The teenager in my house.

I wasn’t very thrilled to see her for the first time. My husband had meant it as a surprise, but she rather turned out to be a shock! I wasn’t sure I was ready for the responsibility.

But win my heart, she did!

Her tiny, kohl-lined eyes and the “all I need is love” look were difficult to resist. And no matter how much I resolved to be stern with her, I was always the one who would give in to her demands. So partly, I am responsible. 

That she was headstrong was clear as early as 40 days, when she turned away from her Cerelac diet (recommended by her doctor, of course) until I mixed some liver gravy in it. But as she grew up, her actions revealed more of her mischievous personality. At six months, she tried to trick us into giving her a treat without really doing her bio-business, for which we were training her. She sat in her posture, did nothing and then came running to us to ask for her due treat!

Before we realised, she abandoned her bed and started sleeping beside me on my pillow! Within a year she was used to the air conditioning, mangoes and human food indulgence a few times a month!

She is 15 months old now. Last week, as my in-laws were travelling, we got their pug to stay with us. We were delighted at the idea of Zora getting a playmate! Whiskey, the pug is more mature, at age 10. She follows her routine without demanding much from anyone. She also likes to relish her meals, unlike Zora who gobbles everything in a few minutes and starts jumping to indicate her walk-time. 

So Zora doesn't pile on to Whiskey’s food after hurriedly finishing her own, we decided to feed Whiskey first and held on to Zora tightly. She wasn’t very thrilled at the idea of smelling food she could not reach. She struggled violently for some time, but later seemed to settle for her fate, with a very upset-looking face (yes you could make that out).

We didn't enjoy this either, so the moment Whiskey was done (which was about 10 minutes later), we re-filled the bowl for Zora. We expected a violent attack by her on her favourite chicken crumbs. She didn’t. She walked up to the bowl, looked at her food, then stared at Whiskey with accusing eyes. Without touching her food, she walked a whole circle to come back to me. She looked at me with a challenging stare, took her position right between my legs and peeed!

“How dare you let someone else into my space?”

“This is my house, my bowl, my food, my time with you!”

“No one else gets priority over me.”

Believe me, in those 18 seconds when she stared at me while peeing between my feet, I could read all this in her big, livid eyes.

"Liver or nothing!"

"My house, my bed."

Misinterpreting Empowerment.

I am a woman and I think the Women’s Day ‘Dance to my Tunes’ campaign by Godrej was offensive. 

Of course, who wouldn’t like people dancing to your tunes, especially when they are people deemed in the socio-cultural rulebook to do just the opposite!

But that’s the whole point.

Imagine the same app being designed for the men folk; it would have been received with an outrage from feminists, social activists, media, critiques and even our current and aspiring leaders (who have suddenly woken up to the need for women empowerment).

The problem is, we are living in a highly skewed society, where the only way to counter a problem is to do the exact opposite.

The opposite of a patriarchal society is a matriarchal one. But that is not the solution. It is another problem in itself.

The solution to a patriarchal system is an equal society that does not get overly excited, or upset and starts judging women who stay out of home for more hours than the men in the family or men who do the laundry and take care of the kids.

I recently wrote about how more brands are using the power of social advertising, something I have been vouching for, for long. And I appreciate the effort to connect a lifestyle brand with women empowerment in a fun way. But tilting the balance to the other side is only going to heighten the effects of objectification and sexism that advertising is increasingly being accused of.

The time has come!

Sorry blog.

After starting on my own, I've insensitively abandoned you, and unfortunately ignored my first love – writing.

I have been pulled back to the keyboard (and thankfully so) after a delightful shift of the style and quality of advertising that I have been noticing around me lately.

A couple of years ago, something flickered in my mind, and I thought I’ll explore it a little further. So I sat down to write about it.

Time for a Social Break walked around the possibility of moving away from the typical ‘I am better’ style of advertising, towards a more cause-oriented one that can leave a greater, more lasting and meaningful impact in the minds and hearts of the audience.

While brands like TATA Tea and !dea have been using this strategy for quite some time, others like Google, Hero, Nestle and Coke are beginning to adopt this strategy now.

GOOGLE’s first video commercial in India

is a perfect blend of strong emotions and a message of friendship & unity across borders.

Nestle’s umbrella ad

Sends out the message of ‘adopting a child’.

Coca Cola’s new campaign

hints on the importance of educating the girl.

Hero HF Delux Commercial

Awakens people on making an unbiased choice at the elections.

TATA TEA’s Jaago Re,

couple of years back

TATA TEA’s Jaago Re,

2013

!DEA’s save paper

two years ago

!DEA’s  ‘ullu mat banao’ campaign

2014

Not surprisingly, the one brand that has been doing this for over 5 decades without losing its impact, charm or freshness is

In the first season,

18: 01: 2012