Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Sep 12, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Sep 12, 2002 |
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Variety
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Trends Columns - Say Cheek Ganesha — unlimited D. Murali
IF there is one God who has not patented his form, it should be Ganesha. This is the season for you to encounter him in all different shapes and sizes. And except for the broad specs — such as there should be a fat belly and a trunk plus a jumbo head — everything else is left to the imagination of the manufacturer. Very much like the generic PC design that IBM unveiled decades back — an open architecture that killed the stranglehold of the microcomputer market by manufacturers. There is, therefore, the leaf Ganesha, the snake samy, the fruits lord, or the vegetable Vinayak. For daring manufacturers, this could be the best time to market their products with a touch of divinity — such as making an idol with soap-cakes, ballpoint pens, CDs, textiles and what not. However, ice-creams or gutkha packets may not make the right material for the exercise. Dress code is again often practised in the breach, what with Ganesha made to sport jeans or shorts, T-shirts or Gandhi caps, complete with sponsors' logo thereon. In fact, it would be ideal for professionals to imbibe the ambience and do their bit too such as holders of valueless share certificates may make a giant icon with the multi-coloured papers. Similarly, accountants could use clients' books to build a god who — according to them - should condone the contents of the ledgers. If Osama were around you can identify him by the design of Ganesha he might make — with his own tools of the trade. Similarly, lawyers and doctors can be singled out by the black or white coats they would drape Ganesha with. Apart from the competition in the heights that idols reach — which is a reflection of the depths of the pockets — there is an equal verve in naming their handiwork. For instance, a `Bodyguard Pillaiyar' would look like an NSG commando, and a `Sangeetha Ganapathy' could hold an assortment of musical instruments. Don't be disappointed if you can't locate a `Taxpayer Gajanan', `Ekadanta Employee' or `Ganpat the Common Man'.
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