Branding for PSUs

Couple fo days back on a misty morning at 6, was waiting at the Kolkatta airport waiting for an Alliance Air ATR to take me to Guwahati for a key meeting . The flight was delayed for around an hour. Since I hadn't slept the previous night it would have been too risky to try and sleep at the lounge. There was a clear chance that I would not wake up to my cell alarm. Hence I decided to take a walk around the airport having one coffee per 15 minutes. That is when I saw this rather interesting ad of Indian.
"We do things that other airlines don't - for our nation - like flying to earthquake affected areas, flood hit far flung airports. We evacuate stranded passengers from strife torn foreign lands. Because we work for the nation"

Today I saw an ad for SBI in TOI/Eco Times whose brief was something as follows :

"We would rather open branches in remote areas in our country to serve you than build plush offices for ourselves. Hence we have reach at every corner of our nation"

Interesting takes on existence of PSUs. I am suitably impressed on the messages. I think there is an element of truth in these messages. But would the customers be impressed ?

I had stayed at ITC's Shonar Bangla property while at Cal. They mailed me couple of days later asking me to fill their feedback form on service/food/bar etc. They said they would donate a sum to an orphanage if I would send back the feedback. Most of the other hotel chains would ask for a feedback and say you could be a lucky winner. I never used to reply to the feedback mails but this time I did. Partly ofcourse because I thought Shonar Bangla Sheraton was one of the best hotels I've ever checked in (both in India and abroad). But more importantly I really liked the way they inspired me to fill the form. Excellent service followed by a social "utility" message - icing on cake.
Icing has to be on cake.

The Departed !!

In between Kalimpong, Noni, the retired judge, Sai and Mutt and the beauty of Himalayas well imbued in the beautiful Desai scripted Man Booker Winner I & a friend of mine decided to see The Departed. I was planning to write about Inheritance of Loss and recommend it without any doubt. But be warned that I'm biased in favor of Indian authors and Man Booker prize winners. So it would eb doubly biased in favor of the very Arundhati Royish Desai novel too.
But The Departed is being recommended in a very unbiased manner. THE Best movie of the year. And up there in my all time Top 15. Not yet a Pulp Fiction, but almost there.Though the story (taken from an HK production) is not top class by itself, the direction, acting and above all the dialogues make it up there among the greatest. Each and every character has done a great job. An ABSOLUTE MUST WATCH.

"No human had ever seen an adult giant squid alive, though they had eyes as big as apples to scope the dark of the ocean, their was a solitude so profound they might never encounter another of their tribe. The melancholy of this situation washed over Sai" From The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai