Marketing Feminism

One of the great marketing practices in recent times is that any new product is introduced first in USA. The reason is they have lots of disposable cash and are always willing to experiment. Once the product is accepted, it is introduced in the conservative European market who have money but would accept only after it's tried and tested. After a point the market would get saturated (that's a rule) and then the product is shifted to the growing Asian market by lowering price to suit the pockets of the newly some-what rich population. When this market also gets saturated, the product would be moved to the under-developed African market by further lowering the price. That's how any new product moves - from the affluent to lesser ones.

Last night I was wondering, this concept is not just limited to products. It has its presence felt elsewhere too, like Feminism. Feminism (modern) first came into existence in Europe and North America, then it was shifted to Asian countries. At this point it is in the growing Asian market as the less affluent poeple (in Africa or elsewehere) are yet to know what feminism is all about. Even in the developing countries it is not evenly distributed. In India, the affluent cities like Delhi and Mumbai were the first to accept. The rest of the country is still to catch up.

I am living in Kolkata and I was surprised to see the conservative culture given the fact the feminist brigade is full of power-packed Bengali women in Delhi. During the initial days, I was sitting with two females. As the topic of feminism crop up, to impress them I said, "I am a feminist". One of them reacted with shock, "How can you be a feminist? You are a guy". Looks like feminism is still not marketed well here. Thank God for that, we don't need to pretend!

Flexing the Muscle Power

It was winter of 2004, when I was a first year student in college, I lived in Hauz Khas. Many engineering aspirants also lived in the vicinity as all the coaching institutes were located there. Nikhil Thakur was from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. As a kid, he wanted to become an air-force officer as it was a tradition of his place to join the army. We always do not get to pursue our childhood dreams. Sometimes they become irrelevant or too distant to reach. I was not sure why he abandoned his dream and decided to pursue engineering. Still the patriotic fervour was very much dominant in his personality. He loved to talk about army, or anything to do with physical strength.

It was during those numerous non-productive sessions, he made the observation - "We have shown our brain power to the world, now we need to show our muscle power". I was not convinced. If we had muscle power, we would have shown it to the world much earlier. We as a country, never resisted any aggression (other than the recent Pakistani ones). Moreover, how big and strong those black or white people looked - whether a porn star or a boxer. But his remark had struck a chord with my subconscious - after all we never believe we are weak. Perhaps that's why of all those conversations, I vividly remember this one.

Four years later, his (and secretly mine as well) hopes finally came true. In the ongoing Olympics, India got three medals. Two of them came because of high physical strength - wrestling and boxing. Nikhil is in his final year engineering in Shimla and I am sure he would be one happy man. Finally we are showing our muscle power to the world.

Cheers brother!

Prophecies Foretold

Literature has often been a vehicle of prophecy. The prophets of ancient era recorded their prophecies in poetic verses. The holy books, which are embedded with prophecies, are considered great works of literature. But at times litterateurs turn prophets.

Shakespeare's Othello is a Moore who goes to Venice and earns a good position by his military prowess. He is made the Commander and is sent to Cyprus to fight the Turks. He wins the war but the darkness in his character takes over and disgraces himself by wrongly killing his wife which proves to be his nemesis.

In contemporary time, the playwright's character takes physical form with a person called Zinadine Zidane. He was born in Algeria, in earlier age the land of the Moore, and migrated to France, its erstwhile colonizer. He rose in ranks and was worshipped as a hero. But at the end he disgraced himself by head-butting one of his opponents during the final match of World Cup 2006. The heroic career of an exceptional player ended with a sad note.

'Again brutish necessity wipes its hands

Upon the napkin of a dirty cause, again

A waste of our compassion, as with Spain,

The gorilla wrestles with the superman.

I who am poisoned with the blood of both,

Where shall I turn, divided to the vein?

I who have cursed

The drunken officer of British rule, how choose

Between this Africa and the English tongue I love?

Betray them both, or give back what they give?

How can I face such slaughter and be cool?

How can I turn from Africa and live?'

Derek Walcott, a far cry from Africa (1962)

The above lines bring out the enigma of a Black American, beautifully composed by one of the greatest poets of contemporary America,Derek Walcott. Doesn't Barack Obama fit the bill perfectly(Enough has been written about him so I wont go in details). Obama was just a year old baby when this poem was composed.