Tony Askew, my super boss at BetzDearborn had an acerbic wit. Although he was British, he lived most of his life in America, and I guess, this was the reason, his humour was not the understated kind one normally sees with British people. He spent few years in India and we were fortunate to learn... Continue Reading →
Mackenna's Gold was the first Western Movie I watched, as usual with Shivaji. We were planning to watch a Tamil Movie and knew getting ticket was not going to be easy. One of Shivaji's elder brothers suggested, if we didn't get tickets, we should try Mackenna's Gold and watch out for Omar Sharif and his... Continue Reading →
Mike Grundy (my ex boss, mentor and now a friend) came up with this retort in 2002. We have set up a company in India, got all the approvals, identified the toll blender, set up the production and made our first invoice to the customer on 4th of August 2002. My enthusiasm was understandable. I... Continue Reading →
Sholay was the first movie I saw with Shivaji. OK Let me start at the beginning. The KMR family migrated to Chennai from Mahabalipuram in the summer of 1973 and we joined Anjuham High School (Vasanthy, JK and I) and Mohan joined a primary school nearby. I joined in the seventh class and soon became... Continue Reading →
Indian Railways says, in their website, "The formal inauguration ceremony was performed on 16th April 1853, when 14 railway carriages carrying about 400 guests left Bori Bunder at 3.30 pm "amidst the loud applause of a vast multitude and to the salute of 21 guns."" Thus Indian Railways has become a part of every Indian's... Continue Reading →
In the movie Die Hard 4, Bruce Willis and a young hacker arrive at the hacker's friend (Frederick "Warlock" Kaludis)'s (another hacker) house to find the location of the villain who is trying to steal the entire financial wealth of the country and download the data into his laptop. "Warlock" helps them to find the... Continue Reading →
The first advertisement we ever listened to as kids must be 'கோபால் பற்பொடி' Gopal Toothpowder ad. The ad lasted probably ten seconds with just one line. இந்தியா இலங்கை, மலேசியா சிங்கபூர் ஆகிய நாடுகளில் மக்களின் பேராதரவு பெற்ற பல்பொடி, "கோபால் பல்பொடி". "The only toothpowder which has people patronise in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Singapore is Gopal Toothpowder." This ad... Continue Reading →
In 1983, forty years and a fortnight ago, I arrived in Pune Station from Madras (now Chennai) with a suitcase (a soft luggage from VIP) and a small shoulder bag. My brother in law Venkatesh picked me up from the station and we took a local train to a distant suburb called Begdewadi. We alighted... Continue Reading →
First a Caveat. In his book 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,' considered by many as the bible on Motorcycle Travel literature, Mr. Robert Prisig writes in the introduction, "However, it should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It’s not very factual... Continue Reading →
JK sent an advertisement of a 'Two in One' (A Cassette Player and Radio for the uninitiated) last week. This ad about Bush Radio and Tape Recorder came in the late seventies and my uncle had one. This was our first exposure to songs on a tape and I have listened to Muqqadar Ka Sikandar... Continue Reading →
What makes a Sachin Tendulkar, a Ronaldo, a Tiger Woods, a Michael Jordan or a Virat Kohli look they are superhuman and the rules, the laws of physics and stress that swallows mere mortals like us in one gulp are not applicable to them? Will ponder over that in a moment. I was talking to... Continue Reading →
Biking. Adventure. Nostalgia.x 