Day 61 - All in a Week

So, here I am.  Still in Mumbai, the travel, thankfully, postponed and cut short by a week!  I did not have to travel this week, which was a very very last minute decision.  I left it so late that even the company cab had arrived to pick me up and I went down as a 'no show' in his records.  I depart for NY tomorrow night.

But what a week it has been!  The 'on-now; off-now' Indo-Pak talks, the Bongla Budgets and to top it all, the Master's unbeaten knock of 200 in the second ODI against South Africa!

I know, enough has been spoken and written about the man and his feats, including the latest one.  But, Sachin Tendulkar, being one of my role models, this was a special day for me.  I am indeed privileged to have witnessed the Master's entire career, right from his first steps into international cricket on the tour of Pakistan, where one Mr.Abdul Qadir got a resounding reply to his taunts, till date, where, he is now close to scoring a century of centuries.  Go for it, Sachin!  I know you can do it.  Nothing is impossible, especially for you!.  And then there is the small matter of winning the next World Cup as well.  Who has seen Bradman bat?  Not me.  Seeing is believing.  I can only narrate Sachin Tendulkar's exploits to my grand children, not Bradman's.

The Bongla Budgets (The Railway Budget & the General Budget) were presented by two ministers from West Bengal who can be categorised in two completely different buckets as politicians.  One, a street figher never afraid to make noise; the other, a perfect example of the Bhadralok.  No price hikes in rail tickets!  Great news.  Will plan all my next trips to Ahmedabad as overnight train journeys.  Cheaper than the low cost carriers.  I hear that I will also be paying less tax.  But dole out more for feeding myself, my family and of course, my car!  Kya Pranabda, ek haath le, ek haath de?

Last but not the least, the Indo-Pak talks.  Same result again.  Which is, no result.  In fact I understand the relations have become even more tense after Ms.Rao & Co. met Mr.Bashir & Co.  This is so frustrating.  I dream of one strong country including the territories of Pakistan, India & Bangladesh!  But that is an utopian dream which I will reserve for elaboration in another post, some other time.  By the way, the last laugh may well be Ms.Rao's as India was leading Pakistan 4 - 1 in the World Cup Hockey encounter, as I was posting this!  Amen!

Take care.

Day 54 - Tiger on my mind

No.  Not the one who used to prowl the eighteen holes.  And was innovative and creative enough to include a nineteenth one in the course. 

I am referring to our national animal.  Our national animal is fighting for its life.  At last count, only 1411 are left, from 40000 at the beginning of this century. 

I think there are two key reasons for this state of affairs. 

1) Poaching

2) Depletion of the natural habitat of this wonderful creature. 

Poaching is driven by greed.  And greed cannot be eliminated enmasse from society because it is driven by individual circumstances, wants, needs and background of each person.  So poaching cannot be stopped.  It can only be prevented.  It can be prevented by ensuring that the habitats of these tigers are protected in a water tight manner.  The authorities (politicians and the bureacracy) should be accountable for this.

Depletion of the natural habitat of the tiger is a key reason for them to venture into areas inhabited by man, resulting in man - animal conflict.  We need to preserve our forests.  We can do that by avoiding unnecessary usage of forests-derived products like paper and wood.

What can you do to save our tigers?  Please find some time to visit: http://www.saveourtigers.com/ to know how you can contribute to this initiative.  I, for one, want to be able to show my sons what a tiger looks like, in real.  Not the one with a club in his hand, though.

Meanwhile, the last week (and the weekend) was very hectic.  I spent a considerable amount of time planning my itinerary for the next two weeks.  Later tonight I embark on a two week journey for a key project, which will take me to Hong Kong, Tokyo, New York and London, in that order.  It is going to be hectic and very tiring.

Manish was in Mumbai this weekend to conduct a seminar on IFRS.  The weekend was spent in chauffering him to the venue / airport and back.  Good to see that he is being accorded such a lot of respect by his peers for his prowess on IFRS.  Kudos to him for sticking to his guns and focussing on it, from the time that the world had not even heard about IFRS.  He is another tiger that I know of!

I am not sure if I will be able to post anything in the next two weeks.  If that is the case, will do so once I am back.  Take care.

Save Our Tigers.

Day 46 - All over the place

The response, both, online and offline, that I have got after my last post has been phenomenal.  Everyone has been very supportive and encouraging.  My heartfelt thanks to all of them, as this support will only increase my resolve.

I was in dull and depressing London again last week.  The hotel made it even worse.  Bad service can make the best of brands seem the worst.  

However, there were a lot of bright spots during the week.  I was in London to be part of some workshops which were very successful, including the team drinks on Thursday!  The session with Arshan, Mayank & Pratik on Wednesday was good as well.  Went to Browns at Shoreditch.  We got out of the place before Mayank's eyes could pop out of their sockets.  The best evening out was on Friday, when I caught up with Grant for a drink and then had dinner with Navin.  To top it all off, I was upgraded to First by BA on my way back!

Landed in Mumbai on Sunday early morning, where confusion reigned as usual at the airport.  This time the cause was confusion amongst immigration and airline officials on which version of the landing cards to fill!  So, after spending time filling out multiple versions of it, I finally made my way home.

Drove to Pune via the expressway in the afternoon on Sunday inspite of the jet lag.  Wonderful drive!  Was back at home after dropping in-laws at Pune in a grand total of 7 hours; door-door-door!

By the end of it all, couldn't wait to doze off.....take care.

Day 37 - I Quit...You Can Too!

As I had forseen in my last blog, this week was extremely busy, culminating in drinks & dinner last night at ITC Grand Maratha.  Yes, Peshawari again!

But this week, I am going to write about something which I am really proud of.  After 17 years, I have finally kicked the butt, for good!  I can proclaim this so confidently because it is now 37 days since I lit up.

I am proud of this because it takes courage to put down that last cigarette and quit smoking.  Believe me, it does.  I have tried this before...many times, but haven't been successful.  I think, the reason I have been successful (so far, atleast!) this time is that I have adopted a different approach.  I have basically challenged myself and my willpower to be able to do this.  After all, I smoked my first cigarette when somebody challenged me to smoke one.  Peer pressure is a huge reason for a lot of people to start smoking.

So, what is the impact, after I have quit?  Nothing much, actually.  True, at times, I am a bit edgy and have tended to blow my fuse a little earlier than usual.  But apart from that, it has been very good so far.  On thing is for sure, my appetite has really opened up.  I feel that my ability to smell and taste has improved.  So, over the next few weeks and months, please expect me to put on some weight!  But I have been able to control the urge to binge by drinking lots of warm water.  Also, will need to go to the gym regularly to ensure that I do not gain too much weight due to this. 

Years of smoking had taught me to react literally to everything by lighting a cigarette.  When I was happy, I would celebrate by lighting up.  When I got angry, smoking would calm me down, or so I thought.  Tired?  Smoke a cigarette to stay awake.  Hungry?  Feed myself a smoke.  This list goes on.  Nicotine makes you a slave and chains you to the habit with links of steel.  Breaking these chains is not easy.  And I think, the key is to have the determination to do so.  And a very good reason to quit.

My reason is:  I owe it to my family.

I have heard people say, quitting tobacco is a process.  It doesn't happen overnight, but in my case it has not been like that.  I decided to quit on New Year's eve.  Smoked my last cigarette on the 31st of December and then quit.  I am determined to keep it that way.  And I have a great reason for it.

I quit.  You can too.  Take care.

Day 31 - Wardrobe Malfunction...and more!

Imagine that you are standing in front of a group of 40 people and addressing them, and someone informs you that your fly is open....!  Embarassing?  :-))  No.  Very embarassing!  :-(( This is exactly what happened to me on Friday at Chennai, when I was talking to my former team mates at Olympia.  Thankfully, the group pretended that they never took notice of this 'wardrobe malfunction' to avoid embarassment for me.  Thanks team for that!  And, yes, thanks Bonny for limiting the damage.  Janet Jackson, Carole Gracious, you have company now.

This week was very hectic at work, with a lot of visitors from across the globe.  One invariably tends to end up doing nothing other than 'meeting-hopping' throughout the day in such situations.  But at the end of it all, I thought the visits were very useful. 

After a long time I saw the entire Republic Day parade at New Delhi on television on 26th.  By the way, it was so foggy that one would find it difficult to distinguish between a battle tank and a cultural tableau.  Even this day was hectic as lunch was with the FMS gang and dinner at Hari Chitappa's place, celebrating his birthday.  It was good to meet up with Daddu, Dhiru, BG, Roopa and Danda after a long time.  A good session at Banana Leaf, with Dhiru assuming the role of a quasi-host!

Flew to Chennai on Friday morning and was there for a couple of days, to deal with the formalities of taking over possession of my apartment.  Thanks to Sukumar for playing the gracious host while I was in Chennai.  Dinner with my erstwhile team and Bonny on Friday and BN and some intense discussions late into the night on both days.  A lot of food for thought, I am sure, especially for me, Suku and Akhilesh!

Another busy week, or for that matter, busy month, awaits!

Take care.

Day 24 - Nostalgia Unlimited

Last week was a difficult week in terms of my health.  This week was not as bad as the last one, but I am not yet 100%.  The throat is very still very sore, though most of the congestion seems to have gone.  What's more, the children seem to be catching the symptoms as soon as they leave me or Priya.  I have to admit that Mumbai has taken a toll on our bodies.  Priyanksh was especially suffering a lot on Friday and Saturday.

A quiet week at work; nothing worth mentioning. 

On the personal front, this week could be called the week of nostalgia, apart from ill-health.  Actually, it has been a continuing theme since we arrived in Mumbai.  After meeting Gopal last week, this week it was Rohit Khanna who was in town from Ahmedabad.  And guess what, he was in town to attend the 'second' wedding of Shirali Patel, a class mate in school as well.  Told my wife that I had a crush on Shirali when in school, which I am sure many of us, boys had!  However, couldn;t meet up with Rohit due to our conflicting schedules.

Friday evening was the high point of the nostalgia week!  Practically the whole gang from SHCIL met at Pritam at Dadar, except Vijay Lavate, who is still in Chennai.  Had a great time meeting up with Alok, Sailesh, Pankaj, Ritesh, Prabhat, Parag, Sujay and Wali!  Wali looks very different these days, with all the grey hair. 

Saturday was doctor's day for the kids, as Priyanksh's condition was becoming worse.  Did some shopping in the evening.  Needless to say I was on the edge all the time as Priya goes berserk everytime she sees a mall.

Sunday was Push's birthday.  Four of us went to Amba Bhuvan to wish her.  Went to Sion to meet Aparna, Priya's cousin, and her parents on our way back.  Driving on a Sunday in Mumbai is bliss! 

Had invited Ritesh and Ruby for dinner.  I was feeling very bad as I forced them to come even though Ruby had a very bad cold and a sore throat.  She could hardly speak!  The dinner and the conversation was good.  We might do a group outing together with a few other families in the near future.  But in the meantime, hope she gets well soon.

Take care.

Day 17 - Or Maybe Not!

One of the things that I said I would focus this year was on my health. The week started with me hitting the gym. However, by Wednesday, I was down with flu-like symptoms. Now, would normally not be flustered by such an occurrence. But, given that there has been a positive H1N1 case in the neighbourhood a couple of weeks ago, we were a bit nervous. Medication was started. Have still not fully recovered, but it is not as bad as on Wednesday and Thursday. Blame it on the fickle weather, which has dogged Mumbai for the last few weeks. Chills, ills & pills.

But flu wasn't going to stop me from participating in my sons' first Sports Day meet! Had fun at the meet on Saturday. Suryanksh won a gold medal and I won a silver! I won it in the parents' race; if anybody is wondering if I have now started competing with kids! Priyanksh should have won a silver as well, but was disqualified on technical grounds (he dropped the banana!) :-)) Father and sons celebrated the rich haul of medals with a pizza party, of which the mother was also a beneficiary!

This was also a week where I met two long lost friends. Amol Parte (a colleague at a previous organisations whom I had helped in the early days of his career) and Gopal Rohra (classmate at school). Was happy to see Amol making good progress in this life. Has paid off all his debts, got his sister and brother educated and is now focused on completing his graduation. Gopal has done well in the last four years as well. However, his challenges due to not having full vision in his eyes continue. But he now looks like a veteran in dealing with these challenges.

Looking forward to a more healthier next week...

Take care.

My Baby!

Day 10 - All is well!

I am sure the title of this post would tell one and all that I am in a great frame of mind while I write this and the reason is not very difficult to find out as well. Again the clue being in the title. But I will come back to it later in the post.

This week was interesting. A week of 'firsts'!

Dad and Manish were in town. Manish was in Mumbai for two days for business. Dad, a little longer, again for work. The only difference being, Manish stayed with us and Dad did not, as usual. Blame it on the many visitors whom he has to meet throughout the day. We did manage a dinner together though and it was good. My Mom would have felt a bit lonely, with the whole gang here! This was Dad & Manish's first visit to my place after I shifted to Mumbai.

Went to drop Manish to Mumbai Central on Thursday. Got my first look at the new Duranto Express. Not sure why they have wrapped it all up in a pathetic looking wall paper from outside! Will take this train the next time we go to Ahmedabad. Took the local train while coming back home and that brought back a lot of memories. The place hasn't changed a bit.

Memories was what I was probably chasing when on Saturday, I went to Fort to get my new address and other details changed in all my securities accounts. Saw CST in person for the first time after the 26/11 attacks! Walked from CST to Fort and memories came flooding back to me. Walked from Fort to Churchgate while coming back and that was fun too. Again, got a feeling that nothing much has changed apart from a kiosk here and there! In the evening, Priya had a sudden urge to go and see a movie. What guts! We were planning to see a movie in the theatre with both the kids for the first time! But, no gain without pain, and hence, booked tickets for the movie - 3 Idiots!

Sameer (Dave) had invited us for lunch at his place today as well. He stays close to R City Mall, which is where we were going for the movie. So had a sumptuous Gujarati lunch at Sameer's, courtesy Tina and Sameer's mother. We all loved the lunch! Went for the movie after lunch. A stone's throw away from Sameer's place.

3 Idiots - This is a movie, which richly deserves the high praise that it is getting in the media and the hot bucks that it is earning at the box office! I have read the book as well, but this was something else! I havn't laughed such a lot while watching a movie for a long long time! In fact, the scene where Chatur gives the annual day speech was so hilarious, that I couldn't stop laughing, choking myself and almost starting off an Asthma attack! Thankfully the kids slept through most of the movie, after the sumptuous lunch!;-)) And hence, all is well!

Take care. Cheers!

Day 3 - Ahmedabad Calling

The last couple of days, the first two of the new year, 2010, (somehow 2010 looks so much more aesthetic than 2009!) have been spent in my hometown, the place where I was born and brought up; Ahmedabad, with family and friends. The agenda: chill and relax! So, I stuck to the agenda and caught up on a lot of sleep. Taking a nap in the afternoons doesn't come easily to me, but I did exactly that for the last 2 days, which is in line with one of my resolutions for this year. Get at least 7 - 8 hours of sleep everyday, and more if possible!

One of the highlights was the dinner with Naren, Simran and their cute little daughter, Hridiya yesterday night. Had Gujarati thali at Mangalya at R3 Mall on Drive-In Road. The food was good; the drive even better. It has always been a pleasure to catch up with Naren and his family whenever I am in Ahmedabad. We missed Dhawal, Sumedha and their little son, Aditya. Naren, Dhawal and I were class-mates at school. Normally, all the three families get together at least once whenever I am in town. By the way, on our way back, we lost our way on S G Road...what else can you expect with Naren driving..:-))

One of the things that I have not failed to notice during my last few visits to Ahmedabad has been the tremendous work done by the local authorities and the state government in terms of infrastructure development. The recently launched BRTS is a great example. The pilot for the transport system failed in Delhi, but the Amdavadis are determined to make it a success. Also, the roads are great and getting even wider; at least in the new city area. Haven't been to the old city side for sometime, but I hear that the focus on infrastructure is all round.

Flew back to Mumbai today. Not the greatest of starts to the year.

1) A 3 hour delay for the flight; blame it on the fog! Have decided to take the train the next time when we go to Ahmedabad.

2) Once back home in Mumbai, Priyanksh met with a minor accident in the evening, falling down and cutting his forehead. Rushed to the hospital and was informed it wasn't too serious and will heal quickly. As far as he is concerned, he has already forgotten it as I see him jumping all around the house! Hyperactivity is the order of the day!

The new year begins at work tomorrow. Take care.

Cheers!