The best book I ever read

I had never heard of Rohinton Mistry or A Fine Balance when a friend insisted that I read the book. Its been a long time since I read it, over 2 years, but even now just thinking of the book can give me goose bumps. The book is a graphic description of India under the reign of Indira Gandhi during the emergency, and leaves an indelible mark on your conscience as a constant reminder of the unfair treatment that the masses constantly have to suffer.

The Indian and Global media and attention is focused on the lives of the outlaws of late. I find it surprising that movies like "Slumdog Millionaire" that reprimand private enterprise as the perpetrator of unequal treatment resonate with the sympathies of the world, while shocking movies that shed light on the monstrous forced family planning programme during the tenure of the Indira Gandhi government remain mere documentaries gathering dust in academic institutions.

I was fortunate that our professor of "Business Government and Society" in the first term of the PGP programme at IIM Bangalore exposed us to the reality of emergency. I believe getting ones hands on that movie will be very difficult, but A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry is easily available in the market, and is not only a literary masterpiece nominated for the Booker, but also a log of reality that every Indian must be aware of before we let the glamorized nexus of underworld with poverty stricken Indians corrupt our understanding of oppression and inequality.

So click on the image of the book and order it now, and do post your comments here after you are done reading it.

Labels: Books, Emergency, Novel, Society

Dork - Sidin Vadukut

Today I attended a book reading session by Sidin Vadukut at IIM Bangalore's business festival Vista 2010. His book "Dork" details the life of Robin 'einstein' Varghese, a management graduate venturing into the management consulting industry. The book releases today and should be in book stores in a couple of days. It breaks away from the "Life during MBA" mould and focuses on Life after MBA, something Chetan Bhagat also touched upon in his book 2 states. Interestingly, Vadukut revealed that the cover of his book is designed to target the youth, feel young and energetic and look deceptively like it belongs to the Chetan Bhagat genre! Sidin was candid during the session, cracked several witty jokes and had visibly scored with the audience who couldn't help laughing at even some of the more slapstick jokes. His rendering of his character and situations though definitely made the book sound like it would be fun to read. Vadukut is an alumnus of NIT Trichy and IIM Ahmedabad, following which he worked with AT Kearney, a leading management consulting firm.

Guess what Diary, I actually ordered the book from flipkart and got a signed copy at a decent discount! And I have spend some part of the last 2 days reading the book as discussions about consulting companies and their recruiting processes get discussed ad nauseam around me.

On a side note, Sidin is very very bitter about the 16 rupees he is making on each of these books. He went on a long tirade lambasting the entire publishing industry for plundering the creatives, and now I see in today's newspaper that he has gone ahead and created a breakup for Livemint to publish on the breakup of the cost structure of a book, how much does the publisher make, how much does the retailer make and that the author is left with precious little. Ironically his own book is priced at Rs. 200 and I have a feeling that these percentages may not hold for books at all price points, and there seems to be no explanation given by vadukut to that effect. I wonder how he rated himself so highly in the analytical framework he used for self analysis :p.



My opinions about this book dork have been swinging to extremes.. I loved the crack on Aravind Adiga in the beginning, read the next 40 pages where Sidin tries hopelessly to amuse, but all he manages is to alienate the character completely. I am no longer involved in the reading, its only a narrative, and I must say diary it is beginning to get interesting now. But I think I will sleep now and give waking up early yet another attempt. I already know I will snooze and sleep but what the hell.


Addendum: (Back cover of Dork)
From the desk of Robin 'Einstein' Varghese

Einsteins Office Theorems
1. Never volunteer for anything. That’s what interns are for.
2. It is better to assume and sit at home, rather than to call up and ask if it is a holiday.
3. The size of the HR department is directly proportional to the number of forms you have to fill when you join.
4. All information can be converted into a PowerPoint presentation. The reverse is impossible.
5. The CEO is always right. Even if it means only the CEO is left.
6. ‘A very rough draft’ means it was written with a BlackBerry on the loo.
7. When the coffee machine goes missing, it is time to sell stock.
8. ‘lndustry standard’ does not refer to your industry.
9. ‘Cost to company’ is a shameless lie. But so is your Linkedln profile.
10. Your IT team lives in a parallel universe where Firefox does not exist.
11. You are the ‘new guy’ till you get the water bottle with your name written on it in black marker.
12. The term ‘work-life balance’ usually refers to two different people.

Labels: Books, Comedy, Comic, Consulting, Management, MBA, Novel, Review, Sidin, Vadukut

Buddha by Osamu Tezuka - Nice show piece

Ever since I first saw the Buddha series by Osamu Tezuka, I wanted it to adorn my book shelf. 6 books into the series, I think its going to do just that. Even though I have enjoyed reading it, I don't think I'm ever going to pick it up again to read it. The drawings by Tezuka are breath taking yet they rarely get enough attention while reading because the lack of dialogue and speech makes page turning rather quick. I do plan to buy the last 2 to complete the set and showcase it in my collection, but its really not worth the money.

2 States - An excellent light read

Chetan Bhagat is in the limelight for all reasons good and bad, and his book 2 states is probably getting the benefit of the publicity. I recently purchased the book from the online store flipkart.com from a superb price of 65 rupees, and for the price, it was worth every penny and minute I spent reading it.



I was surprised to see the book being lambasted in various online forums and popular review blogs. Some accused Bhagat of trying to write a bollywood script rather than a book. I don't think he had the Pulitzer or the Nobel in mind either. He remains true to the sensibilities of his fan base and has produced an amazing almost thrilling masala novel. It is great fun to read! Not only does it throw light on the state of relationships in business schools, but also sheds light on the placement process, though it is subtle. Yes there are millions of aspirants in the country who will read this book only because they wish to be associated with the IIT or IIM tag in their academics. I see nothing wrong with that, and it is no reason to critique the author just because he segmented his customers well! There is a market out there and he is capitalizing on their aspirations and dreams by selling them a fantasy. Its business!

He is not the first or only author to use his life at IIM to target a popular segment. He is obviously the most successful, and he is inspiring a generation of literary minds who did not take writing as a serious vocation a few years ago!

I suggest everyone should read this book, not only those associated with IIMs, but every Indian to realize the futility of our biases. The 'Madrasi' tag is a reality, and so is the binging Punjabi stereotype. We all have our quirks, but that we think we are right and the others are wrong. In fact the "We" and "other" categorization itself shows the biases that reside inside us, and this book makes you smile at your own foolishness and narrow mindedness.

Monkey Business - The truth about Investment Banking

Nothing can prepare you for the "Investment Banking" life. When I interviewed with an investment bank for summers, they asked me, "How many hours do you think you'll have to work?". I replied 17, thinking I had over estimated and was showing my willingness to work long hours. He replied, "It's more like 19!", and it was.

Investment banking jobs are no-longer the most coveted on campus. People are increasingly paying attention to the "work-life balance". This is not about jobs at IIM, but it is to highlight that jobs that pay well, promise a screwed up life.

Monkey Business : Swinging through the Wall Street jungle by John Rolfe and Peter Troob is a quick summary of the life you sign up for. Having experienced a snippet of the life for myself during my summers, I can vouch for most of what is described in the book. I would suggest everyone who is planing to get into investment banking, or dreams of landing an investment bank offer after MBA should read this book.



It also does an excellent job of describing the placement process at business schools including the IIM's. The media in India has created an image of B-school placements that betrays reality. It does not highlight the cut-throat and shameless attitude that students adopt to land the jobs that they dream of. It also shows how the recruiters are aware of these instincts and being veterans at the game, exploit them to the fullest. This book should serve as a real eye opener for the starry eyed MBA aspirants who think CAT is the end of the struggle. Its probably the easiest of all hurdles that need to be crossed.

Labels: CAT, IIM Bangalore, Investment Banking, MBA, Novel

Palak Chicken!

This is the first post for a survival guide for students in europe! In the next few posts I will share some ideas to keep eating "Indian" food while you are here without tearing your hair apart. This is the first post, so lets start with the basics

Labels: Chicken, Cooking, Europe, Exchange, Food, Shoe-String, Spinach, Students