The Davy Jones’ Locker - THE SEAMAN AND HIS DIARY

One of my new readers, Seema, feels that my stories a bit too long to read on the net. Thanks for your feedback, Seema. I agree. Blogging is different from writing. Whereas longish stories may be okay to read on paper, on the screen it is brevity that is important. So for a change, here is some flash fiction, a story I wrote for a flash fiction competition quite long ago. The theme of the flash fiction competition was "diary" - so here is my story about a Seaman and His Diary

FLASH FICTION 

The Davy Jones’ Locker  

By

VIKRAM KARVE

THE SEAMAN AND HIS DIARY

A freak accident. A ghastly death. A gruesome sight.

The young seaman fell off the ship’s towering main mast, his body somersaulting, tossed around by superstructures and bulkheads, till it lay mangled on the deck, neck broken, skull smashed.

At sunset we consigned him to the Davy Jones’ Locker at the bottom of the sea to Rest in Peace. RIP.

I rummaged through the sailor’s belongings and found his journal, a diary he wrote daily. I read his diary.

It is extraordinary how close you can be to a man and how little you can know about him.

I knew he was married but I had never realized how deeply he loved his wife.

I sealed the dead seaman’s belongings in a kitbag. Yes, I packed all his belongings, everything, except his diary.

This diary I would hand over personally to his wife, and try my best to alleviate her distress, the next time we berthed at Mumbai.

I owed it to dead seaman, and to his widow, for it was I who had sent him up the main mast to repair the light, while the ship was rolling and pitching in the treacherous North Atlantic.

The moment we berthed in Mumbai harbour, at the first available opportunity, I went ashore to make the condolence call on the bereaved widow.

My shipmates waited for me on board when I went to make the condolence call.

The moment I returned they all asked me anxiously, “What happened? You found the place?”

“Yes. I found the house and paid our condolences to the bereaved wife.”

Suddenly they all started speaking together, “His wife… widowed so young…poor thing…so unlucky…such a pity…so sad…tell us…tell us…how has she taken it…what was she doing?”

“She was in bed,” I said.

“In bed? Oh My God…she’s still bedridden with grief…?” they all said.

“She’s not bedridden with grief,” I said.

“What?” they all exclaimed in chorus, and then a cacophony of voices, “lying ill in bed for three months…what happened…accident…fracture…heart attack…stroke…depression…shock…”

“Please! Please!” I interrupted loudly raising my finger, “She is not ill, she has not had an accident, heart attack, stroke, nothing, she is not in distress, she has not taken it badly at all. In fact she has taken it rather well. She wasn’t alone in bed when I suddenly reached her house early in the morning – she was in bed with someone else.”

“What? Impossible…tell us…what happened…tell us…”

“What is there to tell?” I said, “I went to the address written in his diary, but she’s shifted to a swanky apartment in Malabar Hill…”

“She must have bought it with the insurance money…” someone piped up.

“I rang the doorbell. She opened the door, dressed in a flimsy nightie. I told her who I was,” I said. 

“Then what happened?” they all asked together, curious. 

“She invited me in, when suddenly a man’s voice called her from inside the bedroom:

‘hey sweetie pie, what are you doing out there? Come back to bed fast, I’m getting cold’ 

and she said to him:

‘someone has come ... a shipmate...’ 

and the man inside shouted back to her:

‘just tell him to get lost, tell him to vamoose, just tell him to disappear...’ 

So I bid her good bye.and came back right here,” I said.

“Bloody hell…two-timing bitch…maybe the seaman knew all about it…maybe he didn’t fall off the mast accidentally...maybe he intentionally jumped off…poor guy…” there was a cacophony of voices, and then they asked me, “his diary, the dead seaman's diary, did you give it to her?” 

“No,” I said, “I threw his diary into the sea, into the Davy Jones’ Locker. To join him down there at the bottom of the sea. May they both Rest in Peace, the seaman and his diary. RIP.” 

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this story?
I am sure you will like the stories in my recently published book COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To order the book please click the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the link below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and he is currently working on his novel. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 


Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com        

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

 

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much - GROUPTHINK

GROUPTHINK
By
VIKRAM KARVE

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much

Walter Lippmann

Tradition has it that conflict is bad.

Conflict is something to be avoided.

The culture of many organizations implies explicitly or implicitly that conflict should be suppressed and eliminated. 

It is common for managers to perceive intra-organizational conflict as being dysfunctional for the achievement of organizational goals.

Most of us still cling to the idea that good managers resolve conflict. 

Current thinking disputes this view.

In the absence of conflicting opinions, harmonious tranquil work groups are prone to becoming static, apathetic and unresponsive to pressures for change and innovation.

Work Groups and Teams, even Top Management,  also risk the danger of becoming so self-satisfied, that dissenting views, which may offer important alternative information, are totally shut out.

In short, they fall victims to a syndrome called “GROUPTHINK”

In a study of public policy decision fiascos, I.L Janis identified “GROUPTHINK” as a major cause of poor decision making. 

As he describes it, ‘groupthink’ occurs when decision makers who work closely together develop a high degree of solidarity that clouds their vision, leading them to suppress conflicting views and negative feelings about proposals, consciously or unconsciously.

A manifestation of the groupthink phenomenon is the staggering irrationality which can beset the thinking of the otherwise highly competent, intelligent, conscientious individuals when they begin acting as a group or team and this affects organisational effectiveness.


EFFECT AND SYMPTOMS OF GROUPTHINK

The net effect on the group is that it overestimates its power and morality, it creates pressures for uniformity and conformance, and its members become close-minded, living in ivory towers. Some manifestations are the illusions of invulnerability and the encouragement to take great risks and to ignore the ethical or moral aspects of their decisions and actions.

This author has witnessed close-mindedness on the part of several managers which then permeated their teams.

One project manager took this to the extreme and in effect defined his environment as consisting of two kinds of people, either "friends" or "enemies". 

This syndrome is akin to the dialogue from the classic Movie Ben Hur

the “you are either for me or you are against me” syndrome

Like this Manager I observed, many persons too exhibit this syndrome.

Friends were people who completely agreed with his favoured solutions and supported his project. All others were enemies.

Soon his entire project team was echoing similar sentiments having fallen victim to “GROUPTHINK”, resulting in unbending positions, heated arguments and subsequent lack of respect for anyone who disagreed with them. The ultimate consequences can easily be guessed.

The symptoms of groupthink include:

(i) An illusion of invulnerability that becomes shared by most members of the group.

(ii) Collective attempts to ignore or rationalize away items of inconvenient information which might otherwise lead the group to reconsider shaky but cherished assumptions.

(iii) An unquestioned belief in the group’s inherent morality, thus causing members to overlook the ethical consequences of their decisions.

(iv) Stereotyping the dissenters as either too evil for negotiation or too stupid and feeble to merit consideration.

(v) A shared illusion of unanimity in a majority viewpoint, augmented by the false assumption that silence means consent.

(vi) Self-appointed “mind-guards” to protect the group from adverse information that might shatter complacency about the effectiveness and morality of their decision.

Not very surprisingly it has been suggested that individuals most susceptible to groupthink will tend to be people fearful of disapproval and rejection and who want to “conform”.

Conversely, an outspoken individualist who freely airs his views and opinions, if trapped in a groupthink situation, runs the risk of being ejected by his colleagues if he fails to hold his tongue.


GROUPTHINK SITUATIONS

THE DOMINANT LEADER

Firstly, because the CEO [or the “Boss”] dispenses all favours, his biggest problem is to avoid being treated like God. Secondly, the “Boss” must avoid thinking that he is God.

Indeed, in many organizations, it is not easy to contradict or argue too vigorously with the boss.

Even when managers feel that they know more than a superior, they may suppress doubts because of career considerations.

Fear, respect for authority, and even admiration for the boss, may make sceptics hesitate when confronted with a confident CEO or dominating superior.

This is less of a problem if the leader acts in the organization’s interests, possesses requisite soft skills, and has strong ethics and cognitive capabilities to make decisions.

However, if a leader does not force serious questioning, he or she will sometimes make mistakes and errors of judgement. 

Colleagues and subordinates will become “yes-men”, and groupthink will take over decision making.

And the dominant CEO may not discover his or her mistakes because fearful employees withhold information.

What can lower-level managers do about the boss who has lost touch with reality and seems to be driving the organization in the wrong direction?

One can adopt three different strategies:

(i) “Exit” (Leave the organization)
(ii) “Voice” (attempt to force changes from within)
(ii) “Loyalty” (accept things the way they are)

Each individual can evaluate the risks and benefits of each strategy.

However, if the organization is really on the wrong track, true loyalty requires an attempt to communicate one’s reservations and concerns to the leader.

How can a confident, independent CEO avoid the pitfalls and temptations of absolute power?

The obvious (but difficult) answer is to make sure that power is never absolute, and surround oneself with other confident, independent people, and encourage dissension and debate on every decision.

In his autobiography ‘A Soldier’s Story’ General ON Bradley has exemplified this aspect in the decision-making style of General George C Marshall, Chief of Staff of the US Army in World War II, a dominant leader who was instrumental in the Allied Victory owing to his resolute management of the entire war effort. “Gentlemen, I am disappointed in you. You haven’t yet disagreed with a single decision I have made,” he told his staff after one week in office, “When you carry a paper in here, I want you to give me every reason you can think of as to why I should not approve it. If, in spite of your objections, my decision is still to go ahead, then I’ll know I am right.”

Rather than search for views that might reinforce his own, a CEO should seek contrary opinions to avoid groupthink. Some suggest using a devil’s advocate methodology for all major decisions by assigning some individuals in all groups and teams to argue against the dominant view.


PARALLEL POWER

This is a “groupthink” situation in which individuals or groups low in the hierarchy are powerful enough to do what they want, even when contrary to organizational objectives. 

Such power may be based on specialized expertise or privileged access to information.

Parallel power can lead to groupthink in two ways.

Firstly, senior managers may accept ideas from lower-level managers that are not necessarily in the organizational interest, either because they have insufficient information to ask the right questions, or because opposition would not seem legitimate.

Secondly, top managers may make decisions without all the necessary information because subordinates do not provide it due to vested interests arising from misplaced loyalties to a limited function, department or team, rather than to the organization as a whole.

Such situations can be mitigated by ensuring that managers rotate between different units and positions.


NATURAL UNANIMITY

When everyone in power instinctively shares the same opinion on an issue, the wise manager should be wary.

Natural unanimity groupthink results in an inward-looking organization detached from its environment.

Escape from this predicament almost certainly requires a fresh perspective that can come only from outside, by hiring new managers or appointing outside consultants.

A CEO may lay overemphasis on staff – line cooperation in the belief that the easiest way to ensure implementation is to recommend only those actions that the line managers agree with.

But this is not necessarily useful to an organization and may lead to mutual admiration and, ultimately, “natural unanimity groupthink”.

The effectiveness of staff - line dichotomy depends on maintaining a certain tension between the staff and the line managers.When the tension disappears, the staff may not be doing its job.

CONCLUSION

The key element in any strategy for avoiding groupthink is to instil checks and balances into the system. Formally, this can be achieved through cross-functional teams, staff advisers, external consultants, or procedures like “devil’s advocacy”.

Informally, managers must learn to tolerate dissidence, criticism, contrary opinions, discussion, brainstorming and debate and encourage their colleagues to express doubts about proposals. Propositions from various parts of the organization need to be treated transparently, equitably, and consistently, to avoid groupthink.

In a nutshell, for effective decision making, steer clear of yes-men, ego-massage, sycophancy and groupthink.

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like this article?
I am sure you will like the stories in my recently published book COCKTAIL comprising twenty seven short stories about relationships. To order the book please click the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the link below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and he is currently working on his novel. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com        

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

TEA TOWN PUNE - Memories of Yesteryear Pune

I hope you liked my article CYCLE TOWN PUNE

http://karvediat.blogspot.in/2012/02/cycle-town-pune-memories-of-yesteryear.html


Here is another article in the same series A PUNEKAR WALKS DOWN MEMORY LANE
I hope you will enjoy these reminiscences, and maybe this will tempt you to  hark back to your good old days too. Please do let me know if you liked this article and comment – I look forward to your feedback.


A PUNEKAR WALKS DOWN MEMORY LANE


TEA TOWN PUNE
By
VIKRAM KARVE


Pune is a Tea Town but soon it may not be so, for the culture of Pune is fast changing. Youngsters don’t drink tea anymore – they consider it infra dig to have a cup of tea. Yes, the young and the restless prefer Coffee. And mind you, not the rejuvenating cup of pea-berry-plantation filter coffee served by the Udipi restaurants, which we used to love but the expensive stylish alien international coffees served at posh Baristas, CCD’s and high-falutin coffee shops proliferating rapidly all over Pune.

Just imagine, the other day I couldn’t get a cup of decent tea in a multiplex but there were plenty of varieties of exotic coffee all around – coffees which are quite “alien” to the Indian style and do not fortify the strong cup of Indian Filter Coffee or what a cuppa of Amrut tulya tea does.

Going back to my childhood days in 1960s, Pune [or Poona as it was known then] was a 100% “TEA TOWN”. Everyone drank tea, except some quirkyupaas type aunts.

There were chiefly two types of tea for the laidback discerning gourmet Punekar to relish: the tasty flavoursome Chaha at the ubiquitous Amruta- tulya tea shops at every nook and corner of Pune and the peerless Irani Chai served by the numerous Irani restaurants across the city. Places like Café Naaz, Lucky, Good Luck, Volga, Vahuman etc were popular for their tasty chai. Indeed Amrut-tulya Chaha and Irani Chaiare an important aspect of the culinary heritage of our Pune.

Irani Chai is the most rejuvenating beverage I have ever had. They keep the steaming rich tea brew and hot milk in separate containers and mix it in just the right proportion to get the terrific inimitable gulabi Chai.

A few years ago I got a shock of my life when I discovered a Barista coffee shop in place of my favourite Naaz. Yes, my favourite Irani Restaurants, Naaz, Lucky and many others have disappeared and only the redoubtable Good Luck at Deccan Gymkhana remains.

Amrut-tulya Chaha stalls too are fast vanishing. The one nearest to where I lived on Tilak Road in Sadashiv Peth in the 1960’s next to Ashok Bakery have disappeared few years ago. Further down the road past SP College towards Maharashtra Mandal there still exist the legendary Ambika and New Ambika Amrutatulyas. A friend of mine used to savour his morning cuppa in Ambika and his evening cup of tea in New Ambika. If you look around you will still find a number of Amrut-tulyas in the heart of Pune city though in the newly developed cosmopolitan suburbs there are Tapris.

Amrut means nectar and tulya means comparable, so “Amrut Tulya” means “Comparable to Nectar” and indeed, true to its name, Amrut-tulya tea is comparable to nectar –  sweet, ambrosial like the elixir of life!

I love watching Amrut-tulya chaha being prepared. They prepare tea in front of you in a brass vessel. The speciality of this vessel is that as it starts ageing, the tea becomes tastier. Milk and water are boiled together, with plenty of sugar, cardamom powder, crushed ginger and tea leaves, stirring continuously to make sure it concoction does not overflow. The aroma of this tea is tempting enough to pull you inside for a hot cup of tea.

As an ardent tea lover, I am glad to share a recipe of traditional Amrut-tulya chaha

AMRUTATULYA CHAHA 

Ingredients

If you live in Pune, get the famous CTC+OP (CTC – Crush, Tear, Curl; OP – Orange Pekoe; BOP – Broken Orange Pekoe) family mixture tea powder from any of the tea depot located in the heart of Pune City. You may use some good Assam CTC tea.

Full Cream Buffalo Milk
Fresh Water
Sugar
Fresh Ginger Crushed (Better still you can crush the juicy fresh ginger with the chimta directly into the water-milk concoction to let the ginger juices flow out and blend in smoothly.
Cardamom – peel, crush and powder the pods

Please remember that Amrut-tulya tea is not your traditional masala chai so please do not add any teamasalas or spices like clove, cinnamon, black peppercorns or herbs like gavati chaha (lemon grass), tulsi leaves etc. Also remember it is not the khada chamach or cutting chai, so please don’t boil away to glory.

Method

• In a brass vessel [or stainless steel, if you can’t get a brass vessel] mix one cup of water and one cup of milk.
• Add four teaspoons of sugar.
• Put on the stove on medium heat.
• Squeeze in a bit of fresh crushed ginger and add a pinch of cardamom powder and the freshly crushed peel.
• Lightly and lovingly stir the concoction, let it warm and bring it to boil.
• Add two teaspoons of tea powder and keep stirring gently to ensure the boiling concoction does not spill over.
• Keep boiling till the tea attains bright golden-orange colour.
• The moment you see a reddish tinge, give the heavenly brew a loving last stir, twirl the vessel and sieve the Amrut Tulya Nectar Tea, your Special Chaha, directly into the cups.

You can drink Amrutatulya chaha from your cup but you will enjoy it better if you drink it from the saucer sucking and pulling in the yummy liquid with your lips and let it deliciously emulsify on your tongue for that heavenly elevating feeling.

Sip the delicious tea slowly and mindfully, roll it on your tongue, let it mingle in your palate, close your eyes, absorb, discern the flavour, the rich taste, relish every sip lovingly.

Amrut-tulya Chaha is truly lip-smacking tasty and soul refreshing, blissful ambrosia, an experience of nectar – you can take my word for it. Now you know why they call this refreshingly delicious and nourishing tea Amrut Tulya “comparable to Nectar” Chaha.

Cheers!!! Enjoy your cup of special Puneri Amrut-tulya nectar tea. If you are a true blue Punekar, don’t head for the nearest coffee shop – always look around for an Amrut-tulya.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2012

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

Did you like reading this article?
I am sure you will like the 27 stories in COCKTAIL
To order your COCKTAIL please click any of the links below:
http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme
http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm
http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html
COCKTAIL ebook
If you prefer reading ebooks on Kindle or your ebook reader, please order Cocktail E-book by clicking the links below:
AMAZON
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6
SMASHWORDS
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

About Vikram Karve

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and is currently working on his novel and a book of vignettes and short fiction. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories, creative non-fiction articles on a variety of topics including food, travel, philosophy, academics, technology, management, health, pet parenting, teaching stories and self help in magazines and published a large number of professional research papers in journals and edited in-house journals for many years, before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 15 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com
Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve
Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com     
Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll
http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.