A no frills drink in a no frills airline.

Recently Dubai launched its very own low cost carrier or more euphemistically called a ‘budget airline’ or more relevant 'Austerity Airline' Fly Dubai. A no frills airline with in flight buying option which tempt the hell out of you. The products were so wonderfully displayed in their in-flight magazine called very aptly 'Fly Buy Dubai'.

While browsing through it during my maiden 45 minute flight, what impressed me was the beverages section of their in-flight catering services…keeping a short flight in mind they had a tailor made menu…pre mixed canned Bacardi & Coke and premixed Gin & tonic were on offer… (Sometimes Coke and Tonic can cost more than your drink)what better to up the spirits of a tired business traveller in a 45 min flight. A quickie of sorts… Or as they say in my native tongue a 'Nippan' (Having a quick drink standing in a bar) just that in this case it was a 'parappan' ( A drink while having a quick flight)

The flamboyance of simplicity

Back after a hiatus and the inspiration to return to the blogosphere with my thoughts were 2 print adds I saw recently in a business magazine.

One was titled the ‘Power of Simplicity’ and went on to mention that ‘simplicity might be hard to achieve but it’s worth the effort’. They might have been referring to the simplicity of its design but the product itself was no symbol of simplicity. The brand name and simplicity could not even be linked oxymoronically.

The product was a car and the brand was the Rolls Royce, Ghost.



Flip a couple of pages in the same magazine and viola!!! You have the image of one of the simplest men the world has known, endorsing one of the most premium of brands. What more, they have even launched a limited edition series in tribute to his words?

It is an irony that there are many an anecdotes in the life of Gandhi looking for a small piece of pencil gifted to him by a child, and another one about sending his grandson to look for an even smaller one which was thrown away. The irony was the product that was endorsed was also an or rather THE writing instrument…A Mont Blanc limited edition pen.



Was just wondering whether in these trying times even the most expensive of brands were taking the simplicity/austerity route…’a feel no guilt when you splurge’ approach.

Tryst with the late thirties…

I came face to face (or was it head on) with this moment of revelation at my neighbourhood barber’s (oops Hair stylists). I was offered one more service at the end of my hair cut, by my barber, ‘Sir, Do you want a Hair Dye / Colouring get done?’ and he had the cheek to follow it up with a recommendation on hair transplants …and the likes.

I realised for the first time that I was on the wrong side of the thirties!!! Or atleast my head was…

Well not really the first time… during the last few haircuts I have been realising it…The remnants of my locks that were being chopped off that fell on the white cloth adorning me were getting greyer. The greys had begun to outnumber the blacks…Shades of wisdom I comforted myself. The time spent at the barbers chair is one of introspection…and with the question that I was confronted today I knew that reality had dawned or rather the age had begun to dusk on me…

Well, when I entered my thirties I was subtle in mentioning my age and would say I was thirty something…I just realised I am thirty ‘more than something…’

Some wasted lines on the waist line…

Gone are the days when necklines and hemlines hogged the limelight, the boys not wanting to be left behind gave the world their own line the low waist line.

A school in Delhi has recently pulled up a boy for sporting a low waist line and displaying with pride the brand of his underwear. When I think of it I get a strange feeling that the whole low- waist trousers concept took shape in the design rooms of the underwear manufacturers.

The reason being, a brand is recognised when it’s seen, unfortunately in the case of under garments they were always hidden. Hence the brand value was only spread by word of mouth or seen in privacy. What better way to get brand recognition than to lower the piece of cloth covering the all important elastic with the brand printed on it. Towering hoardings with Dara Singh sporting it was the only advertisement possible, but now you have an entire generation walking around displaying it proudly. That’s some mileage.

I have seen several designs of trousers evolve and die during my growing years. The Narrow bottoms, the bell bottoms or the Elephant Ear Bottoms some had even a zipper stitched at the bottom for protection against wear due to constant abrasion with the road, the baggy, the multiple pleated designs…I’ve personally worn and loved most of it. But none of them ever crossed the line of decency / obscenity. But the low waist stuff that’s in vogue is the most ridiculous of all designs I have ever seen.