Book Review: Understanding Show, Don't Tell by Janice Hardy

I am a writer. I have been repeatedly told that my writing should 'Show Don't Tell'. I have also listened to bits and pieces suggestions like 'Don't use adverbs', 'Don't use Passive Voice' etc. While these suggestions are useful, they did not provide a complete understanding of the context. I was like that blind man who was touching different parts of an elephant without clearly understanding what an elephant looks like. 

Till I read this book.

This book takes an abstract idea like 'Show Don't Tell' and breaks it to its most minute detail. Tell Words, different view points like First person, third person, distant, omniscient etc, use of adverbs... all of these are covered in a lot of detail.

The reader can visualize how the concept evolves as it progresses over this small book of about 115 pages. 

The best part is the examples. The author provides a large number of examples to illustrate her points. Every concept is illustrated with 'Tell' and 'Show' examples. 

One of the things I liked is her openness to self-criticism. While illustrating some points, she takes passages from her own novels and show us how they could have been improved upon. 

That took courage. 

After reading this book, I could see a couple of changes in my writing. One, I have become more aware of when I am telling. For example, I recently wrote 'I panicked'. It was an obvious 'Tell'. How will the reader know I panicked? How can I show that I panicked? 

I rephrased that with action sentences. 

'I breathed hard. My hands were shivering as I gripped the steering wheel of my car. I wiped a few beads of sweat from my forehead.' 

'Stop it, things are never as bad as they seem'

This book is up there with the other two great books on Writing. One is 'On Writing: A Memoir of the Crafft' by Stephen King and the other is 'Everybody Writes' by Ann Headley. 

This is one book that I will be referring again and again. That is for sure. 

My only regret is that I took a lot of time to finish it. I could have completed it in one sitting.
Well, next book.

Book Review: Start-up Nation by Dan Senor and Saul Singer

It is good that I just read the Title 'Start-up Nation' and did not read the subtitle about 'Miracle'. Otherwise I would not have read the book.
This book covers Israel's incredible growth in different areas across the 70 odd years since its existence. Today Israel boasts of a large number of Patents, largest number of Nasdaq listed startups from a single country and a country with many universities in the global top rankings. The book can be roughly divided into the following parts. 

One, what is the character of Israel as a country that produces so many startups and innovation?
What are some of the characteristics of the people that encourages them to take risks?
What are the actions taken by government to facilitate this progress?
What is the future for the nation?
First, the characteristics of the country. This is a country of immigrants. Israel has a 'One Day Citizenship' process for any Jew from anywhere in the world and their immediate families. Most of the immigrants, like those from Soviet Union are highly educated and brings with them the entrepreneurial spirit. In addition, Israel is always fighting scarcity - of resources, of markets, of resources and that brings with it innovations, what we in India call 'Jugaad'. Also the country has zero corruption and hence is able to more efficiently utilize its scarce resources. The culture is quite informal and flat and people have no qualms of criticizing the works of others including their seniors without fear of repercussion.
Finally, the entire market of Israel is very far from home, so the focus is on exports and miniaturization.
The people of Israel share some common traits. Since Israel has Mandatory Conscription for both men and women, almost all the citizens have been through the grind. Most of them reach leadership positions as young as 23 years. As the army is an innovation machine, with a deep focus on using science to improve its efficiency, those who come out of conscription are on a 'get go' mode. They are risk takers and good at execution. Add to that the open culture and the Israeli trait of Chutzpah and you have an idea factory and an execution machine.
While Israel was a very tight bureaucracy in the early stages, where every resources was rationed and government controlled everything including the interest rates and resource allocation, things have changed dramatically from the late 90s. The country has become more liberal, government has come out of many areas and is encouraging privatization and has many policies to bring in the much needed capital to prime the entrepreneurship.
Today Israel has many world leading universities, leads the world by miles in new patents registration, almost all the leading companies in the world have presence in the country and the tech sector is booming.
The country is also focusing on Liberal Arts. There is a new focus on the movie industry.
I was fascinated by the close parallel between India and Israel. Both came into existence at almost the same time, both had to face multiple wars, both had leaders who laid the infrastructure foundation, both had 'lost decades' when there was zero progress, both had great finance ministers who introduced policies that made a decisive break from the past, introducing a new paradigm of economic liberalization.
And both the countries have been growing exponentially from the beginning of the new millennium.
This is a very inspiring book. It gives a direction for every leader to make their country great. It motivates the readers to focus on the future and displays the tremendous opportunities available out there.

Book Review: Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

 I have read Gladwell's other books including Outliers and Tipping Point. I like his narrative style and the rigorous research that goes into each of his books. So when someone suggested the book 'Talking to Strangers' by Malcolm Gladwell, I thought I would give it a shot.
If you expect this book to provide path-breaking new insights and life perspectives you would be disappointed. If you expect this book as a guide to talk to people, you would be disappointed too. 
The book starts with the obvious assumption - People are Complex and no generic approach will work while dealing with them. However it is impossible to try to understand the thousands of people with whom you deal with and hence you resort to making assumptions. 
The first assumption we make is that PEOPLE are TRUTHFUL. You start your interaction by assuming that the other party is honest and truthful in their interactions with you. Psychologists call it the 'Truth Default Theory'. A couple of minor transgressions, a lie here or a half - truth there will not break this belief. You will consider them as transgressions. It will take many number of lies told and promises broken for you to change your views about that 'specific' individual. 
Most of the people fall into this category. There are some, for whom, this theory is not default. They start their interactions with doubt and skepticism. We call them 'Cynics'. 
Cynics are very important, otherwise criminals will have a field day. 
Example is of Bernie Madoff. A lot of people had doubts that Madoff was resorting to illegal means to make his riches, but they gave him the benefit of doubt. In other words they resorted to Truth Default Theory. It took a couple of cynics to expose his ponzi schemes and bring him to justice. 
The second assumption we make is that 'PEOPLE are TRANSPARENT'. This assumption is popularized by the saying 'eyes are window to the souls'. We assume that if people behave in a certain ways they MUST be telling the truth. For example, classic symptoms of lie assumption is shifty eyes. Or nervousness. If someone exhibits these behaviours, we assume that they must be telling the truth. 
Author narrates the story of Amanda Knox to illustrate this phenomenon. This 20 year girl spend four years in Italian prison on fake charges because her behaviour were not considered transparent, they didn't meet the traditional definitions of expressing sadness, eventhough there was zero proof against her involvement in the crime. 
Transparency assumption working together with Truth Default Theory, enables many psychopaths and sociopaths to go undetected. 
How do you handle this? Author sites a study where given the same information to a Judge and AI, AI came out with much more accurate predictions that Judges did. The drawback for judges was their personal connection, their 'looking into the eyes of the criminal', to make the judgement. AI was unaffected by personal contact and hence made more objective and accurate decisions. 
The book site the chilling case of a Young man who was arrested for trying to kill his ex-girlfriend. He couldn't succeed since his gun got jammed and did not fire. The judge in case looked into his eyes and saw a 'Repentant young man' and set him on bail. Four months into his bail, the young man shot and killed his Ex.
AI would never have allowed him on bail. It would have noted that his intention was to kill his girlfriend and the only reason he failed was that the gun got jammed. He would be sure to try again.
Which he did.
The third challenge in dealing with people is what is called 'COUPLING'. Cases like suicides and crimes happen in a context. In the state of Kansas, it was observed that the crime rate in a very small part of the state was very high. It was observed that the rise in crimes was associated with the availability of Guns. Once the police started intensive patrolling in that area, specifically looking for guns in the cars and confiscating the guns, the crime rate dwindled quickly. 
Unfortunately the lesson that the police department in other states took was that intensive and intrusive patrolling will lead to reduced crimes. They incentivized the stop and search of personal vehicles. This was as far from the localized intensity of the Kansas experiment. They gave wide latitude to the police personnel in such cases. 
The result was widespread dissatisfaction with the police procedures. 
And Sandra Bland case. She was a 28 year old black woman who was stopped for a very minor case of not signalling before changing lanes. The officer in question, Brian Encinia, a white police officer, stopped her. He started the standard process of delaying searching the car for guns or any suspicious material. He was instructed that he should not trust anyone. In short, do not follow the 'Truth Default Theory'
Sandra Bland was getting more and more agitated and getting nervous. This in turn led the officer to doubt her even more. This violated the 'Transparency' assumption, because her behaviour did not MATCH the assumption of innocence. 
Finally, Sandra Bland was a native of Illinois and had come to Texas for a job interview at a university. She was outside her natural context. Also, she had prior traffic citings and unpaid fines of 8000 dollars, which was huge money. Perhaps that stressed her and made her behaviour erratic and aggressive. The officer did not know about any of these and he arrested her on three counts. 
For a signal violation!
After three days, Bland was found hanging from the ceiling in her cell.
Author says that every lesson that you learned from the past was violated in this case.
There are other fascinating insights in this book like how one forgets key information, or manufactures information when  subject to severe stress, for even a short period as 30 minutes of exposure. Even when you voluntarily accept the trauma, your post-traumatic behaviour may not be predictable or accurate. 
However, the quality of content, or real insights,  in this book is minimal. So I rate it 3 Stars.

Book Review: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

I purchased this book after I saw a recommendation on Twitter. As I started reading the book, I was mesmerized by the language - the intensity, the very simple but very powerful comparisons to make a point, the choice of words and the sense of humour that made me chuckle at many places. I started off by being heavily invested in the lead character - Demon - born in a trailer to a drug addict. His early life reminded me so much of how I used to spent my childhood in our Village, among, plants, flies, frogs and even snakes.

 
The book is large, all of 64 Chapters, and as I moved from chapter to chapter, the book became dark and depressing with occasional flashes of positivity. But the core theme was negativity and despair. I lost interest in the book, I couldn't take 64 chapters where things moved from bad to worse for Demon, whom I loved. 

You could say, just like many others in his life did, I too abandoned him. 

But something about the book pulled me back. As I started reading more, I realized that this is an incredibly positive and uplifting book. As Demon mentions, "I have tried in this telling, time and again, to pinpoint the moment where everything starts to fall apart. Everything, meaning me. But there’s also the opposite, where some little nut cracks open inside you and a tree starts to grow. Even harder to nail. Because that thing’s going to be growing a long time before you notice."

Incredible words. 

This is an intense book and is not for light reading. To get the best out of this book, one should read it in a couple dedicated hours, making copious notes. The book radiates wisdom and fresh perspective in every page. I lost the count of time I said 'Wow' or 'Oh...', or 'Awwww' as the perspectives hit me. For example, the author talks of 'Land Economy' and the 'Money Economy' and how the latter is always insulting the former using words like 'Hillbilly' and 'Redneck'. I remembered that even here in India, we make fun of people from some parts of the country. 

Maybe I don't have the right perspective. 

Having experienced both village life and city life, I could identify with the points that Damon was making. He talks of how city people do not share (reluctantly if at all) their 'Juice'. I took that word to mean focus. City life has speed and flow and focus, unlike the lassitude and easy going attitude that permeates the village life. 

Demon was born into despair, lived his life as an opioid addict, but fought the addiction and came out a success. 

I couldn't put down the book, I wanted to see Demon getting national acclaim for his book. 

But dammit, it ended too soon (all of 640 pages, that's all) but it ended on a high. 

For that I am very grateful.

Book Review: Pirenasi by Susanna Clarke

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Have you ever started reading a book and even after the first 50 pages, find that the book is going nowhere, but you are unable to put it down because of it promises to become amazing very soon? That was what the book Piranesi did to me. First couple of parts describe Piranesi's life as a lonely person in a huge house with its labyrinthine rooms and it countless number of statues. The world (which is his house) is surrounded by water everywhere and Piranesi, in his calm lassitude, continues to observe and document his observations.
Piranesi has forgotten his past, so the entire story happens in present. He keeps a journal of his daily experiences with his own quaint names for the years. (10th day of the ninth month of the year when Albatros came to the house).
Piranesi is not alone. There is another gentleman, whom he calls 'The Other'. The Other is always nattily dressed and is collecting data using Piranesi to do the dirty work. He provides various things to Piranesi, including Shoes, Vitamin Tablets and dresses. He regularly visits the house to interact with Piranesi, but he doesn't stay there like him. Piranesi thinks that he goes to the 'Other World', eventhough he has no idea what and where and weather it exists.
Like a TGV starting from Paris, the story starts slow, but once it picks pace, boy doesn't it pick it? The second half of the book is so fast paced with new characters and story lines and plot twists that it is difficult to catch up.
For such a really well written book, there are some gaps that irked me. For example,
Piranesi talks regularly of heating seaweed soup. How did he get the fire? There is no mention of a regular supply of any fuel or igniter. Maybe he made his fire like Tom Hanks did in the movie Cast Away. (This book reminded me of that movie in many ways, especially how Piranesi identified himself with the House and found it difficult to adjust to the 'Other World') However I did not get any answer to that question.
In one of the parts, there is a mention of Piranesi listening to two people talking, but afterwards there is no mention of these people. Who were they and what happened to them?
This is the second book that I read in 2025. I got the reference from one Insta Thread. I bought four books based on that reco and have finished reading two of them.

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Book Review: Some Kind of Blunderful by Livy Hart

Some Kind of Blunderful by Livy Hart
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book tells the story of the love affair between Mia Fadden, a young school teacher and Alex Conroy, a corporate honcho working in the Avondale, Georgia office of Peachtree Tech, the same office where Richard Fadden, Mia's dad works as the head of Marketing.

This was one of the books that I purchased based on the comments on an Insta thread. As I read the book, I wrote my observations in my daily journal. The first comment that I wrote was that the language is pleasant and breezy. The second comment was that 'While the chapters of the book alternative between Mia's and Alex's narratives, their styles are not different at all, making it difficult to understand when they say 'I', whose perspective the author is using'.

The book is predictable from the get go. At the end of Chapter 1, Page 1, starting with their first date, you knew what was going to happen by the end of chapter 39. So there was no mystery. There were not many earth-shattering insights as well. Was there any plot tension which could create lumps in the reader's throat and make him want to jump in an rescue the damsel in distress? No, there was no such tension.

Like I said, I liked the simplicity and breeziness of the writing style.

The two protagonists hogged the entire book, leaving other perspectives inaudible. I would have loved to hear more from Josie, she seemed like fun. Or her wise boyfriend Ezra.

Considering limited perspectives in the book, the author has peppered with chapters describing their sex life. Some of it, while making nice reading, did not move the story forward in any way. 

Considering the genre, a YA Romantic Fiction, this book has done well. I loved the use of simple language and a good mix of narration and dialogues. Also, as a connoisseur of the art of writing, I loved that the paragraphs were of different lengths.

I could not identify the perspectives of some of the characters like Mia's dad Richard. He was working for a corporate and the company was changing its hiring and firing policies. Why was he resisting change? He has had fair share of changes in his life and had handled them quite well. In addition, he is accustomed to be take care of by his much younger daughters. So when it comes to a young boss who wants to introduce his ideas, why the long face?

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"A Prodigious Pachyderm's Paradoxical Predicament"

(I asked ChatGPT to write a funny story in Tharoor style using pompous words. Suggest a pompous title. This is what it came up with.)

In the annals of zoological chronicles, there existed a most prodigious pachyderm by the name of Percival, resplendent in his unparalleled ponderosity. His colossal countenance commanded attention from all corners of the verdant veldt, and his elongated proboscis, which seemed a veritable marvel of nature, was a source of endless amusement among the savannah's flora and fauna.

One fine morning, as the equatorial sun bestowed its iridescent benediction upon the wilderness, Percival, in all his elephantine grandeur, embarked upon his daily constitutional, ambling forthwith through the heart of the savannah. It was a regal procession, befitting the stature of an elephant of his exquisite eminence.

Now, dear reader, it must be elucidated that Percival harbored a peculiar penchant for papyrus, and he was known far and wide as the most erudite elephant to have ever graced the savannah's sylvan halls. His bibliophilic proclivities, however, proved to be a paradoxical predicament, for his hulking heft often led to cataclysmic calamities in his quixotic quest for knowledge.

On this fateful day, Percival, in his unquenchable thirst for the written word, happened upon a diminutive library ensconced within the recesses of the savannah. It was a hushed alcove, an oasis of erudition amidst the sprawling serenity of the wild, and it contained a plethora of precious tomes, the provenance of which could be traced to the most venerable scribes of the animal kingdom.

With an air of lofty sagacity, Percival, ascertaining that no other creature was within the vicinity, decided to partake in this bibliophilic banquet. He extended his proboscis with a finesse that can only be described as biblio-dexterity and gingerly plucked a volume from the dusty shelves.

Alas, dear reader, the inherent irony of this situation was that while Percival possessed unparalleled acumen in the realm of literature, his physical prowess often eluded his intellectual endeavors. As he perused the pages of an antiquated treatise on the "Epistemological Implications of Territorial Marking in the Ailuropoda melanoleuca," a resounding crash reverberated through the library's sylvan sanctuary.

Percival, in his zealous pursuit of enlightenment, had inadvertently brushed his monumental posterior against a rickety bookshelf. A cascade of esoteric encyclopedias tumbled in a cacophonous crescendo, burying the erudite elephant beneath a mound of learned literature.

The denizens of the savannah, both great and small, converged upon the scene, their laughter resounding like the chorus of a comedic opera. Percival, his pride injured more than his ponderous body, emerged from the literary landslide, his majestic mien now somewhat comically askew.

And so, dear reader, it was that the prodigious pachyderm's pursuit of profound wisdom resulted in an inadvertent spectacle of scholarly slapstick, a paradoxical predicament indeed. As Percival lumbered away from the bibliophilic battlefield, his regal countenance remained unshaken, for he had learned a most valuable lesson: that in the grand tapestry of life, even the most erudite among us must sometimes revel in the absurdity of our own pomposity.

Learning to say 'Yes'

"Will you marry me?"

"Mr.Ram, our client has an opportunity that will catapult your career. However, it will involve you relocating to another country for four years at least. We will provide everything you require. Are you interested?

"I know that I hurt your feelings. Can you forgive me?"

"You need a risky surgery immediately. Can you sign this no indemnity certificate?"

"Do you want to learn French?"

What are common with all these questions?

One, they are all difficult decisions with far reaching implications. Two, best answer is 'Yes'

Traditional wisdom advises you to 'Learn to say No'. But as the above questions show, saying 'Yes' is very difficult.

Saying 'Yes' is far more difficult than saying 'No'.

Why?

Saying 'No' maintains status quo. It doesn't have any other ramifications.

Saying 'Yes' is fraught with risk, uncertainty, long-term impact, potential happiness, potential regret, change...

Given a situation where 'Yes' is expected, we try to delay and buy time to read up more, to discuss with family ....

We stall. We hesitate to say 'Yes'.

Sometimes desperation forces us to say 'Yes'. I have a friend who lost his job in the middle of the nineties. He was desperately looking for a job. As luck would have it, an acquaintance was starting the dealership of a car polishing solution. He was given a chance to become a franchisee.  In his desperation he said 'Yes' to to this opportunity.

He had zero experience in running a company. But he soldiered on. in his first year, the company had two employees including himself. In the first year his business had a revenue of 2000 Dollars

Today his business employs over 140 people and clocks 2 Million dollars a year.

"I was very scared of starting a business. Had I got a job offer, I would never have got into the business", he tells me.

Why wait till we are desperate before saying 'Yes'? Why we wait to say 'Yes' till it is the only option available? 

Another friend, an accountant by profession, took a year of unpaid sabbatical to produce and direct a movie. He invested his own money. 

"I wanted to follow my passion", he told me.

Today he heads the India Consulting arm of a Fortune 50 US Multinational. 

Despite his achievements, he is proud of his coveted membership in the IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers Association) and get invites for all the glitzy Bollywood award programs. 

He decided to say 'Yes' to a risky opportunity. 

Then there are cases of people were scared to say 'Yes'.

Back in 2003, when I was working for an IT Company in Bangalore, I met Suresh in the Office. He was my colleague in my previous company which was a major steel maker in India. I had said 'Yes' to a major career change in the year 2000 to move from Manufacturing Industry to IT Industry and from the security of a government job to the risks of a job in the private sector. 

Suresh told me that he left our previous organization and has joined my current company. I was very happy for him. I assured him that it was the right decision.

Three months later I met him again. He told me that he is going back to his previous employer.

"My family is pressurizing me to move back to a government job", he told me.

I implored him to stay back. I tried to show him the long view where he would have relocated to US and be earning salary that the government company could never match.

He left anyway. He said 'No' to an awesome opportunity. 

I felt very sad. We were very close. 

Unfortunately most of the people I know opted for 'No' when offered new opportunities. Some of them never even looked around for opportunities. 

Decades later, they are doing the same job, experiencing the same experience day after day, year after year.

In the movie 'Yes Man', Jim Carey character decide to say 'Yes' to any opportunity for the next one year.
One year later, he is a changed man, more experienced, wiser...

Author John Maxwell says that most people spend time 'Running away from what they fear". That is saying 'NO'.

He suggests that "Instead people should run towards what they are afraid of". In other words say 'Yes'.

Mark the number of times you say 'No' in a day as against 'Yes'. I bet that former is a predominant response.

In 2016, I decided to follow Jim Carey and say 'Yes' to any new opportunity that came my way. Almost immediately I got an opportunity to work in an area that was evolving and about which I had no idea. This involved IFRS15 (hearing it for the first time) and Oracle Revenue Management. I was supposed to learn the concepts and the product in just two weeks and deliver a corporate training.

In my previous avatar my responses would have been filled with Ifs and Buts and Risk Mitigation Strategies and I don't haves (experience, knowledge, not my area etc)...

I said 'Yes' since I was the 'Yes Man'. I decided that I will make it work.

Fast forward two years, I became one of the few experts in that area. I did multiple corporate trainings to leading companies, did one implementation and traveled abroad and had a lot of fun.

That is the power of Saying 'Yes'.

Decide to start saying 'Yes' from today. Studies show that people are more happier 6 months after they say 'Yes' to change.

Will you start saying 'Yes' from today?

If this post inspires you to take action, let all of us know.

Passing away of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

There was a sad news on Sunday 14th of August. In the morning Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (RJ) called the 'big bull of Sensex' or the 'doyen of Indian stock market' passed away at Mumbai Breach Candy Hospital. He was obese and was suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes for a long time.

RJ Started investing in the market in the mid-80s came off on his own in the early 90. Either individually or through his company Rare Enterprises, he was an early investor in many of the current blue chips like Titan, Karur Vysya bank and others.

Millions of retail investors follow him and make buy-sell decisions based on whether he bought or sold stakes in a company.

This article is not about stocks or Investments even though you cannot separate them from RJ as a person. It is about personal change.

Change can be of two types; minor change is like changing the route you normally take to the office or ordering something different in restaurant that you go regularly (that's a big one for me)

Major changes affect the direction and flow of your normal life. They could include changing your job or relocating to a new city, marriage, divorce, birth of your child etc.

Or, starting a new airline, if you were RJ

RJ has always been an investor who invested in shares of company and grew his wealth as the company moved from start-up to small cap to Midcap to large cap and finally to becoming a blue chip.

In his book ‘The cashflow quadrant’, author Robert Kiyosaki, discusses four sources of wealth. He calls them EBSI. E stands for Employee, who earns income through salary. S stands for self-employed Professional, like doctor, freelancer etc. B stands for business owner, and I stand for investor. The investor (I) creates wealth investing in businesses created by business owner (B).

All these days RJ remained an investor. In the meantime, his colleagues who started investing almost at the same time as RJ, had gone on to establish highly successful business enterprises. For example, his compatriot Radhakrishnan Damani created a highly successful retail chain DMart, that he launched in the market recently. The share price of the company has grown five-fold since launch (IPO).

RJ must have felt an emptiness somewhere. He decided to start a business.

I don't know what it is with these Indian Businessmen, whenever they have cash the first business that day think of is Airlines. Vijay Mallya did it, owner of a successful company wanted to do it (investors brutally punished this move by almost halving the market price of the shares of his company. It is yet to touch its earlier high) ...

Globally Airlines have been a loss-making industry since Inception. The high level of competition, government oversight, price conscious passengers, high employee acquisition and retention costs, all of which makes it a perennial loss-making industry.

But Indian Businessman can't have enough of it.

Maybe it is Katrina Kaif modelling for Kingfisher that did it. Who knows?

RJ decided to start his airline company, he named it Akasa - Sanskrit word for Sky - airlines. The airline completed its Maiden flight on 7th of August. Many newspapers published pictures of a jubilant Rakesh ji travelling in the maiden flight. Flight was from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. On 14th August, airline had its first flight from Bangalore to Kochi.

By then RJ had left for his heavenly Abode.

As I said before, he passed away early morning on the 14th.

I was sitting in my hotel room in Ahmedabad when I read the news on twitter.

Starting a new airline was a major change for RJ.

Culturally Indians are wary of major changes. They strive for the security of the predictable. The belief is that major changes almost never come alone, they come in threes. In Malayalam they say 'onnu thottal moonnu', meaning 'if it happens once, then it will happen thrice'. They know that the first major change is under their control,but unpredictability of the remaining two makes them wary of changing anything.

There is this story of an Indian businessman who continued construction of his house because an Astrologer told him that as soon as he finishes construction he will pass away. His house was an eternal work in progress.

He passed away anyway.

Now we come to the end of the story.

Launching an airline was the first change for RJ. This was followed by unfortunate event.

I guess the third change is for his family not to have him at  the breakfast table.

One final unrelated thought.

RJ passed away on the 14th. 15th August was a holiday.

On Tuesday 16th of August, the market closed up by 200 points.

Was it a mark of respect for RJ or was market showing who is the boss? 

The one hour thought experiment...

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone"
-- French Philosopher Blaise Pascal

 I have been sick and bedridden for the last five days with the illness showing no signs of abating. 

My typical day goes like this.

1. Getup
2. Check Twitter, play wordle, do two lessons on Duolingo
3. Put the mobile down, watch TV
4. Close TV after binge watching for 2 hours.
5. Pick mobile, check Twitter, tweet on politics, retweet some random tweets, check Facebook, post my thoughts (usually nonsense), play spider solitare. Put the phone down in disgust
6. Pick the phone, check WA, my stock portfolio, read some random articles, watch multiple youtube videos. Put the phone down in disgust
7. Watch TV for another hour
8. Pick phone, check battery, keep it for charging
9. Try to sleep. See a dream. Wake up, pick the phone, google to check what the dream meant. Google says 'Dude go back to sleep'. Put the phone down in disgust. 

 After five days, one wakes up the reality. One is addicted to mobile phone.

That wasn't good. I should do something about it.

I decided to do an experiment. I will not touch any device - mobile, laptop, kindle, TV Remote, nothing, any book or pen for one hour. I will just lie down and try to be as 'thoughtless' as possible. I will observe my mind and my thoughts. If any outside thoughts interrupt my meditative flow, I will be aware of it, make a mental note of it to pursue later, gently push it aside and move back to my 'thoughtless' state. 

No input or output devices for the next hour. That is it. 

So it begins. 

I lie down and close my eyes preparatory to moving into a relaxed meditative state. Then I start coughing. 

I am worried. Why is this cough not subsiding even after 5 days? Should I do some checkup? Is it COVID variant? Doctor says it is allergic cough. What am I allergic to? How do I find out. Let me check webMD.com...

Wait.

What will I have for dinner? Gosh, I am famished. I will have bread toast and dry subzi. Not sandwich, though. Subzi should have that delicious aroma that will make you want to eat despite my illness. How do I get that flavor. Let me check tarladalal.com

Wait

I want my bread toasted golden brown. Our cook burns the edges and I don't like that. Let me search Google Images for 'White bread toasted to Golden Brown' and show it to her. Let me download the image now. It will take a minute.

Wait.

A couple of days ago, I dreamt that I was on Baby Gomati bus to Njaliakuzhi. Is it the right name? Let me check google.

Wait.

News is that Adani it taking over NDTV. Apparently he got hold of Ambani's 29 percent stake through backdoor. The strategy should be fascinating. I saw and article link on this subject on Twitter. Let me check this out. 

Wait.  

The Canon printer is not working. Let me raise a service request on Canon.com.

Wait

Adani's business is completely dependent on Modi. What will happen to him when Modi is gone? He will have to build bridges with many new leaders. That will be interesting. Let me post a Facebook post about that. 

Wait.

Why is my mind wandering too much? Let me check google to see how I can control my mind.

Wait.

There was a meditative technique propounded by Leo Babuata of  Zenhabits.com. You keep your eyes open and look at a distance and gradually start looking at the space in between till you gradually come closest to your face. 

I try that. 

Man, this is good. Why am I seeing two images of the same thing when I concentrate? I read that it is because both right and left eyes send the images to brain and brain syncs them and present you will one image. When you concentrate, you brake that sync process. 

Fascinating. What is the scientific term for the Sync process. Stereovision? Let me check google.

Wait. 

Have you noticed that the hindi letter for Ya as in Yaar and the English letter for y look the same? This is too much. I have been using both these language all these days and never saw this. 

Are there other similar letters? Let me google.

Wait. 

I want to listen to the song 'Karunasagara Kai Thozhunnen'. I want to listen to the part Matsya - Koorma - Varaha - Narasimha - Vamana. Let me see if it is available on Wynk app on my mobile. 

Wait

Lying on my bed, I listen to 'Never have I ever' playing on TV. Last I watched, Devi and Paxton had got into a big fight. Did he apologize and patchup? Let me check the episode on Netflix app on my mobile.

Wait

I think the dress that Maitrayee's wore for her interview with Fallon is Fabulous. I read that it has become a rage. Let me check Insta.

Wait.

Why do men have to always apologize? They are always wrong, that is why. Or, are they?  Let me check Quora to see if someone has asked that question. Answers will be interesting.

Wait.

Today the afternoon tea tasted better. Am I improving? 

Today I sent feedback to ITC Narmada. Hope they improve their performance.

We had Roti and Panneer Butter Masala in Peshwari restaurant of ITC Narmada. Like all other north Indian restaurant, they also give raw onion as complement accompaniment. Did you know that if you sprinkle a little chhat masala on the onion and then eat it with PBM, the flavour explodes inside your mouth. I have been eating this stuff for thirty years and I did not know this. 

How does this taste change paradigm shift happen with a sprinkle of Chhat masala? Let me check google. 

Wait

What are the other similar culinary secrets I did not know? Let me check google.

Wait

Chef Ranveer explains these well. Let me check his video of Panneer Butter Masala on Youtube. 

Wait

Why do I have this compulsive desire for instant answers? Let me check Google.

Wait

I look at wall clock. It is now one hour and fifteen minutes since I started this experiment. 

I never once touched the cell phone. I am not addicted to my phone.

Yeyyyy.....

Mats Wilander in Durgapur - A story in Twitter thread.

 Let me tell you a cute little story.

Today I was watching a short video of Mats Wilander of Sweden defeating Pat Cash of Australia to win the 1988 Australian Open. 1/n

The name Wilander triggered this memory 2/n

It was way back in 1989. I had joined Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) as a 'Junior Manager'. DSP was one of the five big steel plants under the conglomerate Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). 3/n

In addition to Durgapur, the plants were located in Bokaro in Bihar, Bhilai in Chathisgarh, Rourkela in Odisha and Salem Steel Plant in Salem, Tamil Nadu. 4/n

In addition to the five biggies, SAIL also owned some smaller steel plants and iron ore mines. One of those smaller steel plants was Alloy Steel Plant (ASP), which as the no-nonsense name suggest produced Alloy Steel, which is a special steel (Think of Fortified Wheat, if you will. Same concept) 5/n

SAIL provided hostels for Bachelors to stay. For those working in DSP we had the 'Durgapur House' and for those working in ASP, they had the ASP Hostel. We shared a common mess. 6/n

Layout clear? Two hostels, one mess. 6/n

Now we come to that day in 1989. 7/n

I came to the mess at around 7.30 AM. As I entered I could see one ornary looking bloke sitting there quietly chewing his poories. He was so into eating that he did not look up to acknowledge my presence. 8/n

When he looked up I saw that the it was a face that will never write a thousand letters. May be a staff memo. Well no. 9/n

An unremarkable proletariat cog in the wheel of the giant steel machine. 10/n

I switched on the TV. The first news item to hit me was 'India's Ramesh Krishnan beats World Number One and Reigning Australian Open Champion Mats Wilander" 11/n

Stunning, right? I was stunned, and thrilled and excited. 12/n

I had to share my excitement with someone, anyone. There was only one person in the vicinity. 13/n

This cha chomping chupandale. I will have to do with him. I can't carry this orgasmic ecstasy for too long.  14/n

So I take ma plate (see that subtle change in tense from past to present, don't be tense) of Poories and walk up to him. 15/n

I sit opposite to him. His lips twitch to show his unhappiness with me selecting that one seat among 20 available in the room. 'Why', his eyes asked.

(Relax ma bro, I bring thee good tidings). 16/n

"Ramesh Krishnan defeated Mats Wilander in Australian Open. Big win for India", I set the ball rolling. 17/n

I would have expected an ecstatic response. At least as much enthusiasm as possible on a working day. A bit of enthusiasm? No? 18/n

"What?" he asked.

Thank god, he didn't hear what I said in the din of his tea chugging. I repeated my previous observ. 19/n

This time he heard. For sure he heard. I waited with bated breath (what is that anyway) for his ecstatic response. 20/n

He replied finally. With a different question.

"Who?" 21/n

"Ramesh Krishnan from India. He defeated Mats Wilander of Sweden, who is the current world champion", only thing I omitted was the name of the game. Should I have mentioned it? Was it too late. 22/n

After all who didn't know that Open was in progress? 23/n

He got up to leave. "I am sorry that I don't know anyone by that name. I work in ASP, may be this Ramesh works in DSP" 24/n

Do you hear that hissing sound. It is my ego deflating. 25/n

How should Organizations handle 'The Great Resignation'

This article was first posted in LinkedIn. 

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6904301546314571776/

There has been a recent focus on the 'Great Resignation'. People are quitting their jobs and leaving.

As an employee of a company, people sign three contracts. The first one is an economic contract. Company pays employee for her time. Everyone signs this contract.

The second one is the social contract. The employee becomes a part of a team. They go out to team lunches and team dinners, they laugh and have fun at the workplace. They celebrate together. Going to office becomes fun.

Two types of leadership

 These days I occasionally go cycling around South Bangalore. In these dawning peregrinations I come across many different things.

There are two groups of stray dogs that I see occasionally. I am always impressed by their difference.

One group is always calm and composed. It is led by a big male dog, visibly passive and most of the times silent. It ignores most of the 'noise' around it. Passing vehicles, honking horns, cyclists, cows.. nothing impacts its composure.

It never barks but commands a kind of allegiance from the other dogs in the group. All of them are calm and well in control.

But if they perceive real danger or intrusion, the leader is first off the pack, leading it from the front and ensuring that the pack is protected.

 

Looking at the leader, I am always reminded of Dr.MMS. He too was calm and composed almost to the point of perceived as being passive. He learned to ignore the 'noise', all the dirt that his opponents and even those in his party threw at him.

 

He looked pliable but when it really mattered. like during the Indo US Nuclear Deal or handling of the Global Recession, he was aggressive and on top of things. 

The other pack is lead by a noisy and jumpy leader. He is always agitated, always barking and always nervous and neurotic. He seems to believe that noise is the same as action. A car passing by, the entire pack will run after it all barking and yelping, a passing cow is enough to excite the leader.

They invariably bark at passing bikers. But if any biker stops and get off his bike, he and the pack will run helter skelter.

Just like the leader, the pack is also jumpy and neurotic. They seem to perceive that everyone is their enemy and they believe that noise substitutes action.

And one more thing. Since the first pack is stable, they are also healthy. Since the second pack is nervous and jumpy, they are always running around looking for food and get into fights as they encroach the territory of other packs.

The groups are almost identical in every respect. Only difference is the temperament and priorities of the leader of the pack.