The Making Of A Superstar..

I can almost feel a few raised eyebrows now! I came across this book in the most unlikely fashion, during a short trip to Blossoms over weekend with a pal. He is the one who introduced me to ‘Almost Single’ and now to ‘The Making Of A Superstar’ by Susmita Dasgupta. I was expecting a prosaic tome filled with anecdotes and Bollywood gossip which I could skim through, and what I got was a well researched book on the evolution of Amitabh Bachchan’s public persona with a keen insight into the Hindi Cinema.

Susmita presents a careful analysis of Amitabh’s roles in some of his epochal movies and tries to track the sociology of Hindi Cinema from the perspective of Indian Audience by tracing the evolution of Amitabh’s image from the angry young man of “Zanjeer”, the tragic antihero of “Deewar” and the entertainer of “Amar Akbar Anthony” to his more conservative turns in “Mohabbatein” and “Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham”. She traces the evolution of Indian Heroes from the times when they martyred for social causes to the modern era when they became more focussed on personal pursuits.

I believe that the movies that are produced in any age are a mirror of the community thought process and the set of values they endorse. Popular film stars often represent the aspirations and dreams of the masses. Why do we watch some movies just because of star cast? It is because Stars have an image that extends across all the movies or ads that he is cast in. I remember those days of anxiety for Cadbury and Pepsi. when they went through quality issues, and Amitabh’s voice of authority restored them from their fallen grace.

Why is that some impressions last forever in the mind space? Why is that some movies go to attain ‘The Larger Than Life’ status? Why do we idolize some actors and share their emotions and trails? Not all feelings can be explained, neither can everyone explain the social significance of a movie. Amitabh’s cinematography is indeed engaging. What comes to your mind when you think of Amitabh today? A fighter against of all odds, a conventionalist or the angry young man of yesteryears. I think he is an exemplary example of a personal brand and the way he reinvented himself to a national icon over the passage of time is simply amazing.

I was amused by Laawaris (remember Mere Angane Mein?), shed tears over Sholey, enraged at Amitabh role in BOOM, chuckled at ‘Cheeni Kam’ and clapped instinctively for the divine justice that happens in the climax of ‘Aakhree Rasta’ (I was probably 12 then). Amitabh could don the role of a conservative disciplinarian, or play the dignified patriarch, or be the martyr for the underclasses, he remains close to my heart, and that must have been the secret motivation behind my reading this well presented academic research on sociology of Indian Cinema that traces the journey of Amitabh’s golden era with gusto.

Sichuan Earthquake..

Something that moved me deeply today.

Biggest Drawing In The World..

Something that caught my eye today. With the help of a GPS device equipped suitcase and DHL, Eric Nordenankar attempts a self protrait by recreating the paths the suitcase traveled. There are really no boundaries to human imagination or potential!

Matters of Insignificance…

My morning calm was perturbed by a really insignificant matter today. For those who know me only through this online medium, one of my queer little idiosyncrasies include punctuality. The time on my watch is always 10 minutes ahead, and on the top of it, I try to make it five minutes in advance to the Time I have in mind. So, if I plan for an 7:30 AM morning walk to office, negotiations are rarely allowed.

Most (almost all) of my mornings are heavily dosed with a random discipline of adherence to some schedule, which sounds logical only through retrospective justification. And so was today. My dependence on another person delayed my morning walk at 7:30 by 40 minutes which took me through a phase of disquiet and I ended up taking the cab instead. Just because there was a mismatch between what happened and what I had scheduled to happen, I was jolted out of my composure and couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the moment.

Learning to live in the beauty of the present seems like an eternal pursuit indeed.

A Handful Of Dust

… I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
THE WASTELAND

‘A Handful Of Dust’ from Evelyn Waugh is one of the first and finest satirical fiction that I read since a long time. With an intriguing title lifted from ‘The Wasteland’, Waugh indeed paints a satirical stylish picture of the society through the breakup of the marriage of Brenda and Tony Last. Laced with wry wit, sarcastic humor and subtle irony, Waugh elegantly draws out the superficiality of the upper class.

The novel begins with one of the friend’s of Tony quoting, “I often think Tony Last’s one of the happiest men I know. He’s got just enough money, loves the place, one son he’s crazy about, devoted wife, not a worry in the world.”

Tony is happily married to Brenda and to his Victorian Gothic country home. In love with the happenings around London and bored by the country lifestyle, Brenda fancies herself in love with an opportunistic and worthless social climber Mr. Beaver. When Tony’s Son is killed in an accident, Brenda reveals her affair to Tony and requests for a hefty divorce settlement that forces Tony to sell his home. Betrayed by his wife, Tony embarks on a harebrained expedition to discover a lost city deep in jungles, only to find himself as a prisoner to a Mr.Todd. The novel signs itself with Tony resigning himself to read Charles Dickens’s works to Mr.Todd in jungles for eternity, and Brenda marrying one of the obliging Tony’s friends as her lover Mr. Beaver leaves her for New York, whilst the house went to Tony’s distant relatives.

The novel is filled with impersonal and often cruel satire. Sample this musing of Tony towards the end: “He had always rather enjoyed reading aloud and in the first year of marriage had shared several books in this way with Brenda, until one day, in a moment of frankness, she remarked that it was torture to her.”

The casual tone in which Brenda’s betrayal of Tony is handled and the social sanction it received makes one wonder at the moral corruption of the society. Being Amusing, melodramatic, tragic and cold, Waugh brings out the phoniness of the aristocratic society in a subtle sarcastic fashion that’s beautifully supported by a vividly descriptive style. A great example of dark humor that presents a scathing commentary on the society and the phony relationships.

SmartTechie Startup City in Bangalore

This Saturday was quite eventful with the SmartTechie’s Startup City Event happening at NIMHANS Convention Centre in Bangalore. I was about to collect my notes, but a little bit of googling helped me land up at Swaroop’s notes on the event which captured the essence of the event in a remarkable fashion.

Here are those aspects of the event that I loved most. R.K.Misra is positively charging and I loved Ashish Gupta’s keen insightful address that traced the evolution of startups. His perspective of looking at India as a huge startup offered a great food for thought. The panel discussion focussed on Innovation Marketing was moderated by Dr. Y L R Moorthi – IIMB professor of marketing. Some of Moorthi’s candid remarks like

‘Marketing is too serious a stuff to leave it to Marketing professors or Marketing professionals’
‘Technology has the shelf life of a banana’

got me thinking. How true!

The Marketing Panel discussion was quite insightful as Paul Murphy, Director of Innovation, Microsoft India emphasized on the importance of Business case, on building products that customer wants, and Marketing in Promoting ideas, Bharath Chinamanthur from Amazon India Development Center and Suresh Vedula, Head – Business Mobility,from Nokia India expounded on their experiences. Sharad Sharma proved to be a great moderator in the CEO Conclave. Overall, this event surpassed my expectations!

the CATCHER in the RYE

“You know that song. ‘If a body catch a body coming’ through the rye? I’d like —”

“It’s ‘If a body meet a body coming through the rye!” old Phoebe said. “It’s a poem. By Robert Burns.”

“I know it is a poem by Robert Burns.”

“She was right though. It is “If a body meet a body coming through the rye.” I didn’t know it then, though.

“I thought it was ‘If a body catch a body,’” I said. “Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody around — nobody big, I mean — except me. And I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff — I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it’s crazy, but that’s the only thing I’d really like to be. I know it’s crazy.”

I was in half love with this ‘Holden Caulfield’ by the time I am through. I really am. For his age of Sixteen, I didn’t know anyone who is more clear thinking and muddle headed than he was. A bundle of teenage rebellion, that he indeed was, with little regard to play by the rules. He has these itsy bitsy darn complaints about the phoniness in the world that makes you dig into the childhood memories and offer a sigh at those days of carefree innocence. The disconnect that he feels from the world, the perils of growing up, the burden of responsibilities, the alienation from the society, the loss of his brother Allie, his pursuit for independent identity, and his naive frustrations – didn’t we all go through some of them in our adolescence?

Just like the Lagoon in Central Park which is “partly frozen and partly not frozen”, Holden comes across as an embodiment of teenager who is caught between the dilemma of growing up to a responsible adulthood from carefree mirth of childhood innocence. Holden narrates his two days of his life after getting an ax from Pencey Prep School for his poor academic performance. We share the deeply private fantasy world of Holden, through his candid confessions which fill the book and occupy your mindspace. Often endearing and often shallow, refreshingly, Holden remains the same simple ‘heart on my sleeve’ kid even as he ends his narration by celebrating Phoebe’s cheerful mood on a park ride. What is unique about this novel apart from Holden’s red hunting hat, is the flow of Holden’s experiences in first person which run as a simple commentary on life. Cynical, bitter, nostalgic and intimately introspective, one can’t help but appreciate the colorful innocent world that Holden inhabits.

Some Voice of Reason that Holden encounters in the novel:

“Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them – if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.”

The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe..

The TIME’s list has offered me a perfect excuse to read this fantasy novel, which I have been stalling since an year. I think this is the first time when I have read a book after watching its digital recreation.

And that indeed makes a huge difference. Every book unfolds a mystical world for me, and as I live through the magical fantasy it creates, my mind acts on flashes of inspiration to shape the actors based on the characterization and the flow. The movie already supplied the mental images of persona in vivid detail and my experience is that of an explorer venturing on a well-heeled ground. It did put me on an evaluative mode than on an experiential mode. I couldn’t help wishing for a first person narrative ( I have a huge complaint with the narration style), and a detailed characterization of Aslan though I think it would be answered by the rest of the books in the series. Overall, an entertaining book, and in retrospection, I admit that I enjoyed the movie better.

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My favorite piece of conversation from the book:

“That is more than I know,” said the Professor, “and a charge of lying against someone whom you have always found truthful is a very serious thing; a very serious thing indeed.”
“We were afraid it mightn’t even be lying,” said Susan; “we thought there might be something wrong with Lucy.”
“Madness, you mean?” said the Professor quite coolly. “Oh, you can make your minds easy about that. One has only to look at her and talk to her to see that she is not mad.”
“Logic!” said the Professor half to himself. “Why don’t they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn’t tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.”

“Well, sir, if things are real, they’re there all the time.”
“Are they?” said the Professor; and Peter did’nt know quite what to say.

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My Ebook Collection…

As I have promised, here is the list of the ebooks from the TIME top 100 Novels list that I have in my personal collection. If you are interested in having any of these,just click on the name for the rapidshare link, or  just drop me a comment with your email ID, and I would be able to email the book for you.

A disclaimer here: I am encouraging the usage of Ebooks indeed, though I would prefer the silent rapture of being immersed in a physical book any day. Yet, if we look at the availability and access to these modern classics, most of these are rare treasures that are hard to come my way over a breezy shopping fest. And I don’t believe that these 100 Novels are the best of the literature ever produced, for some of my most cherished books like Life Of Pi, Alchemist, Kite Runner, The Stranger, Fountain Head, Alice In Wonderland are still treasured even if they are not hailed in any literary short lists. However, I still see this as an opportunity to discover new worlds that are ensconced in these books.

I am hoping to update this list, as and when I acquire more books. If you come across any of the books that are not listed here and are part of the TIME collection, please do share.

For the lucky ones for whom this link works, all the below books can be downloaded as a single file.

1. The Adventures of Augie March By Saul Bellow
2. American Pastoral By Philip Roth
3. An American Tragedy By Theodore Dreiser
4. Animal Farm By George Orwell
5. Appointment in Samarra By John O’Hara
6. At Swim-Two-Birds By Flann O’Brien
7. Atonement By Ian McEwan
8. Beloved By Toni Morrison
9. The Big Sleep By Raymond Chandler
10. The Blind Assassin By Margaret Atwood
11. Blood Meridian By Cormac McCarthy
12. Brideshead Revisited By Evelyn Waugh
13. The Bridge of San Luis Rey By Thornton Wilder
14. Catch-22 By Joseph Heller
15. The Catcher in the Rye By J.D. Salinger
16. A Clockwork Orange By Anthony Burgess
17. The Crying of Lot 49 By Thomas Pynchon
18. Death Comes for the Archbishop By Willa Cather
19. A Death in the Family By James Agee
20. Gone With the Wind By Margaret Mitchell
21. Gravity’s Rainbow By Thomas Pynchon
22. The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald
23. A Handful of Dust By Evelyn Waugh
24. A House for Mr. Biswas By V.S. Naipaul
25. I, Claudius By Robert Graves
26. Infinite Jest By David Foster Wallace
27. Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison
28. Light in August By William Faulkner
29. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe By C.S. Lewis
30. Lolita By Vladimir Nabokov
31. Lord of the Flies By William Golding
32. The Lord of the Rings By J.R.R. Tolkien
33. Midnight’s Children By Salman Rushdie
34. Money By Martin Amis
35. Mrs. Dalloway By Virginia Woolf
36. Naked Lunch By William Burroughs
37. Neuromancer By William Gibson
38. 1984 By George Orwell
39. On the Road By Jack Kerouac
40. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest By Ken Kesey
41. Pale Fire By Vladimir Nabokov
42. A Passage to India By E.M. Forster
43. Portnoy’s Complaint By Philip Roth
44. The Power and the Glory By Graham Greene
45. Slaughterhouse-Five By Kurt Vonnegut
46. The Sound and the Fury By William Faulkner
47. The Sun Also Rises By Ernest Hemingway
48. Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe
49. To Kill a Mockingbird By Harper Lee
50. Tropic of Cancer By Henry Miller
51. Watchmen By Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
52. White Noise By Don DeLillo
53. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
54. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
55. Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
56. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett
57. The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
58. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis
59. Play it as it Lays by Joan Didion
60. The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
61. Rabbit, Run by John Updike
62. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark

P.S. For those who are list hungry, Susheel shared 1001 books list, which can also be found here. Worth checking out.

Some Book Fetish…

I came across this link yesterday. Its a list published of all time top 100 Novels published since 1923 by TIME Magazine in 2005. Apparently, it took me 3 years to discover it. A quick glance through the list highlighted 15 titles that I am familiar with and also introduced me to a world of 85 books and authors whom I never heard of. Going by the experience of those 15 which I loved, my expectations on the rest 85 are really sky high.

And so began a book fetish to hunt these books. I spent some quality hours tracking these books and I can say that I have around 40 of them in my collection now.

For those Ebook lovers, these Websites offer most of the books in list for free download.

http://www.truly-free.org/

http://www.4shared.com

http://www.esnips.com

http://www.scribd.com

http://avaxsphere.com/ebooks

Apart from grinning like a Cheshire cat, I cannot offer a reason to myself as to why did I spend so much time assembling them together, when I would have read them one by one. For me, greed has a pet name. Books. I feel strangely secure when I am around books that I haven’t discovered. Peculiar Behavior, isn’t it? Am planning to read 50 of the list by Feb 2009 and hopefully share the experience here. Wish me luck, for its a stretch goal, even for me.

Almost Single..

What would you do if a book introduces itself like this?

My name is Aisha Bhatia, I am twenty-nine years old and single. I work as a Guest Relations Manager at the Grand Orchid Hotel. I dine at luxury hotels and stay in five-stars during my travels; I can name old and new world wines with great élan, and can tell my cheeses apart.I tolerate my job, hate my boss, and bond big-time with my friends, while routinely suffering from umbilical cord whiplash. I don’t really care for my vital stats at the moment, and I don’t have a cute/funny nickname either. Hence this introduction: it stinks, but it sticks. In fact, sometimes I think there should be support groups like the AA out there for people like me…’

I picked it up and finished it at one go!

Wickedly funny and ironically realistic, Advaita Kala shares a piece of the Carefree and the New Era Single Women with surprising clarity and wit. Aisha Bhatia, the protagonist in the book took me through fits of laughter, as she unwinds the amusing experiences of the stereotypical Cosmopolitan and Independent Women and their relationships. The simple aspects of the modern day match fixing like ladies night outs, breakups, blind dates, matrimonial sites, trade offs, wardrobe hunts, gay friends and the new age parents that are represented in realistic candor would definitely ensure that one has a fun ride.

I loved this book for it depicts the changing trends in relationships in a frothy cheerful manner. It has a fresh writing style with ample insight into the Modern Women lifestyle that elegantly captures the beauty of simple English. A throughly recommended tome for late evening fun read!

The Fires Within..

When Was The Last Time That I Did Something For the First Time?

I attended a dance performance by Natyalakshana, called ‘The Fires Within’ which was sponsored by Bosch Cultural Events at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall this Friday. For those who were wondering about my new found interest in traditional art forms, I have to ascribe due credit to those unconventional inspirations that result from boredom.

And how glad I was that my whim took me there. How I thanked my friends for their exotic and audacious suggestion to take me there! The show was a beautiful symphony of music, dance and art, where flying feet gave voice to age old legends. The legendary poems represented are selected verses from Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Gitanjali’, Bharathiyar’s ‘Dikku Theriyada Katil’ and a few selection of Mirza Ghalib’s poetry in Kathak. I loved the ‘Dikku Theriyada Katil’ and Ghalib’s poetry representation, where I felt that the dancers delivered a magnificent justice to the poems.

Shama and Sanjay’s ‘Dikku Theriyada Katil’ and Hari and Chandana’s ‘Mirza Ghalib piece’ had a delicate balance of perfection and expression and they held me in rapture through out. The dance drama that followed, called Tagore’s ‘Tasher Desh’ was a little bit disappointing, but the blame rests with my expectations which reached the sky by the end of the first two performances. If I have to define the experience, words would surely fail me as I am running short of superlatives. I could never realize that poetry could be so brilliantly enticing and soul wrenching. I was swaying in a world, so out of myself and the feeling is liberating. I believe that the credit of those beautiful moments goes to those on back stage as well. A special mention for Usha Venkateshwaran, the director of Natyalakshana who choreographed and produced the dances. Simone for the wonderful sway of lights and Sri Gurumurthy and Ustad Faizal Khan for their mellifluous music.

This event did make me reflect on my opinions towards conventional art forms. For to achieve perfection in blending, a music so divine, a dance that lent life to poetry and expressions that tugged heart, it must either have been Divine’s grace or years’ practice. It did teach me a thing or two about the immense beauty that’s submerged in Indian tradition and art. Like a welcome summer rain, my heart kissed the joy and danced along enticed in the magical world of dance, music and poetry. A worthy life long memory that’s for me for keeps.

Here are the translations in English for the Ghalib’s poetry that’s recited in the Event.

“O God Thy blessings on the soul
Whose name just came to my lips.
And as I willed that it be sung,
My speech rained kisses on my tongue.

These images drawn by Thee to make
Thine grand image, this world
Stand there like supplicants bowed in prayer:
Their burden they can’t bear.

The Fire in me, it rages high,
Though I be bound in chains.
The chain rings bounce,for they are light
Like hair all curled by flame

No simile matches her playfulness
And her quick-silver, passionate ways,
For, lighting lacks, by far, her play
And her temper is hotter than a blaze.

It is the nature of love, no doubt:
A kind of freak fire, which
You cannot start just when you wish,
Nor can you put it out.

A fire is raging in my heart
On this lonely night
My own shadow doth run from me
A smoke from fire takes flight.

It is ages since my beloved’s feet
Did cross this poor threshold.
So let her, with her twinkling cups,
Light up my dark abode.

My bustling crowd of desires
Each took my breath away!
Though I could quench many, many of them,
Yet millions remain un-slaked.

Waking Up Into The Paradise…

Jannat.. Is this it?

These days my mornings are filled with tranquil repose. Such is the sheer morning bliss of waking up into a quiescent paradise marked by perfect harmony that I am indulging in lazy languor. Slowly the alarm at 5:30 AM lost its prominence and I am able to greet the clock and the sun only after another hour flies by the window panes. Now, what eases my conscience is the beautiful Bangalore Morning Weather. If I discount the roars of the street, the cool soothing breeze and the gentle sun rays are perfect for the sunny summers.

Musing on memories, early mornings and the wafting gentle breeze are a part of me since childhood. My pride of being a little town girl springs from the luxury of being softly transported to reality by either the mellifluous chirping of the country birds or by the divinely melodious Suprabhatam. If I was lucky that day, I would even be bribed from the sands of dreamland by my Granny or Mamma with a gentle kiss. Those were the days of contentment, tradition and values. Those are the days when you believe that Goddess Saraswati blesses those who study at Brahma Muhurta (at 4 AM) and soaking the warm Sunrays in the early morning with Surya Namaskara fills one with energy and strength. Though the idea of being stolen from the land of dreams isn’t appealing, the purposeful morning chores fill life with activity and spirit. Often, at home early mornings happen as an act of tradition. Our small home is abuzz with activity by 5 AM and I end up vying for my share in Mamma’s tea.

Those days of simple rhythm and family warmth are so afresh. The custom carries on. Come what may, I rarely miss a chance to greet the Sun in my way, for, I get a sense of being transgressed from an age old value thats been a part of me since childhood, which I humbly followed as an act of reverence to the customs and traditions of generations.

Is this called an Inconvenient Truth?

Something thats difficult to ignore, even as a comic.. Makes me think…

Frog Princess…

And there is a special reason behind this title. Its a personal moment of happiness for me, as one of my pals found his frog princess over the virtual world. There is an aura of happiness around me, a sense of mirth that surrounds one when something good happens to people you care for. Mood of the moment is commanded by bliss, and here I retire with prayers wishing the best for him.

A Piece of Rant Club…

X: I Am Good At Management…

Me: Why Do You Think So?

X: Umm… I am good at coffee table conversations. I am good at talking to people. My communication skills are super. Top of the world actually. And, finally, I think I am good at coordination (really, any one can schedule meetings and handle logistics! ) and I enjoy doing it.

And finally as the discussion proceeds, I realize that its either the lure of flexible time, or the seemingly easy work that acts as a persistent motivator than the idea of career.

There is a lot of misconception about the so called management roles, at least in the field that I work in. Thought most of the senior people in those roles seem to be doing only talking, preparing pretty presentations, or spending most of their time in meetings, there is lot more under the hood than that meets the eye. One doesn’t account for the years of experience or the knowledge that they are equipped with to handle client demands on the feet, or the experiential insight that they bring in while addressing specific issues. Even bad communicators may have sound understanding or a strategic approach to the problem at hand. We can’t ignore the skills that they bring to the table because someone has bad presentation skills, just the way we can’t give weight for garrulous mouthing of words with little essence.

For those who are contemplating management career or decision making roles, a little bit of soul searching is crucial. List out all the reasons and hidden factors that propel you to consider this option. You can give a load of convincing answers to the world, yet please don’t deceive thyself.

Do you have it in you to face tremendous odds and come out trumps? Can you handle tremendous pressure or do you get fizzled out at the drop of a hat? Do you have the never-say-die spirit or do you give up easily and are driven by the principle of fatalism, i.e. the belief that you don’t have control over your deeds and some external force like God determines that.

After going through these discussions umpteen number of times, and talking to aspiring MBAs my mood turned nostalgic as I leafed through those memories of college days. I am blessed with a great mentor during my engineering days, and I am sharing a piece of those exchanges. These are times when I feel that the basics of these questions hasn’t changed over 5 years.

Why you want to do MBA?
1. Is it for money?
2. Is it for fame?
3. Is it for getting power?
4. Is it for getting a good job?
5. Is it for getting social recognition?
6. Is it because you want to make a career in Management?
7. Is it because you like to take challenges?
8. Is it because you want to broaden your horizons?
9. Is it because you have an academic bent of mind?
10. Is it for the sense of achievement?
11. Is it to get yourself equipped with an additional degree so that you can have an edge in this dog-eat-dog world?
12. Is it because you get turned ON by business and economy like nothing else?
13. Is it because you have nothing else to do?
14. Is it because of peer pressure?
15. Is it just for the sake of it and enjoyment?
16. Is it for making yourself more eligible in the marriage market?

It doesn’t require a great deal of analysis to figure out the secret motivator behind picking brain about management roles. For most of us in corporate field, its unavoidable. As we add on experience to the work life, most of our work or output depends on the deliverables of others. Thats when people management, communication, planning and organization skills come into play. For some, a management degree is a way to break free from the technical roles or a launchpad into different industries. For students, MBA is either a lucrative career option or a way to extend unemployment. ( Pun intended )

But for those with mammoth goals and lofty aspirations, I am sharing this piece of advice that I received years ago from my mentor.

“A person doesn’t become a CEO just by doing MBA or just having the desire. The culmination is only due to untiring efforts and careful grooming over many years. Do bear that in mind. Although, having lofty ambitions is laudable, being nervous even before the battle has begun doesn’t behoove you. You need to have the emotional poise to handle things at ease. “

And finally, chill. We are all good at management in one way or the other. We all are managing our lives without much catastrophes. Acquiring management skills isn’t rocket science if we put our mind and heart to it. They say, vision without action is a dream and action without vision is a nightmare. Be true to the choices of life and be true to your dreams and longings. Life will sail on much more easily and happily.

On Lame Excuses….

“Never Offer Lame Excuses”..

That was some advice that’s offered by my teacher during my school days that stood the test of the time. This article that I received today in email made me think for some time on the excuses that we mouth at the simplest opportunity.

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Excuses, Excuses
by Marshall Goldsmith, Ph.D.

When Bill Clinton published his best-selling memoir in 2004, he knew he would have to deal with the Monica Lewinsky scandal during his second term. He did so by explaining it as a personal failure, a yielding to private demons.

“Once people reach the age of accountability, no matter what people do to them, that is not an excuse for any mistakes they make. I was involved in two great struggles at the same time: a great public struggle over the future of America with the Republican Congress and a private struggle with my old demons. I won the public one and lost the private one,” Clinton said.

“I don`t think it`s much more complicated than that. That`s not an excuse. But it is an explanation, and that`s the best I can do.”

Clinton understood the distinction – and not just because his behavior was inexcusable. There is simply no excuse for making excuses.

When you`re late to an appointment and you hear yourself saying, “I`m sorry I`m late but the traffic was murder,” stop at the word “sorry.” Blaming traffic doesn`t excuse the fact that you kept people waiting. You should have started earlier. You certainly won`t have to apologize for: “I`m sorry I`m early, but I left too soon and the traffic was moving along just fine.”

If the world worked like that, there would be no excuses.

I like to divide excuses into two categories: blunt and subtle. The blunt, “dog ate my homework” excuse sounds something like this: “I`m very sorry I missed our lunch date. My assistant had it marked down for the wrong day on my calendar.”

Translation: “You see, it`s not that I forgot the lunch date. It`s not that I don`t regard you as so important that lunch with you is the unchangeable, non-negotiable highlight of my day. It`s just that my assistant is inept. Blame my assistant, not me.”

The problem with this type of excuse is that we rarely get away with it – and it`s hardly an effective leadership strategy. After reviewing thousands of 360-degree feedback summaries, I have a feel for what qualities direct reports respect and don`t respect in their leaders. I have never seen feedback that said, “I think you are a great leader because I love the quality of your excuses,” or, “I thought you screwed up, but you really changed my mind after you made that excuse.”

The more subtle excuses appear when we attribute our failings to some genetic characteristic that`s apparently lodged in our brains. We talk about ourselves as if we have permanent genetic flaws that can never be altered.

You`ve surely heard these excuses. Maybe you`ve even used a few of them: “I`m impatient.” “I always put things off until the last minute.” “I`ve always had a quick temper.”

Habitually, these expositional statements are followed by saying, “I`m sorry, but that`s just the way I am.”

It`s amazing how often I hear otherwise brilliant, successful people make willfully self-deprecating comments about themselves. It`s a subtle art because, in effect, they`re stereotyping themselves and using that to excuse otherwise inexcusable behavior.

Our personal stereotyping frequently comes from stories or preconceived notions about ourselves that have been preserved and repeated for years, sometimes going back as far as childhood. These stories may have little or no basis in fact. But they imprint themselves in our minds and establish low expectations that become self-fulfilling prophecies.

The next time you hear yourself saying, “I`m just no good at …,” ask yourself, “Why not?”

This doesn`t just refer to our aptitudes at mathematics or mechanics. It also applies to our behavior. We excuse our tardiness because we`ve been running late all our lives, and our family, friends and colleagues let us get away with it. These aren`t genetic flaws. We weren`t born this way, and we don`t have to be this way.

If we can stop excusing ourselves, we can get better at almost anything we choose.

[About the Author: Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior. He is the author or co-editor of 22 books, including The Wall Street Journal No. 1 business best-seller What Got You Here Won`t Get You There.]

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Shift Happens..

How many of us devote a thought to the exponential changes that happen around the world? Originally originated in 2006, this is one of those striking presentations that stays alive in my memories.

This is created from the original video made by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod, makes us think about the rapid transformation happening around us.

Muse On!

Close To the Wind..

There is an advantage when one subscribes to a library. One buys a chance to discover new authors and antiquated books that tell myriad stories. I was so glad that I chanced upon this book titled “Close To The Wind” written by John Harris, which I picked up as an afterthought, lured by the title. Must say I am really enticed by this beautifully penned tome.

Its a story about a debt ridden Italian Couple Joe and Rosa who prefer the capricious Pacific to surrendering their mortgaged houseboat. Aided by their daughter Frankie, a school atlas, a nonfunctional ship engine, penniless condition and derelict instruments they sail to the unknown, hoping to discover an island where they can hide their only means of livelihood, the boat Tina S to safety. Pressed by the need for money, they take an unknown stranger Willie with questionable past for passenger on this sea adventure.

What follows then, is a story of grit, emotion, belief, and love as the passengers discover themselves over the challenging voyage. Little did the older couple know that their antique old boat is no match for the journey that they set themselves ahead. To reach America and have a chance at creating life for Frankie and Willie who fall in love with each other over the wild voyage.

To make the issues worse, the old couple is haunted by the media who thought that their impossible sea adventure makes good headline story, and the police for Willie who committed a murder and is postponing the inevitable capture by discovering himself over the Pacific. Life over the sea becomes a roller coaster ride for these four members who discover love, bonding, temptation, struggle, hurricane, and loss while they struggle for survival with little food and meager money, from the vagaries of the Pacific.

The characters feel so natural that you may wonder if they are conjured from your daily life experiences. Captain Mama is a tower of strength in handling the crisis and her devil may care attitude, positivity and enthusiasm tugs a chord at heart while the evolution of Willie from a wayward ruffian to a responsible person does manage to cheer up your spirits. The ways of God are ironic they say, for Willie sacrifices himself on the face of death to save the family, just a few days after he discovers contentment, lady love and purpose of life.

Random Musings Over Weekend…

This post is a result of a desire to list out some of those haphazard thoughts that catch you in randomness in every direction on a weekend, just when you realize you have all the time in the world to be with oneself.

The Regular Weekend Laundry List

• Yesterday, I watched a telugu movie called ‘Parugu’, just for the heck of it. Its about time for me to admit how I am such a hopeless movie freak and how I enjoy catching any movie at any theatre (multiplex to local standalone) over weekends.
• Just finished reading ‘Close to the Wind’ by John Harris. I was little reluctant to pick that book at start, as I couldn’t find a single review about it online. Thankfully, its a beautifully told story and I added a review about that book to my to do list.
• Yesterday, just when my stomach is full of ‘Bobby da Dhaba’ Paratha and my eyes are really longing for a trip to dreamland, a pal of mine calls me to ask a seemingly innocuous question, “Do we really have a larger purpose in life?”. Huh! My mind really went blank. Answer, anyone please?
• After being bulldozed by a pal for about four hours, I trotted around in BTM to discover a place called HICON which offers weekend cinematic Hiphop dance classes. I have no clue what that means, but I am planning to figure it out tomorrow. See, even I am susceptible to flashes of random inspiration.
• Today, I discovered that I have an amalgamation of about 56 odd stocks in my portfolio. For a novice that I am, thats like placing eggs in to too many baskets. Hopefully, I will sort that mess by next week.

Some High Moments

• Last week, I attended my cousin’s marriage. We grew up together and its sheer pleasure to see him enter into an assisted marriage. Marriages are also time for family and relatives get-together for socializing and catching up with times. My heart took me through a flashback ride of childhood, those times of playing hide and seek, mounting walls, bicycle races, flouting rules and climbing trees for mangoes and guavas. Looking at the brazen mirth of a couple of kids jumping on and off the marriage hall, my grandpa innocently remarked, “Probably childhood is the only time when we are carefree and truly happy”. Hearing his artless remark, I could only flash a blissful grin.
• I am glad to know that the post on Tashan stopped at least a couple of folks from watching that movie. Curiously, I felt so happy to play the savior.
• I am really glad to see Amitabh Bachan blogging. I can’t help but wonder how he answers all those thousands of comments on his own, or how does he find time to blog on a daily basis amidst his busy schedule. He almost taught me Hindi over Doordarshan during my school days and I love the way he carries himself. He holds a special place in my heart and I am happy to share a piece of his thoughts.

Some Time For Confessions

• My weekend over the past three years stuck to a random pattern of predictability. It almost always includes a couple of movies, pals and books, long walks, a diary, some music and some restaurant. Not that I mind falling into a pattern!
• I often write to share with others some advice, opinion or a slice of my mind. I can’t call it a hobby anymore, for this zeal for self-expression is a part of the core me.
• These days I am worried about the acceptance that I offer to circumstances. I have become too complacent and accepting of things around me as if they are part of scenery. I have a right to feel and vent anger. And I think that justifiable and just anger shows how much one cares about any situation. May be I should try exercising my right instead of pressing that ‘Ignore’ button.
• Sometimes I confuse potential with skill. There is a world of difference between ‘I can do it’ and ‘I have done it’.
• I enjoy counseling and dispensing advice to myself and to anyone who naively lends an ear. Yet, I am incapable of taking the admirable advice that I get uninvited from me and the world.
• When I wander through college campuses, I get this overwhelming urge to get back to school and classrooms. Like children, I forget those urges once I step out of those campuses.
• My biggest weakness is my lack of self discipline. I somehow find it tough to stick to any form of schedule. Can’t say that I am working on it though!
• I am an extremely positive person. Being positive requires continuous effort and like a petulant child, it demands constant attention. When situations subject me to unexpected lows, I retreat into a shell for sometime to compose myself enough to long for those hopeful rainbows. I hate to share those moods of moroseness and negativity. Some thoughts are not worth sharing.
• Barely three years old into the corporate world, I already suffer from materialism,’What’s In It For Me’ Syndrome, To-Do lists and finally randomizing nonsense through bullet points.

Tashan, True to title..

Al Style No Substance!

About ‘Tashan”, the less said the better. Ahem..For a person who never walked out of theatre in middle of movie, ‘Tashan’ offers serious temptation! Incomprehensible and supposedly phunny dialogues that are concocted by marring the beauty of English language, a terrible story line that makes Kareena gyrate between slut and savitri, Akshay Kumar handling scores of Don’s men ala Catwoman style, Saif’s character that’s added like an after thought in the second half: all this and more make you regret your choice of going through this movie. I couldn’t understand why Akshay kept on taking Saif along with Kareena when his presence was no longer needed. But anyways, one can survive this movie, only if they park their logic at the entrance while watching this movie.

My heart really blessed those courageous souls who left the movie after those supposedly eye candy scenes of Kareena and those couple of songs, “Chaliya” and “Dil Haara”. For those whose reason to watch the movie is “to check out the chemistry between Kareena and Saif”, its Akshay who gets the girl.

Don’t fall prey to weekend “I Am Bored” attacks and squander your time on this throughly useless and utterly forgettable flick. Its like having a salted mint, chocolate and strawberry combo ice cream together. Excuse my comparison, but after surviving the movie, my creativity quotient has hit abysmal levels!