Redefining Empowerment-A Case Study About Effectively Marketing To Teens Without Turning Them Off

Can we inspire teens to choose to do something with the same methodology that convinces them not to do something? For example, does the same decision-making process lead to teens buying $15 Starbury One basketball shoes and to not buying the designer $130 Nike Zoom Kobe I sneakers? Is there a common denominator in how teens choose to start smoking cigarettes and how they choose not to? Can we as marketers reach them at the pivotal decision-making moment to inspire desired behavior? Denver-based Cactus Marketing Communications thinks they have uncovered the simple truth about effectively altering teen behaviors by redefining empowerment as a marketing strategy.

I. Background

Youth empowerment has been defined as an attitudinal, structural and cultural process whereby young people gain the ability, authority and agency to make decisions and implement change in their own lives and the lives of other people, including youth and adults.

Over the past decade, the word empowerment has become a buzzword in business and youth development, but the word has different meanings for different people. According to the Journal of Extension, "empowering teens" refers to a process through which adults begin to share responsibility and power with young people... It is the same idea as teaching young people the rules of the game...Youth development professionals are helping young people develop non-academic competencies that will help them to participate in the game of life.

Traditionally, most campaigns that employ youth empowerment as a strategy actually encourage social movements through advocacy and activism. They encourage teens to speak out for causes and to rally other teens to join them in activism. This notion has been particularly popular with youth development campaigns such as 4-H and public health campaigns such as tobacco control. Another popular example that demonstrates this notion is Rock the Vote, which encourages young adults to serve as brand ambassadors and activists to encourage other young adults to vote.

II. Redefining Empowerment

In the fall of 2006, Denver-based Cactus Marketing Communications launched a campaign called Own Your C that is redefining empowerment as we know it. Rather than encouraging a public advocacy or activism in their communities, Own Your C aspires to encourage teens to make positive choices to implement change in their own lives.

Commissioned by the Colorado State Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership (STEPP), Own Your C is a tobacco prevention and cessation educational campaign targeting Colorado youth ages 12 to 18. Over the past year, Cactus and STEPP have worked hand in hand to produce an integrated marketing campaign with the goal of reducing tobacco use among teens. The following is a summary on the insights gained into the complex world of teens and how those insights led Cactus to redefine empowerment as a marketing strategy with the Own Your C educational campaign.

A. Problem:

1. National tobacco trends:

- According to the Centers for Disease Control, a survey released in July 2006 claimed that a decade-long decline in youth smoking has halted among high school students.

- Ninety percent of adult smokers started smoking by the age of 18.

- Camel's No.9, a new offering that The New York Times called "dressed to the nines," employs fashionable marketing techniques that appeal to young women - from ad placements in fashion bibles like Vogue and Glamour and its name's haunting coincidence to the perfume, Chanel No. 21, and the song, "Love Potion No. 9". Flavored cigarettes, including Kauai Kolada, Twista Lime and Mandarin Mint, also appeal to teens.

2. Colorado is on center stage in the nation's battle against tobacco:

- Decreases in tobacco use rates among Colorado youth have become stagnant in recent years.

- The tobacco industry spent $217 million on marketing to youth in 2005, this is more than 200 percent of the funding the state has to combat their efforts.

- Tobacco companies spend $4 million marketing to Coloradoans every week.

- Colorado is often selected to test market new tobacco products.

B. Insight:

A variety of research methods were employed in order to understand the complex and ever-changing world of teens, both tobacco and non-tobacco related. The goal was to find a message is universally relevant and important among teens of all ages, ethnicities, genders, income levels and geographic locations.

1) Anti-tobacco campaign effectiveness

Through secondary research, Cactus and their research arm, Market Perceptions, Inc., set out to discover whether or not other public education campaigns to-date have been successful in reducing teen smoking levels. What they discovered is that there is a precedent for success with advertising in regards to reducing teen smoking levels.

One study published in 2005 measured students in 75 major media markets with varying levels of state-sponsored anti-tobacco TV ads and found that students from markets with higher advertising levels were significantly less likely to have smoked in the past 30 days, more likely to perceive great harm from smoking and more likely to report they would not be smoking in five years' time. Additionally, a study measuring the effectiveness of the national "truth" campaign reported that 22 percent of the nation's overall youth smoking decline between 1999 and 2002 could directly be attributed to the campaign.

While the counter-industry theme (anti-Big Tobacco) has been proven successful in the past and once tested positively in the late 1990's and early 2000's, more recent studies have shown that due to the proliferation of it as a strategy (nearly two-thirds of all state campaigns use counter-industry), it's yielding diminishing returns. A study published in 2006 by the American Journal of Public Health reported that counter-industry ads did not significantly enhance anti-industry motivation or lower smoking intent.

Studies have found that ads graphically portraying the effects of living or suffering from the afflictions of tobacco use (as opposed to dying from) rank high in getting youth to "stop and think" about tobacco use. Researchers caution against using messages that inflict fear, which have several limitations, and trigger disgust, which some believe to be the single most effective strategy in reducing teen smoking. Ads that employ fear tactics are more likely to be rebelled against, don't break through teens' invincibility barrier, and potentially only enhance the idea of tobacco as the "forbidden fruit," whereas disgust motivates action and corresponds with a lower intent to smoke.

2) Communicating with teens

When conducting a marketing campaign aimed at teens, it's not only important to communicate the right messages to them, but to communicate in the right ways with them. Teens are leading the technology-driven, new media movement, spending more time with computers, the Internet, hand held devices, MP3 players, cell phones, etc.

While talking on the phone is still the preferred communication method of choice (when not hanging out in person), teens' communication patterns go hand in hand with their increased use of new media, with online forums (Instant Message, social networks, etc.) growing in popularity and changing the dynamics of relationships.

After the phone, teens report Instant Message (IM) as their second choice for communicating with friends. IM breaks down traditional communication barriers, lowering inhibitions and allowing them to say things they wouldn't say in person. The same is true of social networks, where a majority of teens build detailed and in-depth profiles for the entire world to see. Their profiles allow them to project an image of how they want to be seen, rather than their true identity. Their profiles also allow them to build a large network of friends, seeking out like-minded teens with similar interests, regardless of geographic locations. Teens more than any other generation, are widely connected to each other through this virtual community.

In addition to identifying and prioritizing the proper communication vehicles, Cactus and Market Perceptions sought to better understand what brands are effectively communicating their messages to teens. Through the mass clutter of brands today, they wanted to understand not necessarily which brands are "in" versus "out", as that is constantly evolving with this fickle audience, but what makes a brand relevant, albeit just briefly, in the minds of teens today.

Overwhelmingly, brand theorists point out that a brand is no longer a badge of quality or insurance of a safe choice as it is with older generations, however, it is a means to define themselves, to express who they feel they are or want to be outwardly to their peers, family, strangers, etc. It is an interesting juxtaposition of self-expression while at the same time enhancing connectedness to other like-minded teens.

A recent global brand study showed that several U.S. brands are losing favor with teens to more innovative, international brands. Experts argue that the brands losing on teen relevance are those that try to impose images on teens, rather than reflecting teens' perceptions of themselves. One particularly successful campaign that resonated with youth is the Adidas "Impossible is Nothing" campaign, which spoke to teens optimism and connectedness.

Overall, teens are aware of marketing and "hip to the hype" and they need to feel in control and that they are discovering brands on their own. Teens need to feel as if they are a part of the brand story.

3) Teen decision-making

While secondary research provided an understanding of tobacco usage among teens, Cactus still needed to understand the decision-making dynamic surrounding teen tobacco use, especially when the decision is not to smoke. There was need to understand teenagers in terms of how they see tobacco within the context of their experience of being a teenager.

Therefore, Cactus and Market Perceptions conducted primary research with the explicit goal of enhancing their understanding of teens through a novel approach that would reveal more about the decision-making dynamics from a teen's perspective. Recognizing that developments in computer technology have transformed the ways in which youth communicate and interact, Market Perceptions built a virtual research space, http://www.YouthRuckus.com. This site became the center around which continuous online interaction afforded insight to uncover these truths.

The methodology for primary research included Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis and ethnographic components. After spending two months with teenagers, watching their behavior and interacting with them, Cactus learned that teen decision-making around tobacco requires a broader perspective beyond the topic of tobacco. The research uncovered the simple truth that tobacco use, or the avoidance of tobacco use, stems from a dynamic that lies at the root of many challenges that teens experience. They are making a transition from doing what others want them to do toward doing what they want to do - and they are learning to make choices along the way.

What Cactus revealed is that there are two ways in which teens become non-smokers.

One way looks very much like the decision to smoke. They don't smoke because someone doesn't want them to smoke. For these teens, we must tell them not to smoke, understanding that we are competing with others who are telling them to smoke.

The other way is a choice. These teens choose not to smoke. Recognizing that these teens are different from their reactionary peers is important in two respects. First, the ability for teens to make decisions for themselves remains a critical element of resistance to pro-tobacco advertising. These teens crave the control to make choices and be accountable for those choices. Second, making choices creates a demand for information.

The implications of this research, therefore, are clear. There are two segments within the teen population. One segment requires a simple message - "Don't smoke!" The other segment requires a very different message - "Own your choices." While membership in these segments is not static, the movement is generally from the first to the second. As teens learn and grow, they all begin to own their choices. Unfortunately, this means that the message "Don't smoke!" will have less impact as they do so, and will undermine their ability to see smoking as a bad choice as they make the transition.

4) Key findings

The research can be boiled down into the following key findings:

- Teens desire to be in control of their lives.

- Teens are pack-oriented and experience self-inflicted pressure to belong.

- Teens understand the choices they make today impact their future but, in the moment of decision, they often ignore this and act impulsively without thinking about the consequences of their actions.

- Teens are concerned with their future, but their notion of future often goes no further than getting into or graduating from college.

- Teens are surrounded by negative messages and want to see things that reflect their optimism.

- Teens have high aspirations and respect brands that reflect this idealized version of themselves.

C. Solution:

Armed with meaningful research, Cactus and STEPP determined that a successful strategy for the commissioned public education campaign would recognize youth's desire to make choices as part of making the transition to adulthood and empower them to seek out information and take responsibility for the outcomes of those choices. Doing this, Cactus redefined empowerment as it had been defined by previous social marketing campaigns. Rather than encouraging advocacy and activism, this campaign encourages teens to make positive choices to implement change in their own lives. This empowerment strategy executed via effective vehicles of communication yielded a powerful and impactful youth tobacco prevention and cessation campaign coined "Own Your C" (Own Your Choices).

"Choice" was selected as a message because it is universal to all youth, regardless of gender, geographic location, ethnicity, sexual orientation, income or age. Choice is relevant to all teens since it connects to them on an emotional level. While youth are impulsive by nature, they demonstrate that they are receptive to messages that provide perspective and empower them. Own Your C was developed as the brand because it embodies the empowerment strategy and choice message. A common vernacular among young adults, "own it" means to step up and take accountability for your actions.

To breakthrough the advertising clutter in a teen's world, Cactus had to create a bona fide youth relevant brand, not just another public health campaign. The Own Your C brand has to compete for attention not just against other public health messages, but against other youth brands so campaign elements were designed to fit within the current fashions and trends of the youth culture. A fully integrated communications strategy was developed with the ownyourC.com experiential Web site as the hub. Tactics include irreverent television spots, a street team, events, cessation tools, mobile marketing, online advertising, and tapping social networks.

The site engages teens in education and conversation on the topic of choice-making as it relates to tobacco. Divided into three main sections of a virtual town called C-Ville, the site include a 'Park area to aid teens in the choices that impact their lives; a 'Downtown' area where teens can be immersed in the Own Your C brand through TV spots, contests and downloads of art, music and ringtones; and a 'Drive-in' area where teens can learn and discuss the impacts of using tobacco.

TV Spots. The television campaign is a series of three television spots that drive home the message that choices define you. "Cecil the Seal" is a tongue-in-cheek play on government-sponsored public service campaigns and introduces the campaign concept: C is for Choice. "Haunting C", based on a thriller suspense movie, reminds teens their choices may come back to haunt them. And "Omnipoteen" centers on a teen superhero who has the power to choose and the consequences associated with his choice. These PSAs are designed to appeal to teens and create a buzz, while driving them to visit ownyourC.com.

C-Ride. A branded ice cream truck, the C-Ride serves as a "C" brand ambassador, building buzz and generating excitement at youth-oriented events statewide. The truck features a back-lit chrome "C" hood ornament, airbag suspension and custom rims, custom lighting and sound, and a freezer for distributing ice cream and treats. Cactus commissioned an artist from the U.K. popular for his offbeat character illustrations to design the truck's exterior. Equipped with a street team, the C-Ride extends the brand to urban, rural and mountain communities and serves as a distribution point for tobacco cessation materials.

Promotional Items. Cactus commissioned artists from around the world to express what "owning your C" means to them. Choice-inspired designs from artists in Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S. have been parlayed into t-shirts, winter hats, stickers and magnets, which are distributed by the C-Ride street team.

Quit Kits. Cactus created discreet quit kits for teens to quit smoking or chew tobacco. The kits are encased in anonymous encyclopedia covers with hollowed interior space to store a quit journal, gum, stress balls and alternative-to-tobacco mint snuff pouches.

D. Preliminary results

Since Own Your C launched in the fall of 2006, it has been acclaimed as a relevant youth brand and has created tremendous buzz among the advertising, design and interactive communities. ownyourC.com has been heralded as one of the world's top Web sites targeting youth and has competed for industry awards in the company of Nickelodeon, Curious George, Gillette, Adidas, Altoids and Nike, to name a few. The site has been honored with recent accolades including:

2007 The Webby Awards Winner in Youth category

2007 The One Show Merit Award in Non-profit category

2007 South by Southwest Web Awards "Best in Show"

2007 South by Southwest Web Awards "Gold" in the Business: Green/Non-Profit category

2006 Favourite Web Site Awards "Site of the Year" third place

September 2006 "Site of the Month"

January 2007 CommArts "Site of the Week"

According to ad industry blogs:

"Denver agencies Cactus and AgencyNet have created a visually stunning, bang on strategy online campaign for the state of Colorado... But marketing the value of choices is a strange thing I hear you say? Well, it's a not so thinly guised push at educating teens about the health effects of tobacco. Its completely non-preachy form of communication is refreshing and the perfect tone for speaking to teens." - Tait Ischia, marketing student, Australia

"OwnYourC takes a form conducive to internet-saavy teen visitors-an interactive world, full of animation, green-screen video, 3D characters, stop motion animation, sounds, etc. The campaign conveys this message artfully throughout the site, and the site creators are starting to see that kids are 'becoming the voice to extend the campaign.'" - Josh Spear, trendspotter, writer, designer, Denver.

What's more important, the campaign has been well-received by Colorado teens. The Own Your C street team has visited 115 schools in 40 counties since December 2006. The Web site has had over 310,000 unique visitors since the campaign launched last fall and it has nearly 7,000 C-Ville "citizens," or registered site members, that receive updates on events, contest information and monthly newsletter.

It seems that Colorado youth have responded positively to the campaign message. They appreciate that Own Your C empowers them to make smart choices and does it without preaching or talking down to them. They also seem to like that this campaign doesn't solely focus on tobacco use, but rather overall positive decision-making for the game of life. According to Colorado teens:

"I think that this a really cool, fresh way to get kids to relieve how their decisions effect their future."

"Thank you for not lecturing me on information that I know about tobacco already."

"I'm amazed that someone came out to our school to talk about positive choices."

"I've made a lot of bad choices without thinking of the repercussions, and the outcome. I think that I will start making better choices from here on out!"

The C-ride program has also been lauded by Colorado schools. The branded ice cream truck and the C-ride street team have visited 120 counties in 40 counties, traveling over 8,700 miles since December 2006. On the road, the street team has distributed thousands of t-shirts, hats, stickers and magnets to teens across the state. Additionally tobacco quit kits and posters were distributed to local community health agencies and about 1,000 urban and rural middle and high schools in Colorado. Feedback from students, teachers and other anti-tobacco organizations has been positive.

What's next for Own Your C? The campaign has national potential for expansion. Five state health agencies from across the nation have expressed interest in bringing the youth empowerment campaign to their states. The State of Colorado is currently taking requests from other interested states.

Written in May 2007 by Denver-based Cactus Marketing Communications sharpideas.com a full-service branding agency that grows companies through advertising, design, interactive, media services and public relations. For more information, contact Ashley Boyden, Cactus PR Director, 303.455.7545 or ashleyboyden@sharpideas.com

Study of Man in the Ordinary Business of Life

The word economics is derived from a Greek word, meaning home management. Here home management means the management of resources. On our planet the resources are limited but the human wants are unlimited. If one want is satisfied another want arises. The human beings are a bundle of desires. The resources are natural, financial, and human. These resources are used to satisfy human wants. In other words these resources are used to produce goods and services which satisfy human wants. Natural resources include land, mineral resources, water resources, forest resources, etc.

While managing the resources, the people make choices hence economics is also known as the science of choices. For example, a piece of land can be used for different purposes such as to build a house, for office use, etc. People take a decision based on several factors. Similarly, if a man has $ 500 U.S., he will satisfy his wants by making choices because his financial resources are limited. Thus economics is also defined the study of man in the ordinary business of life. Economics is all about making the best of things.

Opportunity cost is opportunity lost. Opportunity cost is also defined as the next best alternative sacrificed. For instance a man has $2 U.S. with him. His choices to satisfy his wants are as to spend this scarce $2 U.S. for 1.To drink a coke, 2.Buy a pizza, 3.Have a beer, etc. If he spends $2 U.S. for pizza the opportunity cost of pizza is the opportunity lost i.e., coke.

Wants, efforts, and satisfaction are in a cyclic nature and thus never ending. To satisfy human wants they make efforts and after one want is satisfied another want arises they make efforts again to satisfy the new want. These efforts are in the form of different economic activities such as 1.The primary economic activities like agriculture, forestry, dairying, etc 2. The secondary economic activities like manufacturing industries and 3. The services sector which includes banking, insurance, teaching, transportation, etc.

The subject matter of economics revolves around Production, Consumption, Distribution and Exchange.

The factors of production are land, labour, capital, organisation, science and technology. Different countries of the world have different amounts of these factors of production. For instance, Japan has neither satisfactory levels of natural resources nor the human resources hence it depends heavily on science and technology by importing most of the raw material required to produce goods and services. Japan imports iron ore from India. In India there are abundant natural as well as human resources. The quantity of population is too high hence some other countries like the U.S.A., and many developed countries engage the Indian human resources too in the production of goods and services. In India the quantity of human resources is very high but their quality has to be improved further.

To satisfy human wants people consume goods and services. There are various laws in economics which explain the consumer behaviour the indifference curve analysis is one of them.

After the wealth is created, it has to be distributed among the various factors of production as given below. The land has to be paid rent, the labor gets wages, capital has to be paid interest, and finally the organisation gets the profit as it takes risk in producing goods and services or in creating the wealth. Thus every organisation or a firm tries to maximise its profits by reducing its expenditure on the remaining factors of production.

As mentioned elsewhere earlier all the countries of the world cannot produce all the goods and services, hence exchange of goods and services takes place among the nations of the world. In other words some countries have comparative and or cost advantage in producing certain goods and services over other nations. When the currency was not invented there was a barter system of exchange where by goods were exchanged for goods or services.

In economics, there are several basic and important laws such as 1.The law of demand, 2.The law of supply, 3.The law of diminishing marginal utility, and 4.The law of diminishing marginal returns. According to the law of demand, other things remaining equal the demand is more when the price is less and vice-versa. The law of supply states that the supply increases with the increase in price other things remaining equal. According to the law of diminishing marginal utility, the additional satisfaction obtained by consuming an additional unit of say a fruit decreases. This law does not applicable to drunkards, book lovers, music lovers, etc. Finally the law of diminishing returns is applicable mostly to agriculture sector.

Fiscal policy and monetary policy are also known as the demand management policies. Fiscal policy is a policy which deals with public revenue, expenditure, and debt management. The fiscal policy's objectives are reflected in a country's budget every fiscal year. Similarly the monetary policy is a policy of the central bank of any nation. In India the reserve bank of India formulates the monetary policy to manage the credit in the nation. The management of supply of money is done through Interest rates, cash reserve ratio, etc. In other words the central bank manages the supply of money through various modes to increase or decrease the demand in an economic system.

Case Study - Setting Yourself Up As The Expert

An insurance representative had just signed on as a broker for a national insurance company offering what was an outstanding new corporate product. After reviewing the corporate insurance product he could not see how any corporation with 5 - 50 employees could turn it down. It offered better employee benefits for a much lower cost and the same deductibles as other similar products.

PROBLEM:

Although he had the best product, he could not compete because he could not get in the doors! Others with similar - but not better - products had established contacts and years of experience.

The insurance representative decided to try a soft-sell approach - inform the prospects of the product and teach them about the advantages in a teacher-student setting rather than a high pressure 1-on-1 situation. This would set him up as the expert by default. The question now was how to accomplish this task.

SOLUTION:

He booked a meeting hall to hold a seminar and printed material regarding the insurance product. The seminar would be free to everyone and include breakfast and prizes for attendees.

In every communication he let it be know clearly that this was an invitation only event and seating was limited - no exceptions.

In order to promote the seminar he:

1. Created specific home and reservation pages for his website. The pages included links to the national insurance company website and PDF files of literature from both the national insurance company and his own company about the new product. Reservations could be made instantly online.

2. Ran ads with Google, Yahoo and MSN that were geographically specific. The ads began running in just a few short hours.

3. Contracted with a service bureau to bulk email an ad based on a guaranteed opening of 12,000 emails, which were expected to take up to 90 days because of the specific market he was attempting to reach. The email contained an image which linked the viewer to the seminar section of his website.

4. Since he had 90 days for the bulk email campaign to be completed he created a quick newsletter focusing on the seminar but also offering tips and advice - more informative than sales oriented. The newsletter was a simple self-mailer on card stock with a perforated return form for readers to make reservations for the seminar. He thought he would need to produce two newsletters, one per month for the first two months. A third could be produced if needed. He thought he would need at least two newsletters but he was wrong.

RESULTS:

The seminar was full within 45 days of the beginning of his promotion and responses continued to come in.

Instead of creating a waiting list he quickly reserved the meeting hall for a second date... then a third.

Neil Walsh
Daba Designs
P.O. Box 255
North Olmsted, Ohio 44070
Phone: (440)465-0744
Website: http://www.daba-designs.com

CDC Study on Birth Defects Implicates Popular Fertility Drug

On November 26, 2010, the medical journal, Human Reproduction, published online the results of a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which found that the fertility drug, Clomid (clomiphene citrate), was associated with a significant increased risk for 9 different types of birth defects following use of the popular drug.

The implicated abnormalities included a 130% increased risk for anencephaly (open cranium with absence of a brain); a 130% increased risk for esophageal atresia (closed esophagus); a 120% increased risk for omphalocele (protrusion of part of the intestine through the abdominal wall); a 90% increased risk for craniosynostosis (premature fusion of the skull bones); increased risks for 3 different types of heart defects, ranging between 60% and 390%; and an increased risk of 340% for a defect of the brain (Dandy Walker malformation). The ninth defect (cloacal exstrophy) involves multiple defects of the gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts, and the study reported a 440% increased risk for this severe congenital abnormality.

Drawing on 8 years of data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, CDC epidemiologist Dr. Jennita Reefhuis and her colleagues compared the drug's exposure to 36 types of birth defects with 6,500 live born babies born without major birth anomalies, used as controls. No less than 22 of the remaining 27 birth defect categories likewise showed an increased risk, ranging from 10% up to 170% after exposure to Clomid, although the numbers were insufficient to reach the scientific standard for "statistical significance."

The FDA is now faced with a dilemma which will be more difficult to side-step. The agency had previously ignored preliminary findings from the CDC study, which reported in July 2008 that exposure to Clomid was associated with an increased risk of developing 4 different types of birth defects - a list that has now grown to nine. The purported justification for challenging these findings was that they had not yet been reported in a journal.

But earlier studies appearing in peer-reviewed journals involving the same drug have likewise been ignored. These include reports of an increased risk of craniosynostosis in 2003 (Reefhuis, et al.); an increased risk of neural tube defects in 2004 (Medveczky, et al.); an increased risk of penoscrotal hypospadias in 2006 (Meijer, et al.); an increased risk of spina bifida in 2006 (Wu, et al.); and an increased risk of neural tube defects when ovarian cysts are produced by the drug, in 2008 (Banhidy, et al.). Since anencephaly (involving the cranium) and spina bifida (involving the spine) are both neural tube defects (NTDs), there are now 4 studies involving an association between Clomid and NTDs published in the last 6 years - none of which have motivated the FDA to require a warning.

In December 2007, a citizen petition was filed with the FDA demanding, among other things, that the regulatory agency require the manufacturers of Clomid and its generic to include a birth defect warning in the drugs' labeling. After sitting on the petition for a year and 9 months, the FDA denied the request. However, in October 2009, a petition for reconsideration was filed, citing multiple errors in the reasoning of the FDA's ruling. Fourteen more months have now passed without a final decision - a delay which has provided a window of opportunity for presentation of the recent findings by the CDC.

Will the FDA also ignore an official study by another branch of the federal government? After 43 years on the market, will the users of this popular fertility drug finally be warned about the potential risks to the babies they so desperately desire? Stay tuned, as this saga continues to unfold. For anyone interested in the debated exchanges over the citizen petition, I would encourage you to go to http://www.regulations.gov and enter the docket number of FDA-2007-P-0234. In addition to a debate over the science on the issue, these filings reflect an agency determined to maintain the status quo, rather than acquiesce to the mandate of federal law to require warnings of potential serious adverse reactions to drugs.

Time will tell whether the FDA is committed to protecting the general public or, instead, the interests of the industry it is required to regulate.

Terence Mix is a trial attorney who spent over 2 1/2 decades successfully litigating fertility drug cases on behalf of malformed babies. He is a former president of the Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Association and spent 12 years on the Board of Governors of California Trial Lawyers Association. He is a legal author and lecturer on trial techniques and strategies, including the trial of drug product cases, which was his specialty for over 30 years. He is a former biographee in Who's Who in California (1983) and Who's Who in American Law (1985). He has recently completed a nonfiction book: "THE PRICE OF OVULATION: The Truth about Fertility Drugs and Birth Defects - and a Solution to the Problem." During the course of researching the book, he reviewed in excess of 1000 scientific papers on the subject. He has also testified in front of the FDA on the topic of fertility drugs and birth defects. www.terencemix.com

Point of Sale (POS) Printer Rollout Study For Grocery Stores

If your company has experienced complications and hardship trying to roll out new technologies to several locations across the country, you may benefit from this article. As you would likely agree, communication and constant attention to detail are vital aspects to a successful roll-out. Problems can arise at any moment during a nationwide roll-out with obstacles at each unique location and difficulty coordinating each step of the process.

A Global Provider specializing in "customer driven marketing" for international grocery, drug and mass merchandiser stores, was in need of an organized and meticulous management team to complete a project requiring service at over 1,500 different site locations. This Provider/Customer distributes printed coupon advertisements at point-of-sale checkout counters in over 23,000 grocery, mass merchandise, and pharmacy stores nationwide. The Customer was looking to upgrade their point of sale hardware in various stores from black & white to high-speed point of sale color printers.

The job required installation of upgraded infrastructure cabling in over 8,000 lanes at stores owned by 11 large supermarket chains. The Customer needed to ensure that the new data cabling, which would accommodate incoming point of sale color printers, was properly installed and functional before distributing the new printers to the respective locations. The project was expected to be costly and complicated because of the vast number of unique locations.

Multiple challenges were identified for the customer in this case, but with no clear way to solve them simultaneously.

1. Customer needed custom cabling designs for multiple locations due to the different layouts of the stores.

2. Customer needed a way to coordinate and organize the on-going activity and installation at each individual site.

3. Customer needed to find contractors at each location who were qualified to complete the installation, without detracting from the quality of service provided by each contractor.

4. Customer had to ensure that the cabling installations would not cause the stores to close for installation nor would it be bothersome to the shoppers.

5. Customer had to verify that the work was completed in a timely and high-quality fashion with the system being fully ready for implementation with the new printers.

With all of these evident challenges to the job, this Global Provider chose to enlist A National Project Management and Cabling Contractor to complete the multifaceted project.

After receiving the contract from the Customer, the National Contractor initiated its standard procedures, as follows:

1. Identified the scope of work.

2. Met with the customer to discuss the criteria of the job and the specifications of the installations

3. Visited a pilot site location to obtain a visual understanding of the project.

4. Met with a subcontractor who was familiar with the typical grocery store layouts to gain an outside perspective on the best pathways to use for the cabling.

Following this diagnostic process, the Internal Team collaborated to establish two viable options for the cabling installation, to overcome the issue of various store layouts at the site locations. This solves the first challenge mentioned above because the National Contractor produced custom designed methods for the cabling to be installed.

The actual work to be completed was the removal of old cabling from the stores' infrastructure and the installation of new CAT5 data cables at each checkout lane in every store. The National Contractor produced two options for the installation depending on the layout of the store. If the pathway allowed for it, the "Homerun" option consisted of running cables from each of the lanes directly to the Communications Room. If there were space limitations in the pathway, a second solution was created in which the cables would be condensed at a midpoint and then two new backbone cables (a primary and a backup) would be run to the Communications Room. One of these two options would be suitable for every location and The National Contractor began checking the floor plans of each site to determine which option should be used.

As mentioned previously, some of the concerns about executing a multi-site technical roll-out are the uncertainty about the quality of work that you will receive from each individual technician and whether or not they are qualified to do the job. Without any prior experience, you never know exactly what kind of service you will get from the various contractors. Thus, an established National Contractor has an in-depth procedure for selecting and qualifying technicians as well as a comprehensive process to ensure that your installation is performed in a professional and customer-friendly manner.

Labeling oneself as professional is one of the most typical ways a company can project an image of qualification. As the customer, you don't want to discover after-the-fact that the contractor you hired is not only careless, but difficult to work with. With this Global Provider facing a project with coordination of over 1,540 sites, the National Contractor selected two experienced Project Managers (PMs) to supervise the job from start to finish. Once the scope of work was established, the Project Managers searched in its large database for qualified technicians near each location who were experienced in infrastructure cabling installation for similar marketplace buildings. The National Contractor also calculated optimum driving routes for the techs to minimize travel time and be more cost-efficient with the installations.

Another challenge with this point of sales printer project was that the Customer did not want the stores or its customers to be affected by the cabling installation. Thus, the Project Managers confirmed with the selected technicians that they were willing to work after-hours to do the job to maintain activity in the stores. The National Contractor was able to accommodate the after-hours request, and corresponded with the Customer's on-site representatives to ensure access to the stores at night. The store managers also had input in this planning and The National Contractor adjusted its time schedule around the busier days for the store such as blackout dates (i.e. double coupon promotions). This flexibility of work hours made it convenient for the Customer to upgrade its systems while the stores remained open.

A common cause for costly delays at the beginning of a large rollout is the absence of supplies that the technicians need to install the cables. To avoid this problem, The National Contractor's PMs ordered bulk materials to help save the Customer money and followed a strict schedule to have all necessary installation materials available before the techs arrived at the locations. While some companies suffer from the confusion of task scheduling with multiple sites, this National Contractor uses its signature management tool, Advantage®, to monitor and update the activity occurring at each site on a daily basis. Using the Advantage® System, the PMs were able to keep track of where installations were occurring every single day.

During the installation, the Customer did not want the in-place coupon printers to be inactive so The National Contractor devised a plan where the technicians installed the new cables before removing the old ones. Thus, the printers were always online and operating during the installation period, until the new cables were installed and ready for use. This type of quality assurance demonstrates this National Contractor's ability to customize its plans to the requests of the customer on any given job.

The Customer's initial apprehension about the quality of work was put to rest when The National Contractor explained the steps that each technician would take with the installation. Upon arrival, the selected tech would administer a "Pre-Installation Survey" to verify that all the printers were up and functioning properly. Then, the tech would confirm with the Project Manager which installation option to use at the site and install the new CAT5 data cables from the lanes to the Communications Room. For a typical contractor, this would be considered a completed job and the technician would leave, sometimes without notice, assuming that everything was working fine. This National Contractor, insists on active communication between the Customer, technician, and Project Manager to assure the techs sign-in and sign-out with the store manager each day on site.

As the customer, it can be very frustrating and often costly for an installation to be completed without checking to make sure everything is working as expected. The National Contractor's quality assurance program includes that technicians at every store conduct a "Post-Installation Survey" where the new CAT5 cables were connected to the current printers and tested to make sure it was working. The Customer's plan was to install the new point of sale color printers after the cabling was completed and The National Contractor made this much easier by providing cabling that was tested and functional, so that the new printers simply needed to be shipped to the locations and plugged in.

The new printers rollout consisting of 1,540 store installations for the Global Provider was completed in approximately nine months, within the estimated time frame. All challenges identified by the Customer, including quality assurance of installation and supervision with each store location, were completed in an organized and efficient effort by The National Contractor team. Accomplishing a project of this magnitude can often be costly and complicated which is why The National Contractor can benefit companies by providing ease of mind that the desired outcome will be achieved in a methodical and cost-effective way. For this Global Provider, The National Contractor was able to offer a more competitive price by supplying bulk materials at a lower average cost and with a more efficient Management Team. The decision process for selecting a suitable, yet competent contractor can be hectic and time-consuming. The National Contractor team strived to make the entire duration of a project as painless as possible for the Customer with the belief that through efficient management and by utilizing the right tools, any job can accomplished at a superior level.

For more information on national technology rollouts and/or to consult with one of our experts please call Celergy Networks Toll Free: (877) CELERGY (235-3749) or visit our website at http://www.celergy.com.

Marketing to the National Security Agency - A Case Study

DPC Technologies was founded in 1988 and by 1993 was a supplier of high performance data technology products and services to the National Security Agency. At that time one of DPC's founders developed and implemented an aggressive plan to increase the company's footprint in the NSA. The goal was to become a trusted, reliable supplier in all major groups at the NSA and increase DPC's standing as a prime contractor.

After researching available information regarding the NSA, a number of conclusions were reached:

NSA was a well funded technical leader in the Intelligence Community.
NSA required the IT and IA products and services DPC offered.
High barriers to entry (clearances, security, tight technical specifications) created an opportunity for DPC.
The NSA buying patterns included opportunity for small business.

Strategic Plan

The strategic plan included eight steps:

Research and understand the needs and buying patterns of the program elements of the agency and Maryland Procurement Organization.
Unconditionally fulfill all commitments (never "walk away" from a problem).
Utilize the most effective contract vehicles.
Hire experienced, effective sales and support personnel that had the proper clearances and access to program elements.
Build an effective recruiting organization that could supply personnel to meet NSA specifications.
Strengthen relationships with key prime contractors.
Proactively search out new business opportunities as solutions for agency requirements.
Revise the strategy to meet current conditions.

Performance Results

The plan produced immediate and significant results. Revenue and profits doubled every year during the period 1994-98 and DPC became a well known and respected supplier in the major groups of NSA. In addition, DPC established itself as an important partner and teaming member for the Ground Breaker Project.

The Path to Ground Breaker

During the 1990's NSA determined that non mission critical IT efforts could be better managed through outsourcing. Since the non-mission critical IT needs of NSA were very large, Ground Breaker became a major effort. An integral part of the NSA Ground Breaker strategy was the utilization of the NSA existing talent pool of IT specialists already employed by the agency.

As a first step, NSA introduced the "Soft Landing" concept as a way to utilize existing NSA IT talent through commercial outsourcing vehicles. The Soft Landing concept allowed existing NSA IT personnel the ability to leave the agency and re-enter as a contracted employee. Since most NSA employees had a minimum of 30 years experience with NSA and government service, employee benefits became an import factor in the bid evaluation of bids for Soft Landing projects.

Soft Landing

There were a total of seven Soft Landing awards and large prime contractors won the first two (DPC did not initially bid) DPC won the next four opportunities and became a recognized contractor for this effort. DPC's strategy was to bid each Soft Landing RFP based upon a tailored benefit program in addition to competitive prices. DPC also invested in support personnel to ease the transition to the commercial world for the new employees. Word spread among the prospective NSA employees that DPC was an attractive Soft Landing Contractor.

Interim Contracts

There were other, traditional contracts that DPC won in partnership with major prime contractors and, by the end of 1998, DPC was considered a valuable team mate for the Ground Breaker effort by a number of prime contractors.

Sale to Northrop Grumman and the Eagle Alliance

In 1999, DPC was sold to Northrop Grumman Corporation. An important part of the transaction was the payment by DPC of over $1m in retention bonuses for key DPC employees. These individuals were instrumental in the winning strategy for the Eagle Alliance consortium as a vehicle for the awarded Ground Breaker contract.

Jon M. Stout is Chief Executive Officer of Aspiration Software LLC. Aspiration Software LLC is an Information Technology/Cyber Security services provider focused on the Intelligence Community (IC). For more information about Cyber Security and Information Assurance and Employment Opportunities in the Intelligence Community go to http://aspirationsoftware.com

Kazi Nazrul Islam - The National Poet of Bangladesh : A Profile Study

Kazi Nazrul Islam (1899 - 1976) : He is known as Bidrohi Kobi - The Rebel Poet of Bengal, The National Poet of Bangladesh, and more truly a World Poet.

Nazrul said, "Even though I was born in this country (Bengal), in this society, I don't belong to just this country, this society. I belong to the world." [Nazrul Rochonaboli, Bangla Academy, Vol. 4, p. 91]

He was a very versatile poet, lyricist and writer who composed many beautiful verses of poems, prose, songs and classical music.

Nazrul was known as the 'Rebel' poet in Bengali literature and the 'Bulbul' or Nightingale of Bengali music, was one of the most colourful personalities of undivided Bengal. He may be considered a pioneer of post-Tagore modernity in Bengali poetry. The new kind of poetry that he wrote made possible the emergence of modernity in Bengali poetry during the 1920s and 1930s. His poems, songs, novels, short stories, plays and political activities expressed strong protest against various forms of oppression - slavery, communalism, feudalism and colonialism - and forced the British government not only to ban many of his books but also to put him in prison. While in prison, Kazi Nazrul lslam once fasted for 40 days to protest against the tyranny of the then British government.

Kazi Nazrul Islam was born on May 24, 1899 in Churulia village, Bardhawan in West Bengal, India. His mother was Zaheda Khatun and his father Kazi Fakir Ahmed was the Imaam of the local village mosque. The second of three sons and one daughter, Nazrul lost his father in 1908 when he was only 9 years old and his father died at the age of 60. Nazrul's nickname was "Dukhu Mia" (hapless chap), a name that aptly reflects the hardships and misery of his life right from the early years. His father's premature death forced him, at the age of 10, to become the Muazzin (a caller for prayer) of the local mosque. This early exposure to the principles and practices of Islam was to have a significant impact on his later literary endeavors.

In 1910, at the age of 11, Nazrul returned to his student life enrolling in class VI. The Headmaster of the school remembers him in the following words: "He was a small, good-looking boy, always the first to greet me. I used to smile at him and pat him on the back. He was very shy."

Again, financial difficulties compelled him to leave school after class VI, and Dukhu Mia ended up as a cook in a bakery and tea-shop in Asansole.

In his youth, Nazrul joined a folk-opera group inspired by his uncle Bazle Karim who himself was well-known for composing songs in Arabic, Persian and Urdu. As a member of this folk-opera group, the young Nazrul was not only a performer, but began composing poems and songs himself. Nazrul's involvement with the group was an important formative influence in his literary career.

Nazrul submitted to the hard life with characteristic courage. In 1914, Nazrul escaped from the rigours of the tea-shop to re-enter a school in Darirampur village, Trishal in Mymensingh district. Although Nazrul had to change schools two or three times, he managed to continue up to class X, and in 1917 he joined the Indian Army when boys of his age were busy preparing for the matriculation pre-test examination.

For almost three years, up to March-April 1920, Nazrul served in the army and was promoted to the rank of Battalion Quarter Master Havildar. Even as a soldier, he continued his literary and musical activities, publishing his first piece 'The Autobiography of a Delinquent" (Saogat, May 1919) and his first poem, "Freedom" in Bangiya Musalman. Sahitya-patrika, (July 1919), during his posting at Karachi cantonment. What is remarkable is that even when he was in Karachi, he subscribed regularly to the leading contemporary literary periodicals that were published from Calcutta like, Prabasi, Bharatbarsha, Bharati, Saogat and others.

When after the 1st World War in 1920, the 49th Bengal Regiment was disbanded, Nazrul returned to Calcutta to begin his journalistic and literary life. His poems, essays and novels began to appear regularly in a number of periodicals and within a year he became well known not only to the prominent Muslim intellectuals of the time, but was also accepted by the Hindu literary establishment in Calcutta. In 1921, Nazrul went to Santiniketan to meet Rabindranath Tagore - his master-poet, the source of his inspiration...

The same year, Nazrul was engaged to be married to the love of his life - Nargis, the niece of a well-known Muslim publisher Ali Akbar Khan, in Daulatpur, Comilla, but on the day of the wedding (18th June, 1921) Nazrul suddenly backed out at the last moment, and left the place due to some serious misunderstandings and disagreements. However, many songs and poems reveal the deep wound that this experience inflicted on the young Nazrul and his lingering love for Nargis.

In 1922, Nazrul published a volume of short stories Byathar Dan (The Gift of Sorrow), an anthology of poems Agnibeena, an anthology of essays Yugabani, and a bi-weekly magazine, Dhumketu. A political poem published in Dhumketu in September 1922, led to a police raid on the magazine's office, a ban on his anthology Yugabani, and one year's rigorous imprisonment for the poet himself.

On April 14, 1923, when Nazrul lslam was transferred from the Alipore jail to the Hooghly jail, he began a fast to protest the mistreatment by a British jail-superintendent. Immediately, Rabindranath Tagore, who had dedicated his musical play, Basanta, to Nazrul, sent a telegram saying: "Give up hunger strike, our literature claims you", but the telegram was sent back to the sender with the stamp "addressee not found."

Nazrul broke his fast more than a month later and was eventually released from prison in December 1923. On 25th April 1924, Kazi Nazrul lslam married a Hindu woman Pramila Devi and set up his residence in Hooghly. An anthology of poems 'Bisher Banshi' and an anthology of songs 'Bhangar Gan' were published later this year and both volumes were seized by the government. Nazrul soon became actively involved in politics (1925), joined rallies and meetings, and became a member of the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee. He also played an active role in the formation of a workers and peasants party.

In 1926, Nazrul went and settled in Krishnanagar. His patriotic and nationalistic songs expanded in scope to articulate the aspirations of the downtrodden classes. His music became truly people-oriented in its appeal. Several songs composed in 1926 and 1927 celebrating fraternity between the Hindus and Muslims and the struggle of the masses, gave rise to what may be called "mass music". Nazrul's musical creativity established him not only as an egalitarian composer of "mass music", but also as the innovator of the Bengali Ghazal.

The two forms, music for the masses and ghazal, exemplified the two aspects of the youthful poet: struggle and love. Nazrul injected a revitalizing masculinity and youthfulness into Bengali music. Despite illness, poverty and other hardships, Nazrul wrote and composed some of his best songs during his Krishnanagar stay.

From 1928 to 1932, Nazrul became directly involved with His Master's Voice Gramophone Company as a lyricist, composer and trainer, and many records of Nazrul songs, sung by some of the most well-known singers of the time were produced. The newly established Indian Broadcasting Company also enlisted Nazrul as a lyricist and composer and he remained actively involved with several gramophone companies and the Radio till his last working days. Nazrul songs were in great demand on the stage as well. He not only wrote songs for his own plays, but generously provided lyrics and set them to tune for a number of well-known dramatists of the time.

In 1929, a colourful national reception was accorded to Nazrul in Calcutta and was attended by prominent people like the scientist Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, Barrister S. Wajid Ali and Subashchandra Bose.

In the midst of these productive activities, tragedy struck twice in rapid succession: first, Nazrul's mother died in 1928; a year later, his 4 year old son Bulbul died of small pox, five months after the birth of his second son Shabyashachi.

Between 1928 and 1935, Nazrul published 10 volumes of songs containing over 800 songs of which more than 600 were based on classical ragas, almost 100 were folk tunes and kirtans and some 30 were patriotic and other songs. Thus during the 1930s, Nazrul established a firm classical foundation in Bengali Music. His songs dealt with the themes of love, nature, divinity and nationalism

In 1936, the film Vidyapati was produced based on Nazrul's recorded play. In the same year, Rabindranath Tagore's novel Gora was filmed with Nazrul as its music director and included one of his own songs. In June 1936, Sachin Sengupta's important play, Siraj-ud-daulah was staged. The songs and music were written and directed by Nazrul. The play and songs met with such unprecedented success that a gramophone recording was made, and at that time was commonly heard in almost every Bengali household.

In October 1939, Nazrul's relationship with Calcutta Radio was formalized, and numerous musical programs were directly broadcast under his supervision. Worth mentioning are the critical and research oriented programs such as "Haramoni" and "Navaraga-malika".

During 1939, different recording companies issued a total of over 1000 records, 1648 of which were Nazrul's songs. The total number of his unrecorded songs is perhaps twice as much. Nazrul's songs were also broadcast from Dhaka Radio. This trend continued throughout 1941, with songs based on many different ragas and narrative ballads. Apart from these, Nazrul occasionally took part in recitation and commentary of the Holy Ouran.

In early 1941, Sher-e-Bangla Fazlul Huq commenced re-publication of the daily newspaper Nabayuga ("New Age"). Nazrul was its Chief Editor returning to the world of journalism at the final stage of his active life. On August 8th 1941, Rabindranath Tagore died. Nazrul spontaneously composed two poems in Tagore's memory, of which one was broadcast and recorded on gramophone. Within a year, Nazrul himself fell seriously ill and gradually lost his power of speech, being stricken by cerebral palsy. Thereafter from July 1942 till his death in August 1976, the poet spent 34 years in mute silence unable to speak even a single word.

In October 1942, mental dysfunction set in and Nazrul was admitted to Lumbini Park Mental Hospital in Calcutta, but there was no improvement in his mental condition and he began losing his memory. By then, despite having earned lavish sums through his music, he had also spent recklessly and was in financial difficulties. Many of his old friends turned away in this dark hour, and he became increasingly embittered, as evidenced in this letter to a friend Zulfikar Haider on July 17, 1942 :

...I am bed-ridden due to blood pressure. I am writing with great difficulty. My home is filled with worries: illness, debt, creditors; day and night I am struggling.

...My nerves are shattered. For the last six months, I used to visit Mr. Haque (A. K. Fazlul Haque, the then Chief Minister of undivided Bengal) daily and spend 5-6 hours like a beggar...I am unable to have quality medical help...

This might be my last letter to you. With only great difficulty, I can utter a few words. I am in pain almost all over my body. I might get money like the poet Firdausi on the day of the funeral prayer (janajar namaz).

However, I have asked my relatives to refuse that money.

Yours,

Nazrul

Source: Dr. Sushilkumar Gupta, Nazrul Choritmanosh (Calcutta: De's Publishing, 1960), p. 106]

Nazrul entered a world of increasing isolation, though still revered by Bengalis. In 1945, Calcutta University awarded him the "Jagattarini Gold medal". In 1952, he was transferred to the Ranchi Mental Hospital from where he was sent to London for treatment at the initiative of the "Nazrul Treatment Society" formed and financed by some of his ardent admirers when they came to know of his financial hardships.

Several eminent physicians in London including Sir William Sargent, were of the opinion that his initial treatment had been inadequate and incomplete. Thereafter, Nazrul was taken to Vienna where his condition was diagnosed as incurable. He and his family returned to India in December 1953. He spent the rest of his life in utter misery.

Earlier his wife, Pramila Devi, had become ill in 1939 and though paralysed from the waist down, she spent the next 23 years of her life, caring for her husband until her death at the age of 54 on 30th June, 1962. As per her last wish, she was buried at her husband's birthplace, Churulia. Nazrul's sons, Aniruddha died in 1974 at the age of 43, and Shabyashachi in 1979 at the age of 50.

In 1962, Nazrul was awarded the 'Padmabhushan' Title by the Govt. of India. In 1969, Rabindra Bharati University honored him D. Lit Degree. In Nazrul's opinion, the highest recognition he ever cherished was when his master-poet, the inspiration of his life, Rabindranath Tagore dedicated his "Bashanto" opera to Nazrul, saying that Nazrul had ushered in Bashanto (Spring) in the life of the Nation, thus recognizing him as a wonderful poet.

When in sound health, Nazrul had earlier come to Dhaka in December 1940 to attend the 1st anniversary of the Dhaka radio station. In 1971, the Government in exile of Bangladesh continued to pay the pension due to him by the Government of East Pakistan. After the liberation of Bangladesh, at the request of the Bangladesh Government, the Government of India allowed Nazrul to be taken for residing in Bangladesh with his family.

Nazrul arrived on 24 May 1972, as guest of the Government of Bangladesh and was accorded due honours. The President and Prime Minister paid their homage to him. In 1974, the Dhaka University awarded him the degree of Doctorate of Literature. In 1976, the Government awarded him the "Ekushey Padak" Gold Medal.

On 22 July 1975, Nazrul was transferred to the Post Graduate Hospital for continuous medical supervision. He spent the remaining one year, one month and eight days of his life there. Towards the end of August 1976, his condition deteriorated, his temperature shot up to over 105 degrees, and on 29 August 1976, he breathed his last at 10:10 a.m.

As soon as Nazrul's death was broadcast over Radio and T.V. the news spread like wild fire and plunged the Bengali nation in profound gloom. Life came to a standstill in Dhaka as thousands of men and women lined up to have a last glimpse of the rebel poet's mortal remains in the Teacher-Students' Centre of the University of Dhaka.

At 5 p.m. on the same day, Kazi Nazrul Islam was buried with full state honour beside the Dhaka University mosque. Now almost three decades after his death, Kazi Nazrul Islam resides in the hearts of millions of Bangladeshis as their national poet.

Emerging from the overall backwardness of the Muslims of Bengal in the 1920s, Nazrul injected the community with a much-needed sense of self-confidence. Almost single handedly, Nazrul brought about a renaissance amongst Bengali Muslims, and led them into modernity. The genius of Nazrul achieved the impossible and the Bengali nation remains eternally indebted to him.

Bangladesh honoured itself by honouring Kazi Nazrul Islam with the citizenship of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Now, the world over, Nazrul is known as the National Poet of Bangladesh.

By the time he passed away in Dhaka on August 29, 1976 -- having spent 34 years in paralytic torment - he had become a legend, the exemplar of a religious sensibility that was not bounded by abstract definitions, but defined itself in the acts of devotion, empathy and creativity. He was the Rebel Poet. His humanistic vision, philosophy and spirit transcended many orthodox boundaries. He was also a very down-to-earth, maatir-manush, his communication so simple and straight-forward that could be understood by the masses.

In those days of India's struggle for Independence and Undivided Bengal, Nazrul always believed in the strength of Hindu-Muslim Unity. Being a Muslim, he himself married a Hindu Woman, Pramila Devi, and also wrote devotional songs - Shyama Sangeet - dedicated to the Hindu Goddess - Ma Kali. He deserves to be known as a very versatile poet, lyricist and writer. He was a mass-oriented, revolutionary, literary figure, always protesting against bigotry, injustice, extremism, fanaticism, exploitation, oppression and inequality of all kinds. He was a bold and undaunted activist always feared by the establishment. He was a passionate advocate of religious harmony always advocating better hindu-muslim relationships. Through his songs and poetry, he propagated the universal values of love, peace, tolerance, freedom, justice, harmony and cooperation. As a persona, he had an indomitable human spirit and was full of love, valour, creativity, humanity and romanticism. He was very warm-hearted and loving and could express his feelings in the most beautiful way through his writings.

http://www.aparnaonline.com/nazrul.html