Confessions of a small(ish) fish

Resting himself inside a 'cocoon', eating his way to happiness and knowing exactly how to handle stuff on any regular day, this little fish had everything what he wished for. He knew exactly how to handle things, was comfortable when any irregularity used to happen in his life and was always safe in the support of family, siblings and friends. Anything that you could possibly imagine regarding a secured life, he had it all!

But that's the thing about comfort right? You are comfortable because you develop a safety zone and would like to reside in that zone for possibly the rest of your life. You are probably best at what you do, within that zone. You seldom explore, try out new things and make mistakes. You just love to do the same things day in and day out. And as long as your requirements are being met, you hardly care. 

As a legendary movie character (Joker from The Dark Knight) once said, "Introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos". Should we stir the pot, or pond in this case? How, you may ask.

Let's move this little fish out of his familiar small pond and placed into a big endless sea.

What do you think will be the emotion expressed by this little fish? Fear? Nervous? Anxiety? Excited? 

The answer will depend on how exactly you will feel when you are placed in a similar position. I, for one, will be anxious. Fear and Excitement are two extremes who only a small section of the population will go through. Nervous and Anxious are the middle line.

Now, our little fish will have to swim "with the proverbial sharks". This little fish will find many others swimming around who have made this big sea their home. Any intruder in one's home will be treated with anger, caution but not happiness. This little fish will now have to co-exist with the others and on occasions, will have to compete for common areas. Areas could be finding a place called home, eating stuff that's common across all similar sized neighbors and avoid being eaten by bigger neighbors. It's almost as if his world is now upside down!

Everybody goes through such a phase at least once in their lives. Some are fortunate enough to experience it early while some find this later. I am going through this phase. Early / later - I leave it to reader interpretation. The faster you adapt, the stronger you will grow and thrive. It's like a race with a small difference - winning the race is not mandatory; not losing is critical. 

The race has begun. 

Did The Joker kill Heath Ledger?

Rhetoric question, you may ask. Did I hear someone say "absurd"? You may even take offense to it. That’s exactly the way I felt when I heard about a new documentary titled “Heath Ledger: Too Young to Die”.

I am a big fan of the Batman trilogy. I am a fan of Christopher Nolan. And a huge fan of “The Joker” character from “The Dark Knight”. Joker is the only reason why I love watching the movie again and again. Heath Ledger took the character to a level where, I felt, that Joker was the real hero rather than Batman. His presence lit up the screen and his next move was always a surprise / shock. The dialogue delivery, the make-up, the laugh and other expressions made The Dark Knight a must watch – many times! And the fact that we didn’t see the actual death of the character prompted me to believe that Nolan will bring him back in the 3rd edition “The Dark Knight Rises”. However, that was not to be; primarily, for reasons well known to all of us.

In one of the interviews in 2007, Heath Ledger said the following about his role and the preparation involved – “It's a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it. I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices - it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath - someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts. He's just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown.”

Now, we have a German documentary (yet to be released) that claims to reveal the details of the diary maintained by Heath Ledger. They claim the details in the diary are shocking and, perhaps, have a link with his eventual untimely death. Heath Ledger’s father is also part of this documentary which, some may believe, gives the documentary a certain amount of credibility.

From what I can gather, the documentary is totally based on two aspects of Heath Ledger’s life – 

1. A diary maintained by Heath Ledger while he was preparing for his role as Joker. He was living inside a hotel room in London for almost a month trying to get into the much-acclaimed character. He practised with various voices, conceptualizing and interpreting the comic strips and developed that iconic laugh. All this has been jotted down on his diary with pictures etc. 
2. Heath’s health Issue: If you read about his health issues on Wikipedia, you will realize that he had sleeping issues and would usually fall back on medications. The autopsy report also suggests the same as the possible cause of his death. 

Add 2 and 2 together and you get a probable conspiracy theory, which is what, I think, has been highlighted in the documentary. Personally, I don’t want to believe the documentary, especially the emotional side of me. If the sacrifice for making an iconic, epic, memorable and once-in-a-lifetime character was one's own life, I would have been content with the “scarecrow” and “Bane” type of villains (no offence to these characters) for Batman trilogy with Heath Ledger alive and kicking. If the documentary starts making sense, then Heath has literally sacrificed everything, even his own life, for his role as The Joker. 

I will sign out using one of Joker's most memorable quotes -

Long live ‘The Joker’. Long live Heath Ledger. His legacy lives on, with / without documentary.

Thank you for everything, Dr. Kalam!

It’s been a week since the unfortunate incident. And the mourning hasn’t stopped one little bit for the majority of Indians. It’s like losing one of your own and knowing that life won’t be the same again. That’s the impact Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam had on the entire nation. He loved us and we loved him. Before being the president (first citizen of the country) to being the President and even afterwards, he was always interested in meeting people and sharing his words of wisdom. Despite all the accolades that came his way, he still remained humble, true to his roots in a world filled with greed for money and hunger for power. 

I wonder how the students and faculty members of IIM Shillong might be feeling right now. They were listening to him intently and were about to be overpowered by his awe and persona when the unfortunate incident happened. I was tracking the news on Twitter but thought this might be another rumor. After all, twitter has reported death of a lot of celebrities / popular figures only for them to tweet proclaiming they are alive. Deep down, I was hoping it to be true even for Dr. Kalam. But it was not to be. News channels started their “Breaking News” stuff and in no time, the news I didn’t want to hear, started appearing in all news channels. Dr. Kalam was 83 years old.

Image: Kind Courtesy - White thoughts and Branding

Isn’t it poetic that he left us for heavenly abode doing what he loves doing?

Dr. Kalam was born in a poor family and was the youngest of 4 brothers and 1 sister. Due to the poor background, he started working to support his studies. By now, everyone knows he used to be a newspaper boy. He went on to graduate in Aerospace engineering. He joined DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) as a scientist then went on to become a project director who successfully launched the satellite ‘Rohini’ in the year 1980 while working for ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization). He was conferred with “Padma Bhushan” in 1981, “Padma Vibhushan” in 1990 and the biggest civilian honor “Bharat Ratna” in 1997 by the government of India. His story is a ‘rags-to-riches’ one with the only different being that his “rich” was more in terms of knowledge and compassion than money and power. He has and will continue to inspire millions to become the next ‘Kalam’.

Dr. Kalam had listed the following areas Indian need to focus on to become a "knowledge superpower" in his book “India 2020” - 

1. Agriculture and food processing 
2. Education and healthcare 
3. Information and communication technology 
4. Infrastructure, reliable and quality electric power, surface transport and infrastructure for all parts of the country and 
5. Self-reliance in critical technologies.

..and he added one more in his recent book (Transcendence) – “Faith in God and spirituality”.

These aren’t just 5-6 pointers every other leader makes every other day in every other meeting. Dr. Kalam actually connected them and cohesively growth in these areas will make India a superpower in the real sense of the word. The essence of the above mentioned points is to become self-reliant and actually lead the world as the first mover – be it technology, infrastructure, education etc. It’s now up to the government, leaders and citizens to unite and fulfil the dream he had set for our country.

The subsequent generations will learn and know Dr. Kalam as one of the truly greats who walked the face of the Earth. His stories, the lessons to be learnt from him and his life, his witty and life-defining statements, his reign as the 11th President of India and he being known as the “People’s President” will all be part of the history books. I lived in an era when he was alive. My only regret is not being able to meet him or see him. But one day I will, for I will meet my maker one day and am sure my LORD will ask me what do I want to do first and my answer will be, “Can I meet the person who inspired millions of people on Earth, a leader who practices what he preached, a leader so rich in knowledge but was always ready to share?” 

When a well-respected and renowned person loses his life and we experience personal loss, then that’s a life worth living!

Long live, sir. Forever.

Bad exam result is akin to losing a wicket - the match is still up for grabs!

It’s the most dreaded season of them all. Not summer, not rainy, not even winter. We, in India, can actually call it the “result season”. Tenth and Twelfth results to be precise. And if you are born to Indian parents with traditional (educational) values, then the pressure on you is nothing short of humungous! The pressure can be compared to a World Cup final match featuring India. The whole world will watch your performance (in exam: all relatives, neighbors, family friends, teachers and even your society will be keeping an eye on you). Good performance and a favorable result – you will be elevated by one and all. One bad step and an unfavorable result – you will be severely scrutinized, perhaps for the rest of your lives.

Is it really that bad? No. It’s not as bad as society and media makes it to be.

Can we form an analogy between Life and Cricket?

In Cricket, a batting team has resources up its sleeve to achieve a specific target. In doing so, they may lose out on some resources. Losing a wicket is losing a resource. Assume an ODI match is about to start. The opening batsmen are ready. A wicket goes down early. What does the one-down batsman do? He approaches the crease, looks for any uneven spot on the pitch, tries to even the surface, does his before-facing-the-first–ball routine, focuses on the immediate task at hand (and not the eventual target) and ensures he handles the initial friction well. I think this is what one needs to do in life too, especially after an exam result. Once we get hit by a hurdle, we need to slow down and contemplate the next course of action with caution. After the result, the world would want to know how much you have scored and congratulate or empathize with you based on the outcome. If you are the one anticipating empathy, watch out for friction and a bumpy road ahead. Overcoming this phase with caution is the key. Wait for the next phase to begin. 

In Cricket, the new batsman will try to form a partnership with the other batsman and start “rebuilding” the innings. He never laments for the wickets lost. What’s past is past. He may or may not be compatible with the other batsmen, but in the interest of his team, he “adjusts”. Shouldn’t we also follow the same principle? Once you start going to college, focus should be on present and the future and not the past. The result has come and gone. College life beckons. Also, you may not get the college / stream you want. But just like a partnership in Cricket, you need to “adjust” and form a partnership.

When I was in tenth, I attended a send-off function hosted by school authorities. I happened to top the prelims (exam conducted just prior to the one that matters). So I was given an opportunity to share a message (motivational one) with the 9th standard batch-mates who were also present at the function. Since it was impromptu, I decided to say what I felt like without worrying much about the repercussions. This is what I told them – “Don’t compete with your friends / batch / university. Compete only with yourself. If you feel you can achieve 90%, go for it. If you feel 60% is the limit for you, strive to achieve that. Compete with the target you set for yourself and try to outdo it.” Post the function, my principal called me and asked me regarding the message I gave. I said, I conveyed what I felt was correct. The principal was of the opinion that I should have motivated them to achieve 90% and beyond. The message should have been the means to overcome all odds to be the best in our city. Although I had a sudden disconnect with what was being discussed, I realized that the society in which we live, judges us by the marks and not by the effort we put in. 

It’s now 16 years past that incident but sadly nothing much has changed. The only thing I feel has changed is that in those days, even 75% was considered great. Now 90% is only considered “decent”. I am not really sure why. Are the kids now well versed with what they study or is the evaluation now more lenient, who’s to say? 

It’s just a wicket that has gone down. The match (your life) is still up for grabs. Introspect the situation, learn from mistakes / shortcomings and do better next time. The only difference between Life and Cricket is that in Cricket, your success depends on your opposition losing. But life is much better; you can still win while celebrating your opponent’s success. 

My Mom and I

*************** Start of Conversation ***************

Dad: It’s a Saturday. What’s your plan for today?

Daughter: Mom’s gone to work. I think we can go to the garden and you can help me enjoy the rides. Wish Mom was also free on Saturdays.

Dad: People have different timings dear. I work from Monday to Friday. Mom works from Monday to Saturday. I don’t have month-long vacations. Mom has month-long vacations. I have different problems at work, mom has her own problems.

Daughter: I know about your problems, dad. But mom also has work related problems? I have never seen her under stress.

Dad: Yes she has. She travels for more than an hour to reach her workplace. She travels in Mumbai local trains. She has to prepare a lot prior to reaching her workplace. 

Daughter: I didn’t know all this. Dad, I think we should talk about it today. We’ll go to garden in the evening once mom comes back. Let’s discuss this now.

Dad: Ok. But tell me one thing. Why do you feel mom doesn’t have work pressure?

Daughter: She never shows it. She gets up in the morning and wakes me up in the sweetest way possible. I know I am a little fussy when I get up, I seek attention. But all I am yearning for is moms love and affection when I wake up. Then she takes care of my morning chores. While you play with me in the morning, she prepares breakfast for both of us and happily places it on the table. While we are busy eating / drinking, she gets ready for work. She sees you off and then plays with me for a while. She keeps me busy with something and quietly leaves for work, so that I don't notice and cry about it.

Dad: Wow. Interesting observation, I must say.

Daughter: Even when she comes back home in the evening, she shows no sign of tiredness. She brings lollipop for me, plays with me and we happily watch television for a while. In sharp contrast, when you return home, you seem tired. You play with me for a while and then go back to the room to change and rest. Then you and mom switch roles and you play with me while mom relaxes. But all through this, she never appears tired. This made me feel that you have work pressures but mom doesn’t.

Dad: Moms are wonderful, dear. Your Grand-mom sacrificed a lot to see me doing well in life. You mom is doing the same with you.

Daughter: I agree.

Dad: I look stressed or tired probably because I feel my primary role is to protect the family – financially and otherwise, today and tomorrow. That’s what is always present in my mind. And maybe, guys are made this way. It’s difficult for a man to look happy when there’s pressure from various avenues. Maybe we are hard-wired.

Daughter: Dad, but I think you take a lot of tension. You work hard every day and the money you earn goes into the investments you have made for me, which is great. But by doing so, you are always under stress. For instance, look at all the grey hair you have. I think you need to do what I do when I have a problem.

Dad: And what’s that?

Daughter: Go to a specialist! Like when I need something, food to eat or to apply lipstick / makeup or if I hurt myself while playing, I go to mom. I don’t know how she does it, but her presence makes me forget the pain. Football makes you forget your stress, so football is a specialist for you. Grey hair is now a problem for you, I suggest you blacken your hair. Why even make it black? Try some different shades, why not go to a specialist in this field to solve it?

Dad: OK. I take your point. 

Daughter: OK. But today’s discussion is about mom. I want to know how she hides her stress from me.

Dad: That’s because moms are selfless human-beings. In a world where every person you meet outside is selfish, here’s a lady who will go out of her way to ensure you are content and happy. You will surely realize the secret when you reach that stage.

Daughter: Now, we are taking this discussion out of scope. Its about my mom, not me being a mom some day! Let’s give it 2-3 decades from now. Garden, shall we?

Dad: Yeah sure, my princess!

*************** End of Conversation ***************

This is what I think my daughter (who is 2 years and 6 months old) will say when she starts understanding the sacrifices every mom goes through, to raise a child. These are exactly the same thoughts I have of my mom too. And I am sure many of the readers will agree. Moms are special. I don’t think there will be one special instance that stands out. Every single instance with my mom stands out, like it does for my daughter. 

They say God is omnipresent. I agree. But I also feel Mothers have a huge part to play in this.

No Dream too big. No Obstacle too high!

God has a peculiar way of inspiring each and every one of us through one of our own. Our inspiration can come from a nursery story of a Hare and a Tortoise, or a David v/s Goliath story. It could come from a person, like your parent, sibling, teachers, professors, bosses or any random person you meet. It could come from experiences – sometimes as simple as watching the rising sun, walking barefoot on a virgin beach, listening to music, watching movies / sports or in some cases, from our own personal life.

India adores sports. Cricket in particular, but things are changing and that too, for the better. We now have World Class performers in Badminton, Tennis, Chess, Athletics, Boxing, Wrestling et al. India is on the global map and is only destined to improve year on year. Many of the renowned players have had a humble beginning. They went through testing times and eventually overcame all the odds.

One such sportsperson is Mohammad Salih. A Chess fanatic who has played and won at college, university, state and even at South Indian Chess Championship, where he came 2nd. What’s that big a deal, you may ask? It’s a big deal, because he’s blind. That’s right, a person blind from birth plays Chess, a game where you have to be visually and intellectually astute.

He was born in Calicut to a poor family which included a blind father and two blind sisters. He grew up not clearly knowing the benefits of sight. He was later admitted to a residential school for the visually impaired. That was when he was introduced to Chess, among other games. He took to Chess the way a fish takes to water! But fate had a different story for young Salih. He was moved to a different school where his freedom to play was restricted, more so due to extra care given to him by his teachers. During these testing times, he gave equal importance to academics, passed his 10th and later on went on to complete his LLB.

But his passion for Chess remained intact. Anyone who has played Chess knows how important it is “see” what the opponent is trying to do. Imagine closing your eyes and playing it. Very difficult, isn’t it? Also, when Salih works on his strategies, he has to touch the pieces to determine its position and then play. This gives a strategic advantage to the opponent. Another problem he faces is during the practice. While other players can practice using computer opponents and afford coaches, Salih had to practice with humans and had to teach himself through experiences. Despite all this, he went on winning – not only against the visually impaired opponents, but also against players who don’t have the disability. Quite incredible!

He is the only earning member in the family. To make ends meet, he has started taking Chess teaching sessions. He dreams of starting a Chess Academy to develop the next set of champions from India. He also dreams on representing India on the world stage – which involves a lot of money, something he is deprived of.

In one of the interview, he said – “I want to be known as famous chess player and not a ‘blind chess player’. I can play as well as other sighted people. Then why to add ‘blind’ to my name”. It’s very obvious he doesn’t need our sympathy. Disability does not (and should not) disturb our ability to achieve success. Mohammad Salih is one such icon we need to look up to and respect.

A true sporting icon indeed!

Corporates have regularly come in to assist, support and develop simple yet super-human icons live and realize their dream. WillOfSteel.in is one such initiative from JSW. When you visit the website, you are introduced to wonderful human beings who have braved all odds, sacrificed self and family needs, for the betterment of the society at large. These are the people who need our support. Just read their stories, select the best out of them and vote for them. It’s that simple.

I’m voting for Mohammed Salih’s #WillOfSteel and blogging on BlogAdda to help him get felicitated and eventually enabled by JSW.

Who are you voting for?

An unforgettable experience

She came across as one who’s happy, content with life and living the way the Almighty wanted us all to. No ill-deeds, no past regrets, satisfied with the present and a hope within to continue the same in the days to come. She gets up in the morning full of praise and thanksgiving. She completes her daily chores so that she can start serving others. She does her work diligently and with complete responsibility. In more ways than one, she's like just you and me, sans petty tensions. And yes, there's one more difference. She has something we don't. She has AIDS. 

The "She" I am referring to can be anyone and use of gender is just for illustration. 

The other day I, along with some friends, had the privilege to meet and interact with people suffering from AIDS in a care center. There were about 25-30 women inmates in the care center. They welcomed us, sang songs with us, taught us new songs and shared their experiences. We had lunch together. We took group pictures before leaving. They humbly asked us to share the pictures with them the next time we visit them. What took us by surprise was their humility and a zest for life. Among the inmates, some of them were rejected by their families as they felt the victim has brought disrepute. Some of them didn’t have anyone outside to look forward to. Everyone had their own problems in the past and are living with it and will probably live with them forever. 

But a brave face and an attitude to live every day as it comes has made them stronger. Imagine their problems – an ailment that’s life threatening, virtually banned and ignored by the same society they were a part of, challenge to have nutritional food every time where millions in our country die of hunger, easily susceptible to contagious diseases due to lower levels of immunity. Difficult to imagine, right?

The learning class amongst us wants to earn degrees – graduation and post-graduation – so that they get a better career along with a better pay package. The working class amongst us yearn for the double-digit salary hikes every year, so that we can look forward to "living happily". We work hard, extra hours a day to optimize our monthly intake so that we can probably buy that elusive dream house in this city. The inmates don’t have a job to look forward to, don’t have a house – their families have left them – yet they are more composed than most of us! Why? Probably, they haven’t forgotten to thank and praise their creator during these testing times, something very few of us do. Probably, they know we are all here to live and not simply exist.

Here are some of the statistics on AIDS – More than 35 million people are living with HIV of which just less than 10% are children under the age of 15. Every year, more than 2 million people are infected with HIV which translates to almost 240 every hour. Since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly 78 million people have contracted HIV and close to 39 million have died of AIDS-related causes.

We as a society are responsible for the plight of AIDS victims – the emotional plight they experience. We look at them with disdain. We chose to ignore their problems. Despite being “educated”, we are unable to be sensitive towards them. We fall prey to “reputation in society” so much that we conveniently distance ourselves from our dear ones who has unfortunately been infected by AIDS. It’s only human to help someone in need / pain. But when it comes to AIDS, we chose an alternate path. As humans, it’s within our right to show our concern towards those with ailments, let alone a life threatening one.

We entered the AIDS center wanting to know more about them, their lives and the problems they face every day. We left the center with renewed hope and faith. Renewed hope to emerge victorious despite any form of trail that befalls us. Renewed faith that things will change for the better. The victims need our support, emotional and financial, and an acceptance in the society. That’s the least we can do.

PS: I am deliberately not mentioning the name of the care center here. The intention here is just to make each one of us aware of the problems these victims are facing. Proper awareness is the first step we need to take. A good beginning is half the job done!

Route to Happiness

"Happiness is ideally what we yearn for. Happiness is practically what we earn for." - Me!

I can't believe I came up with the line above. 

I won't be farther from the truth if I say I need happiness and that too eternal. And am sure everyone reading this will agree. And there's no ambiguity either. Normally, when we are confused with multiple options, we make decision that may not be right in the long term. Like career v/s marriage, or career v/s having a child, or family time v/s time for passion or even black forest v/s walnut brownie. These are like cross-roads – you make a choice & move on and the rejected option may not return ever again (apart from the ice cream, of course). These are the considerations we have to make whose outcome will define the future we will witness.

And what’s the future we are looking for? Anything that has happiness at its core, isn’t it? We chose various means to attain happiness but seldom reach the desired destination. Money is one such means. Many of my relatives and colleagues feel they lost out on opportunities just to ensure they children have a safe and secure future. We Indians are habituated to this, aren’t we? Our parents have going through the same thing and we will go through when we reach this stage – despite knowing what we are losing out on. 

One of my friends father shared his experience with me – He said he went abroad to make money and left his family (wife and 2 kids) back in India. He used to transfer money regularly. This went for more than 2 decades. One fine day he left everything and came back home. He felt he had saved enough. When we came back, his kids were already in their twenties and were closer to getting married. He said he missed his kids a lot. He missed their growing up days, a walk in the park, playing with them, attending school events – everything. He wasn’t enjoying either. He sacrificed a lot of his pleasures to save for his family. There are moments when he felt he should come back, but the need to save more forced him to stay back. Yes, his family is now well-to-do and are secure financially, but at what cost? He advised me to take my family along if I happen to get an overseas assignment and to be a little bit more selfish than most Indian dads who are primarily concerned about a financially secure future.

Isn’t this the story of almost all Indians working abroad while feeding their families back home by transferring money?

Most of us are on a mission to seek happiness, but appear to be on a wrong path. We know it’s wrong but we are somewhat forced to traverse this path hoping to seek happiness through more money. Or maybe it’s the need to earn more money and later on redirect my route towards happiness. I don't really know. 

Life is too short to learn from our own mistakes. Maybe we need to learn from the mistakes and experiences of people around us. But then, experience is also like a comb that life gives you when you are bald!

Book Review: My Beloved's MBA plans.

My Beloved's MBA plans is a series of short stories of people from different backgrounds with a common dream - to pursue MBA. Its written by Disha Chhabra who has personally interviewed the people and their families. The book describes the hurdles those people went through before pursuing their dream (MBA).

Judging a book by its cover -

Who should read this book -

1. Aspiring MBA graduates, especially those who are working currently
2. Mid life crisis regarding your career, this book can inspire you.

What's the story like - Following are some of the situations mentioned in this book: A husband, who has a decent job and lives with his wife and 4 month old twins, decides to give MBA a try. A recently divorced lady decides to do executive MBA primarily to divert her focus and in the process meets a guy with whom she decides to spend the rest of her life with. A man leaves his family business to concentrate on his career. A lady's only commitment before marrying was that she will stay with her husband and will not try to look elsewhere for job / higher studies, decides to get herself registered for executive MBA. And so on.. 

How's the writing - The author has adopted the interview mode to convey the story. The story starts with a brief introduction of the people, their hurdle to pursue MBA and how they achieved it. Then you have a descriptive account of the story. Author has ensured that none of the story goes into dragging mode. So much so that each story is not more than 6-7 pages. Also, I get a feeling that the book was rushed into publishing without proper proof-reading. This could be the difference between one of the best book on the shelf and as 'also-published' one.

So, what do I think - The book is an interesting read and will truly cater to and inspire people it targets. The issues mentioned are the ones because of which many executives decide not to get back to academics and enhance their skill. It covers family issues, joint family issues, pregnancy, divorce, love life, leaving lucrative jobs, high paying jobs etc. Since the book caters to a select few (considering the super set of reading audience), not many will prefer to grab this book. Author will do well if she promotes the book more using the executive MBA programmes platform, which I believe she's already doing.

My Rating: 2.5 / 5