Mysorean

Me and my in-laws have booked to go to satyam theatre for First day first show of “Sillunu oru kadhal“. If I am to go by what The Hindu says here, then I am doomed! It seems to be a gender-changed remake of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.

Surprisingly, The Hindu contradicts itself.
1. The movie review has this to say about the music:
“Except the title song there is nothing great about the work of A.R.Rahman…”

2. Whereas in one of the write-ups on the music as soon as the album was released it said this:
“A.R. Rahman has made a fantastic comeback with the music of this movie…”

Anyways, let me decide for myself about the movie. I shall surely let you know tomorrow as to what I felt about it.

When 27-year old Sarathbabu graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he created quite a stir by refusing a job that offered him a huge salary. He preferred to start his own enterprise — Foodking Catering Service — in Ahmedabad.
He was inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, to educate him and his siblings. It was a dream come true, when Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy lit the traditional lamp and inaugurated Sarathbabu’s enterprise.

Sarathbabu was in Chennai, his hometown, a few days ago, to explore the possibility of starting a Foodking unit in the city and also to distribute the Ullas Trust Scholarships instituted by the IT firm Polaris to 2,000 poor students in corporation schools.

In this interview with rediff.com, Sarathbabu describes his rise from a Chennai slum to his journey to the nation’s premier management institute to becoming a successful entrepreneur. This is his story, in his own words.

Childhood in a slum
I was born and brought up in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have two elder sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. It was really tough for her to bring up five kids on her meagre salary.

As she had studied till the tenth standard, she got a job under the mid-day meal scheme of the Tamil Nadu government in a school at a salary of Rs 30 a month. She made just one rupee a day for six people.

So, she sold idlis in the mornings. She would then work for the mid-day meal at the school during daytime. In the evenings, she taught at the adult education programme of the Indian government.

She, thus, did three different jobs to bring us up and educate us. Although she didn’t say explicitly that we should study well, we knew she was struggling hard to send us to school. I was determined that her hard work should not go in vain.

I was a topper throughout my school days. In the mornings, we went out to sell idlis because people in slums did not come out of their homes to buy idlis. For kids living in a slum, idlis for breakfast is something very special.

My mother was not aware of institutions like the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, or the Indian Institutes of Technology. She only wanted to educate us so that we got a good job. I didn’t know what I wanted to do at that time because in my friend-circle, nobody talked about higher education or preparing for the IIT-JEE.

When you constantly worry about the next square meal, you do not dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer. The only thing that was on my mind was to get a good job because my mother was struggling a lot.

I got very good marks in the 10th standard exam. It was the most critical moment of my life. Till the 10th, there was no special fee but for the 11th and the 12th, the fees were Rs 2,000-3,000.

I did book-binding work during the summer vacation and accumulated money for my school fees. When I got plenty of work, I employed 20 other children and all of us did the work together. That was my first real job as an entrepreneur. Once I saw the opportunity, I continued with the work.

Life at BITS, Pilani
A classmate of mine told me about BITS, Pilani. He was confident that I would get admission, as I was the topper. He also told me that on completion (of studies at Pilani), I will definitely get a job.

When I got the admission, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I was excited that for the first time I was going out of Chennai, but there was also a sense of uncertainty.

The fees alone were around Rs 28,000, and I had to get around Rs 42,000. It was huge, huge money for us. And there was no one to help us. Just my mother and sisters. One of my sisters — they were all married by then — pawned her jewellery and that’s how I paid for the first semester.

My mother then found out about an Indian government scholarship scheme. She sent me the application forms, I applied for the scholarship, and I was successful. So, after the first semester, it was the scholarship that helped me through.

It also helped me to pay my debt (to the sister who had pawned her jewellery). I then borrowed money from my other sister and repaid her when the next scholarship came.

The scholarship, however, covered only the tuition fees. What about the hostel fees and food? Even small things like a washing soap or a toothbrush or a tube of toothpaste was a burden. So, I borrowed more at high rates of interest. The debt grew to a substantial amount by the time I reached the fourth year.

First year at BITS, Pilani
To put it mildly, I was absolutely shocked. Till then, I had moved only with students from poor families. At Pilani, all the students were from the upper class or upper middle class families. Their lifestyle was totally different from mine. The topics they discussed were alien to me. They would talk about the good times they had in school.

On the other hand, my school years were a big struggle. There was this communication problem also as I was not conversant in English then.

I just kept quiet and observed them. I concentrated only on my studies because back home so many people had sacrificed for me. And, it took a really long time — till the end of the first year — to make friends.

The second year
I became a little more confident and started opening up. I had worked really hard for the engineering exhibition during the first year. I did a lot of labour-intensive work like welding and cutting, though my subject was chemical engineering. My seniors appreciated me.

In my second year also, I worked really hard for the engineering exhibition. This time, my juniors appreciated me, and they became my close friends, so close that they would be at my beck and call.

In the third year, when there was an election for the post of the co-ordinator for the exhibition, my juniors wanted me to contest. Thanks to their efforts I was unanimously elected. That was my first experience of being in the limelight. It was also quite an experience to handle around 100 students.

Seeing my work, slowly my batch mates also came to the fold. All of them said I lead the team very well.

They also told me that I could be a good manager and asked me to do MBA. That was the first time I heard about something called MBA. I asked them about the best institution in India. They said, the Indian Institutes of Management. Then, I decided if I was going to study MBA, it should be at one of the IIMs, and nowhere else.

Inspiration to be an entrepreneur
It was while preparing for the Common Admission Test that I read in the papers that 30 per cent of India’s population does not get two meals a day. I know how it feels to be hungry. What should be done to help them, I wondered.

I also read about Infosys and Narayana Murthy, Reliance and Ambani. Reliance employed 20,000-25,000 people at that time, and Infosys, around 15,000. When a single entrepreneur like Ambani employed 25,000 people, he was supporting the family, of four or five, of each employee. So he was taking care of 100,000 people indirectly. I felt I, too, should become an entrepreneur.

But, my mother was waiting for her engineer son to get a job, pay all the debts, build a pucca house and take care of her. And here I was dreaming about starting my own enterprise. I decided to go for a campus interview, and got a job with Polaris. I also sat for CAT but I failed to clear it in my first attempt.

I worked for 30 months at Polaris. By then, I could pay off all the debts but I hadn’t built a proper house for my mother. But I decided to pursue my dream. When I took CAT for the third time, I cleared it and got calls from all the six IIMs. I got admission at IIM, Ahmedabad.

Life at IIM, Ahmedabad
My college helped me get a scholarship for the two years that I was at IIM. Unlike in BITS, I was more confident and life at IIM was fantastic. I took up a lot of responsibilities in the college. I was in the mess committee in the first year and in the second year; I was elected the mess secretary.

Becoming an entrepreneur
By the end of the second year, there were many lucrative job offers coming our way, but in my mind I was determined to start something on my own. But back home, I didn’t have a house. It was a difficult decision to say ‘no’ to offers that gave you Rs 800,000 a year. But I was clear in my mind even while I knew the hard realities back home.

Yes, my mother had been an entrepreneur, and subconsciously, she must have inspired me. My inspirations were also (Dhirubhai) Ambani and Narayana Murthy. I knew I was not aiming at something unachievable. I got the courage from them to start my own enterprise.

Nobody at my institute discouraged me. In fact, at least 30-40 students at the IIM wanted to be entrepreneurs. And we used to discuss about ideas all the time. My last option was to take up a job.

Foodking Catering Services Pvt Ltd
My mother is my first inspiration to start a food business. Remember I started my life selling idlis in my slum. Then of course, my experience as the mess secretary at IIM-A was the second inspiration. I must have handled at least a thousand complaints and a thousand suggestions at that time. Every time I solved a problem, they thanked me.

I also felt there is a good opportunity in the food business. If you notice, a lot of people who work in the food business come from the weaker sections of the society.

My friends helped me with registering the company with a capital of Rs 100,000. Because of the IIM brand and also because of the media attention, I could take a loan from the bank without any problem.

I set up an office and employed three persons. The first order was from a software company in Ahmedabad. They wanted us to supply tea, coffee and snacks. We transported the items in an auto.

When I got the order from IIM, Ahmedabad, I took a loan of Rs 11 lakhs (Rs 1.1 million) and started a kitchen. So, my initial capital was Rs 11.75 lakhs (Rs 1.17 million).
Three months have passed, and now we have forty employees and four clients — IIM Ahmedabad, Darpana Academy, Gujarat Energy Research Management Institute and System Plus.

In the first month of our operation, we earned around Rs 35,000. Now, the turnover is around Rs 250,000. The Chennai operations will start in another three months’ time.

Ambition
I want to employ as many people as I can, and improve their quality of life. In the first year, I want to employ around 200-500 people. In the next five years, I hope to increase it by 15,000. I am sure it is possible.

I want to cover all the major cities in India, and later, I want to go around the world too.
I have seen people from all walks of life — from the slums to the elite in the country. That is why luxuries like a car or a bungalow do not matter to me. Even money doesn’t matter to me. I feel bad if I have to have food in a five star hotel. I feel guilty.

Personally, I have no ambition but I want to give a house and a car to my mother.

Appreciation
I did not expect this kind of exposure by the media for my venture or appreciation from people like my director at the IIM or Narayana Murthy. I was just doing what I wanted to do. But the exposure really helped me get orders, finance, everything.

The best compliments I received were from Narayana Murthy and my director at IIM, Ahmedabad. When I told him (IIM-A director) about my decision to start a company, he hugged me and wished me luck. They have seen life, they have seen thousands and thousands of students and if they say it is a good decision, I am sure it is a good decision.

Reservation
Reservation should be a mix of all criteria. If you take a caste that comes under reservation, 80 per cent of the people will be poor and 20 per cent rich, the creamy layer. For the general category, it will be the other way around.

I feel equal weightage should be given for the economic background. A study has to be done on what is the purpose of reservation and what it has done to the needy. It should be more effective and efficient. In my case, I would not have demanded for reservation. I accepted it because the society felt I belonged to the deprived class and needed a helping hand.

Today, the opportunities are grabbed by a few. They should be ashamed of their ability if they avail reservation even after becoming an IAS officer or something like that. They are putting a burden on the society and denying a chance to the really needy.

I feel reservation is enough for one generation. For example, if the child’s father is educated, he will be able to guide the child properly.

Take my case, I didn’t have any system that would make me aware of the IITs and the IIMs. But I will be able to guide my children properly because I am well educated. I got the benefits of reservation but I will never avail of it for my children. I cannot even think of demanding reservation for the next generation.

Stories like these inspire me. I share the same thought process too. Of improving the quality of life through successful entrepreneurship. But I have been taking shelter with many safe steps in life. When my time comes, I shall join Sarathbabu in making this country a better country. Thanks to Rediff.com for carrying this story.

Links:
This story
Another such inspirational story on rediff

The core team [Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, Arshad Warsi, Bomman Irani and Jimmy Shergill] and concept [Hardhitting and throught-provoking messages through sentimental but class comedy!] of “Lage Raho Munnabhai” is the same as its prequel “Munnabhai. M.B.B.S”. But, this sequel stands on its own as another legend in Indian cinema.

Making a classic first-up might be easy a la “DCH” by Farhan Akhtar and following it up with a good but not as classy “Lakshya” is easier and doing a remake of an already established hit “Don” is the easiest. Even RGV is following the same pattern with “Shiva 2006″. It would have been very easy for Hirani and team to follow the same pattern and ensure a box office hit. But they have really done it the right way. “Sachchayi ke raaste pe chale hain”! And the output is really commendable. No not commendable, outstanding.

Munnabhai and Sirkeet (it’s actually circuit, but in mumbaiya you know…) are busy going about their bhaigiri business. No baggage from the prequel of doctors is ever brought in here. In fact you don’t even expect it. You are just so busy cracking up in laughter and stamping the floor with your feet in roaring laughter to the wit of Sirkeet and the put-on innocence of Munnabhai that you are totally into the movie by the time the first act is done. It is adequately known that they work for Lakhbir Singh aka Lucky (Bomman Irani) and help the builder build an infrastructure empire while Munnabhai is head-over-heels in love with a Radio Jockey called “Jhanavi”.

Then, Munnabhai poses as Professor Murali Prasad Sharma and cracks a quiz on Mahatma Gandhi that has “Meet Jhanavi in her studio” as a prize. The cracking of the quiz is as hillarious an act as are the “sambhodit” & “vinambra” ones. Munnabhai is subsequently invited home by Jhanavi to preach the old men in her house on “Gandhiji”. Now, Munnabhai is in yet another predicament. A kind of predicament that is very familiar to the audience by now. And just when you are expectingthe old wine of “Munnabhai. M.B.B.S” to be served from the new bottle, the movie takes you by surprise and throws you into a roller-coaster ride of emotions, mostly funny though. And the tearful moments brought a tear to my eye. And when the movie ended I found the audience doing a move in sync of wiping tears that have settled at the corner of their eyes waiting to slide down their cheeks. I wanted to clap after the movie was over, but I didn’t. Next time, I will. Yes, the movie is worth watching twice!

The hard-hitting messages in the movie is the hero. The humour is the heroine. And the way that they have hit a unique chemistry or chemical locha [lol!] is where the credit goes to the director. Everyone else is just a character unlike typical hindi cinema where stars take over. I still remember Jeh dot Asthana from “Munnabhai. M.B.B.S”. Now, I will remember the love-to-be-photographed model Lucky Singh! The character makes you laugh here, not the stars, and that’s why the emotions are so genuine.

Rajkumar Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra have written a story that’s ‘brave’ in plain words! To weave humour and emotion into it means you have so much of confidence on your dialogue writers [Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi] that they will carry it with aplomb. And man, have they succeeded?! I still laugh when I recollect a few scenes like “Please send a get well soon card to Lucky Singh, woh bahut bhimaar hai”. And the scene just before interval when Munnabhai says “Apun sorry hai re”, I cried then and I can feel the goosebumps while typing this!

Rajkumar Hirani is a director I am now going to nominate as the most worthy successor to hrishi da. Well, he is just been nominated. Not yet there. Two movies of his are classics and worthy of buying original DVDs and preserving for a lifetime. If he can come up with another one at this level, then he might be well up there. Great show Sir! Your style of movie-making is brilliant and the messages you sent across in both of them are not miss-able. We get the point. And very well too! Thanks!

Vidhu Vinod Chopra, thanks to you we now have another school of films coming up. The school of sensible and wholesome entertainment. Please keep at it with these genre of movies and I am sure we will not remember you as a great showman but as a superb producer. I also hope you regain your touch of movie-making and give us more movies like “Parinda”.

Shantanu Moitra’s music is another highlight of the movie. After “Hazaron Khwaishen Aisi”, “Parineeta” and “Yahaan”, this is his fourth movie. And he does a classy job yet again. As classy as the movie itself. My pick is the “pal pal” song. Amazing! And this movie creates another niche in music also. The songs are not typical “pallavi-charanam” kind of arrangement. They have conversations embedded in them and that takes the flavour of the movie forward. Shantanu Moitra’s job was more difficult in that aspect and he comes on tops in that too.

The chemistry between Arshad Warsi and Sanjay Dutt is what makes the movie click. It’s astonishing how they continue to find that wavelength and make us laugh and cry at will. Here like a good sequel, the great bonding between Munna and Sirkeet is established. The total acceptance of Munna by Sirkeet is a potrait painted very well. And when they tell you what’s right and what’s not, you are found nodding your head in total agreement!

Jhanavi played by the effervescent Vidya Balan endears you to her. You begin to love the way she says, “Good Moooooooorning Mumbai” as much as Munna loves it. You are in love with her when Munna is and you are watiing to see when she falls out of it just because Munna lied to her on being a professor. She is lovable and cute. Sweet and fresh. Vidya Balan continues from “Parineeta”. My nomination for the successor to Madhuri Dixit’s throne.

Bomman Irani is at his customary best playing the idiosyncratic sardar. Though he plays the bad guy; the comic touch provided to the character through his mannerisms and obsessions are such a great addition to the character that your heart goes out to him at the end. The sound of signing a deal, the poses to take photographs, the conversations with munna and sirkeet are all something that only Bomman Irani can carry off. My nomination for the successor to the long vacant Great Utpal Dutt’s throne.

Jimmy Shergill, Saurabh Shukla, Khulbhushan Kharbanda and Diya Mirza play small roles with significant impact on the movie. Everyone is noticed. Everyone has an impact.

Overall, a movie that’s in the league of eternal, superlative comedy. I would also go ahead and stick my neck out saying it is in the league of “Golmaal” and “Chupke chupke”. Go and watch it on the big screen. If you miss it, I can promise you that you cannot spend those two and a half hours in a better way. And the message that you get from the movie, you will carry it for a lifetime. A promise. “Bole toh mamu mat ban, jaake dekh ke aa aur bata tere dimaag main kya chemical locha hua bhidu!”

My Rating: *****

Legend:
*Stay at home
**If you have the time to kill, go ahead, but not recommended
***Watch if you are a film buff!
****Go watch it on the big screen!
*****Don’t miss watching this one on the big screen! Avoid piracy!

Links:
Official website
Official Blog
IMDB for Lage Raho Munnabhai(2006)

Have been reading a lot around the blogsphere regarding relationships and how we should handle them as well as ourselves in these relationships.

People have various ways of looking at relationships. Some people like categorizing relationships on basis of blood and otherwise meaning: family and friends. Some say relationships are strong or weak; close or far; “childhood friends” or “hi-bye friends”; so on and so forth. Categorizing makes for easy handling of this vast in-depth subject. And in most circumstances, the best way of handling it is through categorizing them relevantly.

A relationship is an equation between two people. The equation gets formed when the two start communicating. It can be through any mode of communication. Even just meeting of eyes is sometimes the beginning of a relationship. But then, no communication no relationship. Sometimes communication might happen, yet there might be no relationship. I don’t think such a situation is possible at all. Once I have communicated, I might not be thinking about it, but there is a relationship that has been initiated. I might not be aware of it.

As a person we are playing different roles. No, not the kinds shown by Aamir Khan in the toyota ad! With my wife, I am playing the husband’s role. With my younger brother, I am playing the elder brother’s role. And many others. Not that I am playing them consciously, it’s just that it happens. But there are states of mind that I get into while communicating in each role. These mind-states maybe different for each role. But they might not be unique.

Now, when I am in these mind-states the other person is also in these mind states only. I know I am talking on a very vague level, but let me say that there are 4 mind states (It can be 100 also). M1 to M4. Both the persons A & B are communicating from one of these mind-states. Say A is from M1 and B is in M3. If A & B know the mind-states that each other are communicating from, then fine. Otherwise, is where the problem arises from.

And to understand which Mind-state the other person is operating from, constant communication is necessary. Since every person is changing his mind-states constantly, it is necessary to understand the pattern of change also. Once we understand all these then the relationship will be a smooth one. For this, communication is a core necessity. Remember, no communication no relationship!

And yeah the way to solve the problems in relationships is to identify the mind-states properly and responding appropriately. That should put an end to all problems!

Wow Adi is so brilliant! Some stupid theory I have, I keep raving and ranting about it. I know this is very similar to the parent, child, adult egos of the ‘transactional analysis’ theory, probably this is my way of understanding that theory. I just wrote it and realised that it is very similar to the original TA theory. It’s the same “I’m okay, You’ re okay” theory.

Well, though I will be laughed at for trying to copy some well-known theory, let me state that I typed it as it came to my mind. And even though I found that it can be accused of plagiarism, I am going ahead with posting it. That’s because if even one person who reads this article, develops an interest in the TA theory then I would have emerged victorious.