TajTune this one in (or out)

In the beginning, there were e-greetings or e-cards or whatever else they were called. And they made sense.

No, they did not give quite as much pleasure as sifting through your sheaf of bills and worthy cause letters and coming across something personal: a personally addressed card, in the personally addressing handwriting of someone you know and love. Happy Birthday to you. Get well soon. For my Valentine.

But, still, it was always fun when an e-greeting popped up in your e-mail and you knew someone was thinking of you.

Well, if someone is really thinking of you, or you're really thinking of someone, you just might want to surprise them with a TajTune from India - a twentieth century singing telegram for only $5.

A TajTune is not just any old pedestrian "Happy Birthday to You." No, they have their own hip and happening birthday song, a romance ditty, and a get well greeting.

"Feel Better"
From an island far away
A little birdie came to say
*whistle*
(Recipient's Name), please feel better
This little birdie flew far and wide
To sing a song to make you smile
*whistle*
(Recipient's Name), please feel better
Just imagine
The ocean breeze
The shining sun
The dancing trees
Let the island weather
help you feel better!

Then there's the congratulations song:

Congrats!
Hats off to you
You deserve a cookie
Okay... Maybe two!
Fresh baked cookies!
Smell those cookies
Yummy cookies
Fresh baked cookies
Congrats!
A pat on your back
But you won't get two cookies
You deserve the whole batch
Fresh baked cookies!
Smell those cookies
Yummy cookies
Fresh baked cookies... For you

Actually, I'd be more than a little peeved if someone sent me this one. If I deserve fresh baked cookies - the whole batch - then I want fresh baked cookies - the whole batch. Unless they're backing the TajTune up with a cookie or two, this one doesn't make all that much sense.

Oh, well, quibble as I do about the content, scintillating lyrics like these do TajTunes little justice. You really do need to hop on over there and listen for yourself.

And don't let the Bollywood Donny Osmond on the home page throw you off. The voice behind the TajTunes is not glamorous at all. In fact, when it comes to voice quality, it sounds surprisingly like a me-or-you voice - capable of carrying a tune, but not much beyond that. Not to mention that it also sounds like the voice of "Brian" or "Josh", back there in Bangalore helping you with your technical assistance question.

Looks like the singing telegram - "Your sister Rose is dead!" - is one more thing that's been outsourced.

The TajTune is recorded and sent to you (the sender) along with a recording of the recipient's reaction to the "surprise."

I can imagine there'll be more than a few WTF's recorded along the way.

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Thanks to my sister Trish for pointing TajTunes out to me. If I wasn't too cheap, I'd send you a TajTune of thanks.