Dressing Up for Guys

 All dressed up and nowhere to go? It can happen.

Some (guys) like to embellish their look via a Kurta. With a pyjama, of course, but sometimes over Jeans.

Others like a half or inner jacket. It can come in blazing colours too, to help you blaze a trail- sartorially.

The sober types stick to formal jackets, in a sober dark colour. With a light coloured shirt.

Ties seem to be out of fashion, as executives have loosened (literally) their stranglehold on their wardrobe.

Whatever your dressing up preferences, don't forget you gotta combine it with other kinds of chutzpah- intellectual.

Starting a Youtube channel

I plan to start a Youtube channel called Chat Masala. It will feature chats, sometimes me talking to myself, and sometimes with others.

It's an experiment, like this blog was a decade or more ago. Some experiments work. This one did.

It will feature varied content, from films, music, books, travel, views about life and some undisclosed areas of expert opinions from, well.. experts.

Stay tuned, and you won't regret it.. at least, that's what I think. 

First Two Months of 2025

 We had a New Year's Eve party with a bonfire. We also had a karaoke session going in parallel. A few cousins and nephews and nieces attended, so the average age came down significantly.

Also had a trip to Indore, to take a session on Personal Branding for MBA students.

Then, we met as a group of music-minded friends for a beer and lunch in a Pune restaurant called Tipsy Turtle. Sheetal Garg visited from Mumbai, and stayed over. Rina Das we met for the first time, and Dipti Kane too. Planned another meet in August.

Last week of January was spent in Goa, mostly on Colva beach facing the sea- at the Colva Residency. This was the 40th Reunion of our MBA btach too, at nearby Benaulim. One highlight for me was visiting the Paul John Distillery in Cuncolim. Also picked up Kadamba Single Malt made in Goa.

Also, Pooja, my daughter, returned after a 3 year stay in the U.K.- hopefully wiser.

February, we had a trip to Chikhaldara for another reunion, this time of my wife's batchmates from school. Nice resort, and fun with the group, singing and dancing. 

Saw a play Baghi Albele, a comedy, at Ishanya Mall. Presented by WOPA, World of Performing Arts.

Relaxing away the rest of Feb.-it's pretty hot for Feb.

Some People Say

 Some people say that I have been doing nothing useful in all these years (not the wife, some others).

Some people say that if you enjoy your work, then it doesn't seem like work.

Some people are right- I have enjoyed what I did, mostly- teach, attend conferences in multiple places, give invited lectures, teach Golf to my students and MDP participants (outside their curriculum), write books, publish papers and case studies, help people get a Ph.D. by advising or mentoring them, and develop some people when I was in leadership positions-both faculty and assistants.

So I wasn't actually 'working'- get it? 

And bosses, I mostly ignored them. You can do so in academia, and get away with it. I had a couple of good ones, though.

Life and Beyond

 Saw the passing of an aunt this week, and heard of another from a close friend. Both were elders, and my aunt was actually in a coma induced by a stroke that happened about two months ago. 

It does make you ponder, about the ephemeral and uncertain nature of life. Accident, disease, or unexpected shocks can cause death in a very short while. Some are fortunate, and pass away in their sleep. Others suffer for some period, long or short.

In any case, we are lucky to be alive each day, and must try and make the most of it, as per our inclination, choice, and ability.

Live a life with few regrets, or none at all. My mother passed away in November 2020 after a life lived fully, with few medical issues, at around 91. We were fortunately at hand, being stuck in the COVID pandemic. 

Not to worry too much about it, but be prepared for it, both your passing and that of others. 

CBS and NBC Evening News

 Among programs we watched, 30 minutes of Evening News on the major channels were two. The anchors were pretty good, but the news was hardly global. Asia was barely mentioned. Africa, almost never. Australia, likewise. You guessed it. It was America-centric, with Mexico, Panama (!!) taking centre-stage, along with Nicaragua and sometimes, Cuba. That was it.

Tom Brokaw and Dan rather were the anchors, and did a decent job of what the editors gave them- the delivery. 

Other programs we watched included The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, who had a slew of guests of all kinds, including celebrities and others. His initial monologue was usually fun, poking fun at Presidents, Vice Presidents and everyone who could be targeted.

Touching Lives- Mine

 From the nuns in primary school, and classmates in school, teachers in high school, professors and classmates during college and IIM Bangalore, and at Clemson University where I went or a Ph.D., it's a long list. But it does not stop there.

Many friends made in later years- or re-friended due to common interests- also touched my life. Golfer friends Vikram Venkateswaran, Dhanapal, Vijayakumar, and Venugopal Reddy are some.

But apart from colleagues who became friends- Bhagyalakshmi is one, Leslie, Shweta Kushal and Jayasimha, B.K. Mohanty, Tanmeet, Preeti are some - it's also another category that I am privileged to have. My ex-students. 

Alumni of various B schools I have been in have touched my life in many ways. Some, I have been in touch with for a decade or more now. They bring a new perspective to everything we discuss when we meet. Shafique, Gowri, Anshita Chetty, Ishita, Vanshika, Prachi, Pratishtha, Swati Jain, Sheetal Garg, Nidhi Kanungo, Nishka Kumar, Abha Kulkarni, Nikita Ray, Vrinda Khanna, Bharath Shenoy, Sirisha Adi, Pallavi Bajpai and Shafique Gajdhar (both my twins as per FB!), Anusha Soni, Anushka Mishra, Meghna Sinha, Meghana Khadilkar, Pavan Tarawade, Akshat Surana, Pradyumna Mohanty, Aishwarya Omprakash, Aishwarya Iyer, Anchal, Shuchi Bhatnagar, Pooja Shukla (we haven't even met), Laura Shah, Swati Sinha, Sampark Sachdeva, Vaishali Bathla, Divyaa Sharma, Dheeraj Mohan, Vidya TC, Smita Mohan, Sanjana Rao, Harshad Lunavat, Garima Shah, Abhinav Kamal, Tanaya Kar Chaturvedi, Tosha Dubey, Bhuvneet Raheja, Sharanya, are some who fall in this category. 

Annie and Samrendra Singh, the Soni family, Leslie, Ron and Carmon Green, were good friends during our stay in the US. Kiran Ken Jolly and Neena too, apart from relatives- Jayashree and Sheelu among them.

Anopheles and Happiness in 2025

 My friend, Anopheles, the female mosquito with a sting, visited again, and I wished her a Happy New Year. She looked skeptical. 

"Are you sure?" she asked. 

"Sure of what?" I enquired.

"Of being happy, of course."

"Why not? Nirmala just gave us non-Ambanis a bonus on Income tax" I replied.

"Yes, but how many in this country earn that kind of money?" she wanted to know.

I was crestfallen. "Agree," I said. Drivers and maids still make about a lakh and a half a year. Rupees, not dollars. But look at the positives around the world." 

"Are you serious? You mean Trump? Or Putin? Or Xi?"

That last one hit close to home. I hurriedly diverted her. "No, no, I mean things like sustainability issues, slow travel, and climate change -people engaging with it."

"What about pollution, disease, and killer viruses?" I had to admit she had her data in place.

I said, "Yeah, you win some, you lose some." 

Anopheles then bowled a faster one. She said, "Wake up, or you'll lose the planet, and we, our blood supply." And added for effect, "even though it's not too healthy, what with cholesterol and so on in high doses.."

She left me in that state of being apologetic about our Race, as always, and flew off after a goodbye.

Baaghi Albele - Play by WOPA in Pune

 A fun, satirical play about a clampdown on Art and Theatre by a state in India. Great cast, farcical comedy and good acting made it a great experience. Third play by World of Performing Arts in Pune.

A takeoff on Shakespeare's Hamlet was the highlight for me.. the actor uttering "To be, or not to be.."

Some action.. Kilmadi was the name of the inspector!

TOIT, Pune, before the event.

Crowned Tribal King at Chikhaldara

 I had the privilege of being crowned King of our tribe at Chikhaldara.. Here are pics of my tribeswomen and men, with me, in semi-tribal dress.

Sunrise at Chikhaldara

 I have seen a few beautiful Sunrises over the years. This one ranks among the top few- at Chikhaldara, Maharashtra. Straight from our balcony. 

Beauties From Chikhaldara

 Saw some lovely paintings on the wall at the VRK resorts, Chikhaldara- near Amravati. Looks like they are adivasi women. Here they are-

Linkedinese

 It's not Chinese, or Japanese. It's just a new way to use English, like Journalese.

An example. A professional Fly-swatter may post - "Grateful for the incredible opportunity to swat flies in an extraordinary Convention of Fly-swatters from around the world... " 

Or, a pole-dancer may post- "From North Pole to South Pole, I have now danced around poles everywhere. Except in Poland. Hopefully that dream will be achieved soon.."

Or, a no-gooder up to no good may advertise himself thus- " Finally, everything that you do results in no good. Come and learn from one who has done it his entire life.. been up to no good since I was a toddler. My parents can provide references."

Or a blogger (resemblance is purely coincidental) - " You, incredible readers of my blog, have saved me from utter helplessness, depression, anxiety and provided me with a will to live. I promise to continue to bore you as long as my pen (metaphorical, of course) has ink in it." 

Amen.

Murderwale Kulkarni- Marathi Comedy Play

 Jokes at the rate of 1 per minute. Non-stop comedy.

I have seen a few comedy films, but not many plays. This one is very funny, and well acted and directed.

The plot is not really important, but it sets you off on a two hour romp through fun moments, with intrigue, good acting, parody of many things like TV serials, Bhais in Dubai and their henchmen, and a general commentary on the wasted people who turn criminals in society.

All in all, recommended for viewing.

Non-teaching Staff

 Made a lot of friends and had great assistants in many places.

At Harihar, we partied a lot with the staff. A pic of an outing for a wedding.. Rajshekhar, Rajesh , Yuvaraj, Nagaraj, Sreenath, Veena are some in the pic..

At IIM Indore, lots of staff were very helpful and reported to me during my 7 years. We also attended a wedding party of Neha. Manas, Hemendra, Pradeep etc. were some others.. 

IMT Nagpur, y secretary Archana, and placement team and the PGP office team (Snehal, Elizabth) I remember even today. Kamal the accounts guy and Vinod Jadhav, were also very competent. Sridhar Rao in IT too.

And academic associates, Tripti Srivastav was very good. At IIM Indore, Saumyaa Sharma and I became good friends and keep meeting on and off even till 2024.

Archana again was a secretary at NMIMS. Cool and efficient. Vishnu and the academic team of Baklavati, Tarannum and others also worked well. 

Divya and Ayushi at Prestige University literally carried the admin load dual-handedly.

Faculty Colleagues

 Recent ones include ones I recruited, at Prestige University. Juhee, Riyaz, Bharat, Jyoti Dua and Asmita Mahapatra.

And some lady golfers from NMIMS Bangalore- Tanmeet, Alisha Thomas, Prerona Baruah, Preeti Ravikiran. Briefly, Diti Goswami too. 

Shahida and Manasa from PESIT Mgt. dept. were very dynamic. Manoharan and S.P. Kumar are still in touch.

Kirloskar Institute Harihar had Dhanapal and Vijayakumar. We still play Golf together. 

B.K. Mohanty and Banikanta Mishra at XIMB. 

IIM K, SSS Kumar and Keyoor Purani. Jeyavelu too.

IIM Indore, Shweta Kushal and Jayasimha. And marketing colleague Abhishek, IT colleague Rajhans. 

Thomas from VJIM. Dayakara Rao too.

Visiting faculty Nitin Sinha, Veronica Thavonat, Snehal Singh and Sayantan at Prestige.

What I Learnt at IIMB During MBA

 Ok, it was called PGDM then, but that's not relevant. I learnt a few things apart from the course.

1. There are a lot of smart people in the world, some smarter than me.

2. There are a lot of nice people in the world, some nicer.. yes, you got it.

3. Multiple styles of teaching exist, and they also work.

4. Computers are not essential to the learning process- we had none. Internet neither.

5. Group work is fun, and works- even with one or two shirkers

6. Extra curriculars can teach you a lot.

7. Having fun is as important as not having it... 

8. Jargon can be fun.

9. Document things for posterity. I still have handwritten, and cyclostyled stuff.

10. Have a Yearbook. Helps at reunions.

Colony Life in the 70s

 I grew up in the colonies of Singareni Collieries in Andhra Pradesh, where my parents worked for 30 years. It was smeared with coal dust, and lots of great memories.

We had free coal supplied to homes, and therefore stoves that used coal supplemented gas stoves or electric ones- electricity was subsidised, as the company had its own plant to generate it!

We had clubs, where we played TT, Badminton, and swam. Tennis, usually the elders played. We also met friends, watched elders playing Bridge, and participated in the many events organised by the Club- parties, picnics etc. 

A sophisticated cosmopolitan crowd of people from all over India was around us- and some still keep in touch. Recently met Archana Singh, after several decades. Have met the Ahujas, Talpallikars, Kaushiks and Mahesh Bhogawar, Vinay and Varsha Nadkarni, over the years. 

Fun times, with vacations being a highlight. Subodh, Manoj Bhide and my brother and me played Bridge non-stop and took river walks in the blazing Sun, during vacations. Also watched films in the Club on 16 mm. projectors..

Reflections From Academia

 Just as corporates have their learnings from the company they keep (or the company that keeps them), academics have our own.

When can one call an academic successful? When he publishes a huge amount of papers? When he earns a lot? 

Practically, I would say, in order of ranks 1 to many, these could measure his success-

1. Touching lives of students in some way- inspiring them or showing them the path to self-discovery.

2. Treating the students with respect- lots of teachers fail on this count.

3. Blending practice with theory or concepts in the same course, in a trimester or a semester.

4. Doing contemporary projects with or without industry cooperation. Case writing could be one kind.

5. Bringing his/her experiences into the class. Therefore, getting those experiences too..

6. Using innovative learning methods, experimenting with many.

Marketing and Sales 101

 It's actually One on One, but also 101, as it's elementary stuff.

We have been observing it since we were kids. The sethji who sold us the annual wardrobe in raw unstitched form always smiled, and after showing us reams of the stuff, said, Aapko purani rate se deta hai (will give it to you at the old-and lesser- price). We fell for it.

The kirana was from Jeetmal Moolchand, a Marwari businessman in deep Andhra Pradesh. Again, knew his business. Went through a long list made by Mom meticulously, and kept us engaged through the long process of packing.

Single-window processing. I once bought a Subaru in the U.S., second hand from a dealer, with a loan too. Was amazed, I just sat in a chair, signing papers and he took care of everything- loan included- in around 30 minutes using a fax machine and a phone. This was pre-internet! Probably my best experience as a customer till date, except on Jet Airways a couple of times, and Air India once. And Sri Lankan Air once.

One to one is easy, actually, if you know the basics of human interaction- give importance, smile, and say sorry if something goes wrong. Scaling this up is a different thing, when you have thousands of customers- one reason Indigo goes wrong, maybe. And banks and credit card companies.

How to Build Your Presence on Social Media

 These are learnings over about 10-12 years, because I am no social media guru.

Be yourself most of the time. Intellectual, argumentative, funny, sarcastic, innocent, curious, engaging, or some combination.

Use visuals wherever the medium lets you. 

Be original, and don't rely on forwards alone. Though forwards also help you establish an identity. Caption forwards too..

Comment on your friends' posts, rather than only liking them.

Use the medium regularly, so people can track you and know you better. 

Explain more. Where you were, what you were up to, or what the occasion was.. memories are shorter than you think.

Edit photos to make them more attractive, without losing their essence.

Goa Photo Shoot- 2025 January

 Photos by Dash. Location- a beach in Goa.

A Reunion- the 40th

 We finished our MBA in 1984. So our 40th year after was 2024. We pushed it to January 2025 for the celebration in Goa. We enjoyed meeting around 40-42 colleagues and spouses who added spice to the proceedings. One spouse, Anu Venkitaraman, took up the responsibilty of taking group pics of various groups during the event. Some representative pics-

Anu and husband Ravi Venkitaraman. Above. Various groups elsewhere.

Lessons of Life

 These are triggered by a reunion of friends from approx. 40 years ago. 

The lessons-

1. We age. Some like Whisky or wine, some like beer.

2. Some of us are driven, and some let go.

3. Talent lives on.

4. You can't argue and win any argument about intangibles.

5. Warmth is a human trait to be cherished. Coldplay, not so.

Also, Kids don't listen, whether you are in India or abroad.