Roebuck Rhapsodies

“Watching Brian Lara bat has been a delight to put alongside African sunsets, dry white wine, eating a ripe mango, catching a wave, reading P G Wodehouse and listening to Mozart and Bob Dylan”.

I doubt whether anyone else has captured better the joy of batting epitomized by Brian Charles Lara. This is Peter Roebuck writing at his very best and this is not even a book about the great Trinidadian but an excerpt from “In it to win it---The Australian Cricket Supremacy”

The book puts in context the Australian psyche, the country’s history, the influence of the Chappell brothers, the rise, fall and the rise again of Australian cricket. The book gives an insight into the psyche of Allan Border which was so scarred by repeated defeats by the West Indies that, the great Australian captain displayed timidity when the rivals were down and all but out. It takes you through the Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh eras and ends with the triumph of the Englishmen in the 2005 Ashes. It throws rare vignettes like how Matthew Hayden who destroyed bowling attacks at will actually needed reassurance from his captains to do well.

The book manages to add a context and perspective which is not easily seen in other writers. For instance the rise of Indian cricket is juxtaposed with the country’s economic rise and the ability of its people to embrace the best of both East & West.


In the end the book is much about Roebuck’s felicity with the pen as about Australian cricket. Peter Roebuck may have been a batsman of modest ability and never donned his country’s colors (England) although he had a good record for his county-- Somerset. When it comes to cricket writing he clearly stands a class apart. The former Somerset opener may not be in the business of writing to win it. Maybe reading Roebuck may not give one the same pleasure as watching Lara bat but it comes pretty close. If Lara made the ball race to the boundary with a deft flick of the wrist, Roebuck’s writing has the touch of a master if not a genius. Clearly, the purple patch that eluded him in his career as a cricketer has given way to purple prose.

The Worldview of the Child

“Hi, which class are you in,” asked my friend Prasad to my four year old son Sanjiv. “ I am in junior KG,” Sanjiv replied. “ When will you go to senior KG,” Prasad asked ? “When I become big,” said Sanjiv. “And when will you become big,” continued the irrepressible Prasad. “ When I begin eating vegetables,” replied Sanjiv as all of us in the room dissolved into laughter. Sanjiv’s last remark was prompted by everyone at home constantly telling him that it was important for him to eat vegetables (for which he exhibited a child’s disdain) if he were to grow big, strong or for that matter get better than his friend and rival Siva.

Children I have noticed have a logic of their own which clearly defies comprehension by an adult. Many, many years ago my friend James’s nephew took a look at the water tank in his building that was being cleaned up and came up with the classic—“ Orange water”. He didn’t see the dirt or the grime but only the orange colour.

Another child, my nephew –Manav—I suspect regards me as McDonad’s uncle as I make it a point to take him to Big Mac every time we meet. Once when I was fooling around with him and was quizzing him about girlfriends he turned around and asked me
“Isn’t Vidya mami your girlfriend”? While I thought it was worth a good laugh, Vidya mami who happens to be my wife certainly didn’t. I had to listen to a lecture on the inappropriateness of such jokes being cracked with children. Serves me right I guess.

I haven’t yet stopped cracking jokes with children. Although I am now careful about not cracking what is termed as “inappropriate jokes” No more talks of girlfriends. Just sticking to the mundane. A child’s worldview is however anything but mundane. Whether it is about eating vegtables, catching a glimpse of orange water or quite simply talking about girlfriends.

A Tribute to the Mulund Mountains

As I was walking down Devidayal Road in Mulund (Mumbai’s northernmost tip), the sight of the mountains filled me with wonder. All of 16 I turned to my friend Dharmesh (nicknamed Bhauli) and asked, “ Do you require to use oxygen masks to climb that mountain”. Bhauli burst into laughter and said, “ Certainly not. I have climbed this mountain many times with other people quite easily.”

Soon, I was off on an expedition with Bhauli and the rest off the gang to climb the mountain. As we climbed, I realized that it was not one but really three mountains. The first was a small hillock which was taken in one’s stride quite easily. The second was a bigger mountain where we all relaxed for a while and then began the assault on the third one. That was quite big. Just before we reached the very top we struggled a bit and then were soon witness to breathtaking beauty. We could just see two of the lakes that supplied water to Mumbai—Tulsi, Vaitarna and could catch a glimpse of a third lake –Powai. The natural greenery all around and a hint of wildlife all added to the mystique. We boys often promised ourselves that we would one day get tents and park ourselves for a night on the mountains.

Soon it became quite a routine to take my cousins, friends whoever visited us for that matter from outside Mumbai\Mulund for a trip to the mountain. The effect was always the same—a gasp of admiration for the beauty at the top.

A couple of years after my first visit to the mountain top, we moved to a larger flat in the same building on the fifth floor and we had a picture postcard view of the mountains in the living room. My father says to this day that he paid a premium for just the view.

Over the years, the view of the mountains became a part of my life and would play an important role as I studied for my B.sc final examinations. My frayed nerves would be often calmed by the sight of the mountains. I came to understand the expression –rock of Gibraltar-much better. I realized that exams and for that matter life itself is transitory. The mountains would go on forever. Sometimes uphill, sometimes downhill but they would always be there. Withstanding the ravages of time and civilization they would remain a mute witness to life and history. Giving to the world beauty and serenity and really taking nothing away from it.

A day in the life of Baby Sanjiv

Hi, I am Sanjiv and I am about 4 years old. Today is Saturday. It means Ravi appa will be at home and play with me. He will also give me a bath. He is supposed to do it on all weekends. Actually, he does it everyday. Why? I simply holler and force him to give me a bath in the morning. Good thing too. Otherwise he will continue sleeping.

Today it has been no different. Ravi appa tried getting out of it saying that today Amma will give me a bath. Usual tactics. I cried and there he was giving me a bath. What is more he took me to the bank. There was one long queue and I kept wanting to go-back home. This time appa won (ie because I also did not cry).and later on took me to the ATM. Now this is something that I have never been able to understand. Whenever I ask Appa why he comes from office so late, he says that he has work to do. When I tell him to simply sit at home and not work , he says he needs the money and for that he has to work. This is very confusing. All you have to do to get money is to go to the ATM and do some thing with the keyboard there. Now why don’t grown ups understand simple things like these ? If you want money simply go to the ATM. Why work ? When I ask Appa this question he simply laughs. That is not funny.

In the afternoon Appa took me and Amma to a movie—Love Aaj Kal at Nirmal mall. Very confusing again We go to the mall to eat, buy books, have a ride on a toy horse and see the movies too. Anyway I enjoyed myself. I asked for popcorn before the movie and during the movie. Appa had to go and get it right in the middle of an important scene. Serves him right. He had most of my popcorn the first time. Appa grumbled that the movie was very bad. Really, I enjoyed myself. Lots of noise and I went for a walk whenever I felt like.

After the movie I asked for balloons and a ride on the toy horse.. When I didn’t get it, I tried my usual hollering. It didn’t work this time.

We next went to uncle Ram’s house whose daughter Anagha was celebrating her birthday. I was really naughty there. I ate all the cake and didn’t wish Anagha at all. I really don’t like babies all that much. They cry too much. At night Amma had to forcefully put me to sleep. This time I didn’t holler. Look I am not really a cry baby. Anyway I was very tired and was happy going to sleep. I dreamt of popcorns and money making machines. Appa says that he dreams of them too.

Two facets of Canara Bank:

Last weekend I made my way to Canara Bank. Now I have been banking with Canara bank for almost 30 years. Yet one thing never fails to amaze me. There are basically two counters in the bank. One is for the counter titled -Receipts while the other is for the counter titled-Payments. One has to deposit cash in the Receipts counter and receive cash in the Payments counter. Now I have always thought that this should be the other way round. The titles are bank centric. In reality they should be customer centric—one has pay cash in the Payments counters and receive cash in the Receipts counter.

I remember thinking that the bank despite its new found zeal in altering its look still has a long way to go. A new logo hadn’t altered the customer experience in any way which in the final analysis is the key to brand building.

My next stop was at the ATM of the bank to withdraw cash. After the usual procedure, the message flashed on the screen that my card was being returned to me. The cash was then disbursed. This set me thinking again. In the ATM of every other bank that I have been to, cash has to be first withdrawn and only then is the card returned. The problem is that sometimes in a hurry, one forgets to take the card back after pocketing the cash. I myself have had my card returned a couple of times by people who were standing behind me in the queue.
This I felt was the other side of Canara Bank. Trust, reliability and old world charm. This is the bank’s USP and the ultimate customer experience which helps its brand building more than any change in logo. This experience only reinforced my faith in public sector banks in general and Canara Bank in particular. I must clarify that I have nothing against the private sector as well as MNC banks. It is the presence of these banks that has galvanized change in the public sector banks. It is just that I prefer the public sector banks. Now if Canara Bank could only get its act right when it comes to the way its counters are titled.

Life and The Godfather

“Life is so beautiful”
“Be Aware. You are what you are and the world is what it is.”

Who do you think wrote these two immortal lines? Aristotle, Socrates, Pluto? Or is it drawn from the scriptures? If you answered in the affirmative to either of these questions, you would be wrong. These two immortal lines were written by Mario Puzo in two different books. The first line is from Puzo’s classic- The Godfather- ironically uttered by Don Vito Corleone as he was dying of a heart attack. The second is from The Last Don where Don Clerucuzio says these words.

Puzo’s classic The Godfather was published in 1969 the same year in which Neil Alden Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon and say the immortal words—A step for a man, but a leap for mankind” Puzo’s Godfather too was leap when it came to the genre of crime fiction. All future writings in this genre would be benchmarked against the Godfather.

Now I admire the book in particular and Puzo’s writing in general for a totally different reason. I think his books contain some of the greatest truths of life. As we rush about the business of living it is so easy to lose sight of the fact that “Life is so beautiful” .That Vito Corleone who built his empire by shedding blood could think of something like this is for lack of a better word amazing.

Take the other sentence—“Be Aware. You are what you are and the world is what it is.” Tell me isn’t it again one of life’s simplest things. Dale Carnegie said it even simpler—Find Yourself and Be Yourself in his classic—How To Stop Worrying and Start Living. How often are we assailed by self doubt when things are not going our way? How often do we think that something is wrong with us when the simple truth is that circumstances are not in our favor if not positively against us. Does that mean that we keep changing to stay in step with each circumstance? Do we lose ourselves in the quest for success ? In today’s ultra competitive atmosphere, we are constantly told as to how important it is to change. Now that is fine and individuals must be open to a certain level of change. Does that mean we abandon our core skills and core beliefs for success? Is success that is attained by such means success at all? Clearly, a line has to be drawn somewhere.

Or take Michael Corleone’s reaction in Godfather when he was told his father’s shooting was not personal but purely business. He described it as “Every bloody bit of it is personal” And it is. Come on when we lose out in the professional sweepstakes say a promotion are we able to see it purely in professional light. Isn’t there always feeling, emotion involved and even a tendency to blame the boss rightly or wrongly.

Let us face it –every bit of it is personal. But be aware-you are what you are and the world is what it is .Then like Vito Corleone you will find that life is so beautiful.

Core Competence and the Home

What is my core competence ? At my work place the answer is very clear : Communications.

I am however a great believer in transporting corporate concepts home. Like I always tell my wife “My strategic vision is to provide a stable revenue stream for the family which then leverages it for present and future benefits.” My wife is very happy to go alongwith my strategic vision and agrees that implementation of this vision is through the exercise of my professional core competence –communications.

She has an entirely different point of view when it comes to my definition of core competence when I am at home. I regard my core competence when I am at home as relaxing which when distilled further means eating, sleeping, playing with baby, and not doing anything else.
She terms me an employable resource when I am at home. There are things that husbands must do when they are at home—go to the chakki and get the atta and not do too—watch TV , sleep and generally relax. She complains that despite her repeatedly saying so I do not work at home and continue to eat, sleep and drink at home. I have often pointed out to her what Gary Hamel and C K Prahalad had said in their seminal work on core competence : A core competence is built through a process of continuous improvement and enhancement. Meaning more of doing nothing at home.

My wife throws back another concept from Hamel & Prahalad:core competencies must not be allowed to develop in to core rigidities. Anyway she tells me with great conviction that what I am displaying at home is pure incompetence, core or otherwise. The argument at the moment rests there. Like a good husband I have decided not to win an argument but focus on core competencies.