Powerless

July 14, 2008 - I was busy sitting at my desk in my office tower when the reports started trickling in. Many parts of Vancouver's downtown core were going dark. I quickly saved my work on my computer so that I would not lose it and checked the regional power provider's website to see the extent of the electrical outage. BC Hydro was reporting that almost the entire business district had been affected. My building was located in the eye of the hurricane. Panic engulfed the businesses of the city with their near absolute reliance on electricity. All around me buildings were engulfed in darkness, stores were shuttered, food started to rot, and office workers were given the rest of day off, as my building remained unaffected.

With the generators working admirably to provide electrical power, it was business as usual for my coworkers and I. At lunchtime I ventured outside into the empty streets of Vancouver. An eerie silence was my only companion. I surveyed the deserted cityscape in search of an establishment providing food. After a long trek I arrived at the intersection of Burrard and Smithe. A solitary hot dog stand was all that separated civilization from anarchy.

A dignified crowd of about 20 working professionals who had not gone home or to the beach had formed a queue at the famed Japadog stand. The purveyors of specialty hot dogs, Japadog, infuse Japanese ingredients into the North American staple. My Terimayo hot dog was coated with teriyaki sauce, mayonnaise, and seaweed. I devoured it in a few minutes. Japadog says that "Our English is very poor. The followings may make mistakes. We are sorry" but "We will do my best for supplying most delicious hotdog in the world". They lived up to their promise, escepecially in a time of crisis.

Thums Up

It is quite common for a country or region to have a signature drink. Usually it is alcoholic in nature. A small sample from the world of beer would include Steinlager (New Zealand), Heineken (Netherlands), Guinness (Ireland), Corona (Mexico), Foster's (Australia), Medalla Light (Puerto Rico), and Budweiser (USA). The king of beers in India is Kingfisher. United Breweries, run by the enigmatic Vijay Mallya, has the lion's share of the Indian beer market and is the third largest producer of spirits worldwide. Although quite tasty, it is not the beverage that unites a people. This honour belongs to a carbonated soft drink: Thums Up.

After Coca Cola was forced to withdraw from India in the 1970's a homegrown cola rose to take its place. With no serious competition in the cola market, Thums Up ruled supreme. In the 1990's government hard restrictions on soft drinks were lifted, and Pepsi and Coca-Cola soon entered the market. Thums Up stood toe to toe against the massive marketing might of Pepsi Cola for a time, until Coke's entry made it a three way tango. The Indian owner of Thums Up eventually relented against this international onslaught and sold Thums Up to Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola would ideally have liked its namesake drink to be the flagship product in its lineup. so it tried to marginalize Thums Up. Reducing its marketing budget and focusing its promotional efforts on Coke were not enough to eliminate the beverage. The nation's love affair with Thums Up was too strong. Deciding to build on its distinctiveness, Coca Cola repositioned Thums Up as a manlier alternative to Coke and Pepsi. As a drink that distinguishes men from boys, Thums Up was a constant source of refreshment during my journeys through India.

*****

Taste the Thunder!

Unforgettable

Aishwarya Rai, the world's most beautiful woman, was scheduled to perform in front of me on August 17th. She was to be accompanied on stage by her husband Abhishek Bachchan and her legendary father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, where they would dance to beats of popular Bollywood film songs. Aishwarya remarked “I am thrilled to be a part of such a splendid event that promises to promote Indian cinema on a global platform. An event of such a magnitude will surely be something to look out for and I am eagerly looking forward to it”. I too was eagerly awaiting my audience with her, when I heard the devastating news that she would not be coming.

The Vancouver leg of the "Unforgettable" tour was slashed from the schedule for reasons that were not publicised. Rumours included low ticket sales due to inflated prices and an inability of the organizers of the event to pay the handsome fees demanded by the beautiful actress and her fellow stars. Tickets that were purchased by the disappointed fans of the icons of Indian cinema were refunded, leaving them with a full wallet, empty fantasies, and an unforgettable experience.

*****

Dard hota hai jab dard chubhtaa nahii. (Translation: True pain doesn't even sting.)
- a line from the song Kajra Re in the movie Bunty aur Babli

Musical Weekend: Aerosmith & Jagjit Singh

Rock and roll legends Aerosmith, led by front man Steven Tyler, made their way to Bangalore to perform in front an enthusiastic crowd of youngsters. It was their first performance in India. Held on the expansive Palace Grounds, a crowd of 30,000 enjoyed the two hour long concert. Quite a few of my friends had come over from Hyderabad for the concert. I am not a fan but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up, so I went also. I enjoyed the spectacle even though I was not familiar with all of the songs.

In the same weekend, ghazal singer Jagjit Singh performed in front of a much older crowd at Ambedkar Bhawan. A ghazal is a form of poetic expression that has Arabic origins, usually dealing with topics such as love and pain. The complete Aerosmith concert was shorter in duration than the first half of Jagjit Singh's marathon performance. Including the intermission, the concert lasted approximately five hours. The crowd here had a much greater knowledge of the songs performed by the artist having grown up listening to him, and sang along on quite a few occasions with their enthusiasm and appreciation increasing as the hours went by.

*****

Cause even when I dream of you
The sweetest dream will never do
I'd still miss you, babe
And I don't wanna miss a thing

- Aerosmith, from the Armageddon soundtrack

Girlicious

Natalie. Nichole. Chrystina. Tiffanie.

The winners of the second season of the reality television series Pussycat Dolls Present would go on to form the group known as Girlicious. Opening for the Backstreet Boys later that night, they were signing autographs at the flagship HMV store in downtown Vancouver one day. Almost identical in artistic style and dress sense to the Pussycat Dolls, the band has a diverse makeup of performers. They also wear a considerable amount of makeup as I discovered when they walked past me, giggling and waving with great enthusiasm. They were also shorter in person than the statuesque figures I had seen on television so I was somewhat disappointed. The line for autographs circled the external perimeter of the entire store, with hundreds of eager youth waiting outside for a chance to meet them. I had to get back to work, so I did not join the lineup.

"Three girls in this group is great, four girls are Girlicious." - Robin Antin, creator of the Pussycat Dolls