Subramanian Swamy has a very justified reputation as a thinking maverick. So when TiE invited folks to join a session to hear the great man live in a Q and A session, I jumped at it. The first question put across to Swamy was what would he do if he were to be made finance … Read more

COEP 90 – Get together in 2014 Recently attended the COEP 90 batch get together in Pune. Got a call today from Nitin Gaekwad, our Mech batchmate, who could not attend because of a friend’s sickness. Nitin asked me: ‘How did the 90 batch get together go?’ ‘Paisa Wasool’ ‘Did you strike any deals?’ ‘No’ … Read more

Walked down to the railway station with Pinky. Reached in 1 hour 10 minutes. Walked across the railway tracks and went on to platform number 1. Did some fruit purchasing before getting into the compartment. Had interesting company. Lady who works with Schlumberger, along with her 7 year old kid and 20 year old nephew. … Read more

I recall more than a decade ago, I read a fascinating report “The Limits to Growth” which was published in 1972. The report was prepared by a group of MIT scientists for the research project sponsored by the “Club of Rome”, a think tank on global and environmental issues. The 1972 report highlighted the issues … Read more

The Oxford dictionary for India defines the agent as an Indian magician, who gets files cleared at sarkaari offices. Last week we tried to create magic on our own. Decided to get a learner’s driving licence for the daughter, sans this agent magician. Part 1 was simple – took about 4 hours of an online … Read more

I was raised in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana. My parents were never rich but they managed to put food on the table, after covering all expenses. All my life I was pursuing a quest to find something meaningful. But I was clueless. This lack of knowledge created fear, this fear created doubts, these doubts … Read more

Mini Menon is an army gal. She was a late kid for her parents. Her dad was already a brigadier in the army when she arrived. (He subsequently retired as a Lt General.) She grew up in Cantonment towns all over the country, before finally landing up in Delhi to pursue her bachelors in history … Read more

When do your first memories form? Difficult to say. My first memory about myself is leaving the house to attend a playgroup close to our house. Then dad plonking me on the cycle to take me to Big school. The next memory is of dad’s studying alongside us kids for his M.E. course. A career … Read more

The easiest way to not fail – is to not plan. Most of us adopt this approach for the long term. However, in the short term there are always plans: food has to be made, houses have to be cleaned, online lectures have to be attended, hobbies have to be indulged in. All this mundane … Read more

My first memory of Prof DK Joshi goes back to a Machine Design class. There were only 5 students in the huge classroom. But that did not deter Sir. What he lost in communication, he made up in enthusiasm. ‘Go back to fundamentals’ was a mantra he tried to reinforce in all of us. I … Read more