The Man of the Moment

The batti bujhana that Article-19 wants to do is a very good thing! Turning the lights off is very turning on you know.. Darkness has some sex appeal now, doesn't it? Our very awesome 'resource people team' has done it again! Woo hoo! I am writing down a list of obvious clues.. The NAME is very big this time.. Guess who's coming?

• A man, he happens to be. I mean, he is not woman!
• He has not been linked with Rakhi Sawant or Ekta Kapoor, ever.
• Rugby, the sport, he plays.
• Bombay, is the place where he lives.
• Koel Puri, he dated, once upon a time.
• With Mallika Sherawat, pyar karke pachtaya..!
• He did split, wide, open.. (Umm, it's a movie! Perverts!)
• Everybody Says I'm Fine! He directed and showed off!
• The Foundation is the NGO, he founded.
• He is known for propagating profound opinions on issues of public interest!
• Social causes, he works for.

Any guesses? Ladies, this one is for you! I 'm sure you love this guy!

By the way, registrations open for Article 19. Send in your entries now.

For further details, on to www.article-19.com

Rise and Shine

Raju took away the money to become raja, but then again, he didn't realize his deed had no satyam.. Students are not getting money to do a simple college festival and these corporate big-shots are stealing away gloriously!

But, you know what, we got lucky! Our sponsorship team is killer. 'Kusuma', through the Center for Internet and Society, have given us money and made money matters slightly better for us. After all, money matters!

Anyway, the Article-19 semester has begun! The holiday mood is still lingering but in a lazy-town like Manipal, that is always the case.

Yesterday, we had one big meeting. Everything was discussed. All the teams updated each-other on the happenings over the winter break. Since, this college is full of communication students, the talk was endless. Some PJs here and there and a lot of work-talk. MICians and ideas, inseparable! No wonder I am around, see how the bulb woks every time an idea comes up. Dimag ki batti jala de, but these MIC people want to bujha de, this time! Making the 'Power-Off' work was also a priority on the agenda.

So far , so good. I shall keep you very updated on the news here at Manipal. By the way, in the holiday time, I discovered this really cool game for us bulb-kind. It's called fuse-ball. I should probably get a fuse-ball table for the 'Fun Fair' at Article 19. How I love the way Article-19 has that scope for masti as well!

Lets be kickin' ass this semester!

The 'Ad-Hatter'

We have got BIG news!

So, the last time around, I told you all about the Article-19 Guest List. I am sure, you were damn impressed by the mind-blowing profiles of our resource people. Our main idea behind calling these big people is to generate intellectual interaction in a not-so-modest manner. Nah! I am not boasting, just being honest. ;)

Coming back to the BIG news... I am sure the image here is obvious enough. But allow me to say it anyway: Prahlad Kakkar, the 'ad-hatter', is coming to Manipal! The man will hopefully, let us try on his very stylish thinking cap. His thinking cap seems to have churned up those cool ads for Pepsi, Kit Kat, Maggie, etc! Lovingly, he is often called the 'madman' of the Indian ad industry. He started work with veteran film-maker, Shyam Benegal in 1972, with an income of Rs 300/month. With that little money, he set up his own office table at a place called 'Khatmal Niwas'. I must tell you that 'Khatmal Niwas' lived up to its name, it was infested with a variety of insects. I am not kidding, really! He established his own production house, 'Genesis'. The rest, as they say, is history.

Besides being an ad-man, he is also a scuba-diver, restaurateur and cigar-brand owner. So for all those of you who are not interested in the great Indian media, can take scuba-diving tips from him. You can plunge into the sea.

See sea where? Manipal has a beautiful coastline. The beaches near Manipal are clean and picturesque. The only surf-club in our country is an hour's drive from Manipal, in a place called Mulki. And yes, there is scuba-diving, para-sailing, close-by as well. I shall pass on that adventure-tourism info to you a little later. Later when? When you come to express yourself here in Manipal. So you see, a tourist destination awaits you as well! Article-19 is amazing, aint it?

Anyway, I am very very excited! Prahlad Kakkar! Yay!

photo courtesy: The Hindu

Article-19, the guest list!

Happy Birthday!

Err...

Happy New Year, I mean.

Sorry, slightly hung-over.

After the terrorizing 2008, we must hope for peace in 2009. The last year was bad in terms of terror and troubles that kind. I sincerely urge all of you to pray for peace.

The best thing about the world in 2009 has got to be the good riddance of the rather infamous Dubyaman. Our fellow media-persons in Iraq bid adieu to George Bush rather aptly, literally shooed him away. I breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully, Obama will do some big-time reform.

Anyway, getting back to business, I have got news. Good news. Our resource-people team has been working hard over the last month. And, they have got us some very cool people at Article-19. These people being around at Article-19 is gonna be one amazing experience. Look who’s judging and talking at Article-19, this year. I have written a little bit about these people down under:

• Sankalp Meshram – He gives films the right cuts. A film editor, director, and writer, he has many prestigious awards to his acclaim. The FTII-ian has also worked with MTV in the past. He is currently working on ‘Raat Gayi Tho Baat Gayi’ is directed by Saurabh Shukla starring the likes of Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey. Woo Hoo! His wise-words, I await!

• Kiruba Shankar – He is the CEO of Business Blogging Ltd, and the Internet and New Media angle to our fest. He is also a voracious blogger and also the Founder Director of F5ive Technologies. I think his blog will explain the big man better, visit his blog at: http://www.kiruba.com/ The blogger in me waits to interact with this killer entrepreneur.

• Anoop J – The talented young man works for a website called 1^st December.com, go see this link to see experience the brilliance and creativity for yourself. He is known for his good work in the fields of photography and designing. He will be judging the entries at Article 19 this year.

• 3^rd Thought Entertainment – These new-age entertainers have alternative ideas. They, integrate art forms to create magic and bring to the media their type of music, writing, film and art. They call themselves the 3^rd Community. They are not afraid to express, the 3^rd Community is not sold-out to mainstream masala entertainment. They are available at http://www.3rdthought.com/.

Bhaari Hai Na?

Sab bade aadmi aa rahe hain, Article-19 is a big deal.

Aren’t you more excited about Article-19 already?

Keep reading my blog for more updates on the festival.

By the way, I love reading comments on the blog. I just have one thing to tell you guys, don’t take criticism personally. Criticism is healthy. It keeps me going! So my dear lovers, I plead; don’t do personal verbal attacks on the blog.

Moolah Matters!

If I were a girl, I 'd be an item girl. I would then dance to an item song.
Which song? Isn't it obvious?
'Babuji zara dheere chalo, Bijlee khadi, yahan Bijlee khadi!'
Why do I want to be an item girl?
Well, then I 'd be well-paid. Money is all we need in this recession-struck world.
If only there were very-many rich people who 'd give money to my festival, Article-19. Ugh, money's the shit. My friends and I are looking for sponsorship, knockin' on corporate doors. Eh. The standard excuse is recession. With the global markets taking a downward plunge and the trend being that of relative poverty, we can only pray for some rich man's generosity to shower us and make our festival rich and successful.
While we are at it, we know that money is not all that important. We can't do without it but we can do with little bit. My friends and I are cool, we aren't the party pooper kind... We will pull off Article 19 with the jazz despite having little money!
Little money is not a deterrent, it is just tad disappointing.
Anyway, our condition is not so bad yet that we have to ask for chanda, so it's still cool.
And if nothing works out, I shall do some cross-dressing and dance to:
'Babuji zara dheere chalo, Bijlee khadi, yahan Bijlee khadi!'
By the way, if you know somebody who can help us do some fund-raising, mail me at mister.bijlee@gmail.com

Switchin' On

I am also known as: Bijli Anna, Biju Boss, and Bulb Bhai. What's in a name? Call me whatever you feel like calling me. I am known by my kaam, not naam.

I am from this university town in Karnataka called 'Mania-pal' and I LOVE expressing myself out loud. I shall say what-I-want because I can

I have been chosen as the mascot for Article 19, a communication festival hosted by Manipal Institute of Communication.

I promise to turn you on (pun intended) with my electrifying talk. I will tell you about this crazy festival from now on. Just doin' my job, am the mascot after all. Bijlee shining ;) Get ready to be shocked!