Refractive Thoughts

“Neighbour’s Envy, Owner’s Pride” was Onida TV’s tagline which enraptured the hearts of Indian families around mid-80s.   Onida’s green devil sported horns with a ludicrous laugh, frightful fingernails, and a threatening tail that vaulted into our houses through their brand of TV set.   This unconventional ad campaign catapulted the sales of our own Indian product, backed by quality and snazzy looks.   It was an instant hit with school kids, much to the chagrin of their parents, who dressed-up unabashedly as the devil in their school fancy-dress competitions.   The devil indeed ruled the roost! Thirty-five years on, the modern-day city life has triggered a twist to the above tagline.   My parents own an independent house and prided on the ample parking in front of their house.   Our city grew the residential area activities as well, any lung space on our roads indeed a rarity.   Space to park a two-wheeler are magically converted into a four-wheeler pa...

Ever a futile attempt to do a logical search to find a rationale for our BandH! Today it is the pro-outfits and tomorrow it is the anti-outfits. Politically motivated or otherwise, the common man goes through a host of inconveniences. Another Bharat BandH is in the offing tomorrow (Tuesday – 08-Dec-2020) called for by the farmers. A quick rewind to 2016 – the Cauvery river-water dispute escalated into a spate of BandHs in Bangalore. A relatively large-scale damage was inflicted which dented the pride of this city. A BandH forces people to be confined within the four walls, either out of compulsion or fear. We have experienced an overdose of homestay in this pandemic-inflicted lockdown. Even now, high on my priority list is to spend quality time with family. This enforcement though is an opportunity to forge connect time through recreation activities and indoor games. As our family sifted through Netflix, etc. and various TV channels for content to keep us entertained, we dab...