Wit Wisdom and Whoop

Those were the days when we had no TV, no close ups, no replays. Radio commentary was all that we had and we spent hours twiddling the old tubed radio trying to find that exact point where we could hear the commentary from some far off land. That half the days match would be lost in twiddling/tuning the radio is another story. Thanks to the time difference we woke up at unearthly times to listen to what was happening, who won the toss and so on. In the deathly silence of the night the loud HISSSSSSSS of the radio invariably woke someone or other who roundly cursed you before getting up to go to the toilet and then cursed you again for having woken them fully now. Depending upon how much they liked cricket, they asked "who won the toss?" after all the cursing. John Arlott, Suresh Saraiya, Tony Cozier, Narottam Puri, Jayasimha, Richie Benaud, Henry Blofeld,  are some names that readily come to the mind. Suresh Saraiya with his impeccable english always called players by their ...

Circa 1971, I was about 11 years old and my father commented to me - "Look Vishwanath has scored a century". I replied - "So what, who cares". I got belted for that comment since my father felt that being abreast of current affairs was crucial for success in life and my arrogance did not exactly meet his approval. Soon I was made to join Ramakrishna Ashram in Mysore where we were exposed to all games like Football, Hockey, Cricket, Basketball, Shuttle and we had to play all the games. Now cricket had advantages that the others did not have. In every other game I had to run, play, be on the move all the time but in cricket unless I was batting or bowling I could safely stand in deep third man or deep fine leg and could watch the game unless some idiot actually hit the ball towards me. Thus was born the love for cricket. By the time the Indian team returned from its victorious tour of England and West Indies in 1971, I was a semi expert and ready to follow every g...

My daughter who has been threatening to start a blog since long is yet to start one but does post on Facebook her thoughts. Her latest I share below. AUTO RANI :- As I travelled back home today in Singapore’s incredibly efficient metro, I felt a pang of homesickness as I watched everyone around me staring into their iPhones, oblivious to the sea of humanity surrounding them. At that moment I realized that what I really missed was the great amount of human interaction that travelling in Bangalore involves – especially my hour long auto rides back home from work every day. Though Bangalore’s auto drivers have often been portrayed as villains meandering Bangalore’s streets, I have a very different opinion and recall my encounters with them rather fondly. Every evening I hailed an auto in front of Forum in Koramangala, and residing in an obscure part of Bangalore meant that it wasn’t always easy to get a ride. One rainy, lovely day in Bangalore I was unsuccessful in getting an...

Having stayed in Gujarat initially as a student for 2 years and then worked for 3 years way back in the mid eighties I can claim some knowledge and understanding of the state and its people. The first thing that stuck me when I started working was not just the friendly demeanour or excellent relationships that people forged easily  or even the tasty food, but the remarkable work ethic from a business point of view. I have interacted with many other people across the country but I think I would  not be wrong if I say that the Gujarati citizen is unique. There is none like him when it comes to business acumen. So much so that even the government babu who elsewhere behaves differently is also unique. Just to share a few anecdotes. I needed a driving license and that too in 1 day since the next day by 730 AM I was boarding a train back home. Got hold of a agent to help me and within a few hours he literally carried me from table to table and got every formality completed...

True to my nature I jumped on the blog bandwagon way back in 2008 but somehow did not keep plugging in. Now 5 years later thanks to a dear friend Shankarnarayanan I was once again nudged into coming back here. So before I once again start writing, I felt a short introduction about myself is in order. So here it is.  An Engineer and an MBA, seasoned professional with about 30 years work experience. I am someone who likes to stay abreast of developments in various fields especially in what I call personal technology like mobiles, computers, internet, etc where tools & doors like Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Linkedin, other resources etc give you a window to the world. It helps me stay connected with a changing world and hopefully mentally agile and active. As an educated Indian while I have many interests, politics and current affairs, understanding global economics, strategic management are subjects that I especially connect with. In a changing world especially in a country like In...