Kishore Kumar Nite by Jayaram and GD

 If you are wondering what retired people do, (and you are not), here is an answer. They indulge in their passions, or hobbies. So it was that Jayaram (a friend from IIMB days) and his friend GD came up with a vocals and Hawaiian Guitar evening of songs dedicated to Kishore Kumar. They picked a few gems, and alternately played and sang them, with some commentary by Hemanth and Ramesh Srinivasan (we call him Hassled, but he wasn't- this time). It was a lovely evening. Pics.

The performers _GD above, who sang, and Jayaram or J.K., who played (below)

Ek Shaam Mastani

There are few things that can beat an evening out with friends. There were seven of us, almost a 100% turnout of the regulars from my IIMB batch. The venue chosen was different, called the Foreign Correspondents Club, though we did not spot any foreign correspondents that day. I suppose they have other watering holes.

I met Himanshu Manglik after many many years. Both of us had started post-MBA life in the same organisation, Living Media publishers, in 1984 in Delhi. We had the pleasure of being joined by the redoubtable Dr. JD Singh, who taught us marketing basics at IIMB in 1982. Being a marketing academic myself, I have been meeting him on and off, and he is just as jolly as we remembered him from then. There were jokes, and banter about everything under the sun. We had a quiet corner on the terrace, and so we did not disturb anyone. There was another marketing prof., Harish from IIT Delhi, and others from the corporate and bureaucratic walks of life. Those whose wives were tracking them had to periodically report on their status. We called this Reporting to Homeland Security.

There was a new theory of living that was proposed by one of the guys- the 4S theory. That comes from the people of Sierra Leone, and stands for Slow Slow, Small, Small. Do everything slowly, don't rush, take it easy.

In summary, I was reminded of the song that gave the blog its name- Yeh shaam mastaani, madhosh kiye jaaye..