Father's Day Thoughts

 My father was a cool guy, and we saw lots of Hindi movies together. We drove to the theatre in a Ford Prefect 1955 that my parents had acquired, to the movie hall, since I was 8 or so.. almost any film would do. Jewel Thief is one I remember seeing early when I was a kid. 

He was also into photography, and had a folding camera- German make, I think. We have plenty of black and white pics from that period. Some studio pics also, to boot.

Travel was another of his passions, and I have continued, at least till recently when the Coronavirus slowed things down.

He started humbly and grew to be an admin. head of Stores at a coal mining company, so had no airs at all. He also knew how to cook, and made a special recipe of Kashmiri Mutton Curry almost every Sunday. We kids loved it. 

We do pick up at least some traits from parents or elders. I did not pick up gardening, which he was passionate about. I remember him planting a variety of plants each year, and used to know some names too. 

He loved kids, and we were lucky he was around when our first daughter came home.. 

Are O Sambha

 Kitney aadmi they?

Do, Sardaar.

Iconic stuff, the dialogues of Sholay.

Mausi being 'wooed' for Veeru, by his bosom pal Jai.

The water tank scene, in which mausi goes jail, chakki peesing and peesing.

Asrani's Hitler mouche. And agrez ke zamaane ke dialogue!

Jagdeep as Soorma Bhopali, speaking in that lingo..aese hi nahi etc.

Sanjeev Kumar's voice..not sure what they did, but it was deep, and impressive.

Basanti talking non-stop, versus A.K. Hangal's voice full of pathos..

Jai's laconic dialogue delivery.

Gabbar's self-absorbed persona. 

Helen and Jalal Agha in just 3 minutes of mesmerising song and dance.

Hats off to Ramesh Sippy and his team. Dwarka Divecha, the cinematographer in particular. And dialogue writers, Salim and Javed.

Death Unexpected

We are sure about meeting it one day, only we are not certain when. But sometimes, it catches us unawares when someone goes before his time, for some reasons unknown. Had to face such a moment recently, when my wife's brother who was 52, passed away unexpectedly. Ganesh had been a great help when we drove from Hyderabad (where I worked), to Harihar (where I was going with family). And several other times. I remember him running around during my wedding too, looking after the arrangements, as the event was in their house in Pune, in 1988.

He also visited us in the U.S. where I was getting a Ph.D. (with my ma-in-law). He is second from left in the pic below, from that trip.

Good memories, of times spent well. He lived in Mumbai, but got busy and we had not met in a while. And then, this..

Harper Lee and Umberto Eco

I have read only one book of Harper Lee's and a couple of Umberto Eco's. But what  happened this week is a double tragedy. Both died within a couple of days of each other.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic. It portrays a story set during apartheid in America, told through the eyes of a kid whose father is a lawyer. He (the lawyer) represents a black (coloured or negro were terms used earlier) man accused falsely of a crime. Though I don't remember the novel clearly, it made a huge impact at the time I read it. I also remember watching the film many years ago. It is timeless, because issues of racism never really go away.

Umberto Eco is an author I discovered only about five years ago. He wrote a few novels, one of which called The Name of the Rose, I have read. This is a murder mystery set in an old abbey in olden times. It is a bit long-winded, but gripping, and the atmosphere is built up well. I appreciated the book more than the movie starring Sean Connery. 

Eco also wrote some intellectual essays that were about politics, sports, the human life and condition. I found them very stimulating, and will probably read more of him, because I agreed with a lot of his thoughts.

Joy of Workplaces- My ranking

Inspired by all the rankings going around, I decided to reflect (I do that sometimes, even though it may not seem so) on the places I have worked in and the joys they gave me. This is not a ranking, actually, just a recounting. The title about ranking was only to get attention. :)

Vignana Jyoti- Joys of being part of a startup, nice small group of students, cosmopolitan atmosphere, and biryani for lunch almost every day at Hyderabad. My pic at VJIM, with my spacesuit top.

Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies- this was an idyllic workplace. The students were lovely, the staff the friendliest (we partied regularly), the colony was excellent, and we had a Golf course (18-hole) in it, 500 metres from our home. Still remember most students I taught here in the first four batches. The MDPs (training programs) we did here were also high quality.

IIM Lucknow- though the weather was terrible, it taught me how to teach well, and re-introduced me to research. Colleagues were very helpful, but student numbers were too large for anyone to get close.

IIM Kozhikode- Great views from my office, the prettiest campus, and some good students. Numbers were still 120 then! Also went out to some nice places from there, a sea-side villa called Casa Marina being a venue for parties. Also visited Madikeri (Coorg) for the first time. Wrote my Services Marketing book while there. Did some Faculty Development Programs too.

PESIT, Bangalore: A band of gung-ho colleagues and some bright students stuck in a university system, but willing to break out, are what made my first stint as a director memorable. We took off, doing everything an autonomous school did, and then some. Started a nice journal, PES Business Review (still doing well), conducted an international conference at Goa, and trained faculty in publishing and case-writing.

IFIM- This autonomous B school stint was brief, but interesting. We re-oriented admissions by going to small towns across India, started a PhD program where two of my students have finished their PhDs, and had an offsite brainstorming with faculty at Yercaud, a hill-station.

IMT Nagpur- Some of the best memories are from here, which we brought into its own. Conducted our own Convocations in Nagpur, re-enthused alumni through a concerted effort, and conducted a unique Case conference in Goa for 4 years. Research was rewarded, MDPs leapfrogged, and one of the best faculty teams of that size was also built up. Students were also very enthusiastic, and I taught a Seminar on Thought Leadership for the first time. Built a little golf course on campus, and taught students the basics. Offsite meetings at Pench, Pachmarhi and Bhedaghat were wonderful experiences. I also 'marketed' (without a commission) the karaoke concept to some colleagues!

IMT Ghaziabad- I stayed a short while, but collaborated with faculty colleagues on research and case-writing, and recruited a record number of faculty. Revived the alumni connect with older batches too- this place counts several well-known names like Prasoon Joshi among its alums.

IIM Indore- now a three-year old here, am liking the campus, and have taught IMC (Advertising) and Digital Marketing, in addition to my staple, marketing research. We also have a couple of different programs - an industry FPM, a regular doctoral program, and an off-campus one in Mumbai.Wrote a few original cases and research papers, some with students. Enjoyed some creative activities like the plays staged by students, directed by a colleague. We could do with more social activity, but I am happy interacting with online friends and family. Travelled far and wide for conferences, including Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia and maybe this year, to the Dominican Republic.