A book unputdownable- An unreal review

Well, this is the first time I am attempting a book review. But Karthik Laxman's Unreal Aliens is compelling enough to call for one. 

Without revealing much of the story, let me just say that a group of aliens land in India for a certain purpose and as we read on further we meet some of our favourite celebrities (mostly from the space of politics) in situations that are overtly reminiscent of different movies we have seen. Now, if you are familiar with the website www.theunrealtimes.com , you would be familiar with the genre.

In the book, you meet Modi, Rahul, Kejri and my favourite, Dr. Swamy. Even Deve Gowda makes an appearance in the book in a pivotal role. 

And if this were a movie, then there are those blink-and-thou-shall-miss appearances of many a people you know. Each of them makes you laugh. 

And it is not just the politicians. There are 2 whole chapters dedicated to a cricket match. While the passionate cricket fans can enjoy the sequence of Ishant yorkers and the alien batsman talking of rotating the strike in the post-innings conversation, the not-so-passionate cricket fans will still enjoy the commentary of Rajdeep and Gavaskar. 

There is that small sequence of a conversation between Tharoor and Tiwari. Now, for a reader who does not follow political leaders closely (their style, mannerisms etc.), that sequence could well be, hmm... nulliparous. If not, you will see an antipodal effect and thou shalt laugh.

I laughed out loud many a times while reading the book. Some episodes I distinctly remember. The conversation between our western and northern neighbours was hilarious. And yes, Baba Ramdev's Aasanas during the match will keep you in splits. Arnab playing with his son's toys, sequences with references to Modi's wardrobe and the dream structure in the chapter dedicated to Desh ki janta ka dream (towards the end) are absolute gems.

I think I have given you just about enough from the book to arouse your curiosity about the book in case you haven't read it yet.

The book does tend to drag just a little bit during the middle overs, but then there are those sequences that keep coming up to ensure that you just do not put down the book. And yes, Rahul has been treated rather harshly (You won't be surprised though if you have been following Unreal Times regularly) ...

Also, people who have not seen Nolan's Inception  may not really understand ...hmm...well... inception. 

But then, that does not really count for much for not many people who watched Inception understood inception in any case.

Let me tell you what I liked, nay, loved about the book. The writer's astute observation of contemporary events and weaving these observations into a spoof of ridiculous proportions and creating an entire novel is certainly commendable. For those of us who are familiar with Unreal Times, we are familiar with the author's style of how singular events are converted into short spoofs. 

It is yet another skill to actually compile an entire book of spoofs- all intertwined in the same storyline. So, take a bow, Karthik.

CS Krishna and Karthik Laxman gave us an unputdownable Unreal Elections in 2014. 

This year again, Unreal Aliens is an unputdownable book. 

Karthik Laxman can be booked for a riot- a laughter riot :-)

Some disclosures and views from the Reviewer:

1. I have great respect for PM Modi and Dr. Swamy. 

2. I did not understand Inception

3. I enjoy humour across ideological lines. I admire people who have an ability to create humour out of thin air and have been a big fan of Faking News and The Unreal Times for quite sometime now. As a nation, I think we should be a lot less serious and any form of satire should be encouraged. I do hope more such books come up.

The Sine Curve- Losing & Redemption

I think almost every language in this world has a proverb or an equivalent for, “You don’t value something till you lose it”. This post deals with some of my emotional churns when I lost my job recently.

Some of these emotions are similar to going through a break up. Amongst other things, it is almost as if your esteem has been stolen away from you.

The company where I was working was closing its India office and all of us, the employees, had to leave. I was fortunate to get a significantly long time to search for a new job.

The day I got to know of my situation on the job front, I informed some of my key well-wishers. My parents and my wife were disappointed with the news, but were relieved that I had enough time to scout for a new job. My friends and mentors were confident that getting something of my choice would be a cakewalk for me.

I was convinced too that there was no reason for worry. I knew at least 2 firms that had given me an “open offer”- this essentially meant that all I had to do was to tell them that I wanted to join them and I would have a job with them. And I was quite keen on both the organizations as well as the role I would play in either of them- so I portrayed a relaxed demeanour.

But then, there is something called gut feeling. I felt I was going to be in for a struggle.

I had activated some networks of mine on my situation and 45 days before my scheduled last day at work, besides the 2 open offers, I was on the cusp of closing 2 more offers. One of those organizations had even sent me the flight options that I could take from Delhi on the proposed joining date.

And then, inexplicably, each of those offers began to evaporate in front of me. Going with the trend, the 2 open offers also suddenly ceased to exist. More on these episodes in my professional memoirs (If I am still around when I am 50, I will probably share them with you. I will probably also share with you in those memoirs what it felt like to be the HR Manager of an organization that was shutting shop in the country.).

There was a desperation within me to “just get something” before the last working day. I applied to places I would never have ever applied into. Some of the responses were good enough to shatter my ego that had bloated into what it had become.

Well, I did not get anything that was even remotely good enough by the evening of 31^st March, my last working day. For years, I have heard friends and acquaintances sharing good words about my relationship skills (some call it networking). The naked truth of the moment on the evening of 31^st March was that when I bid adieu to my organization, I was going home without a job.

I was reminded of AdiSankara’s words- Maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvam, harati nimeshaat kaalahsarvam... Let me attempt a translation here- Do not take pride in your wealth, networks or your youth. These can be taken away from you in no time.

The good thing was that at least 1 battle was over- the ego battle to land something before I was jobless.

When I woke up on the morning of 1^st April, the first feeling I felt was that the now familiar feeling of desperation had vanished. It was as if some butterfly inside had suddenly stopped flapping her wings.

I had the good fortune of having an old mentor and friend (a project manager from yesteryears) who took great interest in ensuring that I do not feel low and that I be engaged in some work. I got on to a consulting project with him and his team by the 2^nd week of April.

What a lovely feeling it was to get back into consulting.

One project led to another as I spoke to more friends and mentors and suddenly it seemed as if life was so much better as a freelancer- great money, flexibility and the freedom to choose what work to do and what not to do and being one’s own boss. Not all was rosy though- when I was ill and could not work, there was no inflow of money. (So it is a bit like a daily labourer- you work, and you earn. No work, no pay. No luxury of a medical leave.)

Many an instances during this period touched me though. I shall quote some of them to you here.

Mentors, friends and senior colleagues went out of their way to send me leads and fix interviews. I was fortunate to have people who would call regularly to check how I am doing and also follow up with the leads they gave me. The alumni of my PG course in my institute were of utmost help- leads, interviews and some of them even gave me projects to do (I had done some work with them in my yesteryear avatar as a management consultant and I guess that helped as well). 

The most touching moments were when some of my friends from batches 6-7 years junior to me sent me leads. Some of my team members from my past organizations sent me such leads too. It was quite nice when relatives who knew they couldn’t directly help me in the job search put me in touch with people who were better suited to help. It was touching when my parents and my wife never once showed a sign of worry- not even there were times when I reached the nadir of my self-esteem (To give you an analogy the feeling you have is very similar to when one has been dumped by one's beloved- the difference only is that in the case of the job, you have to bother about monetary sustenance as well).

It was touching when friends would call to ask how am I without asking me that in as many words-each call was a statement of moral support and I could hear “I'll be there for you” without being told that. Some of them would call every single day of the last 3 months-just randomly- just like that. I feel a lump in my throat as I write this.

In my mother tongue, Tamizh, there is a saying, “Iduvum kadandu pogum”- it just means, this too shall pass.

My period of being “unemployed” ends this Monday morning as I get ready to fly that new feeling of having again an office, a designation, colleagues and a “role”. And the stability of the monthly pay.

Some reflections from the experiences of the last few months-

1. If you do not have the insecurity of not having a stable monthly pay, and are convinced of your expertise in any domain of management, engineering or just about anything, and have some appetite for risk, then try freelancing. Or better still, entrepreneurship.
2. Remember that couplet when you feel down and out- “Guzar jaayega ye daur bhi Ghalib, Zara itminaan toh rakh. Jab khushi hee na thehri, toh gham ki kya aukaat hai…”. A feeble translation would be- This too shall pass, Ghalib. Be satisfied/ content. When happiness itself is fleeting, how can sorrow dare to be not transient.
3. If you are a believer, then chant. It helps like nothing else- especially during those low days.
4. If you are as emotionally immature and spiritually un-evolved as I am, you will go through a sine curve of emotions- days when you are gung-ho and days when you feel like the biggest piece of sh** in the world. Go through these churns and remember point no. 3.
5. Stand up for what believe in. Do not let a short term gain overpower what you believe in. During my worst days in the last 3 months, I was able to say no to a role in a company that sells alcohol and an organization which I felt (feel) does unethical stuff. When I look back at these last 3 months, I feel very very good about these decisions.
6. There is many a slip between the cup and the lip. Never ever, ever , ever jump the gun when it comes to matters that, well, can slip between the cup and the lip. I do not know how else to describe this.
7. You never know when you will get such a long break again (trust me, you don't want this kind of a break). Make the most of it while it lasts. I have read more in the last 3 months than I have in the last 5 years. 
8. In the long run, I guess such jolts will appear minor. While going through it, of course, it is a different matter altogether. My brother told me during this period that I will emerge from this period of retrenchment as a stronger individual. I hope he is right.

I dedicate this blog entry to Sonal Khare, my friend, who woke me up from my slumber from the blog world.

I am grateful to God for the presence of so many friends and well-wishers in my life (Not withstanding Maa kuru dhana jana yauvana garvam). This entry I shall dedicate to some of these awesome people- Avinash Kohli, Anshuman Rath, Anshumal, Nishith Upadhyaya, Sandeep Chatterjee, Nilay, Akshay Berry, Anushree Thapliyal, Lokesh Nigam, Nandan Pandit, Alok Shrivastava, Shwetabh Jha and Chandan Shamnani. 

And... to some of my friends who know I am writing this blog and do not wish to be named J