Unilateral Love...

Just the other day I read a line that got me thinking: “I love you far too much to be bothered by what you say or do to me.” This, as with a lot of other things, got me into the philosophical mode. Now this is either un-human or a simple plain harmless white lie!!! Can any human being actually love someone and not be bothered by what they say? Doesn’t it talk of unilateralism? Can any love be unilateral? To this extent? And again, as with everything else, I tried to reason the philosophy with logic.

Emotions always have the potential of being unilateral. Many people hate George Bush. But can he hate them? I’m angry with the Indian Government for so many things – to the extent that I might try to evade as much tax as possible. But is it angry with me? It’ll still continue to offer me what it always did – the citizenship of a “free” country. While all around me is misery, I can be the happiest person in XLRI or even on the face of the earth and probably beyond. And the converse – while all around me are partying, I can sit on the table and hope I could disappear or rather disapparate to the small hole, 40 ft below the surface of an ice island, in Tundra.

But wait, all these emotions I talked about were my relations with the group. What about individuals? Can I have unilateral emotions towards individuals? And such Extreme? I could hate, really hate, someone but when they help me, I would not be able to stop the feeling of gratitude. I could be angry, furious, with someone but when they came to me with a sorry written on a sullen face, I will relent though I might not absolve the other person of all their crimes.

But love behaves quite different from these human emotions. It is, after all, divine. I reminisced how many times in history/mythology has love led to people being irrational. Love has caused wars and ended them. It is the single most potent weapon in the hands of a poor soul on the other side of anger. I finally concluded – love – more than most (or should I say, all) other emotions – can be unilateral. Next time, when it comes to it, I won’t hesitate to say, “I love you far too much to be bothered by what you say or do to me.”

Miles to go...

The other day, someone remarked that my frequency of blogging had decreased considerably. The truth is that there are many posts that I have drafted but never got myself to post them. Socially desirable responses and blogs... The unwillingness to answer a few pointed Qs... Those furtive glances... All of these conspired against me posting anything.

This post however finds its way out...

I was never the one who believed in sticking to culture and heritage. I, for one, always believe in the progressive stance and believe any progress needs sacrifices. I always resented the idea of a joint family. Today, I realise what those values and fun of the joint family meant. Till last year, XL was one huge family. The seniors, juniors and the Professors were members of that happy united family. Some Idiotic Process (SIP) axed away the bond between the siblings – the seniors and the juniors. The elders, well, I didn’t even realise when that bond was severed. This Diwali sealed it all. East is East, West is West and never shall the twain meet.

There was no welcoming to the houses. There were those ‘kutti idlis’ but that was not what pulled me last year. It was the joy of being invited. I went to have those ‘kutti idlis’ this year too but didn’t feel like having – and actually ended up having just a few forkful of noodles. There may have been the taste – after all, nothing ever changes in this sleepy town of Jamshedpur – including the tastes. But without the warmth of being served, the taste was actually not present. There was the customary Antakshari, good fun too. But when the company I cherish the most is absent – life truly is drab – what if it is Diwali. In this drab life, every sound of cracker is loud noise and every spark is a blinding flash.

I still believe I’ve a purpose to serve. The motivation might have been killed - quite cruelly - but I still believe someone somewhere might just need me. I hang on... I live on... The journey is not as pleasing as it used to be...

The woods are not lovely...
They are very dark – very deep...
But I’ve promises to keep...
and miles to go before I sleep!!!

The celebration...

The Italian chandelier was lit by a dim halogen glow. The soft light falling on the banquet hall really seemed to fill the evening with joy. The aroma of the tossed Russian salad mixed well with the selection of exclusive selection of French wines procured specifically for this occasion. The ikebana specialist, Sun Takahashi was happy to have got the contract for the arrangement of the Dutch Tulips in the central hall. The smile(y) was present on every nook of the decorated room. The city’s who’s who were all there, waiting for the Mr. R’s arrival. There were suddenly flashes all around and sudden frenzy at the door. Mr. R was accompanied by his new fiancée Ms. S. Dressed in a deep blue Armani, Mr. R looked ready for the occasion. The media sure was.

“Friends, the last month has been a real enlightening week for us. It was one where we experienced feeling so surreal, so redeeming that I feel privileged to be present here today to tell you more about it. We started off with the “Ghoomo India” campaign where 20 of us travelled across the country. Thanks to the innovative designs of our buses by Mr. D, who agreed to design the buses without any charges, we were able to visit places where no government goes. I’m happy to inform you that we supplied the village health centres worth 20 Crore of medicines. Thanks to the involvement of the 200 self-help-groups and mahila mandals in the city, we were able to collect 20 quintals of grain and used clothes. These were distributed to the needy with the help of the NGOs who decided to support us. Thanks to your support, we were able to reach out and spread the message of our foundation to 20 crore people of this country. Tonight we are here to celebrate the success of our mission and we have a reason to. I’d like to thank the schools and colleges, the Governmental Organisations and the NGOs, the self-help-groups and above all, the media for helping us on this tough journey. Please enjoy yourselves. I’m sure Chef P will have prepared a good selection of food for all your tastes. I’ve a meeting to attend and will thus take leave. Good night.”

Mr. R left the hall and walked towards his car. The chauffeur opened the rear door of the sedan. Mr. R. got into his car. The media was now focussed on other guests at the party. Just then...

“Do rupaye de do saahab. Kal se kuch nahi khaya hai. Maa Bimar hai. Yeh dekho sahib, behan ko bukhar hai. Do rupaye de do.”

“Chal Hat, Watchman, yeh log andar kaise aa gaye. Hatao inhe yaha se. Watchman... Driver Gadi chalao...”

You know you are back at XL when...

• You get a feeling you should be working... That’s it. The feeling stops there...


• That feeling comes only if you got a submission the next day and it is 1:00 am in the night...


• You start loving all those vegetables mom used to force you to eat but you gave an ugly look saying, “Mom, aren’t there better things to make!”


• You realise dieting is something that ppl do (remember ppl, not Me or you) because they don’t get those tempting Bisuda parathas at 2 in the morning...


• You realise alarm clocks are needed to put you to sleep.


• FB sure is one way...
  
  • Farms are no more wilted.
  
  
  • Your Mafia friends “wall” you for a pair of scissors, a haircut and cufflinks. You pick up fights and wars JLT. You learn new family values.
  
  
  • You get tagged on notes, cartoons, links and for everything you are not.
  
  
  • Fortune cookies are in high demand. (New B-Plan anyone?? New promotion strategy – Found in a Fortune Cookie, “You should eat a Bull’s Eye tonight with someone special”)

He Cut My Wings Away...

I was a happy li’l tweeter
One tree to another, I flew
Suddenly he came along
And cut my sweet song...

What would happen if suddenly one day I lost the only thing that mattered to me – the only thing that I thought differentiated me – the thing that made my survival worth it.

It was the moment that I waited for
The victory would’ve been mine
Today would’ve been my day
Had he not cut my wings away...

I was planning for things to come. My future looked bright. The only thing I was afraid of was uncertainty. Alas, that had the last laugh...

To stay alive, I fought hard
The breath was snuffed out
The claw curled, I clung on
Lest in death I be frowned upon...

It wasn’t just myself that I was leaving behind. I didn’t have to be the joke. I was the brave tweeter who would will his way out of things... I wouldn’t give up, not now... I couldn’t be myself but I could still be someone. I’d live my life as that someone.

Those final steps I had to make
Just go that one more tile
Though would I fly in the rain
Never be the tweeter again...

The unknown. The unobtrusive. But I’d live. It was just three steps... one... two... three... Almost there... Like so many others who had been... But I was no “other”. I was the tweeter. I had to claim my right to the six feet of space. The three steps for the six feet...

Those three steps is why I live
First for my sweetheart
Two for the clouds cast
And three to relive the past...

And I survived. He could take my wings but I flew higher. Or could I? May be I couldn’t. He took my wings... Oh, he didn’t take my dreams. I could dream of flying higher. But would I? Probably I would. I was the tweeter... I shouldn’t give up... Or should I???

I Think Therefore I'm.... Single :)

Disclaimer: The following piece of literature is a satire and an attempted application of MBA concepts to real-world. The author is not responsible for feuds resulting or arising out of the text though he would be interested in knowing about them ;)

Disclaimer 2: The analysis is believed to be gender independent and universally applicable :)

The ‘product’: Depending on the consumer characteristics, the product can be high involvement product or a low involvement product. It may not be generalised but the product’s use as FMCG is not socially desirable. Thus, for the purpose of simplification of analysis, we shall assume the product is a high-involvement product and is intended to be used as a consumer durable. The product has a high-maintenance cost associated but the perceived lifetime value is higher than the costs involved. Thus, the product has a high aspirational value.

The ‘purchase’: The purchase decision is generally non-impulse though the primary point of contact with the product has a high impact on the final purchase. The purchase can involve extended information search. Alternative evaluation, though, is restricted, often by the terms and conditions mentioned by the product. To meet the alternative evaluation requirements the consumer often observes flanking brands to be satisfied of the genuine advantages of the evoked set. General consumers like to try the product before deciding the purchase. Only surrogate attributes are used for evaluation during trial. The trial period can involve high monetary, emotional and temporal costs. Elimination-by-aspects is the general rule used for final decision. Sometimes, consumers do trade-off important attributes for the less important ones and thus actually use compensatory decision rule in conjunction with elimination-by-aspects. In many cases, the product is deemed faulty and discarded without any damages sought. Packaging has a high impact on the purchase decision. The consumer seeks out the product and hence the place dimension of the product mix is insignificant at the point of contact. However, for all further decisions, proximity is a highly desirable trait. Group impact on decision-making is very high and co-branding strategies are often successful.

Post-Purchase: Post-purchase dissonance is often delayed and not instantaneous. Display of post-purchase dissonance is restricted. Consumption guilt is often absent. Disposability of the product is very low. Hence, in cases where post-purchase dissonance or consumption guilt exists, the product is put to a no-use state before being slowly discarded. The duration of the no-use phase before disposal (and replacement) is highly dependent on attribution. Depending on the individual consumer, the product may sometimes be replaced immediately with a new one but more often than not, the second purchase is characterised by a prolonged period of analysis of previous use, and an in-depth study of the consideration set elements for making the second purchase.

MMM

P.S.: Go Ahead, Guess the product :)

Disclaimer 3: The author has limited knowledge of the product. The analysis performed is based on secondary data.

Credits shared by: @ng, Kutti