Can you make something viral?

I just read about two completely unrelated incidents but having one thing in common- their online presence. The first is a simulation game developed by th UNHCR to help people "see and feel" what it is like to be a refugee. The second is a video of a bus monitor in Greece, NY who was verbally abused by young boys. While the guys at UNHCR are racking their brains about how to get people interested in this game about a really serious issue, the second video already has thousands of hits and has raised close to half a million for the abused lady. This just makes me wonder if you can ever really "make" something viral? Viral by definition means something that spreads very rapidly because it is able to strike a chord with people immediately and makes them want to pass it on, share it. So while the issue that the UNHCR is trying to talk about is far more grave and global than the abuse of a bus monitor and juvenile hooliganism, it will go viral if it finds a place in people's hearts, just like the video of the bus monitor. The developers of the game are quoted as saying that they are not looking for popularity like that of Angry Birds. But if a completely irrational game where birds need to be launched from a catapult to break some inane eggs in wooden castles can have universal appeal, why not this very rational, very real issue? The answer is perhaps not that easy, and it's still a mystery what makes something viral.

Gods in the Workplace

I am sitting patiently waiting my turn at the newly upgraded branch of a Public Sector bank in suburban Mumbai. It is like almost any other bank, there are the tellers, the counters, the people who look slightly fearful because they are afraid that one wrong signature or an error on some innocuous form might actually jeopardise their lives' savings, and finally there are the customary Ganesha and Lakshmi pictures in gaudy golden frames inside the Branch Manager's air-conditioned cabin. I almost don't take any notice of them till it strikes me that this branch must serve people who are not practicing Hindus! And that makes me wonder how they must feel about this open display of religion, this lack of secularism?

Ganesha is the God of good luck, the destroyer of all evil and obstacles, and Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. So their presence at an institution of financial management would be very appropriate if it was not for the fact that this symbolism only works for a part of the bank's clientele. To give another example, I also know of a large Indian conglomerate that will not permit non-vegetarian food in its premises because the Chief Executive who was also the owner-promoter comes from a caste that does not eat meat. What is more, the company makes it mandatory for all its employees, irrespective of religious conviction, to attend a prayer meeting on Diwali to do the "muhurat Lakshmi pujan"- clearly a Hindu affair.

 I am not sure if the Managers who put these pictures up or conduct this religious pooja really ever stop to consider what their actions mean. Perhaps they think it is appropriate because this is all second nature to them, this is what they personally believe in. The truth is, whether we like it or not, the personal creeps into our professional lives however hard we may try to keep the two apart. So you see, when we make tall claims of keeping our two lives separate, we ignore the fact that the person who walks through the doors of the office typing furiously on that BBM, is the same person who went to bed last night praying to his very personal deity that the next day may bring him professional success.

Breast feeding older kids- a touchy subject

I just a BBC.COM article about the front cover of the latest edition if Time magazine. It shows a young woman standing upright with a child suckling at her left breast. Nothing unusual except that the child is standing on a stool and is obviously way beyond average breast feeding age. I haven't read the article but the picture itself says a few things to me that I would like to talk and think more about 1) Eye catching and bold- so full marks to the Editor for breaking through the clutter 2) Unusual subject- why should this be a cover story unless it's a matter big enough to warrant this attention 3) Frankly why all the bur ha ha? Why should breast feeding be such a big deal. It's a personal choice that a mother makes and she should have the freedom to make that choice 4) What is more shocking- the photograph or the fact that some women breast feed for that long? Decide people All the noise about this making it more difficult for women to breast feed in public is just crap. People in sub saharn Africa roam around with nothing more than loin cloths and they lead happy full lives. While not propagating nudity I so think that we as a "civilised" society should not be so squeamish about a woman's breast. While being a body part with sexual implications it's most important function is to lactate. A picture of a breast is context should be treated appropriately. If you can change a child's diaper you can breast feed. A deeper look at the picture shows a message in the attitude of the model- I am breast-feeding my child and I am proud of it. If you have a problem with it, that's your problem not mine. While most mothers would not like to be photographed like that, here perhaps it was important to portray the act in an unconventional way so that the unconventional message could be conveyed and everyone forced to take notice.

When I was alone I said Jalebi!

Yes this is what I said out aloud when recently I found myself alone in the elevator even though it sounds really odd and frankly is a little embarrassing to admit on my blog. But it is the truth. If we stop and consider for a moment, odd thoughts, just like my sudden craving for jalebi, are actually not so uncommon when we are truly alone with our thoughts. Think about it. Have you recently been alone in an elevator or a conference room all by yourself? I can bet at least a few times this year. Haven't you heard the uncanny sound of your thoughts running in your brain? A fear of heights that you don't like to think about, a sinfully expensive manicure that you told no one about, a fetish for late night re-runs of the despicable Jerry Springer maybe? All in all it is a moment of truth when we are by ourselves because we can lie to the whole world but can not lie to ourselves. In this increasingly crowded world where information, communication and interactions constantly surround us and where socialising is a compulsion, it is hard to be alone just with our innermost thoughts. But if we make the time and keep our ears open, we maybe surprised at what we learn the next time we are alone. Maybe like me you will discover that you have a sweet tooth and get off the elevator to go back and get that jalebi immediately!

Revolution 2020 by Chetan Bhagat- a Review

A story of two boys and a girl from Varanasi, caught in the wave of a changing India, each bound by their circumstances and each taking a different road to success- that is the gist of Chetan Bhagat’s latest literary offering. 

All in all “Revolution” is a classic Bhagat. It has all of his trademarks- simple style of writing, youth, their struggles and choices at the centre of the plot, boy-girl love, even “flashback” like there was in “The three mistakes….” . All of which make it a fun read, but at the same time make it just another book. After nearly half a dozen books, the reader cannot be blamed for expecting something fresh from the author. So much has been said by him about similar subjects that now it is almost beginning to sound like a formula- take a small town, put in a couple of struggling boys and girls, let them make a few wrong and right choices and tie it all up at the end. Where is the diversity that will keep his faithful readers coming back for more?

As for the characters, it is not so much that they sound repetitive or are not well drawn- Ragahv, Aarti and Gopal are three distinct personalities and Chetan manages to bring that out. However the side of them that really matters to the plot is not sufficiently covered. Gopal’s character is supposed to be the guy obsessed with money- but all we see in the book is his obsession with Aarti. Raghav is supposed to be this big revolutionary. That side of him is thrust upon us suddenly about half way through the novel. Nowhere do we  hear of his ambitions as a teenager or even when he prepares for the IIT exams. Arti is the quintessential new small town Indian girl, yearning to spread her wings and build a career in aviation, but because the plot demands that she stay in Varanasi and continue to be in the lives of the male protagonists, she mysteriously compromises to a guest relations job at a local hotel.

On the other hand, the author has done a terrific job of revealing the dirty underbelly of private education in India- the babu-neta-businessman nexus is sketched beautifully. Along with Gopal, we wince and learn how the system works and for those of us who are products of the private education system, it does make us wonder if we also fell victims to the same charade.

Most of the book, though not a great thought provoking work, manages to cruise along fairly well keeping you entertained with the rapid rise of Gopal from an orphaned engineering failure to becoming the Director of a multi-crore teaching outfit. The Gopal, Ragahv and Arti love story also manages to provoke a few smiles. And all would be well if Chetan Bhagat had not decided to do a “Sangam” (refer  to Raj Kapoor’s bollywood classic) at the end.

What is the significance of sacrificing the sweetheart to the “better” man?  Are we still in an age where a woman is the symbolic reward for good behaviour? Why is the female protagonist reduced to being nothing more than a prize to be won for being morally upright? And if one man ditches her, does a woman have no choice but to run and marry the only other man in her life who she has admitted she no longer loves? Has she no mind of her own? Frankly I had expected better from a progressive writer like Chetan Bhagat. If on the one hand he questions and ridicules the stereotypes of success as defined in our society, why does he hesitate to do the same for gender issues? Maybe in the next book we will finally see the rise of a strong female protagonist created by him, and a story that moves out of colleges and youthful banter to a tale about more significant issues.

Why KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati/Who wants to be a Millionaire) works in India

Last night at about 9 pm IST a 27 year old Graduate from Champaran became a Crorepati. The introductory video that the channel broadcast when he started his session at KBC, showed a life of misery- a house with a caved in roof, a meager income of Rs. 6000 a month, a newly wed wife and no prospects in his small town. But KBC changed all that. Over a period of an hour Sushil Kumar made a giant leap to becoming a millionaire from being a pauper. And that is one reason why, Ladies and Gentlemen, KBC works.

It works because it gives hope to the millions who spend Rs.5/sms to get their entry in. The same five rupees they would otherwise have saved and hoarded. In a country where very often reward does not meet effort and education does not mean livelihood, KBC is a short cut to a transformed life. You can be a nobody- a milkman from UP, an ordinary housewife from Lucknow, or like our latest winner, a simple indebted Graduate from Champaran- the “Hot Seat” is a great equalizer. When you sit there, the chance to win and make something is for once as much yours as those of the privileged. Mind you, it is not a lottery. You must have a certain amount of intellect and emotional strength to weather the process. After making it to the studio from amongst millions who answer the very simple qualifying question, you must win another round that tests speed and knowledge, and then only can you make it to the “Hot Seat”. Luck will get you in, but you must fight the battle hard. So unlike a lottery, this prize money is “hard won” and for the winners it retains a sense of self-respect. They can say they “earned” it.

The other reason the show works is undoubtedly Mr. Bachan. He knows what his status is in the country. People may not know who our Prime minister is but everyone knows him. Yet when he greets you in the studio, he treats you as an equal and exudes the sense that it is his privilege to be there with you and hearty wish that you win something that day. Sure his clothes are atrocious and on the bidding of the producers he highlights the miseries of the participants and how the show will “transform” their lives, but then we accept it because it is show business! On the show he makes his presence felt with his voice, his rendition of the questions, the witty remarks, but never overpowers the participants. He understands that the audience is “playing” with the person in the “Hot Seat” and for the show to work, the participant must at all times stay the focus. The audience must connect with the contestant and not him.

Last night when Sushil Kumar won his millions, Amitabh Bachan hugged him and his family unmindful of the social gap that devided them despite the winner's new found bounty. He lovingly held on to the shy and shocked wife of Sushil Kumar who saw him then not just as Amitabh Bachan the superstar but as the man who had saved her and her family from a life of misery. For those moments when Sushil Kumar struggled to come to terms with what had just happened, Mr. Bachan did what he does best on the show, he was just another guy happy to be celebrating with you.

So the question again- why does KBC work in India? It is certainly not the intellectual drama of the questions, it is not just Amitabh Bachan, it works because it sells a dream. With a bang-on mix of hope, drama, glamour and simple human stories, KBC works in India because it is a country where there are too many under dogs and the people are starved for happy endings.

I Want to be Amazed

I know it is another post about something being a mother has taught me, but .....so the other day I was talking to a friend on the phone and as it invariably happens, the discussion turned to Kabir. She did what most people do, asked me questions like " oh he must be walking now! Must also be saying a few words!". I know she meant it all in the most loving way just like everyone else in the family. But it got me thinking. When she said all this, it sounded as if it was a given that all of this must be happening now.(and thank God it is!) but at the same time there was also an implied statement that this is what happens, there is nothing novel about it, this is predictable stuff. I repeat, perhaps no one means it that way but for some reason that is what it sounded like to me.

In life all of us will often find ourselves in a situation where we take the path much trodden. Our experience will be very akin to what somebody has gone through and maybe we will not be breaking new ground. The nervousness and anticipation of the first day at your first job, the restlessness and the excitement from your first love, the yearning for home food when away in a foreign land and in this case, raising a child. But while what we feel may have been felt by millions, the emotion that we feel at that particular moment is ours, its new and it is unique. And if we did not feel that way, won't all the fun just vanish from new experiences?

So while my child is following a predictable path of growth (thank God yet again!), I will make no excuses for being madly excited at his first steps, or celebrating his first words with joy, or being delirious when he gets new teeth and feeling like I am the first woman on earth to have a child and all of this has never happened before. I want to cherish each moment, I want to enjoy it for its uniqueness, I want to be amazed.