Christmas is fun .I simply love it and as a child I always longed to celeberate it .The concept of Santa coming through the chimney and giving a sackful of presents was I suppose the biggest attraction .Reading innumerable Enid Blytons in my make believe world I was celeberating christmas and had an identity to match .However this illusion was cruelly shattered by a teacher .We were asked to write an essay describing our selves so I wrote one describing myself with blue eyes and golden hair .The teacher (she was a British lady )brutally told me that since I am an Indian I simply can not have blue eyes and golden hair and my favourite festival can not be Christmas .I suppose she could have been kind to a seven year old .Now all that has changed .Christmas is very much our festival .All the markets are decorated and there are trees galore andso are Santas distributing gifts .There were wonderful Xmas parties .My cousin had a beautiful tree all decorated with snow and glitter .So dear Teacher you were wrong it is our christmas and as regards blue eyes and golden hair thanks to contact lenses and hair colour it is no big deal .

There is a contest on Radio .It is about selecting a child Radio Jockey .The contest is open to children between 8and 13 .There are auditions on saturday and sunday .The entry to the competition is by sending a sms and taking a wrapper of Baal Prabha Chyavan prash to the venue to participate in the hunt . .so basically it is publicity gimmick of the company .The first few ads were adresssed to the parents but maybe the response was poor so some new ads are being aired .One ad has a mother bemoaning her annonymity and so she plans to feed Baal Prabha to her child and as he becomes famous she will be no longer be annonymous she will be the mother of the prodigy .I wonder if eating Chyavanprash can turn one into a genius .However it is a sale technique so even if there is exaggeration it is acceptable .The other ad has a child singing that her mother wants her to be a Doctor ,Father an engineer ,Grandpa an IAS etc etc but she is totally against all this as her ambition is to become a RJ.I find it offensive as it limits a child ,s ambition .With due respect to all the RJs (and I am quite fond of listeningto some of them )Iwould wish the children to consider all the options and not just the glamour of being a Baal Prabha RJ.

I am an ardent fan of Bill Gates and his wife .He has created an empire and is also the richest man on the earth .what impresses me the most is his philanthrophy .As an Indian I am very much touched by his concern about our kids ,their health and their education .The ease withwhich he shares the platform with Industry leaders and politicians can also be seen in the way he is sitting with commercial workers in Chennai .There is also a new talent hunt for Indian school kids which Gates is sponsering .I wish our Indian Industrialists will also follow his example.I wonder what makes Bill as he is ?Is it his innate goodness or his upbringing or both?He has also been lucky in finding alife partner who thinks and feels alike .This brings me to the eternal riddle I am trying to fathom .what influences a child ?Is it the environment .upbringing or genes that determine an individual,s character ?Any answers ?

Joy's Musings

Last time I wrote in my blog that Chetan Bhagat ,s book about callcentre is silly and melodramatic .I have been proved correct as I just read that a Hindi movie is being made on the book .The script is perfect for a masala movie and I have a feeling that it will be a hit.

Just finished reading ChetanBhagat,s book about callcentre .I had heard a lot about his first book but was unable to get it .We have a system here by which one does not have to spend a lot of money on buying books ..There are lending libraries ,deposit a security and than keep the book as long as you want .when you return the book you get back the security minus just Rs.15 .So when my friendly Book wala gave the book I was quite happy .The second book shd. also be interesting .Alas ,It was 15 rupees down the drain. It is superficial,melodramatic and silly .I am still trying to get the first one by him .Maybe it is better ? .