My dream-life is to be able to travel the world, immerse myself in new cultures and new places, and just keep going! There is so much to experience, so many countries to see, and one life-time is too short. What do I do about it? I see the expenditure in travel as another form of investment, and so am happy to spend on a vacation as much as I am…
Personal excellence
MasterChefs, winners, what makes them tick?
You can take the hotelier out of the hotel, but I don’t think you can take the hotel out of the hotelier. And so it is with me. My favourite TV shows are therefore all the Master Chefs and the MKRs and even America’s worst cooks! I can watch them endlessly, much to the disgust of my family, they insisted on having multiple TVs in the house so they don’t…
Roots aren’t pretty my sweet flowers!
‘My children are ashamed of me and my wife, they mock our English, and when we go out these days, the elder one tries to keep away’ said Shahid, my Pakistani car driver. It was to be a fairly long drive, from Norwich to London, and as is my wont, I started a conversation with him within five minutes of getting into the car. He described how he had to flee…
Knicker Bocker Glory, and lessons in motivation and management.
My friends Jo, Sadhana and I used to be regulars at the Taj Coromandel Coffee Shop and mithai shop – not to dine there, but to work. We used to be paid a princely sum of Rs 100/= for day long assignments. As students at the Hotel Management School, this was a great opportunity to work while you study, and experience the industry first hand, and of course, to earn…
Experience, or images
The highlight of our day, spent roaming from one amazing stall to another at the Dubai Shopping festival, was supposed to be the spectacular fireworks show in the night. We had heard a lot about it, and had seen photographs and videos my friend Charu had painstakingly captured for us to see. She was our host and she had planned our itinerary so meticulously, to ensure that we did not…
The dark side of funny!!
‘Wow, she is so fair, now your parents have their OWN baby. Didn’t you know, they got you from the curry leaves vendor since they didn’t have a baby and wanted one’ (curry leaves vendor since curry leaves is synonymous with dark in South India!) The neighbour who said this thought it was very funny; so did my parents unfortunately…..unfortunately since they allowed her to repeat it often, laughed at…
Ask and ye shall receive……………
I learnt the art of asking, along with driving and I guess I received my licence for both simultaneously. I am probably better at asking than at driving, as the male chauvinists in my life would like to have me believe. Anyway, let me share the story of how I learnt to ask. In 1995, I used to commute from home to Taj Coromandel and back home in auto-rickshaws. Vexed with…
Whats your black thread?
When Ashwin was a little baby, we spent many an evening at the paediatrician’s clinic, since he was a child who fell sick very often – so often, that the paediatrician eventually because a very good friend. I remember one such evening, where we had entered his room, and were waiting for him to see us. The child before us was about 11 months old, and was sporting ugly and…
Like Pearl to an Oyster……….Uncomfortable!
‘Ouch, that hurts!’ said Ms Oyster, irritated with the tiny grit that had gotten in. To ease the pain, she made some mother-of-pearl and coated it; and continued to nurse the grit, putting a lot of her good resources into coating it with more and more layers of mother-of-pearl. Till one day, some lucky diver found her, put her out of her misery forever, and took the pearl out to…
On Choosing Excellence, Every Time!
Landing in Bangalore, after a long flight in, and an even longer day, I don’t really look forward to the drive that awaits me – two hours many a times, an hour and a half for sure most of the time. So, it is a ritual to visit the rest room to freshen up and then get out. Familiar sight in airport restrooms in India, except maybe T3 in Delhi…