Brand Name Confusion!

This is a very fascinating phenomena. Many times for a particular product or service, a brand which is providing it, gets its name associated with it, and that product is recognized by the brand name itself. There are quite a few examples of this in India.

Here are a few I know.

1) Mineral Water:- Packaged drinking water or mineral water. The brand name BISLERY is so popular in India, that 90% of the people refer mineral water as BISLERI. If you were to go to a store to buy some bottled water on a hot day, you would ask for a BISLERI.

2) Photocopyer:- All over the world making copies of your important documents is called photocopying. But in India you call it xeroxing your documents. This is probably because Xerox copyer machines were fist to come in India, and became very popular subsequently.

3) Chocalate Bars:- This is probably because untill recently only Cadbury chocalates were available. Elsewhere it would be called, perhaps a chocalate bar, but in India we just call them just CADBURY.

I have also been told that in villages people refer to toothpastes as COLGATE.

I am sure there are several more such examples. If you know do tell me!

Indian in WWE

I got this video clipping from a friend. I have been told that the guy in this is an Indian. Well Undertaker Dwarfs most others in WWE. But yet this guy literally toys with the undertaker. This guy is huge!!!

Can watch it here.

Aamir

Latest news on Aamir Khan is that, he is supporting the Narmada Cause. First thing that came to my mind is that, if he wants, he can join politics and do pretty well in it. Unlike other movie in stars in politics, he has indeed some good views, opinions and ability to do good work for the people. (What is govinda doing in politics? alternate carrier? Also has alleged links with the Underworld)

He, in the past too, had openly voiced his views on Iraq, and Gujrat. I then thought, if he is against the Narmada Dam thing, just because of him being anti Modi, and Modi being a strong supporter of the Narmada Dam? The answer was a simple and obvious NO.

The first thing he said on television during the protest was that, he was not there for any political party nor against any party or individual, and also that he didn't have any intrest in politics and does not want to join it. That answered my first question as well.

Sadly he does not want to join politics. His last film preached about, not waiting for the difference to happen but being the difference. Apparently he considers himself only giving the message and leaving the 'being the difference' thing to others. Nothing wrong with that.

Also according to me he is among the best Actor in India if not the best. If you play all Shahrukh movies back to back, you will probably not realize where one ends and the next begins, cause the character he plays in all of them is pretty much the same. And according to me Salman isn't a actor at all. What were his movies with David Dhawan, in which he uses an American accent for his Hindi, about?

The word they use for Aamir as an actor is Versatile. I guess I will stick to it.(honestly dont know what it means.)

Indian Hypocricy

I saw a debate on NDTV which dealt with relations between India Pakistan and the United Sates. It had Aamir Khan as one of the guests. (personally my favorite actor, and best of the khans, more on it later)

Pronoy Roy who was hosting the show, made a remark whch completely floored me. What he said is certainly true. He asked Aamir Khan, "What is this hypocracy against the United States in India? Everyone hates America (I don't), and yet they want to go there for higher education. So it is like ' Yankee Go Home But Take Me With You '?"

George Fernandes

Recently an event occured which probably didn't as much media coverage as it possibly should have. George Fernandes was toppled as part leader of the Janta Dal (U). What the newspaper says about this is that, this is possibly the end of his political ambitions.

My compilation of all that I have know about this person. He was probably todays 'left' equivalent in the NDA government. The essential socialist. Made his way into national politics through trade union politics. In the early 90s (or late 80s), he along with Datta Samant (one who unionised the Mill workers in Bombay, and lead their agitation, which eventually led to the closure of the prosporous textile industry in B'bay) almost crippled Bombay. George Fenandes did that with a Railway strike, and a very long one too.

Ironically he later in his life wnt on to be the Railway Minister. Not the only irony in his life though. He had aspired to be a priest earlier in his life, and as Defence Minster was alleged to be involved in the 'coffin' scam. He was not without his share of controversies. (Have yet to see a non-controversial politician) Also his spat with Mamta Banergee in the earlier NDA regime had led to the collapse of the government then.

Nevertheless from an, another person on the street who went on to become the defence and railways minister, his life has been some journey. Although this may not be the end for him afterall since everything is possible in Indian Politics (Congress and BJP allies?????????). So dont count the person clad in kurta and sandals out.

One thing which I am sure of is that, we may mock them(politicians), we may curse them, but we cant do without them. They are indeed a colourfull tribe.

Sehwag lbw anderson, blame Mehta from NASA

I wanted to write about this long ago, but somehow never got time, or was too lazy. I guess by now there must be thousands of blogs by cricket junkies on this new phenomenon.

Dr. Mehta is a NASA scientist of Indian origin. Dr. Mehta works in the fluid mechanics lab at Nasa’s Ames Research Centre in California. Dr Mehta has come up with a new kind of swing for fast bowlers and has been helping the English bowling coach Troy Cooley.

Heres how it works-

CONVENTIONAL SWING: The ball is released with the seam angled towards first slip or fine leg, spinning backwards along the seam and with the polished side facing the batsman. The ball will swing in same direction as the seam is pointing

REVERSE SWING: Same release, except with the rough side facing the batsman. The ball swings in the opposite direction to that of the seam

CONTRAST SWING: Controlled by speed. With the seam positioned vertically , the ball swings towards the rough side at lower speeds and towards the smooth side at higher speeds.

So unlike the reverse swing—the movement generated with one side polished well and the other left with the rough edge— here, the drift of the ball doesn’t depend on the seam position or the asymmetry caused by selective polishing. The seam remains upright and the ball moves towards the rough side when delivered in the range of 65-70mph. A little over 70-mph mark, and the ball swings towards the polished side from the same position. Batsmen can never expect to read this swing as it is near impossible to differentiate such minute variation of pace from 22 yards.

Troy Cooley, the current English bowling coach has his new contract with Australia so expect them too, to be in the 'swing' of things.

THE IMRAN CONNECTION- He (DR. Mehta) opened the bowling with Imran Khan for Royal Grammar School, Worcester, in the early 70s. And that’s probably when Dr Rabindra D Mehta got his first clues to what later became contrast swing.

Mehta says he opened the bowling with Imran for the school team in 1972. ‘‘It was from Imran that I first heard of what became known as ‘reverse swing’. He told us about the phenomenon, but it wasn’t until we conducted wind tunnel tests the next year at Imperial College, London, that I fully understood what Imran was talking about,’’ he recalls.

(excerpted from, The Indian Express)

Certainly very fascinating, lets hope the Indians too update themselves with this new theory.

$100 laptops running on human power.

Read here.

Actresses then and now.....

I got to see this slide show on rediff.com; it shows older pics of a few actresses along with their recent ones. I had seen ash's pic in it, earlier too, and remember saying that half of their beauty lies in the way they present themselves. Remember Karishma Kapoor in Andaz Apna Apna?

Also if this applies to actors as well, me too can have superstar looks!

You can watch it here.

More on Sunil Mittal

You can say the e-ink on my blog had not even dried, when I again read yet another an article on him.
Anyways heres more info on him.

Sunil Mittal was born in Haryana.(In no way realted to Laksmi Niwas Mittal, who was born in Rajasthan, and was brought up in Kolkata)

His first business was that of bicycles, in Haryana.

He recently started a food (fresh vegetables and fruit) export business; exporting to Europe, in collaboration with Tesco.

He is currently in talks with Wal Mart and Tesco, for a retail chain in India.(What is with reatil, everyone wants to enter it; will be kinda intresting to watch Reliance and Wal Mart competing against each other)