Goa For the Nth Time

 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.

With a group who did a nice presentation

Their standees in the MBA department, affiliated to VTU.

Another group during their presentation.

Below, at the railway station, an old card ticket on the wall

Below- view from Vande Bharat.. Hubli-Pune

A new lab with modern robots and CNC machines used for training engineering students. Prof. Sachin Kulkarni and a senior colleague.

My host Rajendra Inamdar from MBA dept.

An Age to Die?

 What's an appropriate age to die?

Maybe there's one for each one. A healthy human could live to be 100, or 90 plus. Some have, like my Mom and an aunt who just turned 90 this April.

But what is important (at least to me) is being healthy and as much as possible, independent to do your daily functions without help. Once you get dependent, I would feel helpless, and perhaps useless too. 

Any disease that steals your independence is a problem for you and everybody else around you. So it's debatable whether you would want to live when you are completely bed-ridden. There have been movies like Whose Life Is It Anyway, which treated this issue poignantly. I think the Hindi film Guzaarish also tackled this subject, about choosing to die if you think living is not worthwhile for these reasons.

I also remember reading a book where the author recommends 70 as the age to wind up one's journey here. He has his reasons. 

This post is merely speculating about the issue. I assure you I have no intention to die anytime soon. But it's worthwhile thinking about such a critical issue.