Birthday Thoughts on Friendship

 Making friends, keeping friends.

These two things can keep you occupied for good! For life, maybe. Even if you work, you can make friends with some. In rare cases, with the boss too!

It happens to be my 65th birthday, therefore these profound thoughts are occurring instead of the mundane thoughts that usually do. Celebrated with my newly made friends/workmates at JIS University, Shrabani and Karanjyot Kaur who also got a cake made by her sister, who is a Hotel Mgt. graduate from the JIS group itself. Proof of the pudding below-

Mumbai Adventure and Chats October 2025

 Had an eventful Mumbai trip with family. A visit to a cousin- Suhita- and a lot of chatting, playing games. And a car breakdown in the ghats. A complete package. Also did an interview with Miskil for Chat Masala- my Youtube channel.

Some pics of the journey and fun there.

Bhavna from Prestige University

 Met Bhavna Oza in Pune where she works with a Solar power company. We met in 2023 at Prestige University where she was a student. Also during her Internship (with Silky and Dheeraj, her classmates) in Gurgaon last year, before I left Prestige.

Pune at Phoenix Mall of the Millennium, 2025 Oct 2nd.

Gurgaon meetup at a mall for Chaat. With Silky and Dheeraj, June 5th, 2024. 

What You Do and How You Do It

 We are always talking about what we do-and ask questions around it, one way or another, to those we keep meeting. But whatever you may be doing, it's more important whether you like it, and if you are able to contribute meaningfully, and whether it gives you satisfaction at the end of the day, week or month.

I think Hoe you do something is as important as what you do. Are you bringing in new ways of thinking? Are you helping a colleague do better than he/she would have? Are you spreading cheer around? A movie called Bawarchi directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee comes to mind. A dystopian household with a lot of problems hires a cook- a bawarchi- who brings sunshine into the house. He helps each one in the house to achieve what they only dreamt of till then. More importantly, he teaches everyone to love and respect one another! In another film of his, Anand, the hero knows he's dying from a rare cancer. But while those around him are grieving, he spreads joy among them till his last breath, because he wants to enjoy whatever is left of his life- looking at the positives.

It is possible, in most cases, to be able to do more than the minimum, whether it's a job or your own enterprise, or something else. The joy of doing it- anything at all- is infectious, and can help you and others to enjoy it to the fullest. Many jobs are dull and repetitive, but you can inject some fun into them if you try.

Try it.

Birthdays Celebrated

 A get-together to celebrate our birthdays in September-October and early November. Organised by Prarthana and Pooja at our residence. Pics randomly taken- karaoke was a part of it!

Why I Like Google

 Went to their office recently (not the Mountain View one) in Gurgaon, to meet an alum who works there. Thought I should know something about them since they know so much about me- corrected the imbalance to an extent.

Now I know why they are rated so highly n Best Places to Work and similar surveys. Less bureaucratic than most, friendly atmosphere, great food and relaxation areas, flexi timings for those who want them, and more. Some pics from meeting Bhuvneet Raheja and another alum -Surjo Sankar sarkar- that we ran into from IIM Indore's IPM -5 year Integrated Program in Management. He recognised me, and is a Facebook friend too.so we took a photo, pronto - the third pic here.

During our 5 course meal. :)

Types of Airline Passengers

 Based on observation (one method of doing research), these are some types of airline passengers-

Corporate and Pseudo-corporate - they are usually carrying a laptop which they pretend to work on during the flight. Some carry a coat-case, while some wear a jacket- without a tie, as per prevailing fashion.

Mom or family with noisy kid- The kid makes a racket, and the Mom/Dad lovingly look on. 

Loo-minous ones- always visit the loo, two times or three, starting within five minutes of the flight. Leaving airport loos much cleaner, I guess.. not sure about the in-flight ones.

The Demanding Customers- they demand things which they wouldn't at home. Usually male, wanting water, tea or extras that they haven't paid for. 

Rude Rushers- they rush around and push people as if there's a Gold Medal for the fastest exiter.

Mindful Monks- they rarely speak, nod once or twice, and keep to their meditation mostly.

Mobile-watchers- after Kingfisher went bust, the TV screens disappeared. So these guys make up by watching some unwatchable muck throughout the journey.