Thursday, December 27, 2007

GOD's a "Tripster"

We’ve all come across people who take immense pleasure in another’s misery. The one’s who don’t believe in old fashioned fun where every one has a laugh together, not at someone’s expense. It’s a pity however that today wit is equated to how well you can take some one’s ass. We all have it in us. I’ve been as guilty as I’ve been victmised. To put it in casual terminology, trippin on each other, sometimes taking it to the extent where it is fun no more.
Now may I get to the point of this post, GOD yes GOD if there is any, is one helluva “tripster”.GOD created the universe and he created it to trip on something cuz he considered himself too sacred, too correct. He obviously does not have a sense of humour. Worst still, even we do not have a sense of humour about him. How many of us dare to challenge GOD or challenge our own beliefs about him ? Not many. The ones who do, hate him or the concept of him, and I know a few and it is more because GOD tripped on their misery hard enough or long enough.
Every now and then shit happens. Stuff we can’t explain in totality, and you know there is a lot of something involved that is beyond you. Some like to call that luck, some destiny and some “the will of the almighty” when infact its just "shit". I say, don’t be a GOD hater, but I also say don be over obsessed with the damn concept, it just allows HIM to become more haughty and sadistic. He’ll trip on you till you start hating his guts.
It’s like this, if you put your ass on the line someone’s gonna take it. Those who don’t have a problem wit that are truly GOD’s children. The rest of us are either pretending or are too self aware, GOD din blind us enough I guess. RESPECT.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

The Paradox of Value and Art






We’ve all heard long drawn debates on the price demanded by designers for their clothes. In my opinion it is unfair to single out this genre of creativity on its financial countenance.
The other day in a television interview Delhi based fashion designer, Rina Dhaka was volleying questions on why her prices are as high as they are. What I do not understand is, why does she need to justify this to a populist media man who does not understand any fashion and is lousier at doing some research on it?(not that I think she’s any good, I really don understand fashion dat well). That is another topic of debate. What I’m trying to focus on is the concept of “value and art”.

In management education we are made familiar with the concept of customer delivered value. In a nutshell, customer delivered value is the sum total of value that the customer derives out of buying a product .Product offering carries Financial, social, self esteem value. Financial value is the price that the customer pays for the item in terms of money.
Social and self esteem values are more abstract concepts which are difficult to quantify but are more often than not the ones that differentiate one product offering from another.

When we talk of paintings, sculptures, ornate stones etc. questions about their prices are not raised. Common perception about these things is that they are artistic and so the premium on price is justified. This perception is what makes them seem different from a designer garb. This is simply because clothing is a daily use item and a painting buy is more occasional.

We are so used to haggling for clothes in India that a rather complex but open mind would be the only exclusion from this non-acknowledging social order, pronounced insane by us to indulge in designer clothing. This, I feel is the reason why our fashion industry stumbles every time an international leap is close at hand. Paradox of an Indian artist that is, maybe someone could explain all this better.

lorD of waR




World is not exactly as beautiful as some people thinks it is…also it is not getting any better than yesterday. So what does one do? do you get your kicks before the house comes down, do you move out, or do you grab on to the pillars at the same time trying to convince some one to re-lay the foundation.

I saw, "The Lord of War" the other day and its one of the better movies of recent times for me. I can safely say now that I really wanna know whats happening around me and not just get entertained by watching something that allows me to turn a blind eye and like I said earlier “get my kicks before the house comes down”.
Awareness, is it enough? No. but it is the bare minimum. Why should I live in a state of ignorance? Agreed, its better than living in a state of denial which might happen If beyond awareness I pretend my innocence and comfort others around that the world is Not That Bad After All.

Anyways, time now is to open myself to all kinds of realities, Socio-economic-political and the rest you can’t categorize, does not make them any less hard hitting.