Madhosh Kiye Jaa: 2026

Ninetieth Birthday of Manik Gokhale

One of my mom's two surviving sisters turned ninety last week. There was a big celebration of course, attended by extended family and friends. I was lucky to be there too. Some of the people in pics-

The musical sisters and one of their kids, Saloni.

Khayal, one of the youngest present.

Swarali with Prathana, Shubha, Prathamesh

Miskil, Swarali

Gauri, my other aunt, her daughter Jyotsna

Chhaya, Mrunal, Gireesh, Maria

Kalpak, Shraddha, Neha

Us.

And cousins and nieces

Apte khandaan with the birthday girl.. many generations in a pic.

Names and Dictators

Putin

Hitler

Trump

Mao

Lenin

Stalin

What are the common things among them? They will throw you 'in' more often than not, for criticising them.

Autonomous B Schools, or University Departments?

Which is better?

In India, it appears, the autonomous B school outshines the department of management in a university. Especially if it is fully residential. This is unlike the US, where autonomy is inbuilt into university departments. The large bureaucracy in an Indian university nullifies some advantages that it may have in terms of scale and diversity.

Another unique thing is that the top Indian B schools are run by the central government. Unlike the Harvards of the U.S. This could be because the first independent Indian government identified Higher Education as a strategic growth lever, and went into action mode. Set up IIMs and IITs. The focus on one discipline helped them carve out a niche, unlike state universities, which also had fund constraints-still do. Industry participation initially was insignificant, and the government fully subsidised these institutions. My fees at IIM Bangalore for the PGDM in 1982-84 were around 3-4000 rupees per annum. Seems to have paid off for the government.

Less bureaucracy, strict faculty selection and student selection and swiftly changing curriculum and pedagogy with freedom and incentives to faculty have made IIMs a force to reckon with- I worked at 3 of them, I should know.

Attachment to a Job

Read a post by someone on LinkedIn on how Indians in India are emotionally attached to their job, partly because we don't have other interests outside work. Largely true. Oracle's 12,000 layoffs brought this out yesterday, with some employees lamenting their layoff.

What is a job? It's a contract, that can be terminated as per conditions stated in it. That's it. The group you work with is not exactly family, though friendships or relationships can develop during your work life. But the corporate (or family owned) entity has limited uses for any employee-CEO included. One must bear that in mind.

The best way to deal with the downside is to be prepared for a job change at short notice. Update your skills, your CV and network. Don't be under an illusion that your job is forever. Stash some savings to help during a transition. Don't overcommit on expensive stuff, especially long term, unless you have an assurance that you can meet the EMIs.

Whatsapp Wars

Even more dangerous than Ukraine-Russia and Iran- US/Israel, these are the wars you see everyday, and feel tempted to participate in- The Whatsapp wars.. on a device near you!

These can rage on forever, until you exit the group, or they throw you out, in case you are the incendiary chap! Totally macho, like real wars- mostly men participate in these too.

The topic is not very relevant, but in India, since 2014 at least, it's about how X has done so much for the nation, in the face of anti-national elements who want to stop him, or the reverse. It takes two hands to clap.

Mostly, the fake news propaganda memes are used as weapons of construction- of the scenario one is pushing. The resilience of the soldiers is more than the Ukrainians and Iranians put together. These wars don't have an expiry date.

Everyone seems to have 'inside' info on various things, more than the Dhurandhar director ever did.

And so, they go on.. a good pastime after retirement, maybe.

Most Admired People

My lists don't contain celebrities, mostly. The people I have known- colleagues, students or classmates are present in the list, to which I add regularly. Family members are not in it, for avoiding possible nepotism charges :)

Shrabani, my exec. assistant in JIS University, and her friends - Karanjyot, Sunita Samanta and Debasmita are some I want to add to this list. Very simple, easy-going and affectionate, they were there to celebrate my birthday, and events in their lives. Two got married while I was in Kolkata. I also got a lovely farewell from them jointly. Wonderful experience! Here they are-

Another admirable duo was Sayantani Saha and Ananya Ghosh. I had been meeting Ananya Ghosh for suggesting analysis approaches in her Ph.D. thesis, and discovered that Sayantani, my ex-student, was her friend. We had two great outings and I also cut a cake to say Kabhi alvida na kehna.. to promise we'll keep in touch! Pic from our last meeting at Axis Mall.

Back at HQ

Left Kolkata and landed back in Pune, after a stint at JIS University as a Pro-VC. Of course, met a lot of friends in the last few days, played a bit of Golf at Fort William too.. nice memories to carry back. And these parting shots..

Lucky shot of the Bridge and station, Howrah.

Waiting to take off, while another plane lands.

Songs sung for LPG

Shortages bring out the sense of humour.. so here are some songs one can sing to the LPG cylinder-

Maine tujhe chaha tujhe paya hai. (after a struggle)

Tumne mujhe dekha, hokar meherbaan, ruk gayi ye zameen, ruk gaya aasmaan..

Aaaja aaja, main hoon pyar tera.. aa ah aaja.. (after booking a cylinder)

Tu auron ki kyun ho gayi, tu hamari thi.. (when your cylinder is allotted to someone else)

Aap jaisa koi meri zindagi mein aaye to bhat (rice) ban jaye, haan haan bhat ban jaye.

Meeting Prachi in Kolkata

My golf student, Ph.D. from IIM Indore, prof. at Roorkee IIT, and good friend Prachi Jain was in town for admission interviews.

We went restaurant hopping on Park Street. Some pics. Her old colleague Umang, now teaching at IIMC, and new ones from IIT Roorkee were in the vicinity. Met some of them too.

With her colleagues.

Umang, above, and Japanese tea, Macha, below.

More hopping... and a kid.. colleagues again, the parents took a walk while we baby-sat.

Meets with Meethi Meethi Batein

Continuing the series of meets with meethi meethi batein.. this time with an alumna of Kirloskar Institute, Sudeshna Ray Srivastava. Saying goodbye to Kolkata in a couple of days, on a sweet note. She is also a friend of Nishka Rathi, from KIAMS days. I have been meeting Nishka on and off.

Earlier in the day, a hail storm..

We met at this mall .. CC2 where this guy was reaching out for the Sun.

She has preserved a Marketing exam she did in KIAMS, on which I had written a GOOD remark! Must have been 2001! She answered well, I must say!

Invited Talk at SBI Leadership Institute

Had an invited talk at SBI Leadership Institute in New Town, Kolkata. It was for emerging leaders at Clearing Corporation of India, which is into settling transactions of different types, like Derivatives or Forex trading. I had to research their business, being new to the terminology. But linked it to crises of the past two decades, and also to leadership in times of crisis. Was well-received, according to me.

Pics from the class and the campus. It is residential, for participants and faculty. Reminded me of Kirloskar Institute.

Defining Moments in Life

Even if you subscribe to the notion that Life is a four-letter word, there are always bright spots. Or defining moments, to use another term. Ok, bright or not, these are/were some of mine.

Listening to great songs on radio. Ceylon/Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, and later, Vividh Bharati.

Buying and using a record player and records to play on it. Brand HMV.

Playing cricket for school.

Reading Wodehouse, Agatha Christie, Perry Mason, Enid Blyton, Phantom, Mandrake, Asterix, Tintin.. later, Rex Stout. In Marathi, Pu. La. Deshpande.

Writing a book.. Marketing Research.

Watching films- the 70s, almost all. 80s- less and nineties, most of the good ones. (Now, it's a rarity.)

Joining Facebook at my daughters' insistence- it was a game-changer, has kept me going through good and bad times.

Karaoke-ing, which started from my 50th birthday, in 2010, when I got a mic as a gift.

Marriage, of course, in 1988 and what follows- 2 daughters, in my case.

Switch to teaching from the corporate world. Enabled by a Ph.D.

Wall mag writing at IIMB. Before that, editing a magazine at engineering college in Hyderabad.

Starting this blog. Lately, a Youtube channel, Chat Masala.

A Golf trip to Thailand with Golftripz in 2010.

Travel- to various places and more than that, friends or people I met during the travel.

Joining a music group on facebook.

Could be a few more, but I am forgetting them right now.

Spending Versus Saving

What should be your goals? Our parents were clear. Save before you buy. Almost no credit.

Made sense, but delayed gratification. Loans were not available, salaries were low.

But when I went for a few years to the U.S., I saw consumerism driving the economy. Most people bought on credit/loans. Homes, cars which had to be paid off in 15-20 years (homes) or 5 (cars). Credit checks were done through independent agencies that were reliable.

Our generation lost that clarity. Incomes went up (back in India, after late 90s). So we did take loans as they opened up, for cars, computers (yes!) or washing machines (EMI), and sometimes homes.

Now, spend as you earn seems to be a norm, among young people, with building wealth the last thing on their minds.

My view is it depends on the life cycle, and how long you expect to live. If you can, finish your loan payments as early as possible in your working life- say, 30-50 years of age, and build capital for a pension or equivalent in the next ten or twelve. After 60, slow down and work less, spend on experiences that don't cost a bomb, steadily. Have an emergency fund for unforeseen large spends- usually medical.

Foolishness and April 1st

Looks like world leaders don't wait till April 1st to be foolish. Russia launched the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Not to be outdone, Trump launched his Iran war in February 2026.

We will have to wait and see if it ends by April 1st. Unless he gets the peace prize, looks unlikely. So some new foolishness may happen.

But the rest of the world can indulge in their own foolish things. Elections, for example. There are some coming up in the neighbourhood (Bengal where I am right now), and a couple of other states in India. I usually don't understand the claims and promises made by politicians of all hues every 5 years, and have mostly given up trying to.

Of course, there are other things. Pettiness in personal life, and pandering to the ego, in all sorts of people. Ego massage could be a big industry if it were monetised.

Fun times ahead, if you take a comical view of things. Look forward to April 1st.

Meeting Ananya and Sayantani

It was a great afternoon-met two friends who are in Kolkata, one an alum of IMT N, and another a Ph.D. scholar who I met at a doctoral consortium. Sayantani is from the 2012 batch of Nagpur, and with ICICI Lombard ever since. Ananya Ghosh is doing her Ph.D. at St. Xavier's university.

We had fun driving to Axis Mall, and having lunch at German Cafe at the entrance. We discovered the food was more Italian than German, and feasted on Pizza and Pasta. It was Eid, Ramzan, and most restaurants were crowded. We couldn't get parking inside Ecopark, which was our first choice.

Talked about Merchant Navy, Doctors doing an MBA, and life in Kolkata, NOIDA and Pune (where I will be soon), and retirement time pass.

Pics from the fun outing- we had a cake too, that they'd brought along!

Sayantani (left) and Ananya

The cake came as a surprise! Had mine and ate it too!

Classifying Heroes

Most entertaining - Rajnikanth, for sure.

Handsome? Tie between Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra

Great dialogue delivery- Raaj Kumar

Intensity - Amitabh Bacchhan

Natural- Sanjeev Kumar

Funny- Randhir Kapoor

Youth Icon- Rishi Kapoor (in my youth)

Evergreen Romantic- Dev Anand

Intangible- Kishore Kumar

Others, I was not so fond of

Wars at Will

It's becoming a pandemic, with world leaders the most susceptible.

Starting wars, I mean. Look around in the last few years. More than any other problem, Coronavirus excluded, it's the manmade ones that are endemic.

The Russian and the American (and a couple of others) heads of state seem to think it's their playground. They can get up one fine morning and declare a war. Or Abduct Heads of State.

The U.N. watches helplessly.

If China were to take over Taiwan, the same jokers would preach differently. Or if North Korea were to attack South Korea.

A democracy should probably have a referendum, like that for Brexit, when an offensive is to be launched. The laws must hold a Head of State guilty for a war that nobody in the country wants.

Uprisings in Bangla Desh and Nepal have underscored that unpopular governments or leaders can be unseated by popular will. Some day, it might happen in the bigger nations.

Aunt Turns 90 in April

I have many maternal aunts, two of whom are surviving. The elder one, Manik Gokhale, will soon turn 90. She has been global in her outlook, like many of her sisters, and lived in Malta and Libya for some years. Has two daughters settled in Australia and Germany. Her son, my cousin, is in Pune, so we meet more often.

She is in the centre in this pic, while we were celebrating the 75th of my cousin, right, back to the camera. Other cousins (mine) are in the pic, and one cousin's husband.

Her 90th will be celebrated soon, in Pune where she lives.