Consumerism broken down & explained like never before!

This is by far the best explanation of consumerism and its impact on the global village I have ever come across. It is explained with great insight into history, politics, and economic and environmental impact. It gives detailed yet simple answers to many of the wonder whys that have sprung in at least my mind over the years. 

I loved the idea of 'perceived obsolescence' the most. Isn't it the look and feel of our phones, kitchen wear, computers, hand bags, and eye shades that makes us feel out-dated and old fashioned and drives us go shopping every couple of months to satisfy ourselves? One of my favourite sayings is: 'I shopped all my life and yet have nothing to wear'! 

I was surprised to learn that it was in the 1950's the national happiness peaked in the US, a time when women stayed at home, when there were hardly any fast food chains, fewer short cuts to everyday chores, fewer avenues for instant gratification and entertainment, fewer channels on TV and no internet or the "I-phamily" (ipods, iphones etc.) what so ever? A time when US was more like the developing countries today? A time when people had time! 

I love this video for its simplicity and pictorial digestion. If you're a pictorial person like most others, you will feel as you go through the 22 minutes how well you've digested all the numbers, facts and connections because they were graphs, charts and flow charts to go with the  entire verbal presentation. 

Next time I go shopping for something I 'want' and don't really 'need', this whole cycle of consumerism will play in my head and I hope it will make me shop sensibly (buy less, and buy fair trade options where available) and use and reuse until there really is nothing much left of my stuff! 

Following the fashion is out-dated. Brag your old stuff lasting you over the years! Brag your own style. Find a way to stop this cycle of consumerism within your lifestyle and the small circle of influence around you. 

Chal Parha’, is what we call, ‘truly inspiring’ . ‘Chal Parha’ is a project by Shehzad Roy; it is nothing short of an educational reform mission for the public school system of Pakistan. Shehzad Roy, apart from being an awesome pop singer,  has been a dedicated giver and worker in the education sector of Pakistan. Many have been impressed with his passion and work shown through his project called‘Zindagi Trust’. Zindagi Trust focuses on 3 key objectives: reforming public schools, educating working children and lobbying the government to improve education policy.

However the most recent project of Zindagi Trust is this new education themed show on Geo, Chal Parha,  which aims to bring the issue of Education forefront in the eyes of the public and the government using the power of Media. Unfortunately we hear so much of gas, electricity, bombing and lawlessness that we have forgotten that there are more important longer term issues waiting to be addressed – such as Education. Eloquently put by Shehzad, “the issue is that Education is not even considered an issue anymore!” The video i.e episode 1 of  Chal Parha is self explanatory but what we admire about this project is the way is it being carried out. Many have worked in the field of education; however after one boom of appreciation usually the spirit of supporters and fund raisers dies down and the initiative is popped over into the bucket of the ‘so many NGOs that build schools…’. What makes this project different is its constant reminder through media; episode by episode the audience will stay engaged and hooked onto the developments and issues of education as Mr.Roy continues his journey from school to school.

The project has not only highlighted one of the biggest hiccups of our public education system, i.e the absenteeism of teachers but also suggested & implemented a very advanced attendance (finger print entry) system to find a cure to this problem. The data feed from this attendance system will show live on Geo – which is another level of transparency for the audience and incentive (or stick!) for the teachers to ensure their timely attendance! Chal Parha is also pin pointing on other issues in public schools with great insight and transparency; these include the issues of 'physical abuse', 'official language for medium of instruction', 'hazardous condition of school buildings', 'outdated curriculum'  and the extent of disparity between the private and public sector schools. 

Apart from the issues covered, what we’re also excited about is the breathtaking views and the diversity of the country the show promises to highlight with Shehzad Roy biking from one end of Pakistan to the other.

Way to go Shehzad Roy! 

Note: An earlier version of this post is also posted on the Inspire Pakistan blog. 

Chacha valentine!

Many stories have been shared about the origins of valentines day to justify it, or to defame it, to further sugar-coat it or to 'de-myth' it. In the west, where this day originates, lives are busier, more detached, independent - people tend to live in their cocoons through out the year, barring a few days like Valentines when they halt their mechanical lives and spend a breath or few to pay due attention to partners, parents, loved ones etc. Days like mothers day, fathers day, family day make a lot more sense in this format of life where you need to 'stop' to spend time with those around you. And this is so because either children have moved out to be on their own, or because the parents are by themselves near the country side, a different town or an old age home.

But what does a day like Valentines mean to a developing and struggling country like Pakistan? For one, the nation has a divided stance on this topic; as you can see in the picture above, the anti-valentines day campaign by tanzeem and the response to that by Peaceniche, the NGO behind T2F. In a country where the nation faces an extreme divide in terms of  wealth, mindset, education and standard of living - valentines day comes as an added deterrent to unity and harmony. The quite opposite of Love! The billboard and poster here show the lack of harmony in our society. Gradually this seemingly harmless freedom of thought is becoming a larger and more damaging civil war. It's ironic that on this supposed the day of love, we are arguing about the celebration of love. This is because in countries like Pakistan, values of culture, religion, tradition supersede these recently adopted trends and new trends will always be bench-marked or evaluated against the list above.

My stance here isn't 'No to Valentines', neither is it pro-Valentines. What I despise about this corporate-mandated day of Louve! (call me sarcastic) is this 'compulsion' to express love. Not just express but publicly display our love. I know I have a choice not to celebrate this day but Do I, Really? Because while I'm sitting here all chilled writing this post, most of my other friends are making plans of surprising their loved ones and expecting even bigger ones in return. Once they are done, the results of these will proudly be displayed on facebook and then post V-day, there will be phone calls and messages between girl friends flaunting their day, the diamond rings, the bunches of flowers, the dinners and the places they went to celebrate d-day. And I too shall be asked, 'So how did you celebrate valentines day?'. That's when I'm pushed out of my comfort zone to question: is valentines day really a true measure of how much your family, husband, partner loves you? I think its a pretty bad yard-stick to measure or judge love against. Moreover, the majority of our country (barring 1% of the elite, who drive the culture of lavish parties on v-day) cannot afford wasteful expenditure on gifts, cards, flowers or jewels all of which are double the price on this day, but they are somewhat pressurized to do so, because it is gradually becoming the 'in thing to do'. So just like our mehendis and weddings catch-up with the extravagant trends of  society, so will our attitude on valentines day unless we consciously try not to get carried away.

Even worse, valentines day has now been positioned as the day to 'pop the question'. It has sadly been established that if a girl is not proposed to on the 14th of Feb, she will have to wait the entire year to be proposed. According to a survey, 53% females in the US would end a relationship if they were not given a gift on Valentines day (rising expectations?)  and 14% would send themselves flowers on valentines day (talk about self-esteem). It is more sad to see the number of heart broken on valentines day than is amusing to see the public display of love-birds. Just recently a friend called me frantically asking what she should do on this valentines for her boy-friend, and shared her anxiousness on how if he didn't propose this time, he probably never would. Proposals aren't timed against public days, there are timed against personal situations, feelings, commitments, confidence, the ability to support a family and support from parents and family (specially in our Pakistani context).

At the end of the day, like anything else commercially driven, it becomes a rat-race, nothing personal, losing its charm. I'm not against celebrating a day of love with your loved ones. But let that day be special, unique, uncommon with the rest of the world, shared between the two people who care about each other, rather than the whole world. If Chacha (St.) Valentine did ever exist, he would have liked to keep it simple too.

It's love, so let it be personal.

With Love!
- [Not] your valentine

You're doing OK...Mom

Came across this tear touching video by Johnsons & Johnsons Co. I usually view such branded ads cynically; having worked for brands I know the motivation behind such TVCs and teasers is mainly increased recall and loyalty via emotional branding. But at the end of the day, I am a consumer too and I did shed a tear or two watching this video. I actually felt like I needed this one tonight as I wrapped up the day at 2:00 am not feeling too great after the difficult 'putting my baby to sleep' session and returning to the long scribble that remains unticked-off on my 'to do' list. 

It's true that just a little 'thank you' , a word or two of appreciation can sometimes make the most difficult job in the world...just a little bit easier. Thank You J&J, for making my night. 

From Brand Management to Baby Management....

Ahh, finally - my draft becomes a post. I have many times in the past few months attempted to return to blogging, but as the title may hint, I was going through something more overwhelming than overcoming a writers block. Yes - I said hello to motherhood. Motherhood in one word , mmm, lets say two words , "beautifully overwhelming"

Before 8th June 2012, I worked on brands, made activation and media plans, followed up with my agency, approved creatives, ran research results and business reviews and thought how sexy and challenging my day job is. In the evenings I rushed home to prepare dinner before my husband arrives, then efficiently cleaned up after dinner, we both watched tv till 11pm or so, and off to bed we were all set for a repeat cycle of the above. I thought life was so perfectly management - i was a super woman...I WAS.

Then our little baby girl happened, an in a span of one week I had shifted from brand management to baby management. Overwhelming - more difficult than any job I had done, even more complex than Investment Banking and Derivatives that played in once upon a time. 

I suddenly realised I could no longer claim to be super-woman, my home was no longer always clean , and tidy. I was no longer clean and bathed, not even fed some days. My baby was the only thing I could barely manage that too not without my husband's support. Those were the first few weeks though.Things get a lot better after 3 months (for all those pregnant ladies who are scared reading this so far). You can start blogging after 3 months at least :) 

But one thing we never gave up on was fun - we decided we wouldn't let our baby become an excuse for being stuck at home, so at 3 weeks we took her for an 8hr (with diaper changing stops) road trip to montreal. It was lovely - i was barely out of c-section blues but the trip made me cheer for myself a bit. 

I found managing the baby in a trip to be easier than at home, because there's no home stuff to do, like cleaning/ cooking etc, plus babies sleep longer in the car so feeding intervals became slightly more comfortable. 

I think this is a good enough come back - I shall resume with the many other half written drafts (some on my blogger site, others in my mind while I change diapers) in the next few days :) 

ciao! 

SeekersGuidance - Raising Children with Deen and Dunya - Blog

SeekersGuidance - Raising Children with Deen and Dunya - Blog

Brand Pakistan: Pakistani Female Wins First Oscar for the Country

Its all over the news, international media and local Pakistani media...and everyone is talking about it, its a reason for Pakistanis to raise their necks and feel proud that their country midst all the negativity from the international media over the years is able to breakthrough and project sparks that make the international audience wonder if they have been wrong about Pakistan all this time. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, the director of "Saving Face" won the first Oscar Award for Pakistan this year and proved that Pakistanis can battle their way through all odds to make it big and make a difference! She is a true representative of the Pakistani nation - the nation that is talented, hard working, kicking for change - they only need to be heard and seen on platforms like these...many are under the cover, working behind scenes like Sharmeen but their voice is not being heard midst the noise of 'stereotypical statements' of the western media...surely Oscar is also a western platform and deserves recognition for unearthing talent from across the world irrespective of race, ethnicity and nationalism. This is yet another example and plea to the audience of the world at large to steer away from the stereotypical image of Pakistan and make an effort to see the reality on ground through mediums other than the 'biased news channels'.

Note that this too, like many other success stories coming out of Pakistan, is the story of a female's victory (and what does the media tell you about [suppressed?] Pakistani women...?