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 →
From the first train which ran on 16th April 1853 which carried 400 people from Bombay (Bori Bundar to Thane) to carrying 9.2 billion riders in 2018, the Indian Railways has come a long way. Let me not bore you with statistics - enough to say it's one of the largest in the world. Indian... Continue Reading →
The year was 2006. There was a palpable excitement in the MBA classroom of National University of Singapore where I was pursuing a Masters Degree. I asked couple of classmates what the excitement was all about. They said they were going to vote for the first time in the General Election. I was taken aback... Continue Reading →
Devan was a prodigious writer in Tamil. He wrote short stories, novels, novella, reported on World War II. He was a trend setter just like O Henry and Guy de Maupassant. He is best known for his humorous prose just like P G Wodehouse. Indira Parthasarathy a Tamil Story writer and playwright remarked, "Wodehousian characters... Continue Reading →
A typical monsoon day in Mumbai. Heavy rains were lashing the city and suburbs. I was boarding the airline's bus from the terminal to the aircraft. The driver first parked the bus near the aircraft and immediately realised that the passengers would get drenched in the rains for a second before they could get on... Continue Reading →
First let me start with a disclaimer. I am not a big fan of giving or taking gyan (advice). I shun most of the self help books right from chicken soup for your mind or habits of highly effective people and I avoid agony aunt columns like bubonic plague. All the advice I have ever... Continue Reading →
W G Grace, perhaps, was the best known Cricketer before Sir Donald Bradman decided to play the game in the backyard of his home in Adelaide as a kid. He (WG) was a great player and more importantly a popular one. He was also known for his reluctance to leave the crease when given out.... Continue Reading →
Mike Grundy, my mentor and my boss for many years and I were taking an early-morning flight many years ago. Those days, the airlines (Jet and Air India mostly) would keep a newspaper in the front pocket of each seat. Mike grabbed it, saw the name 'The Hindu' and asked me, if it was a... Continue Reading →
To Vaibhav and Saurabh, who taught me the significance of the festival and to all other friends who are celebrating the festival today. As soon as I fired my laptop yesterday, my Calendar app popped to say, Holi Holiday tomorrow. It was the first time in many years (since 1984 to be exact) no one... Continue Reading →
1990களில் நான் BetzDearborn கம்பெனியில் பணிபுரிந்த கொண்டிருந்தபோது Tony Askew நிர்வாக மேலாளராக இருந்தார் (MD). சற்று கசப்பான நகைச்சுவைக்கு பெயர் போனவர். இங்கிலாந்தில் பிறந்தவர் என்றாலும் அமெரிக்காவில் பல வருடங்கள் வசித்தவர். அதனால்தான் சற்று மெலிதான பிரிட்டிஷ் நகைசுவையை அவரிடம் பார்க்க முடியவில்லை என நினைக்கிறேன். இந்தியாவில் சில காலம் அவர் பணிபுரிந்த காலத்தில் அவரிடம் பல விஷயங்களை கற்றுக் கொண்டோம். ஒரு நாள் காலையில் அவரது அலுவலகத்தில் நுழைந்தபோது, "ரமேஷ், இந்த bollywood (ஹிந்தி)... Continue Reading →
