Does Corona virus have a fascination for festivals? As we approach the festival season comprising Christmas and New Year, Covid has raised its ugly head once again and is reportedly causing havoc in China. It’s also spreading rapidly in a few other countries, more particularly US. Indian Government has already issued advisory regarding wearing of masks in crowded places!

Like I did for Diwali, I was planning to celebrate this festive season also with a series of feel good blogs, but this news of COVID spreading thick and fast and new Covid mutant strain BF-7 having already reached India has dampened my spirits a wee bit. I hope the joy of Christmas, prayers offered during the Christmas masses and anticipation of a happier, more prosperous new year, will reignite my sagging spirits and that of my fellow citizens too !

Santas are greeting children with sackful of goodies,

Laden are Christmas tress too with them and spreading light;

Let Covid not dampen the spirit of this festive season,

Let’s mask up, wash hands, stay safe and be ready for another fight!

FIFA World Cup 2022 came to a thrilling end with a cracker of the final match between Argentina and France. The match had so many swings and so much uncertainty that it almost looked like a suspense thriller.

The first half belonged to Argentina and they virtually toyed with the French outfit, scoring two goals in the process. Second half witnessed a transformed France team that played with a lot more purpose. Of course, Argentina’s change of strategy from all out attack to part defence also contributed to French revival and they equalised the score.

Extra time continued to witness a thrilling game of soccer with both the teams scoring one goal each, leading to penalties.

Rest, as they say, was the history with Argentinian goal keeper stopping two penalties and Argentina winning their third World Cup.

Of course, it was a fitting tribute to the Greatest of All Time ( GOAT), Lionel Messi, who was magical and inspiration for the entire team. This could be his last World Cup as he’d be close to 40 by the time next tournament happens, too old an age for the modern game of soccer that requires lightning speed and supreme fitness. But Messi couldn’t have dreamt of a better swan song World Cup. In the process, he set so many personal records that would be difficult to be surpassed anytime too soon.

The blog will be incomplete without the mention of GOAT in the making Mbappe, who played mesmerising football and with his never say dying spirit, almost spoilt Argentina’s and Messi’s party! Hopefully, we shall see more of him in club games and future World Cup games.

And Qatar, a tiny country of 2.7 million people, has emerged as a world power given its organisational ability and very high standards of sporting facilities and that too without compromising on Islamic requirements.

It was a festival lasting a month and there’s going to be a long wait of 4 years till the next edition. But FIFA 2022 will remain etched in the memories of football lovers for a phenomenon named Messi!

Let’s salute this GOAT!

My driver has been with me for more than two decades and is now like a family member.

When I had more than 6 months to superannuate, I had alerted him about the need to find a new job for himself. For one, I had no intention of picking up any job post retirement, had plans to swich over to smaller, fully automatic vehicle that’s easier to self drive and was already pretty used to using Ola/Uber, whenever he was not around.

In spite of our warning or alert in advance, I saw him making no effort towards finding a new job. Whenever we coerced him, his standard refrain was that as long as he was in our service, nobody would offer him a job as everyone required a driver with immediate availability. Also, due to his long association with us and regular annual increments, his salary had increased substantially in comparison to the one he was hired on and such a high salary was not available in the market, especially as he had aged also over a period of time and was already 50! Most importantly, he owed us money that was deducted from his monthly salary, something that he feared he might not be able to honour out of lower salary! Lastly, his two sons were at a very critical juncture of their scholastic life and he could ill afford a dry month when he had no earning!

When I returned from office for one last time on the day of my superannuation, there was perceptible tension on his face. However, I and my wife had already decided that looking to our comfortable finances post retirement and the very need to support an old loyalist who gave his best years and efforts to us, at this critical juncture of his life, we would continue with him. The happiness and relief on his face upon knowing our decision is something that I would carry with me all my life!

This real life incident is in fact in continuation to my earlier article on the HR practices in organisations, wherein I had discussed the trauma being faced by employees who face severance under a retirement option. This purportedly happens as some of the on roll staff become redundant as their skills are no longer required or on such other similar grounds. While as HR experts we can talk about the need for people with better skills, management education, more energy , offering flexibility of options etc and continue with the churning, I think we need a social support system that takes care of all such people that are affected by such circumstances at an age when it’s too early to hang the boots and too late to start afresh! I don’t want to sound very charitable by showcasing my personal experience with my driver, but all of us, including the organisations, need to brainstorm about balancing the extreme professionalism with some humanitarianism.

Our neighbour in the North and East persists with its aggressive posture that’s basically aimed at making it to be the most dominating power in the world. And whether it was Galwan earlier or Tawang now, our bravehearts are always there to protect India’s sovereignty, notwithstanding risk to their own lives. Someone has posted on Linked a video that’s purportedly covering the day before yesterday’s skirmish between the two forces. Expectedly, it has attracted attention of everyone and comments are mostly patriotic.

My firm view is that in the matters of the National security and those concerning acts by our armed forces, we should avoid creating controversies and instead stand behind them and our Government wholeheartedly and unquestioningly. In such matters, we should not allow our idiosyncrasies to come in the way and exhibit patriotism as “ One Indian”. We shall all survive and flourish if our nation is secured and strong.

Salute to our brave hearts guarding our borders on all the fronts against very aggressive neighbours and terrorists! Our thoughts are always with them whether action happens in Kargil, Galwan or Tawang!

Jai Hind! 

At the beginning of the tournament, soccer fans were betting on Argentina, Brazil, England and France to be the likely top 4 teams with one Latin American and one European team to be playing the finals for the coveted cup. Alas, the fans and experts were only 50% right and only Argentina and France could make it to the last 4, other 2 being absolute dark horses – Croatia and Morocco. No body could have in his or her wildest dreams thought of Morocco or Croatia making it thus far!

And look at the GOATs – Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and Neymar of Brazil, who were expected to win laurels for themselves and their respective country! Luckily another GOAT, Lionel Messi is still in the fray to achieving lasting glory for himself as also his country.

The tournament has thrown up new icons and new heroes – Mordic, Mbappe, Boufal, Hakimi, the names that were relatively unknown before the start of the tournament.

Semifinals are commencing now and while the general expectation is Argentina vs France final, going by the trend so far, any other permutation is possible, the most astonishing would be a Croatia vs Morocco final. Morocco has already won the laurels by being the first African team to have reached so far.

I have always heard that cricket is the game of glorious uncertainties. What about soccer?

Had I not superannuated, I would have completed 28 years in Axis Bank today. I joined Axis Bank, then known as UTI Bank on 5/12/94. At that time, it had just two branches – the first one at Ahmedabad that was inaugurated by Dr Manmohan Singh the then Finance Minister of India on 2nd April 1994 and the second one at Fort, Mumbai that had started operating just a few days back in the last week of November 1994. The central office at Cuffe Parade had just one small portion functional, the rest of the premises being under civil work.

I was fortunate to be part of the journey that saw Axis Bank getting transformed from humble beginnings to a financial conglomerate and a behemoth that it is today!

Therefore, 5th December will always remain a very special date for me and while my journey at Axis might have come to an end, I have no doubt that Axis will continue its great journey ahead, growing from strength to strength and celebrating many jubilees in the process.

All the best to the team at Axis Bank.

Ukraine is putting up a brave resistance against the mighty Russian military power. When the entire world seems to be in recession and facing unprecedented inflation, India, which has already become 5th largest economy in the world, is comparatively much stabler and safer. We witnessed some super display in T20 world cup tournament concluded recently by minnows like Afghanistan and Ireland. And look what’s happening in World Cup soccer! Mighty Germany, the pre tournament favourites, is already knocked out, not being able to make it to quarter finals,; ditto Belgium, another soccer powerhouse. In fact, the balance seems to be shifting from South America and Europe to Africa and Asia. What high quality football is being played by Asian powers – Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia and African nations – Morocco and Senegal!

What the above shows is that the world is changing and there are no clear winners in any field – politics, trade, sports, arms, development etc. in fact, everything is in grey zone and there’s no clear black or white! In such a rapidly changing world, nobody can afford to remain smug or complacent but make continuous efforts . The learning is that whether it’s a nation, city or any individual – all need to keep on evolving and improving as only the best will succeed in the long run!

In the year 1977, a Hindi movie attracted the attention of cinema lovers due to its unique content. The main protagonist, Sanjeev Kumar, had sakshatkar (realisation in person) of Lord Krishna and the movie had some very interesting conversations between the lord and his subject. While Sanjeev Kumar had already established himself as a thespian by then, cinema goers, in particular, loved this slim, soft spoken actor, who essayed the role of Lord Krishna, with the perpetual look of divinity on his face. He was none other than Vikram Gokhale,

As per newspapers, his first Hindi movie was Parwana, a thriller starring Amitabh in his early days. And he continued his long innings in Hindi as well as Marathi cinema by playing number of characters, all with aplomb and conviction. He was also associated with Marathi theatre.

He breathed his last in Pune on Friday, but he’d be remembered by cinema lovers for his contribution that was varied and significant.

Rest in peace Vikram Gokhale.

When one feels short on inspiration, Mahatria’s thoughts come handy. Received today morning the following:

Renunciation is metaphorically similar to that of a man climbing a ladder.

He steps off the lower rungs of the ladder because of his inclination to step into the higher rungs.

He is not giving up the lower rungs.

He is, as a matter of fact, going up to the higher rungs.

And we shamelessly preach renunciation to our elders as giving up of all worldly things and indulgence in prayers and kirtans. Why our septuagenarian, octogenarian and even nonagenarian parents can’t enjoy a movie at multiplex, a dinner at a sit in restaurant or a drink, if they so desire? Why renunciation is confused with leaving all worldly things rather than enjoying everything albeit without attachment to such things.

I like Mahatria because his thoughts are evolved and not cliched.

So we have a new T20 cricket world champion in England, who lost their league match to lowly ranked Ireland. Other finalist Pakistan started even more pathetically losing the first two close games to arch rival India and Zimbabwe. Favourites India lost to South Africa and just about managed to scrape through Bangladesh. Cricketing minnows such as Netherlands, Afghanistan, Ireland troubled the big teams.

One thing is clear from the World Cup fixtures this year that there’s no first among equals and on their day, any team can defeat any other team. Some look strong on paper, other appears tough mentally. Some bat deep, while some other has deadly bowling attack. But there’s no clear favourite in this clamour and while some of the established cricketing nations like Srilanka and West Indies have already apparently hit a nadir, many of the emerging teams are going to throw their gauntlet as serious contenders.

European nations such as Germany, Holland, Spain, Poland started playing hockey much later but along with Australia, these countries seem to be lording over hockey supremacy that was once the domain of Asian countries India, Pakistan and Malaysia. Let’s strategise and work harder to protect our cricketing domain. 130 crore cricket loving Indians deserve a better show by their beloved Team India that needs to be more predictable and consistent. While they played superlatively well against Pakistan, their meek surrender to England in semis was rather heart wrenching!

Till the next edition, let’s plug our loopholes!