INNOVATION SPECIAL ...THIRD MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANY - Here’s how the NBA broke attendance for the fourth straight season last year

THIRD MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANY - Here’s how the NBA broke attendance for the fourth straight season last year

In an age of distraction, the NBA holds people’s attention. Last year, the league broke attendance records for the fourth straight season; its streaming service grew subscribers by 63%; and total revenue increased 25%. One reason: the year-old NBA 2K League, the first extension of pro sports into esports, which has 21 teams and games that stream on Twitch. “It democratizes our sport,” says NBA commissioner Adam Silver. “It’s open to any body type and requires a different kind of athleticism and skill set.” The NBA also made a deal with MGM, making it the first pro league to integrate real-time data into a gambling platform and enable the kind of in-game micro-betting that keeps viewers watching each and every play. Just as important, the league has improved the on-the-court product: It reduced back-to-back game days to give players more rest, cut the shot clock by 10 seconds off rebounds, and adjusted defensive rules—all of which have produced higher-scoring games. It even abolished rules regarding shoe color and encouraged players to speak out on issues they care about, from politics to fashion. “The more the players can express themselves,” says Silver, “the more touch points there are with fans.”

BY JEFF BEER

https://www.fastcompany.com/90298947/nba-most-innovative-companies-2019

PRODUCTIVITY SPECIAL.... 7 Incredibly Simple Productivity Hacks To Get More Done In Less Time

7 Incredibly Simple Productivity Hacks To Get More Done In Less Time

Sometimes the productivity industry likes to make things much more complicated than it actually needs to be. Personally, I believe that complexity is the enemy and that simplicity is something we should strive more for. So, in alignment with that belief, I’d like to share 7 incredibly simple productivity hacks that you can apply today in order get a lot more done in a lot less time, while doing so with a smile on your face!

Productivity Hack 1: Turn Off Alerts & Notifications

Alerts and notifications are the biggest sources of distraction for the modern day knowledge worker. Every buzz, sound, light or pop-up pulls for your attention and opens a new mental loop that wants to be closed. Fighting the temptation of checking your phone or social media is incredibly hard, and only becomes harder as your willpower depletes during the day. Therefore, make the decision to protect your valuable time and focus by turning these alerts and notifications off.

Keep in mind, these notifications exist to suck you back into social media and messaging apps. In other words, you’re serving the agenda of the app developers instead of following your own path.

One of my friends, who can be found a lot on his phone during work hours and his free time, actually shared his statistics with me during an average week. He received a stunning 1607 notifications and spend an average of 3 hours and 15 minutes per day on his phone! That’s 1600 times he got disrupted during his work, thought process, social interactions and creative problem-solving. If that’s not a productivity killer than I don’t know what is!

Productivity Hack 2: Follow An Empowering Morning Routine

My morning routine is one of those habits that allows me to consistently have high-performance days. By doing habits like meditation, affirmations, goal-setting & reviewing goal-reviewing, and setting my intentions for the day, I set myself up for a highly focussed and productive day. Because of my morning routine, I feel more energized, aligned with my goals & ambitions, and highly motivated to tackle the day ahead.

I clearly notice that on those days where I don’t follow my morning routine, I have much more trouble being productive, staying focused and working on my priorities. Therefore, create and follow your own morning routine asap! If you want to learn more about morning routines, check out this article below.

7 Essential Morning Ritual Habits For A Productive, Energetic & Successful Day

 Hack 3: Stay Hydrated! 

One of the simplest but most overlooked ways to improve the performance of your brain is to drink enough water. drinking enough water is incredibly important to your ability to concentrate and focus.

The brain consists of 75% of water, so it’s no wonder that we start to experience immediate effects when we don’t drink enough water. I always ask people who feel sluggish, unfocused and low on energy if they drank enough water and the answer is almost always no.

In short, drinking enough water makes sure the energy production of the brain is functioning well, while not drinking enough leads to lower energy production, leaving you to feel foggy, fatigued and not sharp. All of which leads to heavily decreased productivity levels.

Therefore, when you’re giving your body the adequate amount of water, you’ll be able to think faster by 14%, stay focused for much longer, experience less brain fog and fatigue — and feel a lot more energized. That’s one easy way to boost your productivity!

Productivity Hack 4: Set Daily Goals & Intentions

One of the main reasons why so many people are unfocused and struggle with being productive is because they don’t know exactly what to do right now, today.

They might know that they want to earn more money, lose weight or build a business, but those are all goals somewhere in the future. But what about right now? What about today? Despite your long-term goals, procrastination will kick in when you don’t know exactly what it is that you’re supposed to be doing today.

If you lack clarity about what it is that you should be doing today, your mind will start making other plans. Easier plans, lesser important plans, plans that might be pleasurable and rewarding in the short-term, but not in the long-term. In other words, you’ll procrastinate, lose focus on your main goals and take a hit in your productivity levels.

Therefore, always set 1–5 daily goals and write them down in a productivity planner or your journal. Make sure you create the clarity of knowing exactly what it is that you should be doing today. Make your goals very precise and specific so that you know exactly what to do. Giving this structure to your day will help you work with a lot more focus and determination.

Productivity Hack 5: Avoid Multi-Tasking

According to research, once we get distracted or try to shift from task to task, it takes on average 25(!) minutes to regain our full focus on our task at hand. This is a phenomenon called ‘attention residue’, which implies that some of your attention is ‘left behind’ at the previous task (or distraction) your brain was dealing with. Your brain can’t simply shift from task to task effectively, as its capability to focus has literally decreased.

Furthermore, shifting your attention back and forth between tasks and distractions drains energy from the brain — as it uses glucose — making us feel tired, less motivated and less productive.

This is why so many people are completely worn out by a day of work, even though it’s physically not that demanding. Therefore, avoid multi-tasking and instead focus on one task with your full attention. This way you have more energy and focus left to really crush it.

Productivity Hack 6: Schedule Your Days & Weeks

By scheduling your days and weeks, you’ll become a lot more effective. I clearly notice how my most unproductive days are the ones that I didn’t schedule or didn’t schedule well enough.

If you don’t schedule your days and weeks, you will just wander around. You kind of know what to do, so you’ll have a kind of work ethic. You need to protect your time for those most valuable tasks or else it’ll fall prey to distractions or other people’s agenda.

Therefore, create a solid battle-plan for your days and weeks. One that you can simply follow and execute. This will help you save valuable decision-making energy (which is proven to be a limited resource) during the day — and work with more determination and focus.

Productivity Hack 7: Declutter Your Work-Space

When I’m doing deep work, there’s literally no object in sight on my desk except for my water bottle, my earbuds and my laptop. In a study done by Harvard University, it’s shown that a decluttered working environment leads to a significant increase in your ability to focus. Furthermore, it turns out that the participants who worked in a decluttered environment were able to work for longer periods of time compared to those who worked in a messy environment.

The reason why is that all objects in your vision (without consciously seeing them or not) fight for your attention, which costs your brain a lot of energy to resist or filter out. After a while, your brain will be too tired to continue this process and you’ll feel more sluggish, unfocused and unwilling to work hard.

Furthermore, realize that every object leaves an impression in your mind and that those impressions create thoughts which then can be distractions. Really be strict about this if you want to perform at your highest possible levels.

Jari Roomer

https://medium.com/personal-growth-lab/7-incredibly-simple-productivity-hacks-to-get-more-done-in-less-time-13a2cd65a78

SMARTPHONE SPECIAL ....MWC 2019

 MWC 2019

The Mobile World Congress, which was held in Barcelona between February 25 to 28, is one of the biggest mobile technology showcases in the world. Savio D’Souza and Ashutosh Desai pick some of the newest gadgetry showcased at...

HUAWEI MATE X

MWC was big on devices with foldable displays, and the Mate X that seamlessly converts from a tablet to a smartphone was one of the highlights of the event.

Its OLED screen bends about a “Falcon Wing” mechanical hinge to transform from an 8-inch (2480x2200px) tablet to a dual-screen smartphone with a 6.6-inch (2480x1148px) front panel, and a 6.38-inch (2480x892px) back panel.

The handset packs three Leica cameras: A 40MP for wideangle shots, a 16MP ultra wide-angle lens and an 8MP telephoto lens; the dual screens act as viewfinders, so even the subject can see a preview.

Instead of using an onscreen fingerprint sensor, Huawei has embedded the biometric reader in the power button. Under the hood, the Mate X packs in its flagship 2.6GHz Kirin 980 octa-core processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB storage (with a hybrid microSD slot) and a 4500mAh battery. You also get dual-SIM support and four 5G antennas; all at an expected cost of 2,299 euros when the device finally hits the market in mid-2019.

SAMSUNG GALAXY FOLD

The Galaxy Fold also uses a flexible screen called the Infinity Flex Display. In the folded position, you get a 4.6-inch HD+ Super AMOLED display. When opened like a book, it reveals a 7.3-inch QXGA+ Dynamic AMOLED screen. A concealed hinge “with multiple interlocking gears” ensures a smooth open-close motion.

You also get six cameras: In smartphone mode, you get a 10MP selfie camera while the rear panel has a 16MP ultra-wide, 12MP wide-angle and a 12MP snapper with 2x optical zoom and image stabilisation. The 12MP shooter also has two aperture modes to control the amount of light entering the lens. In tablet mode, you two more front-facing 10MP (selfie) and 8MP (RGB depth) shooters.

The Galaxy Fold will come with an (undisclosed) octa-core processor, 12GB RAM, 512GB storage and a 4380mAh quick-charging battery. Like the Mate X, the Fold also has a fingerprint scanner on its side to unlock the homescreen.

Other features include DeX to connect the device to a display for a PC-like experience, Samsung’s AI voice assistant Bixby, Knox for data security and Pay for contactless payments. The Fold is expected to be available in the Q2 2019 with prices starting at $1,980.

MICROSOFT HOLOLENS 2

Microsoft launched the HoloLens in 2016. The headset allowed wearers to work in environments that melded the real world with holographic imagery. At MWC this year, the software giant unveiled HoloLens 2, which contains a new display system that doubles the field of view and improves the quality of the holograms.

The new headset is fabricated out of lightweight carbon fibre and is designed to fit all head sizes easily with minimum adjustment. It runs on the new Snapdragon 850 Compute Platform and comes with powerful on-device AI to recognise people, environments and objects.

The HoloLens 2 is equipped with eye-tracking sensors that make interactions with holograms more natural; users will be able to manipulate digital objects using hand gestures and natural voice commands – and even securely log into the system with Windows Hello through iris recognition.

While gaming could be a possible application for such technology, the headset—which will be available later this year for $3,500—is built for applications in manufacturing, architecture, construction, engineering, healthcare and education.

Microsoft says that it could be employed in job training; to edit virtual layouts in real-world settings so designers and planners can make better decisions before they build – and even to make interactive presentations to stakeholders and partners. Users can even video conference with colleagues who can provide on-site feedback with real-time annotations and directional cues.

PUNDI X XPHONE

Singapore-based Pundi X showcased their XPhone, a handset that will run on Function X, an ecosystem that’s based on blockchain. Currently, the technology, which is virtually impossible to hack, is used to maintain a decentralised ledger—on nodes all over the internet—for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. Function X significantly expands the use of blockchain technology beyond financial transfers.

Pundi X will produce only 5,000 XPhones in late 2019 for $599 each, but intends to partner with hardware and phone manufacturers to build their own version of handsets powered by Function X.

Subsequently, every smartphone running Function X will be a node, and the devices will use these nodes to route phone calls and messages without the need for phone numbers. Function X will also enable you to securely send and receive data via the blockchain.

But that’s not all. The XPhone is backward compatible with Android. Users will be able to seamlessly switch between Function X and Android with the press of a button. The device showcased at MWC comes with a 5.65-inch Full HD display, a fingerprint sensor, the 2.2GHz Snapdragon 660 octa-core processor, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, a 48MP rear camera, a 12MP selfie shooter and a 3500mAh battery.

ENERGIZER POWER MAX P18K POP

More is always better, right? The Power Max P18K Pop, sold by France’s Avenir Telecom, houses an 18000mAh fast-charging battery—in an 18mm thick body—that is rated to give 50 days of standby time, 90 hours of talk time or 48 hours of video playback on a full charge.

Taking the excess further, you get five cameras on this brick: A pop-up module carries two (16MP+2MP) front-facing snappers while the rear has a three (12MP+5MP+2MP) lens system.

The Energizer handset features a 6.2-inch FHD+ edge-toedge screen, with a 2.1GHz MediaTek Helio P70 octa-core processor, 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. All this will be available later this year for 599 euros.

LG V50 THINQ 5G

Instead of a foldable display, LG has opted for a dual-screen set up. Here, the second display is an optional add-on that connects to the primary 6.4-inch (3120x1440px) QHD+ OLED display like a phone case.

This additional 6.2-inch (2160x1080px) FHD+ OLED screen can be switched on with the tap of an icon on the main display. A multi-window UI feature lets you view multiple apps at the same time and compatible games can use the dual screen to turn the main display into a dedicated controller.

The LG V50 ThinQ will run on the new 2.84GHz Snapdragon 855 octa-core processor, and will come with 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, three rear cameras – a 16MP ultra-wide angle, a 12MP standard, and a 12MP with 2x optical zoom – and two front cameras that comprise an 8MP and 5MP wide-angle snapper.

The handset also carries an IP68 rating for water- and dust-resistance, along with MIL-STD 810G for military-grade durability.

LG has not disclosed any details on pricing and availability.

L5G PHONES

ast year, MWC was all about 5G (fifth-generation) network infrastructure; this year everybody and their uncle showcased 5G handsets.

The Huawei Mate X, the LG V50 ThinQ, the Samsung Galaxy S10, the Mi Mix 3, the ZTE Axon 10 Pro, and unnamed models by OnePlus and Oppo – are all said to be 5G network ready. Then, there is the HTC 5G Hub, which is an Androidbased hotspot that understands voice commands, can support up to 20 simultaneous connections, and comes with speakers and a 5-inch display.

Now all we need is for 5G networks to be deployed. As it stands, India has only just gotten comfy with 4G networks, and 5G spectrum has not been allotted. Even when that does happen, services will go live only after initial testing and trials are completed. Best case scenario, we can expect 5G somewhere in 2021-22.

NUBIA ALPHA

The Nubia’s Alpha is a loud piece of gadgetry that immediately grabs eyeballs. It sports a 4-inch flexible “always on” (960x192px) OLED display—coupled with a stainless-steel bracelet—that wraps around your wrist.

Surprisingly, it runs on the dated Snapdragon Wear 2100 chip, which was unveiled in February 2016 (Qualcomm unveiled the 3100 in September 2018). Plus, you get 1GB RAM, 8GB storage, built-in GPS, a heart-rate sensor, a 500mAh battery, eSIM for network connectivity and a 5MP camera. The Alpha’s features—like all smartwatches—are navigated via swipes and taps, and you can have one dwarfing your wrists for around ₹37,000, when it goes on sale in China by the end of the first quarter this year. Europe and US should be getting their own models by the end of 2019. Luckily, there is no launch date for this garish wearable in India… yet.

MEIZU ZERO

The Zero is a futuristic handset that’s seamlessly crafted out of glass and ceramic with no slots, ports or buttons. To begin with, the smartphone uses a pressure-sensing technology to create virtual side buttons to power-on the device and for volume adjustment. Haptic feedback for these controls is handled by Meizu’s proprietary mEngine 2.0 technology.

Instead of a charging port, the Zero uses another home-grown technology called Super mCharge that delivers wireless charging at a constant voltage of 18W. Similarly, file transfers happen via high-speed wireless USB and the Meizu’s proprietary charging base.

Instead of a speaker, the handset employs mSound 2.0 – a vibration-based in-screen sound technology: Users simply need to put their ear against the screen for the crystal-clear audio output.

The technology also transforms the entire front display into an external speaker. The Zero, which runs on the Snapdragon 845 processor, only makes a slight concession in the form of two small holes for its mic. You, of course, get Bluetooth connectivity for headphones.

To achieve a true uninterrupted design, Meizu has also eliminated the SIM tray and supports eSIM that has already made its appearance on Apple iPhones. And finally, you get an in-screen fingerprint sensor and IP68 certification for dust and water resistance, which means the Zero can withstand accidental submersion in 2 metres of water for 30 minutes.

NOKIA 9 PUREVIEW

T he 9 PureView is equipped with five 12MP rear shooters—each of which sport Zeiss lens—that work together to collect 10 times more light than a single camera sensor. Of these, three snappers shoot in monochrome to allow for crisp black-and-white photographs.

Nokia says its handset can deliver “exceptional HDR images and videos” because each shooter adopts a different setting for various parts of the scene. All the simultaneous shots are then fused into a single image that’s packed with details from both, the shadows and the highlights.

Supposedly, the 9 PureView can identify over 1,200 layers in a shot to build a detailed depth map; this allows users to finetune the focus of an image during post-production for beautiful bokehs. And of course, photography aficionados are given the option to shoot in the RAW format to retain each and every detail.

Other specs include a single 20MP selfie camera, a 5.99-inch (1440x2880px) Gorilla Glass 5 display with fingerprint sensor, 2.8GHz Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor, 128GB storage, 6GB RAM, and a 3320mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 and wireless charging. Fair warning: Those who suffer from trypophobia might want to avoid staring at the five-rear-camera setup on the Nokia 9 PureView.

TOI 2MAR19

MANAGEMENT SPECIAL ....Planning in an agile organization PART I

Planning in an agile organization PART  I

Agile organizations rely on an innovative mix of stable and dynamic elements to bring planning up to speed with their fast-paced needs.

Companies large and small are discovering that agility—the ability to quickly reorient the organization toward valuable opportunities—can improve the performance of working groups across the enterprise. Agile ways of working can also reduce risk and create flexibility, because they allow teams to test and validate ideas before the business commits to developing them. These benefits can be lessened, however, if companies don’t apply agile concepts to enterprise-wide processes—particularly the planning and budgeting processes, by which companies translate their strategy into decisions about how to allocate people and resources. When agile teams must submit ideas to a planning committee and wait months for funding, they can miss out on precious opportunities to win customers or boost efficiency. At the business-unit level, the company can be slow to reallocate money and resources to endeavors that create the most value.

Most of the techniques that agile organizations use to make planning more dynamic are not new. Rather, they’ve been tried and tested by companies across industries and geographies. What’s apparent, though, is that agile organizations can use them to match the pace of planning with the pace of agile teams. These techniques help corporate planners to ratchet up the frequency of resource-allocation decisions and to grant teams more leeway to spend their budgets, while still ensuring that money and people are deployed productively.

To achieve agility in planning, companies should combine elements that promote both stability and dynamism. The elements that lend stability to agile planning are setting clear strategic priorities and defining closely related objectives for teams. The dynamism in agile planning comes from holding quarterly planning sessions, in which funding is redistributed among business units, and providing teams with support to use funding as they see fit. In this article, we will explore these four elements and illustrate them with examples from several companies.

Focus on a small set of strategic priorities

While an excess of strategic priorities can create difficulties for any organization, it can be especially problematic for agile companies, where empowered teams enjoy the rights to make more day-to-day decisions than project teams at traditional command-and-control companies. Our experience suggests that if agile teams each have their own idea about the company’s strategic priorities, then these teams can end up pursuing endeavors that are too diverse to produce significant performance gains in any single area.

Five things agile organizations have in common

McKinsey partner Santiago Comella-Dorda explains the five trademarks of enterprise agility, which provide the basis for planning methods that enable agile teams to succeed.

Executives at an agile company must therefore agree on a small, well-defined set of priorities—ideally, ten or fewer. These priorities should then guide planning and budgeting decisions at all levels of the organization, such that business units receive extra funding if their main initiatives support the main strategic priorities, and business units assign more funding to individual teams whose work makes a demonstrable contribution to the strategic priorities. Additionally, these priorities should be updated on a quarterly basis to ensure they’re still in line with changing customer and market trends. That is not to say that agile companies should not explore and experiment. Experimentation outside the strategic goals is often accomplished by granting teams and individuals certain capacity to pursue their discretionary endeavors. For example, Google encourages its employees to spend 20 percent of their time on projects that they think will benefit the company.

A North American provider of financial and software services developed a five-year strategy consisting of three pillars and eight enablers that translated into more than 25 priorities. Since each priority would require rapid execution and frequent monitoring, leadership soon realized that it could not look after so many priorities at once, let alone explain them all to the company’s workforce. To focus its attention, the executive team chose to identify no more than five strategic priorities to pursue every year. Executives also set clear, measurable goals that they could use in quarterly reviews of the company’s progress toward its strategic priorities, a practice we explore more in the following section.

By Santiago Comella-Dorda, Khushpreet Kaur, and Ahmad Zaidi

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/planning-in-an-agile-organization?cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck&hlkid=9ec8f87d47a941538f39d14282faa7d7&hctky=1627601&hdpid=f6999b40-a165-4851-9463-e7a19f1a5818

CONTINUED IN PART II

AI SPECIAL ......AI is the most profound tech of this era, says Salesforce

AI is the most profound tech of this era, says Salesforce

Jobs that are emerging include data analysts and scientists, AI and machine learning specialists, big data specialists, new tech specialists and organisation development experts

As machines make deeper inroads into the workplace, tectonic shifts are taking place in the job market. The Future of Jobs report 2018 presented at the World Economic Forum identified some roles that are declining and others that are emerging.

The job roles losing the race to machines and algorithms include data entry clerks, assembly and factory workers, business services and administration managers, and stock-keeping clerks.

Jobs that are emerging include data analysts and scientists, AI and machine learning specialists, big data specialists, new tech specialists and organisation development experts.

Between 2018 and 2022, 75 million current job roles are expected to be displaced by machines and algorithms, the report said. On the sunny side, 133 million new jobs are expected to emerge during the same period.

“Social, mobility, analytics and cloud (SMAC) is table stakes. We are talking about distributed ledger, AI, 3D printing, mixed reality and other amazing new tech,” Vala Afshar, chief digital evangelist at Salesforce told TOI on the sidelines of the Nasscom India Technology Forum held in Mumbai recently.

Afshar described AI as the most profound tech that he has ever worked on. “Companies are appreciating the power of data. Data is the oil of the 21st century. But oil is just useless thick goop until you refine it into fuel. AI is your refinery,” said Afshar.

An Accenture report said that AI has the potential to add $957 billion to India’s economy by 2035. Accenture has 20,000 AI professionals and over 6,000 deep AI experts implementing 11,000 client engagements and filing over 600 patents in AI. Paul Daugherty, chief technology & innovation officer in the company, says the word `artificial’ in artificial intelligence is a misleading word. “It’s actually about taking the best human intelligence and combining it with machine intelligence and applying it to a business problem. So we call it applied intelligence,” Daugherty said.

On the robotic revolution, the WEF report said stationary robots would be the most widely adopted by 2022. This, it said, would be followed by non-humanoid land robots, and then humanoid robots, and aerial and underwater robots. The first adoption of stationary robots would be in automation, aerospace and supply chain. The oil and gas sector is expected to adopt aerial and underwater robots, while humanoid robots are expected first to be used in financial services.

Afshar, like his boss Marc Benioff, believes AI is a human right. “We are risking a new tech divide, between those who have access to AI and those who don’t. Those without AI are going to be weaker and poorer, less educated and sicker. We must ask ourselves, ‘Is this the kind of world we want to live in?’”

Afshar said Salesforce has hired a chief ethics officer to help understand what design needs to go into its products and services to ensure ethical use of AI. “Maintaining trust perhaps is the hardest and most rewarding thing a company can do,” he said.

Shilpa Phadnis  |  TNN   https://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/internet/ai-is-the-most-profound-tech-of-this-era-says-salesforce/68296592

WOMEN SPECIAL ......THE NEW RULES OF STRENGTH AND CHARACTER

THE NEW RULES OF STRENGTH AND CHARACTER

In her time, Neena Gupta refused to bow down to convention. now, daughter Masaba Gupta shows how every woman has a right to life on her own terms

The hashtag #RelationshipGoals must have been made for Neena, 62, and Masaba Gupta, 30. The fiercely individualistic mother and daughter are incredibly cute together: Neena disapproves of Masaba’s Insta video skills; Masaba is embarrassed by Neena’s social media shenanigans. Neena gives instructions veiled as suggestions to her dear Masu, and Masaba ignores them. They fight over the trivial, but always have each other’s back. And they can read each other’s mind. At least that’s how it seems when you catch them completing each other’s sentences – even when they’re arguing. The only word that comes to mind is ‘awww!’ the bold act That’s how it should be, given that these two have endured more than most mother-daughter duos. Masaba is Neena’s love child with West Indies cricket legend Vivian Richards. Having a child out of wedlock is considered ‘brave’ even today. And the word ‘brave’ makes Neena laugh out loud. “I am very much aware that I am considered a ‘strong woman’. And I am also aware that that is only because I had a child outside wedlock,” she chuckles. “Aur koi bhi cheez mujhmein aisi nahi hai ke mujhe strong kaha jaye! (There’s no other quality in me other than this that makes me strong!) I did that early on and then Ganga naha li! It was like, now I have nothing else to prove. My life is complete!”

She finds this attitude ridiculous, “The condition of women in our country is so bad that compared to them I have been through nothing,” she says. “I have just had a child out of wedlock, but I get to be the face of the independent modern woman. I don’t think it is fair.”

Still, you can’t deny that it does take mental strength not to conform. “Many people had advised me not to go ahead with the decision,” says Neena. “But love is a kind of a nasha…. It is not your head taking the decisions, but your heart.”

Once made up, however, Neena’s mind began to go around in circles, wondering how the world would treat her baby when born, whether a school would grant admission to a love child, and so on. Fortunately, Neena was part of a community that did not let her down. That community was Bollywood.

The bollywood bulwark

“Bollywood is criticised for many things,” muses Neena. “There is always a backlash from the media, especially these days with the #MeToo movement. But it is a very united industry. The way it rallied around me and became a shield for Masu is something I will always be grateful for. Everyone became protective about her. Everyone wanted to make sure that the kid is brought up right!”

Nothing in Neena’s background had prepared her for such open-mindedness on such a scale. The daughter of a government officer and a teacher, she’d grown up in an orthodox home in Delhi. “My mom was so strict that even during my college days I wasn’t allowed to go for a movie with my girl friends. It was that bad. I just had to revolt,” she says.

But without that background, Neena muses, she probably would not have been equipped to rebel correctly. “The fact that my parents were both educated and held certain values very dearly, like honesty, selfrespect and integrity, meant that I could steer clear of many pitfalls,” she says. “I never compromised. I never slept with anybody to get a role. My upbringing saved me.”

And it helped that by the time Masaba was in the making, her father (she had already lost her mother by then) came out in her support.

THE PRETTY UGLY TRUTH

Despite all this, Masaba did not have life easy. Kids who don’t fit the mould often get bullied in school, but for Masaba it was a double whammy. “First it was famous parents and then looking the way I do!” says Masaba. “There were boys in my class who would stick pencils in my curls, and say ‘oh it’s like a cushion’ and laugh at me. Even my body type was very different from the other girls in my school. So I grew up thinking that I don’t look good enough. I was miserable and had low self-esteem. Those are things that stick with you for a very long time.”

As a victim of body-shaming, Masaba has thought long and hard about the phenomenon and how it stems from a social system that puts women in certain stereotypes and certain boxes. “You never really run out of those boxes,” she says. “And trust me, you will be shamed even if you manage to fit yourself into these boxes.”

In fact, she adds, the #MeToo movement is creating even more boxes for women. “First you must be sanskari and abide by all rules, now suddenly you must be independent and vocal about your rights. You might not be inherently that person, but you have no option. And since being single is suddenly the hip thing, your dream of having a sweet little family must be shunned, so you can be part of the bandwagon of ‘woke’ women. It is so pointless,” says Masaba.

Neena had no idea that Masaba had been body-shamed and bullied so much. She’s just learning about it today, from Masaba’s Instagram account, where she is inspiring young women with the same problem.

 “Now that I have made a name for myself, I have the confidence to speak out,” says Masaba. “Also, I think you can never talk about these things when they are actually happening. It is only when the tide settles that you can gather your thoughts and articulate. Then you also realise maybe it was never that big a deal.”

In any case, Masaba never allowed herself to be made a victim. “She was no saint,” says Neena. “She was a very angry child.”

“I used to be angry all the time and at everybody. I would get really violent,” agrees Masaba. “I used to have a Milton steel water bottle that I would wield like a hammer, almost! My answer to all my bullies was to take out my bottle and hit them. Then I got majorly into sports to exhaust some of my energy.”

But she is quick to add: “If boys can hit, why can’t girls hit? What is so feminine about standing there and taking all the s**t?”

Bodyshaming was just one part of the torment Masaba faced while growing up. “I got screwed in school because I was a love child,” she says. “I vividly remember being called a bastard child by one of my classmates. I was in Class 7 then. I also remember his name. I think I will call him up one of these days. I need to find my Milton bottle before that!”

When Masaba complained to her teacher, the boy was punished. Looking back as an adult, she now thinks all the boy did was paint a harsher picture of her reality than she was used to at the time. “My childhood had much clarity,” Masaba says. “I didn’t see abuse. I didn’t see my parents bickering. I didn’t live in a dysfunctional family. I saw mutual respect, and yes there was distance. It was an unfortunate situation. People are so obsessed with the idea of my having a troubled relationship with my dad that I often feel almost a tad bad to tell them, no, that’s not how it is! He is my dad and he doesn’t live with us, but he is still very much my dad. There is absolutely no discomfort or friction!”

THE BEST POLICY

Masaba’s mature attitude to her circumstances comes from her mother’s honesty. Neena never hid the facts from her daughter. “That was the only way I knew to prepare her for what I anticipated the world might throw at her,” says Neena. “I told her what was what the very day she asked me. I told her what my situation was, how I fell in love and how that went, and everything. What option did she have after knowing this? She had to deal with it. Honesty is the best preparation.”

To which Masaba adds: “When something is placed in front of you, you have the option to see it as it is. Or be in denial and create your own alternate reality. I saw the situation as it is, I saw my mother as she is, and as I grew up I only had a better understanding of the situation. It never got any worse. It was never like I have such a sad life that I will go and do drugs. Maximum I would do was have a maharaja burger – IF I was really that frustrated!”

Today, Masaba is one of India’s most influential and experimental fashion designers, while Neena Gupta, a National Award winner (Best Supporting Actress for Woh Chokri in 1994), is basking in the success of her new film, Badhaai Ho (2018).

ON PARTING WAYS...

NEENA GUPTA SHEDS LIGHT ON HER DAUGHTER’S RECENT SEPARATION

There is one topic that even the otherwise outspoken Masaba refuses to speak about: her recent separation with Madhu Mantena, her husband of three years. The couple put out a post in August last year announcing a ‘trial separation’ but pointing out that there is no love lost between the two. Masaba later deleted the post. Ask Neena about the same and all she would say is “I really don’t know what will happen. They said, we are adults, let us work it out at our own, you stay out of this. So I am staying out.” Neena, after facing all the hardships on her own and bringing up a love child out of wedlock, found love again and got married to New Delhi-based chartered accountant Vivek Mehra in 2008.

In a recent Insta post Masaba mentioned how Neena’s unorthodox upbringing is helping her navigate through her own separation. “I now know it comes from the ability to always remember to have a sense of humour about life first & then everything else will follow...thanks to my mum ... You revealed to a young me that life could be lived devoid of structural slavery.”

Text by Ananya Ghosh for HT Brunch by Prabhat Shetty

HTBR  3MAR19