End of the trendsetter

June 26, 2009 saw so many shell shocked fans across the world and British fans especially would be wondering as to their unfulfilled wish of getting to see MJ's farewell concert. I thought I would chip in with some memory recall again and how I got to know MJ's gems, almost one at a time each.

In the late 1990s, it would have been hard for any schoolboy in any remote part of the country with a penchant for current affairs to not be aware of MJ.In the era of DD-1 and DD-2 (only if u have a 50 feet long Antenna and keep adjusting it) the occasional international news and small snippets was the major source of information on MJ.'Bad','Beat it' were some of the earliest ones that I got a sneak preview of.

As someone not acquainted to English music as a school kid, my first encounter with a MJ song on cassette was for academic reasons. 'We are the world' was listed as listening items to do in our class IX English text book. Anne Dorothy ma'm had a tough time in finding the song cassette in the small town Dindigul and in fact, it was my friend Nisthar, a hard core MJ fan,who came to her rescue.The cassette was meant to promote brotherly relations between US and Africa or something on those lines. Nisthar,again wanted me to get him cassettes of album 'Dangerous' when I was going to US in my summer vacation in Class X. Unfortunately, I wasn't focused enough and failed to get even one.

The biggest consignment of MJ songs arrived when I was in BITS, Pilani. The place expanded my musical quotient to include a vast range and the expansion started with the usual Backstreet boys and MJ. I had to cajole mum into getting Rs. 125 every time to get the albums 'Bad' and 'History Part-I'. I used to keep running the cassettes throughout the day. It still were those days where there was no computer in our house. So no wiki, no googling to get more information on the songs. Still, the two cassettes were not an exhaustive collection. Interface 01, management festival and we got to see Rocket and another guy dance for 'Smooth Criminal'. The rocking performance led to a frantic search for the song by guys and through the Arbits club or some way, we got hold of it. Bhavan's nite performance by Udaykanth for the ageless song 'They don't really care about us' got guys on the search for that too. And here came in our whizzkid, computer's all-in-all, limitless library, Eli, who got the whole load of songs on his computer. We got them written to cassette (still mp3 players, ipod were not in) and started running them endlessly.

In between, we also got hang of videos of MJ songs, again from Eli. Black or White, Smooth Criminal, Beat it, Thriller were some of the best music videos I've seen. The coordination, rhythm, passion that MJ alone can bring on screen makes one see them again and again. Even people with two left feet (like me) will feel like shaking a leg for these videos.

The man has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late. For someone,who made a fortune with his voice earlier, the man died with uncleared debts. He may have done things contrary to what he was preaching through his songs. However, the fact remains that he has stirred creative thoughts in people and has inspired a whole generation of artists.

As we pass through the highway of life, we come across several milestones, signboards, pitstops and motels. We may not remember most of the places where we take a brief stop at. We would pay significant attention to the milestone and remember the content on it, like how far a place is, we may not necessarily remember the milestone physically. However, in the rear mirror of our car, for some distance, we can still look at the milestone for some distance. Why I brought up this was an honest attempt to equate the milestone to the King of Pop and the contents of the stone to be his work. Though, MJ may not be amongst us anymore, he will live through his music. Salute Michael Jackson!!!

The power of recall

This is not going to be my usual long post. I was just wondering about the composition of my playlist.

Kitni Baatain from Lakshya
Is it that I try to recreate the same situation as that of Karan Shergill's in the movie? Hrithik has proved a point to people who had written him off for his ignorance and lack of focus in life including his girl. However, now he has problems in expressing his pent up emotions to her in the battlegrounds of Ladakh. "Yedho yedho ondru" and "Udhaya udhaya" also are based on the same raga as this one, but this one by Shankar Ehsaan Loy with Hariharan's magical voice stands out. I bet others would also agree with me on this song being the one that will stand the test of time. With 5 years since the movie released, I guess it already has.

Kaise Mujhe from Ghajini
My post on the songs countdown gave this one position #4. But it has grown on me. I don't know whether it has to do with the movie being one of my all time favourites, or because it features Asin or some personal emotions from inside me peeping out, I listen to this song atleast 5 times a day. And it includes any version of instrumental floating on Youtube. There is a version by a 8 year old kid who apparently played this one by just hearing the tune on the piano, great talent, all of us should see how much Rahman is inspiring future generations. Coming back to the song, the instrumental at the end of the song is good enough to retain interest for anyone listening for the first time. Research is still on to find if film songs based on the same raga as this exist. Investigation points to Malhaar with "Kadhali Kadhali" from Avvai Shanmugi and "Thoum tharayil" from Star being the prime suspects.

Baatain by Fuzon
It's sad that this supremely talented band broke up just after touching heights of glory with their first album Saagar. The entire album is just a treat and is good enough to get the listener interested in fusion genre. While google and youtube searches may yield Sagar, Tere Bina and Khamaj as results, this one is fusion at its best, guitar and Shafqat's brilliant vocals complement one another beautifully. The song is based on Raga Aiman. The band has two more songs based on this, but it will not look like repetitive stuff, such is the beauty of each composition. From tamil films, "Yamunai Aatrile" from Thalapathi is based on Aiman.

The kind of recall power these songs have recreates the situation I was in when I got spellbound listening to these for the first time. I don't know how it works for others. I seem to have a big problem with my memory. I seem to remember all things, stronger the recall, older the events are. It's like a trash can that has only 'in' and no 'out'. Adding to this malfunction is the fact that almost all of my friends, invariably fail to match up to even 50% of my retention capacity. Long live the one who said "Key to Happiness is Bad memory" :)

Apart from having a strong recall, what made me obsessed with these 3 songs? Is it because I can kind of relate to the feelings the song is trying to portray, is it because of the technical brilliance, is it because of my unflinching devotion to the composer or singer? I guess the answer is a mix of everything. I would certainly like to know how my friends give an explanation for why certain songs leave them possessed.

Before concluding, an idea struck me. How about giving similar posts in short bursts from now on?

The Curse of Measurement

Dictionary says the following:Measurement - A standard of dimension; a fixed unit of quantity or extent; an extent or quantity in the fractions or multiples of which anything is estimated and stated; hence, a rule by which anything is adjusted or judged.

Why do we have to measure things? Reference, simplification, Continuous improvement, Obsession with the concept itself, maybe. This evaluation, examination system, results and the ensuing ecstasy or agony have all made me wonder how much we have been infected by this syndrome. I find measurement to be an intriguing exercise though most of the time measurement is a simple activity made to make our lives better.

The background as to why I had to focus on this word 'Measurement' though stems from the headline making historic moment of Roger Federer lifting the French Open title last week to complete a Grand Slam, making media and almost all citizens of Mother Earth call him as the Greatest of All Time (GOAT, what a weird acronym). Federer joins the likes of Perry, Laver, Agassi in the elite club of Grand Slam winners. All had won it under different conditions. When Laver played, there was not three different surfaces. He won two in junior level, If I got them right. Fred Perry played in an era when full trousers on court were the in-thing and computers still occupied a full godown.When Laver had played, the technique of racquets was not as advanced as it is today. Someone like Agassi had a second life in 1998. His looks, attitude everything underwent a change before and after this period. The kind of video technology available wherein you can watch the movements of an opponent from all angles closely before facing him on court was definitely not as great in Agassi's time as it is now.More importantly, our life span will not cover all time for us to make a statement like GOAT. In the last 15 years or so, in any sport, the kind of dominance Federer has shown (20 successive Grand Slam semis) can only at best be matched by Michael Schumacher's ruthlessness in blazing circuits worldwide. This time period, where people like me have grown up, watching Sachins take over from Kapils, Samprases take over from Edbergs, Ronaldos take over from Romarios, Woods taking over form Nicklauses, I don't believe anyone else has displayed this level of consistency. So, I can only compare in this time and say he is the best I've seen.

This drives me back to the question of measurement. Can someone devise a mechanism to quantitatively 'judge' who indeed is the Greatest of All?What purpose does it serve other than satisfying someone's obsession with #1, inflating someone's ego?I feel all these claims are born out of Euphoria and have no logical footing.
I have a feeling that this concept of ranks were designed, one for simplification and two for an objective and fair evaluation aiding in continuous improvement. I feel that this purpose is not being met. I'm taking off on a tangent now far away from Federer and away from objective assessment as to what is happening due to too much emphasis on ranks and outcome.

I am a standard racehorse having been through the gruelling Education system till Post Graduation in India (whoever said tough getting admits abroad need not look CAT for the toughest examination in terms of odds of conversion[1:400]) would like to start with my HR professor's take on grade system. You pick the creamiest of cream from the 3000 who pass JEE. Over a lakh students write JEE while only 3000 odd get eligible for final admission into various IITs. You conduct 3 or 4 tests for one subject and segregate students into A,B,C. What's the point? Aren't they good enough if they have come through these acid tests? Aren't they supposed to be at same level? Can't you bring them all to the same level through some practical experiences like projects and team work exercises? This professor of mine, was quite passionate. Maybe it has rubbed off on me. But, having been through this ring of fire aka grading system since time immemorial, I'm tired of this rat race where to even be in the place as you are you have to keep running and your learning quotient is zilch since your focus is on keeping your territory intact. For instance, I have two final exams the next day, am lazy/ time constrained/whatever and have to choose between say Microeconomics wherein I've good interest but my marks so far aren't that good and despite my best efforts, I may only get a 'B'. The other course, where I know nothing (corporate finance fits in right), but somehow am in a good position because I managed to get some step marks miraculously due to some crazy partial marks scheme of my professor. I know how to get marks in corporate finance but not corporate finance itself. I love Microeconomics but in the heat of the moment in exam hall, I pick some wrong option and get my results screwed up. Where will I decide to put in my precious commodity, time? Obviously, it would be in the corporate finance which would add an extra 0.33 to my overall grade vis-a-vis Micro-Economics. Any rational thinking brain would go for this alternative. So is this what our education system has managed to give to us? Why can't someone excel in something he feels he is good at? We have lakhs of engineers, many of whom chose to be BE ;)due to the follow-the-herd mentality. Employability numbers of engineers in our country is pathetic though. Is this what our education system wants, An imbalanced portfolio of degrees?Having seen 4 suicides in my two years in the nation's #1 engineering institution, it only makes me wonder, does our education system deserve so much attention? News of kids committing suicide after disappointing results in 12th is not new. Education is only meant to expand our horizon, not let us press the self destructing button. such students, their parents are definitely at fault for trying to equate their wards to a guindy racehorse. But, the system is at fault too. Once upon a time, we used to be the drivers of innovation, Ramanuja, Aryabhatta, civilization flourished here when other developed nations of today had no street lights. However, the best Indian minds of today prefer to go to those foreign lands because it gives them the freedom, power, triggers their imagination and helps them do what they want.Maybe recession has managed to bring them back to their homeland. Any form of evaluation should ultimately enable all students come to the same level and using this stick policy of exams won't help the cause. It stifles creativity and makes us machinistic.

The issue of correcting the individual obsession with measurement is hard to achieve. However, reforms in the education system will be a start for that. Vocational training, projects, team building exercise, sound language skills, Indian and Foreign, these are what will help these kids when they grow up do the job effectively, not James Clark Maxwell and when he invented magnetic field, er whatever. :)

As to the question of whether Fed is GOAT, the statements should be pardoned off as made in Euphoria as any record stands to be broken sometime in future. All bit by the measurement bug or analytical thinkers, kindly switch off your brains to accept such overwhelming statements or try and come up with a scale to help decide who indeed is the best. As for me, I only pray Fed makes some record which will stand till my lifetime atleast. ;)

Winds of Change

Roles and routines have changed; Targets and ambitions have been revised; Material world and mortal people have changed; It has been a month and day since I passed out of this second heaven on earth - IIT Kanpur. Out here in the corporate jungle, more than finding your own way out, you see that each one is bent upon getting the better of one another. Competition is always welcome, but the kind of competition in college, amidst some odd incidents, I witnessed fair play, innocence and a friendly exchange of wits and beats too at times. Here, it is anything but that. Beg, borrow, steal, do anything to be on top of the pack. The outcome of competition here can have a massive impact, positive or negative.

Let me rewind back to June 2007. I was desperate to get into some B-school, despite being in a easy-to-manage-load kind of work, despite having got some real gems as friends. I even felt awkward making some of them cry on my sojourn to academia. Before coming back to present where now I feel like being at the receiving end, I will want to bridge this time period with my memories in IITK. Flowers, stretches of greenery, common people who though were financially poor were rich in heart. All in retrospect, me only got nightmares about deadly roads when going to report for first day.

I went into this place, Kanpur 1994 km away from my dear hometown. I was very wary of company lying in wait for me there. Somehow I was circumspect with people above Vindhyas. I decided to stay away from company initially and be in touch with all my dear friends back home through phone or chat. It took a couple of Biharis to get me to talk into joining their group for academic reasons. Honest first reaction, I was wondering "With whom have I made an alliance?". Over time, I came to know that these guys who befriended me were not really what they were being labelled as. I found I shared common traits with them like being passionate in whatever they do. That passion doesn't look genuine till you stand for something, take a stance. Though it made them emotionally explosive at times, I took that anger to be a stamp of character(In my mother tongue, there is a saying where there is anger, there is character). The common threading got us real close. Going to classes, movies just night before exams, jogging in front of Girls' hostel, tennis courts, singing together in IME night, late night canteen, gen bakar, Antaragni bravado, live shows, Auli, tales of everyone's nose cuts and failed Romeo attempts, serious fights on placements, eat-outs, pulling legs of class girls and some extra ordinary guys, working together for Consilium, DC++, I can go on and on, bottom line is "MISS YOU GUYS". I also had a fairly comfortable routine unlike typical B-school wherein I could use my spare time constructively like in internet (FYI, IITK alone consumes 3% of Country's Internet bandwidth I read). So who will let this luxury pass? Youtube, orkut and gchat kept me busy between classes or rather classes kept me busy between these ;). I should also say special thanks to couple of my close but long distance friends who were there with me through my happiness and sorrow, all through this wonderful journey in Kanpur.

We were from different regions, religion, caste, age groups, family background and still managed to find a common platform wherein all our differences went away on leave. So many guys had worked in higher roles before coming here. Still their egos never got the better of them. Despite bitter fights, at the end of the day they counted to nothing and didn't transform to grudges (exceptions may be there though). Contrast this with this new life in an AC cubicle (minus all sort of physical activity of course). Your own relative or best friend may turn out to be your folly. Stakes are high and real here. What if in a cock fight, the owner of the defeated cock has to be beheaded? Silly game turns serious, right? That's how it is. I can't help but think that it has only gotten worse after my 2 year sabbatical. When I was upset with this "win-at-all-costs" system, I had some solace that I could get back to academic life and find some peace. There is no such alternative anymore (er, no PhD for me please :)).There is no room for unadulterated affection in the world am in now. There is no room for me to turn my back on this world and move somewhere else now. I HAVE to adapt. I NEED to come to terms with the fact that everything is manufactured here; smile, a nice idea for pretty girls coming late to office to please their angry bosses, put 'maska' to get promoted (gender neutral idea, u see ;)). Exceptions can be there. Your best friend in Engineering may get bit by the corporate way of doing things and may seem like having transformed from 'merciful angel' to 'mercenary'. A pre-conceived 'bad colleague' in office may turn out to be your port of call in case of danger. In fact I was fortunate to find some really fortunate exceptions in my last job before IITK beckoned.

In my UG too, I had lots of friends who went separate ways after college. However, those incidents never really impacted me as I was used to getting on and off with people and was moving around like nomad due to my dad's transferable job. I've seen UG friends rise above me faster in career ladder, earn 10 times more than me, settle abroad, succeed in their love, get married to a nice life partner. The first wave of transformation in my network's social and professional roles hardly had an impact on me as I marched on mindlessly and endlessly trying to know some place in corporate jungle where I belonged at that time.

Present day, after 2 years and back to corporate life, I would say I'm better prepared to take up the challenges corporate life may throw at me. After all, I should make world believe that I have some take aways from my business administration degree, right?

There are two sides to a coin; On the one hand, these well wishing friends I talked about earlier made me feel great about myself and I also got used to the new role of working really seriously for wellness of others. Historically, I was this self centered person with a mind-your-business approach. The other side of coin was it made me vulnerable emotionally due to my bondage with these friends. I used to be arrogantly proud of my emotional numbness. Professionally, I may have come better equipped. Personal level, am still in the process of applying the same learnings to make me insulated emotionally. However, I have not been successful at it so far. Sometimes, I feel like standing alone on an isolated Island; you have only your shadow for company. I see a role reversal to the one I mentioned earlier in 2007 now. I'm very concerned about my ability to withstand this second wave of transformation. Winds of change have been blowing around me all through my life. It feels like I've managed to hold firm for this long without much damage. But am viewing the upcoming one with trepidation and am carefully preparing myself for more sweeping changes which may come along.