Skip to main content

The Corporate Dance


Book Review

One of the amusing truths about the human species is that in spite of the breathtaking achievements we have made, and continue to make, in various fields, our lives continue to be dominated by superficiality.  There are some manners that we have to learn and practise in order to belong to our class and the manners are, more often than not, quite silly.  Even our physical appearance matters a lot.  'Fair and lovely' is one of those silly norms.  What we boast of in the name of our culture too has a way of attaining superficiality.  For example, we can wear the typical western attire and go to deliver sermons on the ancient Indian culture to youngsters who may be celebrating the Valentine’s Day.

Lata Subramanian’s debut book, A Dance with the Corporate Ton, is about the paradoxical superficiality of our species.  The very first sentence of the book will tell us what it is about: “If you wish to be successful in your chosen career, if you desire to build a corporate empire and be known as a corporate tsar, it is not enough to be talented, honest, hardworking and committed.”  What else is required?  The superficiality I spoke of above is the answer, though the author does not use that word.  The elite society of the corporate world has certain rules that you have to abide by if you wish to rise in that society.  Those rules are about how your physical appearance should be, how friendly can you get with your subordinates, and so on. 

These are not new rules, however.  The author takes much pains to show us that the world has always been like this.  The rules of the elite society go back to long past, to the days of the aristocrats and the royalty of the bygone eras.  She draws many comparisons between the manners practised in the old world and those embraced by today’s corporate world.  

Lata Subramanian knows what she is speaking about.  She spent her entire working life in the corporate world.  She “has over 35 years of work experience across the Advertising, Civil Aviation, Hospitality and Publishing industries in India.”  Moreover, she is well-read and cites illuminating examples from classical literature, mythology and history in order to show us how certain aspects of the corporate culture are integral parts of the age-old courtly manners and practices.  The corporate boss is a king in today’s world.  Lata Subramanian shows us that in her inimitable style that sparkles with wit and wisdom.  The illustrations in the book are hilarious at times and always splendid.

The book is sheer delight to read.  Every page is suffused with humour.  The inevitable ironies and paradoxes of  human life wink at us constantly teasing us out of our complacencies.  

The book is also highly autobiographical.  We get enlightening peeps into the life and career of the author.  We understand what made Lata a success in the corporate world and yet an outsider. 

Lata becomes a visionary towards the end of the book.  She envisages a world in which robots take over all the labour and shows us dramatically how dull such a world would be. How absurd too!

The book is an enlightening read not only for those who wish to take a close look at the corporate world but also for those who wish to understand our world better.  What are we trying to achieve?  How much achievement will make us happy?  What is happiness?  These are some of the underlying questions that the book asks and answers too. 

The only problem is that the book is available only in the digital version.  I find it difficult to read digital books.  There may be many others like me who would prefer a hard copy.

Let me end with a quote from the book.  “The sad thing is that I see little sign of society changing its measures of success or making much effort to change the conditioning of young minds. If anything, unfettered capitalism in the last few decades seems to have accentuated the ageold measures of success.”  Can we take a relook at success?

To buy the book: follow this link


Comments

  1. A very balanced and practical review, Sir. Loved your usage of words and insights!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well reviewed. Interesting read.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wonderful review that reveals that this is a wonderful book on the corporate world!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Written by an insider who is actually an outsider!

      Delete
  4. I agree in totality when you say talent, hard work and sincerity is not enough. Unfortunate enough, superficiality rules the parameters. It often kills a great idea and makes kings out of unworthy concepts. The book sounds interesting. Good review!

    www.numerounity.com
    www.hautekutir.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. A precise and balanced review... Thanks for sharing... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Superbly written review and well deserved by the author too. I have read the book and it is everything you say and more. Lata is intelligent , witty, humorous and at the same time shows great depth and humility.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right, self-effacement is one of the great qualities that Lata seems to possess in addition to the more visible wit and wisdom.

      Delete
  7. A wonderful review. The book sounds very interesting :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have to learn to write like this - touch each aspect of the book in brevity without losing the essence of it all. You have done it well. But I was hoping to see you draw comparisons between the superficialities of the corporate world and the professional world you have been a part of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was tempted to do that, Sunaina. Honestly, it took me some effort to restrain myself. Whatever I went through during the last two years in Delhi was a cruel reflection of the corporate approach to the staff. But I didn't want to taint Lata's book with my personal life :)

      Delete
    2. Maybe in another post then.....I wanted to see how you use Lata's observations to speak about superficialities in the larger world. Corporate world is one part of a larger system. Wanted to see your views on that, if possible.....:)

      Delete
  9. Liked the succinct review sir, particularly the way you have highlighted the questions that the book raises.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Country where humour died

Humour died a thousand deaths in India after May 2014. The reason – let me put it as someone put it on X.  The stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra called a politician some names like ‘traitor’ which made his audience laugh because they misunderstood it as a joke. Kunal Kamra has to explain the joke now in a court of justice. I hope his judge won’t be caught with crores of rupees of black money in his store room . India itself is the biggest joke now. Our courts of justice are huge jokes. Our universities are. Our temples, our textbooks, even our markets. Let alone our Parliament. I’m studying the Ramayana these days in detail because I’ve joined an A-to-Z blog challenge and my theme is Ramayana, as I wrote already in an earlier post . In order to understand the culture behind Ramayana, I even took the trouble to brush up my little knowledge of Sanskrit by attending a brief course. For proof, here’s part of a lesson in my handwriting.  The last day taught me some subhashit...

Lucifer and some reflections

Let me start with a disclaimer: this is not a review of the Malayalam movie, Lucifer . These are some thoughts that came to my mind as I watched the movie today. However, just to give an idea about the movie: it’s a good entertainer with an engaging plot, Bollywood style settings, superman type violence in which the hero decimates the villains with pomp and show, and a spicy dance that is neatly tucked into the terribly orgasmic climax of the plot. The theme is highly relevant and that is what engaged me more. The role of certain mafia gangs in political governance is a theme that deserves to be examined in a good movie. In the movie, the mafia-politician nexus is busted and, like in our great myths, virtue triumphs over vice. Such a triumph is an artistic requirement. Real life, however, follows the principle of entropy: chaos flourishes with vengeance. Lucifer is the real winner in real life. The title of the movie as well as a final dialogue from the eponymous hero sugg...

Abdullah’s Religion

O Abdulla Renowned Malayalam movie actor Mohanlal recently offered special prayers for Mammootty, another equally renowned actor of Kerala. The ritual was performed at Sabarimala temple, one of the supreme Hindu pilgrimage centres in Kerala. No one in Kerala found anything wrong in Mohanlal, a Hindu, praying for Mammootty, a Muslim, to a Hindu deity. Malayalis were concerned about Mammootty’s wellbeing and were relieved to know that the actor wasn’t suffering from anything as serious as it appeared. Except O Abdulla. Who is this Abdulla? I had never heard of him until he created an unsavoury controversy about a Hindu praying for a Muslim. This man’s Facebook profile describes him as: “Former Professor Islahiaya, Media Critic, Ex-Interpreter of Indian Ambassador, Founder Member MADHYAMAM.” He has 108K followers on FB. As I was reading Malayalam weekly this morning, I came to know that this Abdulla is a former member of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind Kerala , a fundamentalist organisation. ...

Violence and Leaders

The latest issue of India Today magazine studies what it calls India’s Gross Domestic Behaviour (GDB). India is all poised to be an economic superpower. But what about its civic sense? Very poor, that’s what the study has found. Can GDP numbers and infrastructure projects alone determine a country’s development? Obviously, no. Will India be a really ‘developed’ country by 2030 although it may be $7-trillion economy by then? Again, no is the answer. India’s civic behaviour leaves a lot, lot to be desired. Ironically, the brand ambassador state of the country, Uttar Pradesh, is the worst on most parameters: civic behaviour, public safety, gender attitudes, and discrimination of various types. And UP is governed by a monk!  India Today Is there any correlation between the behaviour of a people and the values and principles displayed by their leaders? This is the question that arose in my mind as I read the India Today story. I put the question to ChatGPT. “Yes,” pat came the ...

The Ramayana Chronicles: 26 Stories, Endless Wisdom

I’m participating in the A2Z challenge of Blogchatter this year too. I have been regular with this every April for the last few years. It’s been sheer fun for me as well as a tremendous learning experience. I wrote mostly on books and literature in the past. This year, I wish to dwell on India’s great epic Ramayana for various reasons the prominent of which is the new palatial residence in Ayodhya that our Prime Minister has benignly constructed for a supposedly homeless god. “Our Ram Lalla will no longer reside in a tent,” intoned Modi with his characteristic histrionics. This new residence for Lord Rama has become the largest pilgrimage centre in India, drawing about 100,000 devotees every day. Not even the Taj Mahal, a world wonder, gets so many footfalls. Ayodhya is not what it ever was. Earlier it was a humble temple town that belonged to all. Several temples belonging to different castes made all devotees feel at home. There was a sense of belonging, and a sense of simplici...