As I saw it

Every joke has a setup/ buildup followed by an anti climax and a punchline. In this case the buildup till about 3.50 minutes will remind you of that professor of mechanical engineering from 3 Idiots and thereafter it’s a laugh riot when the floodgates of punchlines open up. This also reminded me of my own school and college times. I used to get into trouble with some of my teachers in school for asking questions and for conducting experiments at home. One of them caned me in front of the whole class for conducting an optical experiment during the summer vacations in 1989 followed by my desire to discuss with her why it went ‘wrong’. I used to be called a ‘scientist’ by some of my fellow students and some teachers in a mocking and derisive manner. But I kept with it and worked out extremely well when I landed in my BSc. There I mastered the art of turning the viva voce examination into a lengthy conversation with the panel of my professors such that I would get the highest marks in viva...

“So elegant, so beautiful, just like a wow!!!” Am I so happy and proud to see this in the morning today!!! I’m anyway coughing badly but this is good news. A few more years like this with this kind of an intelligent behaviour from my fellow Homo sapiens; many of us, who are part of the human race which is anyway a curse and burden on the earth, would be able to leave it without committing suicide. Isn’t that just a wow?!! Each time I have to do something that consumes fossil fuel like flying, even typing this message etc., I feel guilty about damaging the environment but compulsion to family responsibilities and commitments made me see no better alternatives and keep going while reducing my carbon footprint to as little as possible. This, also given the fact that my family doesn’t agree on living a life that’s frugal and off the grid either in Auroville or like the Amish community in the US (minus of course the religious part). Those of us who are unlucky to be not caught in wars in Uk...

I was at the Delhi airport terminal 2 today on my way to Nasik for a  session and I had finally come around to trying the Digi Yatra app. But as I pressed my boarding pass QR code on the scanner at the gate, nothing much happened even as I looked at the camera upon request. A few seconds passed and the passenger behind me asked if there was a problem? I ended up smiling as I wasn’t expecting the question and I myself was a little nervous given that it was the first time I was using it. I turned around and almost instinctively said with a smile on my face: Shayad muskurana hoga!! And lo behold as I turned my head back, the door opened and I was let in. We both laughed and I moved in. I don’t know if the Digi Yatra app really requires one to smile to be allowed inside an airport, but it doesn’t hurt to smile unless one is in mourning. Simple and Profound. 😌🙏🏽🙏🏽

A couple of days ago, one of the senior managers who had participated in my session a few months ago, called me and wanted to discuss about developing his team members. His idea was to focus on the LoPots (Low Potentials) in his team. I encouraged him to encompass the whole team and said that even his HiPots (High Potentials) might need development. For example, they might be very good in technical skills but what about other aspects like people skills? That set him thinking and he said that, that’s indeed the case with one of his HiPot manager. His people skills were pathetic. Due to a problem in his personal life, he would usually take out all that anger on his junior team members and this manager now wanted to do something about it but didn’t know how to start the conversation. That’s when an idea struck me and I suggested that this senior manager ask this HiPot to look at the contract of employment in his company and find if it required anybody to agree to receiving verbal abuse an...

Sometimes you are just plain glad to see someone again; even if you’re trying to catch a plane. That was the case for me when I saw Arpit today at the Delhi airport terminal 1. He was occupied swiping the card of a passenger and issuing him the bill for excess baggage. I noticed that he had by today grown a small moustache. Coincidentally I was next to his counter for dropping my check in bag and he didn’t notice me initially as I waved to him after putting my luggage in. But he eventually did and as I tried my best to say Hi, ask him if he remembered me and start a conversation with him in my less than rudimentary proficiency in sign language, he gestured to me indicating that he couldn’t hear me. Till that time I had assumed that he was only speech challenged. This was a good 5 months after I had first met him at the same terminal in September 2022. Finally I gestured to him that he and I had clicked a photo together back in September and that’s when he recalled my face in an instanc...

I’m not a fan of profligacy but certainly one of mystery and history. So it was but natural that I picked up this book this Sunday at the Delhi airport on my way to Angul in Odisha. But I finally got around to reading it today on the flight back to Delhi just now from Bhubaneshwar. Before I proceed further I must also say that I’m a great fan of coincidences. So while I’m not a fan of profligacy and didn’t get to read the book on 19th of this month, I’m thrilled that I got to read a few chapters today, coincidentally the one titled the Missing Peacock Throne. And why do I say that? Because despite the profligate expenses (twice that of building Taj Mahal!!) that Shahjahan spent on creating the biggest and most expensive regal thrones (something I don’t get excited by), it was coincidentally inaugurated today - the 22nd March 1635!! Read that chapter if you want to know what all went into making it and even more so if you’re curious enough to find out what happened after Nadir Shah whis...

I don’t know who Marc and Angel are but I totally agree with the point here. That’s exactly what happens on tv news channels day in and day out between politicians and religious influencers. And that’s why I stopped watching tv debates long ago. Thanks a lot Aanjaneya for sharing this. This also reminds me of what the German philosopher Nietzsche said: “Those who fight the monsters should be careful not to become one in the process.” In fact the Nana Patekar movie Ab Tak Chappan opened with this quote. Finally it also reminded me of what I came across at page 97 of Adam Grant’s book Think Again: a quote by Tim Kreider: “Exhausting someone in argument is not the same as convincing him.” And somewhere I think that’s what sadly happens to most argumentative lawyers.

The list isn’t long but still I’m happy.  Especially in the context of what’s been reported in the last few days with cricketer Prithvi Shaw, singer Sonu Nigam and his Guru’s son. Last Saturday I had shared on Facebook that while one may respect the space and privacy of revered celebrities, one does get affected while being around in their space. Having said so, I can say that there are only four celebrities that I requested for a selfie with and that too after making sure that they were not bombarded by other people; after initiating a conversation with them; making sure that they were happy to have a conversation and were fine with my request for a selfie. I also assured three of them that it’s for my personal collection and that I will never share them on social media even as they didn’t prohibit me from doing so as a precondition to granting the selfie. Of these four, I shared only one of them with the Magsaysay award winner Mr. Bezwada Wilson on FB years ago and I didn’t share...

Many people consider 13 to be an unlucky number. Thankfully not me. Nor have I ever stopped or changed my route on seeing a cat cross my path. So it makes sense for me to buy the first book you see on the left besides of course the fact that I have been a huge Sherlock Holmes fan and learnt a lot from his observational skills and have also been a huge admirer of Einstein for his simple and profound curiosity. Now what about the second one? I’m not someone who has bothered much about personal branding but this book caught my attention for one simple reason: the author. I have been a fan of Ambi Parameswaran Sir since 2021 when I attended the session organised by my senior friend Arun Vishwanath on Ambi Sir’s book on resilience and bouncing back: Spring. Well while that’s what caught my attention; what really made me buy it was Chapter 13! It’s about a person who is increasingly vilified these days by people with shallow character and feet of clay but has been one of my tallest role mode...