Play Review- 38 Krushna Villa

 This is a very good Marathi play with two good actors, one of whom is also the writer. Shweta Pendse. Girish Oak is the other.

It starts with a premise that he is the accused in a fairly serious intellectual theft, and tries to wriggle out of the accusation by all possible means.. including laughing off the allegation.

The play suddenly takes an unexpected twist around the halfway point, and ends up being a completely different, engaging story. Can't let out spoilers, but it's well worth a watch, particularly if you are in the creative business like poetry, books, paintings, music. You might appreciate it just a bit more.

Well-directed, just about 2 hours in two acts.

De-branding

 Just try this exercise. On your resume.

Remove all references to brand names- institutions, colleges, companies, products and so on. See how it looks without the famous horses we usually piggy-back on. I will have to remove references to 4 IIMs, a foreign university or two, and all country names where I went for conferences- yes, remove those too.

What remains could be the essence of what you did, or what you are. A human who interacted with and learnt from other humans- teachers, parents, colleagues- and maybe taught a few things to other humans, if you were a teacher, like me. One whose experiences were shaped by conversations that exchanged thoughts with a variety of people - including children, adolescents and old people over shared meals, or coffee, or music, or nothing.

We are what we forget to be most of the time- ourselves. Not the guy who went to IIT or MIT. Or the girl who starred in a film called so and so. Just normal- affectionate, cranky, friendly, sarcastic.. whatever.

I call it de-branding. Not exactly a marketing principle. Maybe one of self-discovery.

Surprises

 Surprises come in various forms. Unexpected faces turning up at places is one of them. I recently met Anurag Jain, a former associate from IIM Indore, in this way. At Lexicon Institute of Management, Pune.

I was there to do a few guest sessions, and suddenly discovered that Anurag Jain works there and is teaching B to B marketing. We had worked together when his boss, Prof. Jayasimha, and I offered a Seminar on Tourism Marketing at IIM Indore. this course became popular and is still running at Indore.

Incidentally, meeting students and working with them was good fun. I met a student, Srishti, from Hyderabad, and another from Indore. 

Some students from Lexicon, Pune.

In-class activity makes people think a bit- that's my learning from this exercise.

Morons I Have Met- 2

 There seems to be a high correlation between Morons and Bosses. There was this guy who left a note at my colleague's desk that he should not be leaving office to play Golf at 4.30. We played on most days after work!

The effect was the opposite of what he intended! We made sure that we played every day!

Another one, pretty early in my career, gave discourses at faculty meeting. Once, when I asked for leave, he quoted service rules and denied the leave! I asked for a copy of those rules, and after making a pretense of searching in his desk drawer, he couldn't find them- never did! 

Holi - Colourful Thoughts

 We do see life through a coloured lens. All the colours are present in our life, and make their presence felt through everything we experience- not just on the day of Holi. Here's to a life full of colours you like. Some representative pics-

Snorkeling, and below, guzzling

Sunrise at Chikhaldara..

Chilli above, and fire, below. Maya and Khayal, look on.

Real banjaran, above, and Ojaswee jewelry, below

The Khandala ghat, above, and Raneh Falls, below

Sanjana's wedding, above, and Jorhat with Rani Khound, below

Dipi and Anu, her son's wedding-above

Veronica and Prashant Bharadwaj, at Prestige, Indore, below

DDLJ moment, Kashmir and Royal sofa, Gulmarg

Pretty students, Prestige, and some colleagues at Gwalior Prestige, below.

Bird, Ramoji studios and flowers, Pune

My bff Savitha, Bangalore, and Meghana, Pune

Fashion students, NIFT and below, Sohni Roy, at an IIM Indore visit

Morons I Have Met

 Someone said I should write a book about them, and maybe I will, some day. But here's a preview on a couple.

I once had a one-hour meeting with a superior based in another city, about why our Diesel Generator expenses (on fuel) were high compared to his! We tried explaining (my admin was with me) that we were located in a rural area outside the municipal limits and therefore power cuts were rampant in the area. But after an hour or so, he wasn't convinced. He wanted to look at Power Cut announcements for our city, by the local Electricity board to verify our claims! 

But this may not be the worst of all the M's I have seen on the planet.. just wait for more. 

Women's Day- Women in the Family

 I have so many women in the family that I may have lost count. Cousins, sister, daughters, wife and spouses of cousins, nieces.. you get the picture. Here are some of them, remembered again for Women's Day..

The Big B - Bureaucracy

 The world over, bureaucracy rules, though politicians come and go. Over in Britain, we have had TV series that lampooned their bureaucrats and politicians. Most countries have their own versions of it.

Occasionally, they do some good. Mostly, they hinder any chance of benefiting a common citizen. Our license raj before 1991, in India, was infamous. You needed permission to manufacture anything, from a safety pin, to a rocket. That kept Indian entrepreneurs in check- and uncompetitive for decades.

Now, we have a friendlier version, but it's still way too complicated. Go to any govt. department, and you will see. Hopefully, you won't have to, but that's a pipe dream for some.

It's usually self-perpetuating. The recent Income Tax change may help some tax payers escape the big circus that they go through to pay (or not) their taxes. Hopefully.

The Greatest Show on Earth- Review of the Play

 A brilliant satire on many subjects- advertising, TV channels, politics, and a lot more.. Vikram Kapadia and team excels at the concept, and execution.

Saw it yesterday in Pune. Enjoyed every moment. Good choreography, acting by all the actors, and sets, sound and lighting. A must-watch, if you get a chance.