Images from Vaizag

Book Review of Jeffrey Archer's "And Thereby Hangs a Tale"

Only hard core Archer fans would be able to enjoy this anthology of very short stories. Others may endure the experience for the sake of the author’s reputation. In fact these fifteen tales allegedly “gathered together" during Archer’s “travels around the world”fail to grip.

The word short story is a sacred term and the form has been explored by masters like Poe, Maugham, O Henry and Maupassant and Tolstoy to name a few. In fact we have great Indian short story writers like Tagore, Preem Chand, Mulk Raj Anand, R K Narayan and Raja Rao. The Peerage he might have achieved but into this list of Peers Jeffrey Archer will never enter. The short story is not just about a twist in the end. The ending gives joy only if the story is built up right. This Archer successfully fails in doing.

With this view about Archer and his ability in short story writing why did I read the stories in this book with interest? I can only explain why I read through them all by comparing this collection with a gift hamper of éclairs.You just can’t resist it! The milk-chocolate covering is quite tasty and as the tongue explores the sweetness, it hits the pure chocolate center and then it’s over. Some of these stories are so exquisite but they end almost before they have reached a stage where we’ve started enjoying the plot.

The next major dampener is the fact that the endings are so obvious. How much can mastery over words compensate for absolute lack of complexity in the plot. Archerism’s like “it was therefore no surprise for anyone” take cliché to newer heights. In fact there are truly no surprises for anyone, least of all the poor reader who is dogged in his determination to finish the book and claim that he has read the latest Jeffrey Archer. The beauty is that his worst critics love him for the magic of his story telling abilities. In fact Archer does well in longer fiction. His recent novel (though not his latest) “Prisoners of Birth” is a classic in its own right.

But, “Thereby Hangs a Tale” does have a few tasty morsels. Stuck on you, and Where There’s a will have been crafted well. I personally liked the ingenuity of the ending in High Heels. Blind Date, Double Cross and Politically Correct are so obvious that they are boring.

The Queen’s Birthday Telegram may be a favorite for all, though I found it too mundane if somewhat unbelievable that a husband would never know a difference of five years in age between himself and his wife.

I personally felt A Good Eye should have been titled “The Arsonist and the Gullible Priest.” Members Only is made of the kind of the gooey sentimentalism that Archer excels in dishing out. But that does not work well in Caste-off where he gets it all wrong as usual. I don’t know why Archer goes out of the way to irritate Indians when we possibly worship him and are also erudite enough to catch him out on his slightest mistake. He mixes up the Hero’s surname with first name and also makes a mockery of the Hindu Custom of taking seven steps together during the Marriage ceremony.

No Room at the Inn and The Luck of the Irish are so blasé that they do not even register. The Undiplomatic Diplomat and I will Survive are too contrived to be actual real life incidents. They must be development of theories that Archer must have heard at his club or a bar.

Better the Devil you know is different, original and worthy of exploration as a short novel. The concept is too good to be exhausted so easily.

The book is no more than a pot boiler for Archer. May he write better novels in future and cease these perilous experimentations with the Short Story.

Tenneti Park

The evening was spent in visiting Tenneti Park which is on the beach road opposite to Kailas Giri. The park is well maintained by the Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA). It is situated on a ledge jutting out over the sea. There is a small hillock which can be climbed to obtain a good view of the sea down below. Steps run down a steep incline from the park to the beach about 200 feet below. Behind the park and across the highway Kailas Giri rears up majestically.

Ayn Rand and Covey

One of the studentsat GITAM, Ms. Moithri, who hails from Bengal really impressed me with her erudition . She was one of the three in thee class who confirmed that they had read Ayn Rand’s seminal works. During the break we were chatting in the coffee shop when she remarked that she had liked Fountainhead rather than Atlas Shrugged. I personally prefer the latter over the former as I feel Roark the hero of Fountainhead is a bit too idealistic. I remarked that Ayn Rand’s philosophy was utopian and that applying it in real life would be highly impractical due to the essential complexities inherent therein. It is so easy to develop a philosophical theory within the construct of a novel where the writer has the power to “ignore” or suitably “modify” uncomfortable issues.

Ms. Moithri agreed in principle and went on to state that in this sense the Seven Habits of Covey though essentially idealistic are more practical and provide an approach that is holistic and can be applied in all aspects of our life. Due to the consistent efforts to practice the Seven Habits in my life, I firmly believe that there is a Seven Habits solution for all conceivable managerial and personal issues. I raise my hat to the lady in admiration and appreciation.

Management Control and a Sleek Ferrari

26.07.2010

I began my course on Business Strategy and Management Control Systems at GITAM Institute of International Business today. GITAM has combined Business Strategy and Management Control into a single paper, thus recognizing that control is merely the flipside of strategy. Further this would enable the student to appreciate that the best of strategy is of no use if the implementation is faulty. Good implementation depends on the effectiveness of the controls.

I used the metaphor of a stylish Ferrari or a Lamborghini automobile to illustrate my point. Of what use is this sleek and well engineered car if it has no brakes or speedometer. Now, the sporty car is like a well crafted strategy while the brakes and speedometer are control mechanisms. The brakes control speed, while the speedometer assists in monitoring the speed.

But, it is the Geo-positioning System (GPS) that truly illustrates the link between strategy and control. You should have clarity about where you are headed. If the direction is clear the GPS can give you alternative route suggestions. You choose one route based on this information and your own perceptions about traffic density. This is crafting strategy.

Once you start your journey the GPS keeps you informed about how near you are to your destination. When you deviate, it can point out that you are straying and help you get back to the correct route. This kind of control can be achieved in organizations through Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions.

Ruminations on Rushikonda Beach

SUNDAY

25.07.2010

For want of anything better to do in the evening, I decided to take a stroll up to Rushikonda Beach. The GITAM campus is bang opposite the Beach which is, arguably, the best beach in and around Vaizag. The sea has created a small semi-circular indentation into the shoreline forming a sheltered beach well away from the deeper and more dangerous waters. Here, at Rushikonda, the waves splash gently on the shore of the large cove where families romp amidst the benign sea. Sitting on that beach and looking out at the Bay of Bengal, I missed my family. But, thanks to mobile telephony, I could call tham the next instant and share my thoughts. I suppose the feeling of nearness must be even more intense with 3G Mobiles.

The peculiar geology of this rocky coastline has left a small spit of land uneroded which extends like a pier into the sea. As this formation runs due southwest to northeast, it gives a strange feel of walking between two beaches with waves on either side.

I love the sea with its soothing wave-rhythm and its willingness to absorb all my petty worries and fears in its immense all-encompassing maternal bosom.

As I walked back to the campus my mind slipped into peculiar reveries steeped in nostalgia and regret for things which could not be or should not be. As my mind kept wandering around thus, the ganta natha (sound of a Bell) from a nearby Shiva Temple rang loud and clear breaking into my somber thoughts and silencing them once and for all. I went into this private shiva temple set in the middle of a verdant grove.

I sought my solace at the feet of the Father who destroys all sense of self and the Mother who is Grace personified.

Matha cha Parvathi Devi, Pitha devo Maheshwaraha;

Bhandhava Shiva Bhaktha cha, Swadesho Bhuvathryam!

Parvathi is my Mother, My Father the Lord of Lords—Shiva;

My relatives are His Devotees, My realm the Three worlds!

Why worry when I have such great parents to protect and counsel me and promote my welfare!

Visakhapatnam again

I am here at Vaizag to handle Business Strategy and Management Control for the second year MBA students of the GITAM Institute of International Business.

The temperature in Vaizag is pleasant at 26 degrees with occasional showers. My ride from the airport to the campus on Rushikonda beach was a pleasant one especially the winding beach road running along the ranges of small hills. The view of the beach on the right and the hills on the left is spell binding especially after the turing beyond Tennetti Park.

Vaizag is surrounded by hills on all sides witth the Bay of Begal on the East.