As is commonly said, learning is a lifelong journey and we continue to experience new things as we move ahead in life.

Destination wedding of an old friend’s daughter broke two common myths –

(1) Myth no 1- All Indian marriages happen as per IST. Here, it was a destination wedding and while the bride’s side came all the way from a long distance, the groom’s side, in spite of being based locally, also chose to move to the same hotel. With the both the families and their relatives co-located, it should have been recipe for time going for a toss! But the things moved with clockwise precision, with each ceremony happening as per the schedule. In one classic instance, when the previous ceremony was slightly delayed, the bride and the groom came for the next ceremony in the same attire and with the same make up. This is something very rare in today’s world of showbiz.

(2) Myth no.2 – There’s no party without alcohol. Not only both the sides, youngsters included, danced non stop, there was an after event for the youngsters where they danced to the tunes belted out by the DJ till wee hours of the morning. This was very refreshing. If a few were served alcohol in their rooms , I am not aware, but the entire marriage comprising several events and ceremonies was bereft of any alcohol.

Kudos to both the families for breaking certain age old myths there are commonly associated with the great Indian weddings!

Our neighbouring country, not  known more for many progressive activities , has done something that may be worth emulating. As per reports on social media, under an intensive weeklong traffic drive in the city of Lahore, the authorities challaned 55 lakh violators, earning in the process a sizeable amount of PKR 300 crore. The numbers are mind boggling and are also reflective of the depth of the malaise. The report further says that the drive  is proving to be seemingly effective, even if temporarily.

We do come across such drives in our cities, but their deterrence for repeat as well as new offenders is low, if not altogether futile. How come in a city like Mumbai, years of convincing and penalising two wheeler drivers has not ensured 100% compliance for wearing helmets? In spite of several serious incidents of deaths and grievous injuries due to wrong side driving, why we are not able to stop such offenders? Why after so many years of little success in preventing signal violation, we have not been able to instal CCTVs, especially on important crossings? Why are the two wheelers outside the purview even if caught on CCTV for signal violation? Why can’t temporary personnel be deployed at every intersection where the “ right to cross first” results in massive jams? How the unauthorised parking and unauthorised pavement vendors be provided alternative spaces so that they don’t clog the traffic? 

Traffic management is not a one-off problem, but the one that has emerged a major issue relating to urban planning. The chaos on the road, apart from being a major nuisance has several social and economic consequences- road rage, fuel consumption, pollution etc. 

Incidentally, the above social media report also refreshed another post in my mind that I had penned a few days ago in connection with this “ten minutes assured delivery menace.” I wonder how will these delivery personnel fare if an intensive traffic drive like the one undertaken by our neighbour, is followed here too? In fact, one development aftermath the aforesaid post ( I am sure as an unrelated development ) has been inclusion of our more commodities under “ ten minutes delivery” category! 

It’s high time authorities bestow their serious attention to traffic management, which may simply be impossible without using technology. 

We celebrate passing of another year and arrival of the new year. However, we need to promise ourselves a life that’s beneficial for others apart from for us and our immediate families. 

We should make good the regret, if any, for having missed out on something that we should have done in 2024 and ensure that we tick mark all the agenda items that we set for 2025. 

While age is a number that automatically changes with the change in the calendar and is therefore, involuntary, the changes that we are volunteering to bring in ourselves for our betterment are more important. 

Let’s contribute to a world thats’s cleaner, greener, more peaceful and better place to live in. 

All the above and many more such ideas come to my mind as we prepare to wish 2024 bye-bye and enthusiastically welcome the new year 2025. 

 India has lost two of its diamonds in quick succession. First it was tabla virtuoso, an artist par excellence, a born genius and a goodwill ambassador of Indian classical music Ustad Zakir Hussain, who bade adieu to this world, leaving the Indian music scene poorer by several notches. His death in US was most unexpected  and sudden that left his millions of admirers and the connoisseurs of pure music stunned.

Yesterday, the architect of financial reforms of 1991, an economist par excellence, a scholar and a politician, the likes of which are much required today when the sanity is a much desired requirement in public life, Dr Manmohan Singh breathed his last. 

The common between both the above persons was their gentlemanliness that went much beyond their mastery in their respective fields – music and economics. They were humility personified, of balanced temperament, humble in spite of being super successful and true representatives of what India and its culture is all about. 

There’s no superlatives in this world. There will be more incisive economists and more talented musicians. But someone as talented as them and yet so much rooted to the ground is a rarity and for reemergence of such persons, we may have to wait , may be for infinitely long period. 

Festive spirit is nothing but a diversion from the daily rut and grind by celebrating the occasion by meeting people, wishing them, wearing good clothes and eating yummy food. The underlying message in all the major festivals is one of peace, prosperity and general bonhomie amongst the people. This spirit is slightly more prominent on the eve of Christmas, it being a global festival, celebrated across the geographies. 

Recently, I came across an article in which how the local colour is given to the traditions associated with Christmas made up for an interesting reading. And this happens in my daughter’s household in South Africa, where Christmas is celebrated with great enthusiasm and preparation is done for the festival well in advance. My young grand kids take out the Christmas tree and other decorations ( kept in the attic after Diwali) and decorate it to the best of their ability. 1000 odd houses within the estate that she lives in, participate in the contest that awards the “ best decorated house.” The usual traditional Christmas fare roast turkey, caramel pudding, cranberry sauce etc are generously interspersed with our own fares such as biryani and butter chicken. Christmas carols are played on the sound system in addition to the usual religious chanting played and a lamp that’s daily lighted and kept in the temple has added significance of celebrating Christ’s arrival in this world. 

And why go so far to South Africa, India, the land where all religions and faiths prosper, wears bridal look with markets, malls and houses decorated and Santas adding to the fervour by distributing sweets and toys to children. 

But our heart should also go out to people and more particularly children in war torn countries – Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Ukraine, those in terrorist infested territories and in general all those  deprived of the basic needs of food, shelter and education. Right now peace in the world is the top priority followed by hunger, medical facilities and education that all children and in general all occupants of this planet deserve. To say it in a rhyming carol on the eve of Christmas:

Christmas trees are decorated and socks are hung on them,

Santa will come riding on his sleigh at midnight and fill them.

Finest wines and liquor will be served to the sounds of cheer and toast

And tables will be laid with all the goodies and the traditional turkey roast. 

Those who can’t put up trees or have well laid out tables with no roast but only its whiff;

Let’s pray to the lord to better their fortunes with which they’re seemingly having a tiff! 

Merry Christmas ! 

Occasionally, I have the privilege of listening to the discourse by His Grace Ramrupa Prabhuji of ISKCON, who is periodically invited by an ISKCON devotee in our building. Prabhuji’s discourses are unique and highly inspiring for he intersperses his discourse from Bhagvad with relevant incidents from our Puranas and interprets them for real life situations. What l look for in his messages is the practical wisdom that can be applied in our day to day lives to better our existence. 

He narrated the mythological story of Dhruva, who’s advised by his step mother to seek God ( Narayana) and take rebirth from her womb to be eligible for being heir to his father’s throne and his affection. 5 years old Dhruva goes to forest to seek Narayana, where he meets Narad Muni, who advises the young boy to recite a mantra and seek Narayana with pure heart. Happy with his devotion, Lord blesses Dhruva to seek whatever he wants and he asks to rule a kingdom that’s larger than Brahma’s. 

To cut a long story short, his ambition is large, rather the largest, but he’s not seeking it through a backdoor or short cut, but by treading on the path of Dharma or truth. Management lesson here is that there’s no short cut to success. Also, it’s alright to aspire for the moon but the journey towards goal must be on a righteous path. 

Boarded a Mumbai local after a long time equipped with newspapers and pen to solve the crosswords and puzzles and while certain things such as rush, punctuality, efficiency remain unchanged, two significant changes are very visible:

(1) The mandatory fourth seat in a second class meant for three is no longer mandatory, but discretionary, depending on the existing lot occupying the seat. Seeing your age or condition, they may accommodate you as the 4th occupant, but you can’t enforce any right.

(2) No one is seen reading a magazine , a newspaper or a book or even chatting with a fellow passenger and each passenger can be seen surfing on his or her mobile phone – watching reels, videos, movies or chatting or talking  on WhatsApp! Obviously, as no one reads any published material, the railway platforms that used to be replete with book stalls and newspaper vendors are now totally missing there from and only major stations may have an odd newspaper kiosk. I was clearly an odd man out in the entire compartment. 

I recollect the good old days, when I would buy couple of newspapers from Andheri and an evening publication from Churchgate and would find almost every other passenger either reading or talking to a fellow passenger. Reading was informative, but that purpose from published materials is now no longer their  exclusive domain as apps on our smartphones keep us updated on world events virtually on real time basis. But other virtues of reading – improvement of our linguistic skills, enrichment of vocabulary, learning new expressions etc are now amiss , especially in the users of what’s popularly known as internet lingo! We are gaining information, knowledge, smartness, agility, ease of usage etc from our smartphones but losing out on social etiquette, good conversations, floral language and above all interpersonal connect ! 

 Very soon, we shall bid adieu to 2024 and welcome the new year 2025. While there will be round up of all the major events that happened around the world, the commentators will also lay down their expectations from 2025. 

But at the individual level, it’s about the personal resolutions- review of the resolutions made on the eve of 2024 and the resolutions to be adopted during 2025.

An article published in the Reader’s Digest December issue makes a mention of a survey from ForbesHealth/One Poll, the most popular New Year’s resolution for 2024 was to improve fitness and another top choice was making more time for loved ones. 

The above encouraged me to write this post as both the top resolution choices of 2024 roughly belong to the category that’s much in discussion here in India – work life balance. And this has not to be an annual resolution, but a way of life for which, organisations as well as their employees must work together. 

Sent from my iPhone

Tweet others as you want to be tweeted. The new take on the age old saying is very pertinent as it throws open an entirely fresh perspective without diluting the original connotation. 

It is indeed true that much of the social media, more pronouncedly Twitter, now renamed as X, is being used for trolling and spreading hatred and animosity, instead of sharing useful information or creating happy scenarios. Whether it’s to do with any movie or its stars, sports and sportspersons, leaders or their statements, issues- local or international, the tone and the tenor of a post, reel, story or tweet on either of Instagram, Facebook or X is usually objectionable and gruffly, if not altogether rude and unparliamentary. Like the message of the original saying to treat others well if we expected others to treat us well, the same rule applies to our posts and tweets too. If trolling and unparliamentary language used again us hurts us, we should refrain from using the same against others. 

Let’s strive to make social media a civilised place – not necessarily a happy place, but where we air our views without hurting the sensibilities of others. 

Appreciation can be public, but criticism and reprimand ought to be private: 

As Jaipur Superfast Express chugged into Mumbai Central station that early December morning on 5/12/1994 to be precise, I was set to commence my new professional journey with all its excitement. I had already taken a short bath inside the train’s toilet and had dressed myself up to to go straight to UTI Bank’s Central office ( as the Bank and its corporate office were then known as) and report for duty. I lodged my suitcase at Mumbai Central cloakroom , hired a taxi and reached 13th Floor, Maker Tower F at around 9.30 AM. It was too early in those days when the city of Mumbai, especially its business district started late at 11 AM. 

Coming from a well established old State Bank associate to a new private sector bank with two branches ( the first one in Ahmedabad was inaugurated by the then Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on 2/4/94 and the second one at Fort had just opened a few days ago in the last week of November), Head Office under construction and a few employees trying to put some rules and regulations in place to run the bank, the true feeling was one of nervous excitement! 

From there to writing credit and merchant banking proposals  ( investments, underwriting, bankers to the issue mandate etc) in hand ( we were yet to get used to independent use of computers) to working across branches, to opening a large branch to contributing to the transformation journey towards the fag end of my career is a story that’s replete with interesting moments, anecdotes, highs, lows, struggles all told quite often and yet never failing to warm the cockles of the listener’s heart. 

While I have grown old and retired from Axis Bank ( the rechristened UTI Bank) in 2022 after being part of the evolution journey traversed by the Bank for almost 28 years from its inception in 1994, the Bank is now in the prime of its youth, transforming itself to give customers a totally refreshing experience and its competitors a run for their money. 

The above feeling of nostalgia got triggered by a mail sent by Axis Bank’s CEO ( not to me as an Ex staff or individual, but as a customer of Axis Bank), celebrating the Bank having crossed the milestone of having completed 30 years of its journey, rededicating the Bank and and its staff to the cause of customer service. As the Bank crosses more such milestones, the chest of several of us old surviving ex Axians will continue to swell with pride.  After all, seeing an organisation growing from its humble origins to becoming a conglomerate and a behemoth is once in a lifetime experience.