Special Message From George Lucas
“In a few short hours, many of you will have the greatest cinematic experience of your lives. This movie has been over 28 years in the making. When Star Wars first became a glimmer in my eye, I knew that the final episode of the prequels would be one of the defining moments in the history of motion pictures.
Shadow and I have slaved for nearly three years on this one. Revenge of the Sith has all the darkness and foreboding of The Empire Strikes Back. It has all the escapism and excitement of Return of the Jedi and it has all the wonder and magic of the very first Star Wars film."
I have to agree there - Star Wars Episode 3 rocked. And I say this despite not being a 'true fan'. I saw the original Star Wars series years after it was released - on the small screen and that too in the 80's, and when you view a movie a decade after its time it can never have quite the same impact.
George Lucas decided to film the prequels to the sacred trilogy because in the late 90s he felt that CGI technology had finally made it possible to make a Star Wars film which fully recreated his original vision, without artistic compromises.
No doubt Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones were spectacular in terms of their graphics, special effects, action sequences - all that jazz. But they simply lacked the emotional involvement viewers felt with Luke, Hans Solo, r2d2, Yoda.
There was an array of new and some old characters but the connection with the original films was tenuous at best.
Episode 3 however changed all that. Finally you get to see how and why Anakin succumbs to the 'Dark Side'. Why he needs to wear that horrendous Darth Vader outfit with the 'Stephen Hawking' voicebox. And so on and so forth.
Old vs the new
Of course, the accompanying visual spectacle is also a treat. Yoda in a light-sabre sequence is the kind of action you could never have seen in the pre-computer era. Yet, I think perhaps the untechnological Yoda had a lot more class.
Incidentally, the person who created the 'Yoda' puppet back then used Albert Einstein's wrinkled face as a reference.
Because there were so many limitations, and no technology that time, Lucas and his team had to rely on extreme inventiveness and ingenuity in the original series. They had a will - and found the way. And that added something special to the whole effort.
That's why the film blew the socks off the world when it was first launched. It was a timeless good vs evil; father vs son story. And it created a new genre of films and a whole new way of film-making.
As an article in the Guardian notes:
Lucas was painstaking in his attention to special effects, and insisted the film be made in the then newly-developed Dolby Sound, giving its battles a thunderous resonance. With its opening scene, as a giant Empire battle-cruiser swooped over the audience's heads after Princess Leia's tiny spaceship, film goers were hooked. As one critic put it: 'No make-believe time and place had ever been created with such magnificence or microscopic attention to detail. It was mind-blowing.'
At the end of Episode 3 you really want to go back and watch the original series again in the theatres. But I don't know - they might seem tacky in the special effects department to an audience now used to better.
The only way to take care of that was to refilm the episoded 4,5 and 6 but that really made no sense. There were some rumours about sequels being filmed though - but could be just the wish-projection of rabid fans.
Passion Paid
Star Wars was also the story of how one man who believed in what he was doing successfully rebelled against the rules of film making in Hollywood.
As one fan website recalled :
Every single studio in Hollywood passed on the project except for 20th Century Fox. Fox gave Lucas $ 10 million to make what is perhaps the most influential film in the history of cinema. Fox released Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope in May 1977... By the end of its first theatrical run, Star Wars was the most successful film in North American history with a gross in excess of $ 290 million.
The amazing thing was - Lucas never doubted what he was doing. That's why instead of money upfront, he negotiated for control.
He asked for the rights to the final cut of the film, 40% of the net box-office gross, all rights to future sequels and ownership of all the merchandising rights associated with Star Wars... At the time, science fiction films were not very profitable. Hence, Fox thought they were ripping Lucas off... In the end, this deal would eventually make Lucas a billionaire and cost Fox an untold fortune in lost revenues.
There's a lesson in there for all of us!
The Man behind the Magic
Not to say Lucas is THE ultimate in film making. He had his human weaknesses. An article in one of the magazines called him "a man who prefered working with special effects to working with human beings".
In the past he had chosen to work with unknown actors, whom he could then fill with his own ideas... While Hollywood's other creative geniuses staked their success on writing and directing talents, Lucas' brilliance was due at least in part to his wizardry as a film editor.
Like many such genuises he paid a heavy price in his personal life. Immediately after 'Return of the Jedi' released he also went through a painful divorce. It appeared that he poured all his energy and passion into his work - and his wife could not take it.
With his fortune Lucas decided to build his own Xanadu, 6,000 acres of Skywalker ranch, in Marin County, north of San Francisco, which would have its own studios and editing suites, and began development in the mid-Eighties, expecting his wife Marcia, an accomplished film editor who had worked on Star Wars, to take over its running. She rebelled. 'He was all work and no play,' she complained.
She wanted trips to Europe, he wanted to build an empire. As Biskind says: 'Success was winding Lucas tighter and tighter into a workaholic, control-driven person.' Marcia had an affair. They filed for divorce, and she took $50m of his fortune (now reckoned to be worth around $2 billion). He was crushed. Divorce was for Hollywood, not the scion of small-town America.
Behind every great work of art/ labour of love/ magnificent passion is an incredible story of success, and small and great sacrifices !
May the Force be with us all!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Sense and Sensitivity
A graduation ceremony is one of the few rituals a young country like America can truly call its own. A typical American kid may go through several graduations in one lifetime - kindergarten, middle school, high school and then college (one ceremony for every degree you earn).
As rituals go. I think it's a great one. You actually feel a sense of achievement, tinged with the sorrow of leaving a well loved and familiar bunch of buildings and buddies. A must say that it's a time when emotions run high' and the mandatory commencement address - generally delivered by a distinguished personality - is meant to give a pat-on-the-back send-off to the graduating class.
Commencement speeches are thus designed to impart wisdom with wit. To inspire, to uplift, to exhort - go forth and conquer. Well, at least that's what the good speakers do. The rest drone on while students get hot and sweaty in their ceremonial gowns.
P V Narasimha Rao - God bless his soul - was one such dull speaker. But he was the Prime Minister once, so having him to address an audience was a kick of sorts.
The good, the bad and the 'ugly'
Ideally, students want a speech like the famous 'Wear sunscreen' one by 'Kurt Vonnegut' at MIT. The speech was actually an article written by Mary Schmich for the Chicago Tribune. But that's another story.
It used to be statesmen and academicians who delivered commencement speeches. Now, Bono and Oprah Winfrey also get to do the honours. As does eBay founder Pierre Omdiyar.
I think that's good. Successful from every walk of life have valuable insights to share. Nora Ephron (of 'Sleepless in Seattle' and 'You've got mail' fame), speaking at Wellesley, urged: "Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there." Good advice, I think!
Conan O'Brien dwelled on his failures because "as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed.... Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way."
O Brien is a Harvard graduate - so he can say just about anything in his self deprecating style and get away with it. Indra Nooyi learnt otherwise.
What she said and what she probably didn't mean
Indra Nooyi's address focused on the need for the graduates of Columbia Business School to be culturally sensitive, in the context of the global economy. If you read the text of the speech, which can be downloaded in pdf format from the Pepsi website, as an Indian you won't find anything offensive.
But I can understand why some Americans did. Indra may perceive herself as 'American' but the colour of her skin and country of birth still make her a 'foreigner who's done well' as far as (a section of) right-wing America is concerned.
And hence, comparing America to being the world's 'middle finger' was not the best of analogies. It was culturally insensitive of Nooyi - unintentionally so. But nevertheless.
Perhaps she was inspired by the 'paanch ungliyon se mutthi banti hai' (five fingers make a fist) which is a common Indian metaphor. But the metaphor was kind of forced (South America as the 'sensual ring finger' - kinda silly). Besides, you can't speak of 5 continents and then in North America only count the USA. That's insensitive too.
As someone commented on Sepia Mutiny , Columbia students may even take offence because of the very nature of their program - extremely cosmopolitan.
" Surely Ms. Nooyi understood, prior to accepting the engagement, that Columbia is among the most cosmopolitan of the premier business school programs. Of the class she addressed, 28% were not even Americans to begin with, and it's likely that a majority of the American listeners have significant international experience and are multilingual. Each year, top students select Columbia for its location in the most cosmopolitan city on the planet and for the breadth and excellence of its international offerings."
The fall out
"I stand before you awed, humbled and honored to be here," is how Indra Nooyi began her speech at Wharton a couple of years ago. So I don't think it's arrogance, just bad judgement.
And bad luck that a few students who didn't like what they heard went and blogged about it. And from there the story has hit Indian headlines (the New York Times has not picked it up yet, but might!).
Meanwhile, she's put up an explanation/apology in the Pepsi website too.
What I think happened is that Indra just got carried away. The 'five fingers' sounded like a good metaphor, and maybe coming from an all-American, white, born-and-bred in the US kind of CEO it would not have been misconstrued. Coming from Conan O Brien, for example, the 'middle finger' analogy would even have been funny.
It's like L K Advani saying, Muslim personal law needs reform - Muslims will be up in arms. If Javed Akhtar says it, many might listen. It's a question of 'source credibility'.
Like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, offence is in the ears of the listener...
Bottomline: Who are 'they' to tell us how we should think/ act/ behave? In making a point about America as an American, Indra has learnt that to some Americans she will always be a 'they'. Meanwhile, we in India - and the media especially - think and refer to her as 'one of us'. A tough situation to be in, isn't it?
But then Indra is one tough lady!
As rituals go. I think it's a great one. You actually feel a sense of achievement, tinged with the sorrow of leaving a well loved and familiar bunch of buildings and buddies. A must say that it's a time when emotions run high' and the mandatory commencement address - generally delivered by a distinguished personality - is meant to give a pat-on-the-back send-off to the graduating class.
Commencement speeches are thus designed to impart wisdom with wit. To inspire, to uplift, to exhort - go forth and conquer. Well, at least that's what the good speakers do. The rest drone on while students get hot and sweaty in their ceremonial gowns.
P V Narasimha Rao - God bless his soul - was one such dull speaker. But he was the Prime Minister once, so having him to address an audience was a kick of sorts.
The good, the bad and the 'ugly'
Ideally, students want a speech like the famous 'Wear sunscreen' one by 'Kurt Vonnegut' at MIT. The speech was actually an article written by Mary Schmich for the Chicago Tribune. But that's another story.
It used to be statesmen and academicians who delivered commencement speeches. Now, Bono and Oprah Winfrey also get to do the honours. As does eBay founder Pierre Omdiyar.
I think that's good. Successful from every walk of life have valuable insights to share. Nora Ephron (of 'Sleepless in Seattle' and 'You've got mail' fame), speaking at Wellesley, urged: "Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there." Good advice, I think!
Conan O'Brien dwelled on his failures because "as graduates of Harvard, your biggest liability is your need to succeed.... Because success is a lot like a bright, white tuxedo. You feel terrific when you get it, but then you're desperately afraid of getting it dirty, of spoiling it in any way."
O Brien is a Harvard graduate - so he can say just about anything in his self deprecating style and get away with it. Indra Nooyi learnt otherwise.
What she said and what she probably didn't mean
Indra Nooyi's address focused on the need for the graduates of Columbia Business School to be culturally sensitive, in the context of the global economy. If you read the text of the speech, which can be downloaded in pdf format from the Pepsi website, as an Indian you won't find anything offensive.
But I can understand why some Americans did. Indra may perceive herself as 'American' but the colour of her skin and country of birth still make her a 'foreigner who's done well' as far as (a section of) right-wing America is concerned.
And hence, comparing America to being the world's 'middle finger' was not the best of analogies. It was culturally insensitive of Nooyi - unintentionally so. But nevertheless.
Perhaps she was inspired by the 'paanch ungliyon se mutthi banti hai' (five fingers make a fist) which is a common Indian metaphor. But the metaphor was kind of forced (South America as the 'sensual ring finger' - kinda silly). Besides, you can't speak of 5 continents and then in North America only count the USA. That's insensitive too.
As someone commented on Sepia Mutiny , Columbia students may even take offence because of the very nature of their program - extremely cosmopolitan.
" Surely Ms. Nooyi understood, prior to accepting the engagement, that Columbia is among the most cosmopolitan of the premier business school programs. Of the class she addressed, 28% were not even Americans to begin with, and it's likely that a majority of the American listeners have significant international experience and are multilingual. Each year, top students select Columbia for its location in the most cosmopolitan city on the planet and for the breadth and excellence of its international offerings."
The fall out
"I stand before you awed, humbled and honored to be here," is how Indra Nooyi began her speech at Wharton a couple of years ago. So I don't think it's arrogance, just bad judgement.
And bad luck that a few students who didn't like what they heard went and blogged about it. And from there the story has hit Indian headlines (the New York Times has not picked it up yet, but might!).
Meanwhile, she's put up an explanation/apology in the Pepsi website too.
What I think happened is that Indra just got carried away. The 'five fingers' sounded like a good metaphor, and maybe coming from an all-American, white, born-and-bred in the US kind of CEO it would not have been misconstrued. Coming from Conan O Brien, for example, the 'middle finger' analogy would even have been funny.
It's like L K Advani saying, Muslim personal law needs reform - Muslims will be up in arms. If Javed Akhtar says it, many might listen. It's a question of 'source credibility'.
Like beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, offence is in the ears of the listener...
Bottomline: Who are 'they' to tell us how we should think/ act/ behave? In making a point about America as an American, Indra has learnt that to some Americans she will always be a 'they'. Meanwhile, we in India - and the media especially - think and refer to her as 'one of us'. A tough situation to be in, isn't it?
But then Indra is one tough lady!
Thirst among equals
The cola wars are an annual entertainment fixture. Some years back, both Coke and Pepsi launched their summer campaigns - and junta had one more topic to debate in canteens and commuter trains - kaun sa ad achcha hai?
For years, in India, Pepsi was the more creative advertiser. Then, Coke and the Aamir-Ashutosh team came up with the 'thanda matlab' series. It was a runaway hit. Meanwhile, Pepsi struggled on, changing its winning 'dil maange more' tagline to the more literal 'yeh pyaas hai badi'.
In 2005, the tables turned once again. Coke ads lost their fizz. Aamir as Manno Bhabhi wasn't getting wah-wahs. The sequel, where Aamir played Manno bhabi AND the servant Dinu kaaka was an even bigger damp squib.
Pepsi's 'Oye Bubbly' wasn't winning universal acclaim - but, it had a catchy jingle. And Shahrukh Khan. In a world where celebrities wax and wane, Pepsi was lucky to have SRK on their side. A man who always seems to stay on the right side of the audience.
Does it matter?
At the end of the day, I don't think cola advertising really influences drinking habits. Based on taste, there are distinct preferences. I like Coke (sweeter, more fizzy), others may prefer Pepsi or Thums Up.
But at the end of the day if Coke is not available, I'll take Pepsi instead. As would most cola drinkers.
What the cola wars do is keep interest alive in the category as a whole. What's more disturbing for cola companies is that their drinks are being perceived as unhealthy and/ or full of empty calories.
A recent survey conducted asked the junta (109 girls, 114 boys, aged 15-24) to complete the following sentences:
If I'm hot and thirsty I'll probably pick up a...
51% of the girls answered - Water!
Only 23% said 'soft drink', with nimbu pani and fruit juice coming in 3rd and 4th
On the other hand, 'soft drink' was the top choice for boys (37%) followed by water (24.6%), nimbu pani and (!) beer.
Reacting to the new wave of calorie consciousness. both Coke and Pepsi introduced diet versions. Personally, I hate the after taste of diet drinks and would rather go for the cola. But I know plenty of young people will be quite happy to go diet.
Alternatives
However, both Pepsi and Coke are getting into juice, and flavoured water - just to hedge their bets. If folks do actually shift from colas, they should shift to healthy drinks offered by them!
That's the reason Pepsi bought out Tropicana a few years ago for $ 3 billion (Coke owns Minute Maid). And they also bought juice and water companies in Europe.
In India, Pepsi and Lipton introduced bottled ice tea. Amul launched 'spicy buttermilk' in a tetrapak (Rs 5 only). While Godrej relaunched its almost-defunct XS brand with trendier packaging and exotic flavours.
The battle to quench our thirst just got hotter. Dil maange more (colas) or dil maange aur (healthier drinks) - that is the million rupee question. I think it will be a mix of both.
Variety after all is the spice of life. You know colas aren't 'good' for you but well, that's part of the attraction. All health and no fun would make Jai a dull boy, wouldn't it?
For years, in India, Pepsi was the more creative advertiser. Then, Coke and the Aamir-Ashutosh team came up with the 'thanda matlab' series. It was a runaway hit. Meanwhile, Pepsi struggled on, changing its winning 'dil maange more' tagline to the more literal 'yeh pyaas hai badi'.
In 2005, the tables turned once again. Coke ads lost their fizz. Aamir as Manno Bhabhi wasn't getting wah-wahs. The sequel, where Aamir played Manno bhabi AND the servant Dinu kaaka was an even bigger damp squib.
Pepsi's 'Oye Bubbly' wasn't winning universal acclaim - but, it had a catchy jingle. And Shahrukh Khan. In a world where celebrities wax and wane, Pepsi was lucky to have SRK on their side. A man who always seems to stay on the right side of the audience.
Does it matter?
At the end of the day, I don't think cola advertising really influences drinking habits. Based on taste, there are distinct preferences. I like Coke (sweeter, more fizzy), others may prefer Pepsi or Thums Up.
But at the end of the day if Coke is not available, I'll take Pepsi instead. As would most cola drinkers.
What the cola wars do is keep interest alive in the category as a whole. What's more disturbing for cola companies is that their drinks are being perceived as unhealthy and/ or full of empty calories.
A recent survey conducted asked the junta (109 girls, 114 boys, aged 15-24) to complete the following sentences:
If I'm hot and thirsty I'll probably pick up a...
51% of the girls answered - Water!
Only 23% said 'soft drink', with nimbu pani and fruit juice coming in 3rd and 4th
On the other hand, 'soft drink' was the top choice for boys (37%) followed by water (24.6%), nimbu pani and (!) beer.
Reacting to the new wave of calorie consciousness. both Coke and Pepsi introduced diet versions. Personally, I hate the after taste of diet drinks and would rather go for the cola. But I know plenty of young people will be quite happy to go diet.
Alternatives
However, both Pepsi and Coke are getting into juice, and flavoured water - just to hedge their bets. If folks do actually shift from colas, they should shift to healthy drinks offered by them!
That's the reason Pepsi bought out Tropicana a few years ago for $ 3 billion (Coke owns Minute Maid). And they also bought juice and water companies in Europe.
In India, Pepsi and Lipton introduced bottled ice tea. Amul launched 'spicy buttermilk' in a tetrapak (Rs 5 only). While Godrej relaunched its almost-defunct XS brand with trendier packaging and exotic flavours.
The battle to quench our thirst just got hotter. Dil maange more (colas) or dil maange aur (healthier drinks) - that is the million rupee question. I think it will be a mix of both.
Variety after all is the spice of life. You know colas aren't 'good' for you but well, that's part of the attraction. All health and no fun would make Jai a dull boy, wouldn't it?
Hakim Tarachand
There are some songs you catch on the radio or while randomly flipping channels which make you stop and want to listen. 'Hakim Tarachand' is one such.
When I first heard it on '93.5 Fm' the voice reminded me a bit of 'Babuji'. The singer however was Shibani Kashyap, a good looking woman with a decent voice but one who's not really made a big impact on the Indian pop scene.
Of course, 'Hakim Tarachand zaraa kothe pe aa ja' is a line which you can't really ignore. No doubt a folk song, perhaps the kind sung before weddings. It's naughty, without being cheap. And earthy as well.
A stout and mustachioed Hakimji being wooed into the world of sin is far more interesting than dance-and-prance routines of overly endowed, under-dressed girls. As is the general trend in today's remix videos. So much the norm that it no longer shocks nor titillates.
Bottomline: Just one huge song is enough to elevate a singer to a whole new status. Alisha lived off 'Made in India', while Sunita Rao had just that one song -'Pari hoon main'. Hakim Tarachand, just was Shibani's ticket to the bigtime. But all vanished without a trace. Some times they appear to pop out their heads out of the mud like frogs in the rains. Still more yippies and hippies are appearing on the scene. Let's wait and watch.
When I first heard it on '93.5 Fm' the voice reminded me a bit of 'Babuji'. The singer however was Shibani Kashyap, a good looking woman with a decent voice but one who's not really made a big impact on the Indian pop scene.
Of course, 'Hakim Tarachand zaraa kothe pe aa ja' is a line which you can't really ignore. No doubt a folk song, perhaps the kind sung before weddings. It's naughty, without being cheap. And earthy as well.
A stout and mustachioed Hakimji being wooed into the world of sin is far more interesting than dance-and-prance routines of overly endowed, under-dressed girls. As is the general trend in today's remix videos. So much the norm that it no longer shocks nor titillates.
Bottomline: Just one huge song is enough to elevate a singer to a whole new status. Alisha lived off 'Made in India', while Sunita Rao had just that one song -'Pari hoon main'. Hakim Tarachand, just was Shibani's ticket to the bigtime. But all vanished without a trace. Some times they appear to pop out their heads out of the mud like frogs in the rains. Still more yippies and hippies are appearing on the scene. Let's wait and watch.
A question of questions
Summer sees scores of young people trudging the length and breadth of cities these days, filling out questionnaires. With the exponential rise in B schools and courses like BMM and BMS which favour internships, every Tom , Dick and Harry is doing a summer project. And the project you're most likely to be handed is a 'survey'.
Surveys serve two important functions:
a) They get the trainee out of the boss' hair for most of the duration of the project. This is important because few companies have extra seating space or computers for trainees.
b) The survey, if sincerely done, just might reveal something of use to the client or agency which they can further investigate. The operative word is IF, because survey forms are rarely administered or completed as they should be.
This happens for two reasons:
a) Idiot questionnaires: The survey is 7 pages long and the respondents lose interest by page 2. Asking people to rank and rate 7 attributes on 5 parameters is a pointless exercise but one which the designers of surveys nevertheless insist on.
So the student has no choice but to hurry through the survey, taking down a few answers, guessing/ making up responses to a few others before capturing the most crucial data: name, address and tel no.
Crucial because based on this info, the boss may randomly conduct a back-check - to ensure that the respondents are not a figment of the imagination, and that they were actually questioned. Which is true, but does not reveal the whole story.
b) Lazy/ unethical behaviour: Where there's a will, there's a loophole. And smart (lazy) students know fully well to exploit it. Many students are given a daily 'target' of forms to fill out. Others are paid on a per form basis (this is especially true of undergrads who work directly for market research agencies for pocket money, not experience).
Hence, however decent the questionnaire may be, these students are in a situation where dil maange more.
But sometimes, a questionnaire can be tuned topsy-turvy. The 3 page, 7 minute questionnaire can be reduced to a 1 1/2 page, 3 minute job. Smart people simply skip over page 2 and braze enough to smile and assure, "Don't worry, I'll fill out the rest myself".
Of course, many agencies use the exercise more to collect a database of names and addresses to subsequently market their newspaper or products. But what about companies who consider market research to be the 'holy grail'? And there are plenty of them...
Survey strategies
As an MBA student too goes around doing a survey for a summer projects working at some top company for projects like Surf Ultra vs Ariel many learn for the first time that there are a number of attributes to a survey who do it sincerely.
Eventually these candidates learn the Great Indian Survey Trick. The single most efficient way to get respondents is in the second class compartment of any local train. The trick is to do it at non-peak time. Beats going house to house and having doors slammed on their face - and they get a completely random sample.
Good deed for the day
Having 'been there, done that', many experienced people have on more than one occasion filled out surveys for forlorn looking trainees. Invariably, however, I find the questionnaires are badly designed/ worded and administered with minimum enthusiasm.
Sure, market research is a grueling and thankless job but treating it as a punishment only makes things worse.
If you're trudging around with a survey in hand this summer, see it as opportunity. To smile at random strangers, to connect with them for a few minutes. And also to deal with rejection, even rudeness, yet not take it personally. To live, to learn, to grow.
I know, I did.
Surveys serve two important functions:
a) They get the trainee out of the boss' hair for most of the duration of the project. This is important because few companies have extra seating space or computers for trainees.
b) The survey, if sincerely done, just might reveal something of use to the client or agency which they can further investigate. The operative word is IF, because survey forms are rarely administered or completed as they should be.
This happens for two reasons:
a) Idiot questionnaires: The survey is 7 pages long and the respondents lose interest by page 2. Asking people to rank and rate 7 attributes on 5 parameters is a pointless exercise but one which the designers of surveys nevertheless insist on.
So the student has no choice but to hurry through the survey, taking down a few answers, guessing/ making up responses to a few others before capturing the most crucial data: name, address and tel no.
Crucial because based on this info, the boss may randomly conduct a back-check - to ensure that the respondents are not a figment of the imagination, and that they were actually questioned. Which is true, but does not reveal the whole story.
b) Lazy/ unethical behaviour: Where there's a will, there's a loophole. And smart (lazy) students know fully well to exploit it. Many students are given a daily 'target' of forms to fill out. Others are paid on a per form basis (this is especially true of undergrads who work directly for market research agencies for pocket money, not experience).
Hence, however decent the questionnaire may be, these students are in a situation where dil maange more.
But sometimes, a questionnaire can be tuned topsy-turvy. The 3 page, 7 minute questionnaire can be reduced to a 1 1/2 page, 3 minute job. Smart people simply skip over page 2 and braze enough to smile and assure, "Don't worry, I'll fill out the rest myself".
Of course, many agencies use the exercise more to collect a database of names and addresses to subsequently market their newspaper or products. But what about companies who consider market research to be the 'holy grail'? And there are plenty of them...
Survey strategies
As an MBA student too goes around doing a survey for a summer projects working at some top company for projects like Surf Ultra vs Ariel many learn for the first time that there are a number of attributes to a survey who do it sincerely.
Eventually these candidates learn the Great Indian Survey Trick. The single most efficient way to get respondents is in the second class compartment of any local train. The trick is to do it at non-peak time. Beats going house to house and having doors slammed on their face - and they get a completely random sample.
Good deed for the day
Having 'been there, done that', many experienced people have on more than one occasion filled out surveys for forlorn looking trainees. Invariably, however, I find the questionnaires are badly designed/ worded and administered with minimum enthusiasm.
Sure, market research is a grueling and thankless job but treating it as a punishment only makes things worse.
If you're trudging around with a survey in hand this summer, see it as opportunity. To smile at random strangers, to connect with them for a few minutes. And also to deal with rejection, even rudeness, yet not take it personally. To live, to learn, to grow.
I know, I did.
Zig 'n' zag II
When I think of a life with zig and zag the name that comes to mind is Tony Ritzgerfield. This was a guy I met here a few months back. I had been to Auroville on an official meeting, he was on the final leg of a one and a half year discovery-of-the-world trip.
Tony was from New Zealand, a country where it is not unusual to chuck a well paying job at Cadbury's to fulfill ones wanderlust. Which is what he had done. After spending a few months in Africa (where his expensive camera was stolen), and South East Asia, he traveled the length and breadth of India.
At the end of it, he was down to almost his last penny. He took a local train to Madras, single bag in hand. In London, he had friends - and was to collect insurance money for the stolen equipment. And he seemed so cool, confident and unconcerned about the future - I couldn't help but envy him.
So I'll say once again, it's not about money. It's a cultural thing. I also wanted to be a bunch of 'different' things. Like be a rally driver for a while, then spend a month or two traveling around India (alone). Neither of the plans materialized.
The travel bit was shot down by my parents. Instead of being a rally driver i started working. It paid peanut ka chhilkas, but allowed me to stay connected to my first love - writing.
It's your life but...
Of course, had I been more strong-willed, had I been more of a rebel... Things would have been different. But I cared for 'approval'. As most of us in India seem to.
Approval comes from following the rules laid down in society. The rewards of following these rules are that you enjoy the warm cocoon of family, which an individualist like Tony probably does not.
And of course, in their own way, parents are right. Life in India is a struggle. If you take off for 6 months someone will replace you and you may have to start from lower down the ladder again. You can't take even a basic upper middle class lifestyle for granted. You have to claw your way to a 'good job' and then hang onto it.
Family is social security - emotional too. Which is why you think a million times before doing anything which may upset the applecart.
As we get more economically secure, this may change. But cultural influences are quite deep rooted - so it will take a generation or two to strike the right balance.
The other side
On the other hand, one can argue that 'backpacking' for a firang is an activity pursued, at least partially, for approval. Everybody's doing it - you do it too.
So much so that backpackers who start out thinking they're going to 'discover' a new country and culture simply walk down the path set down by the Lonely Planet guidebook. So in Mumbai they stroll down Causeway, eat at Leo or Mondy's, visit the dhobi ghat and chor bazaar.
And in Goa or Manali, stay in 'backpacker hotels' which serve muesli and banana pancakes for breakfast. And only take in other white skinned residents.
The other point is that travel is something that a lot of young people in the Western world experiment with at some point. But then settle down to predictable lives. It's only a small minority that 'lives to travel'.
As Vicky, another student from Tasmania puts it:
"Forget having kids, buying houses etc: travel light. So many people, not that much older than us, seem so full of regret about the things they never did and places they never went to, and now probably never will. Their lives just seem so empty.
I don't think I could wait until retirement: I could get knocked over by a bus tomorrow. In other words, carpe diem! When people tell us to settle down it seems a bit like a conspiracy: are they jealous that they're stuck with 20-year mortgages and time-consuming children?"
I'm just saying if you are born in India but would like to be a Tony, you should have the choice. Currently, it doesn't seem like we do.
Tony was from New Zealand, a country where it is not unusual to chuck a well paying job at Cadbury's to fulfill ones wanderlust. Which is what he had done. After spending a few months in Africa (where his expensive camera was stolen), and South East Asia, he traveled the length and breadth of India.
At the end of it, he was down to almost his last penny. He took a local train to Madras, single bag in hand. In London, he had friends - and was to collect insurance money for the stolen equipment. And he seemed so cool, confident and unconcerned about the future - I couldn't help but envy him.
So I'll say once again, it's not about money. It's a cultural thing. I also wanted to be a bunch of 'different' things. Like be a rally driver for a while, then spend a month or two traveling around India (alone). Neither of the plans materialized.
The travel bit was shot down by my parents. Instead of being a rally driver i started working. It paid peanut ka chhilkas, but allowed me to stay connected to my first love - writing.
It's your life but...
Of course, had I been more strong-willed, had I been more of a rebel... Things would have been different. But I cared for 'approval'. As most of us in India seem to.
Approval comes from following the rules laid down in society. The rewards of following these rules are that you enjoy the warm cocoon of family, which an individualist like Tony probably does not.
And of course, in their own way, parents are right. Life in India is a struggle. If you take off for 6 months someone will replace you and you may have to start from lower down the ladder again. You can't take even a basic upper middle class lifestyle for granted. You have to claw your way to a 'good job' and then hang onto it.
Family is social security - emotional too. Which is why you think a million times before doing anything which may upset the applecart.
As we get more economically secure, this may change. But cultural influences are quite deep rooted - so it will take a generation or two to strike the right balance.
The other side
On the other hand, one can argue that 'backpacking' for a firang is an activity pursued, at least partially, for approval. Everybody's doing it - you do it too.
So much so that backpackers who start out thinking they're going to 'discover' a new country and culture simply walk down the path set down by the Lonely Planet guidebook. So in Mumbai they stroll down Causeway, eat at Leo or Mondy's, visit the dhobi ghat and chor bazaar.
And in Goa or Manali, stay in 'backpacker hotels' which serve muesli and banana pancakes for breakfast. And only take in other white skinned residents.
The other point is that travel is something that a lot of young people in the Western world experiment with at some point. But then settle down to predictable lives. It's only a small minority that 'lives to travel'.
As Vicky, another student from Tasmania puts it:
"Forget having kids, buying houses etc: travel light. So many people, not that much older than us, seem so full of regret about the things they never did and places they never went to, and now probably never will. Their lives just seem so empty.
I don't think I could wait until retirement: I could get knocked over by a bus tomorrow. In other words, carpe diem! When people tell us to settle down it seems a bit like a conspiracy: are they jealous that they're stuck with 20-year mortgages and time-consuming children?"
I'm just saying if you are born in India but would like to be a Tony, you should have the choice. Currently, it doesn't seem like we do.
Adding some zig to your zag
BPOs are roping in foreign students to work for them in India, reports the TOI. "Sources said this was being done to overcome the accent problem faced by Indian call centres".
And especially so in case of European clients who require French or Spanish speakers.
The foreign students are paid the same salaries as their Indian counterparts. The bait : a chance to live and travel in India. "We try to attract students who are just out of college by showcasing India's rich cultural heritage," says Liam Brown, president and CEO, Intergron - a US headquartered BPO.
Live to learn
It's not clear what culture or heritage these students will experience if they're working on night shifts and sleeping off their days. But that in itself will be an experience and firangs are big on experience. They aren't as concerned with the 'destination' (as in 'yeh karne se kya fayda hoga') For them, there is a great deal of pleasure in the journey itself.
Of course, these foreign workers will round off the BPO experience with one grand 'Bharat darshan' in which they will see and do more than most of us have in our many long years of residence in this country.
I met a bunch of French exchange students here in Pondy. Their main objective was to travel the length and breadth of the country and that's what they managed - in the 3 short months they spent here. Now, students of many more nationalities come down - and they are, I'm told, actually attending classes.
Yet, I'm sure they're here mainly for 'cultural immersion' and not to get gyan and fundas from Indian school prof's.
Break ke baad
In the UK there is a concept known as 'Gap Year' - which is a 1 year break many students take between leaving school and joining college. Part of this year is often spent working - the money thus earned is used to finance a trip to India or Africa or south east Asia.
The more adventurous go further - a British boy l I know spent 2 months in a Kenyan village on a water harvesting project. Just for the experience, no pay.
In India, taking a year's break is still unheard of. Folks worry about being 'left behind' as their batch from school or college gets ahead in life. 'How will I explain it on my CV' is the other big question.
The idea that random, unpurposeful experiences can result in personal growth is still a new one for Indians. David Ogilvy, after flunking out of Oxford, held a succession of jobs, from chef at the Hotel Majestic in Paris to door-to-door salesman for Aga Cookers (a British oversized kitchen range) before he got his first job in advertising.
And I think all these experiences made him the creative genius we know him as today.
That's the way
Instead of a linear life path where we hop from KG class through school, college and then an MBA, you might want to consider adding a little zig to your zag.
I see a few young people doing it - there's a guy I know who's currently in Poland on an AIESEC exchange program. And a few who went to work at a BPO for a few months, just to know what the hype is all about.
But there still aren't enough such folks out there. There are only foreign backpackers in Rajasthan and Himachal and the rest of India.
It's not about 'not having enough money'. Because many of these firangs travel on shoestring budgets.
Perhaps Indians think they know 'enough' of India already and would rather explore foreign lands. Although villages in Bastar or Uttaranchal are more foreign to residents of Mumbai or Delhi than NY or London!
And especially so in case of European clients who require French or Spanish speakers.
The foreign students are paid the same salaries as their Indian counterparts. The bait : a chance to live and travel in India. "We try to attract students who are just out of college by showcasing India's rich cultural heritage," says Liam Brown, president and CEO, Intergron - a US headquartered BPO.
Live to learn
It's not clear what culture or heritage these students will experience if they're working on night shifts and sleeping off their days. But that in itself will be an experience and firangs are big on experience. They aren't as concerned with the 'destination' (as in 'yeh karne se kya fayda hoga') For them, there is a great deal of pleasure in the journey itself.
Of course, these foreign workers will round off the BPO experience with one grand 'Bharat darshan' in which they will see and do more than most of us have in our many long years of residence in this country.
I met a bunch of French exchange students here in Pondy. Their main objective was to travel the length and breadth of the country and that's what they managed - in the 3 short months they spent here. Now, students of many more nationalities come down - and they are, I'm told, actually attending classes.
Yet, I'm sure they're here mainly for 'cultural immersion' and not to get gyan and fundas from Indian school prof's.
Break ke baad
In the UK there is a concept known as 'Gap Year' - which is a 1 year break many students take between leaving school and joining college. Part of this year is often spent working - the money thus earned is used to finance a trip to India or Africa or south east Asia.
The more adventurous go further - a British boy l I know spent 2 months in a Kenyan village on a water harvesting project. Just for the experience, no pay.
In India, taking a year's break is still unheard of. Folks worry about being 'left behind' as their batch from school or college gets ahead in life. 'How will I explain it on my CV' is the other big question.
The idea that random, unpurposeful experiences can result in personal growth is still a new one for Indians. David Ogilvy, after flunking out of Oxford, held a succession of jobs, from chef at the Hotel Majestic in Paris to door-to-door salesman for Aga Cookers (a British oversized kitchen range) before he got his first job in advertising.
And I think all these experiences made him the creative genius we know him as today.
That's the way
Instead of a linear life path where we hop from KG class through school, college and then an MBA, you might want to consider adding a little zig to your zag.
I see a few young people doing it - there's a guy I know who's currently in Poland on an AIESEC exchange program. And a few who went to work at a BPO for a few months, just to know what the hype is all about.
But there still aren't enough such folks out there. There are only foreign backpackers in Rajasthan and Himachal and the rest of India.
It's not about 'not having enough money'. Because many of these firangs travel on shoestring budgets.
Perhaps Indians think they know 'enough' of India already and would rather explore foreign lands. Although villages in Bastar or Uttaranchal are more foreign to residents of Mumbai or Delhi than NY or London!
B School interview secrets
B school interviews are a favourite topic of posting and discussion on Indian blogs. There are entire e-groups dedicated to dissecting interview experiences. Then of course, there's the popular forum pagalguy where junta agonizes about why Ram was selected over Shyam, for no obvious reason.
What's rare is to hear from the other side of the table. What do these interview panels really look for? A senior lecturer in one of our colleges who was recently part of just such a panel at a well known Chennai B school has some of the answers.It was a nerve to understand the questions thrown and the way they are received. But, still there's a lot to be improved on either sides to come out of the hullaboo created by the interviewer and the interviewed.
What's rare is to hear from the other side of the table. What do these interview panels really look for? A senior lecturer in one of our colleges who was recently part of just such a panel at a well known Chennai B school has some of the answers.It was a nerve to understand the questions thrown and the way they are received. But, still there's a lot to be improved on either sides to come out of the hullaboo created by the interviewer and the interviewed.
Ladkiyan na jaane kyon........
The BBC reports that the University of Derby recently launched a games programming course - all 106 applicants were men. They are now holding some all-female summer schools, and exploring the options of scholarships in an attempt to persuade women that solitary hours in front of a computer screen can be good for their career prospects.
Acting programme leader, lecturer John Sear, said: "Girls do want to play games but no-one is making games for them. I'm a programmer by trade and I know probably several hundred, and I have only ever met one woman."
Car design is another such field. There was an interesting interview with Sanghamitra Datta, an NID graduate, on CNBC's Auto Show. Sanghamitra enrolled for a course in car designing at the University of Bristol where the first day was a huge shock.
There were Chinese, Japanese, Europeans, Africans - ALL boys. She was the sole female in the class which was kind of unnerving. But she went on to complete the course with flying colours and is now a full-fledged automobile designer.
So I guess it's multiple factors:
a) Certain fields inherently interest boys more. Action and speed (seen both in games and cars) are more exciting to Mars than Venus.
b) Derby university sees it as a "chicken and egg" problem - of boys writing games that boys liked playing, which in turn attracted boys into the industry.
c) The fact that there are no women in these fields often scares away the few women who might be interested. And so the cycle continues.
And I'm not blaming anyone here, just making an observation. If the traditionally male armed forces and the police can attract women, surely game design and car design will eventually see more female talent. And games with more use of mental skill than adrenalin rush and blood :)
Acting programme leader, lecturer John Sear, said: "Girls do want to play games but no-one is making games for them. I'm a programmer by trade and I know probably several hundred, and I have only ever met one woman."
Car design is another such field. There was an interesting interview with Sanghamitra Datta, an NID graduate, on CNBC's Auto Show. Sanghamitra enrolled for a course in car designing at the University of Bristol where the first day was a huge shock.
There were Chinese, Japanese, Europeans, Africans - ALL boys. She was the sole female in the class which was kind of unnerving. But she went on to complete the course with flying colours and is now a full-fledged automobile designer.
So I guess it's multiple factors:
a) Certain fields inherently interest boys more. Action and speed (seen both in games and cars) are more exciting to Mars than Venus.
b) Derby university sees it as a "chicken and egg" problem - of boys writing games that boys liked playing, which in turn attracted boys into the industry.
c) The fact that there are no women in these fields often scares away the few women who might be interested. And so the cycle continues.
And I'm not blaming anyone here, just making an observation. If the traditionally male armed forces and the police can attract women, surely game design and car design will eventually see more female talent. And games with more use of mental skill than adrenalin rush and blood :)
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