I adore Sylvia Plath’s poems!!!

I don’t know when I started loving her poems. If I remember right, it was during my language classes (which was my favorite subject/class) where I was initiated into Sylvia Plath. Her beautiful verse “Tulips” captivated me. The protagonist and her thoughts are still fresh in my memory. It has taught me that nobody can.

I was not a literature student or followed poems before. But now I have developed a liking for her poems. Her words kindle my imagination, cast a spell and lead me into a fantasy world.

Sylvia Plath’s dedication to poetry and the intensity of her words is unparalleled. Her words drew heavily from her personal life making it attractive and analytical. She handled painful and intense subjects such as suicide, self-loathing, shock treatment, and dysfunctional relationships, and made it simpler to her readers to relate. The controlled flow of images in her poems captivates me.

In a strange way she had fallen in love with her depression which led to poetic madness and the outcome was fabulous.

It is amazing how a troubled passionate mind can fabricate such masterpiece!!!

Zoozoos are amazing!!!

Advertising is one of the effective communication methods that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume a brand of product or service.(so fond of definitions, effect of a Masscom Degree ) It is not simply a communication medium, but its contribution to the economy of a country is notable.

Advertising has come a long way from the early street criers to the latest multimedia enabled ones. Technology is developing day by day and the communication media too. Grabbing attraction of the audience becomes a herculean task. Products and advertising agencies are competently working hard to catch the attention of its customers.

I am not a big IPL fan but being holed up in a small room with friends who are diehard fans, I am forced to be passive viewer. It was during one such boring late night IPL match that I was gifted with a fabulous vision of a few unknown little creatures. I shook up from lumber and concentrated. First, I did not understand the concept, but gradually they did conquer my mind by their innocent, naughty and kid dish nature.

Now, I follow IPL matches not for the crickets and their heroics, but to see what these tiny tots do. These tiny tots are Vodafone’s new image.

Vodafone’s approach to ads is notable. This mobile cellular provider is known for its innovative advertising strategy. The award winning pug campaign was Vodafone’s contribution to ad world. It set a new trend in the advertising scenario. The latest Zoozoos campaign is another milestone for the brand. Zoozoos who resemble huggable alien-like beings is creation of the same Indian husband-wife team that also gifted us the lovable “Vodafone Pug”.



The most fascinating thing is that the Zoozoos are not animated creatures but actual human beings. Online researches say that Zoozoos are among the most watched videos on YouTube and there are over 50,000 Zoozoo fans on Face book. Another noted thing is that Vodafone has opened an IPL microsite for quizzes and contests where one can know the kind of Zoozoo you are, as each Zoozoo character has a unique set of characteristics and traits allotted to it. Amazing!!! Do you want to check what kind of zoozoo are you, just log on to http://vodafone.in/ipl09/zoozoo.aspx

Zoozoos have been created not just identity for a brand for a masterpiece with which each one of us can relate to. I salute the creators!

Am I passionate about the word “depressing”?

I always wonder whether am passionate about the word depressing. In a way I am, I do articulate it very often. I always think the reason behind it. I picked the word from one of my unimportant conversations with my own gang. It came to me as a subtle feeling and it started dominating in my life. I found it interesting, every time when I utter it.

Actually the word doesn’t make my life depressing, but it does make me calm and cool. What a paradoxical usage? Life is like this, so many depressing facts can make you happy and help you to live the way you are. Are you making any sense out of it? Some of u can actually agree with ma points. Some of you may not even understand what I am saying?

Even u guys also will have some words which are actually depressing in nature but will give you a sort of comfort. Whenever I utter the word depressing, others take it very interestingly and start laughing. In a way am giving them a reason to smile, a smile that is so valuable and can wipe out all your sadness. If I can make others smile by a depressing word “depressing”, is n’t it the fabulous thing in the world???

This is my depressed stance. “When you're depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you'll start to feel better. If you're going to get any joy out of being depressed, you've got to stand like this”. I too agree with the great person who contributed it to the world:)

Income tax holidays for small and medium sized IT companies.

An income tax holiday is a reduction or an elimination of a particular tax. It is a time-off from payment of income taxes. It is actually an incentive from the government to boost the business investment.

When comes to the IT industry, it has been enjoying the benefit of income tax holidays from quite sometime now. But, there are some conditions that have been imposed on the enjoyment of these benefits. ITH (Income Tax Holidays) are not given as a matter of right, but as a privilege to entities that have, after evaluation by the government, fully complied with the conditions, as prescribed by law.

From a global perspective, the IT industry is generally recognized as a research and development based industry, where they need help from the government bodies, to achieve their goals. A lot of countries like Australia, Singapore, UK, etc. provide R&D incentives for IT companies, which prove to be extremely advantageous to them.

The IT industry in India has traditionally been the youngest of all the other industries, that has rarely asked for anything but been granted none. Considering small and medium sized IT companies, they need more time to establish and start getting profits and most of the existing ones would require some more years to reach a sustainable position in the industry.

Income tax holidays are scheduled under section 10A &10B of Income Tax Act, which will expire on next year. The expiry of tax holidays is one of the biggest challenges for the IT industry, followed by increasing costs. In addition to this, the IT industry is facing two other problems. They need to move in Tier 2 locations and simultaneously have to attract adequate quality manpower. According to a study conducted by CII, these companies need an extension of tax holidays to survive in the industry.

The only hope is that NASSCOM, a global trade body, has already asked for an extension of 10 years. Most of the IT companies are in the “growth stage” of their life cycle. The IT would need a few more years to establish themselves in the industry scenario. So, the extension of the tax holidays will be an aid in their pursuit. The ending of tax holiday benefits, will certainly hit these companies. They are facing more challenges than the so-called big IT firms (right from the competition from other sectors to shortage of trained talents). The recently occurred global financial meltdown also made an impact on the industry.

By sonia