Category: Delhi

The last of the calendars has finally been delivered to the client. Though a little late in the month, yet, for some clients the love of a Table or Wall Calendar pushes them to produce and distribute it as part of the yearly branding exercise. Looking at the calendar as a promotion tool is no longer what it used to be a decade or more back. From the 1980s till about the first decade of the 21st Century there was keen interest in calendars and clients would set aside a decent chunk of budget for it. Marketing Managers pitched it to the management and worked hard on choosing an attractive concept and theme. Agencies had to come up with their creative best to bag the project. For PSUs, pharma and infrastructure companies, a calendar was a big-ticket item. In 2023 a printed Calendar is a rarity and only the connoisseurs dare to step in proving true to a long standing conviction. Trust us, no one says no to a calendar as a gift and those that are well designed are also well accepted and find a place of pride on a wall or on a desk. This one is for our renowned client SISCO, a infrastructure speciality steel manufacturer with one of the largest capacity steel plants in India.

‘The Corner’ by my desk where Siddhartha Gautama meets Jalaluddin Muhammad Akbar meets Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi meets Jehangir Jani. Artworks/artists respectively are ‘Siddhartha’ by Siddharth, ‘Akbar’ by Jawad Ahmad, ‘Mahatma and the Dandi Yatra’ by India Post, and ‘Penis in Three Dimensions’ by dear Jehangir Jani. Their sentiments are not hurt being so close to each other. The wall tells me it is secular – in colour and creed.

Six-Bed Duplex Cottage with the best viewing gallery on the western slopes of Mukteshwar hills. Plenty of Lounging, Dining and Cooking spaces. Terraced lawn, Deck and kitchen garden on unmeasured lot. Three fireplaces and chimneys. A private road through pristine woods. Perennial stream 100 feet below. Peach, apricot, apple and lemon trees with flowering shrubs and a herbs nursery. Two cows and eight goats with grazing rights. Cheetals, Sambar and an occasional Leopard pass by to entertain. Views to kill for. Beats Vastu frauds. Not for sale. The picture is mine, not the house.

वो नाकाम कोशिशों का दिन था। 
उस हाड़ जामऊ सर्दी और 
अंधे कोहरे वाले दिन 
ये दो कौवे 
इसी पेड़ की 
इन दो शाखों पर 
एक दूसरे से मुँह फेरे 
परली सुबह से 
गुमसुम बैठे थे। 

एक गिलहरी दो बार 
उनके पास जा 
उन्हें उकसा आयी 
सुझा आई
‘बात कर के ख़त्म करो’  
फिर भी उन्हें चुप देख 
बेचारी ख़ामोश लौट आई  
वो नाकाम कोशिशों का दिन था

उस हाड़ जामऊ सर्दी के दिन
बरामदे में खड़ा मेरा शरीर 
जिसे अकड़ जाना था 
ओस सा रिस रहा था 
यक़ीनन 
वो नाकाम कोशिशों का दिन ही था।