Hai Koi MICA Lal?

Once upon a time I used to live in Ahmedabad. And I used to work for the ad agency called Mudra Communications. Those were heady days for advertising agencies. The founder of Mudra AG Krishnamurthy (AGK) ran the place. The Ahmedabad office of Mudra used to be decorated from the floor to ceiling with photos from the various shoots of Vimal. Remember the “Only Vimal” campaign starring the oh-so-gorgeous Mehr Jessia? Deepak Parashar, Deepak Malhotra, Bikram Saluja and Himanshu Malik were the male models who were the brand ambassadors of Vimal suitings.

Mudra had set up the Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad, known as MICA among students. MICA was one of the first schools of communication and advertising in India. Tucked away in the village of Shela near Ahmedabad, the campus was still being built as the first batch of people from MICA graduated. I have not been to MICA since then but from what I hear MICA is not only doing well but thriving.

It was great to know that it is not just students but Professors who read the book Mediocre But Arrogant and liked it. Here is a mail from Deval Kartik - a Professor at MICA. Deval Kartik (deval@mica.ac.in) is an Adjunct Professor at MICA. I had to be cautious while spelling that word. It is not “Ad Junked Professor“, stupid. Here is her mail to me:

“Hey Abhijit

Thanks for writing such a ’straight from the heart’ book. Really enjoyed reading it. And now waiting for the sequel.

I loved the book at two levels. One, it is set in the time I can identify with. I graduated to be ‘Mediocre But Arrogant’ in 1990. Not too far away for your period, though from a completely different part of the country. Yet, there are several characters one can identify with clearly…some profs and some batch mates!

And now, I am on the other side of the game and can almost sense my students calling me…well…I hope not Kaamini!!! Hehehehe.. But more than that I can really see where all assignments come from, why someone is ever so bright for a 6pm PPT and lot more.

The best I could do was gift the book to MICA library and just tell a few of them about it!

The good word spreads ever so quickly!

Cheers and keep writing!

Deval Kartik
MICA”

David Rasquinha’s Review of Mediocre But Arrogant on Amazon.com

David Rasquinha is an avid reader and reviewer of books. Starting off with his first review dated 14 Dec 1999 when he wrote about A Clash of Kings by George RR Martin, since then has written 118 book reviews and 1463 votes who find his reviews useful.

About him - as disclosed on the Amazon profile:

“I am from India, temporarily based in the USA. A banker by profession, I am fond of classical music and reading, amateur astronomy. I suppose my grounding in hard nosed economics and banking made me gravitate to science fiction and fantasy. I love reading about different worlds and more importantly, different world-views, seeing how characters interact. To me the most fascinating part of sci-fi is not the bells and whistles of technology but rather the effects of this technological change on society and human psychology.”

Here is his take on M-B-A. Full disclosure: David Rasquinha and I were batchmates at XLRI, Jamshedpur, India. Over to you David.

Mediocre But Arrogant
by Abhijit Bhaduri
Edition: Hardcover
Availability: Currently unavailable

A coming of age book - with a difference, February 14, 2007

I loved this book at first browse! Let me admit at the beginning that I am not a disinterested reader. As a contemporary of Abhijit at XLRI, the real-life MIJ, “Mediocre But Arrogant” transported me back to 1982-84. I knew Abhijit then and always admired (with more than a touch of envy) his range of interests and his terrific interpersonal skills - he always seemed so easy in his skin. So it is likely that I am biased in favour of this book. Abhijit proclaims at the outset that the story is not autobiographical and that his protagonist Abbey is not Abhijit.

Without disputing that, several of the characters in the book, including some composite characters, the settings, many of the incidents and events he describes are immediately recognisable to his classmates. For students of the XL Classes of 1982, 1983 and 1984, this book will bring back many nostalgic memories and some rueful smiles as well. Having said that, this book lays claim to a far wider audience for it is many ways a “coming of age” novel. Bear in mind that the time period of this novel is the early 1980s: a time when India still slumbered, the software boom was still years distant and nobody had heard of the term BRICs.

Abhijit brilliantly conveys the tensions weighing on a young man in that time. The allure of idealistic college discussions over tea or coffee, the quest for an educational degree that would open the portals of the employment market and most of all the pressures, subtle and crude alike, to “grow up, get a good job and settle down”. Followed by the tension filled competition to get admission into a business / technology school and “get placed”.

This will strike an immediate chord with any Indian (and I daresay, international) student. At the real-life MIJ, as Abhijit says himself, we were blessed with excellent and dedicated professors and an incredible cross-section of students from the length and breadth of India. We learned as much from our interactions with each other, as from our classroom sessions. Abhijit has done a wonderful job of picking key incidents, characters and events which he weaves together into a story that is heartwarming, inspiring and bittersweet all at the same time. The gift for language and communication he so well displayed then, has well served him in this novel as well. My only grouse, and it is a minor one, is that his use of flashbacks to illustrate his points can be occasionally jerky and unduly discontinuous. A coming of age book that is well worth a read, for those coming of age now, and for those who did so a while ago, alike! I hope to read a sequel sometime!

Analysis of the Genre from Sid’s Blog

Gautam Ghosh just forwarded me this interesting piece of analysis done on Sid’s blog.
So it is over to the blog:

“I had first encountered the likes of ‘Anything For You, Ma’am’ in the insanely phenomenal best seller ‘Five Point someone [FPS] ’ and had followed it up with my current favorite ‘Mediocre But Arrogant [MBA]’. I now feel I’ve got an intuitive awareness to the spot many common threads binding such kind of novellas.

–>The first being, ALL the above-mentioned books are set in the premier institutions of our country. FPS, AFYM – IIT DELHI, MBA- XLRI.

–>The main protagonist is a male always (not sure if the authors are MCP’s).

–>There is always a troika aka DCH.

–>Life seems to be always ‘going to the dogs’ for the protagonist(s)

–>Professors are always a big pain in the ass.

–>There is always a nerd/geek/psycho.

–>Bunking is bliss.

–>Music, booze and PENTHOUSE/PLAYBOY are omnipresent.

–>There is always a love interest.

–>The subjects taught seem to be of no practical value.

–>There is always a den or eat-out where all the brainstorming sessions are held.

–>Characters have colorful nicknames.

–>There is always a Sardar, a Tamilian / Mallu (default)

–>The protagonist is always seen as struggling for money.

–>There is always a super cool guy like Ryan in FPS or Rusty in MBA.

–>The female protagonist is highly intellectual the rest are plain bimbos.

–>The protagonist does something very crazy and lands in a soup.

–>Exams have the characters ‘by their balls’

–>The Music- Beetles, Bryan Adams, Rolling Stones, Elvis…

–>The drink- Vodka (nothing seems to beat it)

–>The guy flirts and falters; the girl falls for his innocent true heart.

–>People fag like hell.

–>Marks are of least importance.

–>There is always some punishment given to the protagonist.

–>Viva is a test of intellectual crap.

–>Hostels are, well you know…

–>In the end the professors end up being the good guys.

–>There is always a savior professor.

–>The conclusion is always happy. The underdog no more remains one.

The authors’ though first timers have meticulously worked on their books and the results are for the publishers to see, who are laughing all the way to the bank.

The authors are masters of their trade and are the stories very humorous (I laughed like mad while reading FPS and MBA). Their USP is the witty down to earth presentation. A good story when told in a bad way robs it of all its charm and vive versa.

The advantage the above-mentioned authors have is that they have themselves lived through some of the experiences they have mentioned in their books (tough none admits that openly). So it is far easy for them to incorporate it into the plot than for any novice who would have to imagine the situation and then write.

The ‘premier’ college setting is an added advantage because so little is known about the life on these campuses that people are all eager to know more and these books aptly fuel the market. The same plots could have happened elsewhere also but the ‘institute’ adds ‘value’ to the book. Hell. If I wrote a book about my crazy days at MGIT I don’t know how many takers would be there. The most probable first question will be: MGIT? Who? Where? What?

The bottom line of this whole discussion is that the publishing world has hit upon a new genre unknowingly. The genre of ‘insti-lit’ books as in the name given for mushy teenage romance books: ‘chick-lit’.

The market is in its infancy. There are so many premier institutions out there IIM’s, REC’s, BITS, MGIT and many more each having a unique tale of its own to be spun by an ex/current student. And combine such a ‘lite’ book with a killer pricing like FPS/AFYM were just 100 bucks; MBA was a bit on the higher side (but well worth it), you have a mega-sellout book. Everyone is happy. The reader gets his share of fun, the publisher gets his big fat bucks and the author gets his royalty. It’s a win-win scenario for all. Even the book pirates (I bow to them) get a wind of the phenomenal best seller in the making and do their bit in promoting it by mass illegal reproduction.

I envision a scenario in the not very distant future when every institute will have a book set in it by author who is/was a student. The institutes can promote these books in place of meaningless crappy prospectus. They could even follow product placement strategies that are now so common in movies and computer games to show their college in good light. The possibilities are ad infinitum. As I say the genre has just born…”

What do you say?

Abhishek Kumar from Radio Mirchi writes

Hi ! Abhijit,

Read yr book, thoroughly enjoyed it !!! It took me through a range of emotions. Infact, the other day I was telling one of friends that this book is so relatble that even if someone called “Abhishekatoo sitting in Timbaktoo” reads this book he will be able to relate to it. I guess that`s wat is so beautiful about your book. It transcends all geographical, cultural, social & economic barriers.

Having read the book felt me scoring 2/10 in QT during my MBA was’nt that bad (just joking) !!!

What really made me think was the last page wherein protagonist reads the letter given by Prof.Hathaway. All this while I wondered if an MBA made any difference to my career (read as life) . After reading the last page I realize that the impact does not really have to be very apparent, it can be at a subliminal level as well !!!
I HV BEEN TRYING TO WRITE THIS SINCE BEGINING, BUT WAS A LITTLE APPREHENSIVE. THINK MUST WRITE IT NOW

Why do’nt you plan a sequel to this book called “Shallow But Aggressive”. A book which will delve on:-

1) What happened to Abbey when he enters Shallow but Aggressive world called as corporate. What are his initial experiences ?
2) What are Abbey`s feelings when he finds Ayeshas all around him. Does his longing for Priyas increase ?
3) How does Abbey deals with not one but hundreds of Ghopher around him?
4) Does he want another Rusty to come & help him or he grows up to become Rusty or may be better
5) Very important, did Keya come to Delhi ? Did she meet Abbey? Her side of story etc ????
6) Does he get amused to see shallowness all around him ?

Guess, there are so many more questions which can be addressed. Please, do not think of me as a cynic or someone who is against this corporate world or culture. Was jus thinking that there is’nt any book which deals with the human side of corporate world. This book can be very funny & emotional & for few a guide to learn & adjust to the norms of this “Shallow but Aggressive” world

Regards
Abhishek Kumar
abhiran5@gmail.com

Smita Kulkarni from Sunnyvale, California says …

Smita Kulkarni
“I was so happy to get this book from my sister. She sent it to me from Germany. Although the author was kind enough to offer to send me a hardcopy that he had with him, this one came just in time (there are no copies being sold in USA yet). I finished reading it in 3 days which equals about 5 hours of actual reading time on the California train.

My first impression after reading the initial 10 pages of the book was that like Shobhaa De’s (referring to her comment about this book), this one took me back to my college days. For starters, I haven’t heard the word “super-senior” in a long time. And it’s been a while since I heard the many slang words and all the very believable nicknames that Abhijit makes liberal use of in his book. It brought the college canteen/hostel back to life in my mind. However, if I weren’t an Indian or hadn’t gone to school in India, it would be a little harder to place most of them. Being a “day-scholar” I wouldn’t have been able to identify with all the hostel life described, had my sister not been generous enough to let me visit her at hostel a couple of times. I’m sure it was a torture for her but I totally enjoyed myself :). Comparisons to “Five Point Someone” (another college caper set in the IIT Campus) are inevitable. Personally, I gave up reading that book after about 4 chapters but this one I had to finish!

I could totally identify with Abbey who doesn’t really have much ambition and isn’t even sure if he is doing the right thing with his life. All my life I have gone with the flow and never really knew if I actually wanted to be doing what I was doing. The only thing I probably couldn’t digest was Abbey’s love life. His attitude towards all the women was very casual and his sexual encounters are something that I couldn’t imagine as being real, especially in the day and age the story is set. But again, student life and teens have changed so much in India that I don’t even really consider myself as belonging to the current generation anymore. Abbey really seemed to lack any motivation to follow up on something that he cared about. This is evident in the relationships he shared with the women and their terminations. My favorite character (and also the author’s, I hope) was Rascal Rusty. There is always this wise guy in every class who’s a know-it-all and this fact never goes down well with most of the students. I also loved reading about the “Kumbhkaran” like roommate who chose sleep over everything else. The ending could have been a little less abrupt. When I finished the book, I didn’t really feel like it was the end! All in all, a very good first attempt that kept me hooked (which is a lot more than I can say for the next book that I am reading!)”

Check out Smita’s blog at http://booksreadbydabbu.blogspot.com/2006/05/mediocre-but-arrogant-abhijit-bhaduri.html

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