On Being Grounded

 A.G. Gardiner wrote a few excellent essays starting with On... I remember we had one of his On Saying Please. I just got hold of a compilation that has many more. 

Largely, we have been grounded for the last few months, since whenever the Corona virus struck. So what has it done to some of the avid travellers? Some have gone back into the past, and started reminiscing about those days. Me too, I looked back at some photographs (not just of travel), and digitised many of them, for posterity. Have been meaning to do it for a while, but just got a chance.

Visited my mother more often. She is 91, and has chosen to live by herself because she likes her house and people around- her sister and a nephew and a niece are close by, almost next door. 

Tasted some good food- home-made, of course. Most of us have tried our hand at cooking lots of things, with some hits and some misses.

Appreciated the local kirana store and medical store a lot more, because they were a life-line during the bad times. Ditto, health workers, garbage collectors and so on.

and Scientists for their hard work on trying to find cures and a vaccine..looks as if we'll have a couple early next year.

Was amazed by the changing geo-politics, particularly where it involved China. 

Not sure of what the fate of travel and tourism, and related industries will be. Hope they recover soon, at least the ones totally dependent on tourists. A loss of one year of course, was bad. Hope it does not get worse.

The environment got better, due to reduced pollution. Hope we find ways to keep it that way in future too.

Hope classroom education gets back on track..it just isn't the same on Zoom or Google Meet.  

Saw a few films on streaming platforms-Shakuntala Devi, Gulabo Sitabo, and a couple of Malayalam movies including Sufiyum Sujatayum.. but want to go back to theatres, it's a much better experience.

Kamala follows Obama

 Kamala Harris is the running mate of Joe Biden, U.S. Presidential candidate in the November 2020 election. Which means she could be the Vice President, if they win. Quite a significant thing, because Indian origin people once again get a voice at the highest level - Ok, second-highest. She also has a Jamaican father, so Blacks may feel good about this development also.

Why is it important for representation of the various constituents in a democracy? Because it brings in otherwise neglected segments to the fore. Though it has the potential to disrupt the majoritarian applecart applicable to a particular democracy. In general, it's also in the spirit of democracy that different voices must be heard, even if change happens slowly.

India and our sub-continent has had women leaders of our countries for a fairly long time, but the U.S. has remained in a macho image of a World Cop led by a man, till now. Even if Hillary lost her bid, she tried breaking the glass ceiling. And Kamala will too, if she succeeds. Power to her. (Note-This is not about the party or its policies-don't know enough about those. Also not an attempt to influence the outcome of the American election- ha, ha!)

Mom Turns 91

 She's had an eventful life, with medical school when not too many women did that, a full house with many sisters and a brother in Amalner, work at CMC Vellore for  a while, and then a long career at Singareni Collieries hospitals in undivided Andhra. After retiring in 1989, she moved to Pune with Dad. She still keeps in touch with surviving friends from the workplaces, and many relatives in India and outside. She is also lucky to have two sisters living almost next door, and a couple of my cousins too. She developed an interest in homeopathy, and has treated lots of people. Not afraid to experiment, she uses a bit of the computer too. Until last year, she regularly played Bridge with some enthusiasts near her place. Also tried Sujok, a form of accupressure therapy, on the advice of her niece who is also a doctor in Hyderabad. Worked well for her.

She also travelled with us across the U.S. when she visited us, and to Malaysia and Rajasthan on her own in a group, just a few years ago. She was also one of the few women driving a car in her times where we lived- Kothagudem, Bellampalli and Ramagundam. Also a good photographer-I picked up my interest in reading and photography from her and Dad. Turns 91 today! Of course, there was a celebration spread over two days. On Zoom, and in person. Some pics-

Below- near Yellowstone on a drive-a-thon in 1990.

Enjoying her favourite song from Mughal-e-Azam -Jab pyar kiya to darna kya. (above)

Last year it was at Hyderabad with some of our family there..above.

The mandatory selfie, above and Zooming around, below.

My brother lights a diya above, and below, my sister with the cup that cheers..

Last pic from last year's b'day celebration..

Inaugurations and More

 We had a unique inauguration of the new batch of MBA students a couple of days ago. Almost 600 incoming students joined the programs online, probably a first in many institutions due to the COVID pandemic. 

This puts a lot of our assumptions about higher education-or maybe all education- to the test. Physical connections were always thought to be the USP of any class, particularly where interaction was part of pedagogy. So what do we do until "normalcy" returns? People are fond of talking about Convergence, including that of technologies. But is this the point where Distance Learning and Classroom education converge?

What do students think about this mode of learning? What do faculty feel? And administrators, promoters of educational institutes? Will it impact the future of students who miss out on the obvious benefits of the human side of learning..getting to know peers, networking, forming friendships with seniors, or bonds with faculty members? How will faculty cope with loss of feedback from faces of students in F to F classes? How will participation be affected? Assessed? What about other forms of testing like exams? 

Certainly, life is not going to be the same for this academic year. Hope we will all cope, think about this and come back stronger for it.

My Thoughts at 46 and 49

Thoughts at different points in life

Why me? No Particular Reason, I Suppose

A Journey of forty six action-packed years

This is me-well, obviously, it can't be anyone else. Can it? I grew up in a coal town with a lot of coal for company. We even tried brushing our teeth with coal powder as kids! Gradually, as I had to move out to get some education, I went to a hostel in a city, with hardly any "urban" qualities. But as far as prisons go, it was a comfortable one, and we could (had to?) play some games. So I played cricket.

Growing up, I don't really know how I got through some exams, and I was an engineer-MBA, a deadly combination. But working with an ad agency, I figured out that I liked neither engineering, nor corporate lifestyle, nor even advertising. So I became a market researcher next, and another one of those coincidences saw me in a Ph.D. program, doing a doctorate in management. No one employs Ph.Ds but academia, so I had to teach. Surprisingly, I found myself liking it. And have been in it ever since.

Recently, I read an amazing book called A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, and am impressed by the insignificance of all life forms in the scheme of things. I firmly believe in this, sometimes believe the world is a joke and someone is constantly laughing, maybe rolling on the cosmic floor holding his belly, watching all the fun.

I am impressed by some artists, like Guru Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Wodehouse and Sanjeev Kumar. I like to read, play golf and occasionally write too. Currently, I direct a B-school running an MBA program, and try to figure out the myriad rules that govern us-it reminds me of Alice in Wonderland.

Rajendra Nargundkar

 This is another  take 3 years later, and I am forty nine. I am still directing a B school, located in India's geographical centre, and enjoying the challenges that it keeps throwing at me. I look at every assignment as a Brand-building case study. You have resources- faculty, students and yourself, to work with- assuming finances are available. You have only a few years to do this in-build a brand, otherwise competitors get a leg up. As far as B schools go, competition is already hot, and foreign entrants are likely anytime now. IIMs are increasing in number-7 new ones are slated to start in another year.

So motivating all the human resources to give off their best in class and beyond is the challenge. The second one, is making sure that the world finds out about some of these things you are trying to do. Institutional PR, through websites, literature, and physical meetings with corporates, recruiters, alumni, and other members of the public/society are all a part of this.  Alumni relations are a particularly powerful means of communicating with well-wishers. Third party websites such as pagalguy are also viewed by most students wishing to pursue an MBA, and can help (or hurt) perceptions about a B school. 

Transformation Triggers

What makes for a transformation in personal life, corporate life, or life in general?

It could be a well-intentioned, planned reform. Like in personal habits, or economic policy, or a new leader appointed to a key position.

More often, though, it is a disaster of some kind..a personal loss or change in living standards, or a drought, flood, earthquake, war. Or, as we have seen in the last few months, a pandemic.

I.T. companies have talked about work from home, flexible hours for decades (I have heard this for twenty years at least), but did little about it, causing huge environmental damage through traffic increase. All of a sudden, they are able to function with 70% workforce staying at home most of the time. Even more dramatic, are the non-I.T. companies.

Of course, the delivery boys have taken up some of the slack in traffic. But the point is, it's possible to do many of these things without waiting for a crisis, and in a more planned and sensible manner. Why is it that we don't-people, or companies? Not easy to answer.

The collapse of a couple of really worn out buildings in Mumbai is also a case in point..people could have moved out, authorities could have evacuated the building, etc.. though one must say, that response to cyclones has improved in India, over the years.

Shakuntala Devi- the film about the Math Genius

Saw this film directed by Anu Menon. Shakuntala Devi is a well-known Math genius, unschooled, from a village, but able to compute faster than most computers of her time. Incredibly, this was when even Indian men found it tough to be popular globally. Even today, few Indians have succeeded-men or women.

Her story is like that of many gifted people. But there are a few other takeaways. Life gives you choices, and you have to make certain choices- starting with picking up a gun to shoot at unfaithful partners-to-be. I am kidding, but she wasn't.

From marrying a divorcee, to going on world tours to showcase herself, to doing book promotions like a pro, she did everything. And raised a daughter almost as independent-minded as herself. With consequences, but she did not care. Treated every defeat as a victory, and went on to establish milestones and records unheard of.

The childhood portions are very nice, and the yearning to be an ordinary girl, also well portrayed. But true to her calling, she soars higher, never to look back. Vidya Balan, and Saniya Malhotra do a great job, as do the two male actors, though this is a woman-centric film all through.

Just for the message to do something with your life, it's fully worth a watch.