Whisky, Wine and Cognac

 Drinks are much-maligned, but they have a few pluses too.

They loosen inhibitions, among those who may otherwise be tongue-tied. Up to a point, this is good.

They are a conversation opener. I have unexpectedly found Single Malt or wine enthusiasts while talking about these.

I also think appreciating a good drink or making one, like a cocktail, is an art, like any other.

My current interests are Single Malts and Cognac. Wines, beer and cocktails, occasionally.

Had a master class on Malts in person from Krishna Nukala in 2018, at Hyderabad. He's a Malt Maniac, part of a worldwide group.

Recently, started following Sonal Holland, a Wine Master. Thanks to Prabhakar, a friend, I have tasted many great wines from around the world.

Cheers, to those who drink responsibly, and enjoy their drink.

Oppenheimer - A Review of the Film

 Nice film. The pluses-

Serious plot about an important invention. 

Good acting, except the guy who played Einstein. Didn't like him, or his hairstyle.

Scenes which were underplayed. The Bomb blast, and a few others.

The persecution of communist suspects! Realistically depicted.

Some great names like Niels Bohr, and a few other greats are seen personified- knew them only from text books before this.

The Minuses-

The length seemed like eternity. Easily reducible by at least 20 minutes without losing anything.

Overdramatic scenes with lots of background music. Felt like a pub for youngsters.. my favourite ones are quiet!

The scientific community is beholden to politicians, is the message I got. Even in the US. Or Germany, or Russia.

Resisting Salespeople

 Call centres have made this a level playing field. Sales calls are as much a woman-thing as it was a man- thing. Anyway, how to resist them on phone calls is the subject.

Say 'Wrong number."

Listen for the pitch and cut the call.

Listen, and say a polite, "Not interested." Then cut the call. 

Ask some stupid question, or say something unintelligible, and cut the call.

Most interesting of all- Don't pick the call, if it says it's likely to be a junk call. Thank your software that figures this out. Technology does have its uses. Sometimes.

Mails are easier. You know they are junk when you see them.

You are welcome. I know you want to thank me.

HPS Ramanthapur Reunion

 Meetup. Long awaited. Schoolmates. Some expected, others unexpected.. long chats, reminiscences, lots of leg-pulling, in English and Hyderabadi..

Lots of pics too, candid and otherwise- Tahseen was visiting from the U.S., and was a catalyst. The most distinguished looking guy in the first pic is him. Suri played a great host at his hotel, Royal Reve. Atul Bhatia from Mumbai, Ram Seshu from Bangalore, and Nadir from USA were some visitors. Our secret agent too, called Narendranath. From an undisclosed location. Dattu regaled us with Dattuisms, and other locals were Krishna K and Krishna S., Damodar, Raghu, Praveen (part local).. Ashwin from the alumni association and his friend completed the team. 

Scotland by Proxy

 My wife and daughter visited Scotland and I got a few memorabilia, including from the Golf course at St. Andrews..the oldest.

And of course, some Single Malts, too. 

Above- An actual shot from St. Andrews, the Mecca of Golf.. oldest Golf course!

Jai Vilas Palace Gwalior

 It is also a museum of important historical artefacts connected with the region. Housed in a palatial building, it's a pleasure to see some of the unique exhibits, like a train that ran on the dining table, its compartments carrying dishes that could be stopped at the press of a button, to serve oneself. Pics from the place, outside and in.

Case Teaching Workshop at Gwalior

 I was invited by Prestige Institute at Gwalior to do a teaching workshop for faculty, demonstrating use of Cases. Some pics-

Upcoming Meet

 Had an amazing meet with alums of two Hyderabad Public Schools in Bangalore a couple of years ago. Or was it a year ago? Anyway, point is, we are going to have a meeting of my branch of the school, Ramanthapur, soon. My batch got out (alive) in 1977, and lots of us are still alive and kicking.. not all, though.

We have had the usual careers, and some have had unusual ones too- like a Chef in Canada. Kartik. And a couple of entrepreneurs in the U.S. Of course, a lot of corporate jobs as well. A smaller set of us met about 2 years ago, but this is likely to be a bigger group, with Bangalore, Indore and Mumbai represented. Apart from the US. 

It was tough recognising a few the last time around. Hope it gets easier now, before the BIG FADE happens!

Biography of Kishore Kumar

 I am about to finish reading a biography of Kishore Kumar by two authors, published recently. Surprisingly, found it at an airport bookstore - which are not known for the best collections. 

Having visited Khandwa, his birthplace which also houses a Memorial to him, I have heard a few stories from the people there too. His birth anniversary is August 4th, and so I thought I would review this book.

It's quite exhaustive, and talks of most things that one would want to know, if interested in the person behind the voice- I primarily like him for his voice and some great songs, though he acted in quite a few films..most are forgettable. Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi was one I liked, and I haven't seen the serious ones. Though he had a headstart because Ashok Kumar, his older brother was a star and was with a well known studio, Kishore did not have it easy. Typical of any film industry, he was criticised for his voice (including by his brother!), but after his wild success in Aradhana, everyone had to eat their words. Pre-Aradhana, he either sang for Dev Anand or himself. Rafi also sang for him in a couple of films, ironically.

A lot of nuggets about his life in Khandwa, his friends, his student days at Indore Christian College (yes, he actually lived and studied here), are less known. The life in Mumbai, the multiple shifts after he got success as a comic hero who could also improvise, the heartbreaks of flops and sucesses, are all covered well. His trysts with Ruma Devi (first wife) and Madhubala (second wife) are also interesting, and give an insight into his personality. His run-ins with the Income Tax people are also covered sympathetically. He was known as an eccentric, and often played truant on the sets of his films.. sometimes with good reason-like not being paid.

Many were close to him.. Iftekhar, Pran and Bhola Shreshtha, father of Sushma Shreshtha. One less known fact is his relationship with Satyajit Ray and his son, Sandip. Both admired each other. The role Khemchand Prakash played in his early life as singer, and later, SD Burman's mentoring and partnership with RD Burman also are documented well. Some of his classy songs like those from Amar Prem and Aandhi, along with the early hits from Kati Patang and Aradhana find a detailed mention. Mehmood contributed to his success through Padosan and his songs for Mehmood's films, including Naach meri jaan fatafat,. and Kunwara Baap, among others.

He was a reluctant stage performer! He had to be cajoled into doing some of those stage shows. 

A multi-faceted artist who tried his hand at lyrics, direction, music, acting, production and direction, and did most pretty well, he was unique. An untrained singer who just happened to be great at it, and worked hard to do every kind of song.. qawwalis included.

Rare genius. Read the book for more!

Subscriptions

 Newspapers, magazines,...

In the good old days, newspapers were the main source of detailed news. Radio might have been the medium for quick updates or crisis situations. Then TV came, and these two took a backseat.

Now, even TV has had to bow to online news updates that are on 24x7. I remember going to CNN studios for a tour in Atlanta. Ted Turner had started this new channel, with news all round the day and night. It was quite a hit in the US, and later went around the world.

Newspapers, the print variety, still have some takers. But in the West, many are struggling. Magazines which were iconic have shut their print versions, or all versions. National Geographic is the latest to announce it. Before that, MAD magazine did.

I once worked for an ad agency that was a part of the Living Media group, publishers of India Today, and a couple of other magazines- Bombay and Computers Today. 

News stands selling magazines are also few and far between today. Changing times..

Conversational Abilities

 Some people have the ability to speak about any subject, for unlimited amounts of time. Think politicians.. no, just kidding, I am not into those. Just normal people. 

My own conversational abilities depend on the other person I am in conversation with. Usually, I like small numbers of people, not a very large group to converse with. And probably one or two others is best, Maybe three. 

I have had meetings with ex-colleagues- ones, twos most of the time. Students, usually former students- again, I have met them individually or in a small group. And had a lot to talk about, and listen to. Some of them I met for the first time outside class, and found them to be great conversationalists. Empathetic, knowledgeable and generally, agreeable personalities I would like to meet again. Anam Nuhi was one such, at Indore.

I can recall quite a few that I have had fun times talking with- more recently, Harshad, Meghana at Pune- earlier, Divya Singh at Pune and Mumbai, Nikita Kumar at Pune first, Hyderabad later, and then at Gurgaon with Shruti and Aditya, Tosha Dubey at Mumbai, Abha with her and Sirisha, Anuj too in Mumbai, and recently at Delhi, Sunil Kataria and Sharmishtha at Delhi, Surbhi Mehta and hubby at Delhi, Vrinda Khanna at her place (Delhi), Pallavi and hubby in Bangalore, and with Shafique (I had my first Sangria there), Pragya Singh (Kahwa?) at Pune, Anupriya Pandit at IIMI and at Bangalore, Dheeraj at Chennai, Meghna Sinha in Delhi and Mumbai (BKC). Meghana Joshi in BKC too. At THE GOOD WIFE, no less, with Vikas and Varun!

I have also gone book shopping with Nishka in Mumbai and Anushka in Bangalore- both KIAMS students. Sheetal Garg is the gregarious one, and musically minded too, and we have talked a lot. Ishita and Anurag, are from Indore, and Anshita too, though we (along with Rupam, Gowri and Sreeram, Ishita, Anurag too) met in Bangalore thanks to her. Meenu Mynam, I met after long at Bangalore.

Savitha (from KIAMS 1998-2000) and I are thick pals now, and so are Shatakshi and hubby. Vidya and Swapna I met in Singapore twice and had a great time.  Smita, in Dubai, and we went stargazing too!

Swati Jain, of the Curly Hair fame, and I had a great time meeting on a rainy evening in Juhu. And Anusha Soni and I met up in Pune after the Golf course at IIM Indore! She's my pal from Bhopal! Nikhil Damle (KIAMS) and I had a long chat at NMIMS Blr. And Chaithu Gunapali of IFIM, and Pooja Varun from PESIT.

And my Biryani friend Pratima deserves a special mention! We keep meeting in Hyderabad. Shailaja Gupta Kapoor actually started a group for IIM alums that's doing fabulously well, and I met them a few times in Bangalore. Through the group, met Nupur Prasmit whose wedding reception was last week in Indore! Also an Indori from KIAMS, Nidhi Kanungo, met me at IIM campus a few years ago.. she advised me to get onto Instagram, and I did..now!

More recently, met Ananya Nandi De at NOIDA too, along with her hubby and son. Had a great time! Here's to more such conversations, planned or impromptu.