Madhosh Kiye Jaa

Veggies I Like

I like most, and I have cooked many myself.. some I don't know the English names of.

Tinda- simple to cook, but many don't like it. I do.

Parwal/Potol- saw it in Orissa in 1991, and have cooked it several times. A favourite!

Bitter Gourd/ Karela - Stuffed is what I like best.

Capsicum- I used to make stuffed Capsicum well, at one time. Must try again.

Green Tomato- I like the Sour taste!

Brinjal- Both Baghara Baingan and Bharta are favourites.

I like Veg. Au Gratin with Beans, Carrots and the like. Cheese gives it a distinct look and taste.

Fried Arbi tastes yummy. Better than aloo, in my view.

Red and Green Thai curry with assorted vegetables, including Onions.

Big Green Chillies- stuffed, usually. They are medium spicy.

Veg. stew, with assorted vegetables.

I have forgotten the number of trips I have made to Goa. Most were to Colva beach, and two to other beaches. One was to Panjim, in 1983-my first visit. Officially, we hosted a Conference and some Case conferences at the International Centre near Dona Paula also, between 2009 and 2012.

While each trip was unique, the place gives you great vibes. The smell of the sea, and the ability to frolic in the water, makes you forget everything else.

Recommended. Once a year if possible. Pune and Mumbai have a train connection too, so it's not that tough to get there. Local taxis are expensive, but many other things compensate. For me, it's an International Destination at Indian prices.

Met a classmate, Prashant Sardessai, who lives in Goa

Book Review- Mother Mary Comes to Me

Her story, in her words. I usually like autobiographies, and have read many- and written one. This one is among the better ones I have read. Not being familiar with her writing- did not read the Booker-winning book, nor the Ministry of Utmost Happiness- may have helped. I thought the last couple of chapters were a drag, but the rest was a pretty good read.

She is of course, an activist who speaks out on every major issue. Many are controversial today. But that has not stopped her. Maybe the mother's influence. She (Mary) had started a school against all odds in a small Kerala town, with architecture by Laurie Baker!

Her relationships with family and later, husband, are probably the best parts. That's what autobiographies are for, aren't they? Unless they are meant as a humorous take on life..

School, College and Other Alumni

We do meet up at times, all of these alumni. Some photographic memories-

Hyderabad Public School alumni -we met a few years ago in Hyderabad.

At a hotel owned by one, Suri.

Osmania engineering college batchmates, at Hyderabad Golf Association.

Below- IIMB batch reunion at the campus, a decade ago approximately.

Above- IIM Indore Ph.Ds when they were students.. now alumni, mostly. Below- a schoolmates gathering, Kamlesh hosted. Hyderabad.

Below- Gowri and Sfique, IMT Nagpur alums.. met in Bangalore

Politics of Identity and Identification

Just who are you? It's not enough that you were born here, or brought up here, or that your parents lived here for all their lives. You have to prove again and again that you are a citizen. That is what it has come to, with the way SIR has gone till date. That's for the voter who wants to vote-supposed to be the right of every eligible citizen.

If you have been a customer (of a bank, or an insurance company, or a credit card company), you are deemed 'unknown' until you are 'known'- through a process called the KYC or Know Your Customer (the bank is supposed to know you only at the end of this stupid and repetitive process, even if you had an account with them for ages). What sense does that make? If you suspect someone of not having credentials, or financial fraud, why not go after those guys and leave the rest of us alone?

Why can't LIC just ask you to show up with an ID card to prove you Exist? Why the rigmarole of getting somebody's signature on a piece of paper? Why not sign it yourself if the customer (for a Pension) shows up? It's too simple? You have not tortured the customer adequately? Or is it that you don't want to pay up?

Cheers to our bureaucrats who think up these amazing ideas.. and we pay for it!

Tribute to the Burmans

SD Burman and RD Burman. Two of the best tunemakers in Hindi films. This was a program based on the songs they created. SD Burman was a trendsetter, and his Aradhana music created two superstars- Rajesh Khanna in acting, and Kishore Kumar in singing.

Great song selection, by a group called Music Lovers in Pune-

The entire group above.

Veena Kulkarni and partner, below. She also sang Jaane jaan with Sagar. It was probably the best one of the evening. Her voice modulations (Asha Bhosle in the original) were amazing.

Visit to Gogte Institute at Belgaum

I am an Adjunct Faculty and visit Gogte Institute once in a year to do some classes. This time it was on Strategic Management, and also met the first year MBA students during their inauguration.

Glimpses from the visit.