Remembering Sharad Haksar!

I have been away from photography for the past four years. Photography gives me a big kick and was really passionate about this form of art (may be a science also) ever since I was exposed to it during college (i.e Viscom). After completing my masters, this passion was limited to merely clicking few pic with a standard sony cyber shot digi cam or mostly with my mobile phone. But however, I never put an end to photography or being photographed. This was simply because I found photography as a very very expensive affair (am talking about the period before digital photography came in). And more over, I branched out of core advertising into Corporate Communications where the scope was limited when it came to my profession.

History: In 2001, my interest and knowledge about photography amplified with my exposure to Mr.Sharad Haksar. I was a big fan of his hoardings, near Gemini Flyer outside Woodlands drive in. (both don’t exist today) It is he who proved that public service advertising need not be boring. In one of the hoardings, the visual shows a shuttlecock capped with a condom with the tag line saying "Play it Safe.'' The concepts and composition of Sharad’s pictures are extraordinary. Sharad plunged into digital photography much before anyone else and at a very early age, he won so many awards at the IPA, which is widely regarded as the Photography Oscars.

Today, I came across http://www.1pointsize.com/home.html and was completely fascinated by this website. It is so different… bold, clever and cool. To my surprise and delight, it belongs to Sharad Haksar. Yea… ‘1 point size’ is a creative shop/ ad agency run by Sharad. The entire site is nothing but a clever pencil sketch including the scroll. The unconventional home page displays the artwork designed for different accounts as an animated pencil sketch. The entire website is extremely inventive and that’s typical of Sharad.

Now, with Kumaran (https://kumz.wordpress.com/) around I think am getting back to photography. I am planning to buy a digital SRL very soon, gift it to Kumaran for his birthday and use it myself too! Hehehe…

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it!

Happy Fathers Day to you Appa... your the best and your my hero!

Kudos to you Nokia!

My brand loyalty towards Nokia makes me feel proud when i saw that Nokia has made its position as the leading mobile-phone brand. ET Brand Equity survey 2008 results are out with Nokia emerging as the most trusted Indian brand. Congratulations Nokia!!!

My dad bought me a Nokia phone ( i dunno which model... but it was quite huge with an antenna) when i was 17 years of age and since then life without Nokia.... never!

Bridging the Generation Gap

Pic taken near Royapettah clock tower @ 8.30 AM

Bullock cart, a traditional and ancient means of transportation since 1930.The ambassador car introduced two decades later in 1957, being taken for repair.

Steady and still all day

Satyam's share price stood still and steady at Rs.73.50 all day. I've never seen this straight line graph, ever since i started watching the share bazaar.

An incredible experience...

Lately, the Indian tourism department has been carrying out several promotional campaigns to attract tourist to India. ‘Incredible India’ is the name coined to promote tourism by means of which the richness and speciality of every state is being showcased.

The most recent ad and the best of its kind I think is for the Madhya Pradesh tourism and it is Ogilvy once again… what an awesome experience!

The ad makes use of ‘eyes’ as the creative route to express the awe travellers experience in Madhya Pradesh. The eyes narrate the journey of the traveller and are complimented by a poetic song in the background. I didn’t really understand the ad for the first time but it was undoubtedly fantastic. The movement and expression in the eyes are really beautiful. On the second third viewing, as you concentrate on the lyrics in the background you tend to understand that some of the famous monuments/places are referred to, until it reaches the end when they show the carving of the Sanchi Stupa.

When the narration in the background is about sights one would see from a train, the model’s pupils become the wheel of the train, or if the narrative speaks of an antelope, the model’s eyebrows take the shape of its horns. Similarly, in the pool of her eyes, the viewer gets to see the intricacies of the Sanchi stupa. Oh… such mind-blowing creativity.



Along with O&M, the model has also done a remarkable job. I read she is Shree Jeilachmee Appadorai, a Malaysia based South Indian model who has learnt Bharatnatyam and some other Indian classical dances.

Chennai ruled by 'family politics'

It was last year that Chennai's skyline went through a radical change. Suddenly the entire view of the landscape changed... well the giant hoardings were all pulled down by the authorities in April 2008. Around 700 unauthorised hoardings were removed to reveal trees and buildings in the city. The roads turned clutter-free road and junctions had improved safety.

All said and done, i really miss those colourful flex/vinyl giants which painted the city red. Being a media professional, i enjoyed each of them... the photographs, the slogans, the creative by-lines, spokes charterers etc. Actually it was the period when ad campaigns started booming in Chennai. The conventional Chennaites had begun to understand and appreciate the advertising efforts. The 'Pulli Raj' AIDS campaign, 'Arjun amma yaaru', a campaign by Aarogya milk, Hutch's 'Hi' campaign are some of the popular ones which were a part of every household's subject of debate and guesses . However, one fine day it was all thrashed out and we still wait for the order.

Well... some people don't wait for any orders. CM and his family rule the city of Chennai, its the DMK regime out here. Recently, the Lok Sabha elections witnessed huge hoardings of the DMK family all around the city. And now its our CM's birthday (3rd June).

A hoarding on mount road, opposite Spencer Plaza. Is this an authorized hoarding???

There is a little boy inside this man who is my brother ...Oh, how I hated that little boy. And how I love him too!

Happy Birthday Bharath!

Here’s something interesting I read…
‘Brothers and sisters can take the same lump of clay that is childhood, and use it differently to shape themselves into unique human beings. This is a miracle in itself. Despite individual struggles, triumphs, joys and disappointments, someone is made of the same stuff as you and has been at your side, whether figuratively or literally, from the beginning’.

To the outside world, we all grow old. But not to each other. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts.
B'day Cake from Achu to Bharath