What I Ate With Whom

 I distinctly remember Khao Suey with Savitha in Indiranagar.. first time I had it.

Vietnamese food in Indiranagar again, with Shweta Sinha.

Dosa with Shweta Agarwal in C.P.

Chinese with Meghna Sinha at Yuawatcha, BKC.

Chai and something with Nikita Ray, in C.P.

Wine with Padmapriya and Jasmine at their place in Delhi.

Pizza rolls, with Bhuvneet Raheja in The Big Chill at C.P. in Delhi

Kuremal Kulfi with Prachi Jain

Nishka Rathi and Vikram.. biryani. Ashutosh too. In Mumbai.

Veg a la Kiev with Akansh at Olypub, Kolkata

Remember I had a cake with Siri, Tosha and Abha at Grandmama's Cafe in Phoenix Mall, Mumbai, after dinner- it was close to my birthday.

Coffee with Sheetal and hubby Kausshal at a CCD on Marine Drive, near Churchgate. After a pizza at Pizza by The Bay with her!

Suleimani chai with Shatakshi and Varun, at a terrace cafe on M.G. Road Bangalore.

Biryani at Paradise in Bangalore, with Pallavi Bajpai. 

Biryani and Irani chai with Pratima Gaikwad at Nawab's Hyderabad a few times.

Chai with Anushka Mishra at Church Street. After a round of bookstores.

Fish and Chips with Suhasini Barman, my new friend in Kolkata, at Cha Bar, Oxford Bookstore.

Coffee with Ananya Ghosh, another new friend in Kolkata, at CC 2. 

A drink at Lord of the Drinks with Pratishtha Batra, global citizen.

Likewise, with Nidhi Kanungo at Sheraton Indore. 

A drink with Kedar Muley and team at The Irish House in a Thane mall.

Chhota samosa and chai with Jogeswari at the Golftripz office.

Wine with Vrinda Khanna and her Dad, at her place.

Lunch with Rimjhim at her place in Bangalore.

Lunch with Vandana at NMIMS campus. 

Coffee with Archana Singh, friend from childhood, at Bangalore Club. 

Siri Adi and her Dad. Coffee he made at home, at Kharghar.

Bengali meal at Ananya Nandi De's place, NOIDA. With her husband Raka and son Hrishit.

Poonam Bhatia's place in Mumbai, drinks with her husband Ashwani and dinner. Shraddha Nigdikar was also there. 

Drink with Bhagyalakshmi and Venkat at TOIT, Pune recently.

Dinner with Shraddha and her parents in Dadar, her place at the time.

Lunch with Anshita, husband, Gowri and Sreeram, Ishita and Anurag, Aashish and Anusha, Rupam Verma at Orchid, Bangalore. (pic below)

Mexican food at Taco Bell with Jaya Dulani at C.P., Delhi

Essex Farms restaurant, lunch with Sharmistha Singh and Sunil Kataria, near IIT Delhi

Surbhi Mehta Chadha and hubby, Cha Bar in CP.. sandwich and chai.

Pizza with Abha at Nehru Place.

Lunch with Kanika Mhendiratta at India Habitat Centre, our first meeting.

Divya Singh, coffee in her office building, Sikandarpur. Our last meeting. In Vashi earlier, Burger and Pizza.

More recently, Dimsums with Ananya Ghosh and Sayantani Saha, in Casa Miami, Kolkata.

Moving Again

 It happens when least expected, sometimes. I am moving to take up the position of the Vice Chancellor of a new university called Prestige University at Indore in a couple of months. This is a brand new venture and hopes to be a trend-setter among the kind of management programs we have in India. Designed after a lot of research and conversations with thought leaders, it will offer niche MBA programs in Sustainability, Food and Agri- business Mgt.,  Logistics and Supply Chain, and Analytics, among others. 

My two-year stint at NMIMS Bangalore has been wonderful in so many ways. I managed to make new friends among faculty, students, staff and alumni. Saw a few achievers in all spheres, and in spite of COVID in the initial few months, did meet up often with colleagues. Also happy that I introduced Golf in our own backyard. Recruited a lot of new faculty and staff.

Some ongoing tasks remain, like the curriculum revamp, and re-accreditation by AMBA, UK. My successors will see to those, I am sure.

The Bangalore stay, my second work innings after PES and IFIM, has been equally enriching, and I will miss the Bangalore filter kaapi the most. But Poha beckons, kya karein?

Weekend Pinks

 Whatever is the opposite of Blues, I mean. Pinks, Greens, or Reds. Had a nice weekend punctuated by a play at Rangashankara, food, random coffee, a new Biryani from Dindigul, and some home-made Keema biryani. Also friends, and book shopping. And karaoke sessions. Aadmi ko aur kya chahiye? (What more can one ask for?). Evidence of some of these-

Chikmagalur Diary

 More like a photographic diary. Great place to be in, reasonably priced, and not far from Bangalore- 5 hours by bus. You can also club this with Belur-Halebeedu temples if you take an extra day off. For local travel, you can rent a bike or a taxi for a day, and go around the major attractions. Walk around and go to the World of Coffee, an Experience Cafe too, which serves snacks and coffee of different kinds, including Vietnamese style coffee!

Pics to inspire you to take some days off. 

Coffee Time in Chikmagalur

 After a long wait, it finally happened. I have visited several tea growing regions, but hardly any coffee growing ones. This last weekend, I made up, ticking one more box on my Bucket List. Very interesting place, Chikmagalur. A Sufi saint is supposed to have brought the coffee seed here, the legend goes. Believable, because Monks are supposed to have invented Beer too.

Anyway, amazing scenery, simple and clean living in a two-street town, and a 4-5 hour run from Bangalore are some of the attractions. You can stay a couple of nights, and soak in nature's bounty. My guess is monsoons should give you more greenery, but less clear views. So take your pick, or do both seasons. Some pics- 

Cups

 They say a cup is half full, or half empty depending on how you look at it. I always thought mine was full of joy. Here's a celebration of cups large and small, always full of life!