Fuzzy Logic? No, Fuzzy Duck!

Those in Ahmedabad and read Ahmedabad Times must've seen this ad. The size compels you too. And if it holds your attention, you must've noticed the name. FUZZY DUCK.

FUZZY DUCK?! I check my eyes every time I see the ad. Must admire the audacity. Not sarcastic here. Of course, with their spends and audacity, they could think of better branding efforts surely. I really want to see how they fare.

Goddess of English

I just came across this interesting bit. And only now.

A Dalit writer called Chandra Bhan Prasad, along with the dalit community of a village called Banka in UP, has built a temple to worship the Goddess of English!

An excerpt from a write-up on the BBC site:

About two feet tall, the bronze statue of the goddess is modelled after the Statue of Liberty.

"She is the symbol of Dalit renaissance," says Chandra Bhan Prasad, a Dalit writer who came up with the idea of the Goddess of English

"She holds a pen in her right hand which shows she is literate. She is dressed well and sports a huge hat - it's a symbol of defiance that she is rejecting the old traditional dress code.

"In her left hand, she holds a book which is the constitution of India which gave Dalits equal rights. She stands on top of a computer which means we will use English to rise up the ladder and become free for ever."

Incredible!

It's a sort of socio-cultural development but I gather quite a few marketing tips from this event.

If people are stuck up about religion, seed the change in the religion itself, instead of trying to generate an anti-religious sentiment. Am sure it must have been some work convincing at least some of the dogmatic people in the community.

And if God is the greatest and if God's word is the highest command, then make God command the change.

They've also announced that they'll celebrate Oct 25 every year as English Day. Of course, if you have Ram Navmi, Shivratri, Holi and so on, why not English Day for Goddess of English.

Still early days but this should yield interesting and positive results. Great initiative.

You can go through the BBC article here.

Pic courtesy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Pizza ki delivery

Ana: PHD?
Clado: Yeah!
Ana: Ooooooo PIZZA HUT DELIVERY it is!
Clado: Ana, tell me, would you like PHD or Khushiyon Ki Home Delivery?
Ana: The thing is, I didn't know PHD was a short form. I mean, short form for Pizza Hut Delivery.
Clado: Now that you know it...

"Hard Work"

When I hear the words "hard work" or "work hard", I conjure up images of intense physical labor and toil. Is my perception commonly shared? If yes, in that case, if I have to convey "intense mental work/labor, work of real thinking or insight", what should the words be?

Compulsive Expressive Disorder

I think being social is natural. So 'social media'. But like it happens with eating, it also happens with socializing. We over-do. Call that Compulsive Expressive Disorder.

There are occasions when I get into such a frame of mind that I start thinking about sharing or blogging before I actually do something 'worthy' of that. And times, when sitting with my laptop, I feel anxious what to write next, what to share next, what is the next update... And sometimes I actually do that. Thankfully I identify such moments soon enough. And also thankfully such occasions have been fairly limited so far; or at least I feel so :).

Twittering is the greatest manifestation of CED so far.

It is a disorder because at the back of the head you really do know that your desire to express isn't backed by much. You know that you don't have much to say but still say. You don't have much to share but still share. Expressing/sharing becomes important simply for the sake of doing so. 'What' is getting expressed/shared is immaterial.

And like many disorders CED also has a sunny side. Acting. It seems to me that 'acting' is very likely an outcome of persistent CED. In fact, one can say that if an actor doesn't suffer from CED, the likelihood of his/her success diminishes. Would you agree that Shahrukh suffers from that? Salman definitely does. Jim Carey? You bet. Johny Lever? Dilip Kumar? Bachhan? Meena Kumari?

Are you suffering from CED and never knew about it? So can you sense the symptoms? How is it influencing you?

Tickling name, isn't it?

News is that HERO MOTO is gonna replace HERO HONDA.

First, it reminds me of HELLO MOTO ringtone/jingle of Motorola mobile phones.

And just as that thought sinks in, I realize what MOTO means in Gujarati. HUGE! HERO HUGO sounds cool too!

And just as I am done with that, HERO in Gujarati means DIAMOND. In that case, it should've been MOTO HERO. HUGE DIAMOND! Guess, I unnecessarily get grammatically sensitive. HERO MOTO, DIAMOND HUGE is well understood, isn't it! :)

On names

  

  

   

   

    

Before it is named, it exists. The task, therefore, is to see what all exists. Inside. Outside. And in between.

 

   

   

     

   

The Thesis Binding Specialist

Observe the picture carefully. Got that? Kansara Bindery. The Thesis Binding Specialist. It's a rare occasion to find a Bindery. And a shop which proclaims specialization in thesis binding.

And their website?

Just think about the choice of positioning and the words applied to reinforce that positioning. Thesis? The culmination of long hard research, always considered precious work and meant to be preserved for long. PhD? Similar in spirit to Thesis.

Didn't capture the interiors of the shop but they were as neat as you can think of.

Find this shop at Chinubhai Towers, Ashram Road.

Brandy Clothes Bar!

Well, Gujarat is a dry state. So get intoxicated through what you wear and how you look. May be through the way your skin feels when Brandy clothes touch your skin :).

One thing I know is that I can't crack great jokes. And this name doesn't help either.

The Clinic

Just noticed this. Now what do you say when you want to go to a doctor's?

"I am going to The Clinic!"

Say you want to say the same in any other language. Hindi, let's say.

"Mujhe The Clinic jaana hai!" :)

And in Gujarati,

"Maare toh The Clinic javu chhe!" ;)

Grappling with my non-Pavlovian status

My last post was a reflection of my state of mind. This extends the explanation.

It really feels strange to be out of a 9 to 5 routine. Sometimes I find myself staring into the void. Still not able to relinquish my 'Pavlovian' needs :).

Perhaps this word needs some explanation. 'Pavlovian' as I've used means a repetitive juxtaposition of certain two elements such that eventually one is accepted as the cause of existence of another for no 'logical' reason. For example, getting a certain salary/compensation in the first few days after every month. So, 'the end of the month' gets so connected with 'receiving salary/compensation' that it becomes cause enough to expect 'salary/compensation'.

Anyway, seemingly linked to the above phenomenon, I've observed people are hired more for their availability than for their actual work. Just making sure that people are available at any point in time gives a sense of security that work will happen. And this observation is a rather disturbing one. For it undermines the value of time. Or, in other words, it simply implies that it is okay to let people idle away their time when there's no 'work'. It isn't a wonder then that spending 30-31 days at your workplace, doing whatever, means you oughta get your 'salary'.

Now, one can raise a question what is 'actual work'. :) Have fun.

Crabs vs Elephants

Invitation Cards for the Conference

That's the title of the conference on Medical Business Economics arranged here tonite at 8:00. About 100 odd doctors are expected to participate. Hoping for a breakthrough.

Terrible words, terrible wastage

In a few minutes that I've spent watching TV in the last two days, I've come across these three words:

1. Wealthsurance (IDBI Life Insurance I guess)
2. Ecomagination
3. Healthymagination

If I am not mistaken the word 'wealthsurance' has been around for more than a year now, splashed across all media. I wonder yet how many people have been able to pronounce it clearly and comfortably, forget about remembering and using it as part of daily life. I then wonder if the word was needed in the first place actually. I also wonder whether it gives  any distinctive advantage or differentiating point to the brand. And therefore my question is, how does the brand get any benefit at all?

ATM Jain

Yeah, I just met this guy. He works with a bank; I guess in the business/corporate loans division. His name is Atmaprakash Jain. And imagine his email id...

atm.jain@whateverbank.com

Terrific! :)

How is this name?

Quite a name this for a financial planning outfit run by CAs.

Two things about the name. 'Financial' refers to the category. 'Hospital' also refers to a category used here more as a metaphor; I have a problem with that.

Hospital is 'curative'. But financial planning is sort of 'preventive'. 'Gym' is a better metaphor for 'preventive' / planning solutions. 'Gym' helps you stay fit. Planning helps you stay financially sound. 'Hospital' in the financial context could mean restructuring, etc.

"Buzzy Day"

  

  

 

  

Buzzy = Busy + Boisterous :D

      

 

  

 
  

Forager

A colleague of mine, Punit, had shared this idea with me - a device that works like mobile phone and helps you locate things. So the way a mobile phone helps you reach your people, there should be a device that helps you reach your things.

Punit didn't believe in his own capabilities to pull off the idea. So he didn't work on this but some other guys did. Here it is.

Source: Rajasthan Patrika suplement 'Parivar', Bhilwara Edition, 24th Nov 2010

Who's given the name Forager? Myself and Prateek. A few days back we were discussing the possibility of developing such a product and this word just popped into my head.

I realize that this name can be given to a touring bike as well, or to an SUV, or to any vehicle built to handle rough terrains.

Externality

Economists are at fault. Am sure they are the ones to coin this one. And now they are struggling to convince governments and policy-makers. And struggling to make the common man understand the significance of all that falls under this term 'externality'.

Imagine, the environment we are surrounded by is captured in this term 'externality'. Of course, the term is derived from 'external'. Quite amazing that in our pursuit of convenience, the very things which ensure our survival, are conceptually thought of as 'external'.

Shree Chang!

On Ahmedabad Udaipur Highway

Next you know, you'll have a Guruji Shree Shree Chang!

Achanak Juice

Achanak

Had gone for some work to Jaipur and was hanging around the Gaurav Tower area when I noticed this. Achanak! You don't measure your thirst until the moment you suddenly announce that you are thirsty. Quite a name.