A glass of steaming milky syrupy tea is best served cut. One by two or two by three, it embodies the spirit of sharing and camaraderie (and more significantly a resource crunch). Come, have a sip.
The ambience of an Indian railway station is incomplete without the pre-recorded female voice that informs passengers of the arrivals and departure of trains. The arrival of computerised announcement system in the Indian railways meant that the variety of voices blaring from loudspeakers in railway stations across the country was replaced by those of a select few. Thanks to our linguistic diversity, or it would have been the same voice announcing the late arrival of of a train in Agartala and the departure of another in Bhuj.
For those who love travelling by trains (like me, though rationing of leaves often forces to take the aerial route) or atleast like the sounds of the railway station here are a few ringtones to bring the feel of the railway station in your mobile phone.
Kripaya dyaan dijiye, Indian Railways train announcement ringtone sunne ya download karne ke liye niche dekhe:
(This ringtone announces the arrival of the 2919 Malwa Express travelling from Indore to Jammu Tawi and was recorded by me at Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, New Delhi on October 27, 2008)
The last ad of this series was released in April 2007 - the very catchy and wonderfully executed Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho ad for Madhya Pradesh Tourism (Incredible India). And in May 2009 comes another memorable ad. Some feel that the the first one was better and don't think much of the new TVC. I beg to differ, a little.
Like the last time Cutting the Chai is the first to put up the ad on the internet (I checked).
Hindustan Ka Dil Dekho was more like an ad showcasing the wonders of the state of Madhya Pradesh and inviting people to come visit. This time, the theme is similar but with a little twist, it is not an invitation for MP Tourism but an endorsement (dekho to dekha), a kind of a first person account. And the bioscope makes way for a pair of very expressive (and continually moving) eyes.
This new jingle is also very catchy, quite like the last, and would make for a good ringtone. Preview and download if you like:
Yeh Bullet meri jaan Manzilon ka nishaan Zindagi ek safar Chalna shaam-o-sahar Iski raftar ki Baat hain aur hi Lambi raahon pe Ye kya gazab ki chale Raaste taye kare Faasle taye kare Ye Bullet... Enfield Bullet Ghazab ki sawari.
This song is embedded into my mind right from childhood. The music has a distinct qawwali feel complete with the harmonium (though the instrument isn't desi and was actually banned by All India Radio for being inappropriate for Indian classicial music), tabla, claps and all.
If you ride a Bullet or are just a Bullet aficionado (like me), I suggest you set it as your ringtone. Here's the stuff
This Slice Aamsutra TVC appears to be an U-rated version of the Kaamsutra/Kamasutra, with some mango nectar involved in a sensuous play with one of Bollywood's most dazzling beauties - Katrina Kaif.
I found it to be quite... erotic. The Rasiya Aaja number in the background is quite pleasant to the ears.
Katrina is the ultimate trophy heroine (could term it as an 'item heroine' as different from an 'item girl'). She doesn't need to act or even mouth lines (things that exactly aren't her forte), she just needs to be there in the frame with some closeups (including the extreme ones).
I think that Katrina can't ever look vulgar. Even in Boom - that scare of a movie - which incidentally was Katrina's debut and where she wore the skimpiest outfits of her entire film career, she looked pretty (Potentially NSFW). That's what Katrina is and therefore she is the hottest keyword on the search engines.
Many people are landing on this post looking for the Slice Aamsutra Rasiya Aaja MP3/ringtone. Just to ensure that they don't return disappointed, here's the audio version:
Salman Khan did a bit of modelling (like many other Bollywood stars) before making it big on the big screen. I remember having a poster of Salman in a bike advertisement (cant recall which).
This is a very young Salman (though he still doesn't look his age) playing football and quenching his thirst with some lime and lemony Limca.
Who can forget his first victory? Limca with isotonic salts to quench your thrist Fun time Limca time Young time Limca time Masti time Limca time Lime n Lemony Limca
Who can forget his first love? Togetherness with lime n lemoni Limca
Fun time...
Who can forget his first journey? Safely travel with zero bacteria Limca
SRT is India's biggest superstar. There's no doubt about it. And he has further fortified his iconic status overshadowing Brian Lara's mammoth 11,953 Test runs total.
Being a superstar it is obvious that he would have endorsed many a brand. And amidst the all high profile endorsements Sachin Tendulkar also appeared in ads for Bajaj Sunny - the scooterette (This was before the record Rs 31.5 crore deal with WorldTel).
To celebrate Sachin's (yet another) record here's the ad that I found in a February 1994 issue of The Sportstar. "Ride the red hot super looker teen machine" - Sachin Tendulkar Bajaj Sunny 55 KMPL · 50 CC · No Gears · Easy Kick Start · Spare Wheel · Price Rs 12,000 (ex-showroom price Delhi) Bajaj Auto Ltd Akrudi, Pune 411035
Agency: Lintas
And the nice Bajaj Sunny Zip TVC with the nice song (this doesn't have Sachin in it).
Lyrics: First you say you're always with me, Because being with me is fun. Say you'll go the whole distance, Since the love that you found. All right. Come on, what's going on? What you're thinkin'? Then you say you need me, Like the garden needs rain. Then you go and deceive me, Like it's all in the game... All in the game.
Text: Easy come. Easy Go Bajan Sunny Zip
If I'm not mistaken the agency behind this ad is Contract Advertising and it got them an Abby gold in 1997.
This ad has been viewed almost 7.5 lakh times on YouTube (and has also been flagged an inappropriate for minors by some users, therefore you need to log in to view it there).
But then, at Cutting the Chai - there aren't any such restrictions. You get to watch ads (and a lot of other things too) and get access to related goodies.
Now back to the ad. It's for Wildstone deodorant. The female model in the ad is Pune girl Snigdha Akolkar. She has also appeared in TV serials and a (saree-clad) item number.
Presently a shorter version of the ad is being telecast on TV. Though both versions convey the same message, the longer version is (obviously) more ... detailed. The backdrop is of a Durga Puja at a Bengali household and this Bong lass - Snigdha does look like one in a sada-lal-par-saree (white red-bordered-saree) - experiences an olfactory fantasy where she contemplates a sexual encounter with a stranger, she accidentally bumped into, just because he smells irresistibly good (Axe?).
Aur bheriye ne memne se kaha, Mein tumhe kha jaoonga... Hhh... hhh...
Gale mein khich khich? Vicks lo Vicks mein cheh aushidi tatwa hain, Jo khich khich hataye. To jab bhi gale mein khich khich ho... Vicks lo.
Gale mein khich khich Gale mein khich khich Kya karun? Vicks ki goli lo Khich khich door karon...
To share/embed this video click here Download video [00:00:32 FLV 633 KB] Download hi-res video [00:00:32 AVI 4.13 MB] Download for mobile [00:00:32 3GP 728 KB] [From this post onwards I'll also try to include high resolution videos of the ads so that readers who need them for alternative purposes can have it a little easy]
We all who grew up in the 1980s and the 1990s would recall the ad and the tune, it ran for a good decade-and-a-half. I had learnt a new word, 'khich khich'. And my young mind questioned the term 'cough drops'. My argument was that drops were supposed to be liquid and this was a solid logenze.
This ad made Jayant Kripalani a household face. The little girl in the ad was Isshita Arun (or is it Ishita? The wonders of numerology) - singer Ila Arun's daughter.
And if you, like me, are wondering (I'm not very clued in) where is she now?
She has grown up (obviously) and is an actress and a television host (Some readers might easily recognise).
Jayant was paid only Rs 500 (don't know if Rs 500 could be classified as 'only' back in 1982) for the ad. But this led to his entry into the world of television (though he was already into advertising and documentary filmmaking) and he was later seen in Limca ads, TV serials Mr Ya Mrs (I don't recall that much), Khandaan (not much here too) and Ji Mantriji (the Indian take on Yes Minister). He also appeared in a number of films, the latest being Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. Others were Trikaal and Rockford (saw them all).
As this too would make for a nice nostalgic ringtone. Here's the ringtone version.
"The waterfall was Indian advertising's watershed, when former Air-India hostess Karen Lunel appeared in a green two-piece bikini for Liril. The first in a series that later also brought us Preity Zinta, Liril gave Indian advertising the sex appeal of the semi-clad feminine form, which it has used ever since to sell aftershaves, cars, clothing and condoms..." I wrote in an article for Tehelka.
If what I know is right, this was one of the earliest colour ads to be aired on Indian television (the brand - Liril - was launched in 1975) and colour entered Indian living rooms courtesy the 1982 Asian Games.
For Alyque Padamsee, the man then at the helm of Lintas, the agency behind the landmark ad, "more than the freshness that comes from its features, Liril promised 20 minutes of freedom to the Indian housewife who gets pulled in different directions for the rest of the time."
For those who came in late (to planet Earth) here is the revolutionary Liril ad:
The ad was shot in Pambar Falls in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, which is now more popularly known as 'Liril Falls' thanks to the ad.
Karen Lunel was the first Liril girl. Those who followed her include Aneesha Dalal, Pooja Batra, Anjali Jathar, Hrishita Bhat, Tara Sharma, Ruchi Malhotra, Deepika Padukone, Divya Palat and of course Preity Zinta.
An interesting fact that I never realised before - the name is a palindrome.
So catchy is the La lara la la... tune, composed by Vanraj Bhatia, that I couldn't help but make a ringtone out of it. You can preview and download the MP3 ringtone from below:
In a few days it'll be three years since this blog began. And for the readers I have a special treat that should continue over the next few posts - free MP3 ringtones to download for your mobile phones / cell phones (also SMS tones, the short ones).
I've posted in the past quite a few mobile phone ringtones (some in MIDI format, a few in MP3). Ringtones are fun (though I myself tend use the same one for years together) and here at the Cutting the Chai the motto is to share the fun, at minimal or - more preferably at - no explicit cost.
This is the first batch. You can preview (actually prehear) the files before you download (just showing off the new audio player that I put up here). Some of them can be put to some interesting uses:
Phone Vintage: The vintage telephone ring is one of my favourites. Does bring back the memories of the rotary dial.
Download [MP3 26 KB 00:00:03 64kbps Mono 44 kHz] Right click and Save Link As/Save Target As Phone Electronic: Before we went multi tone, this one was the universal ring. I often rushed back to pick up the phone, only to realise that it was actually the neighbour's phone that was ringing.
Mosquito: Ranked as one of the most irritating noises to reach the human ear. This would make an ideal tone for the alarm, only that you might try to swat the phone in your sleep.
In case you want to save yourself from the botheration of downloading individual fines, you can download all the 12 MP3 (featured above) files in a single zip folder from the link below. Download [ZIP 324 KB]
A passerby (obviously a babu in a safari suit) inquisitively looks inside the manhole.
The contrast - of the working environment and the song the man's singing - is enhanced by the top of voice rendition. Our manhole singer might just make it to the next talent hunt on TV (but he'll face stiff competition from me).
This ad will also make a wonderful ringtone for your mobile or even a caller tone.
Acoustic branding at its best. Wherever we hear that distinctive "Ting ting ti-ting," we invariably think Britannia. Louis Banks, the man who created it, says, "Well, I always say that on my tombstone they should put that four note signature I wrote for Britannia - you know, 'ting ting ti-ting'!"
If you need a ting ting ti-ting of your own, follow the following links to download or listen (you might also use it as a ringtone). It would help if you buy a packet of Tiger Biscuits too. For two reasons, indirect royalty payment and in celebration of Dada's return to the team (the Bong in me just couldn't help it).
Britannia ads have never been something to go gaga about. Anyway if you happen to be interested, a dozen-and-two TVCs can be found here. And Jazz-man Louis' site has three full-version songs available for free download. Help yourselves.
A long time ago I had collected some Indian tunes (there's also one from across the western border) in the MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) format. Thought of passing them on (if you were expecting MP3s or human sounds, sorry to disappoint). You can simply listen to them or karaoke or use them as mobile phone ringtones (except for the National Anthem). The biggest advantage of MIDIs is their size, only a few kilobytes and that's all. But to save on server space and ease downloading especially on ultra-low bandwidth connections like mine, I've zipped the files. Hope you don't mind the unzipping process (pun, if any, unintended). [To download right click your mouse and click on 'Save Link As' for Firefox or 'Save Target As' for IE]
Mein Zindagi Ka Saath - Hum Dono (1961) The solo quality cigarette song in Hindi films. And the Health Ministry intends to let it remain the only. [zip | mid 00:01:52 3 KB]
Some have been resurrected as mobile phone ringtones, but the ears yearn for an encore of the original. The last time I stumbled upon some great nostalgic stuff and passed it on, the dividends reflected in enhanced page hits and appreciative comments. Here are a few more (downloading may require free registration):
Remember the good (?) ol' days when our air space (now cable space) was monopolised by Doordarshan and a hundred and one (I know there are more) channels were not jostling for TRP (eyeball) ratings? Remember the mesmerising Bharat Ek Khoj /Discovery of India? Recall the Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiya... animated film? I know you do and so do I.
Surfing through the net, I stumbled across them. The soundtrack of Bharat Ek Khoj and the Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiya video. Some good souls had posted them on their blogs and I'm simply passing it on.
The last ad of this series was released in April 2007 - the very catchy and wonderfully executed 
This ad has been viewed almost 7.5 lakh times on YouTube (and has also been flagged an inappropriate for minors by some users, therefore you need to log in to view it there).
In a few days it'll be three years since this blog began. And for the readers I have a special treat that should continue over the next few posts - free MP3 ringtones to download for your mobile phones / cell phones (also SMS tones, the short ones).
