World at odds (WAO)

To
White Tiger,
Australia, US,Chennai,
You wrote a booker wining book, accolade for that. Being honest I did not like it at all. Like your letter to the Chinese Dude did not make any sense, my letter to you also is not going to have any Impact. In both cases concerned party will not read it.
One question why you wrote to Chinese Premier is he your Mama. Balram you are an illiterate, by killing and running a cab business you cannot become literate. Forget that, what the idea of crying about darkness in front of a person who has more darkness in his own country.
You tried to write as you lived inside the body of Balram, man it is easy observing people and putting in elements of real life to make your story authenticate but a real Indian will tell you tiger sighting is rare, white tiger to kuch jayda ho gaya.
White tiger what it symbolize? I am too confused. You want to say we Indians even if born in darkness are so wicked with our ambitions that can do anything to achieve them. Here that guy for sure must have got killed whole of his family for that amount of money.
You in authentic is the Mr. Ashok in real life who has not seen it at all. Wearing tuxedo to Booker does not confirm you are aware of factual India.
I did not like anything about your book because for being an average Indian I knew everything you wrote , just those firangi find it amusing. People like you still want to play the snake charmer card.
And mind you people of Gurgaon are not Panjabi farmer and do not try to taint my north. It ends at Delhi rest of India is south for us, even your land of darkness.
Try to earn a one day wage then you will learn to write the real stuff and do not make a mess of the whole matter.
Vesse it is not that bad, you wrote good part of it with sincerity and continuity but still shame on you, write next time not thinking about the prize you can won.
Your next work is eagerly awaited to be butchered.
Kidding Yaar, lassi thanda lao saab ke lye.
Chal take care.
Man who loves to be hated,
Aj alias west urf pantha

Labels: books, Review

Just finished reading Aravind Adiga'a booker winning novel "The White Tiger..It Was a huge respite after going through jeffery archer's bland story telling in "As the crow flies"...Its a journey of a man called Balram from an obscure indian village, "Darkness" as it is referred to in the novel, to the land of light, to the city life where he makes it big as an enterpreneur after he slit's his masters throat and steals his money...He proves to be a White Tiger...The story vividly describes the indian socio-political system, mocks at our social fabric, our democracy, magnifies our crumbling family system, our rottening virtues, the long lost innocence in children. I nodded all along the novel as the story unfolds and tears apart the great indian hypocrisy of "India Shining"...

But giving it a second thought, I thought the book itself epitomised all the evils it talks about..The book now looked like a cheap attempt at putting all that is bad in india and packaging it with an eye at winning the man booker prize, Well aware that jury that sits out of england has displayed in past its fondness and taste for indian poverty, bribery and Socio-political system..This somewhere pricked the Indian in me..and mind u am no great patriot myself...Just that i couldnt see someone packaging indian poverty and selling it to the west , the way average indian's blood came to boil when he saw Maharashtra CM taking celibrities for Terror Tour of Taj, My blood came to boil as i felt that the author has attempted to take the West to a tour of all the filth and scum of India in return for the booker prize...
Infact its not the Balram of the novel but the author himself who deserves to be called the White Tiger because he has Slit open his nation's throat before the world and transcended from the "Darkness" to the "Light"...Kudos for that !! But no thanks I will stick to the belief that there is more good than bad in this nation..India is certainly not defined and limited by Aravind Adiga's imagination..

P.S. When you become little too well Aware of your disqualities you contract an incurable disease called "No-Self-Respect"...and this epidemic of lack of self respect as a nation ,as individuals needs some urgent introspection


Yours not so faithfully,
Faceless Indian !!

Labels: books, Review

This is a book I read way back in 2004, when it holds very less meaning to me. Even after 4 years I do not agree or differ on this book relevance to an MBA or a Manager. Henry Mintzberg come out with this book in late 90’s.It’s his cry against the present day management and management institute, he categorically ask the question about what is taught in institute is implemented or what he learn through experience during work is more of importance. This book asks a few honest questions, but fails to deliver. It looks like a man’s attempt to raise the odds.
Let me share some excerpt from the book “What skill-set do you look for when you're looking to hire a manager or team leader? Do you prefer someone who has the technical background and expertise to do the job or someone who has the ability to teach someone else? I prefer to surround myself with MBWA's instead of MBA's. (MBWA's manage by walking around.)”.
This question ignites the long standing debate “managerial skill’s are inherent or at the best they can be sharpened with experience, it can not be taught through books, it all by sharing”.

From my own experience, I do agree on this front, form my two accounts of working I have been assigned managerial jobs. On both instance the skills that were imparted to me in classroom were of little relevance. It’s always been a continuous learning curve through out the job. It’s what you learn at job, that you use most of the time. And if you have the nature of getting involved in your work, have carried some relevant knowledge form classroom, you can always transfer it to work (Note I am convinced that its experience than theory that works).

I think Henry’s observation to carry your experience from work to classroom is a very valid. Indian institute should encourage this and we should see more and more manager’s learning concepts in classroom rather than MBA’s learning concepts in field.

I do recommend this book, as it does solve the purpose of writing it to an extent. It is a view of a learned teacher and he can debate at his level of expertise or some top Managers or people who shape big corporation can have some insight to even debate or assert his observations.

For us the the label of book appeals and that all for real it has to offer.

Labels: books, Review