Moments in a nation's life

India is many things to many people "" it takes inspired advertising to put it together meaningfully.

What I've liked
Well...there are two ads that have been making their presence felt on our television screens over the recent past, both of which have left me seriously taken aback.

I have nothing against the execution of both "" both films have been beautifully shot with picture perfect frames that do true justice to the technicalities of the medium, but, the surprise twist in both films was when the product and claim were announced at the end! I know as ad creators we all seek to surprise our audience with a twist but if I am not mistaken, I thought it was supposed to be in the storyline!

Anyway, we have the Parle-G film with a collage of India in all her glory and a solemn voice-over at the end, declaring that a biscuit is the secret of India's taakath, or shakti, as it appears in some south Indian languages! And then, we have the DLF film which again is a collage of beautiful, modern-day India with a claim that suggests that the company is building India!

Both these films brought back memories of one brand that did true justice to the art of the India collage and that is the Hamara Bajaj film.

Wonderfully quirky images that were true slices of everyday life around us were neatly strung together with a memorable jingle and a realistic, believable claim: Hamara Bajaj...leaving India well out of the statement, yet implying it with a visual story that can only be India and nowhere else in the world!

When mature, thoughtful advertising like that is aired, it makes such an indelible impact that it truly appropriates the India concept and the sense of pride in owning an Indian brand, leaving absolutely no questions about the credibility of the claim.

What I've learned
Just Give It!

There is an often told tale from the Mahabharat to illustrate Karna's belief in instant generosity. One day, while he was immersed in his oil bath ritual, Krishna came to see him.

Enamoured by the golden oil kalash that Karna was holding in his left hand, Krishna asked for it, and Karna gave it away with the same hand without honouring the tradition of washing his hands and ceremoniously handing it over with his right hand.

When questioned about it, Karna replied that he didn't delay the gesture to do it the right way, just in case he changed his mind by then!

This little incident is often repeated to us whenever we think twice before a good act. Because fickle as we are as human beings, we can never predict our own behaviour from one moment to the other and more importantly, we can never predict our fate.

On May 22, 1964, Jawaharlal Nehru, when addressing a press gathering, was asked whether he had picked out his successor. To which his reply suggested that his lifetime was not about to end soon! Five days later, just five days, he passed away. Knowing the frailty of our existence is the reason why we should never think twice before doing good, because we might not have tomorrow to make up for our procrastination.

Any talk of "instant action" always brings up images of Dhirubhai Ambani. He spent the major part of his life before the days of the mobile phone and the internet, yet he managed to communicate much faster than most of us who are surrounded by it today!

He would never bother to send out long letters, he would just pick up the phone. It really was his most favourite gadget and he was invariably surrounded by a sea of them!

Dhirubhai fully understood that even a nanosecond of delay can cause mountains of stumbling blocks to appear from nowhere "" what we also call analysis paralysis "" most of it caused by our own inaction and nothing else.

So the next time, a charitable thought or thought of a right act flashes by...do it. You just might script your own success story!

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