38 Together and Going

 Our anniversary is coming up on 26th.. it's number 38. Tough to remember all the ups and downs we went through, first couple of years in the U.S. and then the rest in India, with a few trips to Sri Lanka, cambodia and Vietnam thrown in. A Eurail tour on the way back took us to Greece, Italy and France, Netherlands etc. We went to a friend's place in Brittany, near the Northern coast where Mt. St. Michael is located. 

Made friends in the U.S., Ron and Carmon Green, Leslie and Bob, the Sonis, and Athena and her family, Annie and Samrendra Singh and their sons, and a few more. Wilma Reeves and a Filipino faculty, Ceferina Hess, for example.

We also had a group of Indian friends, Alok, Anil, Suresh and my brother Satish hung out together. Alok's wife Pam too. We went to Charleston, Gatlinburg, L.A.  and Las Vegas, plus a few National parks like Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest and so on. Visited Kiran Kenjale and Neena in L.A. and Prakash and Meena, in Detroit.

Made a few friends in our long stay in India at multiple places- Bani and BK Mohanty in Bhubaneswar, Bhagyalakshmi and Shweta Kushal at IIM Indore, Smita Dabholkar and Gadgil at IMT Nagpur, Vijayakumar and family, Dhanapal and family and Yashad Gaur, in Harihar, Anjula Gurtoo in Lucknow, and Shraddha and Neeraj in IIMK. Also Ravi and Dipi in Calicut. We also have musical friends from a group on FB.

We have a wide social circle that includes her schoolmates and students from when she taught (Vaseem), and mine from IIMB, Osmania and all the places I taught in, like IIM Indore (Sanjana Rao, Anusha Soni, Pratima Gaekwad) and IMT, (Ishita Modi, Garima Shah). Keeps us occupied. Plus all the Plays and concerts that we are able to attend in Pune regularly. Life is a party, when you have the right company, right?

Meeting Nice People

 Many years ago,, Honda ran an ad- You meet the nicest people on a Honda.. I think for its 2 wheelers launch in the U.S., before the 4 wheelers went there.

So where do I meet the nicest people? Workplaces, obviously. Students, staff, colleagues from all places I worked in.. MBA the research firm, New Horizons the ad agency, Lander, Clemson, in the U.S., XIM, VJIM, KIAMS, IIML, IIMK, IIM Indore, PESIT, IFIM, IMT Nagpur, IMT Ghaziabad, NMIMS Bangalore, Prestige University Indore, and JIS University Kolkata (current employer in 2025).

Besides, I met people online, or through other people, in many cases. Students I did not teach, or taught Golf to, became good friends. A bunch of Ph.D. students at IIM Indore from non-Marketing areas is a case in point. We just met, and gelled well enough to have had a couple of parties in Indore and in Delhi, Kolkata. Thanks mainly to Prachi Jain, my Golf student, and Finance prof. now. Pratishtha Batra, Neeti Ingole, Vartika Varyani, Akansh Khandelwal are some other members of this wild bunch, now spread across the world. We shared pizza with a 'secret sauce' and more!

I met Sanjana Rao first through a play that she acted in, directed by Shweta Kushal. Later, she was in my class and we formed a Mutual Admiration Society-went to her wedding too! Manjari Mundanad, whom I met in Ahmedabad, and went to her place too. She's an NRI now. Abha, who I first met at her wedding, and is a fast friend now. Divya Singh, whom I met at Vashi, Pune and then at Sikanadarpur in her office. Nikita Kumar/Ray, at Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi, multiple times. Ananya Nandi De, whose place I have visited twice. 

Rimjhim Verma, daughter of a friend from a music group, who now teaches dance. Gowri, whom I have met in Bangalore. Rupam, Anshita, Aashish and Anusha too. Bharath Shenoy, after IFIM days.. Ishita Modi, many times. Pratima Gaikwad, in Hyderabad at home and in Biryani joints. Nidhi Kanungo, NRI, in Lucknow, and Indore, after Harihar. Saumyaa Sharma, my former assistant, in Bangalore and Indore. Swati Jain and Nishka Rathi in Mumbai. Sheetal Garg too. Vidya and Swapna In Singapore, and Smita Mohan in Dubai. Dheeraj in Chennai.

Moral of this story? You can meet nice people almost anywhere.. and that's really nice!

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. 

Why I Like Indoris

 The fact that they stay with you. Even those who have been with you a short while, don't give up on you. I have known a few for many years now. For instance, Nidhi Kanungo, though she is now an American, but we first met in Harihar, while she was studying at Kirloskar Institute, and I taught there. 

Nidhi, her Mom with my wife and me, Indore, recently.

Many years later, we were in touch on Facebook, and she reached out during a visit, and her Dad and I and she went around the IIM campus and clicked a few memorable pics. Again, a couple of years ago, she called up and we met at the hotel she was staying in, and met-her Mom was with her this time.

She also dropped in at Prestige University on the way to Ujjain next morning. 

Saumyaa Sharma is another Indori I have worked with at IIM, and we have remained in touch ever since. She was my teaching associate, and went on to work in Marketing Research- first with a friend in Bangalore, and later in Mumbai and Delhi. 

Saumyaa and I at Indore. Above.

Of course, Anshita Maharishi (now Abhishek Chetty) is another lovely Indori I have known for many years. From her student days at IMT Nagpur. She now works in Bangalore, but we have met a couple of times at parties that she organised. She has twins whom I have met too. 

At Indiranagar, Anshita organised this. She is at far right!

Anshita in the centre, with her daughter, flanked by Rupam and Anusha, with Ishita and Gowri at the back. Bangalore Orchid, near KGA Golf course.

Memorable Meetings and Outings

 What makes a meeting or outing memorable? Could be many things, but an important thing is the warmth, among those meeting up. Or going out. Some instances I remember warmly, in pics- 

Savitha and I met in her office on MG Road. She worked with Deccan Herald at the time.

Meeting Abha and Harsh Halve, in Delhi

and Amit Gope in my Kolkata office.

Or Venkat Rama Subramaniam in Calcutta Club

Garima and Ayan at Pune, 

and Bhagyalakshmi and Venaktesh at Pune TOIT

MSMT Pune and Mumbai gang in Pune 

and Asoka and Jyoti Dua in Indore at a Prestige Univ. outing

Swati Jain at Mumbai,

or Maya and Shubha at Pune on New YEAR eve, 2025.

Milind Chalisgaonkar in Kling's Bangalore

and Dhanapal in Dec 2024 at Kodai.

Adithya, a schoolmate in PUNE

and Annie, from Greenwood, and AJ, in Delhi.

Ishita Modi in Indore

and Shweta Kushal in Indore

Prachi Jain at Delhi,

or Jaya Dulani in Delhi

Sanjana at her wedding in Hyderabad,

and Pratima Gaikwad, a Hyderabadi in Indore.

Bhavna, Silky and Dheeraj at Gurgaon

and Riyaaz, Arun and Juhee and Divya Sairam at Indore.

And, an outing at Hindola Mahal, Mandu with Radhika, Shweta and Surbhi Dayal. 

Anniversary Number 37

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it? 

Started in Pune, continued to a stay in the U.S. till we returned to India in 1991. Then, we went places within India. Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Harihar, Lucknow, Kozhikode aka Calicut, and on to Bangalore, Nagpur, Indore. Then, back to Bangalore and a second stint in Indore. Possible last stop is now Kolkata, for work.

Two daughters came along the way, and both are now grown-up young ladies with minds of their own. We are growing old and heading towards a sunset, but it has been an enjoyable time on the whole. Whether to marry is a personal choice that you have to make. If you do marry, you will more likely than not have kids, and take care of elders in either family at some point. Also make friends, and keep some.

It's an Endurance Test of a kind too, as there will be ups and downs of various types. But through it all, you have an assurance that you are not alone. That is a comforting thought, and makes it worthwhile. Just my view..

Sankranti Outing

 With Prestige University colleagues at Shreemaya. Celebrated with great food and conversation- 

Karaoke in a Hat

 For a change, we did it in an Assamese hat.

Monsoon Pics

 This is one of the best seasons in Indore, and much of India. The greenest, certainly. Some pics that

 prove a point.

Project Charcoal

 It's not what you think. It's the name of a rooftop restaurant in Indore, which we accidentally discovered. Great views of some greenery around, a great ambience and good food. Includes a bakery on the ground floor too. Had a good outing- recommended! He's got some Mario Miranda cartoons framed too.

Jayasimha and Mrs. Jayasimha- Archana.

Adi, their son in other pics.