From Pages of My Dairy - World Cup - T20

As I post this blog, a couple of matches have already been played in the super 8. So one may think that these thoughts are influenced by some of the results in those games. But, No. Right in the initial stages, I had told my wife, daughter and son in law ( Yes, they were the only people to listen to my expert comments - La Vijay Merchent or a Sunil Gavaskar or an Ian Chapell style, on such a vital issue ) that two out of the four, South Africa, Srilanka, West Indies & India, will play the final and South Africa will lift the CUP. It is a wild guess but with some reasons. All the three nations have benefited immensely from the IPL. India too has. But we have more important players on the sick list then the others. So our top order in batting and bowling looks a little blunt and with out a zing. Seems Indians had too much of cricket, too much of moolah and probably too much of T 20 ( or is it Tick 20 so it loos zapped ) S A is the most balanced team with plenty of batters who can clear the ropes at will and plently of fast and spin bowlers to dent the opposition. Any body has a different guess?? I hope I am proven wrong.

From Pages of My Dairy - Lost Interest ??

I have not been active on the blog for almost a couple of months since my last posting. Have I lost the motivation ? Do I still have interests in blogging ? I don't think so. However, I have no clues whatsoever about the reasons so I am at a loss to give any explanations, or excuses or to reasons ( to put things lightly to get a clean chit ). I intend to catch up soon on the lost time. There are many things which have happened during this period, that need expression. I will cover them all in my blogs in July. Yes, again, I will be off the blocks for a week or more. This time surely it is for family reasons at Pune. Till then ! Have a good time.

DATA Encryption

India boasts of being one of the giants in IT in this part of the world at least, but look at the fact that our telecom ministry forced the IP providers & the Telecom Industry to reduce the encryption levels to 40 bits or lower so that our security agencies could have access and control on all incoming and outgoing data & mails. This was done only last last year. In fact the Government forced RIM Canada, the manufacturers of the Blackberry mobile phones to reduce encryption levels from 256 bits ( International Standards ) to 40 bits or lower, before these phones could be allowed in the country. What a regressive thinking that is ?? Instead of moving with the times & upgrading the capabilities of our systems and that of our security agencies and bringing them at par with the international standards, we moved backwards. We did not realize that this not only makes the lives of the hackers that much more easy, but also leaves huge loop holes in our banking and financial systems. The Government has woken up at last. But again, instead of taking a quantum jump from 40 bits to 256 bits it has chosen to move to 128 bits initially. Are we not underestimating our IT capabilities, even now ?

From Pages of My Dairy - Fallout of Shifting IPL

The IPL was moved out of India as the schedule coincided with the general elections. Thanks to the home ministry and some states that dragged cold feet on the matter of security perceptions. Many people including politicians had pointed out that this step could well have a cascading effect on all future sporting / other international events in the country. The Australian Tennis Federation have pulled out of the forthcoming Davis Cup tie at Chennai citing the IPL example and giving the same reason that since it coincided with the ongoing elections there, the level of security would be questionable. I do not understand how a Davis cup tie which involves only two teams with a contingent of maximum a dozen players and officials and one venue, could be compared with an event like IPL which had 8 teams of 25 players and half a dozen officials in each team and half a dozen venues ? Anyways, this was bound to happen sooner than later. Now India will always be under the microscope. This issue will come up again when the Commonwealth Games and the World Cup Hockey Games planned in 2010 and the World Cup Cricket planned in 2011 come closer. And yes, the politicians will not hesitate to encash this during the phase II of the ongoing elections. Media is bound to have a field day.

From Pages of My Dairy - Model Code Of Conduct

The poor Election Commission issues the model code of conduct before every election. Still the politicians get scotfree because the commission does not have enough resources at their disposal to prove the veracity of complaints lodged against such law breakers. The State Governments, the local police do not act in time and some time act in a partisan way. I strongly feel that the election commission should have a separate paramilitary force and a law wing under their command so that they can book all such elements and fight the cases on their own, like the armed forces where they are dealt with by the martial law proceedings. Finally the persons proven guilty can knock the doors of the supreme court, but with a very high fee and very very high penalty if proven guilty there too. This will be a revolutionary reform, if the parties could agree upon this and pass it in the parliament. Yes, the commission should then be also empowered to debar all politicians with a criminal back ground and bahubalies, besides those who break the model code too. How is the idea ??

From Pages of My Dairy - Who is Communal ??

Every election precedes with hue and cry about some parties which are termed as communal. The media also fans the debate because it sensitises the whole atmosphere and gives them good TRP ratings. These are forgotten for the sake of convenience after the elections are over. If communists are not communal, Muslim League is not communal, Parties based on cast like the BSP for a long long time, or parties headed by KSR Rao, Lalu, Paswan, Mulayam Singh etc who say that they are for the causes of minorities and their castes then how come BJP or Shiv Sena or MNS be termed as Communal ?? And by whom - The Congress and all these parties ?? Who gives them the right to sit on a judgement, particularly when their own hands are stained ?? Yes, if any of the acts on the part of any party disrupts the harmony of the society, spreads hatred or violence the state / central government, the police and judiciary should deal with the case with out prejudice and punish the perpetrators of such acts. The parties should not protect them and take concrete actions by weening out such elements from their cadre. If any ideology is divisive then the election commission should seek advise from the supreme court and then term it as a communal party and should then ban it from having its operations in the country, forget fighting the elections. The ban should be actually slapped by the government , once such a ruling is given by the supreme court. Till then no party should have a right to such mud slinging during or after the elections. I fail to understand why this can not be done ?? May be there may be other alternatives too. But it is high time now to define who and what communal is ?? And yes let us stop these ugly debates on the electronic and print media. In fact these have more polarizing and divisive effect on the masses, in my opinion. It is time to say " Enough is Enough " .

From Pages of My Dairy - Tooth to CBI

Today I read a good article by Mr. Joginder Singh in the Deccan Chronicle. I completely agree that CBI should be made an autonomous institute on the lines of the Election Commission, if we really want to see that the even the high and mighty in the politics are brought to right terms, and fair & speedy investigations are done in all cases of criminal offences which are assigned to them. Unfortunately today the CBI is a puppet in the hands of the ruling party. So the outcome of most of the cases is far from the real truth. The CBI should have its own law wing which should weigh the merit of all cases which are to be filed and augment it if required so that the case is not termed weak or with out adequate evidences in the court of law. It is a reform that needs to be given utmost priority.

From Pages of My Dairy - Disrespect to National Honour

It was shocking to see our national heroes and the sport icons like MS Dhoni & Harbhajan Singh being conspicuously absent from the Padmashri Award Function. It is alleged that they chose to carry on with their real love - Chase of money making advertisements. That is how their priorities get reflected. The BCCI and the Minsitry of Sports should both slap tough disciplinary actions against both of them. If they can be and should be disciplined on the field and get punished for their acts of misconducts, abuse, tempering the ball, showing disrespect to the umpires etc etc, then certainly they should not be let loose. If their misconduct is proven, then they should not only be fined ( because loss of couple of thousands or lacs hardly mean any thing to them ), they should be banned for couple of five dayers, half a dozen one dayers and a dozen of T 20s. And MSD should be stripped of Captaincy too.

From Pages of My Dairy - Kasab's case

Yesterday I heard the " Buck Stops Here " on NDTV on this subject. Mrs. Waghmare was shunted out of the case as she was already having a case of a witness in teh same case. " Conflict of Interests or Professional Misconduct " was the reason, so said the judge. Mr. Ramjethmalani, Mr. Nikam & Mr. Shantanu ( who lost his wife in the attack ) were on the panel besides Mr. Bharat Kumar Raut & Mrs. Waghmare. It is but natural to give Kasab a fair trial and a lawyer to fight his case. No body would argue on that. But the moot point is that how long the country will have to wait for it to be taken to its logical conclusion ? Mr. Shantanu through open a Pandora's box when he said that he and his 12 year son would like to forgive Kasab. Mr. Jethmalani & Barkha joined the bandwagon of sorts and complimented him for his passionate & matured thoughts. Why ?? Mr. Jethmalani said that it would put the terrorists heads in shame ?? Too Lofty ideals and thoughts. Even During the periods of Ram & Krishna one had to fight and finish the Evil. Both, Ram & Krishna, the avtars of the almighty could not change the minds of such people. Do you think that Only Gandhi's Ahimsa got us the freedom ?? Surprising to see such thoguhts even in 21 st Century. I also heard Mr. Muslim Khan ( Taliban Chief's Spoke Person ) on another Chanel just 30 minutes later. He spewed venom in his talk and only talked of uniting all Muslims for Jihad and fight against all, including India. Do you believe such fundamentalists with criminal mind set would be moved by such lofty ideals ?? I also read in a paper about some terrorists who are in jail. The act for them is like meeting the god face to face. So the killing of innocents does not matter much to them. Can you beat that ?? I personally feel terror of any kind and violence have to dealt with a firm hand and with out showing any mercy to the perpetrators of such act. Be he or she from any cast or religion or country. The history is a proof .

From Pages of My Dairy - Bloody Dusty Country

Today I crossed two old people ( Telgu Speaking from AP ) during my morning walk. They were talking to each other at top of their vocal chords, so I could hear their scrap conversation. They had probably returned after a long stay abroad, most likely from US / An European Country. One of them was reluctantly dragging along and said to the other " Come on, Lets go back. Don't you know its a bloody dusty country " and then he laughed and spoke some thing in telgu. I just boiled with in but refrained from venting out my anger. However I had a passing thought " what bloody nonsense. To hell with such bloody Indians with Dusty Mind Set ". And I walked off, cooling off my heals. I am happy like many of my countrymen in what we have and in what we are. We are the slumdog millionaires in mind and soul.

From Pages of My Dairy - One More Shoe

Ah ! the fever seems to be catching up very fast. I used to think only the cricket fever moves us crazy. This time it was a shoe thrown by a teacher / principal ( media is not sure about that ) threw a shoe at Mr Jindal, some where in a rally in Hariyana. It appears that the people from the teaching class too have a jaat budhi. I am sorry if I have hurt the community. But it is the way every one talks there about people with low IQ. very sad about whatever has happened. One observation and a food for thought - if teachers of today, who are responsible for building up the generation - next, set such examples, what would be the impact and influence on youth ?? But I liked Shobha Dey's idea. Why hurl sports shoes ( Reebok / Adidas / Nike etc ) which are very costly. I have a suggestion like her to all people with pent up anger. Please use the desi chappals or Khadus or Sleepers instead and save some money. It is hurting your pockets only dear ones, and that too in such a huge global economic down turn.

Letter to Shri Advani

Today i wrote a letter to shri LKAdvani and posted it on his web site - http://www.lkadvani.in/. This is how it goes:

Dear Sir

All my family members & I have been staunch supporters of BJP. In fact my uncle, a Sangh member, was behind bars during the emergency. However Now I am disappointed to say that the BJP is no longer a party with a difference. I have following suggestions for the growth of the party: Let us all move to the 21 st century. That can happen only when the party shuns away from the old Ram Mandir Plank. At best you should have said ( in your manifesto ) " We would take this issue to its’ logical conclusion through the Supreme Court route. Then it would not have hurt any one. " Wean out the politicians with criminal records, corruption charges. Don’t encourage any Baubles or tainted politician either, howsoever powerful he or she might be. Don’t use the same rhetoric “ Unless they are so proven in the court of law ”. Write in your manifesto what you can do and please do what you write. Say for example women reservation. Implement that at all levels in all Panchayat or state level elections, at least where you are in power. Apologize for the merciless killings in Gujrat and also for demolition of Babri Masjid and say publicly that your party would help the investigating agencies , NGOs and the Judiciary to ensure that speedy justice is delivered. That does not mean in any way that you or any of your party members were involved. Make BJP an all inclusive party. Give nominations to people from all casts and creeds, be they Muslims, and people from other minorities like Parsis, Sikhs etc and people from backward classes. If you start this way you will certainly be in power in the next elections at least. If I see your intentions in action I can work for your party with out any hesitation, and I assure you of bringing hundreds of volunteers with me. Till then I can only wish “ Good Luck ”

From Pages of My Dairy - Below Poverty Line

Ratan Tata has probably brought out the people's car - NANO at the right time. The politicians have declared their assets while filing their nominations. Surprisingly Many of the bigwigs like Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar & Lal Krshna Advani are so poor that they do not own a car, which is no more considered a Luxary in the 21st century Bharat. It hurts. I would like to request Mr. Ratan Tata to gift them at least the Nano so they can be car - sevaks and not pad - sevaks ( servers on foot ) of the society. It is a different matter that their trillions may be stashed in Swiss banks which could not be disclosed, and so they fall in the category of slum dogs amongst the politicians. I am not to sure about that.

मेरी डायरी के पन्नो से - जूते के साइड इफ्फेक्ट

कुछ महीनों पाहिले ईराक में जनाब बुश पर एक पत्रकार ने जूता क्या फेंका अब सब जगह इस प्रयास की जैसे एक होड़ सी शुरू हो गई है। भारत जैसे देश भी , जहाँ सदियों से " पहले आप , पहले आप " की लखनवी परम्परा रही हो , इस में पीछे नही रहे । इसे कहते हैं २१ वी सदी में देश का सही मायनों में पदार्पण । अब तो हम गर्व से कह सकते हैं " हम किसी से कम नही " ।

दैनिक जागरण के पत्रकार जरनैल ने गृह मंत्री श्री चिदाम्बरम पर अपनी कलम की बजाय जूता चलाना ज्यादा उचित समझा की नही यह तो वही जाने , उसकी वजह ( कॉज़ ) भी वही जाने , पर उसका परिणाम ( इफ्फेक्ट ) शायद दूरगामी हो इसमे मुझे कोई संशय नही है ।

अब जगदीश टाइटलर और सज्जन कुमार का चुनावी भविष्य " बीच भंवर में गुड गुड गोते खाए " जैसा हो गया है।

इसे कहते हैं " जूते के साइड इफ्फेक्ट " ।

पहले तो सिर्फ़ विधान सभाओं और लोक सभा या राज्य सभा में कुर्सियां फ़ेंक कर राजनैतिक अपनी व्यथा या क्रोध व्यक्त करते थे । तो आम आदमी ने उनसे सीख ले कर दो कदम आगे बढ़ना ही मुनासिब समझा । आखिर पत्रकार भी तो आम आदमी ही है । मुझे तो यह भी लगता है की अब वह दिन दूर नही जब हम तुम जैसे व्यक्ति भी अपनी व्यथा या क्रोध व्यक्त करने के लिए , हर जगह अपनी जबान या कलम छोड़ कर जूतों का ही प्रयोग करें।

कहीं लडाई हो - चलाओ जूते, ऑफिस में सालाना बढ़त से आप खुश न हो - चलाओ जूते । सरकारी दफ्तरों में वक्त पर आप का काम न हो - चलाओ जूते। परीक्षा के नतीजों से आप खुश न हो - चलाओ जूते ।

शायद इस दिन का भगवान् को पूर्वानुमान होगा, इसी लिए उसने शुरुवात से ही आदिमानव को रचते समय दो दो पैर और हाथ दिए । उसने भी सोचा समय पर शायद एक जूता और एक हाथ कम न पड़ें । भगवान् !! आप अन्तर्यामी हो । आप की लीला अपरम्पार है ।

From Pages of My Dairy - Partly Political

The current elections have been reduced to a number game. I doubt if any one can really tell about the number of small and big parties in the fray. The media terms them as national parties with a national presence and the regional parties with a regional / local presence. Last 2 / 3 elections have been giving a fractured mandate and So it is going to be merry time again for smaller parties. Long live our democracy which is really crazy. In good old days we used to know “ who is who ” & “ who is where ” in the parliament. Now it is a dynamic situation and the situation is as fluctuating as our mindless Sensex on the market. There is no reason, rationale or logic. So the advice to the common man like me is to stay away from it. But that does not mean staying away from voting. I would have been very happy personally if the Supreme Court or election commission had kept the option of “ None of the above ” in the ballot paper. I think this matter is pending in the Supreme Court. Now if you wish to cast your vote in that category, you have to ask the returning officer to give you a separate form. That is little dicey or unsafe for the voter. You know why. This one freedom alone may force the various political parties to think differently and refrain from fielding candidates who fall in the categories of Bahubalies, Corrupt politicians, Politicians with criminal records and last but not the least Non Performing politicians. Would you not say “ Waat an Xillent Idea, Sir Ji ” ??

From Pages of My Dairy - Post Operation

It has been almost 6 weeks or so after my eye operation. It has been a hell lot of of time with out being in touch with any form of media contact. I am gradually getting back to normalcy. However the right eye is still blank. Doctor says it would take another month or so before I could get back some vision. So I keep my fingers crossed till then. He has now given some relaxation and that is why I am in front of the computer. It is a great relief after a lon long time. I would love to be back with my regular blogs very soon, as lot of things are happening. The elections, The shifting of IPL, The ever changing equations in the number game, in the political power play, The hate speeches and the vote bank politics and The churning of thoughts in the minds of the voters etc and the life ahead post retirement. Life is full of excitement. Nerdy Nandu

From Pages of My Dairy - My Eye Operation

The Retina operation : So the D day is tomorrow. I will be operated on my right eye for the so called retina detachment. I had so far heard of feelings which could be detached , but physical entities of the body ?? Never. It is a strange feeling today. I had a shiver of sorts through my spine, when I was told about it the first time, about 2 weeks back. That was a momentary shock. I am a hard nut and can absorb all the big and small shocks and take them in stride. The biggest hindrances in the way were when I sat on the Laptop and when I was behind the wheels, in a car, or, while reading. All are my passions, and distorted eye sight was a big nonsense. Let us see if the world would be same as usual after the operation or not ? I do not know how and why it ( the Problem ) had to catch me ? No doubt I am a diabetic, but then I have seen many diabetic with much worse control over blood sugar, lipid profile, BP etc. I have yet to find a satisfactory answer for my questions. That is part of life, I must say. So, get on with the life nerdy nandu, is the only message I can give to my self and others suffering from similar problems. Nerdy Nandu

ABHIVYAKTI: From Pages of My Diary - Trip To Pilani

ABHIVYAKTI: From Pages of My Diary - Trip To Pilani

From Pages of My Diary - Clean Sweep at Oscars

This has really been a great year for India , always the underdogs. First it was in the arena of Sports, with Vishwanathan Anand picking up the world championship crown in chess. Then came the Olympics and Abhinav Bindra brought home the crowning glory with a gold medal in shooting. Yes, the achievements in team sports like cricket, our national passion, can not be overlooked. And now it is in motion pictures. Every one knows that the Oscars are looked upon as kohinoor jewel in motion pictures to be picked. We all believed that we had in us to compete with the best in any field. It all is in the mind. The self belief is what finally counts. And A R rehman and Pookutty and of course Gulzar have shown that today. The Slum Dog Millionaire and the Short Documentary Film Smile Pinky have come out of nowhere to create history of sorts. The Slum Dog Millionaire has swept the 81 st academy awards function and bagged 8 awards out of nine nominations. A R Rehman bagged 2 and Pookutty bagged 1 for sound engineering. It is really a very proud moment for the country. The joy and happiness and emotions of all Indians across the country being screened Live on TV is simply unbelievable and awesome. The credit for this movie's success should be given to David Boyle, who went on to get the award for best director and best motion picture. However, having heard A R 's all his previous works, frankly speaking he should have got it much earlier and for his earlier music. I certainly don't think that the Jai Ho and his original scores in the movie are his best so far. His works in movies like Roja, Bombay, lagan, Rang de and countless other movies were far more superior than this. But Recognition is recognition after all. Three Cheers for the Indian spirit.

From Pages of My Diary - Trip To Pilani

The Pilani Trip:

It looked almost impossible to realize a dream trip to Pilani, like every other year. The years were just flowing by and every year I was breaking the promises I used to make to my younger sister, Shobha Perlekar, like the New Year resolutions. Surely, the guilt was beginning to tell on me. So this time when I finally decided to hang my boots ( professional ones ) and take a voluntary retirement, the best way consume my leaves, I thought, was to plan a trip to Pilani.

Initially we planned a grand Rajasthan dekho trip with my new buddy, Appa ( Nandana's Father - in - Law ) with all his family members. Yes, because after our Pavankhind trip during Diwali, we sort of decided to make at least one trip a year together. We never thought it would be so soon again. They had to back out because Nans and Naveen had almost no leaves to their credit now. We tried to hook up Neela / Usha Tai, Babans ( my elder bro and his wife ), but they too backed out but not because of any leave issues. They had fear of the cold in early Feb. Pilani - Delhi climate. You never know what different fears one develops in life.

We were left alone eventually. However since we were determined to go we cut short all our other plans and restricted our trip to Pilani alone. Thank god, we did that, because we all realized after our trip that no amount of time is good enough for a Pilanian, particularly if he or she is going after a long long time. We had almost 10 days at our disposal, including the travel time. Still those were not enough at the end of it. So we all thought on return.

The Perlekars had arranged a taxi for our journey from Delhi to Pilani. I was almost there at Pilani from the moment we got in to the cab. The lush green farms with crowns of yellow mustard spread all over the farms greeted us through out our journey to Pilani. As we came closer to Loharu, the nearest railway station to Pilani on the route, my excitement had no bounds. I was beaming with joy as I narrated the story of our cycle trip from Pilani to Delhi and back. I could remember the spot where my cycle got puncture near Pilani, and recollect the whole story of how my friend Billo was dispatched back my father to hunt for me. Anupama was especially excited to see my excitement.

Finally we hit the Bhagat Singh Circle where from it was all Pilani and nothing else in the talk. In addition, by around three in the afternoon we were there in my sister's house sitting and laughing on just about every thing.

Hospitality :

Our days used to start with tea at around nine in the morning. Who could think of coming out of the warmth of the Rajai and at an ambient temperatures hovering around 5 - 8 degree Celsius. The morning chorus followed, then by sumptuous morning breakfast of garmagaram parothas and curd and pickles. Ah ha ha. Just mouth-watering experiences, those were. Every day it used to be a different stuffing. Meena and Anupama tasted such juicy and sweet mulis and gajars ( Some how I hate the English words for the so very Indian MULI & GAJAR ) for the first time.

Then we had the privilege of hospitality of real PILANI in the homes of Bauji, Surekha, Viru ( Gogna ), Sharda ji, Raghav besides Chabu's Place ( we call our sister by that name ). The Makkey ki Roti and Sarson Da Saag, the Gajar Ka Halwa, Garma Garam Phulkas, the Pulavs etc. were a few of the many delicacies served that are now etched in the memory. In Anupama's words, it was all NUMBER ONE, COOL, and JUST TOO GOOD. In short, we were just eating and eating and eating and in between, we were busy with some typical Rajasthan style shopping.

I thanked the almighty because the likes of Waliwadekars, The Ghules, The Deshpandeys, The Joshis, have all left Pilani after their retirement. Otherwise, we would have burst out on seams due to excessive eating.

Site Seeing:

We did not just spend endless time in eating , shopping, but utilized our time to some good use too. Yap, we did some site seeing also. Surprising as it may sound, but Pilani and near by places have their own charm, and more so if you are a Pilanian accompanying others. You get that extra excitement to show different flavors and colors of the place to the ones who have not seen most of it earlier, like Meena and Anupama.

The beauty of Pilani is that you do not move alone. Every one you know there has time for you. They all just love being together. In fact, happiness manifests out of this relation. I am quite confident now that the happiness quotient of people in such places must be very very high compared to the urban class. So, in short we moved to all the places in a Jathha ( a large group of people ).

If some time Surekha and Her Husband, Dr. Vimal( they are so lovable couple I must say ) and the Perlekars were with us on our trip to the Pahadi, The Birla Haveli, Panchvati in Pilani then at other times there were a couple of additions only. The point I want to make here is that the places were not at all the great wonders of India, but then the company of these all-lovable guys made those same places out of the world kind. I must also admit that it had a lot to do with my child hood memories, which were attached to all these places.

We also went to a place about 140 kms from Pilani called Shakhambari Temple and also visited the famous Rani Sati Temple and the Aurobindo Ashram at Zunjhunu, on our way back.

In addition, yes how can I forget a trip to our college, our new library, the great audi ( our age-old grand auditorium ) and our cafeteria. Here too we were in a bigger Jathha. I was touched by the courtesy shown by Mr. Bhat ( the Librarian ) who took out time to show case the features of the majestic library to us all. We had the world's best ( famous Marathi writer Acharya Atrey's style adjective ) , mouth-watering dahi samosa and the dosa and finally the grand tea of our cafeteria. You would be all surprised to know a fact little unknown, and that is that the south Indian delicacy " the Dosa " which you would rarely have got to see those days ( forget eating ) in this part of the country and even in Delhi, used to be served in our grand cafeteria even in late 50 s. So that south Indian delicacy made with north Indian flavor used to be simply out of the world.

Similarly the visit to the museum, my father's karm bhoomi, was no less memorable. I felt having put extra pounds of flesh when I explained the various models made under his supervision and more so when I showed them my father's painting given an honor in the arm's gallery and yes above all when they saw his portrait on the way to the workshop which is just behind the main museum building. The icing on the cake was the treatment and hospitality of Dr. Dholakhandi, Director of the museum and all the old staff members. He personally took us around the ar-moury gallery and that really was embarrassing to us .

He gave the last pleasant shock when he handed over the souvenir ( statuette ) of the statue ( standing tall out side the museum ) to Meena. That day will always remain special in my life. The sweat and toil of my father is still not forgotten even after 3 decades or more, and that made the day very very special.

Fond Memories:

Topping it all was the memorable moment we all spent at our old houses, House no 7 in the choti colony and the D 140 house where we spent our most of the college life. Followed then a visit to my primary school where I studied up to class VI th and then to the Higher Secondary school where I studied up to XI th. I took them all to each of the place , our prayer ground, our labs, our class rooms, the drawing hall where Shri Bhursingh ji ( My father's friend ) used to draw sketches of students during the lunch breaks, yes 3 to 4 every day in a break of 30 minutes. It used to be great fun. I literally re lived all those days and years in a span say 3 - 4 hours that day.

The Canought Place Tea Breaks:

How could any Pilanian miss out not being part of the evenings at the grand canought place? We gorged on the choley bhature and the tea / coffee. This used to be the place of our brain storming sessions ( whatever little we had ). We used to endlessly deliberate and argue on almost all the issues under the sky, and that too only over a couple of cups of tea. Yes, that is what we all used to have in our pockets. Even then we felt we were the lords of the land. I and my other old Pilanian explained every thing in details to Meena and Anupama. It was not only to impress them for sure about the Pilani air, but also take them down the memory lanes and make them live those moments.

Meeting old friends and acquaintances :

It was for the first time that I had so much time, as earlier two odd trips were just flying visits of sorts. So, I made a point to meet all my school buddies like Gnash, now the shopkeeper in C E E R I Complex, Viru ( Virendra Gogna, fondly called as Gogi ) who is the stores in charge in B E T, and his wife. I met Anand Kumar, now a curator in a museum at Jaipur, who specially came down on my request to meet us, and his wife Sucheta and daughter. I met Babban ( Dr. Umesh Dhyani ) now a professor of humanities in B I T S, Dr. Surekha who is HOD of EEE department in BITS and Dr. Vimal who is also in BITS. I also met Dr. Arya Kumar and his wife Kusum, the Raghav & Keshav brothers and their family . The list goes endless.

In addition, yes, Bhai Saheb ( Bauji ) & Behanji cannot be missed out from any list, how so ever long it may be. Their magnetic halo just encompasses every one in their proximity. All my family members and I are privileged to have been associated for almost 6 decades now. What can I say or talk about Bauji. It would be like me trying to tell the world about the SUN. Yes, he truly has been a great source of inspiration and motivation to us all. I have yet to see and meet such a humble person and a voracious reader like him. It also applies to Behanji, the ever-smiling lady with lots of creativity in her own fields. She excelled and expressed her thoughts in weaving sweaters and carpets and cooking.

My parents and they were really members of a well-knit joint family, like the proverbial joints of FEVICOL. That rubbed on to us kids of both families also. we played, we quarreled we fought and we stayed together all these years.

We had great couple of days together during our stay at Pilani. Bauji gave us all different kinds of books and reading materials and spent hours telling the positives and negatives and the significance of the numerological birth numbers and how could we channelize our energies for a more purposeful and meaningful life. Behanji on other hand showed her skills of weaving carpets even today. I distinctly remembered how I had picked up the art of weaving carpets and navar used for making cots.

Such people, who are bundle of energy even at this age, are great fun and company. Behanji gave Meena a Carpet Piece woven by her. It was probably the loveliest gift she ever must have got. I could also meet some very old and special friends like Basantji, His brother Dinesh at Daruheda on our way back to Delhi, Sushil Somani and above all Sushil Tondon who came to Delhi station on my request and came with a huge box of cookies. The taste of those cookies is still lingering in our mouth and memory. Yes, Taste can linger in memory only.

The missing deserts:

However, we really missed out on the sand dunes and the lovely deserts of past. Viru took us to a nearby place called Zerli where we thought we could still find some sand dunes and deserts, but alas every piece of land in those deserts have been changed to either mustard farms or houses. We could not see the deserts and dunes even on our trip to Pahadi and to Shakhambari. No doubt, it is heartening to see the deserts converted in to great farms, as it is surely sign of growth and prosperity in this region also. But then Anupama and Meena will have to probably wait for couple of years till we plan our trip to interior Rajasthan, like Jaisalmer, Jodhpur etc.

A rich memory:

Finally like every good thing has to have an end, this trip too came to an end. We all have carried rich and fond memories of this trip with us, which shall remain with us forever. We have captured some of these moments in our camera. The album will help us refresh our memories as and when we scan through these captured moments.

मेरी डायरी के पन्नो से - दवे साहब की निवृत्ति

Mr. Dave and Dr. Sood are one of the oldest employees of our company. Mr. Dave happens to be the first employee of the company. Incidentally he retired on the same day when I took voluntary retirement. Surprising as it was that his length of service in the company was almost equal to my age on the day of our retirement. I mentioned so in my farewell speech and said that I felt ashamed that I was retiring at such an early age. I also said that it had much to do with the shuddh dudh and aslee ghee up bringing of Mr. Dave for the raaz ( secret ) behind his good health even at around 80 compared to my toned milk and dalda / ground oil upbringing and above all the Pitza and Burger life style, which forced me to think of my retirement as I felt tired and exhausted. I was also amazed to note that it was Mr. Dave's First and the Last service. I thought of my father who had about 35 years of service at one place and here Mr. dave had served the company for almost 55 years at a stretch. The commitment , the Loyalty of Mr. dave is really exemplary. It would sound strange and stupid to many of the generation next guys. They would simply ridicule this very idea of serving and staying put at one place. They are all on fast track roads to quick money, quick glory and success. They are exceptionally brilliant, no doubt about it, but committed to the core ?? big NO, in my opinion. Even i can not escape this blame because once upon a time even I used to think that one must change every 2 years initially and then 3 / 5 years after 40, if you want to reach the top. I used to brag about the newer heights i scaled in every change. I claimed that time that here was i , who proved the old age saying " ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MASS " wrong. How stupid I felt about my self when I saw this man sitting besides me, a totally satisfied and content person. I realized that day that money is not all in life. Today the Corporates in our country need many more Daves. Hats of to you Mr. Dave. Nerdy Nandu

From Pages of My Diary - Nandana's Birthday

Yesterday we celebrated Nandana’s first birthday at her new abode, post her marriage. It all appeared very weird to begin with, when we were the invitees there. But then gradually the reality sank in. We thoroughly enjoyed the celebrations in the evening. The Memorable Past: All the memories flew past down the memory lanes. I remembered the good old Nagpur days, where she was born ( though she took birth at Kalyan, being Meena’s House, as per our customs ). I also remembered my trip to Pilani with her, when she was barely 5, and alone with me. People in Pilani were surprised and asked how come?? I told them jokingly that she was my Priyadarshini, like Indira Gandhi was to Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, when she was young. She grew up being Priyadarshini to me in reality too. She used to take care of both of us during her pre marriage days. She used to be the stabilizing factor in all our ups and downs in life. She being the elder of the two daughters, always got preferential treatments from both of us and also from all other relatives too. In fact Sughosh and she were always treated like that , though unintentionally, almost everywhere. They both and Nandana in particular was a blue eyed kid of Shridada. Come 10th and she was off to Kirloskarwadi to pursue her higher secondary education. We took this decision most unwillingly, and out of compulsions. She made a place in the hearts of Joglekars also ( Bharati & Sudheer ). In fact that was not going to be a difficult task for her otherwise also, as they both are so very lovable couples. She grew there in stature. She passed out from there and then came to Pune to complete her engineering studies. She had a bumpy ride in her engineering college days, but it is to her credit that she could come out of it finally and with out any hiccups. Then she was back with us at Hyderabad, where she did a course in .Net and got a job in Hyderabad only, in a software company. The Glowing Present: It is here that she fell in love with Naveen and got married to him on June 6, 2008. She has managed to create a place for herself there too. She has won the hearts of her Amma and Appa besides winning her beau’s heart. We all are really proud of her upbringing. She maintains her calm and does not loose her cool, even when the going gets tough. We all just pray to god, on her first birthday post marriage, to bestow all the happiness and love in her new life too. Could We, as parents, Have Asked For Any Thing More on this very special day ?? Who Says !! God is Not There ??

New Year Wishes

The year 2008 gone by was a mix bag of joys and sorrows. We saw new records made in the sporting arena by the likes of Phelps and Bolts. Our own Abhinav Bindra wrote a new chapter in the history of Indian Olympic Quest. There were others like Vijender Singh , who missed out by a whisker. Viswanthan Anand showcased his mastery on the 64 square chequerred board by becoming the world champion in all formats of the game. Saina Nehwal raced in to the top 20 and then 10 in badminton. The IPL and ICL opened up new avenues of making fast bucks , both for the cricketers and the organisors. The fancied Team India proved for once and all that they are no more CHOKERS in the game. Sachin wrote another golden chapter and our MSD lead team rode the Ashwa Medh Ghoda in all formats of the game. ISRO’s Chandrayan kissed the surface of the moon. The Amte family known for their social works in the field of Leprosy got due recognition for carrying on with the burning torch lit by his great father. The US President elect Mr. OBAMA gave a new mantra to the citizens in US, who all chanted with him “ Yes !! We Can ”. Who could say then there were no defining moments?? Who could disagree that India was not SHINING??. And then we had 26 / 11 which left a scar on our peace loving minds. Each branch where golden birds perched “ Wo Bharat Desh Tha Mera , Jahan Daal Daal Par Sone Ki Chidiya Karti Thi Basera ” were soaked in blood. We also had a global economic melt down. No one could ever have imagined that industries in US and many other countries would require bail out packages. No one could have thought that the biggest of the big banks would tumble like pack of cards, that Oil Prices would see new lows, that the real estate prices, the air travels etc would take a beating. But then that is what exactly happened. That is what life is all about, a mixed bag of joys and sorrows. We will continue to have some shining moments some not so shining and some very dull and some filled with miseries and sadness, in the year 2009 too. So let us all cheer up and keep on collecting and treasuring each such small moment which brought cheer to us. These only will help us in getting over our moments of rough weather. Life must move on and the Show must go on. So, Let us all say “ Hip Hip Hurray 2008 ” and join me in wishing each other “ A Very Very Happy and Prosperous New Year ”