Pics From Reunion at Bheemeswari

These are pics representative of the good times we had on a recent trip with engineering classmates and spouses. The outing was to Bheemeswari, a resort run by Jungle Lodges, Karnataka govt., around 100 kms. off Bangalore on Kanakapura Road.

The Cauvery river flows close to you, and there are  a lot of activities too, including a boat ride in a coracle. The first pic is of a railway saloon which a friend had invited us to, while he was travelling in Bangalore. Nagarjuna and me are on the right in the saloon pic. Others are C. Srinivasa Murthy (now in the US), G. Sreenivas who organised this one, and on the left, Venu (also a Golfer) and Suri (just retired from the Navy). K. Srinivasa Murthy (entrepreneur, now retired), and Ramesh were there too.

All in all, a good time was had by all. That's the idea of reunions, isn't it?

On the God of Cricket

This is about the hype about Sachin retiring. I am an admirer of his cricket, and enjoyed watching him bat in many a game. Being a fellow 'kar', I was proud that he was doing ('karo'ing) something not many others were.

But so many others have done wonders for Indian cricket. Starting with the stolid Sunil Gavaskar, the silken-touched Gundappa Vishwanath, the greatest catcher (according to me- you will be shocked if you see some of his catches in close positions) Eknath Solkar, the solid Abid Ali, the patient Mohinder Amarnath, the flashy Srikkanth, the great hitter Sandeep Patil, the wonderful leader Kapil Dev, the caresser of balls Laxman, the deadly 'in-swinger' Javagal Srinath, the shrewd captain Ajit Wadekar with his 'best in the world spin quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan, who won us two series in England and West Indies.

And some others like Dilip Sardesai, Syed Kirmani, Azharuddin, and the great wall of India, Rahul dravid who saved us from the blushes in many a foreign series. Zaheer and Harbhajan, who together bowled their hearts out. Kumble, who overcame the tag of 'non-spinner' to take so many wickets. Dhoni, who has led from the front.

I think the hype is a bit much, considering that he is one of many in a team game who did (a bit more than, maybe) his bit to make India proud.

Quiz

Chhota Quiz

If Copy, Gopi (a name) and Gobi (the vegetable) all sound the same when pronounced in the local tongue, where are you?

Prize: Free trip on the next Mangalyaan (Mars tripper)

Hint: Not in the same place where Bus and Boss would sound the same (bonus for guessing both- a free CD of all of Arnab Goswami debates to carry with you on the free trip, so you don't miss home)

Employee Types - For the HR Guys Out There

There are many types of typologies (this is a tautology), so another one won't hurt. This is an amalgam of my experience at various places I have worked in-

Type 1. Rabble-rouser (RR) : They rouse rabble. In other words, they foment unrest over things. What things? The things change, but they remain the same. The quality of food served in the canteen, the quality of pens procured by the office, the results of annual appraisal, the colour of the curtains,...it matters very little what the issue is. If there is rabble to be roused out of it, RR is there, on the job (pun intended).

Type 2. Boss's Mouthpiece (BM): The guy (or gal, in these equal opportunity times we live in) speaks as if he is echoing the words of the boss, a la Moses in The Ten Commandments. The boss can take a vacation, but the BM will do the needful. Make you feel right at home, as if the boss is around. Sometimes, the mouthpiece is so fast, he/she snatches the words out of the boss's mouth even before he utters them. One ridiculous extreme of this is a guy who used to say 'wah, wah' (wonderful, wonderful), after the boss said something-anything, as if it were a mushaira (poetry recital) rather than an office meeting.

Type 3: Indifferent Traveller (IT): This one acts as if he/she is doing everyone a favour by being there, not really concerned about anything happening around. A passenger who is there to enjoy the ride, if possible. Asked to do something extra, will try his/her best to wriggle out, with a good excuse.

Type 4: Promotion-hungry (PH): This has nothing to do with the ph value of a liquid, but these people are acidic in nature, basically (pun intended). They are forever trying (and not getting, otherwise they wouldn't be at it forever) for a promotion. If you try analysing their contribution to the organisation, they may be nowhere, but that's not how their mind works. They think the mission of the organisation is to promote them.

Well, there are more, but I am getting exhausted..so we'll meet after a coffee break. Might meet a few interesting types there.

Krish on Mars

Krish (sorry, dunno how many h's appear in his name) goes to Mars. No, I mean, this would be a sequel after a few years. This is an imaginary recount of his trip there. Krish goes there, hoping to solve advanced problems. But what does he see?

Martians live contented lives.

Their religion is Humanity- sorry, Martiality-only, it does not mean what you think it does. They don't fight. Not even husbands and wives. The downside is that there are no husband-wife jokes.

They already have all the life-skills as they are born. No need for learning them the hard way, like we struggle to do all our lives.

The poorest man is automatically elected as the head of government. But the moment another guy is proved poorer, he has to give up his position to the next guy.

Martians don't have long ears. In fact, they are incredibly well-proportioned, and smile a lot, making them look even better.

They don't fly saucers, more like they use thoughts to take them from one place to another. Think before you leap is their watchword.

Krish decides he will find more job satisfaction here, and comes back to earth.

An Indian Poirot- Vish Puri

That tag is given by one of the blurbs on this book- and that is what made me pick it up. Well, not quite Poirot, but very readable and interesting is this detective called Vish Puri, a denizen of Delhi. He likes chilli pakodas, and seekh kababs, like a true Punajbi, and employs staff with engaging nicknames, such as Facecream and Handbrake, and Tubelight. These people help him, more like Paul Drake and co. in Perry Mason stories, to dig up evidence that will exonerate his clients, or get them disentangled from unwanted matrimonial alliances.

The Case of the Missing Servant starts with a rich lawyer being accused of murdering his tribal maid-servant. After a lot of twists and turns, and another murder along the way, it gets resolved satisfactorily- the denouement happening as in a Poirot mystery, with an assembly of all the major characters in the house, with an inspector (like Japp) keeping an eye out for the surprise that Puri will spring.

The Delhi descriptions of people, places and character quirks is quite accurate, and seems first-hand authenticated. That adds to the narrative.

An engaging read, this author called Tarquin Hall. I will read some more of him for sure.

Random Diwali Thoughts 2013

The small plane is more fun to fly in than the big one. The Wright brothers had the most fun.

The Chinese are better at making Diwali stuff for the masses than India- fact of life. And a few other things, like furniture that guys want to buy.

There is no whiskey like the single malts- some of them, at least. My list would include most Islay malts, and Glenfiddich.

Food tastes divine when you are hungry. This is akin to the words of the great Confucius ( a man with a misleading name) who apparently said, "When hungry, eat. When sleepy, sleep." I agree.

What makes for a great movie is the edit. Mostly, it has to do with removing the unnecessary.

There is no greater happiness than friends, family  and nature. Everything else is a burden which we carry.