Films- Our Heritage

 Films that we have produced in India since the 1930s are a part of our heritage. And songs (both music and lyrics) are a great part of it.

I just realised this when watching a few musical programs over the last month or two in Pune, post my retirement. I have watched a lot of artists perform, of varying quality on stage. But they are all preserving that great legacy, I feel.

Some great music was due to the Burman duo, SD and RD Burman, my favourites among music directors. There were many more, like Ravi, Roshan and son Rajesh Roshan, Kalyanji Anandji, Chitragupt, and later, Jatin-Lalit and AR Rahman.

Also the lyricists Anand Bakshi, Neeraj, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra and so on.

Kishore Kumar among male singers and Asha Bhosle among the ladies were my favourites, though a lot more contributed over the years.

A legacy that will live on, for many years.

Musical Tribute To Waheeda Rehman

 Saw a great show that was dedicated to Waheeda Rehman, last evening (July 4, 2026) at Modern College Audi, with Mona Dethe, and her Mom Parveen. Great singers (Deepika, Swarada Godbole and Sandeep Ubale), in voices that resembled the originals. Guru Dutt and Dev Anand films featured prominently, and also Khamoshi with Dharmendra and Rajesh Khanna.

Highlights were Rangeela Re, Hai apna dil to awara and Kaanton pe kheench ke ye anchal, for me. Her husband's film Shagun also featured. Rekhi was called Kamaljeet in that film.

Emcee was Shalaka Gole.

All 3 featured singers. Sandeep, Swarada and Deepika.

A Good Musical Show Again

 Vivek Pande was a new singer, and Gafar Momin and Prdhya Gaurkar were two we had heard before. Based on Mohd. Rafi and Mohd. Aziz songs, this was a pretty good performance, with My name is Lakhan and a couple of O.P. Nayyar numbers being the highlights. At S.M. Joshi Hall, a nice auditorium in Navi Peth.

Momin and Pradnya, above in a duet.

Star Students

 I have had many, in different spaces. Vikas Sethia (Mio Pods at airports), Nikhil Damle (NLP training) are entrepreneurs in different spaces, both from Kirloskar Institute (KIAMS).

Sudeshna Srivastava from KIAMS is launching Bhumija soon, to sell North East and East-based stuff online, after a long stint at PWC. 

Divya Singh from IMT Nagpur is a Digital Marketer and has launched a sportswear brand, and so is Shatakshi Tripathi of IIM Indore.. Abhinav Kamal is a film maker, also ex-IMT.

Aditi Atre runs Rajasthani Rangrez, selling local handicrafts from Rajasthan.

Freelancers like Nishka Rathi, ghostwriter, and Sheetal Garg, trainer.

Divyaa Sharma is a TV anchor, and has acted too. Padmapriya is an accomplished actor. Both from Kirloskar. 

Many more, but maybe later..

Corporate players are many. Bhuvneet Raheja in Google, Savitha as H.R. in many corporates, Abha Anagha Kulkarni as H.R. in a Law Firm, Shrishail Deshnur, Joyanta Dutta, Praveen Kotta, ..

If AI Could... a Fantasy

 If AI could hire people, train them, and do all the paperwork, we wouldn't need H.R.

If AI could manage creatives, media, and brand strategy, we wouldn't need Brand Managers.

If AI could handle distribution and other operations, we would not need other Sales Managers.

If AI could manufacture for us, we wouldn't need Production managers/workers.

If AI could do accounting and budgets, we wouldn't need Finance Managers

If AI could invest for people or organisations, we wouldn't need investment advisers.

And if AI could play Golf, we wouldn't need CEOs.

Makeover From Cute Professionals

 My niece's kids are in town from the U.S., so it was time for a makeover plus massage session for me and my daughter- it was great fun!

Predictable is Boring?

 Mostly, it is. Could be one reason why life in India is exciting.. all kinds of things happen unexpectedly, lowering the BQ- Boredom Quotient. Maids don't show up, rain falls when it shouldn't, delivery guys of all kinds show up all the time, and you have random conversations with people every day if you go out.

In the U.S., it was sometimes boring. We went to the mall, just to get some excitement in to the day, and see new faces, apart from on TV.

Do something unexpected. Yesterday, we had a couple of grand nieces do some make-up for me and my daughter, and it was great fun. Totally unexpected, and the little ones enjoyed themselves thoroughly using us as guinea pigs. I remember letting another (grand) niece in Bangalore draw something on my palm, and it was another fun moment for us both!

Depends on what you want to do. Buy a kachori, a sabudana wada, or a new toffee flavour just for the heck of it. Fly a kite. Take a bus ride, a metro ride or go watch a show in town. Or a movie-minus the expensive popcorn. Have tea in a new restaurant.. or a biryani.

Point is... yeah, you got it. Do something unexpected, whimsical each day. Seize the day.