Time to Say Goodbye

 As usual, the feelings are mixed. This time, it's not a new job I am leaving for, but a transition of a kind. But stepping down from a full-time role for now. Heading Prestige University as a founding VC has been an adventure, with multiple challenges. The location, Indore, is not top-of-the-mind for outsiders looking for a good education.

Faculty are always a challenge, whether you are at an IIM or any other B school (we started with a management dept.), and the fight for good faculty will continue. Infrastructure, luckily, wasn't a big challenge, as we have an award-winning building (for its architecture, by Sanjay Puri and co.) which is almost done. Only the student and faculty housing remain. 

Marketing, someone has said, has to be the mainstay of any business. So we tried participating in student admission fairs at various locations, doing a lot of digital marketing and branding through participating in invited events, and sometimes as guest faculty at other institutes too. All this, along with student activities through Clubs and committees, will pay off. A great placement team also helped.

Our industry connect through guest and visiting faculty has been exemplary, thanks to many of our contacts giving us generously of their time. Past students, classmates and others have helped us tremendously.

Here's hoping for a great future for the students, faculty and staff of Prestige University.

Adventures of Bahu Bali Part 3- Tanah Lot and Ulun Danu

Adventures of Bahu Bali Part 3- Tanah Lot and Ulun Danu

The second, Ulun Danu, is a temple on a lake (Beratan lake) dedicated to the Trimurti (Bramha, Vishnu, Mahesh). The drive takes you through many villages, and a Luwak coffee centre is never too far away. The Coffee talk a little later, because the other two will take your breath away, just for their majestic locations. Sights that are hard to beat, anywhere in the world. Don’t believe me? See for yourself, and multiply the Beauty Quotient by ten times..

Wherever you go, the warm and smiling people are a constant, and some Hindu temple ceremonies are always in progress or being readied. The traditional sarong has to be worn in some temples, and we did that too, so as not to miss the tradition! The design of their temples is very different from what we see in India, and you will find an open plan with two arms rising heavenwards in most. The carving is also unique, and statues of Hindu deities abound everywhere but inside the temples. No main idol as in ours. Gods are everywhere..

Tanah Lot in the first pic, and Ulun Danu on the lake Beratan in the lower two.

Tanah Lot again, in its lovely sea-kissed location, again.

Tried competing with this laughing guy! Lol!

Adventures of Bahu Bali Part 1- Whitewater Rafting on Ayung

Adventures of Bahu Bali Part 1- Whitewater Rafting on the Ayung

Rafting on the Ayung river, near Ubud. An experience to savour, and physical exercise too- it tests you to just climb down to the river and up again. The rafting looks easy by comparison-child’s play! We had a couple of kids with their Mom and Dad on our raft, in fact.

The guide walks you down to the river after giving you a life jacket, and an oar. The walk to the scenic river-bed is quite deep, at least 300 steps down. And then, a set of instructions later, you are into the rapids. Rowing forward and backward is part of the instruction, but also some Chiki Chiki (bouncing on the seat to send the air to another part of the raft, maybe), and Boom Boom (crouching down to the bottom of the raft, to rebalance the centre of gravity, I guess) are two interesting manouvres that were practiced, and used. 

There is a stop along the way for a rest and a drink, and there are photographers who click and sell you pics of the ride also. A waterproof bag is also carried by the guide to save your camera if you are carrying one- essential!! The last time I tried rafting was on the Ocoee river in Tennessee.

Follow the instructions, and enjoy the ride- we did! Some evidence..

Making "rapid" progress in the pics above, and taking a break (below)

Prepping with the jacket (above) and walking down to the river through scenic road (starting point), below.

Driving Across the USA

I did it twice-once in 1986, and another time in 1990.

 Clemson Football (below) in my abode.

 Bryce Canyon (above) and South Dakota..

 Bonding with Roger Moore (above), and a map of South Carolina we found on an outing.

The first time, it was three of us, my brother Satish and friend Anil were with me. One of us slept at the back, while one of us drove and the second played RJ, changing the cassettes. We would listen to music through the drive (around 600 miles in a day). We took a break at San Antonio (Texas) at Anil's uncle's place, and then at Albuquerque, New Mexico, with some friends. The third or fourth day of driving, we reached Los Angeles. On the way, we stopped at the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest National park, and Las Vegas. Our car's radiator broke up near Las Vegas, and we had to go to a junkyard and replace it.

At L.A., we saw Knotts Berry Farm (an amusement park), with our friend Kiran, and also Disneyland, the NBC studios, Universal Studios etc. which then had the actual car that was used in the TV series Knightrider (it was called KITT, and it talked to the hero-a supercar). This was our first visit to L.A. and we were impressed.

The second time was a more circular trip, up to New York, across to Warren, Ohio (my cousins whom my parents had to meet were in these two places), and the to Detroit where a family friend resided. On the way, we also went up the Sears Tower in Chicago.

Then, it was real wilderness for hundreds of miles until we got to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota with the 4 Presidential faces carved into the mountain, and then to a highlight-the Yellowstone National Park. We rounded off the trip again with L.A. as our last stop (Kiran was there again to welcome us), and then back via Texas.

What I Remember of 2014

I remember..

times spent with family..particularly an adventurous drive to Udaipur from Indore via Banswada.

attending a birthday party of my niece in Hyderabad...re-watching The History of The World by Mel Brooks.

golfing at Nagpur at the Air Force club and the holes no. 0 and 19 before and after...yet another session at Kodaikanal where I got a hole-in-one..wonders never cease!

visits to Bangalore where I met friends from the past (colleagues from IIM, PESIT & IFIM, IIMB classmates, PESIT/IMT Nagpur alums in particular). Exploring crafted beers in the original pub city...the first pub started around the time I was studying at IIMB.

reading some good books, including a collection of humourous essays by Art Buchwald, whose column once appeared in The Hindu, and a nice fiction story Kalyug by Sreeram, an ex-student.

some good films, like Finding Fanny, Zed Plus, City Lights, .and some good episodes of Comedy Nights with Kapil, a show that's sustained its popular appeal.

tasting some excellent wines at a friend's place, same place I learnt how to quaff single malts..well, well, learning happens in the most unexpected places, when you least expect it..Eureka! Newton, are you listening?

meeting IMT Nagpur alums at Mumbai, Hyderabad meets.

a trip to Bali, Indonesia to present a conference paper...it's a lovely place.

'discovery' tours of the Indore surroundings with new-found friends from the faculty.

a case-writing expedition that's still on.

an innovative research project on Online personal branding that's also on.

teaching a course on advertising after a break...it's easier with the Youtube chronicles.

...and there's more to come..a batch meet at IIMB this weekend. Not yet goodbye, 2014.

Unique Service Experience

I had a unique service experience yesterday- an adventure (not an 'ad' venture) of sorts. I was to go to Nagpur from Hyderabad. But something happened to the plane, and it was not flying. No problems, bad moods can happen to anyone.

So, the airline was kind enough to put me and a few others like me (not in appearance, but choice of destination, airline and flight) on a plane from Hyderabad to Mumbai and then on to Nagpur. To boot, we had complimentary use of the lounge at Hyderabad, with some excellent biryani to keep us satiated while we waited- this line's almost poetic.

The journey went off well, and though I was a few hours late, I did not mind it too much, as no important engagement was missed, and the check-in girl at Hyderabad was quite polite and apologetic. An effective service recovery? Yes, I would say so. Since I am (or was) in the business of teaching Services Marketing, I am interested in my own and others' experience of various services. So I can include them in the next edition of my book.

I also got a chance to ponder the most important question looming over mankind- is Valentine's Day the most hyped card/flower/chocolate/dinner selling occasion in the year? Would like to know your views.

Hailstorm

There was a fierce and brief hailstorm in Nagpur last evening. I was reminded of one at IIM Lucknow campus a few years ago. A storm reminds you that you are otherwise going steady, and may be lets you appreciate it-stability, I mean. The story of Sindbad the sailor that we heard in childhood reminds us that some of us get restless with predictable lives. Sindbad actually sought out adventure, though he often faced life-threatening situations on his many voyages.

So should we go around looking for storms? I don't think it's necessary, as we are naturally going to face some anyhow. Life is full of ups and downs, and interesting precisely due to the ups and downs. According to some spiritual guys, "swarg" or heaven would be incredibly boring. I agree with them after comparing life in India to that in the US where I lived a few years. Everything in the US works- or used to- while everything here is unpredictable. Of course, the shootings in US colleges are taking some of that competitive edge away from us, I must hasten to add.

I started watching David Letterman's show after a long break. Though he is old, he is still quite funny.