world for your friends etc, now they allow to you to communicate live, which helps get instant responses, reactions because its live, and people are more satisfied to have a complete conversation than an incomplete one. Compared to scraps which allow your other friends to view what others have written, this is more private than ever.

Why people are loving it? its because orkut and facebook though originally were how you wanted to potray yourself and share what you wanted to share with the world, there are certain things that you'd like to share but with certain people only and that may be unsuitable or inappropriate to share with everyone. The next step might be showcasing certain things for certain people only, which makes it more private than ever.

The other amazing thing is that since orkut and facebook are all about networking. There are so many triggers for a chat or conversation as well. Pics, quizzes, games and I think one of the most important triggers for a conversation is "your status" "What are you doing right now?"

It will be fascinating to see if these networking websites start having live video conversations, which may make the difference between the real and virtual almost nil

Lets wait and watch!


Thanks for reading!
Moiz

Happy New Year to everyone!

Hope your dreams come true! Hope you have a great year ahead!

This year its all about staying active for me. Thts my resolution, in whatever I do I should remain hyperactive, enthusiastic and excited. So, I will try and post interesting stuff more often.


"Staying alive"
Moiz

BOARD GAMES HAVE THE BIGGEST MARKET!!

I don't even remember what reminded me of board games, 2 days back, but the thought that board games are hardly visible these days in urban homes, disturbed me, forced me to think. Ofcourse the answer was obvious, technology. There used to be a very famous store called Paragon on Park street, it was my dream place as a kid, the store was full of toys and board games and I hadn't heard of any customer dissatisfied of their services or any kid. I think its a human tendency that anything that moves, anything that generates a response is much more exciting. Every human by nature is very interactive, there are no shy people in this world. They are probably looking for the right people to interact with. When it comes to board games, even they are interactive. The most popular board games like monopoly, ludo, snakes and ladders, scotland yard, you had to play it with 2 or more. All of them demanded physical interaction with friends. It also introduced me at times with new friends through our common friends.

Technology has just upgraded the interaction, now we even communicate with computers, every game demands 2 players. Through computers and with the help of the internet we can also play with our friends who might be really far away.

So, is it that these board games are going to die out?? Yes they will, over time, if they keep selling it to the wrong consumer. They should actually customize the games for rural India and make it more user friendly. Interact with them in their own language. Every game has its own language. Once they learn it, they will never forget it. There is no ABCD in Ludo. I m pretty sure that many people don't even know what Ludo means although they played it almost everyday in their childhood. Technology will take time to catch up with rural India. They could actually bring some outdoor local games and create a board version of the game. They should also come out with some educational games which would enable them to learn as well as have fun. Companies like Leo mattel should host exhibitions and should have their executives interact with the people of the small town, rural India and explain these games. Demonstrate, go back to the basics, door to door, surprise them!! Host board game competitions. Customize games according to their values, perceptions, desires. Hoardings and press ads won't work.

The opportunity is really really big!! Even in the time of recession. You are talking to people who save, who believe investment is for long term. They are not impatient, not running away with life. And the biggest reason why you should talk to them is because they will listen and why?? because they have time.

Let me know your perspective!


Regards,
Moiz
" A fresh perspective everyday keeps the mindsets away!"

You made a BLUNDER!!!! thts ok as long as.....

Hey,
Been a really long time since I posted. Was caught up with too much work and to be honest, never came across something really interesting. But there have been a series of incidents which I recalled today from my school to college days and in my professional life which forced me to post. Ofcourse, the blunders that one of my friends committed today played a vital and a hilarious role in reminding me of such incidents.

Anyways, whenever you make a blunder, its ok as long as there are no consequences or repercussions coz you are bound to make mistakes or blunders, in your professional life as well as your personal life. But even if there were blunders made, and you crawled your way out of it, its great. Some hotshots like to call it Crisis management or presence of mind and what not. I prefer to call it you saved your ass management.

But don't congratulate yourself everytime you recall a blunder or a crisis and how you survived it etc etc, rather learn from it, don't repeat the blunder or the mistake and then laugh over it for the rest of your life.
I m sure its happened with you guys. In retrospect, you can probably have a laugh and keep laughing everytime you are reminded of such incidents.

Cheers!
Moiz
"I don't write long, its just my sentences"

Its important to make a winning start everyday, if possible!

No it doesn't happen all the time. Most of the time its morning and its boring and there is a routine. Currently we are having this small football tournament amongst our friends, and there are matches in the morning at around 6 am. When we reach the field everyday, it seems everyone has just got out of bed. I don't blame them or myself, 6 am is very early morning. But once we start playing, there is a sense of energy on the field as a team, as an individual, a responsibility even if its a friendly tournament. Its an amazing feeling to make a save, score a goal right at the start of the morning before the day has even begun.
Your mood changes, your attitude changes. Its around 8 am right now and I am writing this post. I have just come back from the match. Even though I am a little dizzy, vision is a little blurred without my spects, my enthusiasm to put this experience down in words is no less

We played amazingly well today, we won the match 1-0. We had lost our 1st match, the 2nd one we drew. After the match, the mood in the entire camp was good which is pretty obvious, but, whats great is that we have made a winning start to the day. Its a different feeling.

I know it won't happen all the time. I am not fit to play soccer everyday and win, but I 'm sure there might be other ways of making a winning start to the day.

Here's a winner http://youtube.com/watch?v=ta_la6vIaFc

Thanks for reading!

Have a great day!

Old Market new creativity!

Hey guys,

Hope you all doing good. Weekends have their own charm, everyone looks forward to it and so do I.
Today, I visited a place where my Mother used to shop for my diapers, where I used to stare at my brother if he got a bigger share of the Nahoum's biscuits and bread (There are no compromises when it comes to food! Ultimately, I used to get the bigger piece :)

A place where my legs used to tire, because my Mom would visit every shop before making a solo buy of anything at all. A place where, if you looked up, it wasn't a pretty sight, there were broken windows, scratched paint, pigeons and their nests. If you looked around, you could only see shops with the best of arguments between the experienced home makers and the shopkeepers while making a purchase.

There is a charm about New Market, the Stuart Hocc Market and the new basement market (that’s come up to match the malls)

I haven’t been to New Market in a while, a long while, about 6-8 years. So, when I visited the market to buy a magicians hat and a soft toy rabbit. I was trying to just remember and see if the things that I had seen 6-8 years back are the same or not. And no, they weren’t the same. The exterior was well done and the interiors had some touch up as well. New shops had come up.

I was happy and I was looking for more, something which would catch my eye, besides a walk down memory lane and all of that.

The names of the shops struck me a lot and some really nice names which were easier to remember or because they were different you could remember them. I started noting them down on my mobile phone because I really thought they would make for some outrageous creatives/designs/propositions if they had the creative space.

The names were as follows:

Name	Category
Kashmir Fusion	Clothing
Tiffany tomato	Clothing
Oops Do re mi U & I Leos Den The Loot Walking fever	Clothing Music store Clothing Clothing Clothing Footwear

I felt great visiting New Market after a very long time, it brought a smile on my face and made me realize how creative people are and that they just don’t realize that, if they dug a little deeper in their creativity and utilized it in their business. It would be an awesome experience for the people and add so much value and fun to their shopping experience.

Anyways, this write up is all I have for the weekend. I know you have been reading books and want to spend some more time with your family and friends besides logging on to the net and reading about my experiences. So, I am waiting to read about yours. Feel free to post.

Sometimes, to inspire yourself, you need to look for sources of inspiration which you have not used earlier and for that you need to be creative as well.

Read the names of the stores before you leave this post. It will bring a smile on your face!

Thank you for reading,

Moiz