Zoopremely Zooperb idea!

We find creativity in every walk of life, but don’t happen to notice it. Perhaps because we think that creativity necessarily means creating some thing new. There is no denying that creativity can take several forms. Certain activities do involve a high degree of creativity, such as writing a short story or a poem, composing a new song, painting a landscape or a portrait or just about some abstract expression.

Advertising has been vastly banking on creative ideas – they always need to have some new ideas to attract eyeballs – “attention-getting value”, as they say. Take the example of zoozoos of the Vodafone series of ads that have been a rage on our television screens recently. Everyone thought the ads used the animation technique and that models had nothing to do with them. We learnt how wrong we were when Mumbai Mirror published a couple of articles on how these ads were created! Read all about it here!





Please click on the images to enlarge

You may have certainly seen these ads which have become popular on the TV and are also available on YouTube

Though the field of advertising has always been a profession which valued creativity and thrived on new ideas, one finds refreshingly new concepts take shape in every field – be it the performing arts, literature, photography, music, as is popularly believed.

It cannot be denied that some professions offer better opportunities to showcase your creativity, though in reality, whatever your passion, interest or profession, you could always be creative and look for some new ideas or some better ways to do the same old things. If we look around there is a lot of creativity around us.

We all need to think out of the box. Except, of course, Dr. Vijay Mallya, who needs to think out of the bottle.

Experts' Predictament

“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future”, said Niels Bohr, aptly.

For this predicament faced by experts, in making a prediction, I have coined a new word, “Predictament”.
hurrah – I just coined a new word!
That's how much I love neologism!)

However it doesn’t deter experts from sticking their neck out to indulge in crystal-gazing of sorts and make those prophesies, that forecast the course of future events or results. We have just seen the psephologists take centre-stage during the electoral process that just got underway. Equipped with a great deal of information in their chosen field of study, they boast of possessing various techniques to predict the outcomes of the polls. The season offers them ample airtime to showcase their skills and put forth their own “verdict” – not before putting forth several possible scenarios and the most likely outcome and their reasons for their choice.

Well, this is generally the time, I am itching for those zoozoos to come up and provide the much needed comic relief. Anyway, finally all that matters was the real results, which came to us live all of yesterday – we finally have a car without the “Left-Hand Drive” sign tagged to its rear! The shear thought of handing over the brakes to one party, the accelerator to another, the steering wheel to yet another gives the citizen enough fright to ride such a vehicle. We are glad that such not being the case, all that is needed is to have some wheel-alignment check done before continuing on our journey of reform and progress.

Though experts in every field are entrusted the task of envisaging what lies ahead, it is the stock market experts that have drawn my attention and held me in a vice-like grip for several years now. Be it the Annual Budget, the monetary policy, the foreign trade policy or the election results – how will the markets react to the various possible scenarios is something that this bunch of enlightened professionals embark upon before each such event.

Predicting the course of the stock-markets, indeed is like handing over a car fitted with a windshield mirror instead of a glass and asking a Formula One champ to drive it based on how the road wound and swerved behind him! The poor fella’s got to figure how the road will turn in front – there is no way he can peep into the road ahead and neither is anyone driving back in the opposite direction to ask him for some tips. At least not until the time machine becomes a reality.

So I like these smart chaps coming one after the other and tell us, “If the Sensex crosses 13000, it will see 14500 and if it slides below 11500, it will see 10250”

“I don’t know why people are not buying into the markets – the fundamentals are really strong!”

“I don’t see buying coming until the bottom has been formed”

Well, the hunt for the elusive bottom at the bourses is something that is every investor’s fancy. “Do you see a bottom?” “Is the bottom in place?”

“If all goes well the bottom is behind us!”

Listening to all this, it appears that anyone of us could be those experts! If you can figure out the bottom by the time the artist is working on the shoulder, I suppose I could handle that!

The recent rise in the stock markets – the run up from Sensex at 8k to 12k before the announcement of the results is a case in point. It reminds me of the comic dialog by the legendary comedian Asit Sen ,who characterized his funnies as a stockily built man swinging his arms as he walked and talked slower than his movements. In one of his movies, he enters the room of the Sethji seeking his permission thus:

“Kyaaaa main andar aaaaaaaa saktaaaaaaa hoooooonnnnnnnn?
Arreeeyyy, main to andar aaaaa bheeeee gayaaaaaaaaaaa...!” (Hindi, for "May i come in? Oh, I have already come in!")
as he stood in the center of the big room in front of the Sethji!

This is how the markets had already climbed up before we knew they were bouncing back. And that indeed is their Predictament!

Often, when we watch the news on any non-eventful day the market has surged a couple of hundred points and my wife asks me “Why did it go up today?”
“Because it had gone down too much, I suppose” I reply.
Let alone predict, I cannot even explain why the markets went up or down after the event. The entire fun is in not knowing, I suppose.

Blogger’s Postscripts:
1. For once, I will be able to tell why the market went up on Monday 18th May 09 – because of the prospect of a stable government at the centre! But will my wife ask?

2. Just when I was typing out this piece and a suitable heading for it, the idea of coining the new word came to me – it was my Ah-ha moment!

My best blogpost

This post may seem like a small little game for my blog readers and even to the recent visitors to my blog who have not read my older posts.

Below is the list of my favorite humorous blogposts. Please read them and let me know which according to you is the best one?

Many of you may have read all these posts, but if you havent read them, please do so now before you take your pick. If you think there is any other post that i may not have listed here, you are welcome to point out!

Newcomers are requested to read these posts before making your choice!

This list is in chronological order - beginning with the earliest ones first!

1. Mobile Supermaniac

2. Daughters are forever

3. Determined Diggers Unite

4. Right in the Middle

5. My Password Phobia

6. Biometric Allergy - Mark my presence

7. Human Beans

8. Animal Qualms

9. A Tickle after a Tipple

10. Pot(hole)s of Money

11. The Baap Trap

12. A Rotimaker for the Kitchen

13. Palin Talk

14. Tagged on Feminism

15. The Satyam about monkey attacks

16 A bit of this and that

17.Gadbad, I scream

18. Breaking News all around

19. Bhaagore.com

20. My thinking shoes

So now that you have read my funniest posts, do let me know the best post - the one that you liked most.

Eagerly awaiting your comments.

Getting Board?

When my wife's cousin, Ashwin came down from Bangalore for a brief stay recently, I found some really funny signboards and stuff that he had clicked while on the move.

So when I requested him to share it with me for posting on my blog, he was kind enough to agree.

"Mere Paas Maa hai"


Certainly couldn't be for sale with biscuits and snacks? This Maa turned out to be some Mango juice, Maaza or its distant cousin...thankfully!

"If US offers HotDogs, we offer Veg Pups"


Before Maneka Gandhi and the animal activists descend on the scene, let me clarify that inquiries revealed that they were offering Veg Puffs and Egg Puffs!

Now here are some chatpata "Name-keens", as Ashwin calls them

"Baap Ka Maal" it says. Attitude indeed!


"Pocket Faad ke" Do they mean our wallet? Perhaps!


That's "do aur do paanch" - Adds up to more!

Funny Restaurant Board

Can you figure this out? You get the restaurant along with ...?

Funny Zoo Sign


Funny Dog Sign


What we can call a Sureshot Message Sign


Looking for directions? Check out this Funny Roadsign


Do you find yourselves at such junctures at times?

You have been warned!


Apparently some were found on the information superhighway! Thanks for the pics, Ashwin!

Our Furrst Budday!

On 10th April 2009, The ArTicKles Blog completes one year!

It's our Fursst Budday! Let us celebrate!
Get the Balloons, the solitary candle and the Cake....







Thanks to all the blog readers, fellow bloggers, commenters - to each and every one of you, without whom we wouldnt have been able to make this journey together!

- The Editorial Team (consisting of my mouse, keyboard, right index finger)
- The Production Team (consisting of my laptop, my sofa, my internet connection, google.com, blogger.com, hotmail.com)
- The Creative Team (my shoes, the pot-holed roads, the politicians, the newsreaders and just about anyone who gives me an idea)

My Thinking Shoes!

If you have been a regular reader of this blog, you would know that most of my blog posts have been a result of ideas that come to me when I am on my brisk morning walk. Most people put on their thinking hats, whenever they need to.

Well, I put on my thinking shoes. An old pair of Reebok Sports shoes, which I got free with my Orange SIM Card, and still going strong.

Of late, I observe that my shoes are not functioning properly. No, it is not that I cannot walk properly or that the shoes are tearing. The pair has really lasted quite a long time. “Orange” has become “Hutch” and “Hutch” has become “Vodafone”, but these faithful shoes have been serving me all along. The trouble is that I am not getting any good ideas during my long brisk walks these days.

During one of my walks, I was just wondering how this amazing accessory, meant to cover my bare feet, could give me such wonderful ideas? Positioned at the other extreme in relation to my skull (my cranial box), this pair, which cannot be called downtrodden, helps me think “out of the box”. The cranial box, that is.

I have never ever treated my pair of shoes as “just a pair of shoes”. Never! In fact, whenever the shoelaces come off on their own during my morning walks, I have patiently tied them back lovingly, without getting upset, without a whimper. Though a thought of requesting my researcher-friend to do some work to figure out how these shoes manage to untie the laces on their own did cross my mind at times. But then since I got this idea while on my walk, I can proudly attribute it to this faithful pair trudging along with me.

If you thought this awesome footwear only protected my feet from the heat, stones and dust on the road, you’re wrong! So why then have my shoes stopped helping me come up with some good ideas for the next blog post? I wondered.

Today morning, when my shoelaces came off on their own, I bent down and while I tied them back, had a small little chat with my shoes.

“Wassup, guys? Why so glum?”, I began the conversation.
“Who are we and who really cares?”, they replied as though they knew this question was coming up.
“Hey, I have always treated you with great respect!”
“But nobody know us. Look at some of the other shoes - they are appearing on Prime Time TV”
“For all the wrong reasons, aren’t they?”

“Wrong reasons? They have been more effective than all the editorial columns and the combined fury of the opinion columnists put together! They have been the most effective instruments of getting the world’s attention to issues that get brushed aside inspite of the hundreds of write-ups and zillions of blog posts arguing this way and the other”

“You’re right, 'effective' they certainly have been – but then, you should be proud that finally your ilk have braved against all odds from the lowly position you held in society – near the feet, that is - you have been flung ..er.. sorry, raised to greater heights! You now rub shoulders with Cabinet Ministers. You are going places and leaving a footprint all over the world. People are left wondering Shoe's next?”

“Of course, we are proud of them, celebrity shoes! But what about us? We have been silently contributing to your blog and making several thousands…er ..or is it just dozens?... laugh. But we don’t get the slightest credit for it, not even a mention in your blog!”

“But you have never sulked in this way before, now who gave you this stupid idea?”

“Well, when we were kept in the shoe-rack of the Ganapati temple yesterday whilst you were praying to the Almighty, all the other shoes and chappals were talking about their prospects at being hurled at somebody or the other. Their folks hate someone or the other and keep talking about wanting to settle scores one politician or the other on an opportune day. When they asked us about our prospects - oh, how we had to confide our pitiable state because you don’t ever hate any politician or get mad at any public figure. In fact we told them you avoid them like the plague - that at best you would take potshots at them on his blog - our chances to worldwide popularity is really bleak to say the least”

“If popularity is all you are seeking, I promise you I will write about you in my next post, now cheer up!”, I concluded.

Hopefully, my shoes will be happy with this post and continue to support this blog as always!

Blogger’s Postscript: Read my First post on the ArTicKles Blog here and take this quiz.
Quiz: What must we do on 10th April 2009?

The mystery of the scary metallic sound

The Mystery of the Scary Metallic Sound

By Supriya Mavinkurve

Finally, we boarded the Udyan Express at Mumbai to attend a wedding ceremony in Bangalore. A quick survey of the co-passenger revealed that my journey would be peaceful, without the usual chaos caused by crying children or wailing infants through the night, as we did not catch sight of any kid around. None of the adults were chattering away excitedly, as one normally expects in a long-distance train journey. The train rattled away on its tracks, swaying merrily as it customarily does.

The lights went off, one after the other, and soon it was dark enough to sleep. It was a tiring day for me – waking up early to pack-up; trying to complete my college assignments at hand; sending those last minute emails; posting Orkut messages and of course, leaving well in time to reach the railway station. We had had an early dinner as the train leaves at 8 pm in the evening. My weary eyes closed, but my ears continued to listen to the rattling sound of the train. I tossed and turned, but my ears would not allow me to sleep peacefully.

Then, I heard this strange sound – of some electric saw drilling through solid metal! Was someone cutting open the window to get in? I looked out of the window. Nothing unusual, only darkness and some stray light reflecting on the dark silhouettes of trees, whizzing past. My ears may be playing a trick on me, I thought. I tried to catch up on my much-needed forty winks, but it was, this mysterious sound again, louder and sharper, this time around. Was there someone on the roof trying to cut it apart and get in? Was a terrorist at work here? Or a dacoit? We had not heard of dacoits in this region, but who knows, I wondered. Or was it just a technician trying to fix something in the toilet, which was only a couple of berths away?

Every one else seemed to have logged off for the day. Was it worth waking up someone, maybe my Mom? I couldn’t possibly go off to sleep, when there could be an attack any moment, could I? I peered into the darkness and waited to see if the ‘electric-saw-cutting-into-metal’ sound would be heard again. After all, it could just have been a figment of my imagination! Then it came again - louder and shriller, cutting deeper, from across the opposite berth. Was this large sized guy sleeping across me up to some mischief, pretending to sleep? I picked up my air-filled pillow up as a shield and shook my hands violently, as though staving off an offender. The offender took no notice of the waved pillow and the sound became shriller, reached the crescendo, and then punctured off like a gush of air escaping from a deflated tire.

Oh, he had just been snoring!!!

Blogger's Post-Script: Encouraged by the response to her first contribution to my blog, Supriya has written another one which i am sharing with you all. Thanks, Supriya!