Monday, May 28, 2007

Havent you done kids yet?



Extend lifecyle blah blah...latent need....Different segments.blah blah...leverage existing equity...create buzz blah blah...innovate... do Kids Version!

Havent you done that for your brand yet?

Is this called Wild Driving?



This must be cliched to guys living in Dubai but this is my all time favorite photograph.

This was featured in Gulf News - a finnish lady back in dubai on vacation had taken this picture - car driving on Sheik Zayed Road ( possibly the busiest 6 lane roads in the world!), near the Mall of Emirates ( you can see that in the background).

And yes, the cute guy peeping out is indeed a TIGER! So much for protecting the endangered species.

Saturday, May 26, 2007

The Grey Nissan Maxima S Touring and the Emirates Road



I drive the Nissan Maxima. Made in 2004, it has a 3 ltr engine, is grey in colour, with a nice sounding model name 'S Touring'.
Not a exceptional looking car, I bought it without any research, from a Used Car Dealer(!), no service history, it had already done 90K on the odo, and the insurance guys definately did not like it! And worse, a couple of days back, when i had popped in to the company service station for a service, they checked the chassis number in the data base and went " you have a really bad car! (no, he never inspected the car) This car was owned by Budget Car Rental Company and they have serviced it just once so far!
Not that iam unhappy with it - i think the Maxima is really great. But, why did i do what i did - bought myself a Maxima in a hurry?
Well, in the first month in Dubai, i had rented a car to travel from my home in Gusais to work in Jebel Ali. A 56 km stretch through the legendary Emirates Road, i had chosen the fine Toyota Corolla to do it. Things were pleasant, except that the moment i decide to try the fast lane (the middle lane was awfully slow and would take you 30minutes more to get home), there was this huge car 2 cms behind, flashing lights like lightning suggesting i give way. I would have loved to, but the poor Corolla could never ever understand my hurry.
At that time, i thought it was an unwritten rule that the fast lane was meant for real cars (the Landcruiser ruled!) and word got around to me that the Maxima commanded a lot of respect, especially with the tailgating fraternity.
Today, driving down the Emirates road with my grey Maxima S Touring, i still get the same flashes the moment i get on to the fast lane. But, then my maxima knows to get out of the way like hell!!!







Thursday, May 24, 2007

Jammin at Festival City





With Suji and Eesha back in Madras on vacation, here was lonely me walking around this new mall - Dubai Festival City.

A really lovely place this - The water from the creek has been roped into the corner of the mall ( called the canal walk), with nice restaurants and walk ways . They even have a abra doing small rounds for you.

Yesterday there were these couple of guys ( all part of the show there to rope in crowds; not many have bitten so far) playing guitar. Patrick ( i think...) doing lots of Dylan, Mr. Johny Cash, the Doors and Bob Marley as well. That was one real nice and quite evening. Some pictures of the musician. I really love this, except wish there was less noise in the pictures. Guess i need to figure out how to work better with the large 70-300 mm lens.




Sunday, May 20, 2007

A boat (abra) ride by the Dubai Creek
















An active transportation sytem, what with speed limit signs, et all, exists to help people cross between burdubai and diera in dubai. Crossing the creek costs Dhs. 1 (Rs. 12) per passenger. Some pics i shot while on a boat ride!


The Eye of the Beholder


A mask that was lying at home. Eesha and i were toying around in our studio ( our bathroom). Lighting used - candles. I thought this looked good!.

Sunday, May 13, 2007

Innocence




I dont even know if i got the spelling of innocence right....but then we all were just that at some time in our life. Thats eesha by the way!

Sunday, May 6, 2007

Three Generations



Three generations of knowing each other...

Here is Eesha and Niveda (Eesha is my daughter, the smaller kid. Niveda is Gautham's).

Gautham's and my folks went out last night and the kids went and bought themselves a brown coloured Salwar ( the same design) ..both looked so cute and similar...almost like sisters...it struck me...three generations have come into being!

Gautham's father ( Chandrasekaran) and mine (Veluswamy) were were collegues at Reserve Bank of India, Chennai, we guys classmates at BIM! And now, our kids meet!