tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329348002012-01-02T21:36:14.557+05:30Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.comBlogger731100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-7604593113723405872012-01-02T21:24:00.003+05:302012-01-02T21:36:14.569+05:30

In a span of 24 hours 39 people have wished me well for a whole 366 days (this is a leap year, if you remember). That’s a load of wishes, I guess; and from a lot of people. When you are young, you generally have a lot of friends. It is also a general rule that, as you grow old the number dwindles. By the time you are forty-four like me, you have very few left. Having 29 people to wish you

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-74287965193912099482011-10-07T11:28:00.004+05:302011-10-07T12:46:01.835+05:30

What is the word that first comes to your mind when asked to spell out a word starting with 'Q'? Its 'Queen'; right? Yes, that's pretty obvious as since the day we started to learn the alphabets, we were taught that 'Q' is for Queen just as the way 'A' is for Apple. We think it would difficult to teach our youngsters any other word that they are not familiar with. Queen is such a common and

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-7876872265691444912011-09-26T18:23:00.001+05:302011-09-26T18:33:04.253+05:30

Omar is hurt. India is showing too much of interest in his private life. He is not naughty, but people are calling him naughty at forty. Tharoor was equally hurt. So was Amir, and Azharuddin, and Gutta, and Saif. Tata also have complaints of people invading his private life. At this point, I am rewriting a story, least I forget it. In circa 2005, there lived a petite small young woman

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0National Highway 37, Jalukbari, Guwahati, Assam, India26.15543796871355 91.6946411132812526.098434968713548 91.61567711328125 26.21244096871355 91.77360511328125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-29722818227657299102011-06-26T22:05:00.003+05:302011-06-26T22:44:44.039+05:30

"Shri Suren Medhi, retired teacher of Assam Engineering College and a writer by passion passed away in the morning of 25th June 2011 (Saturday)after a brief illness. He was the son of late Kaliram Medhi, who was one of the founders of Asom Sahitya Sabha, and a well-known writer who preferred to write under a pen name. Throughout his life he believed that it was the work of a writer that the

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-42919577620953963752011-06-12T18:28:00.002+05:302011-06-12T18:53:47.108+05:30

I discovered a small, about two by seven inches, silverfish-eaten piece of paper carrying a few line of scribblings in my hand as I was sorting out old, accumulated assortment of documents and newspaper clippings from a cupboard attacked by white ants today. I could not make out the age of the piece as there was no date mentioned on it, but circumstantial evidences like the company of the

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-20661911337605094712011-04-25T12:21:00.003+05:302011-04-25T12:26:47.072+05:30

This the 3rd and final part of the article on Public Relations published in The Eastern Chronicle.A better resolution image is available here.First part of the article.Second part of the article.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-65480976288333286032011-04-21T09:22:00.002+05:302011-04-21T09:26:31.880+05:30

(This article was published in The Assam Tribune today on the ocassion of National Public Relations Day. The newspaper edited and left out two very relevant paragraphs. So, I am posting the full article here.)The present educational scenario in our country marks the decline of popularity of traditional knowledge-oriented social science subjects like economics, history and political science in one

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-50071856361008080282011-04-21T09:07:00.007+05:302011-04-25T12:34:44.304+05:30

(This is the second part of my article in The Eastern Chronicle published today on the occasion of National Public Relations Day. See page-10, i.e. Business Chronicle of the newspaper for a slightly better resolution image.)You can read the 1st part of the article here.The 3rd and final part of the article is available here.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-90453192537982072562011-04-20T10:13:00.007+05:302011-04-25T12:28:20.775+05:30

This is the first part of an article published in The Eastern Chronicle, published from Guwahati today.For a better resolution picture go to Business Chronicle page in The Eastern Chronicle.The 2nd part of the article is available here.The 3rd and final part of the article is available here.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-77916717982963813302011-04-15T16:55:00.002+05:302011-04-15T16:59:39.203+05:30

No, this is not about what you thought it would be. It has thematic relevance to the headlines though. It is not about wishing you all a very best Bihu and a New Year en mass, but about how heartless that can be. It is about mindless adoption of economies of scale in large production of a ‘wish’ and the practice of wholesale mass distribution of it to a vague and faceless entity in our mobile

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-54050124516967420692011-04-06T16:48:00.002+05:302011-04-06T18:37:29.598+05:30

Nilakshi Kalita was hurt, read her comment.It was not intended from my side. I think she did not get me correct, so this is for her - a clarification; without any malice.I am happy that India won World Cup title. I was happy when India did in 1983 and I will be happy whenever India do it again. I salute sucess. But, I am not happy that the Indian team is selected not by India, but by an

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-49618906079420734482011-04-04T17:11:00.002+05:302011-04-04T17:51:39.339+05:30

Do you remember Abhinav Bindra being awarded rupees ten lakhs by our Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi? Abhinav Bindra possesses a lavish indoor range in the backyard of home, which he uses for shooting practice. He has graduated from the University of Colorado in the United States, with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. Apart from being a professional shooter, he holds the position of the

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-64802944623375081862010-11-22T09:19:00.007+05:302010-11-25T13:30:22.963+05:30

We generally call it a day at around 10.30 every night because the kid has to wake up early for school. He does not like to sleep alone and we love to oblige him. Saturday night I was awake till 12.30 surfing through TV channels ostensibly because I could not sleep, but actually hoping to get an eyeful of the "big" attraction in Colors - Pamela at 43.Of late, Pamela - who has been out of job in

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-19871496614174835572010-11-10T20:04:00.003+05:302010-11-10T20:35:36.817+05:30

Elliot Giberson of Seattle asked Stephen Hawking "What do you believe happens to our consciousness after death?"To which Hawking replied - the brain is essentially a computer and consciousness is like a computer programme. It will cease to run when the computer is turned off. Theoritically, it could be re-created on a neural network, but that would be very difficult, as it would require all one's

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-60868598009160101752010-09-28T18:21:00.004+05:302010-09-28T19:16:56.919+05:30

Anonymous left a comment to one of my earlier posts (Every man is an island)."happiness is like the horizon.. yu can see it ..never reach. while you are in that happy moment, you may not recognize it... buit live life and do things that make you happy.Do you know what makes your wife happy? do you know what makes you happy?"I find it thrilling to receive anonymous comments,find it exhilarating to

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-91587395177583742852010-09-19T12:56:00.005+05:302010-09-19T13:44:58.709+05:30

As he was tossing and turning on the bed trying to sleep, I realised it will be quite some time before he could sleep. The excitement was too much for him. After all, he has booked the first car of his life - a gleaming white Hyundai Verna CRDi diesel sedan - only a few hours ago. It was the top of the line model that caught his fancy. His mother and I said, so be it and went straight to the car

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-63237779057823745382010-08-24T11:31:00.005+05:302010-08-30T11:32:12.966+05:30

Artists say, that the most vibrant and most diverse hues in nature are seen in the sky and on objects reflecting sunlight only at the sunset. These hues are the most difficult to capture - whether on canvas or with camera. For centuries, it has remained a challenge for artists - painters and photographers - to capture the enormous beauty of the most amazing colours of sun's ray refracting through

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-1896320886026504872010-08-10T19:08:00.000+05:302010-08-10T19:09:21.496+05:30

How does one describe happiness? What makes us feel happy? Can the same thing that makes me happy make you happy too? Does it need efforts to be happy? Is it difficult to be happy?I was watching a World Cup match at home a few weeks ago. Interestingly, unlike many other women my wife has interest in football. It was an exhilarating and enjoyable match…extremely thrilling football. I wanted my

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-72173067574510140142010-08-02T12:26:00.002+05:302010-08-02T13:18:27.451+05:30

Last Saturday was different from other Saturdays. I had to watch a very popular animation series called Chota Bhim in POGO channel along with my son. It was his favourite show and he wanted company. So, there I was munching popcorns and watching Chota Bhim with my five-year-old son.For those who have not been initiated yet - Chota (small) Bhim is a character taken out of context from Indian epic

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-8746095126571516732010-07-29T15:56:00.004+05:302010-07-29T16:50:26.395+05:30

Let me remind you a little story. Sinbad the Sailor and his companions got marooned on a vast floating island. They were weary and wet and then one of them lighted a little fire. That’s when the ‘island’ rose skywards with a groan. It was a whale. This illustrates the old saying that "the absence of proof isn’t always the proof of absence".All my life, I have been fiddling with the idea of God. I

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-73001769219448255862010-07-15T19:30:00.003+05:302010-07-15T20:47:22.934+05:30

"I recently read that love is entirely a matter of chemistry. That must be why my wife treats me like toxic waste." - David BissonetteOne facet of human society on which a lot have been written and spoken is the intense physical and romantic attraction between two persons. I do not want to be drawn into a controversy by qualifying whether between different sex or in the same. The attraction to

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-75341731303384638852010-07-05T13:47:00.002+05:302010-07-05T13:59:14.093+05:30

For the last few months, may be quite a few months, I am doing some impossibly passionate, over-enthusiastic and extremely crazy things; things that I would not have done otherwise; not even had thought of doing all my life. But, I am doing them now; why I do not know. Most of the time, I am not even aware of the aberrations, only to realize them later when I get a chance to brood over.People who

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-40657351486165793052010-06-18T18:20:00.001+05:302010-07-05T19:17:55.635+05:30

On a recent visit to the Indian capital, I was traveling by the Metro. It was a morning trip to downtown Delhi and the train was slightly crowded. Not that there was no seat available, but I decided to avoid the effort of locating one and settled for a standing corner near one of the doors. My journey would take around 20 minutes. I was standing alone and therefore had nothing particular to

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-1580889087773234222010-05-31T19:44:00.008+05:302010-06-02T19:16:14.240+05:30

I had my frequently-used and the more well-known cellphone (read official) shut down on my 44th birthday. Partly because I was on a holiday with my family and I did not wanted to be disturbed by official works; and partly because I suddenly did not know how to respond to people wishing me "Happy Birthday". My other cellphone (the older one) was, however, on. The first reward for keeping it on

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-89219133465359678062010-05-31T19:25:00.002+05:302010-05-31T19:41:40.490+05:30

An woman in a small Indian village had a pet Mongoose which was very fond of her toddler son. While the woman attended to her daily chores, the Mongoose used to play with the toddler.One day while the woman was busy working, the Mongoose was playing with her son. Suddenly a snake appeared from nowhere and attacked the toddler. The Mongoose put up a brave fight to save the toddler and killed the

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-24100744434281736112010-05-17T16:45:00.002+05:302010-05-17T16:50:48.819+05:30

Aul or Ale was a brew much liked by the Vikings. After consuming a bucket or two of this brew the Vikings would head fearlessly into a battle - often without their armour or even shirts. The fact is that 'berserk' means 'bare shirt' in Norse.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-29731730387989211252010-04-24T15:49:00.002+05:302010-04-24T15:55:10.611+05:30

Ale is traditionally ordered by Pints and Quarts in England. So, in old England when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own Pints and Quarts. The phrase "mind your P's and Q's" is believed to come from it.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-24523193593150618562010-04-21T18:53:00.002+05:302010-04-21T18:59:05.895+05:30

It was not easy to be father of the bride in ancient Babylon. Around 2000 B.C. it was the responsibility of the father of the bride in Babylon to supply the groom with constant supply of 'mead' - a honey beer for one month after the wedding. Since they followed a lunar calender, this one month was called 'honey month'. Today's honeymoon is actually a leftover of that tradition. It's a different

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-29577521679605203432010-04-21T18:51:00.000+05:302010-04-21T18:53:10.318+05:30

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-55442130131695636612010-03-28T07:21:00.003+05:302010-03-28T07:23:39.010+05:30

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-41870009407103365642010-02-22T18:21:00.004+05:302010-02-27T17:29:05.101+05:30

The subject line of the message in the inbox released a surge of hormones in his bloodstream. The mail read, "Anonymous has left a new comment on your post". He was now trembling and breathing very fast. He hurriedly opened his blog while his hands were shaking. The comment from the anonymous reader was only two words - Love it. Well, people do read my blog, he thought. But, who is this anonymous

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-58477939402383244822009-12-14T15:40:00.009+05:302010-02-17T21:06:28.129+05:30

(This is for those who plan to be parents and those who already are and absolutely paranoid about the annual parents day at their offspring's school)We caught a pleasant sight of Kabir dancing alone humming a Goanese song from a Hindi movie one day. One could make out the song only from the tune he was humming as he could not pronounce even a single word from the lyrics correctly. It was a nice

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-75734296816463515752009-12-09T16:21:00.004+05:302009-12-09T16:36:53.289+05:30

All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.Charlie Chaplin, in My Autobiography (1964)In my country a policeman is sufficient. And there is no need of Charlie Chaplin either(to make comedy with them). They are comedy themselves.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-23241480456061159182009-12-08T19:42:00.002+05:302009-12-08T19:56:06.612+05:30

Words are not enough. At times, they utterly fail us and leave us groping in the infinite magnitude of letters desperately trying to exactly and comprehensively find a combination of them to explain what we want the others to understand. You conjure up all possible combination of words, sentences and yet realize that it is not what you want to convey. You ask for divine help; you curse yourself;

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-44888251721322036442009-12-02T17:25:00.006+05:302009-12-03T17:47:27.310+05:30

Everyone seems to be here with a purpose; apparently least bothered about the other person in front of him yet subtly watching his surroundings. The eyes of the magnitude of people betray the anxiety and apprehensions, yet gleaming with hope. Hope of making it to their destinations, taking that trip and getting near to the people or place they long for or may be simply accomplishing something

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-48284558927838969872009-12-02T12:36:00.005+05:302009-12-02T17:28:46.136+05:30

Australian economist Paul Frijters has put a price on happiness and sadness - emotions we considered invaluable so far. He studied about 10,000 people since 2001 to arrive at a calculation that says:Marriage is worth about Rs. 13.87 lakh to a man and a mere Rs. 6.93 lakh for a woman.Divorce makes a man feel he has lost Rs. 47.40 lakh, while woman feels a loss of Rs. 3.85 lakh.Birth of a child

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-32383132461985793422009-12-01T11:49:00.008+05:302009-12-01T19:22:15.694+05:30

As we - the Indians - ceremonially worry about AIDS and HIV along with the rest of the world on this day (December 1st), another killer disease has been sweeping away thousands of lives in this country to their graves every day. This is a silent killer called Tuberculosis (TB). One person dies every minute from TB in my country. More than 5,00,000 people die of this disease every year In India.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-70214193238818450352009-11-27T17:27:00.001+05:302009-11-27T17:29:23.513+05:30

Rahul Karmakar has taken a pot shot at reporter's source. Read his hilarious take (black comedy?) on all reporters - including himself.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-26086467875590539422009-11-24T16:54:00.013+05:302009-11-25T10:43:56.377+05:30

I belong to a generation for whom entertainment meant Doordarshan, a few movies with parental control and a lot of books. I couldn't develop likings for Doordarshan, but books have always been a weakness for me. I can even kill (not only beg, borrow and steal)for books(pardon me for the exaggeration). More than two decade ago, when the first ever Book Fair was held (1984)in Guwahati, Assam, it

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-60410119902229389042009-11-23T12:08:00.003+05:302009-11-23T12:22:04.502+05:30

Writing for Brunch, the Hindustan Time's Sunday magazine on November 1, Seema Goswami propounded an interesting theory on Midlife Crisis. "It is not so much panic engendered by the thought of what you haven't achieved (and are now unlikely to) half-way through your life. It's actually angst, kicked off by envy about all that your peers have managed to accomplish in the same period."While I was

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-20245949132285889212009-11-03T18:53:00.003+05:302009-12-05T13:14:43.622+05:30

Next time your wife (or girlfriend) is ready to conceive a child, make sure to kiss her. A full mouth-to-mouth kiss, I mean. I may sound too practical and unromantic. But, in a report published last week, The Daily Telegraph has, somewhat taken the romance away from the heavenly lip lock. Researcher Colin Hendrie from the University of Leeds, writing in the journal Medical Hypotheses, said the

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-66271978167968310732009-11-01T21:21:00.006+05:302009-11-23T12:02:38.383+05:30

I have two cell phones. One of them is with me for the last seven years. It was provided to me by the organization I work for. When the organization decided to migrate from one service provided to another three years ago, it became necessary to change the number. I decided to keep the old one transferring it to my account from the account of the organization because of mainly two reasons. First,

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-71979773507995262532009-10-20T11:52:00.005+05:302009-10-27T18:42:21.133+05:30

I was reading "The Professional" by Subroto Bagchilast Monday(19th October, 2009). In part VI in his book, he was discussing about Inclusion and Gender. It was a highly rewarding reading as Bagchi subtly but surely opened my blurred vision on gender bias.Incidentally, almost at the same time a journalist friend invited me for an interactive session on the topic 'Is there an undercurrent gender

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-11110674470610157002009-10-13T17:54:00.004+05:302009-10-13T18:47:35.460+05:30

Like most of us, I also face the dilemma of choosing the right kind of gift for someone very often. Not because of the consideration of the cost involved alone, but also because of two other more important factors.Essentially, a Gift is something for 'giving' without any consideration for return; it is meant to be free. But again, that is hard unrealistic theory only. In reality, we all expect

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-36465557159334802832009-10-06T16:40:00.000+05:302009-10-06T16:41:09.506+05:30

The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's recent speech in Hyderabad Why is the media here so negative?Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse acknowledge them--- Why?We are the first in milk production. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. We are the

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-5648770928506887022009-10-03T21:49:00.004+05:302009-10-03T22:25:34.742+05:30

I have very recently travelled with Air India, (formerly Indian Airlines and briefly Indian). While going out, I was upgraded to executive class and was seated in the cabin in two by two seats along with my wife and the five-year-old son. The hostess was aged, repulsive if not ugly, overweight and not at all smiling. It looked as if she had a fight with somebody and will pick up another fight

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-21042595351519260302009-09-22T15:54:00.003+05:302009-09-22T16:16:14.272+05:30

Sashi Tharoor has been reportedly asked by Madam Soniaji to stop his controversial comments on twitter. Amid the hue and cry created by several people in the Congress, who would like to see Tharoor going out of the Ministry, and the helping accomplices in the form of media, the beginning of this controversy(?)has dissolved into the backdrop. While Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called it a

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-32943834625351837072009-09-22T15:47:00.005+05:302009-12-02T17:30:22.896+05:30

It rained last night; not a heavy one though. I could here the raindrops hitting the concrete outside our bedroom as I drifted towards sleep. I woke up to a gloomy overcast early morning and realized the air has indeed become crisp. The next immediate thought was to check the Sewali tree that has grown up from a small sapling to be a six feet tall one. No, there was no sign of any flower on it. I

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-21580014737254249022009-09-16T12:20:00.001+05:302009-12-02T17:30:54.289+05:30

As you gradually come into terms with the grueling hot and humid Indian Monsoon enduring it for more than four months, do you realize suddenly one day that the continuing rains have stopped, the night-sky has become clear, the air has become crisp laced with the smell of Sewali flower, the mornings have become cooler and you can spot little drops of dew on the grass, and above all you are somehow

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-72660354420166050722009-09-09T17:43:00.003+05:302009-10-27T18:44:59.813+05:30

Yesterday's (8th September 2009) Economic Times carried three news items related to India's projected economic growth for the yer 2009-10. While the Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee was adamantly sticking to his and his government's projection of a 6.5% GDP growth, the Chairman of ICICI Bank had given his own projection of 7% to 7.5% GDP growth. On the other hand one of the United Nations

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-42893175429991021192009-09-09T17:14:00.002+05:302009-09-09T17:42:02.531+05:30

Shashi Tharoor, a Member of Indian Parliament and K. M. Krishna, the Indian External Affairs Minister had quite submissively walked out of the five star hotels they were staying in without even raising a single question. Even though they were paying for their stay from their own pocket!Why? Because the Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had asked them to do so. And why did the Finance

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-29103717915119638392009-07-08T21:04:00.004+05:302009-07-09T19:03:57.640+05:30

The University of Illinois Press published Claude Shanon's The Mathmatical Theory of Communication in 1948. The brief book described how words, sounds and images could be converted into electrical blips and sent elctronically. That was the foundation of today's digital revolution in communication. Ironically the very institution that brought Shanon's idea into the fore is now contending closure

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-58303070086296760322009-06-24T15:48:00.003+05:302009-06-24T16:19:30.211+05:30

"They write whatever they feel or think, they never bother to confirm from me. They write all kinds of imaginary things. They are ruining the image of my organization and putting my job at stake".This was not a cry baby, but a grown up government public relations personnel. He was lamenting on media people writing all kinds of stories which had little facts and a lot of imagination. "What can I

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-76814957425317709772009-06-18T16:44:00.004+05:302009-06-18T17:17:13.675+05:30

An equally valid question may be Can a Man love two women? With the given circumstances and environment that we are brought up in, the belief and value system imbibed into us and the subconscious that has been built into us for generations; the first thought that comes to mind is - What a blasphemy!Let alone answering it; to understand this very complex question we have go back to the origin of

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-2418287899044217212009-03-23T18:11:00.009+05:302009-06-24T16:21:13.464+05:30

Star of reality television show Jade Goody died peacefully in her sleep last Sunday. Goody was made infamous in India by the media for her supposedly racial remarks against Indian actor Shilpa Shetty during the shooting of the British version of the reality show Celebrity Big Brother in 2007. She was detected with cervical cancer while she was taking part in the shooting of the Indian version of

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-71031557433942788022009-03-16T18:04:00.002+05:302009-03-16T18:06:15.893+05:30

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-77700234831149653102009-03-16T17:15:00.001+05:302009-03-16T17:21:46.534+05:30

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-40752306646389545092009-03-13T17:34:00.002+05:302009-03-13T17:36:24.630+05:30

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-37016683404427055962009-03-13T16:11:00.002+05:302009-03-13T16:22:26.195+05:30

One of my teachers talked about opinion formulation and role of media in opinion engineering in the class the other day. He was elaborate on the practice of newspapers trying to train its readers to read certain kinds of news written in specific language and style - and how this training goes to form a loyal and dedicated readership.One may question why am I taking up this forum to talk about

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-39464160474319085102009-03-13T16:01:00.003+05:302009-03-13T16:06:40.082+05:30

I will not blame you if you decide to skip this piece and prefer to continue with more meaningful writings in this compilation. It appears that Cricket as a medium of mass hysteria has finally lived its time and people are replacing specialist cricket players with heroes from other spheres of life as their idol; especially so after the recent World Cup debacle of the Indian cricket team. Pepsi

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-64717605087995966702009-03-13T15:58:00.001+05:302009-03-13T15:59:30.015+05:30

The Rocky Mountain News, the oldest newspaper of Denver, Colorado closed down on 27th February after unsuccessfully hunting for a buyer for several months. The cause of the closure - a protracted and severe slump in advertising and classified revenues, declining circulation and deteriorating financial numbers, the economic downturn, falling stock prices and, of course, the Internet.Newspapers

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-53296836038831146882009-03-13T10:56:00.004+05:302009-03-13T15:57:53.935+05:30

The Indian Express's Delhi edition used a good quarter of a page to publish an advertisement last week to say that it was the first to report that the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh was likely to resume office after surgery ‘next week’ - well before he actually did. The punch line was that this newspaper was the first to give the news (read speculation) even before the news actually happened.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-31306999559332014212008-11-18T13:44:00.003+05:302008-11-18T14:06:36.309+05:30

Amid the present worldwide euphoria of a Black being elected US President, I could not resist sharing here the experience of an American journalist only a few decades ago.John Howard Griffin, a white American journalist, used medication to darken his skin to a deep brown tone of a Negro, traveled in the Deep South of America - Louisiana, Mississipi, Alabama and Georgia - known for their racial

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-19120164081055140612008-09-04T13:11:00.003+05:302008-09-04T13:47:06.640+05:30

This write up in DNA has created ripples in the Public Relations fraternity. What is written is typical of PR people in not only in this country but  elsewhere in the world too. Dear PR people, blame yourself for this; you are allowing the handyman to drive.

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-75771912597275601122008-09-04T13:06:00.002+05:302008-09-04T13:10:53.011+05:30

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-19041669990169740232008-08-20T10:51:00.005+05:302008-08-20T11:26:14.440+05:30

The speculations started yesterday with people asking each other - will the bandh be successful; though actually they wanted to know whether they are getting a paid holiday or not.I have been flouting bandhs since I can remember; not because I was a well-informed or concerned about the ill effects of badh, but mainly because I couldn't and still cannot accept a few people with their own agenda

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-41079434998849860432008-07-17T12:25:00.000+05:302008-07-25T18:43:46.541+05:30

I work for a railroad company which operates in the Govt Sector. The other day (12th July), there occurred a small accident on a prestigious superfast train at a station (New Bongaigaon), about 150 km away from our headquarters where I am posted. The generator car of the train which houses the equipments for generating power for the train caught fire. It was just an accident, nothing to be read

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-6979703176345244482008-06-27T19:07:00.001+05:302009-06-24T16:23:41.928+05:30

Two recent unrelated developments in the American media world vis-à-vis public relations professionals were perhaps pointers to the need of a closer look and introspection into the relationship between public relations professionals and journalists in our part of the world too.Harold Burson, the founder of the renowned public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, had recently reacted very sharply to

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-67815306657042402072008-06-23T17:07:00.008+05:302009-10-20T16:23:29.411+05:30

I have become 41 year old on May 28 last year. Celebrated my big day with my family, and from next day started to live the mundane daily life of a 40-year-old again. On 28 May this year, I unceremoniously became a 42-year-old and from next day onward started to live the same life again - where everything runs exactly as before and nothing changes.Each day of my life is unequally divided among my

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-79118329310124718322008-06-23T16:40:00.000+05:302008-06-23T17:05:02.076+05:30

This is what happens to me always.On second thought, this is what I do to myself always.When I started this blog two years ago, the thoughts that I had in my mind were incoherent, illogical and totally unorganised. I wanted to think straight, wanted to do something to drive away my blues and thought writing for me and for all would be a good proposition. I started this blog as if it was a great

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-69301387107708462822007-03-15T15:49:00.000+05:302008-06-23T17:16:27.612+05:30

The other day I was invited to deliver a lecture on Consumer Rights and Awareness with a perspective from the Railways. The lecture was, in fact, supposed to be a paper in a seminar organised by the journalism department of an university. The broader theme of the seminar was "Mass Communication as a Medium for Generating Consumer Awareness". I was not given a clue to the theme of the seminar and

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-53575867479515974402007-03-06T17:48:00.000+05:302007-03-06T17:51:57.334+05:30

Public Relations - New Approach Most Public Relations practitioners are actually ‘improvised practitioners’ (Michel Dumas) – people who practice public relations without theoretical knowledge of what they practice or why practice what they did. They have no idea of why public relations is important for an organization either. Public Relations is an occupation defined more by its technique than by

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32934800.post-1155888297513084402006-08-18T13:32:00.000+05:302006-08-18T13:49:09.026+05:30

You need not actually.But, if you will, you will loose nothing - believe me!At ripe old age of 38 if I have started something that generally is percieved as the domain of 20 plus something people, there are - yes 'are' - reasons for it. And if I hope for people to read it, there are reasons for it too.Writing, for me, is the way to drive away my blues and when I get those I must get rid of them

Jayantahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13180170774981867602noreply@blogger.com0