Foreign Brand Names!

For years, I have smiled at small Photocopier outlets in some regions like Maharashtra displaying, "Zerox" instead of Xerox.

But, when a recent visitor from "The Auto Expo 2008", Delhi told me that her friends loved the "VOKS-WAGON" car, I thought a quick look at the pronunciation of some Foreign Brand Names could be useful to many!

He were go!

Adidas :AH-dee-dass
Bayer :BYE-er
Blancpain :Blahn-pa(n)
Braun :Brown
Cartier :Kar-t-yay
Christian Dior : Cree-st-yaa(n) DEE-or
Hermes : Air-mez
Louis Vuitton :Loo-wee Vee-tuhh(n)
Piaget :PEE-uh-jay
Porsche :PORSH-uh
Renault :Ray-NOH
Tissot :Tee-SOh
Versace :Ver-sah-cheh
Volkswagen :Folks-VAH-gn
Yves Saint Laurent : Eaves-sahn Lore-rahn

The above pronunciations are indicative only. For accuracy or wherever you are not sure, please download specific sound files which are available at many sites.

And then, there are many more brands out there!

Please feel free to add to the list!

The Calendar Girls!

Aalochana! In Sanskrit, it means Critical Review. As a NGO, it is the Centre for Documentation and Research on Women, set up in 1989 by "five feminists".

Their Vision:

"Our vision is to work towards the creation of a gender just and democratic society based on equality and freedom for all. To achieve this we have committed ourselves to the creation of awareness amongst women about their rights and what they can do to change their lives and the lives of their communities. It
is towards achieving these goals that Aalochana was set up."

Their annual calendar features 12 women achievers from rural areas in Haryana, Uttaranchal, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Freelance writer-cum-photographer Vidya Kulkarni travelled for a month across these states to capture "the strength and the confidence that the women exuded" on camera.

The list includes Bele, a zilla parishad member and chairperson of Women and Child Development Committee from Latur, and Latifa Sheikh, sarpanch of Raimoha gram panchayat in Beed.