Wedding Masti at Coimbatore

 I am amazed at the patience that parents have in organising elaborate weddings. I am not complaining, just observing. Went to a 2-day affair at Coimbatore, where the bride resides. We represented the groom, son of our friend Ravi of Calicut fame. Some pics from the event. Ran into some old students, and made new acquaintances too.. the wedding had some Bengali, Kannada and Arya Samaj touches, and of course, a Mehendi and Sangeet. 

Rithvik and Rishuta, in wedding finery.. 

Ravi and Deepi, parents of the groom, with us.

The parents and the couple.

Grooming him..

On the sidelines.. stepping up.

The action on Mehendi day, and the result.

Students Akash and Neha turned up, and told me I had taught them in IIM Indore, during 2015-17

Karaoke is Fun

 Ever since I got a karaoke mic as a 50th birthday present, I have enjoyed it immensely, and broke the ice in many a gathering with its help too. It's a great tool for having unadulterated fun, and in small and large groups-family, students, music groups, anyone .. we have done this at MDP groups with executives! . Just like antakshari, which we did without any accompanying technology. These pics over the years might show you what I am talking about.. 

Varunika's debut, and I think, Radhika's too (below)- at my IIM Indore residence

Anjali at Indore, in the hot seat, and Vasanti Muthukumar at Bangalore

Akansh and Prachi enjoyed singing too, at Indore in recent times..

and Shradhha at Bhagyalakshmi's place. (below)

Venkatesh is a regular, and Pooja and Anu also joined in at his place

Later additions have been Parth Gokhale, my cousin, and others..

Tourism and Goa

 Goa occupies a unique spot in our psyche out here in India. Its tropical beaches stretch for miles, and give you an opportunity to swim or bathe in the sea almost any time of the year, except when it is raining heavily. Very few beaches in the world can compare. 

But more than this, it's an idea. Just the mention of Goa brings a smile to anyone's face. Stories of plans made to go there tumble out, many of which went unfinished. Some who actually made it want to do more of it. I have rarely met a person who does not wish to holiday in Goa, in all these years. It's almost a magical land.

Maybe, at a psychological level, it's a place where you can BE. Try and discover yourself, your limits. Not just the drinking limits, but in forgetting your routines, and immersing yourself-figuratively, in the sea. Enjoying the present, without a care of the past or the future.

Having been there about 8-10 times now, probably more, I can vouch for that feeling. You feel bad when you leave. Viva la Goa!

Long Awaited Goa Trip

 It finally happened. The family went on a vacation to Goa and stayed at a new place in Candolim called Lillywood Highland Resort. Also found a decent restaurant called Taste of Goa nearby and gorged on Xacuti Chicken, Chicken Cafreal, Pork Sorpotel, and a few other local specialities. Had a bit of Feni too, before the poll-induced dry days. All in all, had a bit of wine, whisky, beer and Apple Cider-different people, not me alone. Also picked up Kadamba, a Single Malt made here, for 2120 rupees. A good deal, I am guessing.

Satisfying, but never enough, as usual. Pics-

Fun With Alums- At Home

 Got a surprise visit from two IPM alums who were in my Marketing Research class too- Amogh Jawa and Vanshika Chaudhary- she's on to a Ph.D. in Eco. now and he works for Caratlane.

They came with old friend Shweta Kushal, prof. at IIM I. We joined IIM at the same time, and are 'batchmates' therefore!

We had great fun, cooking, eating and drinking.. and singing. Vanshika is a great singer, and also plays the guitar! She also trains people in taking better selfies. I need to enroll. But she did teach Amogh a thing or two- he's progressing well!

On the Road in Nashik

 Went to a couple of agricultural colleges like K.K. Wagh, and to Sahyadri Farms, a big agricultural cooperative that puts the farmers' interests above all. 

Above- a prof. at K.K. Wagh Agricultural college.

A village themed restaurant

At a pit-stop on the Nashik-Indore highway- above and below.

Work Travels in Delhi and Maharashtra

 We had a rather hectic week, first at an admission fair in Pragati Maidan, Delhi. We met a few prospective students and counseled them to apply to Prestige University, for an MBA or 5 year IMP. That's a BBA plus MBA.

Then, we met a few corporates, among whom was Ms. Silky Mittal of Nestle, who is on our advisory board. 

That's her, in the pic above. She's a Category Head in Foods. Was in charge of Digital Marketing/E commerce earlier. An alum of IIM Calcutta. We also met some alums of Jaipuria, NOIDA, where my Dean worked earlier and Prof. JD Singh had been the founding director. JD Singh was our Marketing prof. at IIMB. Pic below with Vasundhara and Gaurav Tripathi, at BN group, which is into Agri-products.

We then moved to Pune, and met Barclays HR team at Kharadi, and visited a couple of Agricultural colleges in Nagar and Nashik. More on these later.