Random Reminiscences

Since every day is like a weekend (Thanks, Corona), I decided to ramble and remember things (Random Walk Theory, or early signs of..., you decide).

Many years ago, we were in a small town called Harihar. Now we are at Indore, where it's mostly Har (Shiva) that rules. I know that among Iyers and Iyengars, one follows Vishnu and another Shiva, but which is which, I forget..

I have known a lot of smart Iyers- among students too, Anjali and Aishwarya come to mind. Since Iyengars did not use their tags, not sure which ones were.

My first visit to the North of India included Delhi, Amritsar, Shimla, Agra, Haridwar, and Srinagar, Gulmarg, Wular Lake, Pahalgam- I still remember staying on a Houseboat owned by one Ali Mohammad Dubloo who fed us Gushtaba and lots more.

I had relatives in Mumbai, Nagpur, Indore, Baroda, Delhi, Satna, Jabalpur, Pune, Hyderabad,..but not in Orissa and West Bengal. Made up with a job at Bhubaneswar in 1991, and visits to Kolkata.

Lander College in Greenwood, where I taught once, had a good Dramatics dept., and staged plays regularly. One was Equus, I remember. Impressed by the three I saw at IIM Indore over the last few years, involving a talented bunch of students (Sanjana, Jasmine, Shreya, Shrunga, Avik, Philip, Prachi, Kaavya, ..), and my director-friend Shweta, with her Woman Friday, Varunika.

Managed to visit Kodikkarai, from where Sri Lanka is just a small walk across the sea, thanks to a Golfing trip deep south with Gadgil and Vijayakumar. The Golfing trips southwards have been very productive, and gave me a Hole-in-one twice, at Kodaikanal and Wellington Golf Clubs, which I can boast about for the rest of my life.

Highlights of 2015

Looking back, I made a maiden trip to Japan for a conference in Beppu. Learnt a lot about Japan, and was impressed by their politeness. Skinny-dipping in their onsen (hot water spring/bath) was a first, after childhood. Made another trip to Singapore, and met a couple of former students, Vidya and Swapna, from KIAMS-from the 2000-02 batch! Caught up with another KIAMS alum, Jogeswari, who runs Golftripz, at Hyderabad. Met a few IMT Nagpur alums in Hyderabad (Nikita), and Delhi (Meghna) as well. And Animesh Jain in Bhopal. And of course, enjoyed interactions with lots more on facebook-too numerous to list! Caught up with a few IIMB classmates during visits to Bangalore and Delhi. An XIMB alumnus I taught in 1991 introduced me to a music group on Facebook. We are fans of old Hindi film music.

In Indore, my current abode, taught a couple of new courses (including at the Mumbai campus), and planned a couple more. Completed an interesting study on Personal Branding with some qualitative research, for a change. Started one on Identity and Social media, to be completed soon. Wrote a case on international marketing by Euroflex, an Indian B to B (Business to Business) marketer. Got some new clients for our MDP (management development programs) this year, including Tata Trent.

 My niece having fun at Mandu-Jahaz mahal.

 At Indore campus with my wife and cousin.

A road trip to Chittaurgarh (a song from Guide was shot here), and Jaisalmer (pic above in the dunes) via Jodhpur with family was another highlight. Five days of fun culminating in a desert safari. Another one with friends to Munnar to play Golf there was different, as it was my first visit to the place. One to Nagpur to rekindle old golfing days was also good. Wound up the year with a trip to Shrivardhan on the Konkan coast with some cousins. And for good measure, a party at Pune to celebrate a niece's wedding. My brother who lives in the U.S. was also in attendance.

Saw some good films, like Masaan, Dum Laga ke Haisha, Court (Marathi), Bahubali, Katyar Kaljat Ghusli (Marathi) and Bajirao Mastani. Read fewer books this year, but some good ones, as usual. Twinkle Khanna's was a surprise. Matt Ridley's book about the Evolution of Everything found me agreeing with him that almost everything is about slow and steady change. Maybe that explains why slow cooked food tastes so good!