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I watched Okuribito (Departures) yesterday, a movie that follows the life of a mortician, an encoffiner. An encoffiner is a person whose profession is to prepare the body of a deceased person and place it in a coffin, especially in a ceremonial or ritualistic manner. Leonor Magtolis Briones, a movie critic, notes, “the encoffiners’ real task is to bring dignity to death, respect to the deceased and solace to those who grieve, and it is not hard to be moved . . . .”

Okuribito is a 2008 Japanese film by Y?jir? Takita. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars.

It is a beautiful movie, but a very difficult watch initially. You feel confident of your capability to withstand difficult scenes, but in here, something inside you gives away. At first you start despising the profession and feel the same kind of emotions as felt by the wife of the protagonist. But slowly, you are awestruck with the beauty of the process, the incredible art, and the relevance of the ritual. It touches you deep within.

I don’t know what motivated me to watch this movie. Perhaps it was the fact that I had nothing else to do at that time. But I am now incredibly thankful for the impulsive decision. Though the movie is about a man’s journey, it has many underlying tones to it. There are quite a few aspects that are so very relevant to our own lives. There was once a debate at my house on how once people take care of their need for food and shelter, they move on to think about supposedly higher level things. The argument surrounded the relative progress made by different civilizations around the world. But in the face of this movie, all those arguments fall apart. Through this movie you realize that a profession can be cherished for what good does it do to the people around us. You may not be making millions (or even thousands) but can live a very simple, satisfying, and beautiful life. The taste of food does not change with how secure you are financially. Those things take care of themselves once you are connected with yourself. And the fact that death is inevitable. In one line of the movie, the main character says (not verbatim) – “My father left this world leaving behind just a carton full of items”. You see what I mean. The movie also showed one of the best husband-wife relationship I have seen ever. It was just beautiful.

The movie is very well made. I am not too keen to speak about the technicalities of the movie because, at one point, it does not matter. But I would like to highlight its music. Its refreshing. Anyone who is motivated to watch this movie must first read the story (at least the gist). Only if you feel comfortable with the subject, should you venture. And even if you do not subscribe to my enthusiasm or assessment, its not a big deal.

I am currently reading The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity by Nobel Prize winning Economist Dr. Amartya Sen. In there, a chapter is dedicated to Rabindranath Tagore, one of India’s foremost thinkers.  I have always wanted to know more about Tagore – I grew up in Kolkata in the West Bengal state of India where Tagore, his writings, songs, and music is strongly entrenched in the place’s culture. Not coming from a traditional Bengali family, I never had a chance to read or listen to Tagore’s literature much. I was able to lay hands, though, on some of his translated works. But being a teenager and not much fascinated by poetic compositions, I ignored the stalwart. But Dr. Sen has definitely rekindled my curiosity to explore Tagore’s work. Here is a piece from his Nobel prize winning book, Gitanjali:

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Here is the second list of articles as mentioned by David Brooks as part of his Sydney awards giveaway. Read, enjoy, and get enlightened.

• The Rubber Room (Source: The New Yorker) – Education
• Shock Waves (Source: The American Scholar) – Iraq War
• The Goldstone Illusion (Source: The New Republic) – Israel Gaza conflict
• The Default Power (Source: Foreign Affairs) – Foreign Affairs
• The Decline of the English Department (Source: The American Scholar) – Education
• Keeping America’s Edge (Source: National Affairs) – Economics
• Is Food the New Sex? (Source: Hoover) – Behavioral Psychology
• Offensive Play (Source: The New Yorker) – Sports

David Brooks also mentions the following sources to get a daily dose of good and meaningful articles:

• Arts and Letters Daily
• The Browser
• Book Forum

Hope you enjoy the articles as much as I did.

This holiday seems to be zipping by and I haven’t really taken up anything very productive yet. Reading a few magazines here and there, catching up on a little bit of photography, searching for a birthday gift for my wife, looking for jobs, and well…not much. Then I came across an article in the NYtimes.com site – The Sidney Awards – by columnist David Brooks. In here he has given out awards to magazine articles (essays) that he feels have narrative drive and social impact. I decided to make it a project of mine to read all the articles he talks about. The reason is very simple – get acquainted with a few well written articles and built up on my repertoire of good editorials to access. Here are the articles that he has mentioned so far:

• The Cost Conundrum (Source: The New Yorker) – Healthcare
• How American Health Care Killed My Father (Source: The Atlantic) – Healthcare
• Fasten Your Seat Belts — It’s Going to Be a Bumpy Flight (Source: National Journal) – Healthcare
• Trial by Fire (Source: The New Yorker) – Judicial system and death penalty
• A Rake’s Progress (Source: The Weekly Standard) – Biographic portrayal
• Rediscovering Central Asia (Source: The Wilson Quarterly) – History and Geography

He will release a few more articles in the coming week. Let’s see what he has in store for me when he comes up with more award winners.

Don’t exactly remember where I got the reference for this book but I would like to thank the person/site that mentioned it to me.

Influence: Science and Practice, by Robert B. Cialdiniis a book that opens your eyes. To the world surrounding us and to the compliance tactics smart and cunning people have used to exploit us of our money and joy. No matter who we are, what we want to become, or what we already do, we are constant preys to such people. Think about the TV advertising you just saw, your car salesman, or even the innocent looking boy who came to sell you magazine subscriptions. They are all employing some common tactics that “forces” you to take decisions favorable to them.

Most common uses of these practices are during the course of a negotiation. An intelligent negotiator can employ these mind games to gain an upper hand. You will be astounded when you realize the simplicity of the idea and the enormity of the results it produce. Maybe even you can learn a trick or two to weave into your next negotiation. I also believe that this book will aid you in your relationships – be it as a father, employer, or a friend. The goal should be to reach a conclusion that is favorable to all, not just oneself. Per this book, most of it is psychological!!!

Dr. Cialdini offers great insights into a number of such tactics used. He explains, clearly and lucidly, the fundamentals behind our reactions and backs it up with rich examples and references to research publications. Popular blogger Guy Kawasaki has an interview of Dr. Cialdini on his website. Do check it out.

I would most definitely recommend this book to just about everyone. I am going to buy this book (borrowed from the library this time) and keep in my meaningful-self-help-books shelf.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die is a book by Dan Heath and Chip Heath.

How can your message stick instead of getting forgotten in a few passing moments? How can you communicate your ideas in such a way that they are remembered and complied upon? That is the treatise of this book. It provides a very interesting framework that you can use, called SUCCESs.

Keep the message SIMPLE – focus on the core message, be clear, forthright, and make it compact. Avoid the ‘Curse of Knowledge’

Get audience’s attention by bringing the UNEXPECTED – Obvious things told in an unobvious ways can help get and retain interests of an audience. Sway away from numbers and focus on the message they send out. There is a gap between what we know and what we understand. Fill those gaps.

Help people understand and remember by being CONCRETE – Don’t be abstract. Speak about actual results, actual stories, and actual outcomes.

Be CREDIBLE – Be convincing by providing necessary details, statistics, and information.

Make people care by adding EMOTION – That is when people will respond to your message. Learn about primary motivation factors and use them judiciously.

Tell a STORY – Nothing sticks better than a story. Use them in such a way that people get a way to act your message. Not leave confused with how to do what to do next.

The book itself is full of stories and examples relating to each of these principles. As a book, I will give it an average rating. That is because in my mind the book is a victim of its own principles. Though interesting, it seems long for its topic and too many examples to remember and keep them sticky. It seems the Heath brothers compiled a list of stories, segregated them into buckets, and them wove some text around it. It is definitely a recommended book but I would suggest reading the first 10 pages of each chapter and the last chapter. If the message sticks, fine. But if not, the book has lost its own purpose.

The authors have a website that provides many resources that you may want to use. I personally do not like to register to access resources. So I cannot rate them here.

This book brought back memories of my Professional Communications class by Prof. Brandon Smith and Prof. Daphne Schechter. If you have access to such classes, I would highly recommend taking them.

Watched Pixar’s UP tonight and what a roller coaster ride it was. Coasting on the tides of a man’s emotion, of a child’s simplicity, of an animal’s innocence, and of human imagination. Touching at times, and hilarious the next moment, UP is a movie for all ages. It is visually stunning movie with some incredible special effects. There were moments when it did not feel like animation but an authentic fantasy world.

What differentiates Pixar from other movie houses is the human touch in every of its movies and that is what attracts me to animation flicks. I am not a big fan of animals based movies and feel that they are more suited for kids. But Pixar manages to capture not only the imagination of a kid but titillates an adult mind too. The trials and tribulations that a protagonist endures, its emotional aftereffect, and his final victory touches every human. Such was The Incredibles, Wall-E, and UP. Great job Pixar!

Two thumbs up.

During my first semester here at Goizueta, I took a class on Statistics taught by Prof. Steve Stuk. Not only did I enjoy the class immensely, my interest in the subject was greatly enhanced. Prof. Stuk showed us numerous real world examples where statistical analysis is used and how it impacts our day to day lives. During the same time, my marketing teacher, Prof. Sundar Bharadwaj, referred me to a book – The Numerati by Stephen Baker – that talks about strides this new science is making in today’s context.

I recently finished reading the book and I have to say, I am greatly impressed. Stephen starts with asking everyone of us as to how much in our opinion do we leave a trail of data ‘explaining’ our tastes and behavior. Our clicks on the humble IE/Firefox/et all are getting captured and monitored by numerous numerati (number crunchers) to understand and gain information about us. He then goes on to mention how marketers are using the same data to provide us with targetted, contextual advertisement to get our business.

Then the author takes us on a journey – as a patient, blogger, lover, and even a terrorist. How the different companies and agencies are tracking information that we unconciously and willfully give to clearly identify us. Clearly many of the applications and systems designed are going to be for our own benefits. But an ethical question is also raised – Do we really want someone to process the information and join the dots to know a private ‘us’?

The digital age is changing the way businesses evaluate the needs of their customers. With the advent of Google and other data rich companies, a completely new discipline that intermixes core skills such as statistical analysis, anthropology, psychology, et cetra is taking birth. What this sector is creating and what impact will it have on our lives is the basic premise of the book. The book is organized very well and provides for an easy read.

A few days back, a close friend of mine suggested writing a book. It was to be titled ‘Good Capitalism:Bad Capitalism’. Reluctantly, I applauded the idea and was gung-ho about expressing my 2 cents. My last few months of glossing over the Wall Street Journal, discussing with my fellow MBA students, and an enthusiastic spirit gave me the confidence that I can discuss and write about Capitalism. When I came back home later that evening, I started going through (in my mind) what I understood about this unique all pervasive concept that is the foundation of the current world economy. My brain froze!

Then there was a program on CNBC – “Meeting of the minds: The Future of Capitalism” that I enjoyed watching. The program featured an impressive array of panelists (go here for details) and the discussion surrounded the current economic misery, and the role of business and government in its bailout. But I was still unclear of the frameworks surrounding capitalism to make an informed assessment of their comments. I could just rely on my common sense and my own knowledge.

Then I picked up this book by James Fulcher – Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions) – to brush up my basics. And it delivered.

The book traces the origins of capitalism right from the trading days of East India Company. It discusses the presence of feudalism, its slow transformation into socialism, and finally its metamorphosis into capitalism. Once there, James does a great job of dissecting the facets of capitalism and the various forces that defines its nature – politics, business, labor unions, markets, currency, and others. He does this by comparing three distinct forms of capitalism – Swedish, British, and Japanese. Slowly the pieces of the puzzle start falling together.

In the last chapter, he discusses the various crises that have fallen upon/by capitalism. Per him, crisis is a by-product of this system and cannot be avoided. Thanks to the ever volatile consumer demand, never ending profit increasing, and the human nature in general. Economics 101 – Every person will act in order to maximize his/her profit.

This book is very lucidly written and I would suggest all to give this book a try and keep it in your book shelf, if possible. I cannot say that I am a master of this subject, but it has nevertheless built a foundation for me to develop my knowledge and make informed opinions about the events happening around me.

The Indian film industry is certainly maturing. We have been witness to some good movies in the past few years and if the present trend continues we will see our mainstream movies winning awards at various festivals (not just sending our pretty actors and actresses to walk down the aisles of Cannes). Directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra have shown to our veteran film-makers that we need not stick to the routine song and dance sequence to make a good movie (that makes a profit too). The veterans should take note and prove to the world (and India) that their creativity is not a slave to slick cameramanship, reputed actors and colorful choreography. A movie devoid of all such fluff can also touch your hearts and bring a smile to an average cinegoer like me.

Debutante director Balakrishna makes his entry into the film industry from the adworld with Cheeni Kum, a little sweet, little sour story about an elderly gentleman following in love with a middle-aged woman. The main plot of the movie can be summarized in a few lines. The elderly gentleman (played by Amitabh Bachchan) is a chef who runs a restaurant in London. On one occasion he meets one of his patrons, (middle aged lady played by Tabu) and soon sparks fly between them. They fall in love and want to get married, but there is a problem. The gentleman is older than his prospective father-in-law (Paresh Rawal). The problem is soon resolved and the couple get married. That’s about it. But its at this end when the magic of movie making kicks in, something that can decide whether the viewers will leave the theater happy or high-and-dry.

Indian movies, until this point in time, have conformed to the culture that was the mainstay of the generation fading away. But now the times are changing and Indians have become more westernized and liberal in their viewpoints about traditions, including love and marriage. A film maker who tries to express these advances in their movies run the risk of being rejected and forgotten. We have seen evidence of such mavericks in Guru Dutt, Raj Kapoor and more recently in Karan Johar who have burnt their fingers and money trying to send out a message from the generation X. It is important for a film maker to convey the message as subtley as possible so that an average Indian can take some time to absorb these ideologies and be comfortable with such dogmas. Balakrishna manages to do just that.

He takes time to arrive at the problem. He doesnt create unnecessary situations to drive home the dilemma faced by the protoganists. Amitabh (Buddha) meets Tabu (Nina Verma) in a matter-of-fact situation and falls in love. This love story can be between any two people in any age group.Only when the situation comes where the prospective son-in-law has to ask for his to-be brides hand, is the question posed. Then there are other mini-plots throughout the story that keep the viewers engaged and take them off the main problem from time to time. The story of Sexy (played aptly by Swini Khara) sends out a message to every one of us – You never know when the end comes, so do what you dream and desire of when you can still give it a shot. The comic angle provided by the cooks at Spice6 (name of the restaurant owned by Buddha) and Buddha’s mother (Zohra Sehgal) helps to break any monotony that may have sunk in. But it is ultimately the love story between the Buddha and Nina that holds the center stage. The frivolous interactions, the nervousness, the fear of being rejected, among other things tell us a story that each one of us have lived at some time or the other. Finally comes the question – Is it ok for a 64 year old man to marry? More so to a 34 year woman? The father-in-law poses a problem because he is dogmatic and is not ok to give up the ideologies of the past – even when there is no logical flaw in the concept. Buddha’s tirade, when father-in-law takes up Satyagragha (fasting unto death) to further his thoughts, very aptly makes this point and discusses various reasonings that might be the anchor to which the old genreations are so stubbornly tied to. Buddha’s remarks are not something that he is prepared for beforehand, they come out in the form of a discussion, trying to solve the dilemma the old guy in the bed has. One by one he touches upon jealosy, common sense et all and finally he resigns to the fact that the father is just imposing his thoughts on his daughter without any premonition of what should be done and what not.

Song and dance sequences in this movie are none. Illayaraja provides a light background score that keeps the movie balanced for the Indian movie goer, though I believe the main track could have been on a more mature note. Amitabh, the icon, play his role quietly without ever imposing his larger than life persona. Tabu, a beautiful and sensitive actress, seems natural and carries the weight of the film in equal standing with the big B. She definitely needs more attention and good roles so that she can continue to prove to the younger stars what good acting is actually made up of.

The real star of the film is the director, Balakrishna. He takes up a subject that could have been easily rejected and written off. But he serves it up in a dish that is neither very sweet nor very sour. And it does help us to savor it a lot better.