What is it that gives some people the arrogance to take so many people for granted?
The news of the fortnight has of course been Justin Bieber. The young star who shot his way to the top of the charts was set to take India by storm on the strength of huge pre-event publicity and unprecedented hype. Youngsters from Mumbai, Pune and various parts of the country robbed their parents’ piggy banks to find the tens of thousands of rupees demanded to watch the rock idol in action. The post event news was as usual full of superlatives and cheesy statements by the stadium audiences. But then as columnist Shobhaa De called it, the after taste of the concert became that of a stale samosa as news broke out that Bieber had committed the cardinal sin of lip syncing his way, not through a song or two, but the entire concert. Some reports have it that the star was so inconsiderate that on one occasion, he even went and had a drink of water while the microphones belted out one of his popular numbers!
What is it that gives some people the arrogance to take so many people for granted? Is it the assumption that when one’s status becomes very exalted, there will be easy forgiveness forthcoming from the fans, which may well be the case with Biebermania in India? Or is it that like the great Winston Churchill, some Western stars feel justified in reserving all courtesies for their home audiences and viewing any other country as lesser mortals who should stay content with the crumbs they are served? Either way, a resurgent and proud nation like India should not stand for this atrocious behaviour and agents who make such events happen should forsake their normally obsequious behaviour and be clear to wannabe performers about the firstrate expectations of our first-rate audiences!
It’s not that all stars are equally uncaring! Ten years ago, I saw “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen extend his concert by over half an hour because of the extraordinary rapport he built with his audience at the wonderful Staples stadium in Los Angeles, USA. And just a few years ago, Lady Gaga wowed a packed audience in Cape Town, singing every song for an audience of mixed backgrounds and colours (black, white and khaki), belting out all our favourite songs with her irreverent and amusing patter in between. And can one ever imagine an Asha Bhosle or Jagjit Singh resorting to a lip sync performance? On the contrary, it is their ability to get into the mood and rhythm of their audience and improvise (ever heard Jagjit do Aahista Aahista live?) their way into the hearts of their audiences!
Having said that, one sees mixed attitudes in our cricketers for sure. I still recall the inauguration of a computer education centre in JP Nagar, Bengaluru that had been franchised to cricketer Javagal Srinath. Sri himself has always been the model of humility and approachability and Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble have always been willing to collaborate for the cause of youth. Sri invited the entire Indian team who were in town that week to the inauguration centre and seeing some of the stars, the young kids in the centre naturally wanted to pose for photos. Sadly, one of our superstars who I shall not name flatly refused, saying his agent would not permit unpaid photos. And these were the days before the super popularity of WhatsApp and Facebook, where there would have been little chance of any photograph finding its way anywhere except the pages of a family photo album. Similarly, there are some top CEOs who refuse to sign an autograph book for a young fan, saying they do not want to waste time to meet multiple people who might follow, emboldened by the first signature. To balance this, of course there are many industry leaders like NASSCOM Chairman Raman Rao, Thermax Chair and SVP Pune Co- Chair Meher Pudumjee and even Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha who have time for a word and a thoughtful response to any query or suggestion!
Life and work are meant to be enjoyed, not subjugated to the despicable behaviour of anybody, be they rock stars, celebrities or corporate bosses
For young readers of this column, what is the message one can give on the way to conduct oneself irrespective of status or position? Most of us will have enough role models to look up to, possibly parents or relatives or in some cases friends or acquaintances who rise up through sheer hard work and intellect with no family name or influence to get them where they do. These are the people who will invariable exhibit humility and go out of their way to support and encourage colleagues and juniors. These are the people to emulate, not high profile CEOs or owners who exhibit arrogance and rude behaviour or, in the words of one of my philosopher friends “harbour a huge inferiority complex that manifests itself as a superiority complex.” And when confronted with such behaviour, the best response is not to react either aggressively or through unnecessary obsequiousness but to focus on one’s work and demonstrate capability through results rather than reactions or responses. Life and work are meant to be enjoyed, not subjugated to the despicable behaviour of anybody, be they rock stars, celebrities or corporate bosses!
by Ganesh Natarajan
