And now Let Me Sleep – P K Balakrishnan

Single story, So many strands…

The epic of Mahabharata leaves so many questions unanswered. Therefore any work that puts the story of Mahabharata in perspective draws special attention. This type of literature plays significant role in the way we understand, interpret and appreciate the epic in better manner. The epic in its original form is so huge, wide and deep that it is often difficult to construe it in a single go.

The present book, “And now let me sleep” takes out the two most crucial and most emotive characters of the epic and puts their stories into a unique perspective. The story of the novel revolves around the anguish, confusions, dilemmas and evolution of the characters in the post war phase. The fact that story is based in the post war backdrop, makes it even more interesting and important.

The main strand of the story emanates from the agony of Draupadi for Karna. Yudhishthir, having known that Karna was his own brother, is in irrecoverable pain and guilt. He loathes himself for having killed his own elder brother. In this sorrow he decides to leave everything and go for penances. His detachment, over the sorrow for the death of Karna, is unthinkable for Draupadi. She is still seething in the rage over her insult by Karna when she was unrobed in front of the entire assembly. Through the counsels of various characters that Yudhishthir seeks, author sends out a profound message of insignificance of human existence. The Dialogues between Krishna and Draupadi are also very significant in shaping the understanding of the epic. Krishna tells her, “Draupadi, you have seen the face of karna in the assembly in the most cursed moment of deterioration. You have seen a wicked man laughing in intoxication at the sight of a renowned princess being unrobed in the assembly. What you saw that day was real, but you must understand that it was only a single drop in the entire ocean of a man’s existence.” This is the first time when conception of Karna starts changing in mind of Draupadi.

Slowly as the story moves Draupadi compares her grief to the grieves of other characters, Gandhari, Kunti, widowers of warriors and Karna. She realizes that her life closely resembles the life of Kunti. Another profound realization that occurs to Draupadi was that due to love for the Pandavas, various characters have often transgressed the moral limits in their conducts in Mahabharata. For example, Bhishma, Krishna and Kunti all asked Karna to fight from Pandavas’ side. She further resonates her mind that all of them were observing the duty of their love towards Pandavas, in dissuading Karna, however Karna did not have anyone to advocate his interests, he was not loved, and he was unfortunate. When she saw this in the light of the fact that the lives of his husbands is in fact the alms from Karna her view for Karna changes.

The most touching moment comes in the novel when in the end, Draupadi too, like Kunti craves that both Arjuna, and Karna remain alive, in her dream Draupadi when seeing Arjuna, shooting an arrow at Karna, she shouts, “Arjuna don’t do that, don’t do that.”

Last half an hour

Everything was set, completed, finished, closed, sealed and packed. All those things that cannot be ended and packed were left in their own states and stages.

Eyes were observing things as if it were gulping them inside. Without any work I had taken couple of rounds of the entire house, just to see things again and again. In undue worry of “lest her son would forget something important” my mother too did two rounds of checking the entire luggage and made me see what all I was taking with me. All this while, my eyes kept falling on things that I was not taking with me.

· The old bat which had turned red due to some long practice sessions and innings

· The cupboard which contained some of the most read books, old diaries and some brilliant films.

· The couch placed right in front of the television, where so many hours of all my vacations have been spent.

· The big mango tree which used to be a resting place while playing in the backyard.

· That corner where cat had kept her kittens

There was deluge of memories in mind. I was trying, in vain, to hold the clock still.

The most difficult thing about this half an hour is that you know that after so small a time you will be going away from so many beautiful and meaningful things. YET YOU CANNOT HOLD ON TO THEM!!

During my train journey I wondered if our lives are also like that, the only difference is that we do not know which half an hour will be our LAST HALF AN HOUR!!

What happens when a fish Falls in love….. ?

There was a beautiful river. Whenever it used to flow with its full force, it looked as if diamonds were flowing in a seamless flow!!!
However, beneath this beautiful surface, there was even more beautiful world. The world of fishes. They were all very beautiful too.
One of them was a little different. That fish was always out of the groups of other fishes, it was never found in any get-togethers of fishes. Others considered it to be snobbish.
It was not particularly snobbish fish, but it was little more reserved and introvert than others, hence it avoided going to various places. One day, when it was sitting on a stone, brooding over some philosophical thought. A crocodile came to eat it up!!!
It ran hard; crocodile ran harder; just as it was about to be eaten up the current of the river suddenly changed. River took charge of the young fish and took it way ahead of the crocodile.
From this day, fish became fan of the river. Both became close friends, they grew so fond of each other that they even forgot the basic and indelible differences that existed between them!!! They continued to cherish each other’s company for long.
One day, fish asked the river if she would marry him. River told that it was impossible, as her existence was to dissolve into the sea one day. River also told fish not to expect anything in this regard as it would be impossible for a river to marry a fish. Fish wanted to know the reasons why river considered it to be impossible. However river refused to give anymore reasons.
For days together the fish kept mulling over and over the refusal. It seemed that it could not accept it perhaps.
River occasionally spoke to fish but those conversations lacked the personal intimacy and warmth that once flourished between them. Fish tried to empty its mind, but unfortunately, its existence seemed to be the subset of the existence of the river.
Fish was in a bad condition, it could neither get out of the river, nor could it get the river out of it.!!!!!!
This happens when a fish falls in love......

Sack the CEO

A book review

Sack The CEO is a satirical book written by Jeetendra Jain. The book revolves around main characters of Smallfry, Fastrack and Takeiteasy who are co-workers in a multinational called Twist in the tail Limited! The company, justifying its name completely, offers them bucketful of surprises and shock every now and then.

The trio tries to fight their way out of corrupt environment that prevails in the (mis)leadership of Topgun, CEO of the company. In the process of fighting corruption Smallfry identifies several different patterns of behaviour of corrupt CEOs. Smallfry, elated with this discovery plans to put this on paper and he begins to write a book on these corrupt CEOs and the techniques to get them out of the organization!

The book is divided in three parts of which two are the parts of Smallfry’s book describing the corrupt CEOs as various malignant diseases and giving the doctrines for kicking them out. All the characters in the book are very vividly portrayed by the author. Author successfully generates humor from the art of giving very suggestive names to each of its characters! For example the secretary of Topgun is Miss Alarm Belle. The poor accountant who is always being transferred just because he does not fudge the figures is Onewayticket! Even the names of main characters (Smallfry, Fastrack and Takeiteasy) are chosen with dexterity.

The book presents the corruption prevailing in corporate world, the experience of author of having worked with various companies helps him lot in knitting the plots of stories. It is a strong satire on the red-tapism and corruption of Indian corporates. The story is so well-packaged that the reader can have the taste of both a fictional novel as well as of a reflection of REAL world. Never in his writing the author gets cynical, on the contrary the humor of the book has made it a humble description. Some of the dialogues are comic yet most philosophical, For example; when Takeiteasy tells Smallfry “ I have told you so many times that a company is vague and abstract concept, there is no such entity as a company; It is them.” The friendship between the three lead characters also forms an emotional bond in the mind of the reader. But above all it is the humor that Jeetendra Jain successfully brings out of situations that makes the book a good read.

The plot story and characters are such that we can relate ourselves with it. Who doesn’t feel the simple sooth of Smallfry and the dashing, vigorous and heroic machismo of Fastrack and lethargy and carelessness of Takeiteasy? It is our story in our style!

An enjoyable book which presents to you the corruption in comic way and in the end keeps a hopeful candle of honesty lit by showing a victory of the terrific trio over vicious corrupation.

The thing that is common in BEER and Education!!!!

Two years back there was a guest lecture by Dr. Tom, an international marketing expert, (an ex McKenzie employee) who worked for a famous beer manufacturing company. While mentioning about their operations in India he told that in India their biggest challenge was to ask people to drink but without getting drunk. Reflecting on this sentence one realizes that the challenge probably lies in customer education and in driving the customer demands properly. In short, in teaching the consumer what they should demand. Demand is inherently seen as a phenomenon largely decided and dominated by the consumers but here it seems that the product is such that consumers need to be taught as to how their demands should be.

In the same lecture we had also discussed that education sector in India is in abysmal state. Interestingly this follows a very close similarity with the problem in beer marketing discussed above. Not that as a product beer and education has any similarities, nor do students wish to have more and more of it!! (Education being no exception to the rule of Diminishing marginal utility for majority of the people!) Then what is the similarity? Smart readers will have definitely figured out, but let me help you in case you did not get it.

Education in our country is always considered as a mean to some attainments. For most of us the reason why we study something is attached to the fact that where would that education place us. (How much money is there in it?) This is a problem not only limited to the higher education, primary, secondary and higher secondary education’s situation is even worse. Parents while choosing school for their children look how much percentage the students of the particular school have got, while this is certainly something one should consider but there are lot many things that should be (must be) considered while selecting a school. Development of a child as a person being the most important of all is thoroughly neglected.

The problem does not stop here, it begins from here. Parents and students do not know exactly what should their demands be. A student can, no doubt, demand best pedagogic techniques however that may not at all correspond with his best result. Since there is ignorance among the consumers regarding their demands, they are buying everything and anything that is offered. Starting from K.G. Nursery or pre-schools which claim to turn one’s child into MSD or Sachin or Shahrukh (or Amir) or Sania Mirza to bogus personality development institute or training institute which offer 100% placement guarantee with a small, almost invisible asterisk of course!

All this needs to be thrown away! These businesses are perhaps good for making money right now but I am sure, as the market will become mature and more and more educated, learned as to what to demand; only those institutes will survive which offer actual benefits and not illusory promises.

It is a task ahead of us to come up with ways with which we can train customers so that they demand what they rightly need. Research in the area of teaching consumers may prove very useful in time to come.

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FOR what he is, and What he is not....

Conscience aches when one says, “I will”,

-Takes a stand, that one knows, is difficult to keep,

and one can’t.

Conscience aches, when one sees around

Just to find people flaunting away happily,

The rules that are to be followed with rigour.

Conscience aches when one speaks,

Unheard always……and hears all that

Oppose all that is taught to be true and good.

Conscience aches when one doubts,

The god whom one loves so dearly.

In a quandary, whether to curse or to laud, the god,

For what he is and what he is not.

SMSes of a SalesMan

“Call him now, how can’t the bloody connection work?” Came the roar from one of my roommates. He was a software engineer, usually a calm and composed fellow, but it is strange how being disconnected from internet for a few minutes can impact human beings these days!!!!

His anger was visible, even when he spoke with the agent from the service provider. The agent came at our flat at 10:30 PM. All of us, frustrated by loss of our net connection, shouted on him at once. Then began the long list of complaints that the speed is too slow, multiple connections are not working properly, router is not functioning well etc.

While we were venting our anger, he was quietly trying to assess the problem. The computer engineer friend told him that this was an error in technical part and that he (a salesman) was quite incapable of solving it. “You better send one of your technical support staff people, rather than you running around each time.” He was very rude, however all thought that such a treatment to the person, at 10:30 in night after a whole day’s work was acceptable, justified, natural and right!!!

At times our sense of right and wrong change at such rapid pace!!!!

The scene continued for a little while and that fellow was further humiliated by us.

Then, he asked me to note down one of the numbers of the technical support staff from his cell phone. “It must be in one of the messages, please note it down while I will give it a last chance.”

Meanwhile it dawned to us (so late) that we had not even offered water to the man, in such bad summer at so lat an hour. This fault was quickly corrected and chilled water was offered to him.

While searching for the number, I had to go through some of the SMSes in his phone. One that caught my eye first was this

“Finish the target today otherwise forget about the leave you applied for”

After some messages, another caught my eye,

“Do I need to remind you how slow we have been, come on, be fast or else everyone’s payment for the week will be stopped from above.” The tone of the message was threatening.

Fortunately I soon got the number I was looking for, then I put his phone down. Our problem could not be solved and he left our flat at around midnight.

But his exit left me with another problem, why do we see some tasks as inherently shameful, shabby, stigmatic and inferior than others.

To be honest, I perhaps do not have the courage to keep working under such threatening communications from the superior and such disrespectful treatments from customers, even out of sheer helplessness.

Are not all jobs same and all men equal?