Birthday no. 66

 Had my cake and ate it too.. 3 of them. One that Roopali Saxena sent, one we ordered, and another compliments of the restaurant we went to for dinner!

Music Show by Rajabhau Tikhe

 Rhythm Entertainment staged a music show yesterday at Balgandharva Hall, Pune. It was good, featuring Sanjeev Tanksali and Vaiju Chandavale, whom we had seen before, and Sonali who was new with a few others.. quite good, focusing on OP Nayyar, Pancham and Bappi Lahiri's music.

Many good songs, particularly OP Nayyar's tunes.

Rajabhau Tikhe with Sonam, above

Most of the group who performed, in the last pic.

Meetups in Pune

 There were two this week. One, of a music group members from Pune, and second, my former students from VJIM Hyderabad. Both were great fun, full of stirring conversations and reminiscences. The best part is, these are likely to be regular - at least once a quarter!

Ranjana Rudra and Roopali Saxena from VJIM.. at Malaka Spice.

Geetha and Omprakash, Raka and Ananya, and Rina from the music group, socialising at FC Road Social

One more from the students' meet.. below

Remembering and Forgetting

 Apart from passwords, I mean. Over the long run.

And after retirement.

I keep forgetting things academic, or related with the work I used to do. 

I remember how I felt in my workplaces, and the relationships with people there- in my case, the students I attempted to teach, the colleagues who were nice enough to tolerate me, and staff who were really helpful in my success, as it were.

Friends and classmates too, or childhood friends who reappeared at various stages. Got a call from one from the U.S. last evening..

Feelings more than things, experiences and people more than tangibles.

Isn't that what life is really about?

Music Program- Lata and Asha Duets

 Interesting one- I like duets in public programs, as there is more variety, and at least one singer is likely to be good. This was also good, in that sense. Many good songs were sung! Mostly, the singers were new. Organised by Madhura Deshpande and her husband Sandesh.

Kavita Pingle with partner- above.

Sagar Mane with partner..

Milind Marathe with partner

Ali Mothi Shahani- Marathi Film Review

 See it, you may enjoy the story.. of a little girl who wants to be a grownup, instantly.. stars two good actors in the lead roles. A tad long, at 2:36, but enjoyable for its novel plot and storytelling.

A New Bucket List in 2026

 I will be 66 in a few days. I am entitled to a bucket list. So what if it gets updated every few years?

1. I want to be free from excessive noise-anytime, anywhere. What I consider noise is entirely up to me.

2. I want to meet some of the people I have never met, but who have been my FB friends for a long time. 

3. I would like to meet a few people I have not met in a long time- like Leslie from the U.S., my colleague and friend at Lander University. Or some students from IMT. Or Kirloskar, or PES or IFIM or elsewhere. Colleagues too.

4. I want to play Golf in a few more locations if I can. If not, in the known locations like Kodaikanal, or Bangalore or Hyderabad.

5. I want to see music shows, plays and films whenever I can, no limit on numbers. Starting to do that in Pune.

6. I want to travel within India, to meet some people, even if there is no special occasion. Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata maybe are a priority.. Calicut, Coimbatore, Dehradun as well.. and Roorkee, Jaipur, Amritsar if possible. Goa, once or twce a year.

7. Taste a few more Single Malts when I can. Gurgaon has a few reasonably priced ones.

8. Sing along on karaoke, with friends or family.. now that I have a speaker with Bluetooth, it's easier.

9. Minimise visits to a doctor. Working on it.

10. Be less of a pain to everyone.