By Rajan Narayan
AND a few stray thoughts for yet another Saturday. For a Saturday following the week when there’s a huge demand for tickets for Coldplay, the British band expected to perform live in Mumbai in January 2025. For a Saturday following the week when it’s clear there’s a huge demand for iPhone 16 throughout the country. For a Saturday following the week when one claims that there is scientific proof now that Yoga Nidra is effective. For a Saturday following the week when India achieved a twin teen gold medal swiping both the men’s and women’s chess championship which was held very recently in China. For a Saturday following the week when the Supreme Court ruled that possession of child pornography videos is an offence under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offenses act (POSCO).
AND a few stray thoughts on the huge demand for tickets for Coldplay, the British band expected to perform live in Mumbai in January 2025. Tickets costing Rs15,000 each were sold out within half-an-hour of the booking window opening online. Tickets for the concert are also selling in black for as much as Rs5-6 lakh. The rates for hotel rooms in Mumbai for the day of the concert have gone up from Rs50,000 to Rs1 lakh. What is it about Coldplay that one crore Indians are willing to pay Rs15,000 plus to watch them perform? Coldplay is the contemporary version of the legendary Beatles.
Coldplay is like the Beatles, a British rock band formed in London in 1996. The band consists of the lead vocalist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion. Coldplay rose to fame with their 2000 single record called “Yellow.” This was followed by the successful release of debut album “Parachutes.” The band is known for atmospheric sound melodic tunes and introspective lyrics. The music covers the entire range from rock and pop to the more recent electronic and experimental music.
Coldplay is one of the best-selling music bands in the world. They are on the path with major rock groups like Tailor Swift who is the rage the world over. India, particularly Mumbai and states like Bengaluru and even Goa, have literally millions of fans of Western pop music. The question to ask is why is there is such a huge demand for the live concert when there is live streaming of any music you want on the internet?
This is because the atmosphere of a live performance is very different. It has a vibrant energy that cannot be matched by downloading and listening to the music on your headphones. A live concert is a participatory experience between the band and its fans. More than three decades ago the then mayor of Panaji, Surendra Furtado brought an international band called Boney M from playing in Goa at the Dayanand Bandodkar grounds at Campal. The Boney M international band was one of the best in the world. I remember the huge rush for tickets priced at more than Rs10,000 each way back in the 70s. The whole atmosphere was electric when the band started singing the international hit song “Rasputin.” Goa can easily hold international concerts instead of electronic dance music events like Sunburn.
IPHONE16 CRAZE
AND a few stray thoughts on the huge demand for iPhone 16 throughout the country. The iPhone 16 basic model is priced at Rs79,900 and there is iPhone 16 plus at Rs89,900, the iPhone 16 Pro priced at Rs1,34,900 and the iPhone 16 Pro Max priced at Rs1,59,900 in India. Distribution agencies like Ingram Micro and Redington Limited for iPhone, claim that stocks in India stores were exhausted within 30 minutes. The online sales outlet claimed to have delivered the iPhone 16 to those who booked them within 30 minutes of the opening of the sale.
The iPhone is the most sought-after brand-up smartphone as it has become a status symbol for most upwardly mobile Indians. The phone has become accessible to everyone including the middle class because it is available at hire purchase. The iPhone is offered on zero down payments EMI spread over 24 months, which means that for as little as Rs4,000 per month, you may own the latest iPhone.
There is also a very generous exchange offer which brings down the price to Rs49,000 for the basic model if you exchange your iPhone 15. The iPhone has a fantastic revenue model. Unlike Samsung which offers an expensive range for smartphones for an inexpensive entry model starting at Rs15,000 to its top premium brand costing Rs59,000 for the last offerings, Apple has only one model. Interestingly the iPhone is now being assembled in India in a factory set up by the Tatas near Chennai. This is perhaps why the iPhone 16 is available at all the Croma outlets of the Tata company.
Apple, which is the parent company started by Tim Cook, has been making huge profits, to the extent that it has become one of the most profitable companies in the world. Apple is ten times bigger than the Reliance industry. The attraction of the iPhone is its positioning as the most advanced and sophisticated of all the smartphones available in the market. We cannot help wondering if there is a touch of nervousness over the sales of the new model. This is because, for the first time, the iPhone is being heavily promoted on television channels across the country. Interestingly, the ad which shows people struggling to reach the iphone store in the pouring rain, is an ad from Croma which is among the major outlets selling the iphone 16.
YOGA NIDRA PROOF
AND a few stray thoughts on the claim that there is scientific proof now that Yoga Nidra is effective. It is claimed that MRI studies have shown that Yoga Nidra promotes wellbeing. The MRI study map measured the brain activity of people practicing Yoga Nidra. Yoga Nidra is a sophisticated version of the popular Shavasana. In this posture you lie down with your eyes closed, not sleeping but consciously experiencing your body. The asana is supposed to reduce a deep sense of relaxation. It is often referred to as a yogic seat. It is a form of guided meditation between the stage of consciousness between waking and sleeping. The body is completely relaxed but the mind is still alert. Those who undertake this yoga asana are guided by a series of instructions to focus on different parts of the body like breath awareness and visualization leading them to a deep state of rest. This asana allows individuals to excess the subconscious mind. It is reported to help reduce stress improve sleep quality and cultivate mindlessness. I wonder if it will help senior citizens like me whose body is partially crippled but the mind still very alert.
CHESS GOLD MEDALS
AND a few stray thoughts on India achieving a twin teen gold medal swiping both the men’s and women’s 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, September 22, 2024. Both the men’s team and the women’s team swept the first chess Olympics beating their closer rivals from the United States and China. The Soviet Union is no longer a major force in chess at the topmost level. The outstanding part is that the average age of the Indian team was less than 20. Most of the players are 17 going on 18. Gukesh Dommaraju (more commonly known as Gukesh D), Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa and Arjun Erigaisi sealed gold in the men’s event, known as the Open event, while Harika Dronavalli, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Divya Deshmukh, Vantika Agrawal, and Tania Sachdev won their respective games to secure gold in the women’s competition. Gukesh, Erigaisi, Deshmukh and Agrawal bagged individual gold medals on their respective boards.
The first Indian world champion in chess was Vishwanathan Anand. He was the mentor for the winning Indian team in the recently concluded chess Olympics. The top players for India were from Tamil Nadu.
NO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
AND a few stray thoughts on the Supreme Court ruling that the possession of child pornography is an offence under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offenses act (POSCO). Under the judgement watching child porn is a punishable offence. The sharing of child porn is an equally serious offence. The Supreme Court Has called the possession of child pornography a major offence.
This means that internet sites including those of Google could be barred from permitting downloads of child pornography videos. These downloads are now freely available on the internet. They are the most disgusting form of exploitation of children.
It may be recalled that a major pornography ring operated by Freddie Peats was exposed by the Goa Police in Colva in 1992. Peats was pretending to be an elderly social worker running an orphanage for children. Peats used to tell the parents of poor children that he would educate their children and send them abroad. Peats was actually forcing the children to commit unnatural acts and photographing them.
He was also offering the children to pedophiles from European countries. Among the foreigners arrested was a citizen from New Zealand. We understand that pedophilia is rampant in parts of north Goa. The SC verdict will strengthen the hands of the police and other agencies cracking down on child pornography and uphold the dignity of children.