The return trip was extremely eventful to say the least.

Carrying a WL (wait list) ticket, reached the station early! Having been ordered to carry a lot a of stuff back…..had two large bags along. Negotiating with the coolie was smooth (probably because I agreed to his demands).

Went to the center to check on the ticket confirmation, since the lists were not visible anywhere. Pushing through the crowd, managed to ask, nay shout my query in gujarati, promptly came the reply in English (think this is the NRI hangover), handed over the printout & was informed C1- 64.

With coolie, bags in tow walked to the end of the station. The train pulled in right on time….and our man rushed in with the two bags. A thought at the back of my mind resurged, so looked for the list on the door, but of course there was none! The pantry attendants cheerfully told me that the lists were on the other side, since at Ahmadabad the platform was on the other side….No matter that at Baroda & all subsequent stations it was a different side. Read the rest of this entry »

“Now Investors will realise that Return OF Money is more IMPORTANT than Return ON Money”

May this festival of lights protect you & your loved ones; fulfill your wishes, dreams & ambitions; bring peace, happiness, prosperity that helps you make a bigger difference in the coming year.

Wishing you Happy Diwali & a Prosperous New Year

Happened to run in to Nanubhai on Dalal Street . He was eating Khaman Dhokla  at a farsan shop.
“Kame cho, Nanubhai?”
“Saru che.”
He was looking glum but gestured me to join him.
Nanubhai is a well-respected Dalal Street dada with an answer to every shareholder’s query. Read the rest of this entry »

Sumir Patel the man from Greece after having been caught quietly slinking in & out of Mumbai a couple of times in the last 10 months, finally decided to spend a long weekend in Mumbai. Milind was supposed to join him, but his patients & suchitra got the better of him. Though Suchitra & Milind both have promised to spend the weekend of 31st oct - 2 nov in Mumbai, God & Patients willing.

Sumir needed to attend a nice vegetarian kid’s party at Prabhadevi on Sunday 19, 2008 so planned to come in on 18th & leave on 20th. However Ajay Padhye’s presence & a promise of MNDFCK party on 17th made him change his plans. Read the rest of this entry »

On the way to Ahmedabad, took an impromptu decision to stop by Baroda. Called Dilip & Sumir from Surat. Reached Baroda late on Saturday 11, 2008.

Dilip & Sumir were meeting up with Ajay for dinner, so we called up Milind, who insisted that we meet closer to home as he was likely to get delayed; so the venue was decided as Prashant’s residence.

Whilst waiting for milind to join, we started calling up others (hoping that by Baroda standards they were not fast asleep) Tushar, Amar, Dramil, Dharmendra, Anil, so on asking them if they were free to meet up the next day at Sumir’s farm with Dramil being specifically warned not to bring his car. Read the rest of this entry »

After a long time & quite a few requests, MNDFCK an offline socio-eco-pol evening was decided. For all of you who know about it, well & good….For the others….it is a afternoon/evening meeting of people with 2 qualifications:

1) Age above 40
2) Not Technology dependent or partially challenged.

It is basically Pay as you eat or drink!

Dates – 17th October 2008

Venue – Willing don Catholic Gym with Neil kindly agreeing to sign everyone in.

Let me have AYES!!! RSVP

A deluge of mails confirming their Ayes were received & the plan was underway with Neil coordinating in Mumbai & yours truly from Baroda. Read the rest of this entry »

A good friend Anil Machado working in the Middle East shared a mail reproduced below that is doing the rounds there.

“Dear All,

Recession is coming… make your own judgment, don’t panic! Do what is
wise.

The recession looks very eminent. It is really time to take pro active
steps to avoid a painful time in the next two years which is how long
the is expected to last. Read the rest of this entry »

With time hanging on & the wife wanting some time without interference for Divali cleaning, shopping pushed me into visiting Baroda (Nay I refuse to call it Vadodara & there is no MNS there).Since I was travelling alone, decided to travel by train after a long time (7 years). Booking thru the irctc site was easy & with a confirmed ticket was all set!Reached Borivali station on a Saturday afternoon, the crowd waiting for local as well as upcountry was spilling all over.The train came in just 10 minutes late & got in. Even before I could put my bag in the rack & identify the seat, a NRI said, please sit on the other side so that I & my wife can sit together. Mind you this was not a request tone, but wearing a shorts, university T shirt & keds, with pouch hanging screaming (NRI/NRE whatever) gave him the right. Having booked my ticket, specifying a window seat, since the aisle always ensures you get banged into every couple of minutes, I respectfully declined. Immediately the NRI started speaking to his wife in Marathi (whilst I am not a complete marathi manoos, can definitely understand & make myself understood:)) “India will never change”; we should have flown; there are no manners, so on & forth. Finally in disgust, a gentleman commented that you should have flown & if you have a litany of complaints, why have you come back to India!!! Bravo….. Quiet went the couple…. Read the rest of this entry »

An extremely disappointing discussion & meeting took place today that made me recollect a thought -

“Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person, is like expecting a lion not to attack you because you are a vegetarian”