Facebook: Humara Kal, Humara Aaj

The other day, I got this opportunity to introduce Facebook to a friend of mine who had been a registered user for a long time but never active. What started as an effort to introduce Facebook to a lapser ended up being an inquiry into the reasons for the acceptance of this site amongst millions across the country. And yes, it also led to that person being converted into a Facebook loyalist.

To understand this phenomenon, I would start with the period when online chatting had started in India. The youth, especially in smaller cities and towns discovered Chat Rooms for the first time and it created quite a stir in their lives. Cyber café’s mushroomed and people started understanding the utility of this magical weapon. Suddenly, there was an alternative method of talking to the son who had gone abroad to study, see the face of the grandchild and make calls to US at relatively dirt cheap rates. Suddenly, there was a new medium where relationships could be formed. Suddenly, there were a whole bunch of boys trying to act like men with women (or supposedly women) from distant lands.

And then, came in the world of social networking. The early days saw people confused in many ways with this new mechanism and its merits. There was a period where batch-mates found each other, people competed about the number of friends in each one’s list, boys saw pictures of girls and sent Friendship Requests (sometimes without a message and at times writing in a minimum of five thousand characters about how their meeting online is divine and destined by the powers of the heaven). Today, there seems to be a greater amount of maturity in the understanding and the usage of these sites. As people matured in their usage, they started off with self-regulations along with creating acceptable practices which are now commonly understood and followed.

My discussion is not so much about the evolution of this medium. It is more about the underlying cultural reasons which I feel are somewhat reasonably crucial towards the acceptance of this format in India. Even while trying to attempt this, I would try and limit myself to my second love in the social networking world i.e. Facebook.

The first interesting aspect of Facebook is the whole chaos in the aesthetically beautiful pages and a seemingly orderly world. A few clicks would open the world to endless number of friends from the pages of history, windows which would keep showing new faces amongst your list of friends, a home page where there are as many things happening as it would in any typical Indian market place, a profile page where you feel like being dragged in and out of conversations just like it happens in the festival of Holi or during the dances in a wedding, bright pictures about the adventures of the known and unknown, a constant desire to do something in a place where many are active and popular, and so on.

What is interesting to note here, is that this chaos does in more than one way reflect our style of existence. As Indians, we have always hated processes and guidelines and embraced and thrived in a world of chaos. We seem to have almost perfected this method of existence over time. There has been a long history of under-delivery by the people in power in the country and we have always had to strive for even the basic requirements like food, water and shelter. Even the other day, when a building collapsed, over a hundred of the current occupants were stranded without any support from the government and left without a roof on their heads. We have been through a long period of licensing and quotas and in certain sectors it still exists, there is barely a concept of stating the MRPs in traditional retail, we need to wait for months to start a new business, own a phone, get the delivery of a car, etc. We would usually have to pass currency under the table, flash notes at signals, innovate methods to cheat during examinations and when caught, find brokers to get the mark-sheets altered. The list is endless. There was never a single perfect method or process and somewhere we have never completely wanted one. We seemed to thrive in a world of chaos, randomness and uncertainty. The world of Facebook, with so many events happening at such a rapid pace, gives us a feeling similar to that chaos which we have grown up with. It does scare us initially but later provides us with the satisfaction of being in a place where we truly belong.

Another aspect of Facebook, worth considering is the display of the complete name along with a good looking or an attitude defining or want-to-be-like-this profile picture (in most cases). Now, while this allows people to know the person they are getting networked with, it also provides them with the complete freedom to segregate them on the basis of some mental stereotype. Not many people create groups within their list of friends, but they do create mental segments of people whom they would look up to, people to be avoided, people to be seen interacting with, people whose posts need to be commented on, people whose comments need to be replied to, etc. We have always been a nation where the first thing a person normally hears on uttering the full name is question to confirm the caste or religion or place of birth. We understand the family background by accents and dressing sense. We visit or stay away from areas which are meant for certain ‘kinds’ of people. We have always been a society where there are different roles defined to different sections of people with little overlapping. In the case of chat, there were normally alias instead of the actual name. When it comes to Facebook, with the help of names and profile picture, our desire to stereotype people and our guesses about what they would be like, just gets stronger.

The Live Feeds page or the home page on Facebook also plays a role larger than providing an update about what people are up to. We are a nation of people hungry constantly for information from the world around us. There was a time when the ruler would send his messenger to announce his decisions across the city and beyond. The Panchayats still sit in many villages where information is shared and decisions on important matters arrived. The famous ‘adda’ from Bengal, the ‘sutta’ at the ‘tapri’ and the ‘kaif (slang for café) in Hyderabad; are all answers to this same desire in one way. There are still many towns where people wait for the newspaper which arrives the next day if not in the afternoon on the same day. Not to mention the ‘Chitralekha’ for the Gujrati community which would usually arrive a month after being published. Women would wait for the ‘bai’ to come in and share the gossip about the neighbour and fathers would normally ask the watchman the whereabouts of the kids. The desire to know all that happens in our surrounding is so overpowering that it is like second nature to many of us. This page on Facebook, not only meets this desire but also makes it relevant since it comes from the people we know. The beauty is that while it comes from within the network, it is not restricted to information about people but it also shows their greater interests and likes.

Another very strong Indian trait is that of having an opinion about everything. So while the Live Feeds sections powers the availability of information, the option to ‘Like’ (agreement), ‘Comment’ (my opinion) and ‘Share’ (gossip with others) takes it to the next level. It provides us with the ability to voice our opinion on the subject that is being discussed.

What Facebook also provides us with is social currency and a barometer about our standing in society. While it gets more and more difficult for people to participate in the society around them with the pressures of the modern work culture, Facebook is one mechanism, which has come to their rescue in a big way. As I had mentioned in one of my previous articles (The Traditional Indian Social Networking - http://advertisinginsight.blogspot.com/2010/11/traditional-indian-social-networking.html) I would like to re-iterate here that in India a person is usually identified as being a part of the family in which he was born and not in isolation. The number of people one knew was the social currency he owned. The number of people who knew him was a manner in which is social standing was determined. Facebook is an answer to this need of our country to be able to create our own identity in the society. We do this with the help of the number of people present on our lists, the groups that we are identified with, the people we usually interact with, the communities we belong to, the events we attend, the pictures of places we have visited just like many others, etc. Facebook has almost become a real society for us in the virtual world of today.

And last but not the least, Facebook does provide amateur writer like me with an audience. While I get thrilled by the kind of comments and feedback I receive, my blog rarely gets even a single visitor. Don’t really mind it as long as Facebook is present. :)

http://twitter.com/srahula

Special thanks to Pritesh Angane for his inputs on the subject.

The Modern yet Traditional Manager

Welcome to the new generation of Personal Relationship Managers – a term commonly used for those employees dealing with anything between 10 to 200 or even more consumers/ business relationships on a day to day basis. Many of us have either had some brush or been in the above (or similar) role in the past. My discussion here is about this term which is has now become so common without getting into any judgmental undertones about them as professionals.

There was a time, when we used to depend on a ‘Sharma Ji’ or a ‘Gupta Ji’ for simple to complicated service related requirements. They were usually the ones who would join an organization to spend their entire lifetime there. At times they were really efficient and at times exact opposite. However, they were people whom we had known for a long period of time and had a relationship with. We would not think twice before going to them for any kind of work. Most of our interactions with them would not be limited to work. They loved talking as much as we did and conversations would include anything and everything under the sun. What mattered was the fact that a relationship was being developed and the person could be banked upon in times of need.

When we look at how things have changed around us today one observation is that we rarely remember the names of these people who continue to play an important role in our lives. Our relationship is now with a place-holder instead of a person, which gets filled by different people over time. There is rarely a constant and with opportunities opening up in the country, the rate of such transfers is faster than ever before. What is interesting to note here is that the act of being into a relationship with a specific individual has been converted into a role which a person performs. From a time where relationships with specific individuals used to be everlasting it has now reached a stage where it is completely replaceable.

Also, it is true that the concept of ‘Relationship Manager’ finds a large amount of acceptance in India today. Had we been missing the personal touch and warmth of ‘Sharma Ji & Co.’ we would not have accepted this new definition easily. However, it is interesting to find several people who swear by their relationship managers these days.

If we try and look a little beyond the obvious, there is an interesting point to note here. The term ‘relationship manager’ is very similar to the kind of people we are today i.e. ‘modern yet traditional’. The word ‘relationship’ takes care of our traditional dislike for transactional based functional method of working. At the same time the word ‘modern’ adds the touch of professionalism, knowledge and skills, experience and expertise to the person.

With the influence of media, mobility and money we are getting better exposed, lonelier and more demanding. While our expectation from such professions increases; we are still somewhere rooted in our traditions of the past. We want the modern but not at the cost of doing away with the past. This I feel is one of the key reasons for this term becoming a part or our language today.

A ‘saree’ is not just a garment but a rope used by the society

Yesterday, on my way back from the office in a bus, I saw a couple on a motorbike speeding past. The guy was dressed in loose Tees and a pair of jeans and the girl behind him in a traditional Indian ‘saree’. It is a common sight in most parts of the country even today and it somehow sparked a desire for me to look a little deeper to probe if there is anything about the society and culture that we can understand from this.

Sitting sideways is something which we would see in very few countries around the world and it gets necessitated most often because of the kind of garment which is worn. In this case the garment being a ‘saree’. Sitting in this position puts the woman into a world where she has to play a role of double balancing. The first: balancing herself on the seat in a direction perpendicular to the motion of the bike. The second: balancing herself with the bike itself which moves ahead on two wheels. Obviously, it is not an easy task and we have seen them struggle and juggle while in this position. However, most of them are able to perfect this skill – at times with a little help by holding the person in the front. The pros even manage to tuck one kid between the two seats and one on the lap. And, the great Indian family is all set in motion in no time.

What it forced me to think is as follows:

At one level, the ‘saree’ is a traditional Indian garment which has added to the overall sensuality and appeal of women. At a deeper level to me it appears like a rope which is used by the society to tie-up women multiple times, to restrict their movement and also punish them in a manner in which they are forced to perform under physically difficult conditions. Most young women struggle while wearing it and often take the help of others who are more adept at this skill – usually a mother, sister or friend. After wearing it, they find it difficult to walk around with it and also to manage the household chores and responsibilities. In one way, it limits their movement within a secured known boundary. History and family traditions have glorified the ‘saree’ to such an extent that women feel a sense of achievement on being able to carry out household work (however difficult the ‘saree’ makes it for them).

To understand the position of the motorcycle and the scooter in the history of the country is also important here. These vehicles opened up the world to common people who had traditionally been dependant on completely undependable means of public transport. However, what is interesting to note here is that this weapon towards extended geographic exploration and physical convenience had been limited to the men in the society. Women have usually been limited to occupying the rear seat either in the capacity of a daughter, sister or a wife. Whenever a girl was spotted as a pillion with anyone else, it would raise eyebrows and she would be given a lecture on socially acceptable behavior.

What is also interesting to observe here is that whenever the woman got a chance to sit in the pillion, she was expected to play a similar role which the ‘saree’ would make her play at home – that of balancing between the odds managing not only herself but also the family. While the woman struggled herself on this rear seat, there was usually a ‘Bittu’ who would be sitting between the couple and a ‘Guddi’ with a bottle of milk on her lap. She was expected not only to carry out the extreme acrobatic act of double balancing on the rear seat but also ensure the same for the kids. In a nutshell, she was expected to manage the family (‘meri family’ – a term commonly used by men to describe a collection which consisted of his wife and kids) rather than being able to enjoy the thrills of travel.

Today, with the society moving ahead and greater amount of sensitivity prevalent towards the needs and desires of women, there are several changes visible. One such phenomenon is the introduction of the mini-scooters aka ‘scootys’. The manner in which it impacts the society and the lives of women is multifold. It has removed the restriction of the wearing specific kinds of clothes which are required for driving. Women today drive ‘scootys’ even with ‘sarees’. This has also brought the women from the rear seat onto the front seat. It has not only provided them convenience and discovery, but also opened up a world of possibilities for them.

http://twitter.com/srahula

The rise and rise of the DJ EMPIRE

[Dedicating this piece to all DJs and music lovers that I have interacted with over the last couple of years]

The Disk Jockeys (DJ) are an intrinsic part of the Indian entertainment industry today and their role in the evolution of this culture cannot be over-emphasized. Their contribution is not only limited to their loyal audience but also extends to the success of the business as a whole.

However, this has been a long journey with interesting events occurring in the lives of the people on either side of the console. What makes this journey worth exploring a little more in detail is the outstanding manner in which Indian’s have understood this new trend and accepted it as their own.

From what I remember, the first form of popular remix music was the introduction of ‘Jhankar Beats’ into movie songs. Most audio cassettes for Hindi films would come in two versions – one: the usual and the other one: with an oval-shaped fluorescent sticker reading ‘with Jhankar Beats’. They were normally priced at a premium and for popular movies such as ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ and ‘Raja Hindustani’ the stocks would dry in no time.

What followed this phase was a period of ‘devotional bhajans’ sung to the tunes of popular film songs. Ruling this business was Gulshan Kumar and family with the T-Series brand. He was leading this culture of devotional albums while his brother Kishan Kumar played the role of a humble devotee in most of these. Many of these tracks are still popular and form a part of ‘bhajan’ evenings and other religious functions across the country even today.

After this, we saw the first glimpse of the kind of remix music as we know of today. There were old tracks which were re-dubbed with new voices and electronic music (DJ Aqeel being one of the popular stars of these times) and even new tracks which were remixed. This was probably the period when the concept of Disk Jockey started to emerge in the country.

As we started accepting this new kind of music, there was long period when little attention paid to understand what the acronym DJ stood for or meant. The DJ was not a person but an entire package. The mixers, console, disks, songs, lights and speakers along with a strange looking person doing something on these machines is what the term DJ meant to most Indians. There were bizarre variations in the language which was used to describe their work often leaving them confused as to what people thought their role was. People would ‘play DJ’, ‘increase and decrease the volume of DJ at parties’, ‘like good DJ beats and hate slow DJ beats’, ‘listen DJ songs’, ‘celebrate DJ nights’ and do everything associated with the term ‘DJ’ without acknowledging their role at all.

Intrigued would be the apt word to describe the sentiment of people when it came to DJs. There was little knowledge as to what these creatures did, why did they dress up the way the dressed up, why did the music they played sound so different, how did they manage to play tracks one after the other without stopping, etc. etc?

The entire mystery that surrounded this innovation and the complete lack of understanding (even with a lot of effort) was one of the reasons which made this new culture popular.

Thankfully for my DJ friends and many others, the scenario is much different today. Nowadays, there are genre specific enthusiasts. On the other side, there are DJs who are comfortable with specific kinds of music as well. The combination of these two factors is what leads to success of this industry.

If we try and study this phase a little more in detail we will find that apart from the hard work and contribution made by the DJs, there are also several interesting insights about Indians which have played a big role towards the creation of the current avatar.

On the face of it, there are certain obvious factors responsible for the growth of this industry. Increase in the availability and popularity of this new genre of music, growth of internet market leading to better collaboration and sharing, the opportunity for the youth to break free and experience an independent life - if only for a couple of hours, technological development and better access to quality equipment, etc. However, if we look a little deeper, there seems to be more than the obvious as stated above.

One such factor is the love for the game of ‘antakshari’ in the country. It is a simple game for two or more teams where one starts with a song and the other follows up with another song, starting with the last letter. The game has been popular amongst people of all ages for years, much before even I was born. Even today, at family get-togethers, marriages and other social functions, schools and colleges, en-route on journeys, etc., it is a common source of entertainment. One aspect about this game which contributed towards its popularity is the element of continuity. Kids, adults and even elders would jump in as soon as one song would get over with the next one to ensure that there is minimal gap between the two songs and game could continue un-interrupted. Another similar form of art is ‘Dandiya’ and ‘Garba’ where people were able to dance continuously for a long period of time to the tunes of traditional songs continuously.

When the DJs began grooving one track after the other, they were able to capture this strong urge within Indian heart to listen to uninterrupted dance music in a setting where one could feel free and not be intimidated by pressures of family/ social environment. The playlists were adapted live on the basis of reactions from the audience. Also common trend has been to play mixes of popular Bollywood tracks. What happened in the process is that the entertainment was not only made continuous and dance-able but also relevant to the audience.

Another insight which I feel is relevant is from the world that Bollywood cinema has created in the minds of millions of Indian’s. With television still at a nascent stage, there were limited means of entertainment - amongst which Cinema was big. Watching a movie was next to celebrating a festival and was eagerly awaited by all. In a value conscious society, not everyone got the opportunity to watch a movie in the theatre regularly and every movie left a strong image in the minds of the viewers.

Popular mainline cinema was all about dramatizing the reality often to obscene extends. One common example is that of how most songs would suddenly transport the hero and the heroine into the snow capped peaks of Switzerland of the lush green plains in Europe. Every song was made unreal with the characters enjoying few moments of limited intimacy and romance in a dream world. Once the song ended, they were back into the reality which existed in their lives and the story would move on.

With the electronic dance music culture which the DJs introduced in the country and the increase in the number of clubs and discotheques, the young adults for the first time saw an easy option of living that same unreal life in a small way. People would dress up, usually take their girl friends or wife’s, get dizzy on alcohol and then dance while imagining themselves as those characters on screen whom they worshipped. This new culture provided them with the opportunity to feel like stars and live the unreal life they always dreamt of.

Another common Indian trait is that of being loud and being impressed by everything that was loud. The quality of sound wasn’t a concern as long as it was loud enough. No wonder we still see music systems and televisions with Bass Boosters and auto-rickshaws with speakers loud enough for a stadium. Even today, if one takes a stroll along the lanes of a colony, one can distinctly hear the sound of the television playing on the second floor from the street.

The period during which clubbing culture started becoming popular coincided with the emergence of better quality sound systems which were sensitive to the lower notes. Most clubs invested money on getting these equipments which not also delivered high quality audio performance but also ensured that the DJs could maintain audio levels which were loud enough to suit the local decibel requirements. The feeling of being in an environment where it was next to impossible to talk to the person sitting on the next seat was an answer to the Indian psyche where people connected best with music that is loud.

As I write, I feel that there would definitely be more than what I have been able to capture here. I guess that inputs from the stalwarts like Ankit, Sanjay Dutta, Dash, Hydra, Nawed, Shireen, Carlotta, Malay, and many others, whom I have tagged here, about instances of how they have been through this journey would be interesting to know. Would await feedback, criticism and LIKES & SHARES (whatever it be) about the rise of this new empire in this country.

Cheers :)

PS: Apologies for using the phrase ‘strange looking people’ more than once to describe the dressing. What is important to note here is that what seemed strange to most people when they saw the DJs would also become the trend later. No wonder people used to flock around them on every possible opportunity.