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…
life
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…
Do as I do, or do as I say? Role-modelling and organizational culture
My little niece Prakriti and I share a special bond. I am her ‘other mom’ and she is my ‘baby’. Adulation and special bond mean she is my faithful shadow, and my little lamb whenever I am in Chennai. She follows me around, observing everything I say and do, keenly examining, and making mental notes on my clothes, jewellery, and, er……….. my footwear. It took me a while, and a…
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…
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…
I HAVE invested in Health Insurance…………..
This blog is for all my young friends and family, for their health in all respects; for the older ones, to their continued health and joy. If it speaks to you, please share it. Every financial advisor worth his salt, every column on financial planning, everyone these days drum into you that apart from the health insurance your organization offers you, you need to ensure you take one in your…
Curiosity did not kill this cat!
I am not an engineer. I did not learn to write code, learn programming languages, nothing! I do not have any kind of formal education on anything to do with technology. As a matter of fact, my first introduction to computers was when I joined, in 1990, the Hotel Management School, and had to roster my students into the practical sessions. I had to do this, to my horror, on…