January 2024

 The month has ended, with a lot of happenings. Some I recounted earlier, but I also managed to travel for work to Coimbatore via Chennai, and met a couple of old friends and Golfers in both these places.

Below- the three of us on our last outing at Kodaikanal, in 2022 August.

I met both Dhanapal and Vijayakumar when working at Kirloskar Institute in Harihar. Along with a friend from Mysore Kirloskar company, YK Gaur, we formed a Golf team of sorts, and tried playing whenever we could- the Golf course was ours for the taking, just a 500 metre walk from our homes. 

We also had caddies who were part-time coaches, having lived and played there for many years. We also had Sadanand, a coach who visited us from Belgaum once in a while. We were there between 1995 and 2001, and played a lot of Golf.

Since then, we also played at Nagpur (Vijayakumar and I with Ravi Gadgil). And took a few Golf vacations to Kodaikanal and Wellington near Ooty, and once to Munnar.

Hope to get one more under the belt this year, maybe at Kodaikanal again.

Fantastic Golf Outing

 A great time was had, staying and playing Golf at the Kodaikanal Golf Club after a gap of 6 years. My first Hole-in-one was scored here. That did not happen again this time, but great fun it was. Playing with Dhanapal and Vijayakumar, golfer friends from my KIAMS days. The pics speak louder than words? Judge for yourself.. 

A Friend Retires

A friend (right, above) retires this month to go back to his hometown, Chennai. And I am happy that I can bug him a little more when we meet (more often) on our Golfing trips together. We have known each other since my days at Harihar (1995), when we worked at Kirloskar Institute. Also played Golf together at the wonderful course we had on campus.

I learnt a lot from him, including some of the niceties of SPSS. He is a natural teacher, and has also co-written a chapter in my Marketing Research book (on its way to a fourth edition soon). I was happy that he joined IMT Nagpur, where he has been the last few years, teaching HR at first, and then Analytics, which is his forte. He has helped countless people with their Ph.D. s, officially and unofficially.

I am happy I am in his list of friends. Happy retirement, Vijayakumar.

Vacationing in Coimbatore

Never shun a vacation. My motto now for the foreseeable future. This one was a good one for many reasons. Number 1, I met old friends from my days in Kirloskar and IMT Nagpur, at Coimbatore. Number 2, I played Golf. Number 3, I got to see a new resort/guest house in Coonoor with a Golf Academy attached-well, almost! Fourth, it was raining merrily all the time we were there-actually started in the air!! Delayed our landing by half an hour. Had a pilot who was from Honduras-that's a first!

Wellington Golf Club. My second visit, after 2016 December.

A Golf Academy..Pooja in training..

 We practiced too.

Brilliant view.

Another view from the Golf Academy. Coonoor Kotagiri Road.

What I Learnt and From Whom

Ok, let me get this off my chest..I haven't learnt how to dress elegantly, though some women constantly tried teaching me..bad learner. But I did learn the following,..

From Alok, a classmate- what GRE was, how to apply for M.S. to the U.S., and what an MBA was and how to apply for CAT. Later, how to live in the U.S. too.

From Vijayakumar, a friend and colleague- Applied SPSS, the difficult parts. The easy ones I learnt from Profs. at Clemson.

Basics of marketing from my marketing profs. JD Singh and Thirunarayana, and Bhaskaran (advertising, my favourite course) at IIMB. Stats from Dr. Cantrell and Dr. McNichols, at Clemson.

Human behaviour from two profs. and observation. I am eternally grateful to Profs. Valecha and SK Roy of IIMB.

Mischief, from all my friends over the years, and the million students I have had since I changed sides.

Being sensible, from my wife. And parents. and Father-in-law.

How to facebook, from my daughters. And some complex manoeuvres on my phone too.

How to blog, from my BIL Hari.

How to appreciate others? Comes naturally :)

English, from reading authors like Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, Arthur Conan Doyle, Alistair Maclean,..