Delhi Roundabout

In Delhi for some work, I got a chance to meet some engineering batchmates who live here and some who dropped in from Hyderabad for a mini-reunion of alumni. The setting was the Air Force Golf club. Very nice ambience; they have a private party room.

Many of my friends are into infrastructure development companies, electrical energy or otherwise. Nation-building is their everyday business. Nice to see things moving on many fronts, from airports to solar energy.

The Delhi winter and fog has just begun, with its attendant flight and train disruptions. Maybe it's a reminder that man can't control everything, even though he thinks he does. Having lived here a long time ago for about a year, I am familiar with some parts, but the metro has added a new dimension to the city. Traffic is still bad at peak times in the major corridors though.

Reunion Season

There are two things which invariably happen in December, year after year. Some academic conferences. And reunions. And so it was that I had a few of both. I met many batchmates of my Osmania Engineering college at a Hyderabad club on Dec 21st. Lot of warm memories were shared and a champagne bottle or two emptied. These gatherings are special, as anyone who's had one will tell you, as you see some people after years, and you still connect with most.

Next, we had two roommates of mine also from Hyderabad, who shared an apartment in the US for around 3 years, meeting up. A Paradise (hotel) biryani was in order, and so it was had.

Went to Chennai for a conference, and ran into a few IIMB batchmates who play golf at the Gymkhana Golf Club which happens to be surrounded by the Race Course track. An unusual setup, and we played golf at daybreak. Met some ex-colleagues, and one of my PhD student at the conference. Also met an old IIML student at Chennai (from 2001-2003).

Back at Hyderabad, rounded off with a meeting with two ex-Kirloskar Institute students- one of whom is an entrepreneur and another, a movie actress! And there is a family outing planned for New Year's eve weekend yet to happen!

Long lost friends

Suddenly these past two weeks, I have had friends from school and college catching up through mail or Facebook. It is really great to catch up after say, twenty years or thirty years. One schoolmate is a chef, another a businessman, and so on. We are now going to try and revive a school batchmates group from Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur.
In any case, we are already planning a 25th reunion of our IIMB batch this year. So the reunion fever is stronger than Swine flu, as far as we are concerned. With most of us having children who are grown up, and very little to occupy the time at the "empty nests", this is one thing we are looking forward to.
Disgruntlement with high pressure corporate life is what I find increasingly among friends and acquaintances, and many are taking ways out by teaching, retiring, or finding other pursuits. Not bad, I would think. At least 25 years later (or Quarter ke baad, as our reunion is teasingly titled), people have figured out what is important to them, and are trying to pursue it, without peer pressure or other pressures influencing them. After all, that's what "success" should be all about.