Myself Malkhan Singh Yadav

“Good morning sir, myself Malkhan Singh Yadav. I am your guide for the day. We will go through the wildlife sanctuary and will be able to see some animals, you should have come a bit early to see them. Still if we are lucky enough we will spot few of them”.

That’s how my conversation started with Malkhan Singh Yadav our guide in Ken Ghariyal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh.
On my asking about the possibility of spotting a alligator I got a curt answer
Sir, no guarantee…

Got a bit disappointed on getting the answer. Firstly the waterfall was all dry as there had been no rainfall in the last few years. Secondly the animals are generally not out in the open at this time of the day. To top it all no guarantee of alligator spotting. All this made me a bit doubtfull about our so called guide.

This time I was wrong maybe all that went wrong was actually for our own benefit. What we saw was much beyond our expectations.

Thanks to Malkhan Singh Yadav.

Well he took position in the back seat of our car. Sambit sitting next to me. And me enjoying doing a off-road with my sedan. As our drive progressed we were able to see some spotted deers and neelgais. And a running commentary about all those other animals which are residents of the jungle but probably feeling a bit shy to show up.

Well Malkhan Singh Yadav was nicely compensating for the loss we made in reaching late to the sanctuary. Told us enough to visualize how the place may look in it’s full glory. The drive was pleasant, specially because we seldom get to wear t-shirts in the middle december and here we were almost sweating.

Malkhan Singh is a native of a nearby village, done his basic education in a school in Khajuraho. Seeing the condition here I’m sure basic education is not so basic in that part of our country. And our man had to struggle hard to achieve the basics.

No matter what the condition of the jungle may be, he has a pride in everything related to the jungle and the fact that he is the official guide of the jungle, the river, etc…

There was joy on his face when he could finally spot an alligator for us. Though he had not guaranteed us success still he made it happen. Just before we would have turned back towards our car he and the mallah spotted the 10 feet long alligator. Though from a distance, but surely we saw the reptile. With full satisfaction we turned back towards the point where we started from - A waterfall without any water.

Once again Malkhan surprised us. By showing the rock formations in the river bed, he made us feel lucky that we came in a dry season or else we would have missed out on seeing the five different rocks that the depression in the river bed consists of, well by all means it was probably much better than seeing just another waterfall. Or else I would have never believed him with the story of the extinct volcanic eruption which had melted five different types of rocks in a single big mass around the dead crater.

What lies beneath is generally a myth. Somehow Malkhan Singh is person who doesn’t make stories rather show evidences. Or else I wouldn’t have believed that alligators existed in this sanctuary or five different rocks have fused into one or there is a crater below the water surface.

I got a bit inquisitive and asked him what made him get to the job of a guide in the sanctuary. Once again the answer was all about showing evidences. This was story helped me understand his approach towards his job and maybe life. How he takes pride in what he does. How he believes in proving things than just telling tales.

Malkhan Singh as a student left his village and went to Khajuraho for his schooling. As I had stated earlier it’s not so easy to get basic education in a village like this. Malkhan was not one of the privileged kids to get easy education. He had to earn his living since the school days. He had to do part time jobs to earn a stay in Khajuraho. In a tourist destination like Khajuraho, it must have been not so difficult for Malkhan to help out tourist showing around the town. Telling them little of whatever he knew about the place and earn a buck or two. In return he would not just ask for money but an entry in his diary about their experience with the amateur guide. This was the certificate he carried along for years with him. And one fine day when a Wildlife Sanctuary was being opened in a nearby jungle. Malkan Singh got his way through as one of the first recruits as an official guide. He had no formal education as a forest guide. And on being asked for a reason for them to hire Malkhan. He didn’t waste anybodies time with stories, but provided evidence that he had collected over the years. Evidence about what lie beneath the surface of being a simple village school boy. Evidence of a guide called “Malkhan Singh Yadav”.

The moment we force grammar to fine art we start suffocating it.
Discipline should be there but in it’s natural form.

saving the world

in order to save the world from global warming
i went on a 18kms - cycle trip in new delhi,
to reach the destination i burnt around 5 ltrs of fuel.
just to carry my bike in my car.
hoping one day we'll have roads to go all the way on bicycle.

without pay

everybody is aware of the status of school teachers in bihar. how they have been committing suicided since they haven't been receiving salaries from years now. people have forgotten or atleast trying to forget such incidences.

i overheard a similiar story taking place in punjab, government school teachers going without pay for months.

is this a cumulative effort to eradicate education.

BRAHMAN BASTI

on my way to chandigarh from anandpur sahib i came a cross a road sign, which reminded me of all those "harijan basti" signboards scattered over - all big and small towns in our country.

just the difference is finally someone realised brahmins are just a part of the society like everyone else and not the society itself.
a delightful change.

Think less...

Average human brain uses 20% of the total oxygen from the body.
And enough energy to light up a 20watt bulb.
Think less save the world.

Bad company

Good singers and good writers are the worst company,
they keep reminding me of my incompetence.

The one eyed man

I would rather be a one eyed man creating pictures,
than spending two eyes and a lifetime just admiring what others do.

simple, easy and powerful brand identity

probably thats what attracts clients to check out m&c saatchi.
everybody expects the agency will do a similiar magic to their brands.

I apologise

I apologise to the construction site worker, the carpenter, the
rickshawala, the vegetable vendor, the milk-man, the painter, the
plumber, postman, the factory worker, the newspaper delivery boy, the jamadaar, the guy who washes my car, the security guard.

Yes. I apologise to all those who go to work on a bicycle. today i tried doing the same in effort realised how a bicycle riders is treated on the road.

His fuel, his power, is unmatched to any other in the world.

India in Vogue

finally the Indian edition of vogue have hit the market. Does that mean a boom in fashion sensibility of the Indians. Or just a mode to push western brands in India as often people think/know that Indians have enough money but not the taste for fashion. So here we are to tell you what is the most fashionable thing to wear.

but who is it for, is it for the public who was reading a cosmo or a femina for leisure and lifestyle or for the niche crowd who are really into fashion and are used to the foreign editions available at khan market for 600 bucks. will they be happy shifting to the Indian edition available for 100 rupees. will it match up to there class.

will it still be taken so seriously. or become a commodity. people who can afford still prefer buying a levis, gas or diesel from Europe or America rather than from the Indian stores. there is some kind of an desi association once its available for cheap.

very typically of the Indian mindset, we are assumed to be people with less class, its assumed we want more out of every penny we shell out. It is assumed we are confused so show us more of options surely we will understand or connect to one of them.
Yes. that is why our Vogue cover have six women than the classic international vogue with one picture. all the six trying too hard to attract the public and sort of fighting for space. to me it seems that the magazine was too confused or been paid by different PR agencies to have the face of their client on the cover.

so is “vogue” going to decide the future of fashion in India, who knows, i just hope they should be able to decide on a face for their next issue.


p.s.: if you can go past the cover, the content is not bad for a 100 rupee magazine some good shoots can be seen alongwith some decent article. just that you have to look for the content page as it is hidden somewhere in between ads. and the editors letter on 55th page (guess a bit to early for the debut edition).

the body copy

"the body copy" - a bunch of words lying somewhere under the headline and above the baseline.
so whats the big deal. often the art-director prefers an ad without the body-copy as the copy just eats out the available space. or maybe according to some its better to replace it by some dynamic bullet points which say everything much clearly and also tell the fact "Hey! look here i'm trying to sell".

yes. the body-copy is dying a slow death. even the old timers will not realise when it died. because there's nothing heroic in such death. i would have prefered a more heroic death for our old buddy "the body copy". it would have been great to see the art directors association hanging it till death. atleast a death sentence would have made "the body copy" immortal. even better would have been a day that the bullet points would have come and stabbed the body copy.

but thats not the fate of our old friend. a friend who used to guide the consumer from the headline to the logo/baseline in a smooth way like a friend not a salesman.

creative heads have passed the judgement (without putting it in black & white) that no ads can enter the awards if it has a body copy of more than a line.

well have those creative heads, art-directors and clients ever given a shot in writting a few words of an ad without making it look like a vegetable vendors call.

i think everybody who hates the body copy atleast once in his life try and write one. only then they will think twice before discarding or disrespecting the next body copy coming thier way.

banoffee pie

after the cheese cake success story she decided to put her mind, body and soul to prepare a banofee pie. simply put banana + toffee pie. its much simpler said than done. though i did not help her in her quest to make a wonderful banoffee, non the less pestered her enough to make sure i get it on by the evening. well as she puts it "thats my return gift to you all" as that was the day of her birthday. lucky me i got a large chunk of the return gift without actually giving a gift on the first place. well as people say बहती गंगा में हाथ धोंना ।


well, since yesterday i have been day dreaming of the banoffee pie to made by our in-house master chef. finally in the afternoon could get a glimpse of the hypnotic dessert. yep the way slices of banana's were placed in concentric circles it was hypnotic. and what it what was hiding beneath was yet to be discovered. spent the entire afternoon in anticipation of what it would taste like (as this was my first banoffee pie).

finally by the evening we got the green signal, soon we'll be putting whipped cream on top of the banoffee. oops! but who stole my cream. actually probably we forgot to get the cream. and this is where i played my role going place. running between my home and the grocery store. finally we got three different pack of cream of three different expiry dates. but all of them expired.

as the decision was being made to wait for a day and get fresh cream probably the decision makers could see my lustful eyes all drooling to have a bite of that pie.

and they took pity on me. finally we replaced the whipped-cream with ice-cream.

well after the first bit i realised cream or no cream, hardly makes any difference.

it was a perfect indulgence in itself. now i came to know the fresh slices of bananas were hiding a some creamy core supported by a crunchy crust. all this in one bite.

well i won't be sharing the recipe. as i don't want to share good things with strangers.

surely you can go to the nearby bakery and if are lucky enough get a such a slice for yourself.

कल हमारा है

क्यों कहते है की " कल हमारा है "
जब कल आता ही नही

blogging

if blogging is rocket-science, i guess i'll soon fly.

friends

often we spend time looking for friends on orkut, on facebook. friends from the bygone years. we add the to our friends list in msn or yahoo chat.
and then they become just some silent inactive names in our list.

what exactly do we want. why do we add people to our lives if we don't want them to be.

is looking for old aquaintances a fad?


"hey! i found my childhood crush on orkut, its so cool"
after that we look at her honeymoon pictures and stop scrapping her. what did we expect. don't we look into the mirror haven't we changed. how boring probably we have become.

then why don't we expect the world to change around us.