Just In Bieber-mania

Success doesn’t have to come at an age, not for someone who has an endowment of the art he wants to succeed in.

What does it take to be gifted a Range Rover on your 16th birthday? What makes almost 4.5 million fans follow your tweets and nearly 9.5 million others, like your profile on Facebook? And what excites millions of young teenage girls chase a middle-class background guy? I presume, you are thinking: May be phenomenal success on cricket field in India or election in world’s most powerful country or even being a soccer master cum style icon like Beckham can get one there. I bet you are mistaken: This guy is getting three times as many searches as David Beckham in the UK, despite being relatively unheard of there. And there is at least one more number that will leave you without an answer! And that is: 253 million views of his music video on YouTube and counting, highest ever by anyone in any aspect of human endeavour! Tune in with Justin Bieber, the 16 year old whiz musician from Ontario, Canada, who is out to rock the world with his teen-pop songs.
  
The magic of the simple lyrics, when sung in to the childlike reverberation of the prodigy’s vocals have been casting a spell on audiences across seas and cultures. Bieber’s first single ‘One Time’ about one of his favorite topics, puppy love has been watched 157 million times on YouTube alone.
‘One Time’
….
Me plus you, I'ma tell you one time
One time, one time
….
….
Your world is my world
And my fight is your fight
My breath is your breath
And your heart
…
…

Bieber was just 13 when Chris "Tricky" Stewart produced "One Time" reached the top 30 in more than 10 countries. "One Time" was released to radio while Bieber was still recording his debut album. The song reached number 12 on the Canadian Hot 100 during its first week of release in July 2009 and later peaked at number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was certified Platinum in Canada and the U.S. and Gold in Australia and New Zealand. Bieber's first album My World, was released on November 17, 2009. Thereafter three consecutive singles, "One Less Lonely Girl", "Love Me", and "Favorite Girl", were released exclusively on the iTunes store and all of them charted within the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100. But the song that became Bieber's biggest hit till date was ‘Baby’. An up-tempo R&B, blending together doo-wop and hip-hop elements, it was available for digital download on January 18, 2010. And within seven months of that in July 2010, ‘Baby’ became the most viewed video in YouTube history.

‘Baby’
…
Oh woah oh

You know you love me
I know you care
Just shout whenever
and I'll be there

You want my love
You want my heart
And we will never ever ever be apart
….
….
Baby baby baby oh
Like baby baby baby no
Like baby baby baby oh
I thought you'd always been mine (mine)
….
….
‘Baby’ peaked at number one in France, and charted in the top ten of the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, Norway, Japan, Ireland, Hungary, Belgium, Ireland, Slovakia, and New Zealand. 
The Struggles:
The initial years of this baby-faced teen sensation were not what even most of his fans are having. Born on March 1, 1994, in Stratford, Ontario, until recently, this Jewish kid was a regular boy who played hockey and soccer and lived in low-income housing with his mother Pattie Mallette. Mallette, was just 18 years old when she became pregnant. She raised Bieber as a single mother working a series of low-paying office jobs to make ends meet. As a teenager herself, she dreamed of becoming an actress. And though her plans got thwarted when she became pregnant at 18, she tried to get Justin all he needed with her little resources. Bieber taught himself piano, drums, guitar and trumpet, took drum lessons and yowled pop tunes while doing his daily stuff. Initially, Justin kept his musical passions to himself. At 12, he entered a local talent contest Stratford Idol, and without any singing lessons and vocal coaches, came second. Justin began opening up and that summer started busking in front of a Stratford theater earning nearly $3,000. Recalling those days of 2007 Ms. Mallette said in an interview, “He took us on our first vacation ever,”. “We went to Disneyland.”
Ms. Mallette started posting homemade videos on YouTube, where this multi-talented scrappy athlete and chess player put his impeccable spin on songs from artists like Usher, Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder. This soul singing phenomenon racked up over 10,000,000 views on You Tube purely from word of mouth. That was when Atlanta-based hip-hop manager Scooter Braun accidentally found Justin on You Tube. Braun convinced Ms. Mallette to let Bieber, then 13, fly to Atlanta, Georgia, to record demo tapes. A week after arriving, Bieber sang for R&B singer/songwriter Usher. Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher.
NOW Justin and his mother live in Atlanta. He is tutored privately and takes vocal lessons, the costs subventioned by Island Def Jam records and the R & B superstar Usher. Now that Justin covers the length and breadth of the world singing for his millions of fans, the child in him still likes to skateboard through airports and play video games moments before he goes on stage. The New York Times wrote, ‘Justin has become ridiculously successful at an age so tender that his preferred mode of greeting is a hug.’ Probably Justin knows that well. So he tweeted earlier this month, “Im still the small town kid you all found on youtube and im hyped to see the world." So, how does a 16-year-old define success? “I grew up with not a lot of money,” Justin replied. “We never owned a house. I want to buy my mom a house.”
Justin has his work ethics and eyes set on future, “The harder you work, the more successful you can be. This is just the beginning for me”.

Photo Credit: eonline.com

Center of Rationality!

Comment to the article 'Let’s reap the faith' by Fareed Zakaria:
  
The difficulty about any religion is that it seeks identity beyond the realm of rationality. While the quest for identity is a natural phenomenon about any sect, identity in a modern world of multiple identities can’t come through scriptures and other traditional ways. Islam or Hinduism or Christianity can’t be different in an open world where universalisation of values is the order. When someone is trying to justify or vilify the existence of an Islamic Center near the WTC memorial site in New York, both should understand that the validity of their stance depends upon the context of the situation. No one should doubt concerns about the role of Islamic fundamentalists in creating disorder around the world and hence about such a center. But the fact that the Islamic fundamentalism itself is not a segregated phenomenon but apart from other factors, probably a reaction out of hegemonic and discriminatory policies of the West led modern world necessitates the need for soul searching and reconciliatory steps on the part of Western countries. If the West wants Islam to come out of its 6th century mould, West too needs to come out of its Christian bias. As they say, until you do not change yourself, you can’t change others. On the part of the the moderate Muslims, they would do well to convince the US people that the center ought to be there because rationality and propriety demands that, and the center would be symbol of a modern inclusive world and not a sixth century theocratic religion.

Inspiring Innovation

What would you do when you suddenly have enough money to do whatever you want? Launch businesses, go on a shopping spree, have fun…or simply splurge. Well, this is precisely where you would find that you can learn something from Nandan Nilekani.

When Bill Drayton coined the phrase ‘social entrepreneurs’ in 1981, he won’t have imagined that in the then so called third world of India, a man will rise to make society his enterprise through business. That was the year in which Nandan Nilekani along with N. R. Narayan Murthy and five other friends founded Infosys. Infosys went on to become India’s most successful software firm,  most admired and innovative company and first Indian company to be listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange of the US…and all of this in less than a three decades of its foundation.
So what is it that makes Nandan an asset to the humanity in every possible dimension of the term social entrepreneur? What makes this iconic technocrat entrepreneur a sought after figure to ensure that social welfare schemes reach to the weakest and the poorest (Chair of Unique Identification Authority of India)?  And what makes the man not just an innovator but one who inspires innovations and much more? Remember, three times Pulitzer Prize winning author Thomas Friedman credits Nilekani for inspiring his book, ‘The World is Flat’. 
In fact it is one word that has been a constant sailor of the Nandan rhetoric: Idea. Nandan Nilekani in his 531 page book based upon 126 interviews, “Imagining India: Ideas for the New Century” throughout talks about ideas. Actually, the whole book is divided as: The Ideas that have arrived, Ideas in progress, Ideas in battle and Ideas to anticipate. And Mr. Nilekani’s book of ideas has been an extraordinary success, topping bestseller lists in the US.  When Vir Sanghvi asked him in an interview, “How does it feel to know that your ideas are reaching Americans who’ve never heard of you or of Infosys?” Nandan replied:  ‘It’s a great feeling. It’s actually the best feeling. That’s the kind of thing I really enjoy. What was Infosys? It was an idea. What do we owe our success to? To ideas, not to labour and machinery. And now I find that my ideas are influencing people I have never met. How can I not enjoy that?’
                Born in a well-educated, South Indian middle-class Brahmin family, Nandan Nilekani grew up in a very modest environment.  Nandan calls himself an accidental entrepreneur who never thought of being a tycoon. But even after founding a fast growing software firm, he bought his first car only at the end of the decade of 80s. But there is more to that. Today Infosys is the 4th largest Indian company by market capitalization and his personal wealth is in excess of Rs 3,000 crore. But still Nandan carries the most primitive mobile that you can ever think of and drew a modest salary of Rs 40 lakh last year without billing any other expense to the company! His lifestyle didn’t change much even thirty years after a series of lucky opportunities. When asked about it he once said, “The whole idea of being an entrepreneur, creating values and bringing change was not about that. We wanted to build a company based upon middle class values of ethics and honesty where people are treated as human capital.” Upon money he said, “I really don’t have many expensive tastes. I have more money than I will ever need. My children will not join the company and I believe in the middle-class tradition that they should earn a living themselves. So what am I going to do with the money? Leave it to charity when I die? In that case, why not use it to do some good while I’m alive?” 
Nandan has always stood to his words. His wife Rohini is the chairperson of Akshara Foundation, Pratham Books and Arghyam. Akshara Foundation is dedicated to education and the Arghyam trust tackles water issues.  He also launched New India Foundation way back in 2004 to support genuine research on post-Independence Indian history. And even after a busy life schedule he can be seen among school kids from the disadvantaged sections discussing their anxieties and aspirations. 
Another reason why Nandan Nilekani is much more than a technocrat is his constant association with public service assignments. He co-founded and chaired the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), a partnership between the citizens, corporates and the administrative agencies, for almost three years since 2000. He is the member of the review committee of the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and member of the Sam Pitroda headed National Knowledge Commission. He is also part of the National Advisory Group on e-Governance and was the chairman of the Government of India’s IT Task Force for Power. In January 2006, he became one of the youngest entrepreneurs to join 20 global leaders on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Foundation Board.
All of the above were amateur associations.  But in July 2009 he relinquished the post of CEO and MD of Infosys Nandan Nilekani to chair the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Many people said that heading a government organization was not like managing a tech juggernaut since nothing succeeds in India on the government level. Mr. Nilekani wrote on his blog, “I have long been a champion of a reform approach that is inclusive of the poor, and in my book, I described unique identity as one of the key steps for achieving this goal….When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered me the opportunity to head the UIDAI, I saw it as a chance to help enable ideas I have supported for a long time.” He concluded saying, “I hope that together, we will be able to make this initiative an enormous success.”
One year down the line, the doubts are subsiding. UIDAI is heading towards emerging as a role model for the governments world over where delivery of welfare schemes remain the greatest challenge.
                      
Photo Credit: http://www.hindu.com/

OUTPERFORM YOUR IMAGINATION

Chic yet strong, Outlander 2010 is a comfortable, high-performance car capable of taking on the rest of the soft-roading world.

Yes, the hairy chest is gone, so is the lump of lard, and the muscles are sleekly defined now. But there’s still that reassuring stubble around the face. Rohit Bal’s new inspiration is definitely not one of the SUVs on the road.

It makes you an artist and a warrior of the road at the same time; it makes you a chap and a man at the same time. The avant-garde fashion designer inspired new hunk on the road, Outlander, is a perfect lifestyle vehicle. Stylish looks, great performance, plush interiors, innovative features and one that lends itself to business purposes as well as leisure driving, Outlander 2010 is a perfect value for its price tag of Rs 19.95 lakh.

Remember that James Caviezel and Sophia Myles hot French kiss on a distant land in the 2008 Hollywood movie 'Outlander'. Ah! Here you go and try it. Outlander won’t disappoint you for being an unsavory observer. The sharp and slick look of the vehicle will always entice you for one more. Apart from style, elegance and boldness, there is a lot of drama and even a touch of mystery in the line, which adds to its glamour, and to quote Rohit’s own word, “is reminiscent of what one sees in iconic movies like Grease, The Fast And The Furious and Wanted.”

Launching his fabric collection inspired by Outlander 2010, side by side, Rohit said, “I believe that the Outlander 2010 is a “mean” machine, that it embodies ‘”steal on wheels” and this is what is reflected in the garments.”

One of the most-awaited SUVs in the Indian market, the Outlander 2010 is a wonderful blend of technology and luxury. The ‘Stylish Utility Vehicle (SUV)’, as Mitsubishi refers to it, is fully loaded with a ‘custom’ sound system co-designed by the Mitsubishi with Rockford Fosgate, a leading US car audio brand. And it is a biggie with four six-inch speakers, twin dome tweeters, a 10-inch sub-woofer and a 650 watt amp sound. Once in action, trust me, the system rocks.

There is lot more to the lifestyle quotient of the Outlander. Ample space, sporty seats, huge wheel arches, four wheel drive, and a roof that arches down towards the rear are features that stand out. Car-like coil spring and strut suspension on all four wheels guarantees you a good on-road behavior with Mitsubishi’s reputed soft-roader handling. Add to that new combination meter, mirror mounted turn indicators, new door and dash trims, USB port, aluminum pedals, auto-folding Outside Rear View Mirrors (ORVMs) and leather covered instrument panel and the Outlander looks to drool over.

The Outlander is not without its share of aggression. The deep-set headlights and the thick bumper, with its pushed-in fog lights, is very Range Rover.  And the luggage capacity is a jaw-dropping 882 litres (with third-row seats folded), and the space goes up to 1690 litres if the second row seats are dropped as well. The four-wheel drive system or the All Wheel Control, is a step up on the Honda CR-V. Unlike CR-V, it doesn’t lose energy and fuel efficiency in case it encounters any slip. And once you turn the dial to the 4WD auto mode—the system responds much faster to any slip requirements in extremely slippery, slushy or sandy conditions with no let up even if one or more wheels begins to slip. All enough to head out on a camping trip and get your feet dirty.

If you include value for money, the Outlander has everything to be counted. For high speed driving in slippery or extreme conditions, the Outlander has a vehicle stability control system, Active Stability Control (ASC), similar in concept to that of Mercedes’ ESP, a massive boon on SUVs as it keeps the car heading straight despite sudden loss of pressure to one of the wheels. At present, the only SUVs on sale fitted with this system retail for upwards of Rs 45 lakh. Outlander is one vehicle that is significantly well placed to be seen and noticed.

An integrated monocoque construction and a design that has an almost Audi-like restrained elegance about it, the wider Outlander’s bulk has a charm that is rugged yet attractive and contemporary yet stylish. The Outlander 2010 offers luxury and finesse along with significant off road capability. Finally, on the Indian auto horizon is something with enough appeal, enough substance and enough spunk.

If fashion designers are the new style icons, Rohit has been quite successfully outlandish in endorsing Outlander 2010, to fire the aspirations of an upwardly mobile generation.
Photo Credit: http://www.zcars.co