The name is Neo

Book Review: 'A Flawed God' by Arjun Shekhar

2011-12-23T20:30:00.003+05:30

Very recently, a Hindi movie ‘Aarakshan’ premiered on Indian television, and I happened to watch it. Much hyped because it was about a popularly debated issue of reservation for socially backward castes in educational institutions, it failed to make a mark. The primary reason – it converted a systemic issue into something that concerned only one institution, and then, didn’t even present the solution for it.

‘A Flawed God’ by Arjun Shekhar suffers from the same drawback.

The narrative, written in first person, takes us through a thrilling ride where the protagonist (Sanchit Mishra, an HR executive) goes to alien places, plays unknown games to become a member of a strange, secret organization, and tries to apply what he learnt there in his own company, while it faces a roller-coaster ride of its own. Of course, the journey also includes things he has never done in his life, like getting laid. However, the story goes through abrupt twists, and comes to an abrupt end, leaving the reader wondering about a lot of issues.

Unlike a Dan Brown novel, the story had no gory murders, and just one cryptic clue to solve, after which we are inside the secret organization. Oh, by the way, the organization is not really very secretive, so it has a website and it publishes a journal too.

Saying anything more would reveal the complete plot, so I would refrain from that. Let me try to share my disappointment without giving the mystery away.

1) The constant shift between story-writing and diary-writing

Throughout the story, the author keeps jumping between detailing to the extreme (which makes us feel the story is happening right now and we are a part of it) and summarizing the incident in big sweeps (which feels like reading someone’s diary entry describing his first date in just 3 sentences). This leads to knee-jerk endings of potentially big emotional situations and revelations.

2) Limited character building:

As the story progresses, we don’t really feel that we are getting to know the characters a little better. There are very few back-stories, and very few aspects of each character get built as we go along. This made me feel of the characters more as stereotypes, rather than humans.

3) Excessive repetition of the ‘point’ of the story:

The back page already informs us of the case that the author wants to present – pass on the ownership from ROI-focussed shareholders to the dedicated and passionate employees of the company. The same concept gets explained roughly 4 times through the story, creating excessive hype and pushing the reader to the edge to see its implementation in real life.

4) Presenting a not-so-new-or-radical solution to a pressing systemic problem

Even before we start reading this story, we know that the problem is pressing, and we are willing to take our chances with any structure or system that seems like a solution to this problem. The story, unfortunately, doesn’t propose one.

It presents known practices (like the Japanese style of participative management) with new jargon and a somewhat larger scope.

More disappointingly, the solution of ownership transfer from shareholders to employees is presented for just one company and that too with limited application. The company does put a seemingly new system in place, but then, there are no ‘case studies’ where we see the system in action.

Most disappointingly, the solution is not exactly an alternative to the existing system. It is more of an alternative style of management within the existing system.

5) Overlapping of the problem with unrelated others

The plot overlaps the problem of owners versus employees, with typical problems of labour union politics, and even outsiders (politicians of the town) getting involved in company affairs. Granted, these are real issues which affect a company’s operations and create bigger divides between a company’s management and its workers. But are they really so closely connected to the original problem of shareholders versus employees? I am not so clear on that.

Summary:

Fun read, nice plot, but unrelatable and not as path-breaking as it claims.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

The Murder

2011-08-29T12:30:00.000+05:30

With a bag in one hand, and a tray in another, a man walks to one table in the corner of the café. He puts the bag next to his chair, the tray on the table, and settles down. He’s quite relaxed.

What we now hear is all him thinking, hence, as voiceover.

Chalo good. First assignment within 3 months of getting the private detective licence. Not bad. Now I just need to figure out a way to charge more. Then, within a year, I should be able to pay back that bastard all his money.

Anyway, all that later. Let’s focus on this case.

He picks up a briefing document with some highlights here and there. So, a murder has happened in a fine dining restaurant of the 5-Star hotel, The Zodiac. Nice. I will have to go there and check it out. Fine dining restaurants kaise hote hai pata bhi nahi. But anyway, it was in a restaurant.

Next page. And the victim is Mr. Naresh Shetty, famous businessman-turned-politician.

Next page. And we also know that this hotel is the front end of a mafia don. Very high chances that it is his work, but it could very well be that don’s competitor. Or it could be somebody else altogether.

List of the victim’s business operations, and his other activities. These guys could have a lot of internal issues that could have led to a revenge of some kind.

No, this is not going anywhere. My suspect list is going to be long. I need a new starting point.

He takes a sip of the coffee. Eeeek! Too bitter.

“Excuse me, could I have some sugar please?”

A waiter hurries to him with a tray. He keeps a dish on his table, then fumbles, and drops the sugar sachets outside the dish, on the table itself.

“Sorry sir.”

Why did he fumble? I am not even in a hurry. Hey! What if the staff of the restaurant was involved in the murder? What if it is a detailed, planned setup? A murder so perfectly carried out would need a lot of planning. Hmm, let’s see.

A bite from the muffin.

He looks around. Let’s assume this is where the murder happened. What could have happened before it? How would people have communicated to each other without the victim being suspicious? Can the bitter coffee or sugar sachets be any code?

We see the man at the counter. He is just observing people around. He notices this person and nods to him. What if the hotel manager is involved? Maybe his nod means something. Does he behave in the exact same way with all customers?

He observes other staff around. What if the shooter was given a hidden message by someone who interrupted him?

We see a guy cleaning the floor. What about a waiter? Or someone else. Could he have said or done something?

Maybe someone from the kitchen. We see the girl operating the coffee machine. A little bit of different taste could mean something.

We see the cup of coffee. Or even a strand of hair in the food. It can be used to attract the person.

We span the café with other people enjoying their coffee. What if it is not the hotel-owner-cum-gangster who killed this guy? There can be other people using the place, right?

We skip from a couple at one table, to a family of 3 at another table, to 2 businessmen at the third one, and an old man sitting alone at the fourth. What if some people came in as customers? They would look very casual. We don’t notice much about other people in a restaurant. They could make a lot of gestures and actions.

God! So many motives, so many possibilities.

He realizes that the coffee and muffin is over. This is going to be a tough case to crack.

He notices a menu on the table next to his. He picks it up, and scans through the top page. Anybody can be a suspect in a murder case.

We see different items and their prices. Rich people have so much money! With poorer people all around them, they would have so many enemies. And still everyone wants to become rich!

He smiles at the irony and opens the menu to the first fold. It has a note that shows lots of circles, and one marked X.

“Excuse me, sir.”

By the time he looks up to see the waiter, the waiter has snatched away the menu, and the note inside it.

“Sorry sir, that’s a faulty menu. We have made some changes, and this one is not updated. I will get you another one.”

Now that’s weird! Why would you have a note to point out the faul…

His memory flashes back to the note. That layout of the circles seems similar to the tables here.

He notices the ‘reserved’ sign on the next table. And the one marked X is that table over th…

He looks around; sees some staff and people at a couple of tables observing him from the corner of their eyes. He thinks of something, and starts packing his stuff up.

He bends down to open his briefcase. As he does it, he holds the metal latch of the briefcase and tilts to see the table next to him – the one marked X – and sees a gun taped to its bottom.

Holy shit! There is a murder about to happen right here.

---

This was the 4th story I wrote for an office contest.

The other three are here:

The Proposal

The Dilemma

Life in the fast lane

2011-08-29T12:00:00.001+05:30

We follow a guy entering a café with a briefcase. He almost slips at the entrance, shows an angry look at the guy cleaning the floor, and curses mutedly.

He looks around desperately, and notices quite a lot of crowd. In one corner of the café, he spots an empty table. He hurries to the table, puts his bag there and hurries back to the counter.

From his point of view, we see the counter getting closer and closer. We also see a man with his back towards us. Just then, the man turns around saying ‘thank you’.

The man is carrying a tray with coffee and snacks, and he bangs into our guy, spilling coffee all over his shirt.

“What the hell! @#$%^ Watch where you are going yaar.”

While the guy is apologizing continuously, the man curses him further. He inspects the stain once again and rushes to the restroom to clean up. While he is still wiping the stain with a wet tissue, his phone rings.

He looks at the screen, “F**k”, and answers, “Hello sir. Haan sir. Nahi sir. Woh mera lunch baaki tha sir, toh yahan ek café mein… nahi sir late nahi hoga, bas fatafat… haan sir, pakka sir… No sir, I won’t keep anyone waiting. Ok sir, bye, sir.”

Some more cursing.

Finally, it looks ok. He comes out of the restroom and rushes towards the counter. We see a girl politely offering him the menu, but he brushes it aside.

“Nahi, yeh jaane do. Ek coffee de do… aur khaane mein kya hai?” He looks at all the items displayed, and points out to a sandwich. “Woh sandwich veg hai? Ek de do. Nahi garam mat karo, aise hi de do. Nahi ketchup nahi chahiye.”

We see him constantly tapping his foot and fidgeting with his phone, looking at the time, while the girl goes to the coffee machines, and makes his coffee.

He collects the sandwich and coffee in a tray and walks towards his table.

Once there, he gobbles down the sandwich, and takes a few sips from his coffee. He again looks at his watch, and realizes he doesn’t have enough time.

“Oh shit.”

He decides to finish his coffee on the way, collects all his stuff, and walks towards the door.

He has almost exited the café, when he realizes that he has not paid for the food. He runs to the counter and says, “O suno, paise dene baaki hai. Bill de do, please. Kitna hua?”

The girl at the counter, confirms something on her screen and smiles back.

“No sir, you don’t have to pay anything.”

“Huh!?!”

“Yes sir, your food was free. In fact, we will have to pay you something.” The girl says, with a wide grin on her face.

While our man gets confused as to what’s going on, she pauses to enjoy the moment.

She speaks up after a moment. “We are celebrating our first year anniversary this week, sir. And you are our 1000th customer in this week. Because of this, you win a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh. Congratulations, sir. Please wait a few minutes here. I will just call the manager.”

The man stands there, frozen. It takes a moment for it to sink in. And then he breaks into a big, joyous smile.

He takes a deep breath and looks around. He notices the man who had spilt coffee over him, seated at a table nearby. The man notices him too, and mouths a ‘sorry’, but our guy couldn't be angry about anything anymore. He replies with a gesture conveying, ‘That’s ok. No problem.’

A few minutes later, he steps out of the café, and notices that it is raining. He spreads his arms, and steps into the rain with his face up towards the sky.

---

This story is the 3rd of 4 stories I wrote for a contest in my office.

The previous ones: 'The Proposal' and 'The Dilemma'.

The Dilemma

2011-08-24T15:00:00.001+05:30

Another story, Samhita and I wrote for the contest in our office.

A young couple enters the café, laughing.

“There, let’s get that table at the back” Shriya said.

“Whatever you say, madam”, said Rishabh (doing a bow, getting a loving hit back from her and lots of giggling).

“What would you have, Shrii? The Irish one or the Jamaican one?”

“I think Irish. And a blueberry muffin. Yes. That is it. What about you?”

“My usual, your boring, cappuccino.”

“Try something different sometime!”

“Woh kya hai na, I prefer sticking to things that I like, for a long time.” Rishabh pulls Shriya closer to him as he says this. Shriya blushes, pushes him away.

“Okay, I will just come from the washroom. You order.” She leaves after giving him a flying kiss.

As she turns the corner to get into the loo, Rishabh very comfortably takes her handbag, pulls out her wallet, and takes out two notes of 1000 rupees.

He then walks to the cashier, starts coughing, takes extra tissues from the counter, and after coughing, throws the tissues and the wallet hidden within the tissues into the dustbin near the billing counter.

He come back and sits at the table nonchalantly, like this is the most normal thing for him to do.

Shriya comes back and continues her excited talk.

“Today is 1st April na, so I had been planning this prank and I played it on Aliya.”

“You girls will never grow up!”

“You should have seen her face after the entire incident. She was so upset.” She kept laughing till the coffee arrived.

They sipped their coffee and savoured it for a moment.

“I have got something for you. A surprise! Yay!” said Shriya.

“Don’t pull a trick on me now. I know it is 1st April.”

“No baba. I am serious. You would be sooo happy. It's in my bag.”

She started searching in her bag. But looked worried and irritated, and started mumbling.

“Not again, Shriya!” Rishabh said in exasperation.

“I can’t find my wallet.”

“I am sure you must have dropped it somewhere. How can you be so careless all the time ya? It is like a habit for you now. Almost every time you do this. You should have some sense of responsibility. Thank goodness I am with you to pay for the bills. Otherwise imagine!”

She started sobbing.

“How could I do it? I had been saving it for today. I had clicked its pic and showed it to Aliya. And now it is gone. I just don’t know when I could have dropped it.”

“It’s okay. I know you love me. Why do you have to buy me gifts? I am there for you na. Now have the coffee.”

She kept searching. She went to the loo to check. Asked the cashier if she had seen anything.

“It’s okay, Shrii. Just tell me what it was. We will go out and get it again. And we will also get you one nice gift. Just to cheer you up. Okay?”

She sat quietly for some time. Everyone at the café look at her with sympathy.

She just opened her phone’s photo album and gave it to him. He looked at it for a bit, and gave a confused look.

“What are these?”

“These are the VVIP passes to the Cricket World Cup tomorrow. I thought we will see it together only if India is in the finals. So I never spoke about it, else it would have gotten jinxed and you would have shouted at me the way you did when we lost to South Africa. I had also got coupons to buy India’s jerseys for ourselves.”

...

She was sobbing softly in the background.

He wasn't listening anymore. His eyes couldn't move away from the dustbin at the billing counter.

Could he say what he had done? Or would he miss the chance to watch the finals?

The Proposal

2011-08-23T14:00:00.002+05:30

A few weeks ago, we had an internal contest in our office for script-writing. The brief was to write a short story about a cafe. Here's one that I wrote with Samhita, a colleague.

We follow a girl entering a café. She is speaking to someone over the phone.

“If these guys agree, nothing like it. Ok, I have reached here now. Bye.”

She reaches the counter, and talks to the boy.

This is when we see her for the first time. She must be around 22 years old. Chirpy, bubbly kind of persona, with a smile that melts the distance even when she meets someone for the first time.

“Can I speak with the store manager here?”

The boy at the counter nods, and points towards a man standing at the far end corner of the café. The girl meets him and they sit a nearby table.

“Ok. So, here’s the thing. I have been dating this guy for 4 years now. From first year college. And I am now thinking of proposing to him. But I have never quite found the right moment or place.

And yesterday, when we had come here, he told me how he loved this place… the ambience and everything. So now, I want to propose to him this Friday on the centre table out there. He had said he loves that table. So that’s where we will probably sit again, when we come on Friday.

And I want to make it a big thing. So I wanted to shoot it live and put it up for our friends to watch on YouTube. So I would really need your help to set up the place with cameras and mics and all of that.”

“I … I am not sure we can do that, Ma’am. I understa…”

“Oh c’mon. Imagine how much publicity your store would get. This place will become, like, the cool place to hang out for college kids and all. And, more than anything else, it would mean a huge lot to me. If we do this here, it will be a great surprise for him. So please, please, please!”

The manager thinks for a moment and nods, “Ok.”

“Perfect. I will come tomorrow and set it up. Thanks a ton!”

Before we know, the girl is already on the phone. She is literally jumping up and down with excitement. “Hi! He’s agreed. Now, listen…”

It’s Friday. We are right in the middle of the preparations. It is afternoon time, and the café has only a few customers. We see 4 girls – one of them is our protagonist. She is talking to the manager. She is much more enthusiastic, and a little more nervous than how we had seen her earlier.

“Ok. We will need some kind of hidden place for us to record the whole thing. No, we will need some other room. Is there another room?”

“We have a small store room.”

“Yes! That will be great!”

“Now, where do we put the camera?” She points to the picture frames on the walls. “Do you think we can attach to one of these frames. No, it won’t give us a good picture.”

The manager comes up with an idea. “We can put a vase on the table.”

“Oh yes, good idea. But then, we will have to put a vase on every table. Sheena, buy 12 vases and come back.”

We are now in the ‘control room’. The third girl, who seems the most comfortable with the gadgetry, is trying to understand the recording equipment. “Do you know how to start the recording?”

“Call Basu. He would guide us best. We should have called him here itself.”

“Oh please, not him!”

“Oh wait! This is it. It’s recording.”

A moment of silence. The other 2 girls huddle up on the small screen. It shows the POV of the camera from the vase. Yay!

Our protagonist suddenly realizes that this is going to be it. She gathers herself.

One of the girls says, “Babes, just 1 hour to go. Go get ready.”

“Yeah, you need to get ready and call him to meet you outside. Here, I have a face-wash. Also, just do up the hair a bit.”

Mann yeh sahib ji, dekhein hai sab ji, phhir bhi na samjhe ishaare
Her phone's ringtone.

She checks her phone. It’s him! “Think of the devil and the devil calls.”

“Awwww. Love, love!” Giggles everywhere!

“Sshhhh.” She answers. “Hey! I was just thinking of calling you.”

We just hear a voice-over. “Hi babes. I actually called to say that we won’t be able to meet today. We have got this outbound training program and I have to leave today. Very sorry, baby.”

“Huh! What nonsense! You promised you will give me time today. Why can’t you say no to them?”

“I want to… but I can’t. You know how my work is.”

“I don’t care. You have to have to meet me.”

“I am really sorry.” A pause. Change of tone. “Ya, right away. Ok listen, I will call you later. I am just getting into a meeting. Bye baby. Bye. Bye.”

Silence in the tiny room.

“We put in so much effort ya.”

“Shut up Sheena! It's ok babes. It will happen on some other day.”

Just then on the TV screen. We see a guy's face entering the frame.
A guy has taken a seat on our table, and we are looking at him through the camera hidden in the vase.

“I love this place. Especially this table. It has a different feeling. Strange, they have added a vase here. Anyways, so I was saying, we are free for the weekend. Let’s go some place.” He's the same guy talking to

We hear another voice, a girl's.
“You should tell her.”

“I will. It is just that I am waiting for the right time. We have been together for a long time. She might not take it rightly. I don’t want it to blow out of proportion.”

For a moment, we switch from the TV screen to our protagonist sitting in the cafe's store room. She is shocked at this guy’s insensitivity for the relationship.

The girl’s voiceover continues. “It is not a proposal. It does not need such planning. Just call her some place and let her know.”

We are now no more on the screen. We are facing the guy at the table itself.

“I am not sure. I don’t know when it is a good time. I can’t tell her right now!”

We hear footsteps, and our protagonist joins the couple at the table.

“Why? Why not now?”

Living a life

2011-07-25T15:30:00.002+05:30

"Hey. Hi."

"Hi."

"Sorry I got late."

"No, that's ok... It's not that I was busy." [nervous laugh]

"Oh come on, sweetheart. I got stuck in an urgent meeting. The stupid client called at the last moment and I had to mail him that document."

"No, it's ok. I mean... I am sorry."

[Sigh] "No, I am sorry. It's just that it's a bit tough these days with the project."

"I am sure. Must be really stressful."

"Yeah quite a lot. Anyway, I don't want to talk about it. Let's talk about something else."

"Why not? I would love to know more about your work. Tell me na. How is the project going?"

"Sheena, please! No!"

"Arey, you are the one who says I don't want to know about your work. And today, when I am asking you, you don't want to talk!"

"Sheena, please try to understand. You are already so weak. It's been 6 months that you are in this same hospital room. And this new treatment is demanding too. I don't want to burden you with my office work stress. Why don't you take some rest?"

"No. I don't want to rest any more. That's what I do all day anyway. Why can't you understand? I need some change of routine... I am bored of my friends' gossip too. I need something new."

"Gossip!?!?"

"Sweet hea..."

"You want me to talk about my work so that you get more gossip!? That's what my work means to you!? I work all day, and then, come here and spend time with you so that I feel like I am home, and this is what you tell me? Great! What a life!"

...

Tears roll down her eyes. "Akash, yours is the only life I get to live."

Irony

2011-04-26T20:00:00.000+05:30

On and off, I keep clicking pictures that tickle my funny bone.

Here are some recent discoveries.

This one informs a Domino's Pizza lover, that the carton is not suitable for oven use... but puts the information at the bottom of the carton.

Here, we have the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai persuading Mumbai-ites to keep Mumbai clean... using the Comic Sans font! Is there a deeper message in there?

I wonder what the guys at the TV Channel would think of this birthday-candle maker.

Friends

2011-04-12T21:30:00.000+05:30

"Hi."

"Hey hi. How have you been? It's been such a long time that we chatted."

"Yeah, quite some time. I am doing fine yaar. How have you been?"

"I have been doing good too. Life has become hectic, but I am better this way."

"Hmm, good to know you are fine."

"Hmm. So tell me. How come you called? Any special news?"

"No, nothing special. Actually, I was just feeling a little lonely. A bit out of place. So thought of calling you."

"I hope all is well. Anything serious?"

"No, not at all. Nothing wrong, nothing serious. In fact, everything's just perfect. Hmm, yeah, everything's fine. As I said, just lonely. It suddenly felt as if I had lost touch with myself. And then, suddenly thought of you."

...

When he hung up, he knew it was the longest chat that he had had in a long, long time.

Look at the Sunset

2011-04-06T14:00:00.000+05:30

Just completed reading a book by Paul Arden - God explained in a taxi ride.

It was recommended by a friend, and both of us thought it would be fun because I am a atheist... or agnostic... whatever.

In an attempt to understand the concept of God, I came closer to understanding my beliefs in God. The author provokes us using a simple question, "Look at that sunset. Who created it?" He goes on to say it could be God, or Accident, or Fluke. If you think is a Fluke, then you believe in Fluke. For you, Flukes are God.

Overall, the point being whatever your answer to that question, that's what you believe in. Personally, I think my answer would be "I don't know". And applying the same logic, my God is the unknown.

I think the logic is clever. 'Coz that's what I do, I read up on stuff that's unknown. I surf, search, find, discuss and most of the times the topic is not something that's already known to me. It's something new and different, something I have come to experience for the first time.

What it means, is that like everyone else, I too am spending my time and energy in following my God.

Absolutely hate to admit it, don't I? :)

2011-02-11T14:00:00.000+05:30

"I am not letting that man get away."

'Right now, just calm down.'

"Calm down? Are you crazy? It's because of him that my brother is no more. He was only collecting nectar and returning home. Yes he is the owner of the garden; in fact he should have been thankful if nothing else. Instead, that b**t**d tried to squat him."

'That's what humans do to bees.'

"Well then, even my brother did what any honeybee would have done. We sting!"

‘But it's fatal for us. There’s no point blaming the man.'

"Whatever! I am not letting him get away with it. I am going take my revenge right now. Get out of my way."

'Please. Don't make the same mistake your brother did.'

2011-01-25T20:00:00.000+05:30

This one is dedicated to a very dear friend. What he shared one day inspired this.

----

I hate that guy even today. Had he allowed me that one chance, my life would have been so different today.

'Just a sec. Let me make a call... Hi, I will be home a little late tonight. No, nothing serious. Just chatting with a friend. Yup, ok. Love you too. Bye... You were saying, your life would have been different today. So was it like a different career or something?'

No, not really. Maybe I would have still wound up in this same job. But it would have been different.

'How?'

I... I don't know how to say it. Happy, that's the word. I would have been happy.

'Wow, really? Something that important to you?'

Uh huh. Well, it meant to me a lot at that time. He was a painter. And you know I wanted to be one too. I was really good with arts at that time. So I had gone to him with this painting of mine - it was one of my best paintings, an expression of rebellion - and I asked for his opinion.

But maybe he was in a bad mood or something. He didn't say one word of appreciation for the painting. He just trashed it completely. And on what irrelevant stuff! 'You have not used your strokes properly. You seem to be confused. This is the most horrible colour combination I have seen. It doesn't have any harmony to it. It is just plain random. This is not what one calls art.' Gosh!

'That bad, eh?'

Yeah! I mean, ok fine maybe it wasn't technically correct. But since when does a brushstroke dictate what a painting says? I could never hold a brush ever again after that incident. Painting was one thing that made me feel complete, you know. After that, it just felt like something went missing from my life.

'Hmmm... actually yeah, we never saw you participate in college fests and things like that. We thought maybe you broke up with your girl or something… Haaaah…. So anyway, what do you do these days then?'

Just work. I am on my own. I work as a researcher. You know, all the history and personal profiles stuff that you read about in the newspapers? That's me. I collect that information.

'Hmm-hmm. So does it make you enough money?'

Oh yeah, lots. You see, whenever these people in the media want to run a story on a famous person, they don't have enough time to actually start from scratch. That's where I come in. I provide the info, and get paid for it.

'So you would be knowing a lot about a lot of people.'

Well, not everyone. My expertise is that of the filthy rich people. I have all the information on most of the new celebrities, who rise from nowhere and suddenly become darlings of the world. Like this new Mr. Brook. Celebrated artist. You wouldn't believe, nobody knew him less than 2 years ago.

'Yeah, I am always amazed with these guys. I wish I could become rich so easy.'

No no no... He didn't make it easy through life. Every rich man wants to buy his sculptures now. But did you know, he was thrown out from his school. His ideas were so rebellious at that time, his teacher disowned him and refused to help him get clients. It's only now that he is seen taking credit for training Brook.

'But that's just one incident.'

No, he has led a tough life for more than 8 years, he's only achieved fame, like, in the last 3 years or so.

'Oh really? So tell me something... how many rejections did you face?'

2011-01-21T15:05:00.001+05:30

‘He doesn’t have much time left’, he thought and sighed.

He was right. He ought to be. It was not the first time he was seeing someone die, definitely not the first of his kind.

‘Relax. You mayflies don’t’ live for long. Almost all of you die within a day.’

‘I know.’ He was unnaturally chirpy for someone who is just a few minutes from dying.

‘That’s how we are. We are born, we grow up, we mate and we die; all in a day’s life.’

‘Don’t you think one day is too short? Haven’t you ever desired to live longer?’

‘Why no! What would I do for another day? It would be terribly boring!’

‘I have been around for so long. It’s never been boring for me.’

‘Yeah, I hear you turtles live for almost 200 years. How old are you?’

‘I don’t remember exactly. I should be about 160.’

‘Wow! That’s a lot of time. What do you do with so much time?’

‘More or less the same that you do in a day. But our life isn’t as exciting or upbeat as yours. We are relaxed. We think a lot. We spend a lot of time mulling over things.’

‘Oh I see. So what would you do if your life was just a day long.’

‘Oh that would be so hurried. I will have to get a lot of things done in a single day. I would be so drained of energy. No, I don’t like being so tired and flushed. Probably that itself would kill me. I think I would like to live longer.’

‘But you don’t know how long you will live, right? What if today is the last day of your life?’

It couldn't hear the answer. It was dead before that.

‘Hmm. That’s something I have never thought about. I must think about that. There’s a lot of work I have to do before I die. What if today's the last day of my life?’

It was.

2011-01-21T15:00:00.000+05:30

I want to start off with something easy, she said.

No, then I think the flesh and all will make you feel yucky. You should try this other option.

I am not sure if that’s a good thing to start off with. You know, it isn’t the same as the rest of it. It’s not like it will give me a taste of the actual stuff.

So what do you wanna do?

I don’t know! It’s the first time for me. You are a regular. You tell me.

I told you, but you are not sure of either option. What’s exactly on your mind?

Umm… ok. How about this? You first taste it, see if it is prepared right, so that I get to experience only what is considered standard, not something that's badly made.

You know, it’s quite simple to make. You can’t go wrong with it. With the other one too, you can be sure that it’s the standard coz that one doesn’t even require any preparation.

Are you sure I should do this?

Well, you said you wanted to. I have never forced you, I never will.

Yeah, but I don’t know if it’s right. What should I do?

It was a chicken or egg situation.

2011-01-20T20:00:00.001+05:30

He punched the thick mattress on his bed. It still hurt. A shriek echoed in his room. If this was freedom, he thought, it would scare his guts to find out what bondage was like.

What happened to me? I was never like this. I could paint well. Heck, I painted well. And now I can’t. I just can’t. Am I the same guy?

‘No, you are not,’ He smiled. ‘I trapped you… finally!’

That wasn’t possible. He was not the one who could be contained. Not by anything. Not by anybody. Not even by Him.

‘That’s the trick,’ He said. ‘I can’t bind you; not physically I mean. But your mind… ah, that I can! Just one thought, one small germ of a thought, and I don’t have to do anything else.’

Was that it? Was it all that was stopping him? No, it can’t be!

‘It isn’t. Denial is very much a part of it, an important one.’

And he couldn’t take it anymore.

Mind over Matter

2010-11-26T14:00:00.002+05:30

Should I thank this girl to make me come back to blogging? On second thoughts, no. My ego won't allow me to boost someone else's :).

Today's 26 November. 2 years ago, Mumbai was hit by the hatred of a few people. And 14 years ago, my cousin had gotten married. They live a very happy life now, my cousin and her family. All, except one, of the attackers, aren't even alive. The only one alive is on death row.

Why he would have done it was easy to figure out. Most probably, something bad happened to him, and then, someone did a little brainwashing and voila! There was a terrorist ready to chop a few innocent heads off.

What bothers me more is everyone else, who want this man dead. Why would they want it? It's not that they personally will benefit from this guy's death. It's not even that they would lose something very important to them if this guy remains alive.

Yes, he is dangerous to be left out in the open. But that doesn't mean he should be killed.

What would have Batman done? He who has taken a vow not to kill anyone. What would have Mahatma Gandhi done? He who believed 'an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind'. What would have I done? I who don't have a belief as strong as these guys.

Maybe I would have made sure that he adopts a child and sponsors his living. That would have made him realise how easy it is to kill and how difficult it is to live.

Maybe I would have forced him to stay alone and away from everyone else, like Robinson Crusoe. That would make sure he can't kill anyone, and is still made to work for keeping himself alive.

Maybe I would have narrated to him stories of the victim's families and friends... told him about the grief, the loss, and the practical tragedy his actions resulted in. That would have brought about a broader understanding of the world.

It doesn't matter what I would have done.
'coz I am not the one doing anything.
I am not the one asked to kill innocent people.
And not the one asked to kill guilty people.

I am just a bystander, who will observe this, and move on, once the tamasha is over. My life is good!

The event won't matter to me 14 years later. And I am pretty sure the marriage still matters to my cousin and everyone else.... including me.

Tom Hagen

2010-03-08T15:30:00.001+05:30

A post that I wanted to write for a long time. Here goes:

How does it feel to be Tom Hagen?

You have spent your entire life with the Corleone family. For decades, you have been the counsel of the Don. You have given the business everything you could. You have stood for, fought for, bled for the family. And you have always genuinely believed that you were accepted as a member of the family... and being a non-Sicilian didn't matter much.

Or so you thought!

And then, at the most critical stage of life, you are reminded that you are not a Sicilian... much less a Corleone. You are told that you aren't good as a war-time counsel. And you are pushed away by the very people you lived for, and were willing to die for.

How does it feel to be Tom Hagen?

Naya kya hai?

2010-02-11T14:00:00.001+05:30

There's a unique way of starting conversations among Gujarati people. Shu Khabar? Everywhere else, it's almost the same... What's Up?
With news media though, it's somehow become exactly the same.

One day, Pakistani players are in the news because of an IPL auction. Next day, SRK comes out in support of them. The third day, Shiv Sena comes out against them. And by the fourth day, IPL and cricket are history, and SRK and Shiv Sena are fighting over the film to be released.

Does the film have anything to do with Pakistan? No.

Does the film have anything to do with cricket? No.

Does the film release have anything to do with Pakistani players? No.

Still, the fight is on.

Interestingly, the RTI Act has been at the opposite end. Very less hype around it, and far-reaching effect. Every now and then, a scam comes into light. Just like it was earlier. The difference now is that it's not investigating agencies who are the torch-bearers, it's common men and women who seek more information using RTI. While both talk of huge monies, RTI for some reason never gets the same importance as case mentioned earlier.

Another similar case is that of suicides.
As the National Crime Records Bureau (NRCB) reports here, every hour of 2008, roughly 14 people committed suicide. Still, when a suicide is portrayed disturbingly in '3 Idiots', suddenly suicides among students come into limelight. And as is the way with media, all blame of every student suicide after the movie release is attributed to the movie and nothing else.

I wonder why long term impact or re-percussions are given so less importance? A policy change is immediately criticised if there is any negative consequence today. Tomorrow's benefits? Who cares?

Probably the difference between 'what's new' and 'what's news' is only in language.

Random House Publications online

2009-10-29T13:30:00.000+05:30

I came across an article in The Economic Times today (Yes, they sometimes have good stuff too) and followed the link about the author. It led me to a surprise source of stories and articles on the web... a mix of fiction, history and opinions.

The reader in me was happy, and the Gujju in me was even happier. Because all of it is free :)

Follow this link (http://randomhouseindia.wordpress.com) to look 'Random Reads', a blog containing articles by authors associated with Random House Publications in India.

Have fun reading.

Distance versus Time

2009-04-04T15:04:00.006+05:30

Q: "How far is this place from here?"
A: "It will take you about 40 minutes to reach there."

Q: "How far is this place from here?"
A: "About 12 kilometres."

Same question. Two different answers. And not just that, the answers use two different measures altogether. One tells us the distance. Other tells us the time it will take to travel.

They surprised me the first time. But the more I think about them, the more information they reveal. The first answer is something I get in Mumbai. The second is what I got in Kolkata and in Udaipur, a small town in Rajasthan.

My interpretation goes thus. In Mumbai, more people use public transport as compared to those in Udaipur or Kolkata. So they wouldn't care much or even know about the exact distances between two places. All they care is the time taken. As compared to Mumbai, since more people in Udaipur and Kolkata would ride/drive themselves, they have a good idea of the distance and hence, that measure provides a clear answer.

Another possibility is that, with traffic jams all day round and one or the other road under repair or construction, time becomes more critical as compared to the actual distance, in a fast paced city like Mumbai. For example, my office is only 8 kilometres away, but it takes anywhere between 25 and 45 minutes for me to travel. In this sense, if someone asked me, "how far is your office?", an answer of "8 kilometres" indicates nothing.

On a personal basis, it also might give some info about the answerer's priorities. If he does answer with time as a measure in stead of distance, it just shows he is pressed for it. How would you answer this question?

A cuppa a day...

2009-02-26T16:30:00.001+05:30

This is an inspiration from MathAtheist's post here and a post from Rashmi's blog (Couldn't locate the post, though).

On a recent trip, I realised that I drink lotsa cups of tea and coffee when in office. My brother V was accompanying me and he pointed out that I have got addicted to it.

Maybe he's right, maybe he's not. The only way to find out was to check what happens if I stop drinking everytime I want to.

It's been 3 days, and it's been nice. The target was 'a cuppa a day'. Down from 4 cups a day. AndI have come quite close to it already. I have had only 4 cups of tea in the past 3 days... and no coffee!

And yes, it does prove, I am not addicted. Water quite effectively substituted tea / coffee whenever I felt the thirst, and not drinking tea/coffee felt great too.

"How long will you continue this?" you may ask.

In reply, I quote a dialogue from The Matrix Revolutions [2003]:
The Architect: "Just how long do you think this peace will last?"
The Orcale: "As long as it can."

:)

Outliers: An outstanding take on 'Luck'

2009-02-19T13:00:00.003+05:30

"I make my own destiny."

This is what my T-shirt says today. But the book in my hand respectfully disagrees.

'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell presents a very compelling case on why successful people are not just brilliant and hard-working, but also 'lucky' to be in the right place at the right time. In fact, as the first few chapters in the books explain, some successful people are 'lucky' even for the month and year of their birth!

Outliers explores both width and depth of 'luck' playing a role in the success stories of people. The first section explains the amazingly wide set of circumstances that, as Paulo Coelho would have said, conspire to make a person fulfill his/her dreams. And the second section goes deep in the history of successful people... in many cases, up to a few generations back in time. And both sections present the same conclusion. Success is as much a matter of chance, as it is a matter of genius.

Talk of equal opportunities for everyone!

This might depressing and dis-empowering, but the book's message is exactly the opposite. And this is where the book itself becomes an outlier among books on success. Gladwell goes on to say that the conclusions simply mean we can 'create' more successes by simply adding the 'luck' factor. In many cases, it can mean doing as simple things as tweaking the circumstances a bit. Like a small change in the rules of how Canadian hockey players are selected for professional leagues can give us double the size of outstanding players, even if the pool of eligible players remains of the same size.

If what the book suggests is true, the impact of making such small changes around us would be so big, that it would be beyond measurement.

At a very personal level, I found the book very inspiring. I finished the book with this thought:
"At the same time when I am carving out a living for myself, I am willingly or unwillingly, knowingly or unknowingly, creating circumstances for others being successful (or failures). I contribute to the 'luck' factor that their genius requires."

And that sounds like true power!

B for Brands - October 2008

2009-02-03T15:00:00.000+05:30

Below is the second article in the same magazine, The Observer of Management Education. It was published in the October 2008 issue.

--
Imagine living in a world where a toothpaste is only a toothpaste, a soap is only a soap, and a cola is just a cola. No, no, it's not a world of monopoly. There would obviously be many suppliers, and many more vendors. But there is no way to identify one supplier from another, and one vendor from another. All shopkeepers stock the same product, with the exact same packaging, with the exact same price.

Sounds horrific, doesn't it? How does a buyer know whether the product he is buying is even worth the price that he is paying for it? If he found a defect with the product, how does he find out whom to punish? Even from a supplier's point of view, it doesn't sound great. If I were a manufacturer of toothpaste, there is no benefit for me to make a better quality toothpaste. I don't even get recognition for making that superior product.

This is the world without brands. A world where there is no brand name, no familiar symbol, no reputed company to place your trust on. In this world, being in the same business for the past 100 years doesn't mean a thing. Being at the cutting edge of technological development doesn't carry any benefits. And being the official supplier to the royal family, too, means nothing. As we said earlier, a world where a product is just a product... a world without brands.

What is a brand, then?
A brand is anything that helps create an identity and maintain a reputation. Even a shopkeeper's name is a brand, if it helps create a reputation. Even a region's stamp creates a reputation. Why have we been going to the same provisional store for the past 20 years, when there is another store next to that outlet itself? Why do we savour teas from Assam and Darjeeling? Have we noticed that we go to the same general physician every time we catch a cold, or notice something inconsistent with our body? This, in spite of the fact that he is just a general physician, like many others in the town.

Why does this happen? Of course, these places make a good-quality product, available at a value-for-money price. But in addition to this, they have a reputation of being consistently good. And they have established an identity unique from most other products. In other words, they are a brand.

In fact, the origin of branding is connecting to the practice of establishing a unique identity. It comes from the Swedish word for “fire”. In those times, farmers would put a mark on their cattle so as to identify them from the big herd when they go to the fields or for grazing. A piece of iron would be burned, and when it is red-hot, the mark would be stamped on the animals, so as to indicate ownership of that animal. Hence, even today brands are as closely associated with symbols as with names.

So what all does a brand include?
As you must have guessed, a brand is anything and everything that helps a manufacturer build a unique identity, intended at building a unique reputation. The ultimate objective is to exploit this reputation for growing the business and earn extraordinary profits.

In addition to a name, companies try to build uniqueness by having a symbol, shape, packaging, colour and maybe even a special sound to its identity. The 'M' of McDonald's restaurants, called the Golden Arches, is unique to the chain. The tick mark on all Nike products, called the 'Swoosh' is again unique to it. The clear, plain white that makes the Apple PCs and laptops stand out from the other PCs and laptops covered in the typical black, the four-dings-music of 'Intel Inside', the purple colour on the packaging of all Cadbury's chocolates, the rectangular box for National Geographic magazine and channel, and the '100% protection' sword for Dettol products are all efforts to build their brands.

Some of these efforts have interesting stories behind them. The first global computer company, IBM (International Business Machines) had a huge sales force and customer support team. All these men would be on the field most of the time, wearing their blue suits, and meeting business managers and IT officers. This army of blue-suit-clad men gave the company its name – Big Blue. Today, even though most IT and tech companies have blue as part of their logo, and undertake lots of activities to make themselves popular, it is still IBM that is associated with this colour.

So then why is branding criticised?
For both consumers and companies, branding comes at a price, and quite a big one at that. Branding exercises at very expensive, and they require long-term commitments of both time and money. For example, after Pepsi and Coca Cola entered the Indian market in the early 1990s, it took them more than a decade to become profitable. This, in spite of the fact that a bottle of cola costs almost nothing to manufacture, and being frequently consumed, brings in large revenues due to high sales volume. The long time taken to become profitable was because the investments that both companies made in distribution and advertising were huge.

The way branding affects consumers is that we end up paying quite a premium on the price because it is a brand that we buy, not a product. Even if you have no clue about marketing and branding, chances are that you would have come across this story, if you have been following this discipline for some time now:

A professor starts talking to a class full of students of marketing. He says, “Imagine meeting a craftsman. He takes a sheet of canvas and a piece of rubber, and cuts out two identical shapes from the canvas and similarly two identical shapes from the rubber. Then, he stitches the canvas and rubber pieces together. In this way, he creates a pair of shoes. If he comes and sells this pair to you, how much would you pay him?”
“Nothing, those shoes won't last at all.”
“Maybe only Rs. 200. Those shoes aren't worth more than that.”
“Rs. 300, provided the rubber and canvas are of very good quality.”
The professor continues, “Suppose I buy the shoes from him, cut four more pieces from the canvas and create the shapes of N, I, K and E from those pieces and stitch them to the shoes. If I come and sell them to you now, how much would you pay for these shoes?”
The class fell silent. No one answered for a long time. “This is the power of brands,” the professor declared. “The same shoes are suddenly worth much more, with a name like Nike, adidas or Reebok stitched on them. Suddenly, we don't mind paying as much as Rs. 2500 for the same pair of shoes.”

Of course, the example given here is very simple and presents a very defeatist view of branding. Just a little more thought into the example here, and we strike back asking, 'Hey, Nike's shoes are not just a piece of canvas and rubber stitched together.' Quite true. In fact, some time ago, Nike launched a shoe called Air Dri-Goat or ADG, claiming that this shoe's design is inspired by the foot of a wild mountain goat. This goat goes through rough terrain all the time and still 'we don't see it banging into a tree'. Similarly, Mercedes recently displayed a concept car that was inspired by a fish, and it is claimed that the car's aerodynamic design reduces resistance to air and increases performance phenomenally. The price that we pay is not for just a shoe or a car, but also for these seemingly trivial, but very beneficial features too.

So is a price premium the only way to earn back the investments?
Not really. Price premium is not the only benefit of building brands. Like any other asset, brands carry a resale value too. One of the most famous cases of a brand being sold is when the Pillsbury Co. was acquired by Grand Metropolitan PLC in 1989. GrandMet paid about $1125 million for acquiring the company, of which 88% ($990 million) was for acquiring the ‘goodwill’ of the Pillsbury name and other branded properties of the Pillsbury Company. The valuation of the Pillsbury brand was done by a London-based brand consultancy firm ‘InterBrand’, which has now become the global authority on valuation of brands.

In addition to price premium and resale value, there are many more benefits that make business sense for investing in brand building.

Since the name is already trustworthy, more products can be launched under the same name, and can become instant hits in the market. This practice is called brand extension. It is the power of brand Apple that made the iPod and the iPhone sell at the pace at which they did. Google, which built its brand on the back of super-efficient search algorithms, also changed the scenario of email, by bringing in its GMail services. It plans to repeat the success in the markets on Internet browsing (with Google Chrome) and mobile operating system (with Android). It was the power of brand Reliance that gives massive free publicity to all new ventures of the Ambanis.

Another way how brands build business is distribution. Across the world, the war of colas is fought not only on television but also at the outlets. Both Pepsi and Coca Cola strive to get exclusive distribution rights to their basket of brands, in super markets, cafeterias, restaurants, etc. At one point, 40% of Procter and Gamble’s sales would come via distribution behemoth, Wal-Mart. Not a small feat, considering P&G is one of the world’s biggest marketers of fast-moving consumer goods.

If all this is true, how come we still have unbranded stuff?
Sounds too logical, doesn’t it? If there are so many benefits of branding, how come some people still want to sell unbranded stuff? There are two answers to this. One is that as more and more products gets branded, branding of newer products becomes increasingly expensive. For example, when there are umpteen different brands of body soap available, it becomes very tough for a new brand to create any impact on our minds. The second answer is that, not all products benefit from the power of brands. Do we remember or care what brand of toothpicks, nail clippers, or handkerchiefs do we buy and use?

Never thought about it, did we?

A For Advertising - September 2008

2009-01-21T01:00:00.001+05:30

Sometime last year, I started contributing an article for a magazine, The Observer of Management Education. The below article was published in the September 2008 issue.

---

Picture this. A kid wakes up early morning from his bed and gets out of his home. At the same time, his pet dog also wakes and starts following him. During the day, the kid is seen playing football, playing near a stream, and generally having a good time. And throughout this time, the faithful pet dog continues to be at his side, and follows him wherever he wanders. At night, the kid goes back to his home, and is seen sleeping peacefully on his bed. Guess what, the dog is still next to him, sleeping. A nice song plays in the background. At the end, we see the words – wherever you go, our network follows.

Chances are that you would want to watch this film again and again, and that you also talked about this film to your friends. Chances also are that you remember the name of the company1. Maybe you even went out to the shop and bought the services of this company.

The company is, of course, Hutch. And we are talking about its now famous pug advertising campaign. Isn’t it a little weird that this company chose to show a cute boy and an equally adorable pug in its ads, instead of talking about what services it offers, or what is the price range, or where it is available in the market?

It is not, when we understand what advertising is and how it works.

What is advertising?

Put in simple terms, advertising is how a company talks to consumers at large, about its products and services that it offers. Because it talks to a huge number of people together, it has to do this through a mediator like a TV channel, or a magazine, and it pays the mediator for that service.

If we were to define in a more evolved manner aka management, advertising would be defined as a paid form of mass, non-personal communication. This definition also helps separate advertising as a form of communication different from unpaid publicity (Public Relations), Direct marketing, and Sales Promotion.

In a normal 2-year full-time management course, advertising as a practice of marketing is covered as a short topic in the second semester, and as a separate subject in the third semester for students specialising in marketing.

How do other communication tools stand against advertising?

As mentioned earlier, Public Relations is a form of communication using unpaid publicity. Direct Marketing involves one-on-one personal communication with the consumers, and Sales Promotion is mainly to do with schemes and discounts with the sole objective of increasing sales.

However, over the years, all forms of communication have started overlapping with each other so much, that now, during decision making, companies club all these forms and refer to them as Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC).

The role of advertising

Since advertising is how the company talks to its customers, the company depends on it to pass on any meaningful information about the company’s products, services, offers, policies and practices to them. Thus, if it does a good job, customers get the message and use this information to decide whether they want to buy the company’s products or not.

However, with technology increasingly becoming available to everyone, and products becoming less and less unique, companies look up to communications (and thus advertising too) to play a more critical role for their businesses. Since advertising is by far the biggest medium of interaction between the company and everybody else, from that point of view, the company’s advertising also becomes the face of the company. This, then, requires a lot more rigour in the way it is practiced.

If we look at the way different telecom companies advertise, we can make our own judgments about not just their services, but also their point of view on the business itself. Hutch (now Vodafone) depicts the simplicity of using its services by showing a pug helping its master find socks, stick stamps, etc. Idea, on the other hand, shows how mobile phones come in handy in different situations, like communicating with deaf people, and even teaching children in far away villages. Airtel, with its ‘Express Yourself’ series of TV ads, just encourages people to speak up and talk to each other. All these companies make an attempt in their own way connect with their customers emotionally. At the same time, they do make sure they stay within the boundaries of their businesses so that it doesn’t sound superficial or fake.

Different media used in advertising

As we discussed earlier, at the end of the day, ads still play (or are expected to play) a critical role in generating sales. Hence, ads follow consumers wherever they are, and tell them about the companies’ products and services. Thus, there is advertising on TV, in magazines, on hoardings at the side of roads, on the back of bus tickets, on the radio, and thanks to Google, even next to our messages in our email inbox.

These various media are referred to as:

1)Television

2)Print or Press, which includes newspapers, magazines, journals, etc.

3)Radio

4)Out of home, which includes hoardings on the road, bus stops, railway platforms, TV screens in multiplexes, etc.

5)Digital, which refers to the Internet

Based on how we evolve in our use of media, these categories continue to branch out from the root. With the increase in mobile phones penetration, that medium might become a separate branch in itself, requiring special attention.

The world of advertising inside out

The ads that we see on TV or in a magazine, and the melodious, or sometimes jarring jingles that we hear on radio are a result of a lot of work that goes behind the screens. A variety of people with different skills and ideas come together to create a work of art called an ad, that’s also supposed to sell. Just like the practice of management, this one too is always involved in a debate of science versus art. Because of this, advertising as a profession attracts both the most creative and the most scientific of brains.

In a typical ad agency, work is divided into several departments. There is Account Management, which acts as a liaison between the agency and the client. They act as the client’s representative within the agency, bringing all business knowledge to the table. Then there is Account Planning, which acts as the customer’s representative, studying the target audience’s behaviour, habits, culture, customs and traditions, attitudes, etc.

When any work for creating an ad starts, the Account Management and Account Planning teams use their knowledge bank to put a communication strategy in place. This is then fed to another department, the Creative team. As their name suggests, these are the people who take a leap from the obvious, into the unknown, and come back with ideas that would create magic on the small screens of TV and computers or in the newspaper. The ideas are then used by the Production department to create ads for various media like TV and print and radio.

Interesting Photographs

2009-01-05T01:30:00.001+05:30

Here are some interesting photographs I have clicked over the last few months.

- While most instruction boards tell us something that we would normally want to do, this one tells us something that we wouldn't even want to do. Maybe it's for the kids!

- Now wouldn't this count as only 'lip' service to use of correct language?

- This is one soon-to-open cafe in the area where I stay. While the baseline is lifted from KFC ads, it has a really great connect with the name too. 'Chaat' is Hindi means both 'savoury / tangy snacks', and 'lick'.

- I had heard of Carlsberg the beer brand, but this was different. On Mumbai's airport, I found this outlet selling apparel - the lesser-known Karlsburg.

- Now this kinda English does give me ACDT!!! :-)

The year gone by

2008-12-31T02:40:00.001+05:30

Today, on 31 December 2009, as I look back on the year gone by, I feel very content. And I pat myself on my back for all the things I did this year:

I became a healthy and fit person, committed to being that way.

I remembered to wish all my near and dear ones on their birthdays and anniversaries.

I was there when my friends wanted to share their joys and sorrows, and sometimes even just random thoughts, with me.

I stretched myself to set larger goals and achieved them.

I spent some time following my hobbies, and also learnt a few new things.

I acknowledged each and every person who made a difference in my life in this past year.

I also took time out to make a difference in the lives of people in my life, sometimes even by doing nothing.

I say this in the past tense because, today I declare my new year 2009 to be this way and, in my declaration, the future has already happened. Hope you too have a great time declaring and making things happen in the new year.

Happy Living!

An Indian Politician speaks

2008-12-17T13:30:00.000+05:30

Hi. I am a politician in India.

Well, that's all you actually know about me.

You don't know my educational qualification, and you have assumed I am illiterate, or only moderately educated.

You don't know me personally at all, and you have made up your mind that I am dishonest and corrupt.

You have no clue about my income and its sources, and you have decided that I have earned crores of black money.

You don't know my standard of living, and you are sure I am a lavish spender.

You don't know why I joined politics, and you have assumed I am in it for personal benefits.

You don't know my dreams about India, and you have decided I will be selfish after coming to power.

For years, you have waited for someone to get into politics and clean the system. Maybe I am that person. If we work together, maybe we will cause miracles for our country. Maybe you will know this once you listen to me.

And you are not bothered to even listen to me, or ask me something.

Up, Close and Personal with soldiers

2008-11-19T12:00:00.000+05:30

Many-a-times, while watching I would wonder... if regular life is portrayed on screen in such a simplistic black-and-white manner (like a Hero does nothing bad, and a Villian does nothing good), what if even the stories about the Army were twisted in a similar manner.

Do we even know what a soldier goes through in his life as a protector of his nation's security?

Recently, these questions got answered. Some 3000 people who have served the Armed Forces of our country formed a community and started presenting their views themselves, via a blog.

Here, take a peek: Band of Brothers Blog

Why I love 'The Batman'

2008-11-04T01:30:00.000+05:30

This line of thought has been existent in my mind since I read a post comparing Batman with Superman a few years ago. And after watching the movie 'The Dark Knight', I have decided to put it down in as much detail as I can remember.

Compared to other superheroes, I love Batman the most. And it is not just the mystery and the glamour that he carries best, it is also because of the following reasons:

1) He does not have superpowers
Superman can fly. He has X-Ray vision. He also has superhuman power that no one else has. In case of Spiderman too, it is his agility and supernatural strength that makes him what he is. Everyone in the team of The Fantastic Four has his or her own superpowers. Batman has none. He is an ordinary man with no gift whatsoever. And still he can do what he does.

How often can ordinary men strike fear in hardcore criminals? The Batman has created such a scare among the goons and mafia dons of Gotham City that just a look of the Dark Knight makes them run for safety. And he does this with just gadgets and guts!

2) His energies are focussed
Show a damsel in distress or an old woman about to be crushed by speeding truck, and you know Superman or Spiderman will come to the rescue. Nothing bad about it. Except that, most superheroes waste a lot of time and effort, by wanting to make a difference anywhere and everywhere. They assume responsibility of the wellbeing of the entire human race, just because they are "gifted".

Not the case with Batman. He picks his battles. He is clear that he will fight crime and criminals. His energies and time are not split across all the calamities human beings bring upon themselves.

3) He does not fight alone
Yes, like almost every superhero, the Batman too has a secret identity. but unlike most superheroes, he does not work alone. He is open to ask for support, and make himself vulnerable to that extent. His butler, Alfred, the engineer who works on his suits, gadgets and vehicles, his girlfriend, all know that it is Bruce Wayne who 'moonlights' as the Batman. In the movie 'The Dark Knight', the auditor conducting a due diligence check on Wayne Enterprises also comes to know about him, and the Batman is fine with that. He is also open to the idea of growing his team, and including Robin and Batgirl.

While this does make him vulnerable, it saves him the trouble and dilemma of whether to reveal his identity to people he is "hiding" from. This makes it very difficult to blackmail him into anything.

4) He is ok even with being branded a criminal
The Batman is clear about his goals. He exists to fight crime. Other things don't matter much to him. He is ok with breaking laws to achieve his objective, and he is also ok with being branded a criminal. He is not in it for the fame or appreciation.

5) He is a superhero by choice
It was his vow that Bruce Wayne became Batman. He was not gifted with great powers, and therefore great responsibilities. It was him who decided his power, and it was him who decided his responsibilities.

What's more, he can stop whenever he wants. And still, every day, he becomes the Batman by choice and by his commitment to his vow. You can't force him into becoming the Batman, it is entirely his choice. And this makes me admire him more.

Time is money!!!

2008-10-22T00:30:00.000+05:30

Funny, how age-old sayings can translate to completely different meanings in modern times.

Jagran Solutions, a below-the-line agency (in marketing jargon, called on-ground activation, marketing communications agency) in India took this saying and gave it an amazing twist online.

This Diwali, they tied up with an NGO (Akanksha) and posted about it on a blog. The NGO works in the field of education for underprivileged children. The post invites comments to itself, and Jagran contributes "a humble amount" for each comment posted.

While I would loved to know the exact amount that Jagran will contribute for my comment, I am going by the logic of something is better than nothing, and that this act of mine will add to whatever I do otherwise too.

So here's cheers for the effort!

And you can contribute too by visting the blog here.

Arts and Sciences

2008-09-12T00:30:00.000+05:30

The whole idea seems cliche actually.

We have been probably talked about this for years now, especially whether a particular thing is an art or a science. This post is a different take on the argument.

We always consider these two as two separate concepts. What I believe is that these two are stages of an evolution. Think of them as first floor and second floor. Science is the first floor, and arts is the second.

Why do I say so?
The idea is based on a lot of thoughts related to activities we consider analytical, and therefore scientific, and other activities which we consider creative, and therefore artisitic. For almost every field of man's efforts, things start with taking more and more information and organising all of it.

Let us take the example of a science considered as one of the purest of sciences - physics.

The quest to the physics knowledge bank that we have today started out with the inventions of the natural numbers, and then moved to whole numbers, rational and then real numbers. Of course, on the way, we invented equations, mathematical operations. We also created all theories of phenomena that we considered natural and factual in the world around us - geometry, gravity, repulsion, e=mc2, et al.

But then, we got stuck at finding out the square root of -1. Here, the analytical brain stopped, but the creative brain took off... and created an imaginary number i. It led to more discoveries and inventions.

What's more, it is in the field of physics (the pure science) that we have probably the most number of creative theories. The Big Bang Theory, sub-atomic particles, multiple Universes, string theory, the list goes on. Most of them have their own set of believers and critics. But none of them can conclusively prove or disprove their own convictions. Talk of purity of science!

Let's look at the arts field. How does one start off in painting or photography? By understanding the science of colour combinations and brush strokes. And by understanding the impact of lighting and perspective on the final photograph.

What are the first things taught to dancers? Understanding their body movements and the science of beats.

What is the first thing taught to musicians? The science of the sargam (Sa Re Ga Ma or octaves).

It is from this basic understanding of science that becomes the launchpad for take off in the unexplored and unexpressed forms of colours, images, dances and sounds. Take any good piece of art, and chances are that the fundamentals of that work would be in place too.

If science and art were indeed opposites, what would you call this post - an article on science because it's rational, or a piece of art because it's a unique point of view on things around us?

Amazing songs, amazing lyrics!

2008-03-27T03:00:00.000+05:30

I listen to both Hindi and English songs very frequently, mainly while on the move. Some of them serve good to pep me up while others are good when I am in a mood to appreciate poetry. A rare few are good for both these reasons. And the following 3 are the creme of the rare lot.

Song: Move Your Body
Album: Johnny Gaddaar OST
Lyrics:

Life is a gamble, boy,
so you know that you better play your cards right
If you wanna take the chance,
then you know that you better stand up and fight
This is just a game
So you gotta keep on playin'
'Cause you know what I am sayin'
Then you know you might even win this tonight!

Tell me can you handle it,
Kya hoga woh hai teri kismat
Tell me can you handle it,
Lekin baazi khelega iss waqt

Song: Animal Song
Album: Affirmation
Band: Savage Garden
Lyrics:
(while I love the entire song, this is the best part!)

I've been having difficulties keeping to myself
Feelings and emotions better left up on the shelf
Animals and children tell the truth, they never lie
Which one is more human
There's a thought, now you decide

Song: All The People in the World
Album: Safri Duo Episode II
Band: Safri Duo
Lyrics:

All the people in the world
Every boy and every girl
Just imagin that we could
It isn't hard to do

All the people in the world
Every boy and every girl
Just imagin that we could
Face up brother hood

Give it up...
You just got to give it up
You just have to give it up
You just got to give it up

I recently did a course called the LandMark Education 'Curriculum for Living', and most of these lyrics also fit with the learnings from that course. Maybe that's why I noticed these lyrics in the first place, because I have been listening to these songs for quite some time.

Everybody is someone else's weirdo

2008-03-12T14:30:00.000+05:30

Although it seems ironical, it is a statement as true as it can get. I stole it from a friend's Google Talk status message, since it is so apt for this post.

Come to think of it, everyone of us knows at least one person who we think is weird. At the same time, each of us also knows a person who thinks we are weird. While I don't know the reason for this happening among girls, I have a theory on why this happens to guys, as in, why do some guys seem weird to girls. I analysed my own behaviour after reading a lot on the topic of men vs women, and realised this.

This would normally happen to any attractive girl, and would also happen to most girls with respect to a particular guy. More often that not, the guy seems weird to the girl primarily because the guy is trying hard to make an impression on her. Given that guys do not know much about girls anyway, and that their interaction with the girl they like is very limited, they are not sure of how the girl would react.

Coupled with the fact that he likes her, the guy is terrified of losing and is very nervous. For all these reasons, he changes his attitude, his statements, his posture and body language a number of times during the interaction, in his desperate effort to adapt to the girl's reactions. (What many guys also do is to talk to the girl in the same way as he would talk to a guy, or even worse, as if the girl were his buddy who already knows that he likes her.)

As a result, the girl gets different verbal and non-verbal messages during a single interaction, and is thoroughly confused. Of course, the guy too is all nervous and offers no help in making the girl understand him. Net outcome: the girl thinks "this guy is weird".

Moral of the story for the girls: Be happy and feel appreciated when a guy appears to be weird to you. He likes you!

Moral of the story for the guys: Be confident when you talk to girls, than coming across as a clumsy person.

Truth, Lies and Advertising by Jon Steel

2008-03-05T13:30:00.000+05:30

A book written about advertising, and by an adman, would invariably talk about truth and lies, and how advertising is somewhere in between. However, this book says nothing about such issues, and maybe that's why, talks a lot of sense.

An interesting read by any measure, 'Truth Lies and Advertising' takes the reader into the fascinating world of account planning, and how it is not the next fad in the advertising world. It explores the depths of the job and how!

Some interesting statements made in the book, attributed to the original quoters:

On research: The average American has one testicle and one breast.

When you prepare a mousetrap, leave enough room for the mouse.

On enthusiastic clients who focus on product features: "It's just a f*cking chocolate cookie."

You don't have a good strategy till you have a good ad.

(Don't have the book with me now, so not verbatim)

In addition to all the information and 'insight' into the world of account planning, this book also helped me understand why 'got milk?' is such a great campaign.

It turned out that the campaign was not what I thought it was. All the print ads that you must have seen, showing celebrities with a milk moustache, are Phase 2, or maybe Phase 3 of the campaign. The original idea leaves you spellbound with its creativity and simplicity.

The weird side of me

2008-02-27T01:30:00.000+05:30

While technically speaking, the title is incorrect, since there is no other side of me.

I was tagged for doing this, more than a month ago, but couldn't get myself to complete the list. Now that I have, here is the post.

Before i give my list, a small detail on what the tag is about:
- Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
- Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
- Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
- Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So here's my list of 7 weird things about me:

1) My drawers, wardrobe, office bag and office desk are extremely unorganised, while my files and folders on the computer, and articles on my blogs are very organised. (I started 5 different blogs just so that the topics don't overlap and confuse my readers!)

2) I would eat ghar ki roti's by tearing them in exactly 4, almost identical, parts. I have been doing this ever since I have been carrying a tiffin box from home for lunch, that's about 8 years now.

3) I won't be seen dead with a crumpled handkerchief in my pocket. It would be perfectly folded 4 times to form a small square, and would be placed perfectly in my pocket.

4) I would know what's cooking in the kitchen, just by smelling it. But I can never tell for sure whether last night's food has gone bad or not, even after tasting it.

5) Left to me, all my PowerPoint slides would be in black, white or greys... background as well as text!!!

6) I am indecisive about most of the important things in my life, but would have very strong opinion about most of the trivial things in life.

7) I would watch even the most boring Hindi movies multiple times, but can't stand a very good movie more than a few times.

Won't be tagging anyone for now. But would update this post once I find 7 people to tag.

Absolut Fun!

2008-02-26T13:30:00.000+05:30

What does a marketer do if it wants to sell a product that:
1) has no odour, taste or colour by itself
2) is just another product in an already crowded market
3) whose country of origin has no credibility in the making of this product, and
4) has to build the entire business from scratch

Would you believe if I told you,
that this brand is the largest selling imported brand in the US in its category?
Or that it sells at a premium much higher than other brands in the market?
Or that its bottles have become collectibles over the years?
Or that it still runs that same advertisements that marked its launch almost 3 decades ago?

That is the fascinating story of Absolut Vodka, a name that was invented just 3 decades ago, but claims to continue a tradition that's centuries old.

The book 'Absolut, Biography of a Bottle' written by Carl Hamilton presents a wonderful account of how the business and advertising of Absolut started.

The writing style too is commendable - one that makes the reader think he is tracing a scandal of sorts right from its origin to its launch and success in the United States. Throughout Carl demonstrates the power of advertising in building a brand, and the apparent disrespect the advertising world has to ethics. Overall a fun read, though.

The essence of the advertising campaign behind Absolut Vodka can be summed up in this paragraph taken from the book.

In Germany, several brands had been beaten into extinction when Allied bombers blew the factories to rubble in World War II, halting production for several years. After the war, they rose like a flock of Phoenixes from the ashes, and qucikly regained their previous market shares. Brand names had an iron grip on the people. This was a problem for new products, like instant coffee and frozen food. Simply put, they had no history. Such products were as scary as a person with no past. The only solution, Dichter said, was to invent a past.

Twenty-20 Foresight

2007-09-25T11:10:00.000+05:30

As every other inactive Indian blogger, this moment would serve as an opportunity to get over the blogger's block, and I too, am making the best of this opportunity.

However, this post would be different (I hope) from the countless other posts that might get into the nitty-gritties of the Twenty20 tournament, the Final match tonight or Indian team's performance, or probably even how each team performed throughout the series.

This post is rather about my thoughts as a bystander to this exciting event.

Similar to what happened when the One Day International format was introduced, this format too faced the initial criticism from the purists. But at the end, as many articles and blogs have said, everybody is happy with this format. And almost everybody's sure that this would add to, and not replace, the other formats.

In hindsight, the reasons for these seem quite obvious. We were trying to measure the advantages and disadvantages of the Twenty20 format with our understanding and experience of the ODI and Test Match formats. The reactions, hence, were:
- It would be crunching it too much for it to remain interesting
- It would simply become a slog-fest, and the resultant runs would be so much, it would be very frustrating for the bowlers.

Overall, while some of the disadvantages are true, the format has its advantages too:
- It is long enough to keep things exciting, but short enough to hold everyone interested throughout the match.
- While compared to the other formats, the batsmen's strike rates would be higher and bowlers economy rates would be lower, the T20 records would simply get their own life, just the way ODI scores are no more compared to Test scores.
- As more of this format is played, the strategising would evolve and we would have similar analyses and planning in the matches and series, the way we currently have going in the Test and ODI.

But my gut feel is that the game would still be plagued by the current vices. There is enough money and not enough emotions riding International cricket (when compared to Football) to boot out the bookies.

I can only hope that the game comes out clean soon.

A hate-post

2006-09-15T14:28:00.000+05:30

This post is about one of the institutions I "do not like so much"... to put it mildly.

This institution publishes a magazine called "Business & Economy".
While it calls itself "India's most influential Business and Economy magazine", well, chances are that you have never heard about this magazine.

This magazine recently ran an ad about its readership figures, quoting NRS 2006 results.
See that ad below.

Some mistakes and lots of things here that an advertiser (or in fact anybody who knows how to read numbers) would ask...

- Who are the "others" who took 25 years, and for doing what?

- If "All figures are in '000s" already, why does 1,00,000 remain as it is? Shouldn't it be 100?

- What is the TG profile here?
Normally, some information is mentioned about the age group or occupation or something about the readers of the publication. (My guess is that this is deliberately avoided since the magazine is mostly read by the students of the educational institution which is part of this group)

- If it is "India's most influential B&E magazine", how were the results got? More importantly, which are the other Business and Economy magazines, which are not as influential as this magazine?

- Both the magazines that feature in the list of ... wait, it does not say what was the elite list that appeared in the New York Times Syndicate "along with few of the best magazines in the world".... both the magazines are from the same group. What an ammayzin' coincidence!!!!

Dog and Cat Fur production

2006-09-08T20:01:00.000+05:30

I was surfing across the blogosphere a couple of months back. It was from one of the blogs there that I saw this PETA video. The video showed the way fur is "produced" by ripping apart the skin of dogs and cats from their skin... while they are still alive!!!

To say I was shocked is a gross under-statement. I don't have words to describe that shocked-and-disgusted feeling.

Below is the embedded video. Follow the link to visit the page on YouTube.

A warning is necessary here.
Be prepared to watch a horrific sight!
I would advise you not to see this, if you are weak at heart or too emotional.

A saying

2006-09-02T12:29:00.000+05:30

Got the following saying from a friend's email signature. Absolutely loved it!!!

"It's time for India to move from self-reliance to Reliance."

Mobile Manners

2006-08-27T22:09:00.000+05:30

I haven't travelled outside India, or even to a lot of places outside Mumbai. So I can't really give a perspective on this opinion. But being within a small place in this big world, I have come to realise that the human race has got a lot of things it doesn't really deserve.

One of them is the mobile phone.

Imagine this. You are going in a local train trying to reach your office on time. The train is packed like crazy and the air is hot and humid. You have probably been through two quarrels already from your way to this place in the train. You are trying to relax a bit.

And then rings loudly the phone of the person standing next to you. He answers it and then for some reason, starts talking as if he is living in the distant past when trunk calls were hard to hear. A minute into the talk, everyone in the coach knows what the conversation is about.

Now imagine this happening almost every alternate day in your real life.

Life does not stop there. If you are thinking it is only the people travelling in local trains who do this, galat jawaab! These incidents happen at all levels across social gatherings, be it office meetings, or people sitting on the dias, or people in the cinema hall. And I am sure I am not the minority when it comes to being on the receiving side of such incidences. Mobiles have become one of the biggest sources of rude behaviour in public.

Some time back, Hutch had started an ad campaign on mobile manners.
My opinion - PLEASE RESTART!!! We desparately need some teaching!!!

Mumbai Blasts = Mumbai terrorised?

2006-07-12T12:30:00.000+05:30

This is an after-thought regarding Mumbai blasts yesterday.

Before I put forward my point, I admit this might not be what every Mumbai-ite (or anybody else as well) thinks about the blasts. That's because, I was office when I got this news, and got home safely. Also, as of now, none of my relatives and friends have got hurt in the mishap. So, yes, you are free to think of this post as a very biased thought on the blasts.

1) People are playing extra safe by not coming to Mumbai. Hello, as if other places are safe havens!!

Why do we forget that terrorists are not thinking of killing people, they just want to spread fear? Unfortunately, they got what they wanted. People all over the world having remotest connections with Mumbai went crazy.

Not unexpected, though. But what was surprising was the lack of courage in the authorities' announcements. How come nobody said "Listen you terrorists, Mumbai is not afraid. We are brave enough to get over this soon. And once that's done, we will come after you"? How come nobody said, "F*ckers, you will have to pay for this"?

(If you think that that can be done at a later stage, post the reporting of rehabilitation measures and rescue operations, you have already fallen into the trap of those b*stards. A bit off track here, but you would know what I am saying if you have seen, in M:I-III, the way Damien, tied to a chair, talks to Ethan Hunt in the plane.)

I sadly conclude our leaders lack the courage and zeal in them. They were looking meekly in the cameras and reporting on what action they were taking. Fine, that's important. But equally important is the assurance that Mumbai was still not afraid, and was ready for tomorrow, at the same time, eager to take revenge.

2) All people on the roads yesterday, all reporters, all news channels (well, almost all) were blaming the government, the authorities and everyone else in the world for what happened to them. One news channel went on to say that terrorists succeeded despite of security arrangements. Did I hear that wrong? Security arrangements in Mumbai local trains???

Are you in your right mind? How can somebody think of arranging security on a network that is crumbling under the weight of carrying lakhs of people everyday, a network where simple safety features like closed doors while trains are in motion, are a luxury, a network where more than a thousand commuters are killed every year at railway crossings and or under the tracks because of falling off the trains?

In its current situation, when railway lines are stopped, when the traffic on the roads is badly stuck, when cellphone lines are jammed, how are authorities supposed to even confirm that the blasts reports from all the places are true?

I am not defending the authorities here, mind you. But because of the so-called speed of these 24-hour news channels, people expect everything to be done and every damage to be repaired immediately. Ever thought, had these news channels not been there, people would have not been scared of the lives of their relatives / friends in Mumbai?
That cellphone lines would have been free for the Mumbai-ites to call up their homes and just pass on the 'I am safe' messages?
That people would have avoided going home immediately just to make their families feel safe and comfortable, and would have left the roads a wee bit emptier for rescue operations?

I am sure people would come back saying more information is good, but please think about it. More information in situations like these, simply means terror in Mumbai becomes terror all over India (without as many bomb blasts).

3) It was probably the excess of news reports and talks about the so-called 'Spirit of Mumbai' that forced me to think seriously about it. I would not go into whether it's good or bad. To put it in one sentence, it's about the motto "The show must go on."

Think of the life of a typical Mumbai-ite. Every morning, s/he braves the crowds in trains and on raods, just to reach his / her office, slogs the whole day and comes back home to find household chores and issues, trivial and otherwise, staring in his / her face.

Every day gone is a battle-winning effort. And every morning, s/he has to replay that effort. It doesn't really matter what happened yesterday. That's why s/he would be back to work the very next day after a calamity (floods, bomb blasts, riots, take your pick).

For some, probably it's a choice. For others, it's a compulsion. But that's the price people pay for living in a city driven by commercial activities. Where having your own home is still a dream people work towards to make a reality.

Here, the force of competition and the obligation to work everyday and earn your living is big enough for them to take risks.

If this typical Mumbai-ite is given a choice between his / her current life and a better future (all risks included), s/he would go for the better future. Probably because Mumbai shows the glaring difference between the today and the possible tomorrow.

In a very short opinion-cum-analysis, that's what the 'Spirit of Mumbai' is about.

A Mumbai-ite's reply to RD

2006-06-29T00:08:00.000+05:30

So RD says that Mumbai is the rudest city, huh?
Like I care a damn!!!

There are at least 10 things more important that I need to worry about rather than these surveys:
1. My Job
2. My Job
3. My Job
4. My Job
5. My Job
6. My Job
7. My Job
8. My Job
9. My Job
10. My Family
.
.
.
11. Me

Competence vs. Change

2006-06-02T01:23:00.000+05:30

Recently read an article by Seth Godin in Fast Company.

Here, he says "In the face of change, the competent are helpless."

To say that I was confused would be an understatement. Wasn't winning and being the market leader all about building competence? Wasn't core competency the most important edge a company could have?

On the face of it, it starts making sense after pondering for a while. Competence after all is a person's ability to be quite good at doing a particular job. And since he is good at doing it in its current form, he is resistant to any change with it.

This 'sense' is shortlived, though. Because the understanding of the word 'competence' is incomplete. Looks like even Mr. Godin got it wrong.

Competence, as defined by Wikipedia here, means it is about skills and abilities and knowledges. In other words, competence is not knowing just one successful formula and applying it everywhere. It is actually about knowing a full range of formulae and also knowing which one to apply in what situation.

Given that, a competent person might embrace change, not resist it, because he is constantly looking at better ways to do it.

In that sense, change = better competence!!!

Swimming Pool vs. Well

2006-05-28T02:45:00.000+05:30

I was watching a 'satsang' on TV today, that made me think about this.

The person gave this beautiful example about swimming pools and wells to substantiate his points. While the original point is ignoreable, this analogy isn't. He explained that with a swimming pool, we need to put in the water, whereas in case of a well, all we have to do is remove the dirt, and the gravel in there. Ground water automatically finds its way into that well.

What got me thinking about this was that this is the case with life.

Come to think of it, we expect the world to be treating us as a swimming pool, giving us what we want. Shouldn't we be more like a well, finding our own sources of what we need (ok ok... also of what we 'want')?

Of course, it's tough. Because we would have to start with doing the dirty job of cleaning up. But I guess it's worth it!!!

What is Management?

2006-05-06T01:43:00.000+05:30

No, I do not want to talk about the definition of management here.

What I want to talk about is the art of people management. Not an original idea though, but I have been lucky enough to experience this early in my career and realise its importance.

Read umpteen books on management and each of them would give a different funda on the topic. Each would look at one aspect of the whole practice and try to philosophise on it.

The practice, no doubt, is an art. But I have realised that most of people management does not involve getting things done. It involves removing obstacles in the path of things being done.

Let's look at it in more detail.

I am a strong believer in Theory Y, which says that given an opportunity people want to work, and that they get personal satisfaction in accomplishing the tasks given to them.

Given this, it is natural that left to themselves, things will get done. What, then, is the role of a manager? His / her role is to make sure that the doer faces as less problems as possible, while carrying out the task assigned to him. Because a self-motivated employee would go to his senior only when he is unable to do the task himself. He is not looking at avoiding the work. He is looking at finishing it in the best possible manner.

In such a case, all a manager needs to do is to help the employee solve the problem, and then, get himself off the scene. Once the problem is solved, the manager is no longer required, and his presence may possibly even lead to inefficient working of the employee.

So that's management as I see it - remove obstacles from your employees' ways, not get yourself in their way ahead.

What is God?

2006-04-12T13:27:00.000+05:30

A couple of days back, I read an article saying that 90% of people believe that their prayers come true.

This made me wonder a lot of things... why do people believe in God? What makes them think that something like God exists? That made me think about myself. Do I believe in God? If no, why do I say, "I hope something would happen or not happen." More importantly, what is God?

Most of the things that happen happen "because" of something else. There is a big cause and effect cycle that goes on... day in and day out. The cause could be either somebody's action (including mine) or something we call forces of nature.

If we believe in the first part, we have to accept that we are responsible for whatever happens to us, if not individually, then collectively. If we belive in the second part, and look at forces of nature, they are nothing but results of different probabilities. We all know the concepts of gravity, heat, pressure and the like. They all follows rules, and probabilities.

Since these probabilities are something that cannot be predicted, we can call them God, but then, the generally accepted concept of God means that he can do anything, not necessarily between 0 and 1. It can't be God.

What does this all lead to? It leads us to two things:
1) We are all subject to the rules of probability. Things that happen to us, could have happened to others. It is just a matter of 'chance' that they happened to us. We are not the start of all and end of all things.
2) We are in control of most of the things. To what extent is this control, I don't know. But yes, what we do matters more than what we pray for.

So, probability is God. But as the rule of probability goes, everything would be 50:50 in the long run.

In the end, as Neo puts it - "The problem is choice".

What choice did you make today?

Moral Polices Everywhere!!!

2006-03-18T01:23:00.000+05:30

Here it goes again. One more extra-ordinary ad and people just don't get it.

They have simply lost it, over the SBI 'Bholu' ad. The intellectuals, who just watch TV and want to comment on everything they see, have not liked the ad because it showcases poor people and their lives.

I don't understand why these people do such things. For every 'Chandni Bar' and 'Chameli', these same guys would appreciate the effort and give awards to the makers. But when it comes to advertising, the makers would become insensitive a*sholes, who want to commercialise the lifestyle of poor people.

How can the intelligent people be so dumb?

Why can't they understand concepts like breaking the clutter, like having 'what if' situations in ads to get your message across. Do they not understand even something as simple as target audience???

A great personality also puts his own version of the ad. I would love to ask him - Sir, with all due respect, would you have even noticed an ad like what you have 'created'?

I SERIOUSLY DOUBT IT!!!

The moral of the story: Leave the ad-making job to the creative guys. It is not everybody's cup of tea.

God is laughing

2006-03-17T20:34:00.000+05:30

It is said, if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans.

I guess that's what I keep doing again and again.

This is probably the zillionth time I did it.

The moment I feel the urge to do something, I find my platter empty. Not half-filled, not part-filled, empty!!!

So what do I do? I subscribe to newsletters, I start new things. And the next morning, I find my platter over-loaded.

So now, I am a blogger, quizzer, freelancer, researcher and if whatever I have already planned starts happenning, I would also be a lecturer, writer and professional quizmaster.

This is plain crazy. How can I do justice to everything? Why did I start all of this?
And why, just why, can't I make God appreciate my plans for once?

Who am I?

2006-03-11T02:16:00.000+05:30

So I am at it again.

The always-confused, always-thinking / imagining / fantasizing me is back on this blog.

Given my poor decision-making skills, I guess this was bound to happen. What started out as a personal blog, became an advertising blog, and then everything got shifted to a new blog. So this blog got empty and I am filling it with crap.

Every time I convince myself that I am extra-ordinary, a stand-apart-from-other-mortals type, I see myself myself thrown back into the real world. And here, I am a nobody. A usual person, who is as confused about life, as afraid of the future, as ambitious, as lazy, as everything... as any other person in this world.

No, I think I am wrong again. I am not normal... I am more of everything compared to the average man... more cofused, more afraid, more ambitious, more lazy, more everything. Yes! Now I know why I am extraordinary... well probably.

Anyway, I don't think anybody would care. Most of them wouldn't, as long as I 'behave' like a normal person in front of others.

Quote for this post: Steve Jobs of Apple Computers says - Sometime, somewhere down the line the dots will all join together and form something.

Somebody help! I don't have a pencil!