MLM dreams

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This is the story of Bolenath who was sucked into the eternal dream of attaining financial freedom through one of the multi level marketing scheme called “Network Way”

Bolenath had just finished his work and returning home by his scooter. It started raining and he took shelter under a nearby tree. One more guy came in his bike and also took shelter under the same tree. The rain was steady and Bole was admiring the cars driving past him. A Merc passed by him and he could not resist turning around for a second look.

The guy next to him told “How nice it would be if you had such a car?”

Bolenath laughed and said “Nice thought! I can’t even afford to pay for even its one service”

The guy replied “How if I taught you a way to buy that car”

Bolenath quipped “Loot the bank which is opposite to us”

The guy “No, I will teach you how to build a pipeline of money”

Bolenath “What? Who is going to provide the flow? What sort of business are we getting into?”

The Guy “Hi! My name is Shant. Here is my card, You can call me tomorrow morning we will discuss in detail. My only request is not to discuss with anybody about our meeting until you know the full truth. It is upto you whether you want to let go an opportunity of lifetime, just write down your biggest dreams and we will talk about it tomorrow”

Bole said “ok”. Soon it stopped raining and they went their way. That night Bole’s dreams were full of money all around him. He was imagining how nice it would be if they had a big flat and a Mercedes. How nice it would be if he can take his wife and daughter to Switzerland? How wonderful it would be if he could be the boss? Bole wrote down all these things in a slip and went to office the next day.

As soon as he reached office, the first thing he did was to call Shant. Shant was articulate in his talk and fuelled his dreams. He added more colors to them. He asked Bole to meet him that evening outside a prominent community hall. He told an expert from Australia would explain the business and that Bole would have to pay Rs.300 to listen to him. Bole agreed and went that evening to the appointed place.

Inside the lecture hall, flash power point presentations were shown about the products; business model; small clipping of a financial expert’s talk in which he professed need to build a pipeline, blah, blah; videos of foreigners who were successful in the business and mighty rich, etc.

Later the successful domestic business owners were introduced. Everybody introduced themselves as a professional and how fed up with the 9 to 5 job they had turned to business and were fast heading towards financial freedom. They also boasted how “Network Way” had changed their lives. One guy who was from one of the IIMs said that this business had taught him more than his education at the IIM. Infact some of them had already become mighty rich just like the foreigners. Except for a few, the dress of most of them was middle class and not the super-rich they were supposed to be.

The products were introduced and most of them were of daily consumption. It was stated that your profit margin would be as high as 40% and this amount otherwise go the dealers in conventional business. It was also stated that an individual by using this products and recommending them to others could make truckloads of money. The task of referring to others it was said was as simple as recommending a movie to your friend.

Next the expert from Australia spoke. He showed with pictorial proof how his life style was 10 years ago and how it is now? It was another matter of fact that the “supposedly 10 year old photos” seemed more new than the “supposedly new photos”. He boasted how his children went to the same school as the children of a legendary Australian cricketer and how both of them met for a drink. He even showed pictorial proof of the same but the picture seemed to convey that more than having a drink together this guy was serving the cricketer! He showed pictures of his home which seemed like a “resort” out of “Discovery Travel and Living”.

After the meeting Shant introduced Bole to C. Halu (chalu!) who was his upline in the business. He worked for a major software giant that offered him only a monthly salary but not financial freedom. Bole was totally sold to the credentials of the guy.

Bole was given a few CDs to listen to. The CDs contained all the good things how great the business was; how credible the company was; how important the CDs, meetings and books were for success, blah, blah.

Bole could not wait to sign up for the business. He called up Shant and got this reply “Don’t hurry, take an informed decision”. Bole was very impressed with Shant’s discretion and he started trusting him wholly. Shant told that this is a family business and he would be coming down to Bole’s house with his family on the following Sunday. They should first understand each other and later think about initiating the business. He also asked Bole to get a couple of friends to his residence to introduce them to the business.

Bole waited for the d-day when Shant and his family would come home. He asked his wife Gudiya to remain at home. He called a dozen of his friends, most of them found a pretext to refuse him and one of them said on his face “If it is Network Way, don’t make a bakra out of yourself Bole”. Bole would not listen to him because he was blinded to the “Financial Freedom” dreams.

On the appointed day Shant came with his family in a rickety car. Gudiya nudged Bole and asked “Is this the success he has achieved in 2 years of doing this business?’ Bole gave an angry glare and that was the end of her reasoning. A few friends and relatives turned up at Bole’s house just to keep him in good humor and the relationship going.

Shant took Bole outside and guided him how he should praise him in front of the guests before he started his presentation. Bole did the same but nobody signed up for the business. Shant said the reason was because Bole had not signed up for the business. He told “You cannot ask others to jump into the water and swim, when you are standing on the banks”. Bole paid the Rs.5000 for signing up. Shant told that he could get a refund of the money within 180 days if he was not satisfied with the business.

Next week one more meeting was arranged in Bole’s residence. Nobody signed up. Bole looked quizzingly at Shant and got this reply “You don’t have the tools for being successful in this business. You have to sign for the CDs and books programme”. The monthly cost was Rs.2500/-. The CDs were priced each at Rs.250 and the books at Rs.1000 each. Bole would get 6 CDs every month and a book. The same books were available at Rs.500 in the most reputed book stall of the town. When asked he was told “This is the royalty you have to pay to listen to the success stories of experts. The book price is compensation for the experts who read books from world wide and recommend the best book for you”. He was told that once he became successful, his cassettes too would come out and he would get royalty from sale of those in addition to the money he earned by selling products. He would also be paid for reading and referring books. This he was told would be more than the income earned by selling products. It was explained to him that he was making an “investment” and should not crib about it because the returns would be unimaginable.

Next the product kit was delivered to him and to his shock all the products were priced atleast three to four times a high end product in the open market in its category was priced. When he questioned Shant, he replied “These products are made from natural components and are value products. A paste purchased here would last you 3 times more number of days than one from the open market. Moreover you get a discount and also it is your product, if you don’t use it, how can you recommend it to others. Here buy this VCD which contains all details about the manufacturing process and pricing details, it is just Rs.250/-. Because you are a distributor you will get it at Rs.200/-“

After seeing the VCD, Bole was totally sold to the “Network Way” dream. He used a pinch of the toothpaste believing that it is sufficient to take care of his dentures. A drop of shampoo was all that his little daughter Sheetal was allowed to use. She loved to foam her shampoo but was not allowed to do. The hall became a place for regular business meetings. She could not watch her favorite cartoons. Friends who did not sign up for the business were not treated very kindly. Weird strangers started coming home. She found Shant uncle and his family extremely artificial and plastic. The little angle was feeling really let down.

Only “Network Way” CDs could be played in the music system. You see, you have to listen to positive things, if you have to grow in the business. The business was not growing but Bole was advised to stay focused on the dreams. The Bole family was getting socially isolated. People were scared to cross his path, least he should prospect them for the business or sell a product. Bole was advised to stay away from such negative people.

Next Bole had to attend meetings. There were 4 type of meetings viz, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly (regional) and the Annual convention. A weekly meeting cost Rs.300; a monthly Rs.1000; a quarterly Rs.2500 and the annual convention Rs.4000/-. Ofcourse the company was gracious enough to give huge discounts if you booked the tickets well in advance much like airline pricing. These meetings were essential to keep the spirit going and you need to be amongst people of your tribe to think big. Ofcourse, how could you afford to miss out on the talks of all the experts from abroad? The meetings were badly organised. There was no proper ventilation in the halls. Bole had to pay even for a glass of water to drink leave alone complimentary snacks. Bole felt like paying for an “Executive Air class” air ticket and getting “Budget Airline” treatment.

The business was going nowhere. Whenever he asked questions, he was sold one more study material with an instruction “The expert in this CD/ book also felt same as you early in his business”. This was not it, he was supposed to sell atleast 2 or 3 CD subscriptions and bring along atleast 20 people to the annual convention that was to take place the next month. Bole had sponsored atleast 10 people to the monthly meetings and a lot more for the weekly meetings. He did not dare to repeat it for the regional and annual conventions. For this lapse, he was chided by Shant.

Selling products and getting commission was not easy as projected. Every month you had to make a minimum sale to get a commission. Otherwise, the points accrued will be carried to the next month. Even if you reach threshold of the minimum commission you cannot get it in cash (It was said in the meetings though that Network Way would pay its distributors in cash). If you had to get your commission in cash, you had to reach a higher threshold.

Bole was five months into the business. Not even one downline had signed up to do business under him. The house was full of CDs, books, products, etc. Gudiya dared to ask him “What do you think we are doing with our savings?”

Bole said “I don’t know but they say so many people across the world have been successful at it. That is why I am so serious about it. You know how much our personal life has changed after this. We have exhausted 50% of the savings we had for changing the flooring of this house”.

Gudiya replied “I mailed to my brother details of all these Australians who are supposed to be mighty rich and here is the reply”

Bole saw the reply and got a shock of his life. Most of the guys were mechanics, car drivers, and plumbers in real life. The cars shown in the slides belonged to rental companies. The houses shown in the videos were fancy resorts owned by some one else. As suspected the guy who was supposed to have a drink with a cricketer was a bartender in the pub which the cricketer frequented.

The next day Bole applied leave and went to do an antecedent check on the projected domestic success. The biggest domestic success was living in a garage shed and doing accounting jobs for small businesses. The IIM guy was the only guy who was having a posh lifestyle, that too because of his job and least of all due to this business, as was revealed by Bole’s enquiry.

Bole went home bundled all the cassettes and books. He took an auto to Shant residence (Shant lived in a modest house not because he did not have money but because he was investing into the business. Moreover, he wanted to build a dream house much like the bartender had!). He dumped it at his doorstep and said “This is the end of the Rs.75,231 nightmare for me. I won’t get back the amount atleast I hope I get back my friends”. Shant tried to stop him but got a solid punch on his face and the words “Apply some leather cleaner for the wounds, you are a thick skinned a** h***”.

Bole came home called up all his friends and told them that he was throwing a party to celebrate his successful escape from the “Millionaire Dreams” of Network Way. Most of them turned up and life was back to normal.

Bole never stopped for rains anywhere because he purchased for himself a car no it was not the Merc but a second hand Santro. Yeah, he did get refund of Rs.5000/- , the amount he had invested for buying the product kit. The books were good and Bole kept them for reading. He used the refund amount to buy Gudiya a mobile phone and got himself a new SIM card.

Sheetal was happy with her dad’s decision because she could get back to watching cartoons and doing doll parties on Sundays with her friends. No more business meetings in her drawing room.

Balu

The above mentioned Balu also became an Ullu to the MLM dream but not as bad as Bole

Are the protests about Bangalore International Airport justified?

Ever since its beginning, Bangalore International Airport (BIA) has been in the eye of the storm. I would like to confess that I have not traveled abroad even once and not physically used great airports of the world. My air travel is limited to the Metros of this country. Here is my perception of the BIA protests:

1. BIA is too far away from the city.

True, but this fact was known to everybody from the date of its planning. Why did they not protest at that time? Some of the companies do own large chunks of unused land; very well they could have given it to the BIAL for setting up the airport in place of their convenience. To my knowledge, new international airports in most cities are away from the city. You could have had an airport in middle of the city, if India was not a democracy. It would have been easy to vacate thousands of acres of land forcibly. Authorities have to litigate hard to get a few meters of land for road widening, metro rail work, etc.

2. The proposed User Development Fees of BIA is high for domestic and budget airline travelers.

This is a very justified issue. The BIA should have 4 four levels of collection of UDF i.e. international passengers; domestic passengers (First Class, Economy Class and Budget Airlines). The UDF should be highest for international travel progressively declining for the subsequent classes.

3. The seating and rest room capacity of BIA is limited.

Yes, this is another justified issue. The seating capacity has to be increased given that people coming from long distance would like to reach ahead of time so that they don’t miss their flights. The rest room capacity is woefully inadequate and needs to be augmented.

4. The old HAL Airport needs to be re-used for domestic flights.

This demand is as absurd as the one that was made in Singur (WB) that ancillary facilities of the Nano plant have to be shifted out so that land can be returned to the farmers. The Government has an agreement with the BIAL authorities and is bound to honor it. Going back on this agreement may set-back Bangalore’s image as an investment destination for infrastructure projects. These are times of depression and air travel will be the first weapon of cost control. Such a big facility cannot be left to fend with dwindling international passengers. Come out of nostalgia folks, HAL Airport is history.

5. The BIAL looks like an industrial shed.

As it is we are complaining that the UDF is high, let’s us assume if this was an architectural marvel, what would have been the UDF. Moreover, an Airport is a transit point (forgive me for my naivety), if you want to see an architectural marvel go to the Vidhana Soudha, Taj Mahal, Charminar, Qutub Minar, Leaning Tower of Pisa, The Eiffel Tower, etc.

Yes, connectivity has to improve, the street lights have to get better but that is not the problem of BIAL authorities that is the Government’s responsibility. It is easy to ridicule anything but more important to realise that something good has come up. The BIA cannot be done away and at best can be improved. To be fair to BIA, it is quite comfortable (if you share my view of an airport being a transit point). The best thing about BIA is that you can commute to and fro by a bus from its door step.

Single Screen theaters of Bangalore

These are the days of swanky multiplexes. Bangalore has/had some great single screens. Here are some of the wonderful single screens of Bangalore which were a part of my growing-up. Those which have ceased to exit have been highlighted in red.

Mukunda: It is located in Maruthisevanagar. It is a middle class theatre which mostly screens regional and sometimes Hindi films. The best film I have seen here is Big B’s “Hera Pheri” and SRK’s ‘Daar”

Ashoka: This was located in Frazer Town. It used to screen Tamil and Hindi films. I don’t remember to have gone to this theatre.

Naga: What a theatre, sirji! This theater was located in St. Johns Road. I really felt bad when this theatre went down. The screen was fabulous so was the parking. I saw the first movie of my life in this theater. I have seen countless films in this theatre and the last was “Rang De Basanti”.

Lavanya : Situated adjacent to Naga, this theater screens only Tamil films. I found nothing special about this theater.

Lakshmi: Situated next to Lakshmi, another of those theatres which screened only Tamil films. This theater had one of the most cramped parking spaces but I remember to have seen some great movies of Kamal Hassan and Rajnikanth.

Shree: This theatre went out of business almost a decade ago. It used to be shut down frequently due to labour problem. They used to screen old Tamil and Hindi films. The best films I have seen are “Namak Halal”, “Yarana (Big B’s)” and a couple of Shivaji Ganesan Movies.

Ajantha : It is a multi lingual theatre. This theater screens Kannada films in the morning show. I was a fan of Vishnuvardhan and seen a lot of his films over here. The one thing I did not like about this theater those days was when there was a hit film very few tickets were sold across the counter.

Lido: This is one more of those theaters which I classify under the “What a theater, sirji!” The single screen does not exist but a multiplex has come up in its place under the brand name “Fame”. Top class theater, screen, audio, snacks bar and a great parking facility. Most of the tickets in this theater got sold in the counter and I am a fan of this theater for this very reason. Any day a movie in Lido, is a pleasure for me. Gandhi is the best film I have seen here as also India’s first 3D film “My Dear Kutty Chatan”.

Symphony (Shankarnag Chitramandira): I have seen numerous English films in this theater. The only thing I don’t like about this theater was the number of steps you had to climb up if you took a balcony ticket because more often than not, the lift here never works.

Blue Moon and Blue Diamond: Wonderful theatres. Both went out of business more than a decade ago and a commercial complex has come up. There used to be a book seller as well as a shop which used to sell Coffee and Samosa. It used one of the favorite hang-out corners for me and my friend when we went to MG Road just to admire the chicks passing by.

Plaza: The best of English films used to be screened here but same cannot be said about the quality of rest rooms of the theater which were awful.

Rex: What a, What a theater, sirji! Hats off to this theater ya in all aspects. I have never seen the tickets of this theater being sold in black.

Galaxy: The interiors of this theater were great but it had an awful parking lot. People used to get into fist fights during getting in and out of the parking lot.

Hardly have I gone to the other side of Bangalore to see a movie, I just can’t comment on them. However, I would like to mention about Sagar, Santosh, Sapna, Triveni, Majestic, etc. There was also a small theater in Ulsoor area, where I remember to have seen a movie, I just can’t remember its name.

One movie for a family of four in a multiplex could easily mean an expenditure of Rs.1000/- and three movies can easily buy you a DVD player. Everybody talks about piracy and its evil impacts. I am totally against film piracy but piracy cannot be curbed if you put movie viewing beyond the reach of a lower middle class family. The best way to curb piracy is to think about reviving the single screens or come up with budget multiplexes across the country. When we can have an economy class in all spheres of life, why not while viewing films? Everybody loves to go to a movie with their family but not at the cost of food on their plate. This is the message the entire film industry has to understand if they want to curb piracy. Citizens alone are not responsible to curb piracy.

Mr Hayden we dont need foreign assistance in demeaning India

Mr. Mathew Hayden one of the members of the vanquished Australian cricket team has called India “a third world country”. This is on a day when the Indian tri-color was proudly placed on the Moon by Chandrayaan-1.

I quote him “Often we find ourselves with hands on hips waiting for someone to either “face up” or someone in the sightboard to move away; all the little frustrations that happen in Third World countries”

I abhor anybody who calls India a third world country. How would Mr. Hayden feel if we called Australia as “a land of convicts”? Possibly, he would file a racist complaint against the speaker. If Hayden calling “India as a third world country” is acceptable, then what is wrong with the supposed “monkey” remarks which were supposed to have been made against a team-mate of his? Monkey is a common word in India for anybody who irritates.

On expected lines, BCCI has kept mum. After all they kept a mum when Gautam Gambhir was banned for a test match by Mr. Chris Broad and they also kept mum when the same match referee fined Ponting just 20% match fees instead of banning him for slow over rate.

ICC presidency is more important than fairness of justice.

Ensuring the participation of stars like Mathew Hayden and Ricky Ponting in IPL is more important than the national development being slurred.

Having the support of Cricket Australia to strangulate the growth of ICL is more important than national pride.

What concern the BCCI are its coffers and annihilation of ICL, other things can wait. Dil ki awaz bole mange paisa more.

Hope the Government of India wakes up and atleast sends a verbal rejoinder to the Australian Government to refrain her distinguished citizens from demeaning other countries. We have enough authors desperate for Booker to demean the country, no need for foreign assistance on the subject.

Nukkad celebrate Barrack Obama's victory

This is only a tribute to the makers of Nukkad, the popular TV Serial which ran during the 80’s. Due to my inability to write in Hindi, I am writing all the dialogues in English.

I will be willing to give the pseudo-copy rights of this episode if somebody can translate it into Hindi. Any inconsistencies please excuse because I have written the dialogues with whatever I remember about these characters.

This is just an imagination of how the election of Barack Obama as Prez of US would have been welcomed in Nukkad

This episode starts off with the theme song “Bade Sehar ke ek gali mein basa hua hai Nukkad”.

Enter Teacherji, Guru gives her the yearning glance and she announces “Listen, Obama has become the President of USA and it is great honor for us because his family still lives in a nukkad like ours”

Dukhiya “What use it is to us?”

Guru “Aree, Dukhiya, what is the use in being you born, Teacherji knows better than all of us, when she says better listen”

Thambi (in a low tone) “Carry on Guru with your efforts”. Teacherji explains briefly about Obama, White House, importance of the election results, etc.

Enter, Radha “Will I get a chance to work at his palace what you call White House?”

Hari “Radha cant you think beyond yourself, tomorrow we will celebrate the success of Obama”

Kadar Bhai “Samosas and Chai sponsored by me”

Khopdi steps in to say “Will I get to drink?”, everybody give him a banning stare and he changes his tone to say” When Obama from Kenya can become a President, why not a President of India from Nukkad?. Everybody gives him an appreciate look.

Ganpat Hawaldar joins in to say “Sometimes Khopdi you make a lot of sense”.

The entire Nukkad starts discussing who could be their Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidate for the next election, first they propose the name of Guptaji, later decide he would be another John Mcain and decide to propose Teacherji for Prez and Guru for Vice-Prez. They all get busy with preparing for the next day celebrations of Obama victory and the episode ends.

Dont abbreviate KISS

Acronyms have made our lives so convenient. Emails, ATM, etc are used by us subconsciously. Some use acronyms without knowing their expansion and quite often, situations in life throw their own new meanings for existing acronyms.

Disclaimer: Most of the acronyms used here have been received by me through emails/SMS.

I understand that a distant country named Ediot Who-swallowed-it-ya have had its own sub-crime crisis. Any royalty accrued from this blog will be donated towards SCREW (Sub Crime Relief for Ediot Who-swallowed-itya) since the acronyms used here are not my original creation.

ABCD is American Born Confused Desi, what would be A to Z, here it goes, American Born Confused Desi Emigrated From Gujarat Housed In Jersey Keeps Lotsa Models (what’s that?) Named Omkarnath Patel Quietly Reached Success Through Underhand Vicious Ways Xenophobic Yet Zealous.

Talking of NRI’s, one of the funny expansions is Not Reliable Indian which I don’t find funny because many of them do a good work. However if the depression in West prolongs, it will become Not Required Indians because who would want a NRI without money. NRI could also mean Not Responsible Indians which most of us are given our civic senses. Talking of uninvited guests, when they leave we say in our minds GRBR (Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish)

When our mobile does not connect, we are forced to yell Mera Telephone Nahin Lagtha or our broadband acts like a junkband we feel it is a Very Slow Network Limited.

There is no transparency in our official dealings despite the RTI act, so we could call all the RTI activists as Confused Indian Citizenry (not to be confused with CIC appointed to monitor the RTI Act). RTI Act the way it is being implemented in India would mean Right to Trample Information Act by the implementers.

Television is called as the Idiot Box (not to be wrongly read as IB). The national channel puts up lousy programmes and right called as the DD (read Drowsy Darshan). Usually when people ask me “Are you born and brought up in India?” . I reply by saying “BBC in Bangalore” which means Born Brought-up and Corrupted in Bangalore. On the last count 11,235 people have stopped to talking to me because of this stupid joke.

ICU in ICU would not be the ideal send-off message you would like to give a friend because it would read I Cee U in Intensive Care Unit. Talking of people, we should never become a Vicious Vacillating Insensitive Person. If we complicate our thinking process, we will become a Person In Maximum Problems. So Keep It Simple Stupid.

Implants are the in-thing

The mention of the word implants no longer rings the moral bell in anybody’s ears, that situation was years ago. Implants are the in-thing. If you see at the end of the day, there is nobody free from the need for an implant.

It is a known secret that every female celebrity who want increased ba… err eyeballs has to go in for an implant  .

Given the number of heroes who take off their shirt and what not, there is a distinct possibility that some of them may have had implants.

Recently global economies had an implant in the form of a bailout package.

Indian cricket team for the past decade or so has been having an implant of foreign coaches.

Lyrics writers devoid of ideas have an implant of remixes.

Politicians devoid of issues have an implant of regional/religious passions. They further require an implant of bogus votes to win elections.

Broadcasters devoid of programmes have an implant of reality shows.

Reality shows require implant of controversies to sustain TRPs

Reality show contestants in turn require implant of viewer votes to win.

Laziness within an organisation/country leads to the implant of outsourcing.

News channels have regular implants of breaking news.

Movies devoid of content have an implant of censor cuts, protests, etc.

We have a protruding implant of a hands-free to answer calls.

People with weak hearts have an implant of pacemakers sadly there is nothing for the brains

Our roads have had an implant of plastic waste but sadly there has been no improvement.

Last but not the least, Earth requires an implant of greenery to save it from global warming.

This thread of implant does not end here and will be updated as and when I have an implant of haywire brainwaves.

Good bye to Anil Kumble, a competitor and a true gentleman

Don Bradman could not get a boundary in his last innings and Anil Kumble was hit for a boundary off the last ball of his career. No, I am not comparing the two but when it came to playing the game in the right spirit, Anil Kumble was only a couple of notches below the Don.

Anil Kumble made his debut for India in 1990 and could make a comeback only during the historic South African Tour of India. Blame it on the idiosyncrasies of the Indian selectors, Jumbo never made it to the ill-fated Australian tour of 1991-92. Had Kumble played in that series, being an unknown propotion and the Aussies historic aversion to leg spin, India would have had better memories of that series? This was also the last series of the famous batsman Dilip Vengsarkar whose scores in the series put to shame most of the emergency numbers in India. It was in a test match in SA, that Kumble first took 5 wickets in an innings and after that there was no looking back. The Englishmen on the 1993 tour were flummoxed by Kumble’s spin or the lack of it. This illogical concept of lack of spin in Kumble’s deliveries was held against him throughout his career but it made no difference to him or to any of his 950 plus victims at the international level. What Sehwag is to batting today, Kumble was to bowling those days? No footwork, spin all these don’t count as long as you deliver the goodies.

Anybody who saw Kumble bowl in the Hero Cup final is bound to acknowledge his effectiveness. His record against Sri Lanka may not be much to write home about but then everybody is entitled to their own nemesis. There was no better keeper to Kumble deliveries than Nayan Mongia and no better slip fielder than Dravid and Azhar. According to me, Kumble’s best performance was not the perfect 10 but his performance in Australia in the 2004 Adelaide test. Kumble in his typical gutsy way had put a lid on his critic’s mouths.

Kumble was a decent batsman. Very few will forget his heroics on a Vijayadashmi day alongwith Srinath in winning a one day match in Bangalore against the Aussies. As a testimony to his batting skills, he was tried as a pinch hitter in a couple of one day matches. His best test innings was an 88 against the South Africans in Calcutta, when he alongwith Azhar lent credibility to a dismal score card. Kumble did manage to score a test century at the fag end of his career. Most followers of the game would admit that had Kumble showed a lit more application in his batting, he would have ended up with a couple of more thousand runs. Kumble was a far better test batsman and hardly have I seen him giving his wicket away without a fight.

Kumble was a fighter to the core but more than that a gentleman in spirit and deed. As a player, he was never summoned to the Match Referee’s chambers. Possibly, this unassuming attitude led to him landing up with only a few advertisement campaigns. Kumble did not know how to change his hairdo often; laugh childishly in press conferences; poke fun at seniors and make much ado about nothing. Kumble is no less than Sachin Tendulkar in achievements and stature. The gentleman that he is could not take the constant barbs by a former cricketer who himself took donkey number of matches to make an impact at the international level and was hardly a team man. Kumble has called it a day and it is only a matter of few matches, when we start feeling his vacuum. All good things have to come to an end and so did Kumble’s career. Here is wishing a perfect team man, competitor and a true gentleman a very happy and prosperous retired life. God no longer makes cricketers like Anil Kumble.

Crticial Thinking an introduction by Alec Fisher - opinions

Critical Thinking – an introduction by Alec Fisher

This book is for all those who want to make and evaluate argument in a logical, dispassionate manner. This book aims to dispel the popular noting that “critical thinking” is a negative trait. The book in addition to being lucid in theory contains 220 questions to tackle, understand and appreciate the process of critical thinking. The book has been arranged into 11 chapters and contains an interesting add-on in the form of a glossary.

In the first chapter, the author introduces the flow of the book using the concept of a basketball coach at school level. In the next chapter, the author educates us that conclusion can come anytime during an argument i.e. either at the beginning, middle or ending. The language of reasoning given in the book is worth its weight in gold. The third chapter teaches us the various types of reasoning and how to draw more than one conclusion. The section in which he explains the difference between an argument and explanation is a good enough reason for everyone to read this book. A good understanding of this concept could avoid many disputes in our lives. The fourth chapter deals with understanding reasoning. In most arguments, facts vital to the issue are left out unsaid because they are assumed. This fact has been brought out in a comprehensive way through numerous examples and supporting analysis. A detailed “thinking map” has been presented which contains a list of key questions one should ask while evaluating an argument. The concept of a “thinking map” has been used in almost every succeeding chapter and is very refreshing. The fifth chapter deals with clarifying ideas skillfully. One of the interesting strategies put forward in this chapter is to understand who the audience to whom we are putting forward an argument to? The other day I attended a talk on “global warming” and the nature of audience was layman trying to understanding what the issue is all about. The expert who spoke presented material which would be apt for a research scholar. Within 5 minutes of his speech, 90% of the auditorium was empty (including me).

In the sixth chapter, the reader is explained how to decide whether reasons which are presented in support of a conclusion are acceptable. One of the parameters which impressed me the most is when the author asks the reader not to judge the strength of an argument where expertise in a field is required. I was reminded of a blog I read recently which irrationally questioned the need for “India’s Moon Mission”. The section on “credibility is different from truth” is mind blogging. For me the soul of this book lies in Chapter 7 – Judging the credibility of sources skillfully. If you can master this concept, the chances of anyone selling you a dummy would be greatly reduced. Chapter-8 dealing with evaluating inferences contains heavy theory went above my head. Chapter-9 deals with evaluating inferences and to assist this process, a thinking map has been given. Chapter 10 – reasoning about casual explanations is best understood in its thinking map. Chapter 11 deals with decision making. The section on common flaws in our thinking about decisions and how to weigh up which alternatives is best in the light of the consequences impressed me the most. A glossary is contained at the end of the book and worth having a copy.

The book at places is heavy in theory but then the book is meant for students who want to take up courses in critical thinking. If you can skip some of the theory, it makes a great self-study.

Review of Getting Unstuck: How Dead Ends Become New Paths by Timothy Butler

The Author Dr. Timothy Butler is a Senior Fellow and the Director of Career Development Programs at Harvard Business School.

This book is ideal for all those facing psychological impasse due to personal and professional reasons. This book promises to help you how to recognise the state of psychological impasse and use it as a springboard to real change. The book has been arranged in 3 parts viz., Impasse, Vision and Getting Unstuck. The author contends that impasse is a necessary crisis in everybody’s life to change and grow (I whole heartedly endorse this view based on personal experience). A path breaking definition for Vision has been given in the book. Fig 1.2 which explains the cycle of impasse and vision is a must display on the desktop of all those beyond the mid 30s.

We are all self critics and possibly very good at it. The author has borrowed the concept of “The Accuser” by William Blake, the English Poet to drive home this point (P.I Ch.2). He has given a practical threefold strategy to deal with this problem. The definition of free attention (P.I Ch.3) and the exercise prescribed for it is worth emulating. The One Hundred Jobs Exercise (P.I Ch.4) takes your thinking to new frontiers.

The author starts Part II (Vision) with a theme called “Pattern in the carpet”. Certain recurring themes signal what is vital for us. From these themes we can discern the type of activities, work environments and close relationships that make our lives most satisfying. In the chapter Our Deepest Interests (P.II, Ch. V) he has talked about the Ten Basic Interest and also an exercise to identify an interest or two close to your heart. You don’t have to read the entire book; this one chapter should bring a radical change in the way your life is progressing. Grab this book from anyone who has it just to read this section. In the next chapter he has talked about what to do with weakness? In the subsequent chapter he identifies the central role that the three social needs power, people and achievement play in our life decisions. In the next chapter “Mapping our insights” he has given an exercise how to map our insights

The next Part is Getting Unstuck (Part 3). This is the final step in the cycle of impasse and is about integrating what we have learned so that we can make a decision and take action. He has talked about exploring the poles i.e. we need to go to each pole of tension (read individual areas of interest) and simply focus there intently. He also talks about the methods to implement the images gathered from the poles of tension. The final chapter is “Living at the Border” wherein he talks about how to identify an impasse. The only way according to the author to avoid an impasse is to live completely openly because then we would face each moment without any evasions, excuses or attachments to old habits.

This book is a must read for all those who want to break free in life and explore their true self.

Where are the ladies seat in BMTC buses, RTI query by me

http://leadcap.org/

The Economist Style Guide: 9th Edition

Utility: for anybody who wants to write English in a simple and an effective way.

Objective: The book aims to warn writers of some common mistakes and encourages them to write with clarity and simplicity. The recommendations are derived from the style used each week in writing and editing The Economist.

Arrangement: The Book is divided into 3 parts viz., The essence of style; American and British English and Useful Reference.

Part 1 – Essence of Style (a few eye-catchers represented below)

1. Avoid Metaphors, oratorical flourishes and foreign phrases (esp. Latin they are outdated)

2. Cut out unnecessary words (a separate chapter has been dedicated for this)

3. Avoid using phrases like surprise, surprise; guess what in the middle of a sentence.

4. Avoid beginning too many of your sentences with words like compare, expect, imagine, etc; readers will think they are reading a text book.

5. Avoid using terms like affordable housing (by whom?), these are advertising language.

6. Avoid euphemisms and circumlocutions used by interest group. Mobility impairment means wheel chair bound and underprivileged means poor people.

7. Don’t compare a fraction with a decimal. Eg:- don’t say inflation fell from 12.5% to 12 ¼ %.

8. Use active voice as much as possible

9. Avoid the use of former and later, more often than not it causes confusion.

10. A government, a party and a company always take a singular verb.

11. Countries take a singular verb, even if their names look plural. Eg:- The Philippines has its own Constitution.

12. The section on hyphens is very interesting.

13. Avoid Jargons; words and expressions that are ugly or overused [bottom line, major (unless something nearby is minor)]

14. Pristine means original or former; it does not mean clean.

15. A ship is feminine

16. Same is superfluous. If your sentence contains on the same day that, try on the day that.

17. The section on spelling is educative.

18. Avoid the habit of joining office and name like Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh

19. Avoid use of words like very because they add nothing but length to your prose. No need to say most probably and most especially, it is enough if you say probably and especially. There is no meaning for the word pre-prepared.

20. Which informs, that defines.

Part 2 – American and British English

I did not find it much useful and hence did not take the trouble of reading through it.

Part 3 – Useful Reference

This is a treasure house of information. This parts contains a list of abbreviations, business ratios, calendars, currencies, internet abbreviations, Latin terms, essentials of proofreading.

Had I found this book a decade ago, my writing would have been more refined but it is never too late to make a start. Only complain I have about this book it does not contain an exercise section or a CD wherein we could have refined our skills. That apart, this book is a must for all those who want to improve their written English. An online version of this book is available on The Economist website.

Simpleology: The Simple Science of Getting What You Want by Mark Joyner

More than calling it as a review, I would like to call it as a summary of the book by a student.

Genre

Self Development/ Self- Actualization. Ideal book for those who like to get their work done in a simple way.

Author

Mark Joyner who has previously authored books such as The Irresistible Offer and The Great Formula.

Length

It is ideal for a book of its genre 240 plus pages.

Illustration

Very interestingly done in the form of text boxes and meaningful cartoons.

Language

Simple, hardly requires a dictionary while you read the book. Each paragraph does not contain more than 3 or 4 sentences making it interesting and easy to read.

Arrangement of the Book

The book has been divided into Four Books (Parts)

Book I – The Asylum – deals with why you are stuck where are you are now

Book II – The Invisible Walls – shows how to see and then tear down these invisible walls.

Book III - Disposable Reality – A new operating system for the brain – shows you how to reconstruct disposable walls at will in order to serve your purposes.

Book IV – The simple science of getting what you want.

Concepts which were beyond my understanding

Book II –

Chapter 11 – Runaway Brainware

Chapter 12 - Neural Networking

Book III

Chapter 1 – Logic

Chapter 2 – Science (Again)

Concepts which I don’t agree with

Book III – Chapter III – Influence – at the end the author says that the ultimate method to protect yourself from influence is through skepticism and not allowing rapport to influence your thinking.

Since I have lost in my life whenever I have been skeptic I am not in agreement with this concept.

Concepts which I consider as Lessons of Life

Book II

Chapter 7 – Pseudoscience – Stupidity Training mentioned in a sleek text box wherein he has mentioned that a conversation between a true believer and a true skeptic isn’t much of a conversation. It’s not an exploration of ideas, but a chest pounding shouting match. The author has observed that most of the news debates are of this genre.

Chapter 9 – Focus – Jakow Trachtenberg a mathematician was sent to a concentration camp in Austria during 1938. To take his mind off the imprisonment, he focused his attention inward and played with mathematics in his head. He left the camp after seven years with relatively less psychological scarring and came up with the system of “Speed Math” widely known as the Trachtenberg system. If we could focus on our core competencies in times of an emotional upheaval, how relieved we could be if not come up with path breaking concepts?

Book 4 – Simple.ology

Already listed in lessons of life

The author correctly says that we need to be simple in purpose, method and execution. An inexperienced programmer would write hundreds of lines of code whereas an experienced one would require a couple of lines of code.

Chapter 1 – The First Law – The Law of Straight Lines – Go from Bangalore to Delhi by the shortest route not via Ahmedabad.

The author has illustrated the act of drinking water through the direct method of sipping or just keep it in a glass and start praying “All the forces of nature manifest the water in my mouth”

Chapter 2 – The Law of Clear Vision – You cannot shoot a target which you cannot see clearly

Chapter 3 – The Law of focused attention – focus on the target till you hit it; we focus on what we don’t want, we focus on the wrong target and we focus on diversion like television and entertainment

Chapter 4 – The Law of focused energy

The author has given a very good example of the futility in stabbing a cardboard box with a spoon compared to the easiness of stabbing it with a knife.

Chapter 5 – The inescapability of action/reaction.

Interesting concepts presented in the book

Definition of Insanity in Book I

Definition of Scientist in Book I Chapter 2 (Science)

Book I – Chapter 3 – Influence

Argumentum ad homeim – Its Latin for arguing against the man. All of us do this day in and day out. This logic is valid but has an impact on the listener.

Definition of double bind and the way it has been illustrated is deft.

He has quipped that sanity has little do with how intelligent you are but is more based on a useful understanding of the world.

A mention relevant to India is that language has been used to start wars, riots and all sort of mayhem.

Book II – The Invisible Walls

Definition of what comprises our model of the world in Chapter I (Book II – The Invisible Walls) is definite to strike a chord with most readers. The author has mentioned our model of the world is comprised of not only of what we see, but also of what we hear, feel and think. He has very cleverly used the conversation between two guys in a pub to illustrate the meaning.

The author has brought out the limitations of human memory by using the concept of Magic Number 7 by University of Princeton Psychologist George Miller.

Chapter 2

The author has hilariously used the concept of a bartender who has a belief that “all Arabs are terrorists” and how he beats up an Arab, who actually was asking way to the nearest hospital to take his wife who is in labour pain.

Meanings of jargons such as cognitive dissonance, group think have been brought out in the simplest manner possible.

Chapter 3

The author has enlisted Robert Cialdin’s six distinct weapons of influence viz., reciprocation; commitment and consistency; social proof; liking; authority; and scarcity. A detailed description of 10 simple steps to persuade anyone by Dr. Kevin Hogan has also been given.

Chapter 4

The concept of presupposition and its inherent dangers has been well brought out. The author has also given an illustration how a deft communicator should handle it.

Chapter 5 – Name Calling

Most favorite name calling across the globe “you are either going to agree with me or you are not a patriot”

Write a blog on Secularism, you will find out what it means.  

His statements that Labels are by definition inherently wrong impressed me a lot

Chapter 6 – Faulty Thinking

The tools of faulty thinking according to the book are appeal to ignorance (you can’t prove non-existence of God; so he does exist); appeal to authority (so and so said it); Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Latin: after this therefore because of this); and appeal to emotion.

Chapter 7 – Pseudoscience

This talks about how products of faith are sold under the garb of science. Placebo Effect (where cure is dependent on the user’s faith) and Nocebo Effect (non-cure is due to the non-existence of faith of the user)

Chapter 8 – Disinformation

This chapter is very interesting. It lists the 25 rules of disinformation and 8 traits of a disinformationalist.

Chapter 9 - Focus

Already I have listed it in under “Lessons of Life”

Chapter 10 – Trances

Watching TV is also considered as a hypnotic trance by the Author and this concept is bound to get a nod from all those who read it. The author also rightly says that all of us are under one form of trance or another in every walking moment.

Chapter 11 and 12 – listed in concepts beyond my intelligence

Book III

Disposable Reality

The author lists The Utilitarian Model Flexibility (UMF) as the way to lead life. According to this we change our model of the world in ways that serve whatever your given aims are.

Eg: - You cannot predict the movement of “quantum particles” with Newton’s Law of Motion and Gravity.

Chapter-1 Logic and Chapter-2 Science (again) – I have listed them under concepts beyond my understanding

Chapter 3 - E-Prime (English Prime)

Every blogger would love this chapter.

Dr. Korzybski felt that much of the problem was our inadequate and unhealthy use of the verb to be. E-Prime was an invention of Dr David Bourland. Kenneth Keyes Jr proposed a more practical way also known as The 6 Tools for Thinking. He proposed use of the following terms:

1. So far as I know – instead of saying he is a liar you could say so far as I know he is a liar.

2. Up to a point – You could further refine the above sentence by saying “So far as I know, he is a liar, up to a point”.

3. To me – To me, he is a liar.

4. The What Index – Instead of saying “He is a pig” you can say “When it comes to a party, he is a pig”

5. The When Index – you could further refine the statement “During 2005, he was a pig in the parties”

6. The Where Index – “In 2005 whenever I saw him in a party, he behaved like a pig”

Now only if our politicians and news journalists could learn E-prime

Chapter 4 – Polya

In this chapter, the author has recommended G. Polya’s 4 Step Problem Solving Method viz., Understanding the problem (whether it is a problem at all?); Devising a plan (think of a familiar method of solving the problem) ; Carrying out the plan (check each step); and Looking Back (could you have solved through an alternate method)

Chapter 5 – Rules for UMF

This chapter lists the rules for implementing Utilitarian Model Flexibility (UMF):

1. Thoughts are not things, they are models

2. We have the ability to choose our models (you don’t have to focus on unhappy x but on happy Y)

3. These models can be used as tools (either for you or against you)

4. Utility is the measure of a tools value.

5. Utility is not the same thing as truth (I can think I am handsome which maybe useful to me but that may not be the truth  )

6. No model is absolute

7. No two people share the same model

8. Models are not mutually exclusive

9. Models do not have to be accepted in whole

Book 4 – Simple.ology

Already listed in lessons of life

I consider this book as a must read. It would be great if you could buy it because the concepts explained in this book are relevant across ages. If books are an individual’s best friend, this book is both a friend and philosopher.