Thursday, January 27, 2011

Came From God... And I Call Him Dad!

Dear Papa,

WOW! You’ve turned 50!!! I want to take this opportunity and tell you how much we all love you. You are the best gift God has given us. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. I spent the past week only thinking what to gift you. I still don’t know.

This is nothing fancy. But you know both of us are the non-expressive types; hence we usually do not show many emotions to each other. But then, certain feelings sometimes need to be expressed and particularly, on certain occasions. I just want you to know how much I love you.

You were the best teacher I could ever have – and in all aspects of life. You expect me to be as brilliant as you are, but I don’t know what is it that I lack…is it the enthusiasm, the passion?! I always wanted to be like you. I still want to. The way you organise your things, your time management, your determination, the passion with which you work… It’s incredible.

I have disappointed you many times but your love never altered. You always stood right by my side, giving ideas…just looking for ways to make life easier for me. Today I promise you… I will never let you down. I will make sure that I don’t leave a single stone unturned. I will give my best. I remember how you used to rebuke me about my lazy attitude and over the hours I spent chatting away on the telephone and Facebook. During such moments, you would become the villain of my story. :-)

I know this is nothing fancy and neither have I been able to express myself completely. But I know you understand. I thought this would be better than giving you something materialistic. This is for the man, who has always given, without ever expecting to receive anything in return. I have never said it, but you inspire me, Papa. I am sorry for all the times I have hurt you. I sincerely hope those occasions have not surpassed the number of times I tried to give you some joy.

Thank you, Papa...
for listening and caring,
for giving and sharing,
but, especially, for just being you!

Happy Birthday to you, Dad! :D

This is from Rifat and Me!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

No One Killed Jessica - The Gutsy Film Deserves A Standing Ovation!

New Delhi, 1999. India won the Kargil war. Jessica, a young charming model who was doing bartending at a big shot party is shot dead. She was shot dead only because she denied to serve a drink. The perpetrator Manish [Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub], son of an eminent political leader pulls the trigger and kills her in a fit of rage.

With more than 300 high-class people present in the party, many of whom were eyewitnesses to the crime. Manish looks all set to go to the gallows. But fortuitously, it doesn’t quite transpire that way. Two determined women, Jessica’s sister Sabrina and the aggressive TV reporter Meera decide to get the better of the culprit, Manish. For seven years, the case goes through numerous phases of legal hitches. Witnesses turning hostile, other few, who don’t, become inconsistent with their accounts.

Manish is proved not guilty, leading to a severe public upheaval and persistent campaign by the media, which at the end of the day leads to a life sentence for Manish.

The movie unleashes innumerable emotions in you. It jabs your ethics and makes you think. The Jessica case got a lot of coverage and its hard facts are well known. The film makes you feel angry, sad, irritated, and bitter about the numerous defects in our administrative and legal machinery. But more than that, it fills you with hope and self-assurance.

No One Killed Jessica belongs to the distinctive hard-hitting, gut-wrenching type of cinema. Script-wise, the director has tried to remain exact to the incident that occurred during that unfortunate night and also what came about consequently, but besides showing reality on celluloid, he puts in the thrill component to the plot line, which makes it very viewer-friendly. The events have been chronologically set forth and the brave story of two women who opposed the system hits you like a ton of bricks.

On the whole, NO ONE KILLED JESSICA is a moving story of two women's resolve for justice. It's more of an absorbing adventurous movie which has the right quantities of dramas, tautness, angst and thrills. The emotional and disturbing journey, the strength of the common man and the persistent effort of the media have all been most interestingly put together. A lot of films have been made on genuine incidents, but haven't struck a chord so effectively. NO ONE KILLED JESSICA should shatter this spell. This film truly deserves a prolonged round of applause.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Advertising v/s Marketing : What's The Difference?

Advertising and marketing are both very different yet very essential components required for an organization to grow. Identifying the difference and practicing them well can put your company on the path to substantial growth. Often people confuse marketing and advertising.

Let’s look at the basic definitions of Advertising and Marketing.
Advertising : Advertising is bringing a product (or service) to the attention of potential and current customers. Advertising is focused on one particular product or service. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc.

Marketing : Marketing is the wide range of activities involved in making sure that you're continuing to meet the needs of your customers and getting value in return. Marketing is usually focused on one product or service. Marketing activities include "inbound marketing," such as market research to find out, for example, what groups of potential customers exist, what their needs are, which of those needs you can meet, how you should meet them, etc.

Now after going through these definitions it is easy to comprehend how the difference between advertising and marketing can be puzzling to the point that people think of them as one-in-the same. So let’s try and break it down a little bit.

Advertising is a part of marketing. It is a subset of marketing. Advertising includes planning strategies like which media to use. Should it be done through television, radio, billboards etc. It is mainly used to inform the target audience about a certain product or service. It tells them the products or service's advantages and benefits for them to be cajoled to buy the product. Advertising is the most expensive aspect of marketing process.

Marketing is a process that takes time, and can take days to research to make it effective. Marketing includes all the pricing, distribution, sales strategy, market research, media planning, and customer support, etc. all these components must be arranged and put into practice to achieve the best result possible.

Several times I’ve seen marketing to be considered as the big pie and advertising along with research, planning etc. as just a slice of that pie.

Basically, the main goal of both is to enhance consumer awareness.