Caveman diet / Paleo diet and how is it working for me

My wife is keen about nutrition and I am a good husband - I listen to her and to be honest, I need to lose the weight. She’s put us on the Paleo Diet aka the Caveman Diet. This post is about how I am going about it.

What is the Paleo Diet? 

This link explains it well: “The paleo diet is designed to resemble what human hunter-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago. Although it’s impossible to know exactly what human ancestors ate in different parts of the world, researchers believe their diets consisted of whole foods. 

By following a whole food-based diet and leading physically active lives, hunter-gatherers presumably had much lower rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. In fact, several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health.” 

This has happened to me - I have lost 5kgs in 2 weeks. I also have 2 of 3 aforementioned lifestyle diseases and a bad knee. So losing weight is the need of the hour, especially given the 'work from home' situation due to COVID-19 and the lack of physical activity thereof. 

What are my thoughts on it?

A few personal reflections:

1. The secret of a happy marriage is to listen to your wife especially if she's reading the books that you are not!
2. The Paleo Diet seems healthier than the Keto Diet that I did for 6 months in 2018. I did lose 15kgs then but the high-fat bit always sounded dubious to me.
3. I like the aspect of only eating fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits as a part of the Paleo diet. Also no processed foods. (Except in my case a bit too much of Coke Zero and coffee)
4. You cannot do this diet if you don’t eat chicken and/or fish.
5. I wish you could eat cheese and more nuts. (Anyway I don’t smoke, and I am an occasional drinker which I don’t miss at all when I don’t)

All in all, the Paleo Diet looks promising and I hope to continue to lose weight. I am sincerely hoping that means I am getting healthier.

What have I been eating?

Here are some of the things I have been eating:

Breakfasts are usually simple and consistently no frills

Breakfast is usually 3 boiled eggs (1 whole, 2 whites) and a fruit with a cup of coffee...

... and when I feel indulgent (and it is a weekend), I make eggs a bit more fancy as you can see below (recipe here)

Lunch is typically lean proteins and salad. I love playing around with the meat marinade, salad ingredient, and dressing as you can see below.

Pan-fried chicken flavoured with Chorizo slices with a side of red pepper, carrot and cucumber salad with light caesar dressing and a hint of Nando's Mango and Lime Sauce

Chicken marinated with mustard with a side of green salad and cherry tomatoes with a balsamic vinegarette dressing. The red sauce drizzled on the top is Encona Hot Sauce.

Pan-fried smoked haddock, with fried aubergine/eggplant (aka 'begun bhaja') with a green salad with a balsamic vinegarette dressing. 

Lemon & herb marinated smoked haddock, pan-fried in butter with a side of bistro salad with walnuts & chilli cheddar drizzled with Sriracha sauce and Caesar dressing.

Tandoori chicken with a side of pressure baked veggies (carrots, cauliflower and beans)

Rainbow chicken fajita with red, green, yellow and orange bell peppers garnished with red onions juliennes and chive cheddar cheese flakes, and served with a wedge of lime.

Dinners are usually the same as lunch but with a side of pressure baked veggies (cauliflower, carrots and beans). At times, I have 'cheat meals' that I cook not just for myself but for others in the family who are not on Paleo Diet.

Pan-fried chicken with a side of Mediterranean char grilled veggies & walnuts with a drizzle of Sriracha sauce.

Ultra spicy dan dan prawns 

Zucchini pasta with meatballs in marinara sauce

Pan roasted aubergine with tomato chilli sauces, cheddar cheese and spicy chicken sausages 

Breaded chicken steak topped with burger sauce with a green salad and orange juice as a dressing.

I also make these chicken kebabs on a weekly basis (recipe here)

Sometimes I add onion paste to the marinade of the chicken kebabs so that it becomes very much like "Chicken Chaap" or "Chicken Kosha" that you get in Kolkata.

Snacks are usually loads of bananas and a few nuts - walnuts, almonds, cashew nuts, peanuts - but not more than 10-12 pieces a day.

Condiments: The biggest find of Paleo has been hot sauces. I have been able to build quite a global collection as you can see below:

What a hot 🌶 all star global lineup

—————————————————

🇿🇦 Nando’s Range - extra hot, hot, lime and mango, lemon and herb

🇮🇳 Maggi Masala Chilli Sauce

🇯🇲 Encona Hot and Extra Hot

🇨🇳 Lee Klum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli oil 

🇨🇳 The ‘imposter’ chilli oil

🇲🇽 Cholula - regular and chipotle 

🇹🇭 Sriracha

When Hunger Strikes

So our government has finally put to an end to the nonsensical practice of holding a nation to ransom. Well an Anna started it - and the Baba followed suit. In reality this method of political blackmail has ben in vogue for aeons. Yes I am talking about the much hyped Hunger Strike phenomenon. Well, what does one achieve through a Hunger Strike? Wikipedia tells me: "A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not solid food. A hunger strike cannot be effective if the fact that it is being undertaken is not publicized so as to be known by the people who are to be impressed, concerned or embarrassed by it."

Take a minute and read the last line again. Now, who's the real culprit here? How is it that some random people get undue attention by holding a nation to ransom - all in the name of upholding democracy? I believe it is the usual suspects: our media. And the less said of the Indian 24x7 media, the better. Maybe it is a true reflection of the current state of affairs - shambolic yet fastidious. And what's the outcome such hoopla? Eradication of corruption? Bringing back of Black Money? Citizen Uprising? Hardly. It just got some people the eyeballs they needed to launch a political career. Or to reignite one: remember Mamata Banerjee's hunger strike to get the farmers' land back in Singur in 2006? It went a long way to her coronation in 2011 - have the farmers got the land back yet Didi? We have said Tata bye-bye five years back!

Let's put things into perspective regarding hunger - these politicians have made a joke of the multitude of our citizens through their "Hunger Strikes". Did you know that apart from our national obsession cricket, India is also #1 in the world in terms of the number of hungry people? There are 237.7 million hungry citizens in India at the last count! According to a May 2011 Oxfam report titled 'Growing a better future', the number of hungry people in India has increased by 65 million from 1990 to 2005 - that is because economic development excluded the rural poor, and welfare programmes failed to reach them. However, in the same period (from 1990 to 2005), India's economy doubled in size with 10% growth y-o-y - talk about a paradox, eh? The 237.7 million count is more than the total population of so many countries — including Brazil and France. About 21 per cent of India's population is undernourished. Looking at it in a different way, that would mean one out of every five. (FYI: The percentage of China's undernourished segment is only 10 percent of its population. Whether India shines or whines, who cares. We are ahead of China.)

One also understands that the government is doing its best in this regard. Like letting food grains rot in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns, for instance. And does anyone remember the recent onion shortage crisis due to the middlemen? India also happens to be home to 28 per cent of the world's total undernourished population of 847.5 million. But the poor and hungry are of no use to any of us - least of all the media. They only make good subject material for art film makers! And of course, trigger happy foreign tourists (remember the scene from  MunnaBhai MBBS? The one where the Japanese tourist is kidnapped by Circuit who lured him with the promise of showing him "bhukkha Indian"? ).  The truth is that we prefer the rich, powerful and pseudo hungry - why else would 3 lakh people turn up at the Ram Lila grounds in a show of "solidarity"? Or why else would I have to bear Arnab Goswami and his ilk force their opinions live from the venue? Reality TV has got a whole new meaning in India - it's called Breaking News.

The twitterati are tweeting their thumbs sore at the ham-handed handling of the situation at the Ram Lila grounds by the Govt. with specific criticism of the the police brutality. In my opinion, the Govt. had to do something. There was no way that it could allow the bedlam to continue. It was very unfortunate that people were injured (some very seriously) when the police intervened and there could have been a more civil way that they could have thought of to diffuse the situation. But the moot question is, why were the people there? Was everyone so concerned about the Lok Pal Bill? Will it truly deliver? I have my doubts.

The RTI Act has come into being for sometime now - the results are iffy (For instance, read this). The results of other legislation such as the Right to Education are similar. While corruption is a massive problem, there are more pressing needs that governance issues. And corruption is actually a self-governance issue, isn't it? Do we really need an Anna and a Baba to tell us that? Instead of showing solidarity with a couple of people on hunger strikes, we need to understand how we can actually kill the demon from within. I mean will just showing up at India Gate or Ram Lila grounds end corruption?

Similarly the issue of Black Money - the question that we need to answer here: who has black money? Is the  the working class population - the salaried middle class who are taxed by default? Or does the majority of poor citizens have black money? Absurd, isn't it? Fact is, India has more black money than rest of the world combined. India tops the list with almost $1500 Billion black money in swiss banks, followed by Russia $470 Billion, UK $390 Billion, Ukraine $100 Billion and China with $96 Billion. It’s embarrassing for any country to top the list of black money holders. The money which belongs to the nation and it’s citizens, is stashed in the illegal personal accounts of powerful people such as corrupt politicians, bureaucrats, IPS officers and industrialists. Will a hunger strike coerce these guys to mend their ways?

BTW, the total black money accounts for 40% of GDP of India - a country where more than 450 million live below the poverty line (which means they make less than $1.25/day). For an amount which is 13 times larger than the nation's foreign debt, I don't see this happening. By bringing back the black money back to the country there is so much which can be done for the development of the nation and the people who live below poverty line. India will also be able to clear all its foreign debts in 24 Hours! And even if all the taxes are abolished, the government can maintain the country easily for 30 years. But realistically do you see this happening? We live in India not Utopia!

And do you really buy that the guys who are going on the hunger strikes don't have black money or are not corrupt?
But coming back to the issue of hunger strikes, just compare the two shame-lists: hunger list and the corruption list. According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2010, India is ranked at 87 among 178 countries (down three spots from 84 in 2009) - there has been a decline in India’s integrity score to 3.3 in 2010, from 3.5 in 2007, and 3.4 in 2008 and 2009.

(These figures are on a scale of zero to 10 with the former being perceived as highly corrupt and 10 indicating low levels of corruption. It is an indication that the country continues to be perceived as more corrupt as in the past. Transparency International is a global non-governmental organisation that monitors political and corporate corruption across the world—has been publishing an annual CPI since 1995. The CPI ranks countries/territories based on how corrupt a country’s public sector is perceived to be and is a composite index drawn from a combination of polls.)

According to the 2010 CPI, Somalia is considered the world’s most corrupt country with a score of 1.1 followed by Myanmar and Afghanistan, while Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are perceived to be the least corrupt with scores of 9.3. China is at the 78th position, indicating it is less corrupt than India. (I must say that with scam season on, I am surprised!) While Pakistan is shown as just a notch worse off than India, the US ranks fairly high at 22nd and is perceived to have relatively low levels of corruption. In Asia, Bhutan is perceived to be the least corrupt country. India’s ranking has consistently dipped since 2006 when it was ranked 70 among 163 countries. Admittedly we are corrupt, we are not the worst yet in corruption. And there is hope yet with Tihar Jail fast filling up with M/s Raja, Kalmadi and their brethren!

On the other hand, hunger is killing citizens of shining India (see table above) - according to various non-governmental organizations, between 2003 and 2006, in Uttar Pradesh alone there were 52 starvation deaths. The most shameful was that a Supreme Court panel had to ask the Orissa government to ensure no one succumbs to hunger in the state has been hit by drought and floods in the recent past, amid allegations that over 400 people had died due to starvation in nine years. Failure of the public distribution system and inability of the National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme to provide 100 days work to the rural people are far pressing problems for the aam aadmi ka sarkar methinks!

Will we be able ensure that no citizen sleeps hungry? Can the mantris, Anna, Baba, the twitterati and indeed all of us sleep knowing that our fellow citizens are dying of hunger? Aren't hunger strikes the cruelest, crudest of jokes in a land of hungry, starving, dying people? Instead of farcical hunger strikes, what we need is to strike off hunger. Permanently.

Footnote: According to a 2007 report, morbid obesity has acquired epidemic proportions in the country with 5 per cent of the population suffering from it. The land of contradictions? This is Indi-yeah!

Circular Reference

I am fairly certain that a regular user (or abuser?!) of the ubiquitous spreadsheet software, must have seen the above warning message at least once. The help file further elucidates: “A circular reference can have a significant impact on performance because it can iterate indefinitely.”

Blame it on my lack of excitement all day or call me a profundity junkie, but one late March evening, something struck me. With the dreaded 31st approaching (the absolute worst day in the year for a relationship manager… no wonder it is the mirror image of 13!), and having had all holidays cancelled for the month (haven’t my bosses heard that all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy…? But then my name is not Jack, though come to think of it – I should maybe consider changing it to that for more often than not, I do get jacked by boss!) after having plugged away at my spreadsheet all day, one wrong move and the software spat out the warning message illustrated above.

It was nearly time for the civilized world to call it a night, and given the spew of long days in the recent past, I got pretty agitated. And then I had an aha moment (pardon the jargon – an unwanted side effect of my MBA education!). Isn’t our lives exactly what the message warns of?
Allow me to elucidate. The basic formula in life is that we make mistakes and look for redemption. And we do this each time we come across a whiff of a new start – make resolutions each time the earth completes its annual revolution around the sun, pray for prosperity and peace every bishu / diwali / nabo barsho / gudi padwa / etc. (based on which part of India you come from), hope to do better at the turn of each financial year (whether you want or not, the targets keep coming!), plan to quit smoking / start gymming each time your birthday comes across… you get the idea.

But, what happens when the day passes and you get a year older and wiser? I am willing to bet my bonus (I must resolve to give up gambling next time Diwali comes along!) , that the answer is: back to status quo and the cycle continues. Thus life’s formula keeps going through a vicious circular reference. And yes, this circular reference does have a significant impact on our performance because it does iterate indefinitely… just like ol’ Bill’s software warns!

Too bad, God did not factor in the warning message in life! We could have at least been able to click OK and then gone back to doing what we do anyway…

Diwali Dhamaka

On 16th October, after mailing everyone in my address book happiness in the “festival of lights” (I absolutely hate that cliché BTW – someone should come up with a better moniker asap!), I headed home feeling quite empty… it was weird being alone in the company guesthouse on Diwali eve (every other guest had gone home to celebrate with family and friends…) and all I wanted was a good night’s sleep. Sadly that was asking for too much!

At about 4 am next morning, I was shocked out of my sweet slumber by explosions – had I been teleported to a battlefield from dear ol’ Mumbai? I know I am a deep sleeper, but this was ridiculous! Still groggy from sleep depravation, I peeped out the window to see who had invaded India?

And then it hit it, it was just another happy Diwali and people were just having a blast! Their mirth and the noisy articulation of their exuberance did not cease for a whole three days…


The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board's (MPCB) report on the noise and air quality measurements taken on Diwali day of 17th October revealed that the decibel levels were way beyond permissible limits and corroborated the measurements taken by Awaaz foundation on the same day. The MPCB report revealed that the decibels hovered in the range of 62-80 db (decibels) where as Awaaz pegged it between 80-120 db. Dharavi topped the list with an average of 82 db, Wadala came a close second with an average of 80.5 db (that’s where my guesthouse is), and Juhu with 77.5 db was the third noisiest place on Diwali day. The noise levels in Pune increased too and showed an interesting trend: Between 10 pm and 11 pm this year, the average noise level shows a decrease from 72.2 dB to 69.8 dB, but between 11 pm to midnight, the average noise level increased from 62.2 dB to 66.47 dB!

On the east coast too, the decibel discipline in Kolkata during Kali Puja and Diwali went up in smoke too with a record amount of banned firecrackers being used in the last two days. Police rounded up nearly 500 persons for violating the noise norms in and around the city. The areas worst affected by the cracker cacophony were Behala, Jadavpur, Kasba, Dhakuria, Tiljala, Topsia, Tangra, Belgachia and Salt Lake. Decibel levels crossed the 100 mark at most places and the average sound level recorded was at least 5 decibels higher than last year. The officials, though, claimed that Kolkata actually celebrated a quieter Diwali with sound levels of firecrackers exceeding 90 decibels banned, compared to 125 decibels in other parts of the country! However, readings taken by SAFE (an NGO) suggest that the sound level touched a high of 103.1 dB at Dunlop bridge in North Kolkata which was 4 dB higher than the highest recorded in 2008. Sodepur Ghola came a close second with 100 dB, While Ajoynagar, off the E M Bypass recorded 97 dB, Cossipore was a shade quieter at 96 dB.

Up north, in the nation’s capital, the average noise level this year was 71-82 decibels as against an average of 67 to 85 last Diwali. The loudest noise level was recorded at Mayur Vihar and measured 82 decibels.

Down south, this Diwali was noisier than last year. According to a release from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), the noise level had increased by 3.9 decibels compared to last year. Triplicane had the highest decibel levels at 86.7 and T. Nagar the lowest levels at 73.9. Bangalore too had the decibel levels at an all-time high level - however, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) said that the maximum permissible sound limit of 125 decibel (dB) was not exceeded at any area. (Wah! Wah!)

Every Diwali, it's the same story across the country - Supreme Court deadlines and mandates of keeping the decibel levels down are rampantly flouted resulting in inevitable rise in sound limits beyond “permissible” levels, as illustrated below:


Now have a look at the chart below to fully understand the implication of the Diwali dhamaka decibel numbers:


Norms say that noise levels should not exceed 55 dB in residential areas during the day. The prescribed noise norms during Diwali have pegged the maximum levels of noise as 70 dB in industrial areas, 55 dB in commercial areas, 45 dB in residential and 40 dB in silent zones at night.

The deafening sound of firecrackers seriously affects the aged, unwell and children. (D-uh! We know that already, don’t we?) So, please lend me an ear ? - next Diwali, let’s celebrate and have a blast but ensure a “Silent night, holy night / (where) All is calm, all is bright…”

Jobs@Scam.Com

Last week a couple of my friends got offers for jobs abroad. One got his offer from a leading UK hotel and the other from a leading Oil company in Nigeria. Calls for celebrations, doesn’t it? Read on to find out why we are yet to uncork the bubbly…

(Click on the pictures to see larger image)

Case # 1: Hotel Marriott
Last Friday, X got the following email from the id: jobuk_111222@msn.com with the subject line “JOBS IN UK”:


Excited at getting a chance to realize his foreign job dream, X checked the Marriott hotel site and suitably satisfied, mailed back with his resume – almost instantly received the following email reply from the id hotel_recruitment@live.com with the subject line “MARRIOT INTERVIEW LETTER”:

The email had the following questionnaire attached:

One look at the document and he smelt a rat… well for starters it was signed by a "Sir Powel C" - and some of the questions were already answered - and those were really lousy answers too! Needless to add he didn’t pursue the matter further...

Case # 2: Oando PLC
Last Sunday, Y, another friend of mine also received a similar email from the id: careers.oando@mail.org with the subject line as “JOB OPENING AT OANDO GROUP PLC.”

This friend was not as internet savvy as X and did not check the Oando site at all. He straightaway replied with his CV and got the following email as a reply from the id: careers.oando@live.com with the subject line: “ONLINE INTERVIEW/QUESTIONNAIRE – OANDO GROUP PLC”

The email had the following questionnaire attached:


When he came to me for help with the questionnaire, I recalled having spoken to X about his “offer”. I immediately asked X to forward his mails to me and wasn’t surprised to find that both questionnaires were almost identical – word for word…

Continuing my post mortem, I had a look at the ids from which the mails were sent – as you can see, all these mails were sent from public email domains such as live.com – no recruiter worth his salt would send emails from such ids!

Moreover, I found it incredible that the last paragraph of the Oando questionnaire read: “Please note, there might not be any verbal Interview as this may serve as the final assessment based on the acclaimed qualifications and position on your resume.” – wow!

It broke my heart to break the news to Y that his offer was a hoax. The poor soul had even found out about the weather in Lagos…

Anyway, to convince Y and to find out more about this scam, I googled up “Oando” to see whether the company existed in the first place. I found their website carried the following ominous words on its homepage – “SCAM ALERT”


The cautionary note read: (click on the above picture to read the entire note)
“We have recently been inundated with emails, seeking confirmation of business propositions made to individuals within and outside Nigeria by some people claiming to work for, or to be affiliated with the Oando Group of Companies. These emails often offer the recipients "jobs" which involve the use of the recipients' bank accounts for the payment of money owed to the Oando Group of Companies by its customers. These emails promise to permit the recipient to deduct a percentage of such payments as commission. In order to be "employed", the authors of these emails usually request that the recipients send them personal information such as the recipients' names, addresses, bank details etc.”

Aleast, Oando had been kind enough to alert the general public… but the harm to its brand equity is irrevocable. I tried calling up the company on the numbers given on its site – sadly I was greeted by an IVR…

I also wondered how many more people were being hoaxed like X & Y. The answer was easy enough to get - Upon googling with the search criteria “Bankole Edwards” (the “Sender” of the email received by Y), I found my friends were not the only ones conned…

A South African national complained: “I was made a false job offer (scam) in order to collect money for so-called visa and travel documents as well as bank details.” – Read the complete text at http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/oando-nigeria-plc-c246142.html

Another person, a Pakistani, also complained: “I had received a mail saying that I have been selected for a post in the OANDO PLC Nigeria . They are willing to pay $14, 320 per month on hand. I think this is not true and the mail is fake. When I contacted the immigation office for the same, they asked $950 in advance. Please investigate the same and inform as soon as possible.” – Read the complete text at http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/oando-plc-nigeria-c158050.html

Another guy replying to this post was actually cheated out of $1250 (that’s over fifty six thousand rupees!) – he wrote: “I am ... who was also hired by the Oando Group Plc and was referred to Bestway Travells Consultants who instructed me to pay USD $650 and after the payments he again instructed me to pay USD $1100 and negotiated me just to pay USD $ 600 . This is scam and onething i requested the travel consultant (Bestway) to please return the payments.”

My sympathies are with this guy and others like him - this scam seems to be of global proportions and reeks of similarities of the more infamous Lottery Scam… my friends were lucky!

There are more such stories at: http://www.fraudwatchers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=23739

Who is not on the lookout for a “change” today? I am sure most of those who read this post will have uploaded their resume on a job site… the greener pastures abroad have been the fantasy of young Indians for decades. Cases of human trafficking and passport scams make news with alarming regularity. (Remember the news about Daler Mehendi and his brother in one such case a few years back?) Now with professional networking sites like Linkedin gaining popularity, con-artists have it much easier to find their target group.

And of course there's more than money to lose here... Identity Theft is a very real threat too.

So next time before you send out your resume, do follow this little checklist:

1. Check the email id of the sender

2. Google up the name of the company - especially if it an offer abroad

3. Try finding the sender on a site like Linkedin.com

4. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!


All I can say is, beware… and pass on the message to your contacts!

Agle Gaane To Copy Karne Ke Liye * Dabanye

Part of my project work involves conducting a Customer Service study. Today I Called up this one customer on his number as per our records and after a couple of rings, a lady picked up and said the customer was in the bathroom and I could speak to her - she asked for my name - I said I was calling from TMFL upon which she suggested that "we should speak alone" - needless to say, I hung up in a hurry feeling quite worried!! I reported this to my boss immediately and he looked at me quite unbelievingly... later on in the evening, he called me to his desk and told me he heard the same lady say the same thing when he called up another customer - it was just a caller tune - incredible.

From Himesh singing (now that’s an oxymoron) his nasal Jhalak Dikla Ja to Nana Patekar’s crazed laughter – chances are if you are calling someone in India on his mobile phone, you will hear any imaginable sound… Sadly, the tring tring is passé. And trust me, no one misses that retro normalcy more than me... Imagine having to make about 50 calls a day in the course of conducting a customer feedback survey and hearing sounds with the genres ranging from Kishore Kumar’s sublime Pal Pal Dil Ke Pas to Akon’s catchy Smack That or even worse – Mithunda’s bizzare dialogue (“Marbo eikhane laash porbe shoshaney” – loosely translated – “If I hit you here, your corpse will land in the crematorium” – this classic is actually from his superhit blockbuster called MLA Fatakeshto)!!! Today, I can empathize with the hundreds of outbound tellecallers and phone marketers who make calls to customers to earn a living – I can only imagine the trauma they face day and day out. Especially if someone sets the caller tune described in para one!

The scary part is, industry experts believe there’s more to come… sample this: “Mobile value added services in India poise to witness significant growth in future. Operators have shifted focus towards providing these services in a market which has observed falling ARPU’s. Over the years the average revenue per unit (ARPU) accruing to operators has been falling, shifting emphasis to alternative means of revenue generation. As average revenue per user decrease from voice drops, and voice becomes commoditized, operators are increasingly looking at data as an additional revenue stream. The end users have also embraced VAS and it contributes between 5-10% of the revenues of different operators. Thus Mobile VAS has become an important element in the growth of mobile telephony in India. The Mobile VAS industry in India was estimated at Rs. 2850 crore at the end of 2006 and was estimated to grow at 60% to touch Rs. 4560 crores at the end of 2007 – furthermore the industry forecasted 39% growth annually from 2007-11. Revised IAMAI & IMRB reports in 2008 suggested that Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS) are to grow 70% YOY to Rs.16520 Crore by 2010.”

“Caller tunes” is the most widely used Mobile VAS used by subscribers in India. Figures suggest that over 25% of India’s 140 million mobile subscribers bought caller ring-back tones and ringtones and this is growing at 25% a month!











Caller tunes are basically music pieces (well, at least they started out as music – today they have evolved and mutated into much weirder “sounds”) which are played to a caller (that’s me) when he is calling another mobile phone user (that’s the customer for his service feedback). This tune is set by the user who is receiving the call according to his taste and choice (bhai, after all we live in a democracy – but trust me freedom of choice has never been more abused)

Mobile phones today have moved beyond their fundamental role of communications and have graduated to become an extension of the persona of the user. We are witnessing an era when users buy mobile phones not just to be in touch, but to express themselves, their attitude, feelings and interests. And this is the major reason for widespread popularity of caller tunes - they allow the users to express themselves offering unmatched personalization and customization ( just like choosing the ring tone which users set on their mobile phone and we are forced to hear when watching a movie or enjoying a quiet dinner date!) Essentially, they have become “fashion” (note: not style) statements with their only real purpose being to show off to caller. (The only silver lining is that I have now acquired the uncanny knack of predicting whether I will get a favourable response from the customer based on his taste and choice of ringtone!) And the operators are quick to grab this opportunity by offering an additional service also allows users to copy tunes from others and set as their own. (Lord have mercy!)

Remember the sadhu with the cellphone picture that we all used extensively in our class presentations to show how far along the cellphone industry has come in India? Now perhaps if you call the sadhu’s phone, you would probably hear a bhajan! Maybe I should get a caller tune too… any suggestions?!

Sources:
1.http://priorartdatabase.com/IPCOM/000167986/
2.http://emergic.org/2008/08/10/indias-mobile-vas-industry/
3.Mobile Value Added Services in India | A Report by IAMAI & eTechnology Group@IMRB | December 2006

Football Movies

I love football - those who know me, know that I swear by Manchester United. And I love watching movies. Thus it is no surprise that I scour the net to find "football movies"... here's the list of the top 11 (well this is a list about football isn't it?) movies I have seen:

1. Bend it like Beckham
My all time favourite! This one showed how popular Beckham was (and still is) - he didn't feature in the movie but even his name in the title gave it a massive push. To be honest, I initially watched it because I was curious about the Beckham connection...

Click on the picture to see movie trailer

Plot: "A comedy about bending the rules to reach your goal, Bend It Like Beckham explores the world of women's football, from kick-abouts in the park to freekicks in the Final. Set in Hounslow, West London and Hamburg, the film follows two 18 year olds with their hearts set on a future in professional soccer. Heart-stopping talent doesn't seem to be enough when your parents want you to hang up your football boots, find a nice boyfriend and learn to cook the perfect chapatti"

2. Goal!

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Plot: "Like millions of kids around the world, Santiago harbors the dream of being a professional footballer. However, living in the Barrios section of Los Angeles, he thinks it is only that--a dream. Until one day an extraordinary turn of events has him trying out for Premiership club Newcastle United"

3. Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
The 2007 John Abhraham - Bipasha Basu - Arshad Warsi flick was the one of best sports movie I have seen coming out of Bollywood (in the league of Chak De! for sure) - it is a contemporary fictional story of the South Asian community in UK through the dynamic prism of professional football. All the actors are very believable in roles as footballers - quite an achievement for Bollywood.

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Decades back, another football movie Saheb starring Anil Kapoor (incidentally it was a remake of a Bengali movie of the same name starring Tapas Pal) was quite good too.

4. Goal II: Living the Dream

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Plot: Here after gaining experience with Newcastle United, Santiago Munez gets the break of his life when he's transferred to Real Madrid - it features the Galacticos in person - Beckham, Zidane, Raul & co. - was pretty decent sequel to the original...

Caution!: Don't waste your time with Goal III: Taking on the World... it was an absolute shocker! The lamest football movie I have seen.

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5. The Damned United
Watched this one last nite after seeing Manchester United beat Aresenal 2-1 at Old Trafford. Was well worth staying up till 2 in the morning for...

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Plot: "Taking over England's top football club Leeds United, previously successful manager Brian Clough's abrasive approach and his clear dislike of the players' dirty style of play make it certain there is going to be friction. Glimpses of his earlier career help explain both his hostility to previous manager Don Revie and how much he is missing right-hand man Peter Taylor who has loyally stayed with Brighton & Hove Albion."

6. Green Street Hooligans
This one does well to show the ugly side of football.

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Plot: "Unjustly expelled from Harvard when a stash of cocaine is found in his possession, Matt moves to London to live with his sister and her husband Steve. He is quickly introduced to Steve's chirpy, cock-sure younger brother Pete. Initially, Pete is reluctant to get acquainted with Matt and allow him to tread around the capital city with him because he may be seen by others as an 'outsider', but after a heavy drinking session with him and his mates he quickly changes his opinion of him. On the way back from a football match, Matt is viciously accosted by a gang of Birmingham City thugs, until Pete and his friends step in and save him. It is from here that Matt learns the truth about Pete and his friends- they are football hooligans, operating the GSE (Green Street Elite) 'firm.' Initially afraid of the violence, Matt soon ends up becoming as desensitized to it as his new found friends - but as events roll on, suspicion, shocking revelations and unsettled scores combine to a devastating climax where London's most fierce football rivals - Millwall and West Ham United - are set to go head to head."

7. The Football Factory
Another, more in your face movie, that deals with the advent of hooliganism in football - particularly English football.

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Plot: "The Football Factory is more than just a study of the English obsession with football violence, its about men looking for armies to join, wars to fight and places to belong. A forgotten culture of Anglo Saxon males fed up with being told they're not good enough and using thier fists as a drug they describe as being more potent than sex and drugs put together. Shot in documentery style with the energy and vibrancy of handheld, The Football Factory is frightingly real yet full of painful humour as the four characters extreme thoughts and actions unfold before us."

8. Mean Machine: Perhaps inspired by "Escape to Victory" but was quite entertaining!

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Plot: "Disgraced ex-England captain (Danny 'Mean Machine' Meehan) is thrown in jail for assaulting two police officers. Whilst in jail, he doesn't recieve any favours because of his celebrity status in the outside world. He is out numbered and many prisoners constantly barrage him with insults for letting down his country in a crucial World Cup game. He keeps his head down and has the opportunity to forget everything and change the lives of the prisoners. These prisoners have the chance to put one over the evil guards. The prisoners are lead by Danny and the whole of the prison, guards aside, are behind them. Game on..."

9. Escape to Victory: Starring Sylvester Stallone and the biggest football stars of its time including Pele, this was sure worth the watch!

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Plot: "In World War II, a group of Nazi officers come up with a propaganda event in which an all star Nazi team will play a team composed of Allied Prisoners of War in a Soccer (Football) game. The Prisoners agree, planning on using the game as a means of escape from the camp."

10. Shaolin Soccer
Arguably the funniest and the silliest football movie ever made!

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Plot: "Shaolin Soccer is a 2001 Hong Kong comedy film co-written and directed by Stephen Chow, who also stars in the film. A former Shaolin monk reunites his five brothers, years after their master's death, to apply their superhuman martial arts skills to play soccer and bring Shaolin kung fu to the masses."

11. She's The Man
An American College chick-flick that is an adaptation of the Bard's "Twelfth Night, or What You Will" with football (I refuse to call it soccer) being the theme...

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Plot: "Here's the thing Viola's soccer team at Cornwall got cut so she wanted to join the boys team, but they did not allow. So she thought "If you can't join them, beat them". And so she does, she disguises herself as her twin brother Sebastian, and goes out for the Illyria Boys Soccer Team. But she didn't plan falling in love with her roommate Duke. But the thing is Duke has his eye on Olivia. The thing that makes matters worse Olivia starts to fall for Sebastian who actually is a girl and she/he has a sensitive side. If things couldn't get more problematical the real Sebastian (who is in London working on his music) comes home early. He arrives on campus and has no clue that he was replaced by his twin sister."




The Subs i.e. The ones I am awaiting eagerly to watch!


12. The Dream Team
Ok - so this isn't a movie but the one season that was showed on TV in India on ESPN Star captured my imagination - am waiting to see all the seasons...

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Plot: "Dream Team is a British television series produced by Hewland International which aired on Sky1 and Sky3 from 1997 to 2007, that chronicled the on-field and off-field affairs of the fictional Harchester United F.C.. Events in the series have proved to be uncannily similar to those surrounding Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers in recent seasons. The club is based in the fictional town of Harchester (which is said to be close to Tamworth) in the West Midlands. Most fans consider Lynda Block, played by Alison King and Karl Fletcher, played by Terry Kiely to be the two most popular characters."

13. The Game of Their Lives

Plot: "Based on a true story, this film tells the tale of the 1950 US soccer team who, against all odds, beat England 1 - 0 in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Although no US team has ever won a World Cup title, this story is about the family traditions and passions which shaped the lives of the players who made up this team of underdogs."

14. Joyeux Noël- Merry Christmas

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Plot: "In 1914, World War I, the bloodiest war ever at that time in human history, was well under way. However on Christmas Eve, numerous sections of the Western Front called an informal, and unauthorized, truce where the various front-line soldiers of the conflict peacefully met each other in No Man's Land to share a precious pause in the carnage with a fleeting brotherhood. This film dramatizes one such section as the French, Scottish and German sides partake in the unique event, even though they are aware that their superiors will not tolerate its occurrence."

15. Fever Pitch
Nope not the Drew Barrymore one with the Baseball theme released as the Perfect Catch outside of the states - this is one with Arsenal in the movie - no prizes for guessing why I am putting last on the list! :)

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Plot: "A romantic comedy about a man, a woman and a football team. Based on Nick Hornby's best selling autobiographical novel, Fever Pitch. English teacher Paul Ashworth (Colin Firth) believes his long standing obsession with Arsenal serves him well. But then he meets Sarah. Their relationship develops in tandem with Arsenal's roller coaster fortunes in the football league, both leading to a nail biting climax."

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Any movie you think I have missed? Give me a shout...

(Plots courtesy IMDB.com and posters mainly from impawards.com)