I’m a Sucker for Sad Stories

It’s Friday. The equivalent of Sunday in the other parts of the world. I got out of bed well past noon, had a cup of coffee and made a few calls to the ones that are dear to my heart.

Wandered around my little ‘house’ in my shorts and settled down to watch the American Idol Season 10 auditions.

There’s a girl from Kosovo who gets the nod. Her parents are delighted. The Idol does a little recap of the War in Yugoslavia and I think of home. And war.

While I disagree with Sirasa TV copying the Idol, I salute the fact that these talent shows give hope to the hopeless people. Some of their sad stories bring tears to my eyes.

Especially this one:

I just love this girl. I love her voice, and most of all, her courage.

“I will die today, so Egypt can live tomorrow”

“I will die today, so Egypt can live tomorrow” read a placard held by one of the protesters in Tahrir Square as I sat in front of my computer for the second consecutive day. A stream of pictures – of people waving flags and chanting – flashed nonstop on the television screen a couple of meters away from my desk. I was keen on knowing how my Egyptian friends looked at the unfolding drama, through their Facebook status messages and twitter feeds.

I was eager to know what was going to happen.

Then, there was the news of Mubarak’s address to the nation. But, alas, after a much-awaited speech, the Farewell Friday dawned with much anger and huge disappointment.

It was the third Friday, 18th consecutive day, for the thousands of protesters. As the day wearied away, I began to attend to other domestic affairs, losing interest in the on-going saga. I watched the Egyptians in Saudi Arabia, praising Mubarak and his 30-year regime on television.

The revolution seemed going nowhere.

I remember Hussain. My copywriter, a good 15 years ago, in Dubai. He had just joined the agency as my team-mate; it was his first time in the real world of advertising. We were pitching for KFC business. Sitting opposite in my office, he would occasionally pause to light his pipe and we would wander in to conversations that took me to the mysterious past of the Nile civilization. We would brag about our pasts and heritage, share our thoughts and agree on alien invasions – for one obvious reason: the intelligent people who built the pyramids or the flying machine that took Ravana to India, no longer existed. They were abducted: there was no other way to explain the common stupidity that prevailed in our countries. The chaos, the madness and the people’s optimism to rise beyond adversity, brought Egypt and my Paradise closer to each other. Hussain and I became very good friends. We had ancient civilizations to boast about and Western Empires to blame on everything that went wrong.

Sometimes, in the middle of a sentence that he was crafting, Hussain would stop to protest. “I cannot lie about this lump of lard. It’s unhealthy, horrible and shouldn’t be sold to kids. How dare you’d expect me to say that KFC is finger likin’ good..?” he would grumble.

Like many thousands of people who gathered at Tahrir Square today, my Egyptian friend was a God-fearing man. I had to brain-wash him and nurse him back to the deceitful and manipulative world of advertising, in many such occasions.

Then I remember the pretty ones from our network. Rezan and Yosr carried the evidence that Cleopatra or Nefertiti were, in fact, real people. They were gorgeous, beautiful people, inside and out.

Maya, Heba, Rania... my colleagues of yesteryear – they are very much like the Sri Lankans. They are happy people, who have learned to be optimistic amidst the constraints and restrictions. We faced common threats, we behaved in similar fashion in many ways. If their car bumped in to another – which is a common occurrence in jam-packed Cairo – they wouldn’t even bother getting the police involved. Their cops were as ‘good’ as ours.

In the last few days, leading to the events that brought down Hosni Mubarak, there was some unbelievable spirit of solidarity building up. The youth of the Arab World was with the people of Egypt. One of my dearest friends wrote “Viva La Revoluciona!!!” on her wall while another friend of mine sat sleepless throughout the nights, waiting for the change to happen. These were young Saudi women, supporting a cause. “I’m proud of my brothers and sisters of Egypt” read another message. There were many millions of similar sentiments expressed in Arabic, on Facebook, YouTube and every imaginable mode of communication.

Egypt, needed change.

And change has come to Egypt. In a most unprecedented manner, with minimum blood-shed, a revolution has taken place right before our eyes.

In the God-fearing, system-abiding, Arab World, this is much more significant than anywhere else.

“There are many lessons behind the days, long hours, and the events that took us all through what seemed like a never ending emotional roller coaster... FAITH!! We never have to loose FAITH in JUSTICE, we need to take all those lessons along to next stage :)” – wrote one of my Egyptian friends, on her wall as fireworks lit up the night sky in Tahrir Square.

The picture is ‘stolen’ from here: http://kalamu.posterous.com/

Advertising: Graphic Design vs Art Direction

Advertising, is a mysterious business. In my mind at least, advertising is an industry that no longer exists – it has evolved to become the business – or rather the art of – communication.

In this mysteriously attractive industry, there are people with fancy titles. When I was an art director, my parents could not understand what it meant or what I did for a living. All I could say was that my dad was pissed at the fact that his would-have-been-engineer-son had become a hippie, a total disgrace to the family.

When I proudly presented my first ever job that was published, he was even more crossed and quite disappointedly remarked that he didn’t send his son to the best school in the country to do that kind of thing for a living.

I didn’t see my parents for about 3 years thereafter.

Nope, I didn’t leave the country, but in my rebellious heart I didn’t find a reason to visit them – even for the new year holidays.

Yes, I could be an arse, sometimes. But, that attitude helped me immensely in the business, in the years to come.

Anyhow, there is a huge misconception about the titles in this business. In many places, Graphic Designers get automatically promoted to Art Directors, sometimes by virtue of their presence in the agency, long enough.

Art Direction requires a different skill set to that of a designer. There are many who successfully acquire the above, but some fail miserably.

Here’s an example of an ad that appeared in one of the industry magazines in the Middle East, clearly done by a designer:

The same ad, if it were to be given a touch of quick “art direction” below:

This one is for our Minister(s) of Education

BTW, why have I been quiet for a while? Too much to say, really. Until I gather my thoughts and find my way to creep back in to the Lankanosphere, enjoy the video and give it a thought. ;)

Turning Knots into Bows...

Spending quite a bit of time in Saudi Arabia where the entire country shuts down for prayer five times a day, I often wondered how religious they are compared to us – the Sri Lankans who take the religion quite liberally. Buddhism is a philosophy which has no strict rules of religious observations, and we also tend to visit each others places of worship without thinking much about betraying our own God.

Which led to some interesting research and I was quite flabbergasted to discover that we Sri Lankans are the World’s Second or the Third Religious nation, depending on the source.

Below are some other factors that make us think of the brighter side and give us some hope in the middle of the chaos we live in...

Religiosity Index measures is the measure of the importance of the religion for respondents and their self-reported attendance of religious services. For religions in which attendance at services is limited, care must be used in interpreting the data.

Optimism Index measures a respondent’s positive attitude for the future. Specifically, respondents are asked whether certain aspects of their life are getting better or getting worse.

Community Basics Index measures satisfaction with aspects of everyday life in a community, including education, environment, healthcare, housing and infrastructure.

National Institutions Index measures confidence in key national institutions prominent in leading a country: the military, the judicial system, the national government and the honesty of elections.

Unemployment (% of total labour force). Shorter bars, the better. For once, we are doing really well, thanks to the global economic crisis!

This entry records the cumulative total of all government borrowings less repayments that are denominated in a country’s home currency. Public debt should not be confused with external debt, which reflects the foreign currency liabilities of both the private and public sector and must be financed out of foreign exchange earnings.

Sources: Gallup WorldView 2009 and CIA Factbook.

And you thought Colombo was Hot!

Colombo, as hot and sticky as it may feel, was still somewhere around 84° F around this time...

Random Ad: Pedigree Dogs

A mundane task becomes amazing to watch, thanks to the technology. ;)

Credits: TBWA Toronto/Pedigree

How an entire Country gave birth to an Elephant

She is a healthy one year old female ‘celebrity.’ She was born to a Thai mother, on the 17th of May last year at 8.45, weighing 80 kilos and was on her feet after 20 minutes of her birth.



Belgium’s favourite baby elephant Kai Mook (Pearl in English) was famous from the moment the country saw the first ultra-sound scan. When her mother became pregnant, the Antwerp Zoological Gardens decided to leverage the pregnancy to drive more visitors to the zoo. So they decided to share the news with everyone, got them interested and engaged in the story, making the whole of Belgium feel as if they were involved in the pregnancy.

“So just like any proud future parent, the zoo decided to show everyone the very first ultrasound. The scan was projected onto prominent buildings, along with a URL directing people to a central website, www.baby-olifant.be. On the site, the zoo not only invited people to suggest names for the baby elephant but also kept it updated with developments during the pregnancy. Daily news was posted onto the site, along with information about the mother and baby and a calendar countdown.

“The content was spread via social media with photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube. A tool was created to allow people to create a customized Facebook profile picture that featured their face with an elephant's trunk entering the frame and the message ”I’m also waiting for baby K.”

“When the labor started, interested parties were notified by SMS and invited to watch the birth live. Never before had so many Belgians watched a live event together online. More importantly, Antwerp Zoo welcomed 300,000 more visitors (200,000 paying) in 2009 than it did in 2008.” reports AdAge MediaWorks on the success of the communication campaign.

While ‘advertising’ in Sri Lanka is pretty much confined to traditional media, the rest of the world has moved on to ‘communication.’ It’s not one-way messaging on television, newspapers and radio anymore.

‘Advertising’ has evolved into consumer engagement – two-way communication. The world has moved on from traditional advertising to brand activation, digital marketing and beyond. Now with augmented reality, one could experience true-to-life 3D holographic rendition of any product right in their own hands, at their own leisure, creating an amazing brand experience.

At the same time, on this side of the Indian Ocean, we are led by agencies that are incapable of maintaining their own online presence (for example, JWT Colombo as not updated their blog in over 7 months!), let alone providing any brand with any sort of ground-breaking digital communication solutions.

We have a long way to go, don’t we?

Corruption: An Appeal to the Sri Lankan Media

I googled “Sri Lanka Corruption” today and found out that most of the articles written on the web about corruption in Sri Lanka comes out of our own writing and our own newspapers. Not at all surprising, just as expected, one would say. Thereafter, one might find the international NGO’s, writing about corruption in our paradise isle completing the list.

For example, check out the Transparency International’s site where they list the 2009 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) and we rank at 97, while USA ranks at 19, UK at 17, Australia at 8, France at 24, India at 84 and Saudi Arabia at 63.

According to World Audit Organisation 2009 report, we rank at 76, while USA ranks at 16, UK at 14, Australia at 8, France at 18, India at 64 and Saudi Arabia at 46. World Audit compiles their evaluations based on data coming from NGO’s such as Freedom House, Transparency International, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and The International Commission of Jurists etc.

According to Gallup Poll – often referred to as the most reliable source of public opinion – corruption index in the above countries paint a totally different picture. According to the poll, Sri Lanka’s corruption index is 54.4%, while USA scores a higher corruption rate at 63.4%, UK 48.1%, Australia 36%, France 49.6%, India 77.2% and Saudi Arabia scores the lowest corruption at 34.3%. Lower percentages are better.

Now comes the truth. People in India and the USA think that their countries are more corrupt than ours, while people in the UK and France think that their countries are (almost) as corrupt as Sri Lanka.

And occasionally, these countries even withhold aid, claiming that WE are a corrupt nation!

Who would you trust? The NGO’s or the most trusted source of public opinion? Please check out the chart below and you will see the gap between the NGO data and public opinion for the countries that usually fund the NGOs. Compare that to the data of Sri Lanka or Saudi Arabia where the public opinion reflects NGO data.

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Wouldn’t the American politicians invading Iraq for the control of oil business qualify for corruption? How would Bush+Cheney Business Enterprise that ran Halliburton and Blackwater etc escape the NGO corruption rankings? How would USA remain at the top when the level of corruption in the US is monumental..?

The truth is that we wash our dirty linen in public while the West doesn’t. NGO’s need to keep their funds pouring-in; they are either run by, or controlled by the West. They paint a bleak picture of developing nations as the most corrupt countries in the world, while conveniently ignoring the billions of dollars that change hands under their own tables, in their air-conditioned comfort. A traffic cop taking a couple of dollars instead of issuing a ticket makes it to their list, while high profile incidents such as the former British Transport Secretary who charged 5,000 pounds a day (=Rs 845,000.00) escapes the list. That would be equal to 1,690 traffic cops taking a bribe of 500 rupees each, a day. Not only that, 5,000 pounds is a teeny weeny amount compared to the millions and millions of dollars that change hands in the West everyday.

I’m not going to waste my time writing about NGO’s and how they manipulate facts for their own advantage. We’ve witnessed their antics as the Wanni region came out of the jungle.

Post war Sri Lanka is entering a new era. There is much hope and there are huge expectations. In our journey to recovery, our image plays a major role. I have written about what it means to maintain an image of a country – so let me finish this with a humble request to those who contribute to the mainstream media and citizen journalism.

Please, please don’t tarnish our image. Look beyond Sri Lanka, do a bit of research and follow independent, most reliable and trusted sources and look at our country from an international perspective. Sri Lanka is not as bad as you think. What you write goes out there in to the oblivion and it gets printed in an NGO report as “reliable information coming from Sri Lanka” – just like Amnesty International has “Sri Lanka Experts” when they don’t even have an office anywhere in the country. It doesn’t help when Minoli Frenandes says that “there are no independent reporters allowed in the frontline” when her Al Jazeera crew reports exclusively from the frontline.

Please don’t feed those who are going to rip us apart.

Please be responsible. Focus on the positive side of our beautiful island, the image of Sri Lanka – our little paradise – is in your hands.

Did You Know?

Early this year, we were looking for an English Medium boarding school for my son. We found boarding schools. We found English medium schools. But there are no English Medium boarding schools in Sri Lanka.

In other words, if your child does not speak either Sinhala or Tamil, he cannot study in any government or private school in Sri Lanka. He would only be able to study in an “international” school – the kind that operates under business licences and not monitored or regulated by the ministry of education.

So why would schools such as Royal, St. Thomas’, St Joseph’s, Trinity or Museaus claim they have an “English” medium when half the subjects are taught in one of the native languages? What would someone who doesn’t speak Sinhala or Tamil do – go back to where they came from?

They say that the quality of a country’s workforce is a direct reflection of the standard of education. Ours, is in shambles. We boast of very high literacy rate, but send our kids overseas for higher education. As a country, we spend too much money in “purchasing knowledge” from the US, UK, Australia and Singapore (now India, Malaysia) etc, when, as a whole, we could have built fabulous universities with that money, right here, in our own land so that more and more generations could have reaped the results.

Our aging education module needs desperate change. It is the 21st century, yet we still don’t breed certain skill sets that are needed for today’s world. For example, the advertising industry needs creative professionals – but none of the universities actually produce them. I would love to hire a few art directors or graphic designers for our network overseas, but unfortunately, the Sri Lankans are not on par with the rest of the world.

Planners, stylists, animators and touch-point marketers etc will never come out of our universities. Jobs we do today should have been in our education system 10 years ago, not 10 year later.

Like this video claims, the top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.

The radio took 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million, while Facebook did it in 2 years.

The number of internet devices in 1984 was 1,000. In 1992 it was a million and in 2008 it was a billion. Increased by a million times in just 24 years. When the world is moving at such speed, why are we stuck in yesteryear?

How will Sri Lanka cope when 2030 dawns..? Are we future ready..?

Top 100 Global Brands of 2009 and their Slogans

2009 was a terrible year, the year of the financial crisis. Only one third of the top 100 brands of 2008 managed to post a positive growth, while some slipped off the list completely. The biggest performers of the year were Google (25% growth in 2009), Amazon.com (22%) and Zara (14%) and the biggest losers were UBS (-50%), Citigroup (-49%) and Harley Davidson (-43%).

Coca-Cola remains the world’s biggest brand for yet another year – they have been so for the last 10 years and more. Japan’s top brand Toyota slipped a few notches and Apple jumped a few positions higher. Only the financial sector and automotive sector fell, while everything else – including luxury goods recorded an overall growth.

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TOP 100 GLOBAL BRANDS OF 2009
Rank, Brand, Brand Value in US$ Millions, Country of Origin, Growth, 2008 Rank and Most Common Slogan

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1	Coca-Cola	68,734	US	3%	(1)	Live on the Coke Side of Life
2	IBM	60,211	US	2%	(2)	Solutions for a Small Planet
3	Microsoft	56,647	US	-4%	(3)	Your Potential. Our Passion.
4	GE	47,777	US	-10%	(4)	Imagination at Work
5	Nokia	34,864	Finland	-3%	(5)	Connecting People
6	McDonalds	32,275	US	4%	(8)	I’m Lovin’ It
7	Google	31,980	US	25%	(10)	—
8	Toyota	31,330	Japan	-8%	(6)	Moving Forward
9	Intel	30,636	US	-2%	(7)	Leap Ahead
10	Disney	28,447	US	-3%	(9)	Where Dreams Come True
11	Hewlett-Packard	24,096	US	2%	(12)	Invent
12	Mercedes-Benz	23,867	Germany	-7%	(11)	The Future of the Automobile
13	Gillette	22,841	US	4%	(14)	The Best a Man Can Get
14	Cisco	22,030	US	3%	(17)	Welcome to the Human Network*
15	BMW	21,671	Germany	-7%	(13)	The Ultimate Driving Machine*
16	Louis Vuitton	21,120	France	-2%	(16)	The Spirit of Travel
17	Marlboro	19,010	US	-11%	(18)	Welcome to the Marlboro Country
18	Honda	17,803	Japan	-7%	(20)	The Power of Dreams
19	Samsung	17,518	S. Korea	-1%	(21)	Everyone’s Invited
20	Apple	15,433	US	12%	(24)	Think Different
21	H&M	15,375	Sweden	11%	(22)	Fashion Available for Everybody
22	American Express	14,971	US	-32%	(15)	Do More
23	Pepsi	13,706	US	3%	(26)	The Choice of the New Generation
24	Oracle	13,699	US	-1%	(23)	Can’t Break It. Can’t Break In.
25	Nescafé	13,317	Switzerland	2%	(28)	Awaken Your Senses
26	Nike	13,179	US	4%	(29)	Just Do It
27	SAP	12,106	Germany	-1%	(27)	The Best-run e-businesses Run SAP
28	IKEA	12,004	Sweden	10%	(35)	Make a House a Home
29	Sony	11,953	Japan	-12%	(25)	It’s a Sony
30	Budweiser	11,833	US	3%	(33)	The King of Beers
31	UPS	11,594	US	-8%	(30)	Deliver More
32	HSBC	10,510	UK	-20%	(27)	The World’s Local Bank
33	Canon	10,441	Japan	-4%	(36)	Image Anywhere
34	Kellogg’s	10,428	US	7%	(39)	They’re Great!
35	Dell	10,291	US	-12%	(32)	Purely You
36	Citi	10,254	US	-49%	(19)	The Citi Never Sleeps
37	JPMorgan	9,550	US	-11%	(37)	Your Choice. Your Chase.
38	Goldman Sachs	9,428	US	-10%	(38)	Our Client’s Interest Always Comes First
39	Nintendo	9,210	Japan	5%	(40)	Who Are You?
40	Thompson Reuters	8,434	UK	1%	(44)	For People in the Know
41	Gucci	8,182	Italy	-1%	(45)	Quality is Remembered Long After the Price is Forgotten
42	Philips	8,121	Netherlands	-2%	(43)	Sense and Simplicity
43	Amazon.com	7,858	US	22%	(58)	A Real Company in a Virtual World
44	L’Oreal	7,748	France	3%	(51)	Because You Are Worth It
45	Accenture	7,710	Bermuda	-3%	(47)	High Performance, Delivered.
46	eBay	7,350	US	-8%	(46)	The Power of All of Us
47	Siemens	7,308	Germany	-8%	(47)	Be Inspired
48	Heinz	7,244	US	9%	(56)	57 Varieties
49	Ford	7,005	US	-11%	(49)	Ford. Drive One.
50	Zara	6,780	Spain	14%	(62)	We Have a Dream
51	Wrigley’s	6,731	US	10%	(61)	Double Your Pleasure
52	Colgate	6,550	US	2%	(57)	The Colgate Ring of Confidence
53	AXA	6,525	France	-7%	(55)	Be Life Confident
54	MTV	6,523	US	-9%	(52)	Think MTV
55	Volkswagen	6,484	Germany	-8	(53)	Das Auto
56	Xerox	6,431	US	1%	(59)	The Digital Document Company
57	Morgan Stanley	6,399	US	-26%	(42)	One Client At a Time
58	Nestlé	6,319	Switzerland	13%	(63)	Good Food. Good Life.
59	Chanel	6,040	France	-5%	(60)	Share the Fantasy
60	Danone	5,960	France	10%	(66)	A Little Everyday Goes a Long Long Way
61	KFC	5,722	US	3%	(64)	Finger Lickin’ Good
62	Adidas	5,397	Germany	6%	(70)	Impossible is Nothing
63	BlackBerry	5,138	Canada	7%	(73)	Life on Blackberry
64	Yahoo!	5,111	US	-7%	(65)	Do You Yahoo!?
65	Audi	5,010	Germany	-7%	(67)	Vorsprung Durch Technik
66	Caterpillar	5,004	US	-5%	(68)	Earthmoving Solutions for Today’s Challenges
67	Avon	4,917	US	-7%	(69)	Let’s Talk
68	Rolex	4,609	Switzerland	-7%	(71)	Perpetual Spirit
69	Hyundai	4,604	S. Korea	-5%	(72)	Drive Your Way
70	Hermés	4,598	France	1%	(76)	—
71	Kleenex	4,404	US	-5%	(74)	It’s Time to Let It Out
72	UBS	4,370	US	-50%	(41)	You & Us
73	Harley Davidson	4,337	US	-43%	(50)	The Legend Rolls On...
74	Porsche	4,234	Germany	-8%	(75)	There is No Substitute
75	Panasonic	4,225	Japan	-1%	(78)	Just Slightly Ahead of Our Time
76	Tiffany & Co.	4,000	US	-5%	(80)	America’s House of Design Since 1837
77	Cartier	3,698	France	-6%	(79)	The Jeweller of Kings
78	GAP	3,922	US	-10%	(77)	For every Generation, there is a GAP
79	Pizza Hut	3,876	US	-5%	(81)	Great Pizzas. Great Times.
80	Johnson & Johnson	3,847	US	7%	(92)	The Family Company
81	Allianz	3,831	France	-5%	(82)	Financial Solutions from A to Z
82	Moët & Chandon	3,754	France	-5%	(83)	Be Fabulous*
83	BP	3,716	UK	-5%	(84)	Beyond Petroleum
84	Smirnoff	3,698	UK	3%	(89)	There’s Vodka. Then There’s Smirnoff.
85	Duracell	3,563	US	-3%	(88)	Lasts Longer, Much Longer.
86	NIVEA	3,557	Germany	5%	(98)	Beauty Is...
87	Prada	3,530	Italy	-2%	(91)	—
88	Ferrari	3,527	Italy	0%	(93)	Art and Emotion
89	Armani	3,303	Italy	-6%	(94)	—
90	Starbucks	3,263	US	-16%	(85)	—
91	Lancôme	3,235	France	New		—
92	Shell	3,228	Netherlands	-7%	(97)	You Can Be Sure of Shell
93	Burger King	3,223	US	New		Have it Your Way
94	VISA	3,170	US	-5%	(100)	Life Takes Visa
95	Adobe	3,161	US	New		—
96	Lexus	3,158	Japan	-12%	(90)	Pursuit of Perfection
97	Puma	3,154	Germany	New		—
98	Burberry	3,095	UK	New		Luxury
99	Polo Ralph Lauren	3,094	US	New		Get Involved. Volunteer. Exceed.
100	Campbell’s	3,081	US	New		Why Settle When You Can Select

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Source: Interbrand
* Some brand positionings or slogans may vary from market to market. For example, BMW is moving towards “Joy” and it is no longer the “Ultimate Driving Machine.”

Of Traffic and Get Well Soon’s...

Yes, this goes to Sach - the guy with “the worst cold a man has ever endured in the history of mankind” over there, in Japan. Sach, get well soon.

More than that, this goes to my good friend and former neighbour who now lies unconscious in a hospital bed in Medina, in an induced coma. He was travelling to Medina last Friday with three of his friends when a tyre blew in his vehicle, sending it rolling across the centre barrier to the oncoming traffic. Apparently, the tumbling vehicle rolled over five times and sent my friend D flying out of the window in the process, landing him on the asphalt hitting his head on the pavement.

Apparently, his skull is fractured, and there are some serious concerns that the doctors are not so sure of, yet. His parents have flown in from Lebanon and I cannot even go see him since the road to Medina is only open to Muslims.

I pray, and hope, that he recovers. Soon.

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Saudi Arabia boasts of some of the worst drivers in the world. Looking at statistics in Saudi Arabia:

• more than 6,400 deaths every year from car accidents, which means, every 82 minutes one person dies of a road accident
• over 50,000 deaths, 300,000 injuries and losses of over 100 billion Saudi Riyal (= 26.6 billion US$) from car accidents in the past 10 years. Compare that to only 200 casualties from terrorist activities..!
• 4.3 million car accidents causing 86,000 deaths and 611,000 injuries in the past 19 years.

More over,

• 85% of accidents are caused by drivers violating to traffic rules
• 7% of injuries end with complete or partial disability
• and majority of hospital beds (up to 80% in some hospitals) are occupied by road accident victims, not people suffering from various medical conditions and illnesses.

Saudi traffic rules are supposed to be strict, but at the same time, they are somewhat weird. For example, the passenger in the front seat could be penalised for mistakes of the driver – for not advising him to abide by the law. Wearing the seat belt is a must, but only for the front seat occupants. And if a woman is seated at the front, the Police will never issue a ticket for her for not wearing the seat belt: women sometimes do not exist in the eyes of the ‘system.’

Using mobile phones while driving is ‘supposed to be’ prohibited, but no one cares. Not even the cops.

There are no female drivers in Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive.

The eldest son of the family could get the driving licence at 16 under special permission in order to support the family if he has lost his father.

You can pretty much park anywhere during prayer time, just like the pavement opposite Odel.

The Lung Ching Episode

Inspired by a good pot of Pu Erh tea a few weeks ago and followed by Sigma Delta’s suggestion, I embarked on a journey to discover the teas of the world at teayana – the tea lounge in Jeddah. I have tried a few teas on the menu since, including a rare variety: the Lung Ching or the Dragon Well teas.

As the story goes, a Chinese village was facing a severe drought in 250 AD and a Tao monk advised the villagers to pray to the dragon living in a nearby well to end the dry spell. The villagers obliged, the rains followed – and the village of “Lung Ching” or “Dragon Well” entered the history of tea. A monastery bearing that name stills stands next to the well to this day.

During the Qing dynasty, Emperor Qian Long had the opportunity to taste Lung Ching tea at the Wugong Temple and he was so impressed that he had eighteen of the tea trees at the temple designated as Imperial Tea, reserved for the Emperor himself.

Lung Ching is amongst the rare, connoisseur green teas on offer at teayana. Other exotic teas in the menu include the Japanese Gyokuro, Chinese Hunan Oolong, Zheijang Yin Luo No, Tai Mu along, Formosa Jade Oolong from Taiwan and teayana’s own Jasmine Pearl tea.

“This is China’s most famous tea and simply the best of the Lung Ching variety. It has more than a thousand years of recorded history and was mentioned in the first ever tea book (Cha Ching) by Lu Yu during the Tang Dynasty.

The exquisite, fat but narrow emerald green tea leaves have a shiny appearance after being carefully hand fried in a large wok. The tea leaves easily sink to the bottom of the cup during infusion and a pleasant aroma arises which is refreshingly light with a hint of fruit and nut combined. The aftertaste is almost instantaneous, filling your mouth with a sweetness reminiscent of grape fruit. It may be enjoyed plain from morning to late afternoon and is best without milk.”

reads The Book of Tea at teayana.

Overwhelmed by the stories, recommendations and an undeniable charm of the stories, I order a pot of Lung Ching.

The tea arrives with a mini-hourglass that would indicate the perfect brewing time. I watch the fine grains of coloured sand seep through like a tiny waterfall, as the hot water in the pot slowly begins to turn to the colour of the morning sun.

After three minutes, I am ready to taste the exotic, light golden colour tea brewed from “fried” tea leaves. Never in my wildest dreams that I imagined tea would be brewed from ‘fried’ leaves!

The last few grains of sand seep through the narrow neck in the hour-glass as I eagerly wait to taste the tea. I resist myself from snatching a sachet of sugar on impulse, sometimes it’s hard to let go of the nasty habits of drinking tea Sri Lankan style.

I hold the cup with both hands and enjoy the warmth for a moment. As I take a deep breath, the Lung Ching fragrance titillates my senses. The aroma is gentle and inviting. I take the first sip and let it penetrate my taste buds. I love the first sip, and struggle to find words to describe the taste.

Grass.

Yes, Lung Ching tastes like green tea with a hint of grass. But, in a very good way.

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Camellia sinensis or the tea plant grows taller than 10 meters (33ft) typically, if left untrimmed. The No 1 “King Tree” found in the mountainous region of Pu Erh, China, is 2,700 years old, 25.6 metres (85 ft) tall, with a root diameter of 1.2 m (4 ft). These ancient tea trees are protected and the leaves are not allowed to be picked. Sri Lanka’s tallest tea tree can be found in Dambetenna Estate, Haputale and it is around 18 metres (60 ft) in height.

360° View: Sri Lanka, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia

Amaya Lake. Sometime in 2007. End of the break, time to leave.


Watching the Sunrise, somewhere in the Lebanese mountains. 2009. My good pal Fadi caught in the frame.


Saudi Arabia, 2008. Watching the sunset from a mountain top.


2006. Kaudulla, Sri Lanka. Elephant watching has just begun. Mahesh and Ranga with Arham – the amateur film crew. ;) I have combined the frames to create a huge image – almost 16 meters in length @ 72dpi.


270° View from a mountain top, somewhere in Buttala jungle, Sri Lanka. 2006.


Combining frames to create a single image kinda takes away the WOW factor, me thinks. And yes, these were shot without a tripod, hence the zig-zag look.

Toyota and the Sticky Pedal: Should We be Scared?

Toyota, the biggest Japanese and the 5th largest global brand of 2009, is full of bad news. Due to safety reasons, they are recalling 2.3 million cars in the US alone. Sales of eight of its top selling name-plates have been frozen, and a sticky-accelerator problem is making a huge dent in Toyota’s income. The problem was initially suspected to be limited to the cars assembled in North America, but Peugeot and Citroën announced that they would be recalling certain models built in the Czech Republic in a plant jointly operated with Toyota. This, was making everyone around the globe a bit more worried.

Toyota Prius in the meantime is also facing a recall. The World’s leading hybrid is reported to have a problem with its brakes. The Japanese Government confirmed this week five new accidents related to Prius’ brake problems. According to Tokyo Shimbun and Fuji Television network unconfirmed reports indicate that the Transport Ministry has received around 80 complaints while Toyota has received over 100 complaints separately since the crisis began. Toyota has not announced a recall on Prius yet, but they launched investigations into possible brake problems in two other hybrids, including the luxury Lexus.

So, what is the real issue?

According to Toyota:

The first recall, “Floor Mat Entrapment,” regards the potential for an unsecured or incompatible driver’s floor mat to interfere with the accelerator pedal and cause it to get stuck in the wide-open position.

The second recall, “Pedal,” is being conducted because there is a possibility that certain accelerator pedal mechanisms may mechanically stick in a partially depressed position or return slowly to the idle position.

What are the models that are likely face this issue?

Currently, Toyota is recalling these models in the US due to the sticky pedal issue:
• Certain 2009-2010 RAV4
• Certain 2009-2010 Corolla
• 2009-2010 Matrix
• 2005-2010 Avalon
• Certain 2007-2010 Camry
• Certain 2010 Highlander
• 2007-2010 Tundra
• 2008-2010 Sequoia

However, Camry, RAV4, Corolla and Highlander vehicles with Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN) that begin with “J” are not affected by the accelerator pedal recall.

What is Toyota doing to address the situation?

They are sending letters to the current owners to schedule an appointment with their dealer.
The dealerships have extended their hours – some working 24x7 – to fix this issue as quickly as possible.
Toyota has halted production of the listed models this week until the cars on the road are fixed.
They have mobilised their entire workforce of 172,000 employees in North America in their effort to maximise quality.
As part of the recall campaign, new car sales of vehicles subject to the pedal recall have been temporarily suspended until the problem is remedied.

How dangerous is this problem?

Should we be very, very, scared? Nope, I don’t think so. There are reports of people losing lives due to runaway Toyota’s, which, is a serious issue. But however, one of the main reasons for the sticky pedal has been identified as wear and tear – so most new car owners have the chance to replace the part at the nearest dealership before anything could ever happen.

How does it affect Toyota owners in Sri Lanka?

Well, so far, the faulty accelerator unit is only found in the Toyota’s assembled in North America, even though there is a chance that some European plants may have received the same parts in their assembly lines.

The cars that come from Asia are said to be safe, but, however, there are unconfirmed reports of certain Asian models having issues in the UK. Toyota Prius is having issues in Japan, but then, we don’t have any hybrids in Sri Lanka either.

Since most of the models identified are not available in Sri Lanka, and since the Corolla’s and RAV4’s come here are of Asian origin, there is very little chance that Toyota’s in Sri Lanka are affected by this issue.

In case, if my Toyota decides to run away, what should I do?

Follow the Toyota way, found here. Some US dealerships are advising Toyota owners to practice this procedure in empty parking lots, just in case.

UPDATE: 8th Feb

Saudi Arabia’s Consumer Protection Association (CPA) on Sunday (yesterday) urged authorities to force Japanese carmaker Toyota’s local agent Abdul Latif Jameel Co (ALJ) to recall and check for defaults in cars it sold locally.

An official at ALJ said the company would invite within two weeks owners of Toyota Sequoia and Avalon models – both of which are produced in the United States – to get their cars checked.

CPA’s call, made in a statement sent to media, is the first by a consumer protection group in the Gulf Arab region – where Saudi Arabia is the biggest auto market – after Toyota recalled some 8 million cars worldwide on safety glitches.

However, Toyota's distributor in the United Arab Emirates, Al-Futtaim Motors, said the two models would be recalled in the Gulf country in a service campaign similar to the one in the United States.

Pu Erh: Tea. Friday Morning.

Friday morning the city of Jeddah looks deserted. I cross the road almost blindly, there is nothing but six lanes of emptiness where streams of bumper to bumper traffic congregated and congested at 1.00 in the morning. January. Friday. Morning. Three things that make walking irresistible in a place where walking is impossible, any other time. This morning is too beautiful to waste inside an air-conditioned automobile.

I meet up with my friend at Teayana, the tea-lounge and café. Coming from the Paradise Isle of Ceylon, I thought I knew my tea until I flipped through their elaborate menu. More than 125 types of distinctly different teas, from over 25 different countries and over a thousand tea gardens. Almost everything from Green or Herbal, to Black or White. Blended, unblended, flavoured and not.

If there was paradise for tea-connoisseurs, this was it.

To my horror, I discover only two varieties from Ceylon. In a bouquet of exotic teas that had even more exotic names, I spot “Nuwara Eliya” after much effort. Surely we should have had more than two varieties, I thought to myself, and spent next 15 minutes trying to prove myself in vain. It seems that the much sought-after teas from Ceylon have failed to move with the times – just like their name. Ceylon, and Ceylon Tea: soon to be nothing but distant memories.

With a long sigh, I settle for a Moroccan Mint tea. And a zatar with labneh on the side.

We chat about life at large. We talk about the impending elections, the future of Sri Lanka and our role in shaping-up the world. We talk about building libraries around the country and how to help our people in need.

We talk about marketing. Or rather the lack of it, when it comes to selling our paradise to the world, tea being one of them.

Later, much later, I decide to try some unique tea and decide to flavour a vintage variety: Pu Erh. (pron. = purée).

Vintage. Like wine.

Older, the better.

Pu Erh is the only tea that improves in flavour and value with age and it takes around 30 years to reach maturity. Until then, the teas are stored in breathable, usually unglazed, clay canisters – leaving them to oxidise and ferment slowly. Once matured, they are stored in sealed containers similar to any other tea. Apparently, some of these Pu Erh teas are coming from the days of the last Chinese Dynasty and a small, compact brick or a cake could easily fetch a few thousands dollars, if they are genuine. Finding such specimens are said to be very rare though.

Since I haven’t made my million$ and billion$ yet, I try the commercial variety that is sold at the lounge: Pu Erh – 10 to 20 years old. Full-bodied, heavy tea that tastes like a fine whiskey. Only lighter, and smoother. My taste buds remind me of the flavour of roasted tobacco and the warm sunshine in Paradise back home.

Sipping that and looking out of the window at McDonalds across the street, I marvel at the power of branding. Then I momentarily wonder where Ceylon Tea would be, if we don’t revive the industry, rejuvenate the market and reclaim our former glory.

From Beijing to Dubai in 55 Frames

At 10.25am, we were heading towards the Plateau of Tibet. “Distance to Dubai: 2,790 miles” read the little touch-screen. I look out of the window and see the snow-capped mountains just below my feet. It feels like 800 feet above ground-level. We were flying north of the Himalayas, 36,000 feet above. Sache to the left and Almaty to the right, we were cruising through the middle.

The scene outside the window was magical. Snow covered mountains and clear skies; nothing else but the shades of blues and the whites.

Jammu and Kashmir lay further south on the map.

The terrain below is impossible and impassable. It looked like as if it had rained mountains. Mountain peaks as far as the eye could see. The view had been like this for a couple of hours, only the size and the colour of the mountain-tops changed.

A scene from Ice Age flashed before my eyes and I tried not to think of the unthinkable. Surviving a fall of a few hundred meters and being frozen to death is not my style. I don’t think I would make a good exhibit in some Discovery Museum in 2375 AD, either.

I hate the cold. I recall my memory and find consolation in the fact that no aircraft fell to its death in this region since the World War II.

I grin to myself and look at the time. We still have four hours to the destination. We are going to cruise above the clouds for a few more hours. We would take a left further ahead to fly over Pakistan, cross over to Iran and descend over Bandar Abbas to head towards the big city.

Nine hours of scenic beauty is what I’m going to enjoy this time. A few movies, two meals, and capture the view from the window with my mobile every so often – so I could put them together, quietly.

Of Bestie’s Air Massage and Christmas Shopping in Arabia...

It felt like time travel. I was walking through the alleyways of an Arabian souq (market), and for a moment, I thought I was wandering across the movie-set of The English Patient. There were vendors selling spices, silver trinkets and various nuts and seeds in their little kiosks or just by the wayside. Arab women clad in their burkas and abayas sat behind their arrays of gadgets and knick-knacks. Their eyes pierced through the inch of opening in their burkas like the full moon on a dark night: mesmerising and inviting, and capable of alluring the vulnerable young men to buy utterly and completely useless things for a riyal or two. Some fell in the trap while the others just stopped for a good bargain. Muffled in the hustle and bustle and the chattering, I could hear the women giggle behind their black masks. Men sat in long, wodden benches in little coffee-shops, smoking; enjoying the mild wintery breeze. There were small stalls and trolleys piled up with layers of gum that looked like honey-bee combs, and there were wheel-barrows that were portable corn stands. The far side of the wheel-barrow had a little coal-fire burning, and the vendors sold freshly cooked corn to the young, old and the hungry – trotting around the souq. Occasionally, my eye would spot the beautiful prayer beads in array, and I fought to resist the temptation to be the world’s largest bead collector.

Walking under the canopies, weaving through the narrow alleyways, I ended up in an open area that somehow reminded me of the Pitt Street and Market Street in Sydney. Only a hundred years earlier, and in a basic, primitive manner. Or was it a flashback of the Fort World Market, I wondered for a moment. But this was grandeur in scale and much more intriguing and interesting in sight. A little boy ran behind a football, and disappeared in to a narrow passageway as I tried to find my bearings.

As I made may way through the open square to reach the other end, I discovered another fascination: the silver shops that sold beautiful Yemeni jewellery. Rough and uneven, with coloured glass-work, they told stories about the nimble hands that crafted the designs. I imagined those beautiful Arab women sitting in their corners in their humble abodes, tinkering with metal to crate these fabulous ornaments. No wonder they wear them with so much pride on occasion, I thought to myself.

Beyond the silver jewellery were the fabric shops. Like the good old story about the black abaya in Prophet Mohammed’s days (peace be upon him), the fabric sellers were the highlight of the market. Yards and yards of beautiful designs in psychedelic colours, drawn like canopies from the roof to the ground covered my sight. From black-on-black designs to everything imaginable under the sun were on offer, and the shop assistants were serenading us to just walk inside and take a look. They knew that if we stepped in, we wouldn’t be able to resist their charm and the attraction of the selection. An occasional tailor shop displayed with much pride some wedding gowns that adorned amazing needle-work. I knew that under the abaya, the Arab women were very fashionable. But this, was far beyond what I have ever imagined. This was Paris, this was haute couture for the average Arab woman.

Just two days before the Christmas, I was discovering the downtown Jeddah. The old market, where sailors from around the world met the Arab merchants long before the dollar was born. Thousands of years later, only the buildings have changed, but not the habits of their inhabitants. They souq is still old-fashioned, they still like to drive a good bargain, and offer you a cup of seylani chaai if you were a good customer.

Wondering through the maze, we were looking for a shop that sold something that was supposedly banned in Saudi Arabia.

And finally, we were directed to a little shop that sat by the waterfront. It looked like mini China and the shop was (cleverly camouflaged?) with cosmetics, cheap electronics and all kinds of fancy items at the entrance. We look around and approach a shop assistant who gestures us to follow him up a wooden staircase. Up the staircase, zig zag through the aisles, we are taken to a back corner and the shop assistant points his hand to a rack, with much delight.

As we see what’s on display, my friend’s face lights up. Underneath a pile of “elegant” lamps that had a not-so-elegant penguin on the box and “Bestie’s air-massagers,” we’ve finally found what’s impossible to find in Saudi Arabia: Christmas Cards.

And they were musical too.

The elegant lamp, the forbidden cards and the Bestie’s Air Massager: New Concept ot (sic) Health

Holy Sh*t!

Just arrived in Jeddah last evening. As the plane descended, there were rain-clouds a few hundred meters above the ground level and the evening light reflected on the puddles and pools of water down below in the city. I never imagined Jeddah to be this wet. This was unusual.

Jeddah and rain doesn’t happen that often. When it does, they don’t blend well either.

While I was away enjoying the good life in Paradise, the city of Jeddah had been greeted by millions of Hajj pilgrims. Along with them came the heaviest rainfall in the recent decades.

On the 25th of November, a few hours of heavy rain unleashed “flash floods” that killed a little over a hundred people and rendered thousands homeless. Closer to a thousand people are still unaccounted for and an estimated six and a half thousand homes have been destroyed. Closer to 5,000 cars have been written off or washed away, not to mention the hundreds of brand new cars that went under the water in their storage facilities. The damage runs into billions of dollars. All this, in just four hours of heavy rain.

But this, is nothing compared to the biggest problem.

Imagine a typical “Lanka” petrol tanker (bowser). Fill it up with sewage. (Yes, sewage). Multiply it by 3,000. Empty them in a lake. Continue this practice for over 10 years, every single day.

Now imagine this sewage-lake at a higher level of a mountain and a city built in the valley below.

That city is Jeddah. What separates the city from the invasion of sewage is a tiny dam built with reinforced sand, not concrete. This dam has shown signs of weakness with the unexpected rainfall that filled the reservoir to the brim. The city of Jeddah was about to get flooded in sewage if the rain continued non-stop. Thankfully, the rain ceased and mellowed down giving room for the emergency crew to ‘pump’ the sewage out of the reservoir and bring the situation under control. But the situation still poses a threat with the continued sporadic rain.

Imagine a city flooded in sh*t..! Now that, is a real problem.

And we think the uncollected garbage bag in front of our gate is a cause for concern. ;)

Time is Now. To look at your Breasts.

There were boobs everywhere in Lebanon. Staring at you from all over the place. In supermarkets, in busy streets, looking at you from behind news stands. There were huge ones and tiny ones. And every size in between.

And they were pink.

Aah the wonder of typography. With a simple twist, the Arabic letter “n” in the headline is crafted to fit where it fits best – delivering a memorable message. Pity that we don’t see much attention paid to typography in Paradise.

The headline translates to “it is time” (time is now) and this is the key visual of a breast cancer awareness campaign currently running in Lebanon. From huge billboards to tiny handouts at supermarkets, this is everywhere these days.

For an Arabic country, this is a daring approach. But then again, if they wanted attention, they certainly got mine.

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Background: For decades, the subject of breast cancer has been considered unmentionable amongst families in the Arab World. According to National Cancer Registry, Breast Cancer accounts for 38.2% of all cancer cases in Lebanon..! To know more, please visit the campaign website here.