ashokbhatia

When Jeeves Takes Charge

November 9, 2013 by ashokbhatia

All diehard fans of P G Wodehouse are well aware that when Jeeves takes charge, things begin to happen. When matters spin out of control and Bertie is twiddling his thumbs trying to figure out how to handle the harsh slings and arrows of life, Jeeves invariably comes to his rescue. With his eyes gleaming with intelligence and the head bulging out at the back, Jeeves is there to provide solace to his master. All others who repose their trust in his superior problem-solving abilities merely need to leave matters in his deft hands and positive results start showing up. More often than not, anyone who comes to depend upon him is concerned if he is eating enough fish those days. And no one really minds being a mere pawn in his hands because he delivers solid results.

How does Jeeves really pull it off? Here are some of the problem-solving techniques one can learn from the inimitable and incomparable Master Problem Solver.

The Psychology of the Individual

This is a recurring theme and the cornerstone of Jeeves’ policies and prescriptions. The root cause of all troubles is the absence of an in-depth understanding of the motivating forces governing the actions of an individual. Once this is properly addressed, results are sure to follow.

To quote only one example, we have the case of Esmond Haddock in The Mating Season. He is a man of retiring disposition and suffers from an inferiority complex. He quivers like a jelly fish when facing any of his several aunts. Just before he is set to perform at a concert, Bertie and Jeeves manage to let him have an intoxicating intake of the old fluid. Also, Jeeves manages to buy out some captive audience which goes on to cheer him with gay abandon. The result is a Haddock who is buoyed by his spectacular success in a public forum. He sheds all his meekness and promptly proceeds to propose to Corky, the love of his life. He then manages to tick off his aunts Daphne, Emmeline, Charlotte, Harriet and Myrtle, even going to the extent of blaming them for insubordination. As a Justice of Peace, he restrains Constable Dobbs from putting his would-be brother-in-law in the jail for a month.

Ask a business leader and he might just shrug his shoulders and say, ‘What ho!’ Well, the message here is very clear – if you have a silent and submissive type of a person in your team, ensure that you take necessary steps to draw him out. For all you know, he could have some very good ideas which could boost the team’s performance manifold.

Handling employees at all levels, conveying negative news to a team member, managing a customer grievance – in all situations, it helps to have a prior understanding of the psychology of an individual.

Meeting the Boss Half-way

Jeeves is invariably proactive. When it comes to extending the helping hand to a master in distress, he takes immediate steps through proper channels to provide succor to the poor lamb. Sometimes it is the liquor which does the trick. At times, either a hearty breakfast or one of his pick-me-ups brings home the bacon. In most cases, help comes in even before Bertie has asked for it. In some cases, it involves Jeeves painting Bertie in rather unflattering colors to those around!

Consider the memoirs titled as Jeeves in the Offing. Jeeves has gone off on a vacation and Bertie has landed up at Brinkley Court. He looks forward to enjoying the hospitality of his Aunt Dahlia, not to mention the exotic dishes whipped up by Anatole – God’s gift to the gastric juices. However, the joy is short-lived as he is surrounded by the likes of a potty ex-fiancée Bobbie Wickham, Mrs. Cream the crime writer, his favorite brain specialist Sir Roderick Glossop and his ex-headmaster Aubrey Upjohn. A tax-saving lucrative deal of Uncle Tom is at stake and a silver cow creamer has gone missing.

Jeeves returns and Bertie gets extricated from the imbroglio he has gotten himself into. Yes, there is a flip side. All concerned have to be first convinced – by Jeeves, who else – that Bertie is off his rocker and a kleptomaniac. With Bertie taking the rap for having stolen the silver cow creamer, everything else falls into place. Uncle Tom’s deal comes through.

Eventually, Bertie’s frayed nerves are soothed by the fact that he has sacrificed himself in the interests of his uncle. And, yes, there are always cocktails at hand to help!

Here is an important lesson for all professionals – meet the boss half-way through. Plan and offer help even before he himself asks for it. Your career is bound to go places.

Keep Trying till you Succeed

In Ring for Jeeves, to clear a financial obligation, the ninth Earl of Rowcester, Bill, is persuaded to purloin a diamond pendant from the persona of Mrs. Spottsworth, who is not only a guest but also a potential buyer of Rowcester Abbey. The first attempt, by using a ‘spider sequence’, results into the pendant instead finding its way into the recesses of the lady’s costume. A Charleston dance is then arranged, with the fond hope that the pendant gets dislodged from the lady’s costume and can then be retrieved unnoticed from the floor. This too fails.

A third attempt is then made. The lady is interested in psychical research and is keen on seeing Lady Agatha’s ghost. Jeeves offers to lure her away in the dead of night, claiming that the ghost has indeed made an appearance in the castle on the grounds, whereupon Bill enters her bedroom and secures the pendant. Mission accomplished.

There are times when difficulties sound insurmountable. Repeated failures bog us down. But with Jeeves egging us on with newer schemes, can success be far behind?

An Out-of-box Approach

When the situation becomes too hot to handle for the master, Jeeves does not shy away from recommending a tactical retreat. In some cases, a quiet escape merely amounts to a drive back to London from a stately estate out in the hinterland (Joy in the Morning, The Mating Season, etc). In ‘The Artistic Career of Corky’, as also elsewhere, when faced by the impending wrath of a formidable Aunt Agatha, a voyage across the Atlantic helps Bertie Wooster to earn mental reprieve.

To Jeeves, ends are more important than the means. However, he eventually delivers solace and comfort to his boss, who continues to live his idle bachelor life without an interruption.

In Thank You, Jeeves, Bertie Wooster is finally persuaded to impersonate the loony doctor Sir Roderick Glossop and to appear as an accused in a case in which he is not even remotely at fault. The result is that a real estate deal gets firmed up between Pop Stoker and Chuffy; also, a wedding gets finalized between Chuffy and Pauline Stoker. In turn, this releases Bertie from the obligation of getting married to Pauline. All this happens because Jeeves quietly manages to secure a telegram from USA indicating that the late Mr. Stoker’s will is getting contested, thus leading to reconciliation between Pop Stoker and Sir Roderick.

A Feudal Outlook

Throughout the memoirs of Bertie, Jeeves displays an abiding commitment to his master.

In Ring for Jeeves, the gentleman of gentlemen is temporarily assisting Bill. Eventually, a letter comes in from Bertie that even though he had won a prize at sock darning, it was found that he had used an old woman to do the work. The scandal has affected him deeply and Jeeves feels that his place is by the side of his master. He therefore declines a generous offer of employment by Bill.

Consider Stiff Upper Lip, Jeeves. Suspected of stealing a statuette from the collection of Pop Bassett, the young master is cooling his heels in a police bin. Jeeves has a job offer from Sir Watkyn Bassett. Jeeves accepts the offer on the condition that the latter refrains from pressing the charges, thereby securing freedom for Bertie. When Jeeves shares the news with Bertie, he can hardly believe his ears. Jeeves clears the mystery thus:

‘I think it more than possible that after perhaps a week or so, differences will arise between Sir Watkyn and myself, compelling me to resign my position. In that event, if you are not already suited, sir, I shall be most happy to return to your employment.’

Senior managers at all levels fervently wish to have many such committed team members supporting them!

Breaking the Eggs to Make an Omelette

In Right Ho, Jeeves, Gussie Fink-Nottle – a teetotaler – ends up distributing prizes at Market Snodsbury Grammar School after getting duly sozzled up. With so much of the right stuff sloshing about within him, he comes up with a highly comic performance. Unfortunately, his betrothed, Madeline Bassett, takes a rather dim view of the whole affair and ends up putting him on notice. On the rebound, she ends up hitching her lot with the hapless Bertie who is now stuck with the prospect of a saunter down the aisle with the goofy lady who thinks stars are god’s daisy chain.

Jeeves makes Bertie ring the fire alarm bell at the stroke of midnight hour, leaving the entire family out in the cold, apparently locked out of the living quarters of Brinkley Court. All of them are upset with Bertie who is then made to fetch the house keys by means of a futile eighteen-mile midnight ride on a bicycle without a lamp. Meanwhile, various members of the group start ironing out their respective differences. Even Gussie and Madeline reunite, thereby getting Bertie off the hook.

The dialogue at the end of the ordeal says it all:

Bertie: ‘I suppose you might say that all is well that ends well’.

Jeeves: ‘Very apt, sir’.

Bertie: ‘All the same, your methods are a bit rough, Jeeves’.

Jeeves: ‘One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs, sir’.

The message is that when you wish to unite a team the members of which do not see eye to eye, bring in a person who can become the center of common animosity and see how quickly the team becomes united once again.

A logical extension is that mention a grandiose vision to your team members and see how charged up they get about doing their own bit to achieve solid results.

Extensive Knowledge Helps

In Ring for Jeeves, Sir Roderick Carmoyle and his wife Monica Rory consult Jeeves on the matter of choosing a favorite for the upcoming Derby. They are baffled at the depth of knowledge Jeeves possesses about the chances of various horses competing for the top slot at the Derby. He manages to quote names, lineage, timings and quite a few other details of various contestants, leaving both of them dazzled.

In Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, the inimitable valet comes up with a lucid explanation of holding a much coveted pearl necklace to be a poor intimation. The result is two-fold: an otherwise meek husband L G Trotter ends up dominating his aggressive better half; Ma Trotter’s brother ends up confessing his having pawned the real necklace to raise funds for a play written by the love of his life, Florence Craye, who loses no time in accepting him as a soul mate. In turn, this leads to Bertie being relieved from the life-long prospect of having to read and memorize intellectual stuff like that of Spinoza and company.

Poems, quotations, literary quips and an extensive knowledge of diverse affairs are some of the unique qualities of Jeeves. He is apt to pull out one fit for any occasion, essentially to register a point and to explain his own analytical endeavors. Similar qualities come in handy for any manager who wishes to lead a team in an effective manner.

Nerves of Steel

Howsoever grave the situation at hand, Jeeves shows virtually no sign of agitation. At the very worst, a minor flicker of one of his eyebrows is the only sign that the situation is indeed grave. When the young master is jumping about like a cat on hot tin roof, Jeeves maintains his equipoise and calm.

When the master waxes eloquent on a critical occurrence, Jeeves favorite responses are either ‘Indeed, sir?’ or ‘Disturbing, sir’. Understandably, this infuriates Bertie more often than not.

A tough inner core is what it all amounts to – a quality many business leaders would like to imbibe and emulate. Unfortunately, they don’t teach this at Harvard.

Listening with Respectful Benevolence

This is one of the many admirable qualities that Jeeves possesses. When a character comes across a baffling situation, all he/she has to do is to share it with him, pretty assured that he would lend a respectful ear. Often, when the young master comes up with a fruity scheme which he wants to handle all by himself, Jeeves is all sympathy and benevolence. This, despite the knowledge that pretty soon he would be called upon to lend a helping hand so as to extricate the master from a royal mess of his own creation.

All of us need a Jeeves in our lives!

Jeeves is a man of extraordinary sagacity and never fails to deliver the goods. He can be relied upon to untangle the most ferocious of muddles that people may land in.

It does not really matter which profession one follows in life. Whether one is a manager, a doctor, a technocrat or an artist, there are valuable insights available from Jeeves in handling one’s affairs.

Literature is replete with characters which tell us how to get out of a messy situation in our lives. P G Wodehouse has undoubtedly left behind an idyllic world for us to marvel at and enjoy and learn from. What is presented here is merely a modest attempt to capture a very small slice of the delightful universe of his works.

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2017/12/13/a-brand-called-jeeves)

Posted in What ho! | Tagged Bertie Wooster, Humour, Jeeves, Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, Jeeves in the Offing, Joy in the Morning, Literature, P G Wodehouse, Right Ho Jeeves, Ring for Jeeves, Stiff Upper Lip Jeeves, Thank you Jeeves, THe Mating Season | 27 Comments »

A Poem on Incoming Souls

November 4, 2013 by ashokbhatia

I am left wondering……

From which plane of existence do the new souls join us?

How do they select our children as their parents?

Do they descend from the ethereal worlds beyond

And provide us a glimpse back into the sheer joy of childhood?

With sharp and clear eyes denoting strong and resolute souls

Unalloyed, pure, simple thinking minds,

Yet to be corrupted by influences

Of what we believe is the civilized world!

Blessed with bodies the flexibility of which

Leaves us a wee bit dumbfounded!

Easily persuaded to shift attention to other objects of fancy

Each fancy having a short time span of but a few minutes;

Eager to learn more and more,

Persistent in demanding fulfillment of basic needs,

Crying for immediate attention,

Teaching us about getting things done with an obliging cute smile,

Or regaling us with gestures which are hard to forget!

In the future lie their myriad challenges

Of new technologies and methods

Of living, behaving and conducting oneself;

Carrying on their slender shoulders

The unfulfilled hopes and aspirations of their earlier generations

Working in a universe full of uncertainty

On a planet which is forever shrinking in time, space and resources.

May the Divine bestow upon them

All the mental and physical dexterity

Required to cope with challenges of environment and circumstances

During this life span of theirs;

And infinite bliss and solitude

When they reunite with the Divine!

(Image ‘Soul Being Carried to Heaven’ courtesy Wikipedia)

Posted in Spiritual Musings | Tagged Children, Souls | Leave a Comment »

Black is also Beautiful!

November 1, 2013 by ashokbhatia

Nina Davaluri, a dark beauty of Indian origin, recently got crowned as Miss America. She ended up eliciting a backlash of xenophobic and racist comments. Yet again, this brought to the fore our predisposition to judge people by the color of their skins.

We tend to forget that the pigmentation of our skins is a work of nature. To be able to judge people better, we have to look a little deeper. Their character, their attitudes and the qualities of head and heart are some of the attributes which define the real person behind the veneer of skin which could be of any hue or grain. Irrespective of the color of the skin, those who have true talent and a pure soul continue to outshine all around them in a very natural manner.

In marketing parlance, we live in times when the packaging appears to be more important than the product. But this is a myopic view of things. If the product does not perform to the satisfaction of the customer, it will eventually fade away. Likewise, irrespective of looks or the color of one’s skin, if a person has what it takes to be successful in a career, he/she is bound to get noticed sooner or later.

The Not-so-fair Divas

We have several examples out of tinsel town where gutsy divas are known to have clawed their way up to success despite having a skin tone which could be called anything but fair. Here is a quick look at some of those who continue to be heart throbs of millions of movie buffs all over the planet. Most of them have a multi-dimensional personality. Just to rustle up the memory cells, a single movie for each one of these divas also finds a mention. Admittedly, there are several others for which they are remembered.

Angela Bassett

(What’s Love Got to Do with It, 1993)

Bipasha Basu

(Corporate, 2006)

Deepti Naval

(Chashme Baddoor, 1981)

Deepika Padukone

(Love Aaj Kal, 2009)

Halle Berry

(Die Another Day, 2002)

Jennifer Lopez

(Maid in Manhattan, 2002)

Kajol

(Fanaa, 2006)

Konkona Sen Sharma

(Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, 2002)

Nandita Das

(Earth, 1998)

Rekha

(Khubsoorat, 1980)

Shabana Azmi

(Saaz, 1997)

Smita Patil

(Mirch Masala, 1985)

Sridevi

(English Vinglish, 2012)

The Perks of Being Chocolate-hued

All those who feel disheartened by the prominence of the fairer amongst us may take heart from the fact that most of them support a multi-billion industry which churns out fairness creams, thereby creating employment opportunities for many of our denizens.

Some orthopaedicians are of the opinion that those blessed with a dark skin have stronger bones because they end up absorbing much more Vitamin D from natural sunlight. Hence, they face lesser risk of being afflicted with either osteopenia or osteoporosis!

The Yearning for a Dark Tan

There are an equal number of fair skinned ones who would go to great lengths to acquire a darker tan. This yearning makes people pack up their bags and head to the nearest sun-bathed tropical beaches over most weekends.

In one of the immortal songs penned by lyricist Gulzar for an old Hindi movie ‘Bandini’ (The Imprisoned, Director Bimal Roy, 1963), the fair skinned heroine expresses her yearning for a darker complexion thus:

‘Mera gora ang layi le, mohe shyam rang dayi de,

Chuup jaoongi raat mein, mujhe pee ka sang dai de.’

(Take away my limbs so fair, give my skin a dark hue,

So I may hide in the dark night, grant me the company of my beloved’)

A Festival to Dispel Darkness

As we get ready to celebrate the Festival of Lights in India, let us be aware that the real darkness to be dispelled is that of some of our belief systems and prejudices. In some regions, these take the form of apartheid; in some areas, these manifest as exploitation of the disadvantaged; whereas in some others these come up as harassment of the delicately nurtured.

The diversity of homo-sapiens – whether in terms of race, caste, creed, ethnic origin, monetary status, sex and the hues of the skin – is a wonderful fact of life which simply deserves to be celebrated. The brown and black beauties and celebrities from Hollywood, Bollywood and elsewhere are living examples of the fact that merit ranks supreme in any walk of life!

Posted in A Vibrant Life! | Tagged Angela Bassett, Bipasha Basu, Color of Skin, Dark Beauties, Deepika Padukone, Diversity, Fairness Creams, Gulzar, Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez, Kajol, Konkona Sen Sharma, Nandita Das, Nina Davaluri, Padmini Kolhapure, Prejudices, Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Sridevi | 18 Comments »

A Brand Called Switzerland

October 25, 2013 by ashokbhatia

The principles of marketing and branding apply in equal measure to countries as much as they do to businesses. Just like in the corporate world, marketing can merely help a great product to reach its target customer segment more effectively. However, best laid marketing and branding plans can fail if the product or service on offer lacks inherent strengths or USPs which make it useful to the customer.

Switzerland is one of the countries we admire, particularly for the manner in which it has built up a unique brand identity for itself over the centuries. A strong commitment to innovation and quality, an imaginative foreign policy based on neutrality, higher importance to the services sector and an excellent work-life balance it offers to its workforce are some of the USPs which make Switzerland the toast of the planet.

Its population is less than that of the capital of India. In terms of per capita GDP, at USD 45,418, it ranked 9^th in the world in 2012. Low taxes, low debt, a reasonable rate of growth, public budgets in the black, low unemployment at 3.1% and a trade surplus – these factors just about sum up Switzerland’s economic stature. The country is home to many large MNCs – ABB, Roche, Nestle, Novartis, Logitech and Tetra Pak, to name a few.

A Multidimensional USP

For a commoner, it is the land of milk, chocolate and cheese. For the lay tourist, it offers captivating natural beauty which is many notches above than what the likes of Thomas Hardy and William Wordsworth have described in their works. Placid lakes, snow-capped mountains, leafy wooded greens, well maintained caves and water-falls and a rich culture make up for a heady combination.

The reason why postcards, calendars and movie frames look so appealing is because the real views are twice as dreamy. Take a funicular train at a gradient of 47 degrees up in the mountains, and you get a series of breath-taking views all the way to the top. You realize that homo-sapiens can pierce a tunnel through a mountain, but it takes a divine power to create one in the first place.

For a businessman, it offers a friendly and stable regime, with world-famous banking services to boot. For its citizens, it signifies orderliness, tolerance of neighbors, peace, prosperity and a healthy work-life balance. For the world at large, it stands up for armed neutrality and peace. It hosts a number of international institutions.

For those wanting to hone their skills in hospitality management, it offers several options. There are several institutes of international repute offering courses in diverse streams of sciences and humanities. For centuries, royalty has used its finishing schools to groom its delicately nurtured princesses.

The Humble Origin of the Brand – The Oath of Grutli

The Switzerland we see today is surely not an overnight miracle of sorts. The Roman Empire granted autonomous control to three regions in the early 13^th century – Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden. In August 1291, they decided to renew their earlier alliance and took an oath of mutual allegiance. The newborn Confederation Helvetia faced several challenges over the centuries – peasant revolts, civil wars, religious wars, French invasion, liberal revolutions, conflicts between liberals and Catholic conservatives and innumerable false starts in industrialization and revising its constitution.

It has not been in a state of war since 1815. In 1848, the federal constitution converted all the cantons into one federal state with one common military, postal service and legislature. Today, it is recognized as the pinnacle of economic prowess, self-preserving neutrality and racial tolerance. It pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace keeping initiatives globally. It boasts of the highest per capita number of Nobel Laureates in the world.

The Finer Aspects

Foreigners it has welcomed into its fold include many great personalities, like Lord Byron, Charlie Chaplin, Leon Gambetta, Igor Stravinsky, Vladimir Nabokov, Jean Calvin, etc.

The country has over 900 well maintained museums. National Museum in Zurich and the Museum of Photography are not the only ones which merit a close look. Musee d’alimentation in Vevey – owned by Nestle – is all about the history of food. The Museum of Horology in La Chaux-de-Fonds explains different aspects of watch-making. Then there is the captivating Toy Museum at Basel and the Natural History Museum at Lucerne.

Art and culture are an integral part of the life on offer. Public toilets are unbelievably clean. For those from the developing countries, trains are disturbingly punctual.

Tremendous Soft Power

Building and construction, tunneling and excavation, hydro-geology, rail road planning contribute much towards its GDP. Unique topography has led to innovations in all these fields. Swiss architect Othmar Ammam came up with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Then there is the gigantic Itaipu Dam across the Amazon in South America, not to forget the flyover bridges in Alexandria in Egypt, all of which have come up based on Swiss expertise.

The Swiss are known as hardworking, conscientious, reliable and punctual to a fault. Efficiency of its people is legendary and leads to self-sufficiency.

Keeping the Brand Shining

A vibrant direct democracy, Switzerland has been a safe haven for the wealthy and for business. Banks have had a cult status, what with their fabulously wealthy client lists. Where our clients get their money from is none of our business has been their refrain so far.

However, with the signing of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, Switzerland recently became the 58^th nation to join the comity of nations which hound tax evaders across borders. By doing so, it is going to break its own time-honored and time-tested traditions of banking secrecy.

The country is now aligning itself with global norms of financial transparency, thereby giving a fitting boost to the morale of tax administrators all over the world. Swiss banks obviously do not have much to worry about. Given their maturity and the political and economic stability of the country, international investors would continue to repose their trust and faith in them.

In the coming decades, the brand equity of Switzerland is unlikely to lose its allure. Therein lies a great lesson for many other countries in the world which could surely do with an image makeover.

Posted in The European Diaries | Tagged Brand Equity, Confederation Helvetia, Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, principles of marketing, Swiss Banks, Swiss Museums, Switzerland, The Oath of Grutli | 2 Comments »

The Fun of Learning Many Languages

October 20, 2013 by ashokbhatia

Languages are an important means of communication. The better you are at communication, the higher are your chances of success in life. Success need not always be on the materialistic plane. It could even be just a sense of inner contentment you experience when you are able to connect with people of a different region or country. The sheer joy of being able to express yourselves clearly, as also that of being understood by the party of the other part, makes you feel at home in the most alien surroundings.

My father, who was born and brought up in British India, knew three languages – Hindi, English and Urdu. Whenever I came across a word of chaste Urdu in a poem or a song, he would explain it with much relish. On quiet evenings, he would pull out his worn out diary and read Urdu couplets to us. I always found Urdu very fascinating and lyrical, though I could never get to learn it. The ghazals, the nazams and the shaayari this language has spawned just leaves me mesmerized.

Life has been kinder to both my children who have ended up learning not only English and Hindi but also Sanskrit, Tamil, German and Norwegian. Not to be left behind, the newly arrived toddlers in the family are already honing their communication skills in diverse languages. The ease with which they switch between various languages and use different words from different languages in the same sentence leaves the entire family exasperated at times. You could very well call this Esperanto!

What about yours faithfully, you may well ask. People who are familiar with my subdued levels of IQ are of the opinion that I shall never get nominated for a Nobel Prize in any field of human study, especially so in the realm of linguistics. I am pretty dumb when it comes to learning languages. Other than Hindi and English, I have merrily tossed away opportunities to learn many other languages.

In childhood, I ended up learning Telugu which I found to be quite similar to Sanskrit. However, having never had to use it again, my knowledge of Telugu as of today is close to nil. Sanskrit was a part of the curriculum at school and what a treat it was to learn this mother of several other languages. The present knowledge of course happens to be rusty. It is a pity because knowledge of Sanskrit opens up newer vistas of wisdom enshrined in the Indian scriptures.

I spent quite a few years in Chandigarh. Somehow, the rustic nature of the Punjabi language never agreed with my innate soft nature. For close to eighteen years now, I have been living in the southern part of India. However, the only phrase I have learnt to speak so far is ‘Tamil teriyaadi’; in other words, a declaration that I do not know Tamil. I use it regularly, much to the amusement of the street vendors who are decent enough to give me an indulgent smile with a shrug.

Yes, I have a ready excuse for having practiced this policy of linguistic isolation. In senior management circles that I move in, my interactions are limited to those who speak English. However, I do realize that this laziness of mine in learning the local language is entirely my own loss. Admittedly, Tamil is a very rich language. May be some day I shall pick up the courage to fulfill my pious intentions of learning it!

I have never had the chance to learn Bengali, but I really find it very soothing to the ears. One of the best gifts I ever received from a friend of mine is a set of audio CDs containing Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s songs in Rabindra Sangeet, sung by a proficient Bengali singer in Hindi. The experience of listening to it on a quiet evening is absolutely uplifting and invigorating!

For a family where the parents hail from different regions of India, it is natural to have a conversation at home either in the ‘mother tongue’ or in the ‘father tongue’! Enter a visitor who knows neither and the family effortlessly switches over to English. Family members also enjoy the freedom of exchanging socially unpalatable remarks about the visitor who has no clue as to what is up!

Our family languages help us to maintain strong filial bonds. These also help us to preserve and build upon our cultural roots. However, knowledge of other languages helps us in building bridges with people from other regions and countries. By learning and using a language, we also help to preserve and perpetuate it for posterity.

Mine is a wrong example to follow. Even at the risk of being labeled a hypocrite, allow me to say that if you ever get an opportunity in life to learn a different language, just grab it! You learn your mother tongue naturally. If your parents are from diverse cultures and regions, you naturally end up learning your ‘father’ tongue as well! If you are lucky to live in a country other than where you were born, you naturally get exposed to colleagues and friends and also pick up the native language.

So, if life throws another chance your way, just pick it up and learn a different language altogether. You would surely end up having more fun. You would also end up being better connected to another part of humanity. Yours would be a more contented soul!

Posted in A Vibrant Life! | Tagged Bengali, English, Esperanto, German, Ghazals, Hindi, Languages, Nazams, Norwegian, Rabindra Sangeet, Rabindranath Tagore, Sanskrit, Shaayari, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu | 4 Comments »

The Inimitable R K Laxman

October 15, 2013 by ashokbhatia

What do we do when the raw excitements and vicissitudes of a managerial career sap our energy and excitement of life? With impossible deadlines looming large, a key team member suddenly disappearing on a furlough and the better half turning into a bitter half because of our indifference to attending the Parent Teacher Meeting in the kid’s school, we are just left gasping for some fresh air.

What could possibly perk us up on such a day? Browsing through the incisive and witty cartoons of someone like R K Laxman can surely help us to beat our blues. For decades, he has kept the sanity of our denizens intact by bringing us a daily dose of the travails of the ‘Common Man’. He has also produced some of the best management cartoons with messages for employees, CEOs and business owners alike.

There is a tongue-in-cheek quality in his cartoons which gently prods the reader to introspect on a wide range of managerial challenges. The issues could range anywhere from late coming in office to the tendency to carry work home, to indulging in nepotism, to working under a very difficult boss, and the like.

Here is a very small sample from the vast repertoire of his works:

The Torture of Getting Hired

Getting Work Done

Late Coming

The Perils of Marrying Your Secretary

Nepotism

Working Under a Tough Boss

Carrying Work Home

In these days of technical gizmos and 24×7 connectivity, the office settings in these cartoons may look a little dated. But the messages are as hard-hitting and relevant as ever.

The works of Mario Miranda (who can forget the inimitable Miss Fonseca?!) are also delightful. Dilbert is another series which can educate and entertain us. But R K Laxman has created a unique world for managers of all hues with such sunlit perfection that we can just sit back and bask in its splendor and warmth.

(Source: The Management of Management by R K Laxman, ISBN 81-7094-497-X)

(Related Posts:

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/the-inimitable-r-k-laxman-2-0

https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/of-secretaries-and-the-inimitable-miss-fonseca)

Posted in Management Lessons | Tagged Dilbert, Management Cartoons, Mario MIranda, R K Laxman | 10 Comments »

The ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ of Management

October 11, 2013 by ashokbhatia

XEROX

There are innovations which have an irresistible mass appeal. A brand name thus ends up becoming a generic name of a product class. Xerox is a ready example in the same genre. All those who take creativity and innovation seriously would notice that such developments happen only because someone identifies a latent demand and proceeds to do something about it. An organization culture which enables such endeavours deserves to be complimented and replicated.

X, Y and Z

The art of managing people has been analyzed in great detail by theorists in the past, and commendably so. McGregor was bang on target when he came up with the X and Y approach to managing people. Also, Robert R. Blake and Jane Mouton came up with their Management Grid concept, where the X axis has “Concern for Production” and the Y axis has “Concern for People”. This proved to be a very useful tool to classify leadership styles.

Yes-Men

With due respects to the brilliant work done by those mentioned above, one would like to make the concept of a Management Grid more contemporary by adding a new dimension, Z. This axis covers our “Concern for Ethics”.

When it comes to corporate governance, most businesses are driven more by greed than by the norms of propriety. Compliance with statutory provisions and indulging in tax avoidance rather than blatant tax evasion are given a short shrift. As a repercussion, we end up having more controls and complex laws, thereby making non-compliance even more attractive.

The good news is that there are indeed enlightened businesses and right thinking managers who score high on the Z axis as well. Such businesses have been around for more than a century and have done well for themselves; they have also given back to society in terms of advanced medical facilities, support to fine arts and sports and several other CSR initiatives.

YES-MEN

They are to be found in all spheres of life. They have perfected the art of boosting the sagging morale and ego of their superiors, thereby securing better perks and intangible benefits for themselves. Due to close proximity to their bosses – whether perceived or real – they end up being king makers.

Smart bosses easily figure out how to remain at an arm’s length from them. The tricks they use to steer clear of yes-men: a discouraging body language, asking for hard evidence for all the charges being levied against someone who is absent and generally berating them on select occasions in public.

Zombies

ZOMBIES

A vast majority of professionals decide to be ‘passengers’ and not ‘drivers’ in their careers. They are happy to behave like headless chickens, strutting about sounding very busy but with meagre results to show. Typically, they outsource the thinking part to brainy birds around them and lead a mentally sedentary but self-contented life-style.

Call them file-pushers, clock-watchers, head clerks or what you will – they do serve a useful purpose in keeping big bureaucracies running like well-oiled machines. They can also be groomed to become devoted followers for charismatic and dynamic leaders.

ZOO ORGANIZATIONS

Organizations where the top management believes that any suggestion for improvement in a department emanating from another department amounts to interference and sacrilege tend to become like zoological parks. All subject experts get confined to their ‘cages’ or ‘enclosures’. Forays into another’s territory are frowned upon. This is a sure shot recipe for nipping creativity and innovation at the work place.

The biggest casualty of course is the hapless customer who has had the misfortune of buying a product which turns out to be defective. The incessant running from pillar to post he/she is subjected to ends up creating a market ambassador the organization could surely do without.

Posted in Management Lessons | Tagged Blake Mouton Grid, Ethics in Business, Innovation, Yes Men, Zombies, Zoo Organizations | 2 Comments »

Career Advice from some Eminent Scientists

October 7, 2013 by ashokbhatia

Sir Wilhelm Rontgen, I have just started my career in a large company. I am clueless how to understand the real motives of people around me. There is no correlation between what they say and what they actually do.

Try to tune your mind to frequencies ranging from 30 peta-hertz to 30 exa-hertz and just X-ray their minds. You will then be able to understand people better. Putting yourself in their shoes (or sandals, if you prefer), finding about their family backgrounds and upbringing, discovering the underground cable connections they have within the company you have just joined, et al, are all inputs which would help you to understand them at a deeper level.

Use your common sense and intuitive insight to peep into people’s minds, much like the way my X-rays do for the physical body. If you take people around you at face value, you will always feel betrayed and cheated. This, in turn, could lead to a lower morale, thereby stunting your career growth.

As a brilliant student, your IQ supported you well. Once you start working, your EQ levels would help you better. Once you rise to higher levels in the hierarchy, your SQ would come in handy.

Madam Marie Curie, my boss is very aggressive. He keeps announcing new meetings which do not take place after the first few sessions. When I propose an idea, he shoots it down. Six months later, same idea becomes his idea, when it gets implemented.

Handling an aggressive boss is just like handling radioactive isotopes. You are right that their ideas have a half life of their own. Once the initial enthusiasm has died down, the ideas just fizzle out. The good news is that they keep introducing newer ideas and isotopes in the system, so the excitement never ceases.

By closely watching his behavior over a long period of time, you can surely surmise the general decay time of his proposals. This would help you to learn to tackle him effectively. Once in a while, when you are sure of your stand with which he disagrees, look him in the eye and tell him so. Like a goblet of mercury, he may roll off in a different direction and eventually get persuaded to change the direction of his thought processes.

Once in a while, recharge yourself by looking out from your office window and simply admiring nature. All my life through, the new sights of Nature made me rejoice like a child…it was like a new world opened to me,…which I was at last permitted to know in all liberty.

Respected Mr. Albert Einstein, is your Theory of Relativity applicable in an office setting? I am about to take up a new job and need your advice. Please elaborate without equations, because I am not a mathematics wizard like you.

Yes, several facets of my theory are highly relevant in the work place. Here are some examples:

Let me tell you something that your management text books do not speak of. There is an upper limit to your career progression in a company. Just like light cannot travel beyond a certain speed, you can expect to get promotions only till the time you reach your level of incompetence. Thereafter, you can either decide to relax and just take it easy, or switch to another frame of reference (read organization). If I had continued my stint at the Swiss Patent Office, you would have never heard of me, right?
Every organization is uniquely configured. It follows that their frames of reference are never the same. What works well in one need not work well in another. When you take up a new assignment, spend your honeymoon period understanding their value system and their frame of reference. No one would mind answering any of your questions then. To borrow a term from modern management language, a change of job is like a ‘paradigm shift’!
Once the honeymoon period is over, the focus would shift to your performance. Here, my equation between Energy, Mass and the Speed of Light could come in handy. Always remember that your ‘E’ (Energy and Enthusiasm) to perform a task is equal to the product of ‘m’ (mental peace) and ‘c’ squared, where ‘c’ stands for mental and physical capacity. When you achieve a better work-life balance, you improve your inner peace, as well as your capacity to do things.
Above all, remember that Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere. Best of luck!

Sir Isaac Newton, my weakness lies in not being able to handle people. They do not always agree to what I say. Can your Laws of Motion help in any way?

For your benefit, let me reinterpret my own laws in this way:

The Law of Inertia: If you have a category X employee, he/she will act only when told to do so by you. If he/she has been told to perform a task, it will continue to get done ad nauseum until instructed to stop. The law applies to zombies who roam about the work place like headless chickens. Get rid of your team members who fall in this category. Try to become a Y type employee yourself and lead your team out of inertia.
Force equals Mass multiplied by Acceleration. For people, Mass denotes their ego level and seniority in the company. The higher the ego/level, the more the force required to get a person to do the work speedily. You may not be able to directly ask your boss to move faster on a project. Probably, you have to get his boss to drop enough hints so your boss catches up speed. Sure enough, you are clever enough to get your boss’ boss in the loop without getting caught doing so, right?!
You are already aware that any action results into an equal and opposite reaction. If you praise someone in public and rebuke him in private, he would pay you back in the same coin. When your pet employee – so lovingly groomed by you over the years – decides to leave the company, you have the option of treating him well. This way, he becomes your company’s employment ambassador outside and may even rejoin you after some time!
Don’t forget to ask your immediate boss what he thinks of this. If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Here is wishing you the very best in all spheres of your life!

Posted in Skilling the Young | Tagged Albert Einstein, Career Advice, Isaac Newton, Marie Curie, Wilhelm Rontgen, Work Life Balance | 6 Comments »

Management Lessons from Movies: 2.0

October 4, 2013 by ashokbhatia

Smart managers are always keen to ‘sharpen their saw’. They always remain alert to new ideas from all sides. Movies are no exception. These provide valuable inputs to managers at all levels – from green-behind-the-ear beginners to CEOs and owners.

Here is an update on the key take away lessons from some of the movies I am aware of: some from Kollywood, some from Hollywood and many others from Bollywood.

ENTERING THE CORPORATE JUNGLE

Setting Realistic Goals (Manal Kayiru: A Rope/Thread of Sand)

Be Realistic, whether looking for a life partner or a job! The hero sets impossible conditions to be met while seeking a life partner. As a result, he gets conned into marrying a girl who is exactly the opposite.

In the arena of management, we work with customers, suppliers, employees, service providers and other stakeholders. It helps us to be realistic about what we want from them.

Be SMART: Goals should be Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound!

Realigning Goals to our Passion (3 Idiots, Maya Kannadi: The Illusory Mirror)

Better alignment between inner self and outer self helps us to find joy at the work place. Money, status and power are a logical corollary.

We should excel at whatever we do – even if it is hair dressing! There is no merit in frittering away our energy in trying disparate things which we are not good at. Our life is in our own hands and we can shape it well.

A Personal SWOT Analysis: Overcoming Weaknesses (Black)

Getting a committed and competent guide helps us to learn to overcome our weaknesses.

High involvement invariably leads to high commitment. This, in turn, leads to higher accomplishments in life.

We face negative energy in the shape of self-doubts which often plague us. By winning over these, we can achieve great things in life.

The protagonist is a deaf and blind girl. Her tutor gets afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease towards the climax.

The movie was inspired by the life and struggle of Helen Keller.

DOING WELL IN THE CORPORATE JUNGLE

Putting First Things First (Iqbal)

The hero has a passion to excel. He motivates a reluctant coach to take him under his wings. The training methods are very primitive. At no stage does he dream of better facilities.

To play cricket for India is his dream. He works on it with the end in mind.

Being Proactive (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag: Run Milkha Run)

Milkha has a short-term affair with his coach’s granddaughter and ends up losing at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He learns from this failure and goes on to win several medals for India in the 400m sprint slot.

Perseverance, hard work and a passion to succeed lead him to eventual success.

Networking and Bonding (Dil Chhahta Hai: Do Your Thing, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara: You Don’t Get to Live Twice)

Most work gets done in organizations based on informal networking and bonding.

The effectiveness of a better networked team is much higher, as it taps the potential of underground cable connections.

Bonding encourages lateral thinking within the group, thereby improving its productivity.

Spotting the Potential of Individuals (Lagaan: Land Tax)

Team building involves a clear definition of diverse roles and the assigning of roles based on individual strengths. Overcoming regional and social biases, the hero motivates a group of villagers to form a team and beat the English rulers in a game of cricket, thereby leading to a waiver of taxes for a period of three years.

Taking Good Care of People (Anbe Sivam: Love is God)

The conflict between a communist way of thinking and a capitalist one is brought out in this Kamal Hassan and R Madhavan flick very poignantly. Better management of people, the value of compassion and the need to minimize financial disparity is highlighted in the movie.

Delegation by Micro-managing (Udaan: Flight)

An overpowering father bullies a son into accepting a career and lifestyle of his choice. The seeds of revolt sprout. How the hero, a 17-year-old teenager, overcomes his low self-esteem and picks up the courage to walk out of the home to lead a life free of humiliation and abuse forms the crux of the theme.

Aggressive bosses who tend to micromanage affairs in the name of delegation end up creating a team with very low self-esteem. This could affect the long-term plans of the organization.

Delegation by Macro-managing (Sholay: The Embers)

In this case, the focus is on results, not on methods or means. The target – of capturing a dreaded dacoit – is clearly defined. The assignment is clearly accepted by two small time criminals who succeed in their mission, though one of them loses his life in the process.

Sticking to Values (Jerry Maguire)

When Jerry gets disgusted with the unfair practices in a sports event management company, he chooses to come out with a Mission Statement: ‘The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business’. He goes on to build his own business as a sports agent and develops a very close relationship with his one of his clients, leading to eventual success.

Leaving the Comfort Zone (Do Aankhen Barah Haath: Two Eyes, Twelve Hands)

Do Aankhen Barah Haath was based on a real life incident. A jailer proposes to handle six hardened criminals in an open jail, so as to reform them and return them to society as responsible citizens. The movie captured the spirit of innovation in solving a social problem. Lessons like empathic counseling, strict discipline and a fair and transparent system of reward and punishment are relevant for professionals who face white-collar crimes in today’s business world.

How the hero overcomes the initial disapproval and cynicism of his superiors in implementing a novel scheme of this nature teaches us to try to walk out of our comfort zones once in a while to scale new heights in our career.

Crisis Management (The Burning Train, The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, Independence Day)

The causes for a crisis could be many – professional rivalry, an ego clash, or sheer chance. But what wins the day is Rather than trying to pass on the blame; a professional would adopt a rational attitude and take immediate steps to contain the damage. Cooperation, team work, level headedness and fleet footedness are the pre-requisites for success to be achieved.

In all the movies cited here, a deep commitment to save lives comes first. When faced by a do-or-die situation, new groups often get formed and assume a leadership role to tackle the crisis effectively.

Strategy First, Execution Later (The Bridge on the River Kwai)

Implementing ruthlessly without understanding strategic implications could be injurious to the organization’s health!

The leader is ruthless in getting a group of prisoners of war to construct a railroad bridge during World War II. He believes in demonstrating British engineering skills to posterity even though, when completed, the bridge would help the Japanese troops. In a nutshell, the bridge is built, only to be destroyed when the first train passes through!

LORD OF THE JUNGLE

Leadership (Norma Rae)

Based on the real life story of a wage earner in North Carolina, the movie captured the essence of labor unionization and the leadership qualities required to achieve the same. We learn that people follow us not necessarily because we are smarter or more knowledgeable; only because we are passionate and clear about what we set out to achieve.

A Win/Win Strategy (Jodhaa Akbar)

Akbar, a Muslim Mughal Emperor, marries a proud Hindu Rajput princess, so as to forge strategic ties with smaller states which are otherwise resisting his expansion plans. The princess resents being used as a pawn in a political game and Akbar is fed by vested interests with negative inputs as to her real intentions. Eventually, they learn to respect and love each other.

When businesses merge, the birth pangs of the new business entity are experienced by all stakeholders. It is through cooperation, mutual trust, shared values and enlightened HR communication that the bonds become stronger, thereby giving the business a synergistic advantage.

Failure is Not an Option (Apollo 13)

When the third manned mission to the Moon gets aborted due to a technical snag, the challenge before the NASA flight controllers is to get the three astronauts aboard back to Earth. With team work and an out of box approach, the crew manages to make a difficult but crucial course correction. The team lands safely.

When a boss decides not to take a ‘no’ as an answer, amazing results often come up. Human imagination and ingenuity, when pushed to its limits, truly knows no boundaries.

Innovation in Business and Processes (Vicky Donor, Munna Bhai MBBS)

An unemployed youth – relentlessly chased by the owner of an infertility clinic – ends up becoming a sperm donor. The movie captures his trials and tribulations in a hilarious manner. Goes on to show that lot of new businesses can be conceived by being alert to the demand supply gaps in the society. By offering products/services designed to capture such gaps, new business verticals can be designed to tap the market potential.

For a hospital, an empathic touch is necessary to heal better is one of the clear messages of the Munna Bhai movie. Core service delivery – taking care of the sick and the infirm – cannot become secondary to procedures, systems and paperwork is another important message.

Discovering Synergy (Chak De! India: Go, India!)

A hockey coach pulls off the impossible – by coaching and leading the Indian women’s field hockey national team to win the World Cup. There are regional, racial and ethnic biases to be overcome. There are ego clashes between players to be tackled. Players who keep their personal success above that of the team need to be counseled. Then there are issues of eve teasing and perceived sexual harassment which need to be addressed. The apathy and cynicism of the government regulatory officials needs to be overcome. He does all this and leads the team to an astounding win. He does so by seeking areas of agreement first, by building on strengths of individual players and by compensating for their weaknesses.

The Leader Walks Alone (Elizabeth, Mughal-e-Azam)

The Queen gives up her romantic interests for the sake of a public life, rules England for 40 years; eventually learns to trust her own instincts

Likewise, a CEO has to set the bar very high and forsake quite a few mundane pleasures of life to lead the organization to rapid growth

It is always lonely at the top; concern for organization reigns supreme

Factors which can help: strong relationships, pragmatism, flexibility, meditation

SOME KEY ENABLERS

Giving Back to Society (Thirumalai)

The hero is a motorbike mechanic. He ends up falling in love with a girl whose father is a rich businessman.

The father, not liking the match, hires local goons to kill the hero. Predictably, the hero survives.

In a key scene, he tells the father to behave himself and be straight and positive.

The key messages: Life is a circle: you reap what you sow; Discovering our Inner Voice.

Helping the Community First (It’s a Wonderful Life)

The hero has given up on his dreams to help others and ends up committing suicide on a Christmas evening. His guardian angel shows him how he has made a difference to other’s lives and the community in general.

Think Green (Wall-E, Erin Brockovich, Avatar)

All these movies have themes which are centered around the concept of sustainable living.

Caring for the environment and Mother Earth is the central message.

In Wall-E, it is a small plant which makes humans come back to inhabit earth.

Erin Brockovich is all about a legal clerk motivating a group of sufferers to stand up against a large company and get suitable compensation awarded by a court of law. It is based on a real life incident.

Avatar also champions the cause of protecting our environment.

THE REEL/REAL LIFE

In reel life, we empathize with a hero we admire. We readily fall for the grace and charms of a heroine and get infatuated by her. We love at least one doting parent. We come to hate rogue villains.

In real life, we look up to some seniors who become our role models. We fall for the charms of an organization whose image and brand equity we admire. We meet an experienced senior who guide us, much like a doting parent. All those who shoot down our plans appear to be rogue villains. In the process, they teach us to balance between divergent opinions and also help us to grow professionally.

While entering the reel life, we willingly suspend our sense of belief and logic, leaving our mind behind at the hall entrance. We simply get mesmerized for a period of two to three hours.

In some single owner driven companies, we learn to leave behind our ego and autonomy of thought at the office entrance itself. It is a reality check which sometimes lasts sixteen hours in a day. Thanks to technical gizmos and improved connectivity, it is well-nigh impossible to ‘switch off’ for the day!

AN OVERVIEW

Making movies is a high-risk business. Thanks to the multiplex business model, innovation in themes appears to have picked up of late. In the realm of Hindi movies, think ‘A Wednesday’, ‘Bumm Bumm Bole’, ‘Barfi’, ‘Cheeni Kum’, ‘Dor’, ‘I am Kalaam’, ‘Lunchbox’, ‘Pa’, ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’, ‘The Blue Umbrella’, ‘Udaan’, ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’, etc.
Movies are not only about entertainment. They are also about education, empowerment and enlightenment.

(To avoid an overlap between an earlier blog post and this one, the movies mentioned here differ from the ones cited earlier. Here is the link to the earlier one: https://ashokbhatia.wordpress.com/2012/10/27/management-lessons-from-movies.)

Posted in Management Lessons | Tagged Goal Setting, Management Lessons from Movies, SWOT | 5 Comments »

The Confessions of an Armchair Blogger

September 30, 2013 by ashokbhatia

I started blogging about two years back. I am grateful to my family for having enabled me to indulge myself in one of my favorite activities – writing. Close friends continue to enthuse me in this adventure. This one happens to be my 100th blog post. On this occasion, I am tempted to share with you some of my observations about the art and science of blogging!

I have come to believe that if we write a blog from our heart, based on our inner convictions, our own knowledge of things, places, events and people, and our personal experiences, we have a winning situation at hand. I do not think there is much merit in creating a ‘cut-n-paste’ blog post. Success lies in writing about something which concerns people across diverse continents and cultures. A fresh perspective helps.

Ideas Popping Up, Words Streaming In

There is an inherent charm in composing a piece. There are ideas floating about in the environment. Like a radio receiver, I suddenly get tuned to one and – plop – there it drops into my mind. I churn it over in my mind. Nurture it. Sleep over it. Let it develop a wee bit. Read up more on the subject. The idea starts taking a tangible shape. My grey cells start working feverishly. I can not sleep till the time the idea manifests itself in words. With mind chugging along on all six cylinders, I start hammering out at the key board. There are times when words come in a torrent, and it is not easy to match the pace with my hands.

After the initial intellectual ejaculation gets over, I read it all over again. Improve upon it here and there. While doing something else altogether, I suddenly discover a new angle to the whole subject. I rush back. Read a little bit more. Make improvements. Again sleep over it. Read it with a fresh perspective the next morning. Improve further. Leave it to let it simmer for some more time. Come back and – bingo! It sounds just right. I am happy with how I have expressed myself. I ‘publish’ it!

I do not do this for money. I do it because I cannot help but write. It appears that I am always surrounded by words, phrases and aphorisms which help me to express myself. I derive immense inner joy in doing it. There is a form of creativity within me. I feel I am merely a medium to express a mini-micro-segment of the thoughts floating around us in the environment. Yes, I do it responsibly. I write without malice to anyone. My endeavor is merely to amuse, entertain and (if possible) enlighten my limited audience.

Yes, I do seek success, appreciation and some recognition, though not as an aggressive participant in a rat race. A thoughtful comment once in a while does cheer me up. And the joy of knowing the global reach of my thoughts. Connecting with people from diverse cultures and ethnic groups also bucks me up no end.

Utopia and Reality

Those of my close friends who are still tied down to a 9-to-9 routine perhaps imagine the life of an armchair blogger to be a highly disciplined and placid one.

Up in the morning bright and early. The first bed tea. The newspaper. The second bed tea. The shave. The bath. The fruit juice. The eggs. The oats. The coffee. The garden chair lounge. The dreamy reverie. The new idea popping up while looking at the birds and bees going about their daily chores. The dash to the laptop. The first draft of the new blog post. The mid-morning tea. The walk on the terrace. The first revised draft. The lunch. The afternoon siesta. The second revised draft. The late afternoon tea. The sudden ‘a-ha’ moment. The Google search for related information. The third revised draft. The spell-check. The reading through. The tinkering with phrases and passages. The early evening tea. The pottering about in the garden. The daily dose of brisk walk. The chat with kids. The shower. The change into something loose. The family get together. The dinner. The dishes. The final proof reading. The checking of likes, comments, visits and views for the day. The uploading. The rest and repose of late evening. The locking up of the humble abode for the night. The bed.

Well, nothing could be more misleading. The raw excitements and distractions of life often leave me wondering as to what the next moment might bring!

Just when the flow of thoughts is gathering momentum, the better half suddenly popping up to ask where in the house she has kept and forgotten her spectacle frames. The milk delivery person passing by, hoping to discuss the local neighborhood gossip. The newspaper delivery person arriving to settle his account for the past month. The call from distant relatives informing the dates of their impending visit. The neighbor passing by to share remorse at the declining economy of the country, the accumulated garbage in the locality and the pathetic quality of movies one is forced to ‘enjoy’ these days.

The sudden power failure precipitating a crisis of sorts. The narrow-band – euphemistically referred to as the broad-band in my part of the planet – going on the blink. The sudden summons from the better half as to the declining stock of fruits and vegetables in the refrigerator. The dash to the market so as to ensure availability of nourishment to keep the body and soul together. The invitation from a management institution to deliver a guest lecture. The preparation. The drive to a clinic for a health check-up for the spouse. The visit to the NGO for a spot of check to see if things are moving as per plans. A new idea popping up. The late night rush to the laptop to ensure it does not get lost in the din of extra-curricular noises made by real life. Catching up with the half-finished blog post started two days earlier, etc, etc.

Of course, these travails are nothing when compared to the challenges faced by a hapless blogger on the run who is trying to pursue his/her passion while juggling between work and life in general!

Oh, the inner glow and warmth of satisfaction and bliss on having composed and uploaded a piece which is endearing and intellectual. If it also tickles the funny bone, even better! Can words actually express this bliss in real? I doubt; for that to happen, we would need connectivity at a different level altogether!!

Posted in A Vibrant Life! | Tagged Blogging, Ideas, Thoughts, Words | 34 Comments »

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ashokbhatia

Of Management, Wodehouse, Movies and things in general!

When Jeeves Takes Charge

A Poem on Incoming Souls

Black is also Beautiful!

A Brand Called Switzerland

The Fun of Learning Many Languages

The Inimitable R K Laxman

The ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ of Management

Career Advice from some Eminent Scientists

Management Lessons from Movies: 2.0

The Confessions of an Armchair Blogger

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