Are you Angry yet?

Chocolates, flowers, soft toys, and all things “i”, are some of the most popular gifting ideas. But the very-cute Angry Birds merchandise is an ultimate. In this season of love, everyone is angry. Well not literally, but the infamous Angry Birds are everywhere, not only are they on Facebook now, they have also arrived in a store at the Helsinky-Vantaa Airport in Finland to give many love birds a little help on picking a valentine’s day present. And soon they plan to set shops in China too, which is considered 

the game's fastest-growing market.

In an effort to further promote a successful brand, having official Angry Birds merchandise is yet another step towards taking over the gaming industry. Moreover, this is a great way to make a brand omnipresent. I mean, they are on everything possible—flip flops, key chains, school bags, towels, stickers, t-shirts, playing cards, notebooks, tattoos, and even on cupcakes. So here comes the big question. Can any and every brand do the same? The answer is not that simple, copying someone else’s branding strategy might not work in same way for others. This kind of brand promotion needs strategic thinking, budgeting, and impeccable execution. Think of this, why didn’t angry birds merchandise come out when the game was launched in 2009? Or, why weren’t they given away as free-bees? In my view, it is so because Rovio, the Finnish game developer company, was confident about the success of the game and wanted to revolutionalize the gaming industry. Perhaps “revolution” is a big word, but purely based on the craze it generated, it is sort of a revolution. Rovio’s strategy with the merchandise is primarily to recreate the Angry Birds magic again and again. And now with more variety in birds to play, and a way to make some extra bucks, it is their way of reminding people that they are all around.

On another note, making extra bucks is good for any business, but the larger goal is to embed the brand in the minds of fans globally, which this brand successfully managed to do. So next time you are touring the beautiful Finland or having a layover at the busy airport, don’t forget to visit the official Angry Birds merchandise retail store. Well, you don’t really have to visit Finland to get these, just check out the official Angry Birds Store and pick one for yourself.

Yours truly,

A BIG Angry Birds Fan

Scent of a woman

Paraphernalia. To me it means the most when it’s not around. At work, what could it possibly be? A desk, water bottle, notepad, computer, pen, postcard, photograph, certificate, bin and the list goes on. These are all physical, tangible items, by no means unnecessary, but what about things which don’t fall in the “tangible” category. Things which touched (not physically in this case) your life on a day-to-day basis! Take a moment, try recalling… doesn’t come that easily, right? Probably, your paraphernalia is still around you.

For me it’s the regular ice-cream guy who suddenly disappeared, a stray dog that was always sleeping in my backyard, who disappeared too, a pani-puri vendor who changed his base, a building that doesn’t exist anymore due to some property dispute, a security guard who was always drunk and eventually got fired, a drink buddy who quit for good (which is good), a chaiwalla who passed away (which is sad), a perfume that is completely out of production and so on… the whole point of writing this is that I miss two of my closest buddies a lot. One, who I know for almost a decade now and has moved to Kingdom of Bahrain for some reason and the other, whose Sweet Pea (Bath & Body Works) sanitizer I’ll miss the most. Sorry for all the philosophy above except “paraphernalia means the most when it’s not around”.

Lost and found

Lost in confusion, you’re the sole controller of the mind and its actions. But why do you still feel restless, always questioning. Curiosity never leaves you. Sometimes it’s better not knowing, but poor curiosity hovers. Think about it, are we not constantly in search of something bigger, greater and unending. But it all ends in the end. And then the search begins, once again. Vicious! The game’s over, you keep telling yourself... but you also jump in, the moment there’s an opening. Because the child is hungry, and will never go to sleep. Well, let it never sleep. Discovery lies in searching, believing that the restless mind will always surprise you!

Unborn child of mine

I imagined my world being perfect. Who doesn’t? It takes time to fix things that aren’t perfect. But what is PERFECT? In my opinion, it’s like an unborn child—conceived, not born. My child (unborn) wanted to be a different person. It didn't like the limelight, it wanted to be undercover. But what did I get—a world that didn’t work by my ways!                                

In my opinion again, my world will be perfect when I find that ‘someone’ who completes ME—helps me give birth to that unborn child. I think I've found that person. But my child is yet to be born!

know more

A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works are usually written to be performed in front of a live audience by actor.

The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder (as in a wheelwright or cartwright). Hence the prefix and the suffix combine to indicate someone who has wrought words, themes, and other elements into a dramatic form, someone who crafts plays. The homophone with write is in this case entirely coincidental.

Under The Mango Tree

16th October 2010.. @Hampi with a friend from a decade ago.. A much awaited holiday to an even more awaited getaway! It feels like heaven when you skip the routine.. no ironing clothes, no skipping breakfast, no traffic, and no office.. Just a small town life away from the hustle bustle of a metro!

It's amazing to see what tranquility can do to you.. You are at peace with yourself - a perfect balance with nature. And that's how life should be..isn't it?
Hampi offers more to the mind than to the eye! And that's cause your mind is absorbing more than your eyes.. You think in simple ways, you learn to adjust to what's being offered.. materialism takes a back seat..

The need to look sharp and seem smart doesn't appeal to the aura surrounding our thoughts.. What our hearts yearn for is the slow entry of peace and calm into the crescents of city-life-being.. Hampi encouraged that craving and satisfied that like a crescendo peaking orgasm..

Sitting for breakfast at The Mango Tree, we do nothing but overlook the Tungabhadra river.. Our minds are free of any thought, our life is free of any stress.. Without trying, we meditate...

Are we human or are we dancer…

My sign is vital, my hands are cold… wonder how sometimes lyrics of a song you stumble upon while your music player is on shuffle mode, make you think about something that’s totally unrelated. The first thing that caught my eye was the wrong grammar in the lyrics. Are we dancer or dancers? Grammatically, it should be dancers, isn’t it! The idea here is not to point a finger at the lyricist or anger the fans, but only to express that how sometimes our brain relates to the external factors so AMAZINGLY.

I love the song btw =), so ‘The Killers’ please don’t ‘kill’ me ;-)