Perimeters of Thought : Blog # 275

Perimeters of Thought

My friend Jeeva who went to a Poets’ meet recently told me about the perimeters of literature for writers from North East. Those writers have to bear in mind not to come across as defiant towards people form the mainland. All they might be doing will be to try and bring to fore, the plight of their people. But they need to be careful to do just that and not go overboard. Else, they will be looked upon as hatemongers. That defines their perimeter of writing. This got me wondering about what defines perimeters for all of us.

Every single aspect that is part of our identity defines our perimeters. If I am from a religion which is a majority in a country, I cannot criticize the acts of someone from a religion who belongs to the minority. The moment I do that, I will be looked down up on as someone who doesn’t appreciate plurality of the country. Someone belonging to a minority religion also faces the same fate. He/She cannot condemn something that the majority does for they will be branded an extremist.

Another fascinating perimeter set these days around discussions is by the notions around feminism. The moment you criticize something that a woman has done, suddenly you become a cave man. You can call a man a pig privately or on a public platform. Everyone including men laugh. Try using a similar salutation for a lady who has done an extremely heinous act. Let us look at something more subtle. Calling a man bald is perceived to be fine. But dare you not tell a lady that she is on the healthier side. See I did not even use the F word here :)

The circumstances in which one grows up also affects how one’s perimeters are defined. Being from Kerala, the whole beef debate had me in splits. I couldn’t wrap my head around what the whole issue was about. But had I been born and brought up somewhere in the Hindi speaking heartland of our country, my reactions could have been entirely different. Here, the perimeter is defined from within rather from outside. May be this is why we should get to know people who are from much varied situations and places than ours. That will give us a perspective which we will never think of otherwise. Also, travelling far and wide opens our horizons of thought like none other.

Someone from Pakistan will be putting himself/herself at a grave danger by appreciating India. Likewise is the case with someone from our country too. Even if a politician from a certain party has to appreciate what someone from an opposition party has done, one needs to be extremely cautious.

I feel restrictive perimeters are defined when we try to define people by one singular aspect of their identity. It is time we looked at people as a whole than parts. May be that will allow debates to flourish.

Who is Pokemon? : Blog # 274

Who is Pokemon?

Unless you have been living under a rock or on a short lived social media detox mission, chances are you would have heard of the ‘Pokémon Go’ madness which is taking the world by storm. Here is an attempt to tell you in very simple terms what the hoopla is all about. I am neither a gamer nor a coder so much so that I need to seek help to know the RAM capability of my phone. So this is as layman as it gets. Also, ‘Mon’ is an endearing term for a little boy in Malayalam. Further, ‘Poke’ roughly translates to a ‘hopeless person’. For a small while, I thought Pokémon is the evil twin brother of Tintu Mon!!!

To begin with, Pokémon Go is an Augmented Reality (AR) mobile based game. AR is the technology in which whatever you view infront of you is slightly modified and shown on your screen. It alters (enhances or diminishes) the way in which you see a certain visual. The game is developed by a company called Niantic which is founded by John Hanke. Now starts the interesting part of how the game came about. John was a Google veteran who used to work on Google Earth and Google Maps. Talk of connecting the dots and so beautifully at that!

Now how to play the game? One has to explore the real world. For once, this isn’t a game which will lock us down to the confines of a 4 inch screen. One needs to go out to play the game. We should walk outside, look for, find and catch Pokémon outside your home/office in a public place using our phone’s screen and camera. We can also collect items at Poke stops and battle at gyms to conquer them. If we do all of these, we get experience points and once we have enough points, we get a level up. Pokémon currency are called Poke coins. Once we reach level 5, we get different teams – red, yellow or blue. The game proceeds such.

It is fascinating to know how the places where Pokémon appears at the public places were arrived at. There was a game called ‘Ingress’ which is a sort of a predecessor to Pokémon Go. People who played that game in a way made a huge databank of locations available which was used to decide the Pokémon appearance locations. In addition to this, historical markers, public art works and Geo – tagged photos from Google maps were used to arrive at places which might interest a large number of people.

Now, there are different types of Pokémon’s. How they appear at different locations is based on what kind of habitat they use. For instance, they used the geographic markers on google maps to identify what kind of area it was. If it is a water body, only certain type of Pokémon will appear near those places. They also looked at Climate, Vegetation, Soil and rock types of places and assigned the Pokémons which could inhabit such places.

Is Pokémon going to be just a flash in the pan? The founders are quite serious to not let that happen. They are planning to extend the game with addition of more experiences – by building capability to create lure modules to attract Pokémons, more cooperation between players, trading etc. They are expecting the game to become more popular once goggles with inbuilt AR capability becomes an affordable technology. 

Will Pokemon become the world's Mon? Let's wait and see :)

The blessings of Life : Blog # 273

The blessings of Life

If you must hold a grudge against your creators, be it the ones who live with you or the ones in the heavens, it should be for not giving you a sibling. I cannot even begin to explain how much of a loss it is to not have a brother or sister in your life. In the earlier years of one’s life, one might feel thankful for not having a sibling for the little pleasures of not having to share the things one owns. Later on in life, one does realize how much of a blessing it is to have someone to grow up with.

I for one, cannot imagine growing up without my sister. I still remember going to hospital and seeing her for the first time along my mother’s side. At that instant, I knew that here is someone I am going to give my life for. May be that visual left so much of an impact on my little mind back then that I never grew out of it. This might be the reason why inspite of all the achievements she has had in her life, my first instinct is to protect her.

I am sure all of us who have a younger sibling in life would have gone through that phase in life where we become more of a parent to the little one than our own father and mother. Somehow we feel that we have more say and sway over her/his decisions than the parents themselves. And many a time, the parents graciously let us be too.

The other day, I was having a conversation with my colleague Risha who said that she is the youngest one in the family. I was telling her how much of a pampered life she would have had and she agreed saying it is completely an enviable position to be in free of responsibilities and how it lets one be as carefree as one wants to be. Although I don’t have an elder sibling, I have cousins who have always showered me with love and affection just the way an elder sibling would. I do enjoy the perks of being a younger one and seek their support to push my cause within the family, be it a small one or a significant one at that.   

Many younger ones have horror stories of being bossed around by the elder siblings. But all of them say that there comes a point in life where the elder brother or sister becomes their strongest support system. Some of my friends from college used to say that they ask for pocket money from their elder siblings quite shamelessly and devoid of any guilt. They couldn’t do quite the same with parents though.

The best part of having a sibling is that you get to share memories with them. Having gone through similar experiences and identical circumstances while growing up, they understand you in a way not many other beings are capable of. We all know that there comes a point in life where we become parents to those who brought us up. There also comes a time when your little brother or sister becomes the shoulder that the entire family leans on.

Arun Babu

Blog on Dulquer Salman’s Filmography #4 : Blog # 272

Blog on Dulquer Salman’s Filmography #4

Tomorrow, the 20^th day of 5^th month of 2016 is the release day of Dulquer Salman’s latest movie, Kammattti Paadam. What a great day to release a movie. The election fever has died down and news channels have analyzed and scrutinized elections to death. People are actually looking for a refreshing change. Right from the poster with DQ sporting a salt & pepper look to the trailer, there is nothing ‘usual ‘or ‘familiar’ about this film. Don’t believe me? Watch the trailer below. It looks like DQ will get to portray a character that spans from adolescence to old age which is quite a challenge for any actor.

After the stupendous success of OK Kanmani and sweeping the Tamil audience by their feet thereby, came along a master class of a film called ‘Charlie’. It is one of those films which an actor yearns and strives for. The movie had this bohemian aura about it and his character personified free spiritedness to such an extent that it left the audience reminiscing about olden days Malayalam classics. The film is filled with unexpected pleasantness across scenes strewn over its length. It is one of those creations which lifts one’s spirit and gifts one with the conviction to go down the less trodden path of happiness. His acting looked effortless yet the scenes showcased that there was a delightful amount of work which has gone in to make them beautiful. Tessa, played by much talented Parvathy matched the tempo of the movie at every single step with Charlie. I couldn’t get over the scene where he and Mary (played by the immensely talented, Kalpana) has this conversation over a boat in the middle of the sea. That scene and the accompanying pain it leaves you with is pure gold. The climax leaves us with a strange kind of mystique which we are not quite used to much in the Indian cinema.

Kali depicted the struggles of a young man trying to reign in the anger within him; the struggles and the troubles which his temper brought along. The first half of the movie was a light hearted take on the issue. But the second half had a nail biting – edge of the seat- thriller feel to it. The fact that the female lead was played by the much loved ‘Malar from Premam’ also helped.  I personally couldn’t wrap my head around the climax of the movie but the movie as a whole was a great watch.

If one were to measure his popularity with the yardstick of Social Media, almost on every single platform – be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Google Plus, he is the most popular Malayalam Actor. Although he was felicitated with many awards including the ones by Asianet, Filmfare and Vijay the most prestigious of them was the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor in Charlie; richly deserved I say. Here is wishing all the very best to him and his crew for Kammatti Paadam! 

Arun Babu

Earlier blogs on Dulquer’s Filmography:

Blog 1 : The rise of a new star

Blog 2: Bangalore days and more

Blog 3 : The grand entrance to Tamil film industry

Blog 5 : Jomonte Suvisheshngal

Blog 6 : Spoilt for choice 

Winter is coming to Indian IT! : Blog # 271

Winter is coming to Indian IT

It was a pleasant evening on the banks of the river. They all sat down for tea. It had been a good year. They made about 1000 pots. Chief was happy although he did not forget to remind them that their rival potter had made about double of what they made. The veterans shared their pearls of wisdom which they had mined over their years of experience. Chief told everyone that he is extremely happy with what they were doing and he is proud to have such talented craftsmen with him.

A couple of days later, one of the craftsmen approached the chief and told him that one of their customers is not happy. Some of the larger pots which they made are not fitting his stove. They are falling short by small dimensions. Chief thought about it and the next day, he asked the craftsman to send the best of his men to the customer’s kitchen. They can sit there and work along with the customer. They started doing it for more customers. The craftsmen were also happy. Only the more talented ones were sent to the customer and they were paid more too. Business thrived. More and more people from the town got in to pottery. Teachers who knew pottery were in demand.

The chief asked everyone to come to the banks of the river. He told them “Winter is coming our way. We are falling short of wood and fire. It will become worse in the days to come. We won’t be able to dry the pots. We should find new ways to make pots”. The craftsmen looked at each other. They wondered as to what the chief is talking about. The senior craftsmen told the younger ones “Keep your heads down and do your job. We need to make dozens of pots by the end of the week. Focus!”

A few days later, Chief asked his men to gather again. He told them “You might be best in your field. But the world now needs a different talent. Your customers will ask different skills of you. Start preparing yourself. Winter is coming our way, faster and sooner than you think.” It was the craftsmen who were at the kitchens who felt the heat more. They kept telling their friends “Winter is coming”. The craftsmen continued making pots. The kitchens cannot work without pots. We have lived all our lives with pots. Let us keep our head down and keep working. May be we should make our pots stronger and more resistant to fire. That should silence everyone.

One day in the kitchen, the craftsmen saw a gleaming vessel. It looked like mirror. They asked the customer as to what that was. “It is Steel; stronger, harder and unbreakable. It will help us in the winter. We are buying more of these”, the customer said. The craftsmen told his friends about this. “Oh! It‘s too fancy and expensive. They can’t replace pots with steel”, they said.

“I think we should start learning to make steel”, one of the youngest craftsmen said. The entire crowd laughed at him. “You have just started your work. We have been doing this for years. Keep your head down and work.” There was one teacher who taught working with steel. He went to him and started mastering steel work. The others continued working with clay and the teachers continued teaching them clay craft.

That morning had a distinct chill to it. The sun refused to come out. A large customer said that they did not need pots anymore. They will use only steel. And then a second customer and then a third. The craftsmen were asked to go home. The fire was put out. The one who learned steel work could keep himself warm in the winter.

#Winteriscoming to the IT Industry.Business model is changing, skill set required is changing too like in the above story!Brace yourself.

Arun babu

Be Like Me : Blog # 270

Be Like Me!

When we were kids, we all wanted to be like someone, isn’t it? For some of us, it was our father, mother for some and an elder brother or sister for some others. We tried hard to imitate and be like them. When we were in high school, we wanted to be like someone in XIIth grade. While in college, we looked outside. Many a time we wanted to be like a rock star, an actor or rarely, an accomplished professional.

When we were about to finish college, we slowly realized that we want to be unique. We no more wanted to be like someone else. Any comparison made to someone else started annoying us. We wanted to carve out our own identity .May be this is why we did not want to do what our parents were asking us to do. The parents want you to be like them. They have carved out a path for themselves and they have been fairly successful in that. In their mind, so why don’t you just be like me? Isn’t that a logical option? Now if the parents were not successful in whatever path they took, they would still want their children to choose the path that they chose. Again, Be like me and be what I wanted to be is the reasoning here!

Now, let us look at the work scenario. Somehow the person fights all the societal pressures and have chooses a profession which he/she likes. One thinks one is free to do whatever one wants to do and appears, the Manager! Their thinking is that they have endured many difficulties during their career and they would want you to go through the same difficulties. It doesn’t stop there. Whatever your idea of work is, it doesn’t matter. Your manager will have his/her way of working and you are expected to work like them! Of course, Be like them!

So we criticize all the people above and what do we do? In the early years of work, all of us are still open about life. Let a couple of years of experience enrich you (or should I say burden you). You want your juniors to be like you! The moment, someone comes to us for advice, we tell them the things which we have done and ask them to be like us! You start asking your younger siblings to choose the path that you chose. Wait for yourself to reach parenthood and you will see yourself telling your children to be like you.

I think there is no doubt here that we all (at least most of us) are in love with our own image. We want others to be mirror images of ourselves. We overlook the fact that we are trying to replicate ourselves and thus making this world quite a monochromatic, boring place.

Let people be different. Let the world around be diverse. Let there be little conflicts. Let us try to find peace in those conflicts. Let us try to find richness in that diversity. Let us celebrate the differences. Let people BE!

Of Fireworks & IPL : Blog # 269

Of Fireworks & IPL

You might have read about the fireworks mishap which happened at Kollam in Kerala a couple of days before. The state has not witnessed a tragedy of that scale in a long long time. The loss of lives is on such a large scale that an entire village is affected by the accident. I can’t even imagine the grief that would have blanketed the small village on that fateful early morning. All one can do is to hope and pray for the families to find strength in this time of immense sadness.

The event has given rise to a debate in Kerala, whether or not to ban fireworks during festivals. People of my state are blessed with an abundance of education and awareness.Hence you might think that consensus can be arrived at easily. If you are not from Kerala, you might wonder if it isn’t a binary decision and an easy one at that. People are losing lives again and again. So why not ban the whole exercise? Let me help you with a bit of perspective. Most of you would have read about the ongoing drought in Maharashtra. Also, whether or not to allow IPL to be conducted in Maharashtra. For those of you who are from Bombay and who are passionate about cricket, this is not a binary decision, is it? When you decide to say no to IPL, passion for cricket comes in between. When you decide to say yes to IPL, you are faced with the extremely difficult life situation of the farmers. This is what a Keralite goes through in the situation of fireworks too.

I think complete prohibition of anything will only lead to resistance, resentment and attempts to bypass the law.  What needs to be done is to strengthen regulations. There are social media posts springing up everywhere linking the regulation of fireworks to religion. I feel the moment we do that, we are losing the perspective entirely. It is not a matter of faith or religion. It is a matter of regulations and adherence to it. It is common in our country these days to link anything and everything to religion. All this does is hinder a constructive debate.

It is time we take one hard look at the way we conduct festivals, many a time throwing caution to the wind. If we can’t do away with the fireworks, we should agree to stricter regulations and methods to ensure that they are adhered to.As far as IPL is concerned, it is a slightly easier choice.Imagine this. You go for the match, have a whale of a time and come back home thirsty as a crow.You reach for the tap and all it gives is air!

I like my Work and my Company! : Blog #268

I like my Work and my Company!

The other day, I saw the Whatsapp status of one of my friends. It read “Happily Married and No, it is not an Oxymornon”. He was not being sarcastic. He is genuinely happy. Let me tell you another set of words – “I love my work”. Many of you might find it hard to believe. I agree with you for I have been in both situations – absolutely hating my work and absolutely liking it. The job that I took up after Engineering belonged to the former category and the one that I chose after my MBA course is from the latter lot.

Many of us have this tendency to criticize openly and admire secretly wherein it should be the other way around. Be it the schools that we have been to, be it the colleges that we have graduated from, be it the companies that we have worked for, there is always a tendency to criticize them. Constructive criticism is good and should be done but many a time, we forget to laud the goodness of those institutions. Many a time, the realization sets in after one leaves the organization. This is the reason why many people talk fondly of their colleges and companies years later. So let me begin with an earnest attempt. I work for Infosys and I love it. Does that mean my organization is flawless and is hovering around the pinnacle of perfection? Absolutely not. There are things which need improvement. What makes this company different is the fact that there are genuine attempts being made to move in the right direction.

I still remember my first day at the Bangalore campus, in awe of the infrastructure. But I distinctly remember being much more impressed by the people that I came across. Right from the security to senior leaders, there was something likeable about them and it continues to be. Let me tell you one instance. Around the time of my marriage, I was walking in to the office. At the gate, security checks are done. The lady checking my bag saw a bunch of invitation cards and asked me “When is the marriage? Is madam also working at Infosys? Ask her also to join our company”. I was delighted beyond words.

“Be More” is the philosophy which Infosys is following these days. The idea is to try and do more than what is expected from oneself; discover more abilities which one has and thus maximize one’s own horizons. That security lady checking my bag was doing exactly that. You wonder what is so great about what she did? About 27000 people work in that campus and she is in the morning shift where maximum people walk in. It is at that time she found time to have this quick chat with me!

Above is a video of Yours truly talking about Life at Infosys. At the cost of sounding immodest, I must tell you that I have worked really hard to get the opportunities that I have got. But I am not the only person who does that. Most of us work really hard. This is where Infosys stands apart. I would want to give credit to the organization for the fact that it provides me with the right ecosystem which is of prime importance for one to thrive.

Which one are you? : Blog # 267

Which one are you?

Every morning in offices across the world, there are two kinds of people going to work. One, who are walking towards their dreams and the other, who are walking away from their dreams. Which one are you?

When it comes to relationships, there are people who are guarded, who approach them cautiously. Then there are people who gives it all that one has got. They love with as much compassion that they let go of their ego, don’t mind getting hurt and are ready to be broken if that is what it takes. Which one are you? 

Some of us live our lives constrained by boundaries of what others think are the rights and wrongs of the world. Some of us live our lives by what our heart tells us and walk those paths where our thoughts take us on. Which one are you?

When given a responsibility, there a people who own it. They want to do it so perfectly that people say that no one could have done it better. Then there are others who just want to crib away to glory. Which one are you?

Many are comfortable in a crowd. They feel at home right in the middle - holding fort, looking people in the eye, spreading a smile, shouting a cheer. Then there are those who find their own corners- watching from a distance, indulging in the comfort of one’s own silence, content and still. Which one are you?

For some, people are more important than everything else. The relationships, their complexities, the boundless happiness they gifts them with, the sadness which visits once in a while, the sacrifices needed to sustain it makes them happy. Then there are others who thrive on success, on what they do, on how respected they are. Which one are you?

Experiences enrich one’s life, believes some people. They move, travel, take chances, meet people. They look for new journeys for oneself to go through. Then there are others who find happiness in possessions. They yearn for new things, buys them and finds happiness in them. Which one are you?

All that is needed for some people to be happy is a book, a cup of tea and a hammock. And for some, all they can see is a larger house, a bigger car and a better phone. Which one are you?

When some people smile, their smile reaches their eyes. When they appreciate, it elates you. When they speak, it goes straight in to our heart. Then there are those whose silences could hurt too.  Which one are you?

                                                                                    Arun babu

What Game of Thrones taught me? : Blog # 266

What Game of Thrones taught me?

Having been nudged by my friends for long, I decided to start watching the series, ‘Game of Thrones (GoT)’. To say that it is gripping is a 2 floors below-basement statement (not just an understatement). If someone tells you that they started watching GoT, more often than not, they will be sleep deprived for the next couple of days. The story line is a refreshing departure from the tried and tired American city based youngsters and their woes. It is set in an entirely different era and the filmography really transports you to a time long gone by.

But what really upset my expectations was 'death' in GoT. It is so blunt and frequent. The first time it happens, you wonder if the writer of the story has committed a grave mistake. You are shocked to see that a character whom you thought was pivotal to the story is done away with such abruptness. There is not even as much as a fifteen minutes of shock or remorse from the other characters. Then you forgive the writer for the sin for the story goes on with all its layers and nuanced intrigue in place.

You continue watching the series and BANG! the next death. You are reminded of the deceit you felt the first time. You feel the series cannot go on! It is about 1:30 AM. You wonder if it is worth watching the series any more. But the love for story and the way in which the end of each episode is designed keeps you going. The next time it happens, you aren’t shocked as much. Slowly you realize that you are getting used to the deaths.

May be it is this closeness to life that the series has in this regard which makes it so intriguing. Isn’t death as shocking and as untimely in life too? How often have we heard that a death was completely unexpected and that it couldn’t have happened at a worse time? We also think a death brings our lives to a grinding halt. But life goes on. As much pain a death causes to our churned minds and as much remorse it engulfs our souls with, we move on. The world moves on; quite often reminding us of our acute in-consequence in the larger scheme of things of the universe.

Apart from the reality of death, there is much more that Game of Thrones manage to portray perfectly about life. Be it the complexities of human relationships, the addiction to power and money, the lack of trust, the intense love and the equally intense betrayal, of friendships, of families, of traditions, of clans and much more. But what stays with me is the unpretentious portrayal of death without any paraphernalia whatsoever.

Last days of College : Blog # 265

Last days of College

It is that time of the year when one gets to hear a lot of thoughts on the college life coming to an end. Thanks to my very young Facebook friends circle, I get to hear it a lot louder. Oh what a bitter sweet time it is! I still remember the last days of both my college stints – Bachelor’s and Master’s. 

When you are finishing your Bachelor’s degree, there is a huge sigh of relief that FINALLY, studying (not learning) is coming to an end. One gets to bid adieu to a decade and half long academic endurance. Even then, there is a bit of heart ache – of losing relationships – of some friendships and of some even more dear ones. One cannot say that one is a student anymore. One cannot walk in to those college gates throwing caution to the wind. One cannot get in to those little fights only to become closer than before. But the enticement of the real world is equally appealing. There is this exuberant impatience to tell the world that I have arrived. I think the possibility of a higher education is what makes the farewell of a bachelors’ course less painful. Also, they are blissfully unaware of the real world that is awaiting them – of responsibilities, of work and most sadly, of routine.

A post graduate course is an entirely different ballgame. It is truer if you have a bit of work experience. For those who have worked, they know for certain that college and academics is any day better than working. It is like one has to go through a harsh winter to appreciate a warm sun. Ashan (my beloved friend from MBA) told me that the ones among us with work experience doing MBA are here on a paid holiday of 2 years. I couldn’t agree more. The deadlines are flexible, responsibilities less harsh and office politics replaced by the warmth of friendship. The intensity of manager's authority is replaced by the warmth and affection of professors which in my university was truly different. Our bunch of professors are really a cool lot. What more can one ask for? May be that is why PG farewells are more painful.

There is a sense of acute awareness that one is walking out of the college gates forever. I still remember looking back at my beautiful campus and letting out a deep sigh when I walked out of those gates. I knew I will never be the same again to that place; nor will my alma mater be the same to me. It is like one of those moments in a relationship where you realize something has changed irrevocably. We will both look at each other differently. It is not that the fondness has become any lesser. It is just that time and distance will come in between however much we try.

For all those friends of mine who are spending your last few days in college, pause and look around. Walk in to a loud group, Join a hearty conversation, Go on a long walk, Hug your loved ones, Get a cup of tea and talk to a friend for long, Take time to say your good byes, Say your thank you-s, Tell them how much they mean to you, Just walk around. Warmly embrace the spirit of college life for you know the winter of real world is coming ;) 

p.s. Pic (of the mighty elephant hills in the shadows of which we learned MBA) lifted from my friend, Gobi Jagan's album. I am sure he won't mind :)

More blogs on My Alma mater ~ http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2012/04/asb-memoir-potpourri-ofmemories-6-asour.html 

Desire Path : Blog # 264

Desire Path

             Have you seen those small mud paths amidst the grass right next to elaborately laid out walk ways? Those are called desire paths. Those little walkways which emerge by virtue of people choosing to walk through often. It might be either because it is a shorter path or it has a bit of an adventurous appeal about it or just for the little pleasure of stepping away from mainstream, as my friend Abhishek often says. Whenever I ask him as to why he made a rather different choice about something, he tells me “Oh, the other choice was too mainstream for me!” How I love that word, ‘Mainstream!’ :)

            All of us have desire paths in life. A path we will be happy to walk through often but we are unable to, due to various circumstances or constraints. If you look at it, both the desire path and the concrete laid walkway are taking you to the same destination. Yes, the desire path is much humble in its appearance. There are no elaborate staircases or handrails approaching that path or going away from it. It is like one of those old acquaintances of yours who doesn’t speak with great eloquence but you know that whatever is being spoken is right from the heart. You need not guess as to what exactly did the words mean in the context. Nor does one compel you to read between the lines.

            What the humble path also tells you is that the walk is not going to be easy. It cannot provide you handrails to ensure your safety while navigating the quagmires of life nor does it promise you shade in times when intense rays of hardships beam down on you. But isn’t it these little desire paths that we take in life which helps us beat the monotony and routine of life? Isn’t it those detours which infuse life in to our living? Don’t you think such small trips will help us derive a sense of contentment?

            An interesting thing about the desire path is that it is compassionate. You might wonder how? By design, it is small. It cannot have too many people walking through it without being concerned about the others. Those who choose to walk should be accommodative of each other. You will need to slow down for others or to step aside at times too. It is more collaborative than competitive.

          In a laid out path, there is space for two lanes – one for those who walk in and one for those who walk out.  There is hardly any collaboration here. Whoever walks fast, gets ahead without bothering about people who are walking along or behind. Isn’t that what is at the core of our world’s problems today? We are concerned for only our class of people – those who are as educated as us, those who earn as much as us, those who speak like us, those who look like us, those who worship like us. What about those who are unlike us? Isn’t being human reason enough to spare a thought for them?

            As busy as we are in our lives, let us take the desire path once in a while - for us, for them and for the world to be a better place.

                                                                                                                        Arun babu

Never Do Nothing : Blog # 263

Never do Nothing!

            I don’t know if the title of this blog is a widely used phrase. But I heard this for the first time from Madhu Trehan, senior journalist of the media-observer cum commentator Youtube channel, ‘NewsLaundry’. I am yet to come across a more inspiring phrase which conveys the message with such brevity. Many a time, people try to inspire others by talking to them. But at times, the conversations go in circles and for durations longer than the gestation period of an elephant. In this day and age of 142 characters worth of twitter eloquence and conversations that are reduced to whatsapp emoticons, one shouldn’t expect one’s audience to be very attentive and patient. Therein lies the relevance of this phrase.

                  In the times that we live in, it is very easy to think that we all are doing something worthwhile. Thanks to the social media, it cocoons us in to the false belief that we are all leading constructive lives. Often, one needs to step back and see if we are really taking an effort to evolve over time. It is about making oneself better than one was the previous day, month or at least the previous year.

                  Being a better person means different things to different people. For some, it is to stop doing something. For others, it is to start doing something. It could be to learn a new language, earn more money, coach oneself to a new skill, explore new places, start a hobby, be part of a cause , play a sport or anything that your imagination gifts you with. The point is to change by oneself before a change forces itself on to you.

                  By putting oneself continually through such experiences, we become more open and willing to let in newness – be it of people, challenges or experiences. We gradually reduce our mental inertia and resistance to change.  Being part of new experiences helps one tide through the monotony of life. It also gives us small milestones to conquer in this long journey thereby providing pit stops of contentment. In less euphemistic words, by never doing nothing, Life becomes easy!

Arun Babu

A Big Bear Hug to Nivea! : Blog #262

A Big Bear Hug to Nivea!

If you haven’t seen the new Nivea deo Advertisement, watch you must. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy it made me to see this refreshingly new and different Ad. I have always loved advertising. All you get is a handful of seconds. In that, one need to convey a story or a message AND make someone buy your product or at least make them think about the product. The sheer joy of creative challenge! In many ways, Indian advertisements are rich in content and portrayal. The abundance in content might owe to our varied cultural ethos – the advantage of having many little Indias within India. The portrayal or the visual nuances should have evolved over time.

One product space where there was an acute lack of creative talent on display was the deodorants. All that our prolific Ad agencies could come up with were a bottle of gas, a few naked women and these bare chested men drawing those women to them like moth to fire just because they have used the deodorant. The very same concept repeats only change being in the surroundings. Oh yes, one product did try with a horse and then molecules and awesomeness et al. Frankly, I missed the point. I couldn’t GET that Ad at all.

            And comes, our dear dearest Nivea. Just when I was about to press ‘Skip Ad’, Nivea takes me right to the beginning of mankind. I wondered why and was curious! It goes on to say Eve snubbed Adam with a hand wave because of body odour. Then it talks about Maharajas and the handshake, long lost friends and the high-fives and fist pumps etc. The Ad implores the audience to #Banbodyodour and get back to the endearing and sincere bear hugs.

            It delights me to see so many little things woven in to a minute worth of time. They have touched up on how human interactions have evolved (of course on a lighter vein), what we can do to make them more intimate and why we should use their product. Thank you Nivea for liberating us from the oft repeated monotony of humans hurling at each other among smoke just because of some scent! Thank you Nivea for giving some sense of meaning and soul to the story line. A big bear hug to your team!

Link to the Ad : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pXmQAZvQHI

Arun Babu