Tuesday, November 20, 2007

movie review: cars

I would like to share my review on an animation called Cars. It leaves far behind my other all time favourites like Finding Nemo, Ice Age and Atlantis. I have never written a movie review so one has to bear with me.

Here's the story. A racing car called Lightning Mcqueen which is a strong contender for the revered Piston Cup, suddenly finds himself lost in a lesser known town called Radiator Spring. There he finds friends and a mentor in the three times Piston Cup winner, the Hudson Hornet. He is intrigued by the way Hudson hides from the world that considers him a legend. He finds various truths enroute and goes back to the race for the Piston Cup with an entirely new perspective towards life.

A few meters before the finishing line, Mcqueen gives up his dream only to save a fellow competitor from a disaster and wins millions of hearts instead. He is offered a contract by the leading car company which he turns down. All this happens with cars as living characters.

The one dialogue "There's a whole lot more to racing than just winning" describes the theme of the movie. I have seen this movie again and again (atleast 5 times) and still end up with goosebumps. A brilliant imagination with fantastic animation makes this movie an all time favourite.

Friday, November 16, 2007

the protocol that wasn't there

The service sector offers a job to be done in only two ways. Either you are told or you seek approval. In both the cases, the concept of "naukar" or servant is prevalent. If we consider this as true, even a CEO is a "naukar". For him/her the boss is Board of Directors.

If you are a "naukar", the one person that virtually sits in your mind is your boss. Majority of your conversations would be on one topic - boss. You talk with your collegue, you chatter with your boyfriend/husband/wife, you decide your course of action of the day - everything is driven by one person. Knowingly or unknowingly, desirably or undesirably we tend to give more and more importance to this one person - boss.

It doesn't matter if you like him/her. You may keep repeating in your mind that your boss is still alive because it is illegal to kill someone. The truth remains same.

My first boss, Sreekumar Nair, was such a simple person that I never realized that a competency is needed to handle a boss. He had acquired a great administrative acumen while staying in operations for several years. He never told me what to do and how to do it. He only believed in me.

Now when I am asked about protocols, I remember that we achieved excellence those days because the only protocol was to get things done as boss expected.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

the common man

What is common between a manufacturing unit, a specialized consultancy and an IT enabled offshoring service provider. ME.

I am the common man of India.

Whatever activities I do, represents the general trend in India. You would need an explanation before getting convinced. The very first thing is that I started blogging a year ago which means the blogging as a culture has gained foot in the Indian masses.

Even though I aspire a lot for my future, I am happy with what I have today, much like a typical Indian. I am growing fat which means India is on its path of prosperity. My salary is more than five times what it was two years ago which means average Indian is getting more and more for his/her efforts. I love junk food which means Indian youth has not yet been acquainted with health and fitness.

I have been to official trips abroad which means more and more Indians are getting foreign exposure. I am connected to internet 24 X 7 which means ISPs are having a ball of a time here. I invest heavily on shares which means the number of demat account has really soared in recent months.

I feel a huge gap between the thinking of me and my parents which means the generation gap is widening day by day in India. I tend to wear branded products which means the market of such products is growing exponentially.

Gosh. MNCs should line up to study me instead of the Indian markets.