I like to think i have good taste in movies.....
I like movies that make me think and where i have to listen to enjoy the movie......movies like "Snatch", "The Usual Suspects", 'Shawshank Redemption" are movies that make me go "Wow!"...
But then sometimes i feel like watching crappy movies....or rather, i start watching a movie, realize it's crappy, and yet still continue to watch it!
Like over the past few weekends, i've been watching movies where the underlying theme is mostly about 2nd/3rd generation Indians who have grown up in the USA - the issues they grapple with blah blah:
So "American Chai" and "American Born Confused Desi" are the movies i started off with.
I don't know if it's me that's cynical or if really this is how things are but it's irritating that the most common underlying themes are:
--Children of Indian Origin (CIOs) born and brought up in USA -> Want to become something other than Enginners/Doctors E.g. Musicians/Professional Dancers -> Parents against it since it is not the 'right thing to do' (What will society say??) -> CIOs rebel -> Secretly study but tell parents they're studying to become a doctor -> Then reveal truth just before graudation -> All hell breaks loose
--CIOs under pressure to get married -> Parents suggest 'Arranged Marriage' -> Explain to their CIOs how "Beta, love will happen after marriage" -> CIOs rebel ->May throw major tantrums/May run away from home/Marry someone of only their choice (foreigner mostly)
--Most CIOs depicted as being absolute "Yo whatz up" with total disregard of culture/awareness of any Indian customs -> "Identity Crisis" screams out at you from the TV
--Indians who are born and brought up in India and go to study in the USA are depicted as being goofy/nerdy/with very oily hair (this is the guys)
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Random Muses...Of the Corporate Kind
ü More number of years of experience in an industry does not necessarily make you a better manager
ü It’s easy to get into a comfort zone; to go with the flow - just do enough to get by, and in turn feel threatened when you meet someone (man or woman) who’s motivated and willing to go the extra mile
ü An organization I am familiar with insists that all its employees average 9.5 hours at the office every week – it’s supposed to increase productivity, help in bonding, blah blah
My take:
-->When there’s less work to do, people find ways to goof off: When they’re not taking 2 hour coffee breaks, employees go to movies in office time; Or go home for a few hours and then come back.
-->Employees sometimes just stay back in office - after all, there’s good food, access to the Internet and most probably a gym and ping pong table too!
ü As long as you don’t speak out i.e. as long as you don’t voice your own opinion (at some point in your corporate life), you will eventually become a sitting duck, who nods his/her head to whatever their Manager says
ü A near perfect looking resume still does not tell you much about the person – It would be the body language of the person that said the most
ü Skills in Microsoft Powerpoint and Excel are extremely important. You might be the Knowledge Guru in your domain; but it’s equally important to know how to format a document (paragraph justification, consistent fonts and size), use correct grammar and present it well
ü Don’t be swayed by the decision of the majority; be “alert” - observe those around, and listen carefully; and sometimes, it’s good to hold back a little and not blurt out those words you’re just dying to say (good or bad!).
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Random Muses
Free.....is all you gotta be
Dream dreams no one else can see
Sometimes ya wanna run away
But you never know what might be comin' round your way
yeah yeah yeah.....
So sang Bryan Adams....one of my favourite songs. I get the feeling of this genuine positiv vibe in it.
A few of the people I've met so far make me wonder about this believing in yourself thing. What if you believe in yourself so much you refuse to acknowledge certain realities??!! So this character I came across struck me as a good possbility for an indepth psychology study: Now now, I'm not mocking him.....or being condescending...just that i couldn't help making some observations. He reminisces much about the past..how he was exceptional in his previous organization and how, he feels, he left that organization because he'd already achieved 'everything' there .So now he's here rather frustrated in his current assignment...doesn't feel like he's getting to do big things (although he's not sure what 'big things' should be)....thinks most colleauges around him speak such bad english that he can't help his English getting worse (!!).......blah blah. It's like everytime I talk to him, there's everything so wrong with the world around him.....start to get a headache!
Dream dreams no one else can see
Sometimes ya wanna run away
But you never know what might be comin' round your way
yeah yeah yeah.....
So sang Bryan Adams....one of my favourite songs. I get the feeling of this genuine positiv vibe in it.
A few of the people I've met so far make me wonder about this believing in yourself thing. What if you believe in yourself so much you refuse to acknowledge certain realities??!! So this character I came across struck me as a good possbility for an indepth psychology study: Now now, I'm not mocking him.....or being condescending...just that i couldn't help making some observations. He reminisces much about the past..how he was exceptional in his previous organization and how, he feels, he left that organization because he'd already achieved 'everything' there .So now he's here rather frustrated in his current assignment...doesn't feel like he's getting to do big things (although he's not sure what 'big things' should be)....thinks most colleauges around him speak such bad english that he can't help his English getting worse (!!).......blah blah. It's like everytime I talk to him, there's everything so wrong with the world around him.....start to get a headache!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Out & About
Not so perfect....
The first time I saw a beggar in Stockholm was in a train...he came by handing out pamphlets in Swedish which i guessed talked about why he needed the money. I was curious to see how the Swedish would react. Back home, we're so accustomed to beggars that we're not swayed by them anymore..be they children or adults. So we see a beggar and the natural reaction is the quick head shake, "No".
Seemed like the Swedish are pretty much on the same lines...very few on the train gave him any change. Me seeing that beggar affected the impression I had until then...all through the first 2 weeks it was like I was in this perfect country with the supermodel like perfect people! Some imperfections after all.....
Trying to keep those connections
We went to an Indian Association of Stockholm celebration of Baisakhi. In a hall with less than 100 people, we got to see some Punjabi folk dances, a Bengali dance, singers belting out old Hindi songs and of course, some Bollywood numbers as well. It reminded me of my days in Botswana....how, with functions like these, you make that effort to celebrate and educate: Celebrate a festival in any way you can away from your country...and educate those who maybe have never seen such celebrations in India at all....and in this way, hang on to memories of your home.
The first time I saw a beggar in Stockholm was in a train...he came by handing out pamphlets in Swedish which i guessed talked about why he needed the money. I was curious to see how the Swedish would react. Back home, we're so accustomed to beggars that we're not swayed by them anymore..be they children or adults. So we see a beggar and the natural reaction is the quick head shake, "No".
Seemed like the Swedish are pretty much on the same lines...very few on the train gave him any change. Me seeing that beggar affected the impression I had until then...all through the first 2 weeks it was like I was in this perfect country with the supermodel like perfect people! Some imperfections after all.....
Trying to keep those connections
We went to an Indian Association of Stockholm celebration of Baisakhi. In a hall with less than 100 people, we got to see some Punjabi folk dances, a Bengali dance, singers belting out old Hindi songs and of course, some Bollywood numbers as well. It reminded me of my days in Botswana....how, with functions like these, you make that effort to celebrate and educate: Celebrate a festival in any way you can away from your country...and educate those who maybe have never seen such celebrations in India at all....and in this way, hang on to memories of your home.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Sweden Ahoy!
First Impressions
Stockholm is beautiful – in a very “in your face” way. Firstly, there’s the place itself. I think the beauty lies in a certain sense of being “untouched”. Right in the middle of the city you’ll see small mountains of boulders interspersed with groups of trees……rows of houses lined with trees…you feel like you’re in the country side all the time.
Secondly, there’s the people – Whoa, the Swedes are a pretty good looking bunch! They all look like they should be supermodels! Nope, I don’t think I’m exaggerating. The women, blondes, brunettes, brown eyed, green eyed – they’re all there! And they’re all thin too!!!!! There are very very very very few even slightly overweight ppl here….and they don’t look the “anorexic thin” types either….hmmmmm…must be something in their DNA!
Stockholm is beautiful – in a very “in your face” way. Firstly, there’s the place itself. I think the beauty lies in a certain sense of being “untouched”. Right in the middle of the city you’ll see small mountains of boulders interspersed with groups of trees……rows of houses lined with trees…you feel like you’re in the country side all the time.
Secondly, there’s the people – Whoa, the Swedes are a pretty good looking bunch! They all look like they should be supermodels! Nope, I don’t think I’m exaggerating. The women, blondes, brunettes, brown eyed, green eyed – they’re all there! And they’re all thin too!!!!! There are very very very very few even slightly overweight ppl here….and they don’t look the “anorexic thin” types either….hmmmmm…must be something in their DNA!
Sweden Calling....
April 01, 2007
The Flight In
It’s beautiful what you see from the plane as you land in Stockholm – beautiful because it’s unexpected. The flight from Vienna landed on a tarmac surrounded by pine forests – a nice change from the usual drab buildings you see when you land at an airport.
Standing at the baggage claim area, I noticed the yellow line around the ramp (didn’t know what else to call the moving surface you pick up your bags from) – I hadn’t seen this before at other countries I’ve been to like the USA and Dubai; it’s definitely not there in India – we’re too “chaos prone” to have to temper down and not rush to collect our bags .
That set me thinking about chaos and India – 2 words that I think go hand in hand. On the one hand, I think the fact that because we’re surrounded by chaos in India, we’re able to adapt so effectively wherever else we go. Whichever countries I’ve gone to, I’ve seen how we manage to adapt no matter how hard it is being away from the familiar: family…..friends…..festivals?
No matter how motivating the motivating factors can be (money?? A symbol of success?? “Abroad” tag to make oneself more eligible in the marriage market???), being in a new place with its own set of rules can be very very hard…….
Having said that, there’s the other side to being surrounded by chaos: I think when we go outside of India, because we don’t have clear rules always (or, rather, we don’t follow rules : -) ), we end up having to consciously ‘mellow down’ abroad: we need to be alert about signs we see around us….watch others to see how they follow rules….the yellow line at the airport that says “stand behind this line” really means standing behind it ..…not on the line, not just in front of it, not with one foot forward and one foot behind…but behind it.
The Flight In
It’s beautiful what you see from the plane as you land in Stockholm – beautiful because it’s unexpected. The flight from Vienna landed on a tarmac surrounded by pine forests – a nice change from the usual drab buildings you see when you land at an airport.
Standing at the baggage claim area, I noticed the yellow line around the ramp (didn’t know what else to call the moving surface you pick up your bags from) – I hadn’t seen this before at other countries I’ve been to like the USA and Dubai; it’s definitely not there in India – we’re too “chaos prone” to have to temper down and not rush to collect our bags .
That set me thinking about chaos and India – 2 words that I think go hand in hand. On the one hand, I think the fact that because we’re surrounded by chaos in India, we’re able to adapt so effectively wherever else we go. Whichever countries I’ve gone to, I’ve seen how we manage to adapt no matter how hard it is being away from the familiar: family…..friends…..festivals?
No matter how motivating the motivating factors can be (money?? A symbol of success?? “Abroad” tag to make oneself more eligible in the marriage market???), being in a new place with its own set of rules can be very very hard…….
Having said that, there’s the other side to being surrounded by chaos: I think when we go outside of India, because we don’t have clear rules always (or, rather, we don’t follow rules : -) ), we end up having to consciously ‘mellow down’ abroad: we need to be alert about signs we see around us….watch others to see how they follow rules….the yellow line at the airport that says “stand behind this line” really means standing behind it ..…not on the line, not just in front of it, not with one foot forward and one foot behind…but behind it.
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