RETURN....

A look into the past

So deep & vast

The way we talked

And the plans we chalked.

A smile on my face

And longing in my eyes

Could we just return back

Can you take me by surprise?

I thought we would stay

But something came in the way

It's been way too long,

Since I heard one of your favorite song.

                                                           I want to hear, I want to say

What we dropped midway.

I have changed, and so have you

But should we let our old friendship change too?

I don't want to push, I don't want to force

I just want to return to the course

Of a journey that was too promising to break

Where all was true, none was fake.

Can we let go off things gone by?

Can we get back to the smiles, forget the wry?

 The silly conversations, the random dance

When, for me, you took a stance.

I feel bad, yes I do

At how we let this thing let through

We should have got back up, sealed the creases

But its no use picking up broken pieces

Need is not what I need, Want is what I want

Our friendship is what I want to flaunt

  We can get back and you know better

And it should start now than any later.

 

WHEN THE RAIN GODS CRY/BATHE.....

The rain gods finally let their hair down yesterday! They set the house..... brimming with water! Almost about to retire for the day, the DJ up there turned up the party and before you know it, there was music & one of the best light & sound show one can see! When I was a toddler & I used to ask my mom as to why it rains, my grandfather told me that every time it rains, it's either because the Gods are crying or they are having a bath! Too naive to question the limited period for crying & bathing for the Gods, I soaked it up & today it has become a fond memory! One that reverberated as loud as the thunderous music! :) As I sat with Mom in the verandah, I could feel so many thoughts rushing to me. Frankly, I have never been a big fan of the rains. But such fond memories had to bring a smile to my face.

I also thought of my blogging mentor guardian. She loves the rains, I could instantly visualize her selfless love for the water drops from up above. It's been such a long time since we talked, or at least it seemed so. She's gotten busy, so have I. But we should talk na? I wanted to just dial her number then & there and talk out to her. But something told me not to. Ah! The pre- conceived notions of the human mind! The hesitation. Either she would be busy or she wouldn't want to talk. So I let it go. Sat there in the darkness of the night, looking at the rain and I don't know how, for a moment I went completely blank. Cinematic na? But seriously, can you imagine how hard it is for the modern netizen to go blank? As in, literally not think about nothing at all??!! We are always occupied. Work or the absence of it, relationships or the absence of them, dreams, ambitions, priorities. Anyways, the thought of talking to her died down and after sitting for a few more moments, I headed towards bed. As I prepared to bid farewell to yet another beautiful day, the hesitation sort of subsided. I looked at my cell phone.

CELL PHONE- What?

ME- Nothing....

CELL PHONE- You sure?

ME- Yeah...

CELL PHONE- Okay, good night then! :)

ME- (to the sky) Do you think I should....

SKY- Are you asking me or telling me?   

ME- I am asking! 

SKY- You want to?

ME- Yeah

SKY- So go for it man, what's to hesitate?

ME- But...we haven't talked much lately. We are busy in our lives. We weren't as great the last time we saw each other either.

SKY- (sighs)Are you done?

ME- Huh?? Uh, yeah?

SKY- Okay, then none of what you said has any relevance to your hesitation! All of what you said ended back then itself. Start fresh!

ME- Hmm, you make sense.(looks towards phone)

PHONE- :)

ME- I'll message for now, okay?

PHONE- Okay. :)

I messaged her and she replied almost instantly. That was different. Maybe Sky was right! We talked some more. Work, life etc. expressed itself in bits & parts. I was glad we were talking. I could read her fatigue in between the lines. I thought of giving it an end. We stopped. It was a good day!

Probably sometimes, just sometimes we actually should act on instinct! Most of the times, you get a feeling as to how it will go. I made a mental note to remember that along with the various priorities awaiting me. 

PHONE- Better?

ME- Yeah. :)

PHONE- :). Good night.

ME- Good night! 

ROTI, KAPDA, MAKAAN AUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Heard about one of my friend attending an ORKUT  farewell party & I couldn't help but smile & sigh to myself. It is indeed a painful story, of the rise & then the downfall & worse of one of the social media sensations of the early 2000's. My teenage years would for sure be incomplete without Orkut & the scraps through which I chatted with this girl I had a serious crush on since the 7th to 10th standard. Those scraps were like the conversations we never had & what I always dreamt of in those four years. Of course, it killed all of my dreams when later I found out that she had a boyfriend from the 9th standard itself!

Speaking of killing, what would you say today's modern man & woman need for basic survival? Gone are the days it seems of the roti, kapda, makaan! Today it is the roti, kapda, makaan & social media! As FACEBOOK aptly demonstrated through its recent  survey when it peeped into users status' & comments & concluded that millions of users used the social networking website as a platform to release pent up emotions & voice themselves. As also the befitting example of social media outbreaks & revolutions in Communist countries such as China speaks volumes about the need for social media for the modern world citizen.

Let's talk about the roti & social media now. They are certainly two big weaknesses of the modern citizen. He can spend a lifetime gorging on either of the two. So can you imagine the cumulative effect they would have if both of them shook hands? Restaurants & hotel managers could well obtain their Midas touch!! But despite the amazing possibilities, we here in India don't seem to have embraced the idea as enthusiastically. Hardly any restaurant/ eatery or hotel can really boast of a significant online presence and taking that extra effort to bond beyond the banquet. But then if it is such a killer combination, why are they not embracing it? It's not about the money, they say. While communication with customers is crucial, the moolah does get priority! Plus, it's more of a marketing/ promotional thing, right? So they have got an entire team that handles all of this. They'd do the job of spreading the word. Some go one better, saying their taste & hospitality speaks for themselves & they have never & will never resort to 'such means' to publicise themselves! No wonder my neighbour had his eyebrows narrowed & an unfamiliar gaze when I asked him about what he felt about that restaurant in the suburbs. We might want to take a leaf out of The Nandos, a UK based chain whose Portuguese peri peri chicken has become a rage since the past two years, thanks to its own Twitter page. With activities like hashtag competitions, the page has had a super impressive count of 1.1 million followers, including many celebrity fans as well. The latest in line of their enthusiastic online endeavours is called #NandoGrills where certain celebrities are interviewed on film while relishing their favourite meal at the chain and uploaded on Youtube. Or on more familiar grounds, there's American food giant McDonalds, whose Facebook page has over 29 million fans and is used to announce various competitions, launch of new products, post pictures enjoying their favourite McDish and more importantly to further the image that McDonalds wishes to create of being the happy & health conscious brand in addition to its enter-exit strategy of serving food. There's also the example of New York based Latin American eatery Comodo that asks its customers to 'Instagram' their delicacies before they eat it & accompany it with the hashtag #comodomenu. In this manner, future customers' attention is drawn towards the delicacies offered at the eatery even before they visit it.  The use of Instagram enabled Comodo to catch the attention of the viewers, thereby increasing their customer & prospective customer base significantly. Also, with attractive photography of their products & infrastructure on a professional level & uploading the pictures on social media platforms, the restaurants would already be whetting the appetites of God knows how many netizens! Apart from all of the following, more personal measures taken by restaurants to communicate one on one with customers, understand their likes & dislikes, receive reviews on new additions to the menu, new schemes/offers introduced & updates in the overall management would make for the most valuable TIP there ever can be.  Interactions through blogs & chat forums can help in sharing & creation of new ideas within a loyal support group which would help in executing these ideas.  Events & parties can be aggressively promoted via videos, photos & posters shared on social networking websites & blogs.                        

And what is this all ultimately leading to? The very grouse that restaurants have against social media, facilitation of revenue! With an increased customer base, fan following, brand establishing exercises apart from the usual word of mouth & a virtual personal touch, the moolah is to flow in eventually. The Midas touch doesn't seem all that ideal now, eh? So you might want to go online now because I am already ogling at some food-gasmic delicacies of my favourite eatery online & making plans for the weekend! Bon appetit!   

SACHIN PHADKAR, REPORTING......

Nah! Not really changed gears as yet! But yeah, when heartthrob Durjoy Datta came calling to the Orange City, I turned journalist & covered the event for NAGPUR TODAY, Central India's first online newspaper! Would like everyone to have a look and say something if they feel like giving some feedback! Here's the link-
http://www.nagpurtoday.in/watch-video-durjoy-datta-launches-his-latest-book-when-only-love-remains-in-nagpur/

Please do comment on how it felt to you! :)