"NEVER LOSE... Head. Heart. Spirit. " by TM Nagarajan Review by Edwin Fernandes6 "...eminently readable book. Let’s start at the very beginning. In a remote village in Tamil Nadu, an expectant mother is eagerly awaiting the birth of her first born. The doting mother-in-law is anxiously waiting and storming the Heavens for a male grandchild. For, the son of the first-born son is considered a boon from the gods. The impending heir apparent had become a fetish with Amma and her raison d’etre. Her obsession triggers a frightful dream. A cobra languorously coils itself around the swollen belly of her daughter in law. Amma distraught and despairing pleads and cajoles with Nalla Paambu not to harm the mother and unborn child. She promises to name the child Aravendan (King of Snakes) . Thereafter, like the Beatles did long ago, the author takes us on a Magical Mystical Tour. A veritable Hejira of Aravendan or the stylish Arvin, as he would later come to be known. Arvin had to endure the rigours of a tough childhood. He overcame all odds including a speech defect. By sheer dint of hard work, he proves to be a topper in school, college and the university. He develops a penchant for the fine arts and as a public speaker, he had few parallels. He joins an all India Organization and later moves on to a DFI. The story captures riveting episodes and traces Arvin’s growth from an obscure TN village to his relocation to a madness called Madras, to bewildering Bombay of the ‘70s-imagine a “Madarasi” in the big bad city, to the complexity of Calcutta. Interspersed is a jaunt (deputation) to the Dark Continent (Nigeria?) Mr. Nagarajan is a riveting raconteur armed with a vocabulary that is truly awesome. Time and again I was left floundering like a beached whale as the tsunami of bombastic coinage submerged me Senescent grandma; frugivorous meal; cosseted ardour; prosopognosia; obstreperous wives; poltroon husband; sleep homeostatis; insouciantly flung dresses; Nominee Director not Nominal Director …. Take your pick. Arvin noted for his drafting skill, came to be known as a good draftsman! In this modern day parable, he surpasses himself expertly embellishing his narrative with innovative innuendoes. Consider this sampling: At the weigh in for the job, the Doctor found him underweight. The low body weight of the would be Officer who might have to deal with weighty matters, seemed to have weighed heavily in the Doctor’s mind. He asked how they selected him. To which Arvin replied: They weighed my knowledge Doctor; I am not taking up a weight lifting job; The Probationary Officer thus became a Provisionary Officer! An encounter in the office loo, described as an odorous enclosure where a senior colleague on being asked a question, looked pee-ved; One Boss would become serious if you availed casual leave; if you availed long leave, his face would become long; loss of rank did not lead to rancour. The characters in Never Lose are very earthy and identifiable. Anyone who has worked in large Organizations will easily relate to the hurly burly rigmaroles of office life. Machiavellian machinations; petty politics; cringing crab mentality; shades of schadenfreude; seniority; leave vacancies; humanitarian grounds; fear of transfers; farewell parties; the tension of missing regular local trains, the interminable meetings; the highs of achieving results; the slave drivers and the shirkers…. it’s all out there in ample measure. The narrative may appear facetious but believe me, it’s not. It’s not just a treat but also a genuine treatise on Management . TMN offers gems of advice from his rich larder of experience, meticulously garnered and stockpiled during his long chequered career. With Never Lose, you might not end up a winner; but rest assured you will never be at a loose end either..." =======================================================
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:52:19 +0000
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