The Harmonium Player

The Harmonium is a supporting instrument that sets the tone, and closely supports the Vocalist.  It ensures that the Vocalist is always on track - correcting and guiding him when he strays off-course.  

The harmonium "fills-in" when the Vocalist pauses for breath, and brings in melody and harmony into the music.  

The Harmonium players are relatively low-profile, and they get their greatest kick when the entire music program goes off smoothly.

In organisations, harmonium players are conscience-keepers and normally display a strong mentoring trait.  They work very closely with the leader - and are usually either in supporting roles such as HR or Training - or in a monitoring role such as Finance. 

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Other popular posts relating to Harmonium : 
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Why Every Harmonium sounds different - C Sharp Tuning
My "Big Moment" finally happened

The Cymbal or Drone Player

Finally we come to the Taal (cymbal) player. Sometimes, in Hindustani music the Taal player is missing, and instead you would find a couple of drone players i.e. the people sitting behind the vocalist maintaining the base tone.  The Taal - or the Drone player - is the least noticed and acknowledged - though he is the crucial person who maintains the basic beat/tonality.  

Without the Taal or the Drone, there would be a large vacuum in the music.  

In organisations, the Taal players are the people in operations, logistics and systems - they are the people who run the machines, and who ensure things get finally implemented.  They are normally the least acknowledged - but who work the hardest.

Eknath Thakurdas

While listening to some old live recordings of Bhimsen Joshi (Sidhi series), I came across Eknath Thakurdas - one of the greatest harmonium players ever.  He is sheer genius.  He was probably the only accompanying artiste who could challenge Bhimsen.  I could not find any of his performances after the mid seventies - so I presume he passed away sometime in the early seventies.

Listening to Eknath play the harmonium gives me goose bumps. While there is an entirely new generation of harmonium players now, they cannot be compared to this genius.

I tried to find more about this great person - but alas there is nothing about him on the net.  Finally after a lot of search I managed to get a video grab of how he looked like.  The picture is a bit grainy - but the face shows a lot of character.

Here is a short clip of Eknath Thakurdas at his best - he is accompanying Bhimsen performing Raag Durga sometime during the mix-sixties.  The clip is just 2 minutes long - but it shows the genius.

You will also notice the very different and distinct timbre (tonal quality) made by his harmonium.  I wonder what happened to his harmonium after he passed away.  Which lucky person got this instrument that has been blessed by this maestro?  I don't think any of the current crop of harmonium players got it.  I have listened now to Eknath Thakurdas so much that I would recognise his harmonium anytime anywhere due to its very distinct sound.

How I wish that I had the luck to have seen him perform.

Life's Trade-offs

While interviewing candidates from the Indian sub-continent, I am always amused when the discussion at some point veers around to the usual “I want to take up a job in the Middle East because of the better lifestyle that I can afford there – but I want the job to be exciting too”.

Don’t we all? The issue is that in life (and in our careers) we normally end up trading off one thing against something else.

In my own case, what I like about working in the Gulf (apart from the money of course) is the quality of life that one can lead here - and all the accompanying advantages such as opportunity to see new places, understand new cultures, and understanding our own country from the outside.

All said and done, life back in India can be a bit stressful – due to a combination of the more complex and super-charged careers in India, the commuting time, and the various other factors such as lack of infrastructure, and very little personal space/time to pursue things that one is really passionate about.

Having said that, life in the Gulf can become a bit boring after some time (especially to certain peripatetic individuals). And the Gulf does tend to “soften” individuals if they hang around for too long – rendering such individuals pretty much mis-fits - and disconnected - when (and if) they eventually return to their home country.

For me the solution has been to alternate regularly between India and the Middle East – with the hope that by doing so I find the balance – and so that I could enjoy the best of both worlds (though at different points of time). I believe this tends to keep me and my family firmly grounded and rooted (pun unintended), and highly adaptable.

As my wife is fond of pointing out, I am yet to sportingly accept the bundle of “good” and “not so good” that life throws at us in any particular place – whether in India or abroad. I am sure eventually I will – that is the only practical way to face life.

Attachment

A small bird landed on our kitchen window sill. It was drenched from the down-pour, and was shivering. On closer inspection we found it was a hatchling – its wings were not fully developed, and it seemed weak. It kept pecking at the glass door of the window, peering inside with a piteous look – and begging to be taken inside.

The mother in Vandana took over, and soon the small bird was ensconced on our balcony and fed.

We tried to identify what kind of a bird it could be – could it be the young one of a pigeon? Or a young hawk possibly? Or a sea gull? We did not know. And we were still puzzled as to how it landed on our 9th floor window sill when it clearly had not yet developed the wings to fly.

As it happens the bird was christened Tillu, and given a small card-board box in which to sleep. A small hole was made in the cardboard box so that Tillu could poke its head out, and peck at the food.

After a couple of days we let Tillu out of the box. We hoped that as it had become stronger it would fly away. But its wings were still poorly undeveloped, and the bird seemed unwilling to fly away.

A week passed and it still showed no interest in flying away – though now it looked quite hale and hearty, looked plump with all the food, and had started creating a nuisance on our balcony.

We had no intention of keeping a pet – but this bird seemed to have latched on to us – and stubbornly refused to go.

We briefly contemplated chucking Tillu over the balcony – so that it would be forced – like Jonathan Livingstone Seagull – to spread its wings, and fly. But given its stubbon attitude, we did not want to risk it.

Finally I and my son took Tillu in a cardboard box to the nearby corniche overlooking the Sharjah bay. There is a mini-forest in the corniche with neat manicured lawns and trees – and we released the bird there. As soon as it was released from its box, it ambled out and started scratching the lawn and looking for worms.

It seemed totally domesticated, and when we tried to frighten it to take to flight, it merely looked at us with disdain and went back to its pecking in a leisurely and unruffled manner.

We left it there. The last sight we had when we left the corniche was that of Tillu intently pecking away at the lawn.

We had a couple of hypothesis on the bird. We believe this bird was actually a chicken – or a young turkey, which was supposed to have ended in a cooking pot of our up-stairs neighbours. It must have made a dramatic escape from the upstairs balcony, jumped off it, and landed on to our window sill. The fact that it is a chicken or perhaps a young turkey perhaps explains its totally domesticated behavior and its inability to fly.

This is a hypothesis. Our vanity would want us to believe that it is the young one of a magnificent bird like a hawk, geese or a sea gull.  We would like to believe that it was part of a magnificient flock of geese that was migrating from the North Pole.

A couple of days later I revisited the corniche to check whether the bird was still around. It was of course not around – it had completely vanished from the scene. There were a few pigeons and sparrows that flew away as soon as I approached them – but no sign of Tillu.

I hoped it had flown away and joined its mates somewhere. I did not want to think of any other possibility.

A Legend passes away - Appasaheb Jalgaonkar

Because I was pre-occupied with my move to Sharjah, I had been out of touch with the classical musical world in India.  Hence it was only last week that I came to know that one of the greatest Harmonium players of India - Pandit Appasaheb Jalgaonkar - passed away a couple of months back.

Appasaheb was one of the last 3 great accompanying harmonists that accompanied legends like Bhimsen Joshi, Jitendra Abhisheki and other stalwarts of Hindustani music.  The other 2 great harmonists - Pandit Tulsidas Borkar and Purushottam Walawalker - are fortunately still in good health despite being in their late seventies.

Appasaheb trained to be a vocalist - but due to a twist of fate started playing the harmonium.  In appearance he looked more like a boxer than like a musician - but once he started playing the harmonium his fingers  would cast a magical spell both on the harmonium and on the audience.  For the last few years of his life, Appasaheb was unfortunately struck with paralysis - so he had to give up playing the harmonium.

It is a pity I never got to meet him in person - but thanks to YouTube I can enjoy several of his live performances.  You can see here one of his best performances at the Sawai Gandharva music festival at Pune when he accompanied Rajan and Sajan Mishra a few years ago.

May his great soul rest in peace.

P.G.Wodehouse vs Dick Francis

P.G.Wodehouse was my only favourite author for a long long time. I picked up my vocabulary and expressions from him - and he cheered me up with his humour whenever I felt low.

Dick Francis walked into my life much later while I was lying on a hospital bed. Someone gave me a couple of his books, and from that moment onwards I was hooked on to Dick Francis. I must have now read as many Dick Francis books (about 60) as I have of PG Wodehouse - though of course not as frequently.

Sometimes I wonder why I like these 2 authors - when they have such a contrasting approach to writing. While PG Wodehouse novels can be described as sunny bachelor romances, Dick Francis novels are cold crime thrillers woven around horse racing.

The characters in PG novels are boisterous, over-expressive and slightly hare-brained eternal optimists. The characters in Dick Francis stories are under-stated, brooding, low profile (to the point of being self-effacing), and always start off as under-dogs.

Sometimes I think that Dick Francis was a market researcher in his previous life. The characters he portrays in his novels are very similar to my perception of the average market researcher viz low-profile, under-stated and introspective. I identified with the PG characters in my youth, but nowadays while I still enjoy reading PG, my identification is greater with the characters in a Dick Francis novel.

Curiously despite their dramatically contrasting styles, both authors leave you with a good feeling when the last page is turned. There is justice at the end of the day - is what the authors seem to be saying - but they say it in their own unique styles.

Finally Mobile

My UAE licence lapsed in 1998 soon after I left Dubai for India. When I returned to the UAE in 2009 I assumed that my old UAE licence could be renewed and that I need not appear again for the notoriously difficult road tests in the UAE.

Much to my horror I was told that since my licence had lapsed more than 10 years ago I would need to appear for a fresh road test. The road test was scheduled to take place at the RTA office located on the campus of the Emirates Driving Institute.

Not wanting to take any chances, I enrolled for 8 classes at the EDI – reckoning that my chances of clearing the road test at EDI would be higher if I took some driving lessons at the EDI.

Despite this, I flunked – or was flunked. The examiner indicated that I need to take another 8 classes at the EDI before I could appear for a re-test.

Fortunately in the re-test carried out a week later I cleared the re-test – and now am a proud holder of a UAE driving licence.

I cannot describe the relief that I felt on clearing the road test. At one point after flunking the 1st test (and I consider myself a pretty experienced driver having driven in different parts of the world), I had lost all semblance of self-confidence.

When a person believes that he is very good at something, and then somebody tells him that he is not good at it, then it does result in a crisis situation.   This is true in life - whether in one's career or in simpler aspects such as driving.

All I can say is that I am a lot more humble now after this experience.  Humble is good.

Starting All Over Again

I believe some of us are destined to keep starting and restarting our lives constantly.

It has its pleasures and pains - but sometimes the pain overshadows and you wish that you had your old comfort zone back, with everything set and neatly organised.

There was the initial stress regarding school admissions - that fortunately was amicably resolved.

Currently I am struggling to get my driving licence in the UAE.  Cannot drive around, and need to depend on Taxis - not a situation I relish.  Ultimately I know this too will pass.

I knew that restarting our life peridically has its share of pain and trauma - but I wonder what is that makes guys like me forget the pain involved while taking the decision to move on.

Perhaps if people only remember the pain associated with a move to a new situation/location, then not many people would venture out - that seems to be the only explanation I have right now.

At the moment though I am quite envious of those guys who are quite content and happy being where they are!

Elasticity

It was about time for the train to leave the Railway station. People who had come to see off their guests were clustered around on the platform near the train - engaged in last minute chatter before the train left the platform.

The station bell sounded – and the train started to move slowly. Some people continued to walk along with the slowly moving train bidding their final good byes to the passengers.

A person standing on the platform in the shadows suddenly darted forward and started running towards one of the compartments with his arm stretched out. It seemed as if he had forgotten to hand-over some stuff to his friend on the train.

His hand went straight at the neck of the plump lady sitting near the window. She was wearing a heavy looking necklace – and it was obvious what the person was trying to grab.

His hand went around it and he pulled, all the time running alongside the train that was rapidly gaining in speed.

The lady screamed, and tried to ward off the chain snatcher – but he had got a firm grip, and started pulling with all his strength.

The tug-of-war continued for a full 30 seconds with the chain snatcher now running at terrific speed beside the train - huffing and puffing – but still refusing to let go of his prized catch. The lady continued to hold on tightly. The other passengers were too shocked to react.

Suddenly the chain snatcher realized he had lost the battle – he could not run any faster or any longer with the train – and the necklace for some strange reason was not yielding despite all his repeated and forceful tugs at it.

He let go, and ran off into the bushes at the edge of the platform.

The bra strap of the lady recoiled back with a loud sound. His hand had missed the necklace and had instead got hold of the lady’s bra strap.

The lady sat back – happy that she had not lost her necklace – but embarrassed at the way the events unfolded.

The shell-shocked passengers too sat back – relieved, but with an amused expression on their faces.

Little is known about the feelings of the chain-snatcher. There is honour even among chain-snatchers – and it is likely that he retired from his profession not being able to bear the taunts of his fellow professionals.

How is the MR industry different from the Airline industry?

The fact is that the MR industry is very similar to the troubled airline industry. It is a difficult comparison to swallow. We have a high Fixed cost component like the airline industry - basically trained people whose salaries have to be paid, investments in systems, communication equipment etc. These Fixed cost component cannot be easily changed/reduced to reflect changes in business situation.

How about a comparison with the hotel industry? After all the hotel industry too has a high Fixed cost structure - but has been reasonably successful in consistently maintaining high margins.

I think the difference between the hotel industry and the airline industry is that the airline industry relies only on ticket fares for its revenue source i.e. it has only a single source of revenue. The hotel industry - in addition to its basic room tariff - also provides Value added service (such as food, laundry, business desk etc) and actually charge the clients for it. In other words it has multiple sources of revenue, and uses every opportunity to provide VAS and actually charge clients for it. That is the reason why the hotel industry has remained relatively profitable.

The MR industry too should start genuinely providing value added services on each project - and charge clients for that service (in addition to the usual project fee). Until the MR industry starts actually DOING this (rather than just talking about it), we are destined to go the same way as the airline industry.

Incidentally, the airline industry is now trying to emulate the hotel industry - witness the fact that on most airlines passengers now need to purchase food on the aircraft. But I wonder whether this model will work for airlines when they have tampered with the basic bread and butter revenue source i.e. the ticket fares. How can the airline make up for the lost revenue when it is selling seats at Rs 1 on certain sectors?

Why the Market Research industry is into the volume game

Currently I am reading an interesting book on Financial Management - sort of brushing up my basics in Finance.

One of the chapters that caught my attention was on Cost Structures of an organisation/industry.

What it basically states is that industries that have a high Fixed cost structure need to play the volume game to survive i.e. constantly push up volumes. Industries that have a high Variable cost structure can play the margin game i.e. chose to turn down business if the margins are not attractive enough.

Examining the cost structures of the MR industry, it is obvious that the MR industry has a high Fixed cost structure - anywhere from 60 - 75%. Which explains why despite so much talk about pushing up margins, the MR industry has always been pursuing a volume game - constantly under-cutting each other, picking up any business that comes in - so long as it covers the direct cost and contributes to the fixed cost.

For me reading the book was an eye-opener - and helped explain why despite the noble talk of raising margins, the industry still plays the volume game.

The Delight Factor

A colleague of mine returned to Bangalore after a visit to his home-town Delhi. While talking about a colleague he had met in our Delhi office, he mentioned that “she is a delight – an absolute delight”.

What took place was a dialogue that Wodehouse would have been proud of:

I : What? You said she is a delight?

He : yes, absolutely …..

I : but what makes you say so?

He : because she is …… I know for a fact….
I : but what makes her a delight? For instance, am I a delight?
He : Of course not, you are not a delight, everybody knows that …
I (now positively miffed) : Oh really?

He : yes, everybody knows you are a South Indian …..

Recognition dawns …..

I : oh …. You meant she is a Delhi- ite?
He : yes, people from Delhi are called Delights.
I (with an embarrassed smile) : oh, now I understand ……
Absolutely delightful - no doubt about it!

Quitting At The Top

Today’s papers announced Nandan Nilekani’s decision to quit Infosys - and that he is moving on to lead the National ID card project.

He has become my hero.

It requires exceptional courage for anybody at the top of his game (like Nandan) to quit what he has been very very successful at, and venture into doing something totally new - where the expertise required is totally different, and the chances of failure are high.

But that is what makes such people really great – moving on to new things when they are right at the top – and making people wonder why the decision was taken so soon. Most people would prefer to continue at it until they either gently fade away or where they end up eroding all the halo they had previously built up.

I believe people should quit and move on when they get the “feel” that they have reached the top i.e

- You keep doing the same stuff you were doing a year back – but probably on a bigger scale. In other words qualitatively you have not acquired any new skills although you may be managing greater volumes (And forget cosmetic designation changes)
- you have a bunch of very good talented individuals lined up who are even half-ready to take on your role. You should be proud when people you have mentored step into your role, and you help that process by voluntarily and happily moving on

Most people hang-on in their positions for years. Like some of our cricketers, they believe their best is yet to come – but alas this is usually a self-perpetuated myth. The longer they clutch on to their existing roles, the more insecure and stale they become, and the more incapable they become of moving out of their comfort zone into a different role - either within or outside their current organisation.

I know some friends who justify their decision to keep doing what they have been doing for years by explaining that that is the only thing that they are good at – and that there seem to be no other alternatives (especially in the depressed times of today). Again I believe this is just an excuse to stay in one’s comfort zone.

Enough of preaching – do you think I or you would have the guts to take the plunge into uncharted territory? Would I have the guts to seize unconventional opportunities and risk it all?

Consequences of poorly guided summer interns on Market Research

I take weekend classes on Market Research at one of the premier management institutes in Bangalore. The current batch has started their 2nd term after completing their summer internship. I was looking forward to starting the new round of classes. Teaching these bright minds tend to keep me going and freshens-up my own perspective on various issues of MR.

However, an aspect that I have been steadily observing over several batches is that students return from their summer internships somewhat more cynical and skeptical about the field of MR. This largely happens because most organizations use their summer interns to carry out “quick and cheap” market research. There is very little guidance from the organization on the correct way to carry out MR – so the summer interns basically are left to fend for themselves, and asked to produce the “results”. I was quite horrified to hear of some of the ways in which some large (and apparently MR savvy) organisations had mis-used MR through deploying poorly guided summer interns.

What is happening therefore is that the whole aura that used to exist around the hallowed MR field is rapidly getting tainted as the “to-be-managers of tomorrow” come away with the wrong impression of MR based on their summer internship experience. They come away feeling that MR is a low tech science used to interpret data collected from doing largely bogus fieldwork (with a few exceptions, most of the summer interns admitted to me that they cheated on fieldwork – and that it did not seem to have any impact on the way the findings were received by their guide in the organization).

For me therefore the task is usually difficult in the first few sessions as I need to re-establish their faith in MR and human values. I don’t know how successful I am in my attempt to change perceptions – but it certainly gives me sleepless nights thinking about what impressions the thousands of young management graduates (our future clients) will carry with them about the sanctity and rigour of the MR processes. The value and usefulness of MR has to be sown in the young manager’s minds when they begin their careers so that they will continue to be good clients who appreciate the value of MR for the rest of their professional lives. Unfortunately, at the moment young management trainees – at least quite a few of them - start off in their organizations with the wrong perceptions about the sanctity and value of MR.

As an industry we have been struggling to raise prices. I believe to succeed in this, one of the urgent steps that the MR industry needs to do is to provide some kind of support to summer intership programs in at least the larger organisations - so that the experience, and hence perceptions about MR, is correctly managed.