Travelexp 3- Sri Lanka

I travelled to the Emerald Isle twice last year and instantly fell in love with the place. Some pics will illustrate what I want to say, better than words can.

 Horton Plains National Park, where this is THE WORLD's END, nothing less. Below, some of the flora in the Park.

 Other end of the World's End.

 Prarthana is aided by a walking stick, as she finds the walk a bit long!
Below, Baker's Fall, halfway along the trek.

 Negombo beach-I left my imprints on the sands of time.

 A rainy drive, getting us to Kandy and the Temple there.

View to kill for, on the way to Nuwara Eliya.

Like, I mean..

Here's the latest on Americans' vocabulary- English vocabulary, from someone who just returned from a trip there. Sample these half-sentences-they have been cut short to prevent too much mirth,..bad for health.

Like, if you are like looking for like shoes, ...

Like, I'm gonna like absolutely go to like the North-east for my vacation

Can I, like, tell you, like, why I like the Disney characters?

Ok, like it or not, the word like is all-pervasive (not just on facebook), and is a substitute for other words, or just over-used in like, places where it's not needed..

But we can't let the Americans win so easily right? Matlab, it wouldn't be right. So we have matlab, used and matlab, over-used, in parts of our own dharti (land). Matlab, if you can't get this, you are a person from matlab, Mars or something.

The Good and the Better

I had yet another session lasting about three hours with a couple of former students the other day- I think I am getting rather good at this now.

The conversation ranged from careers- with me adding my two bits to whatever amazing things the youngsters are up to (some of which I understand, not all)- and educational opportunities in India and abroad- of which I know a bit. We also delved into films of yore, and I was surprised that one of them actually asked me to recommend films from my times to watch! The tension arising from seeing their classmates getting married in quick succession also figured in the conversation..had to, I guess.

Reminiscing about the good old days from IMT Nagpur was another track that took us back a few years, nostalgically. I spent the prime of my youth (!!) there, and so did they. We also tried a couple of yummy mocktails (one was called Dark Beauty!), and turned out we could also recommend some cocktails to each other. All in all, a very satisfying conversation, and we parted with promises to continue them.

Reminds me- a few days ago, I met a current student who was taught by my wife much earlier (in school at Bangalore), who remembered her fondly. Well, the profession is such that it throws up pleasant surprises often!

The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Cancer has been a scourge for a long time, but the instances have been increasing at an alarming pace. I now know at least five people in my circle who have had it at some stage, and are under treatment of various types.

A couple of days ago, I got bad news regarding a former colleague at IMT Ghaziabad who succumbed after a fight. She was young and a very happy person.. I remember her as a very caring and courageous human being. Unfortunately, cancer struck, and snuffed her life at an unfairly young age. Another ex-colleague at Bangalore/Harihar also went through a similar fate a few years ago. Others have got treatment, and have recovered, as of now.

I have read a few books about the disease, and there does not seem to be an easily identifiable cause. Some of the people who got it were non-smokers, and some, vegetarian in their diet. Tough to say what caused it in each of the cases, but it seems like you cannot predict why it will strike, and when. One can only hope that it is detected early if one gets it, and try and take care to treat it with available forms of treatment.

Here is hoping we find ways to prevent it. One has to die one day, but the suffering need not be so severe.

Friends- A 2 x 2 Matrix

Ok, since people understand 2x2 matrices best, I decided to make one about Friends- not the TV show, but real life ones. These are the four varieties.

Ones you met in real life first and then on Facebook. (1)

Those you met in real life and don't want to meet on FB. (2)

Those you did not meet in real life before but are FB friends with. (3)

Those who you did not meet ever, either on FB or in Real Life. (4)

All the celebrities that I admire- scientists, sportsmen, music directors, singers, movie stars, dabbawalas, etc.. are in Quadrant 4. Naturally, coz why would they want to meet me?

Quadrant 1 is a natural consequence of a mutual liking which translates to Likes on FB.

Quadrant 2 is also understandable-it's the opposite of Quadrant 4, except that I am not a celebrity, and I still don't want to meet them.

It's Quadrant 3 that is interesting, because I am now starting to meet a lot of people that I had only known from FB. And hitting it off too. 

2017-18 in Pics

Some pics from this year and last.

 Two spots of significance- Sigiriya, Sri Lanka (above) and the Gurudwara in Nanded.

 Above- looking out at Pondicherry, and below, cruising at Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

 Flowers on show, January, at Pune's Empress Garden. And below, celebrating my Mom's 88th, also at Pune.

Qasbah, a restaurant in Hyderabad where some of us Engineering college-mates met.

Ambition

I was impressed by the play Julius Caesar which I studied in school-mainly, I was impressed by his ambition.

So I decided to be ambitious, like Big Bro Julius.

And got into studying like crazy, and maxed all my subjects in school. Almost topped my class in the board exams too.

After going into college, this translated into trying to watch all the (Hindi) films in town..and almost did that in the five years I was there. In my MBA days, looking at all the other smart and ambitious people that surrounded me, I decided to go slow, and concentrated on reading non-text books- Like PG Wodehouse and others.

During my stint in the U.S., my ambition changed to travelling to all the States that united to form the USA...well, I travelled to around 40 of the fifty states. Threw in a few European countries too, on a Eurail Pass.

Coming back to India, I concentrated on writing, mostly, and managed to write a couple of-horror of horrors- text books! That some people actually read them is a tribute to their patience. Blogging followed, naturally, thanks to being egged on by my BIL. That some people actually read them never ceases to amaze me.

Looking at every Tom, Dick and Harry writing his autobiography, I grew ambitious, and wrote My Experiments with Half-truths. Somewhere in between all this, I played Golf (starting at Harihar, continuing at Nagpur), and also created a small Golf course at IMT Nagpur.

Now, my ambition is scaled down, to meeting nice people, looking at Nice DPs (and awarding the good ones), and some good food and drink (like Vietnamese coffee), books, occasional travel, films, music (retro), watching my students do well in life..

Also visited the famous Saraafa in Indore, among other things..had been a long-time ambition.

Travel Experiences 2 Singapore

Singapore is a fine country- you are fined for littering, and many other indiscretions. There is a strong Indian community, and idlis and dosas are everywhere in Little India- biryani too. I went there a  few times in the last few years, and mostly enjoyed it. Some pics of well-known places and people. Made a few friends at the NUS programs I attended (as a student), and caught up with some old ones.

 Above and below-Chinese Garden, with free entry - a rarity in Singapore.

 My favourite people- above and below.

Travel Experiences- 1 Thailand

I have travelled to Thailand a few times - first for Golf (my DP comes from that trip) and then for a family vacation and conferences, and found it an easy place to travel in. It is tourist-friendly right from the arrival visa, to bus and taxi transport, to cheap hotels compared with India, for the same quality. I found the food tasty too.

Cleanliness is also a virtue, and the malls in Bangkok are of high quality. So is the metro, of two types-under and overground. Pattaya and other destinations now have Indian restaurants too, in case you need them. The Golf courses are, of course, superbly maintained and customer-friendly. Some pics-

 Above- a temple in Bangkok.

 Gallivanting off Pattaya..

 The Alcazar show is completely performed by transgenders- an artist in the pic above. Below, a yummy dish we partook of.

My Election Manifesto

I am not a political party, just a common voter. My election manifesto (resemblances to other manifestos is coincidental. No politicians were harmed during the writing of this) if I were one,
would read-

1. No speeches..what a relief!
2. If elected (a remote chance, but you never know- Deve Gowda became Prime Minister once),

• Free education and healthcare. Everything else, you do on your own steam
• Where will the money come from? From taxing the people who have excess money and don't know what to do with it, for the first few years..after that, maybe other sources. Simple maths will tell you that you can save around 50,000 crores by removing wastage of various kinds..enough to start with.
• No personal income tax..(resemblance to other manifestos is coincidental!)...instead, any other scheme which taxes consumption, but at a reasonable rate).
• Free Swiss citizenship for all who have Swiss bank account- and a one-way ticket. Same for other tax havens.

More promises only after these have been implemented.

Diwali

 As always, Diwali this year came with celebrating by lighting diyas at home, and some lighting experiments by the family. An example is below. Above, my kurta day.

The flower arrangements also added to the festive cheer, as did the snacks that we call "faraal" in Marathi. Mr. Chitale, the famous vendor of some of these ran out of stock on Diwali day. Good for weight-control!

Rounded the week up by meeting two ex-students, Khyati Jha and Sirisha Adi. It was great chatting about the world at large, and some happenings in our lives.

Andhadhun- Film Review

This is a superbly written, edited and directed crime thriller - rare for a Hindi movie in this genre to be so good- trust me, I have been watching them for around forty years now.

The plot is full of twists, which keep you guessing. The acting chops are probably divided equally between Tabu and Ayushmaan Khurana, with Radhika Apte doing a good job of a smaller role. I would rate Tabu a notch higher, for old times' sake. The old Hindi film songs are nicely woven in, and added to the charm for me- I have probably seen Anil Dhawan's debut film. There is good comedy through the dialogues too, with a dig at Arnab Goswami included for good measure.

The plot of course, is king. And Sriram Raghavan proves that he can do it as well as any other anywhere in the world. If you dig this genre, it's a must-watch.

Cricketers I liked Watching

This includes some that I could not watch, because TV had not come in. I don't really watch it now, so many would be older guys..

Prasanna and his off-spin. I was fascinated by his bowling, perhaps because I tried it without much success.

Eknath Solkar and his amazing catches that won several matches. I have seen some photographs where he was almost horizontal.

Kapil Dev, for his positive body language, and rhythm in bowling.

Jayasuriya, for his fearless batting. He turned many matches around.

Ranatunga for his captaincy. They beat Australia to win the World Cup under him.

Wadekar, for his captaincy.

West Indies fast bowlers for their fearsome stuff- there were many like Holder, Roberts, Garner, Holding, Marshall..they won all the Test series for around 15 years.

Jonty Rhodes for his fielding.

Azhar, and Laxman for their batting with smooth, silky strokes.

Dhoni for his captaincy.

Teaching New Courses

Teaching new courses for the first time is an experience. You don't want to do it too often, but you want to try it once in a while.

I mostly taught Marketing Research since I started teaching in Indian Business Schools-and still do. But at times I have taught Business Communication (YES!), Advertising, B to B Marketing, and a Seminar on Thought Leadership. At Indore, I started teaching two or three new courses- Digital Marketing (for several different programs), and for the Ph. D. program, Retailing and Tourism Marketing.

I learnt a lot from these, and that learning continues each time I teach the course. I like to experiment with assignments rather than just use cases- so I have tried Blogging, a Bidding game, and writing of emails as some exercises, besides a website design exercise in my digital marketing course. Live exercises and projects are good for learning, in my experience. Particularly when accompanied by presentations with Q and A. I can literally "see" the learning in many cases.