Film Review- Hindustani 2

 I saw a movie in a theatre after a while. It was not bad, but I was left with a feeling it could have been better.

It's about a vigilante who plays cat and mouse with the CBI, and outwits the son of an officer who had earlier failed to catch him. There is obviously a lot of action -some of it unbelievable- and chases across Indian states/towns.

The gripping part of the story is actually what the protagonists (a group of youngsters) discover within their own families- a story of corruption of some kind, at the urging of the main character-the vigilante.

Somewhat predictable in the storyline after the first couple of instances, it may have helped if fewer instances had been covered in some detail rather than so many. Also, the length of the movie could have been shorter by at least 15 minutes, as I always say about a lot of Indian films.

The first in the series was better, in my view. This is not bad, if you like Kamal Haasan. I actually prefer Rajnikanth in roles where there's a lot of action. He is somehow, more believable as an avenger!

An Amazing Group of Friends

 It is rare for strangers (mostly) to be such great friends that you want to meet as often as you can. In groups large or small- as small as 2 too! One such group is of music aficionados which I joined around 10 years ago, at the urging of a former student from XIMB. I did it without too much of expectations. But what I got from it is a bunch of music-crazy friends who I learn from - about music, and life, every day. I am not joking. We have met physically twice before COVID and online a couple of times during COVID, but smaller meets keep happening when we visit each other's cities. We also add our friends who like Hindi music to the group. Some pics from our Bangalore meet in March 2020.

The crowd included some kids of members who were 25 years younger!

Like Rimjhim Verma, below.

The quizzes and events were competitive!

I sang Dil aaj shayar hai in this avatar.

We flew back to Indore in this plane!

Nagendra and Jyothi aove, and Subbu and daughter Aishwarya, below.

Proof that she sings- a shy Rajni Verma, did pretty well. Others did not need a lot of prodding!

Meeting New Students in Class

 Met the new batch of MBA students in class today, where we did an in-class exercise.

Not Just Presentations -Pedagogy

 Learning Methods are many, and a professor can invent or modify some existing ones too. Assignments that include a presentation are a good tool to build communication skills, but other objectives can be served by using other methods. A few I have used-

Blogging

Role Plays based on short cases

Just role plays to learn about Qualitative Research Techniques such as Focus Groups or Depth Interviews. Each of these requires a different skill-set. 

Questionnaire-building or modification to suit changing times. Can be a group exercise done in class.

Bidding to simulate auctions of different kinds, in Negotiations, or in Digital (Paid) Marketing 

Shooting a small video/reel to advertise a product/service

Captioning a post with attractive copy.

In addition, you can use exams as a learning tool by being creative in designing questions that test thinking ability or application orientation.

MBA Inauguration of Batch 24-26

 At Prestige University, we inaugurated Batch 24-26 of the MBA program. Incoming students and parents had the opportunity to listen to Mr. Vikram Gulia, former MD and CEO of A.P.P.L., a Tata Group company which manages its plantations. Most of these are in Assam and West Bengal. 

At the inauguration. Snehal Singh, visiting faculty- above.

Mrs. Gulia took a tour of the campus..

Some senior MBA students were also present.. above and below, with Divya, Program manager.

Above- Mr. Vikram Gulia, Chief Guest. He is the former MD and CEO of APPL, a Tata Company.

He narrated interesting stories of how he got his first job, and challenges faced as a rookie assistant manager in remote locations, brushes with wild elephants included. Many career and life lessons were a part of his welcome address to this group of students.

Some senior students also spoke of their experience. The Chancellor of P.U., Dr. Davish Jain, and Director PEF, Mr. Ketan Jain, also motivated the incoming students through their talks. Divya Sairam was the Emcee for the function, which concluded with lunch at the campus.

Meeting Long-lost Relatives

 Ok, not really lost, but meeting some after long! My paternal cousins who grew up in Belgaum area (Nandgad, to be precise) along with my Dad and his brothers, and I have kept in touch. One branch of the family is global, with Hyderabad as a base. And the second, is also global, with Bangalore as a base. So we met the Bangalore branch with a couple of cousins, and their offspring and also the next gen. It was great catching up - some pics.

On the right is Veena, my nephew Pushkar's wife, now settled on the US West Coast. 

Tiyasi, my nephew Rohit's wife, left in pic above, runs an online business at oagh.in, selling sarees from different parts of India, some custom-made for them by weavers. Samples below. You can visit the website for more, if interested. Or their insta page https://www.instagram.com/oaghindia/

My cousin Prabha, on the right above, with her grandson Raghav, who is Veena's son.

My favourite grandkid is Tiya, who is Rohit and Tiyasi's daughter, above.

We last met at her 1st birthday 2 years ago, but that is not a problem in reconnecting. She tries out her painting skills on my hand!

Why Singles Are Important

 Marriage is considered a given, in most human societies. People have elaborate ceremonies around it, and event managers and pre-wedding-shoot shooters galore make enormous profits from these. Poor singles are often ignored by those who celebrate Doubles. 

But in my view, Singles are as important, if not more important. They are often thrown into leadership positions or start new movements, or cults. Sometimes after abandoning the spouse, but still..

They are free spirits, not burdened by what society demands of them. They have an independent opinion, and frequently express it too. They drink a lot of tea at tea stalls, improving the economy.

They usually have parents who are not happy about their being single, and have to ward off attempts to get them hitched. Dating sites and matrimonial spaces in newspapers do what they can to help the parents, or the few Singles who want to enter holy matrimony.