Project Anopheles

 I am not sure this will take off, but if I do write something, I would like to do a complete series with Anopheles. She is a character I created (my claim to fame?) and was liked by many readers too, besides me. She is a female mosquito with a bite (a sting, actually), and has views about everything that she is not afraid to express. Almost like the females of our species, if you know what I mean. 

So, as a friend and former student told me, I may find my calling in writing another book after my retirement. So I am just putting my intent on record here, that if I do write a longish book again (my autobiography was the last one, many years ago), this is going to be it. There are a few existing episodes of my conversations with her, and I can always add Putin, Biden, the Gun lobby and create many more interesting episodes out of everyday happenings that we mostly fail to understand. 

Maybe I can write about nepotism, road-digging, and Metaverse too, not in any particular order. Covid too, maybe in passing. 

CEOs and Me- The Difference

 I could have been a CEO of a corporation, if I had really worked on it. Is that a regret?

No, you got me wrong. I am just stating a fact that could have been.

But seriously, I have all the perks-well, most and then some, even though I ain't one. For instance, I eat well, and healthy, which is what CEOs my age do, presumably. I play Golf, which any CEO worth his salt would do by this time in his organizational life cycle.

I have a driver who drives me around.

I also have a great circle of friends, who want to meet. Not sure if CEOs have any real friends. I am discounting sycophants, obviously. 

I also have people who want to listen to me at times- well, that's called a faculty meeting now, rather than a class. Do they really want to listen? Ok, your guess is as good as mine..

Cafes

 Of late, it's raining cafes.. I mean, I have been visiting unusual eateries, for me unusual. I am a simple biryani and Irani chai wala aadmi- not aam admi, but almost one.

So it has meant that I ate Italian, or French, without going to either country. Some examples of what I ate at Pune and Bangalore.. if the company is good, I don't mind hi-fi food (for an aam admi)

Not Paris, but Bangalore.

Exotica, with Anusha Soni at Pune (above, and below)..on Prabhat Road.

A visitor, Suyasha from Pune, in a Bangalore Metro.. and above, with her aunt and Uncle.

Are O Sambha

 Kitney aadmi they?

Do, Sardaar.

Iconic stuff, the dialogues of Sholay.

Mausi being 'wooed' for Veeru, by his bosom pal Jai.

The water tank scene, in which mausi goes jail, chakki peesing and peesing.

Asrani's Hitler mouche. And agrez ke zamaane ke dialogue!

Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali, speaking in that lingo..aese hi nahi etc.

Sanjeev Kumar's voice..not sure what they did, but it was deep, and impressive.

Basanti talking non-stop, versus A.K. Hangal's voice full of pathos..

Jai's laconic dialogue delivery.

Gabbar's self-absorbed persona. 

Helen and Jalal Agha in just 3 minutes of mesmerising song and dance.

Hats off to Ramesh Sippy and his team. Dwarka Divecha, the cinematographer in particular. And dialogue writers, Salim and Javed.

Aliens and Us

 I have had several conversations with Anopheles, a female mosquito, but never with aliens. I am batty, maybe, but haven't spoken to a bat either, except while playing cricket, of course. Sometimes I imagine what an alien talking to me would want to talk about.

Musk, Gates and Sir 'Virgin' Branson?

Insta, Twitter, Facebook?

Technology? Large Corporations?

MBA? Engineering? Education?

Hopes, aspirations, politicians (sounds funny in the same breath?)

Banks, Interest rates, Economy, GDP?

Meaning of Life? (Human or Alien)

It remains like a Black Hole- undetermined, little understood, by me at least.

The Younger Self

 I go back to thinking about my younger days, when I see some photos from that era.. and I have tons of them. Some memory is associated with many of the pics. In the U.S., we travelled a lot by car- gas was cheap, and we had the urge. Some pics from that era.. 

Variation of an Old Joke

 Don't quite remember the old one, but you might, after reading the following.

What will happen in the Russia-Ukraine war?

There are two possibilities-either Russia will win, or Ukraine will win.

A. If Russia wins, they may stop all exports to Europe, as revenge. B. If Ukraine wins, they will reopen all the ports that Russia has captured.

If A, then Europe will be starved of gas, and a few other things. If B, they will have to return all unused arms supplied by the west through those ports.

If starved of gas, European countries may colonise some countries which have sunshine, like they did once before. If arms are returned to the Western countries, the arms producers have to find new clients, maybe in the Middle East or Africa, like they did sometimes earlier.

and so on. The wars will continue, if not in the present sector- Russia-Ukraine, somewhere else.

So why worry? Produce arms if you can, and sell them too, and you will be fine.

Meeting a Celebrity

 I am not into celebrities. I also fail to understand the urge to meet them, when you have nothing in common with them. How does it help? I would rather spend my time with people I know or admire or love from my own life- family, friends, colleagues or, in my case, past students. 

And I do, regularly. It's exhilarating, beyond words. Just being with someone you like from your own life, is a joy. Even if you do nothing remarkable, just a shared cup of tea, a conversation, or an exchange of ideas. 

Interest groups are another place I would rather be, whether it is music, photography, travel, a sport, or anything else. It is one thing to admire a celebrity from a distance, but what is the point of meeting them? Of course, I fully uphold your right to do so, if you wish to... 

The Town Called Nargund

 My surname originates from a twon called Nargund, which used to be in Dharwad district of Karnataka (now in Gadag district). My forefathers must have been from around there, and my Dad actually grew up near Belgaum.

Now, after many years, my brother and sister were able to visit the roots, and click this. I still plan to visit one of these days. Proof of our origins- my niece and my brother are in the pic.

Pune Meetup with an IMT Alum

 Among other things (read family reunions, happened to also meet Harshad Lunavat, an IMT alum from a few years ago, after long. I had posted a pic of a Play that I saw and he responded. Luckily both were free that morning, and we met up. Great conversation, and lunch near Sadhu Vaswani chowk. 

These are pics from the Pune- Bangalore highway, on way back after my holiday.

the play ticket.. 

Classic Pics

 Some real classics I found recently on an excavation.

Last one has my maternal grandparents, parents, aunts, uncle and cousins of my age group.

A Gathering of Cousins

 I have several, since only my Mom alone had six sisters and a brother. And we have had many gatherings of cousins, almost each year except during the pandemic. So it was one more, that happened recently. A pretty good turnout, in which I tried a shot of Chinese Whisky ( a pic of the bottle follows), and we had a lot of food, banter and antakshari. A couple of nieces were in attendance too.

Most of the attending party. Two aunts were also there.

Grand nephew Khayal.. who I met for the first time.

Taking pics is a challenge. My brother at it- above.

Another niece.. Aparna, with Milind and me.

The Chinese whisky tastes a bit like Feni, but comes in a cute bottle 

Road Tripping

 We had an interesting road journey recently. After a long time, since the Jaisalmer road trip a few years ago. These have advantages, you can stop at your whims, and have a close look at the countryside. Like small restaurants and views of forts (there was one at Naldurg on our way).

One should do this at least once in a year or two, to open your mind to what exists beyond the world shown on our usual screens - of gadgets. Virtual Reality tours are not a compensation. 

Tourism seems to be opening up despite fears of a fourth wave of COVID in some parts of the world. I think getting over the fear is as important as all the other things- cures and vaccines.

The other benefits of travel-any travel- is you get to meet people. Many postponed meetings are happening.