Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Where Bheem Sat
I met RC Sahni after decades. I had an official engagement in Bhopal so I contrived to meet both RC Sahni and Ghai separately.
At a very short notice, RC found a slot for me in his crowded calendar.
As I got ushered into his official lair, I could see the lanky lean boy moulded by intense life-experiences into a distinguished looking statesman. Public high achievements and Private pains add gravitas to ones personality. The well appointed and book-lined mahogany panelled stadium-sized chamber (as the offices of senior bureaucrats are called) could put anybody in awe - if it was not a friend occupying it. His chamber overlooks the Charles Correa designed Vidhan-Sabha - which RC showed me like an owner showing-off his pet jewel - since this project was executed under his stewardship.
Like in such gatherings after decades - we exchanged what have we been upto all these years. Being fellow government-wallahs we also had lot of career things to gossip about. RC has unstintingly helped me a lot in such matters.
The talks as usual accompanied by tea and things. Children are a topics close to heart when we meet like this. Besides our own successes/failures - paths that children take or don't take - affects us the most. We exchanged what our children are doing now. When I left after the overextended meeting - there was a large gathering of visitors waiting fretfully in the waiting room.
I then squeezed in a visit to an anthropological site 45 KMs away called Bhimbetka (= where Bheem Sat) which has ancient cave-paintings of Neolithic Man. Read about it in detail at my blog Bhimbetka.
Ghai is Director Purchasing for a Medical College start-up. He also set aside all his Purchase Orders - and selected the meeting point as a "Police Thana" near his Railway DRM's office. We went off to an Udipi-joint in view of my dietary restrictions. I had idli and he - wada/sambhar with cold-"Kaapi". Discussions were also as varied as idli-wada. It was nice to hear that his son has gone to Denton, TX for PhD - very near my son who is in Austin TX. We then talked of past. He has boldly experimented and has taken some reverses in attempted "Businesses" in his stride with aplomb. All these have not changed one bit his irreverent and bold outlook on life. I came away with a feeling of respect about the unspoken family support he must have had during such reverses - which is rare. My camera failed at this instance and the photo with him is from a mobile-phone without flash in the late evening.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Wistfully 11 years younger us!
At the Silver Jubilee gathering at IITD. Pleasures and aches are part of memories. Who could have imagined that, that smiling Ashwin Bhatia, would not be with us later?
At the Director's bungalow. Forget how we may be now looking like - imagine how must these Kids in photo be looking like now?
Subhash Kataria, Girish & Gadbad Gulati
Some More Photos Later.
PS: (The photos had to be converted to lower resolution for the web)
Girish
At the Director's bungalow. Forget how we may be now looking like - imagine how must these Kids in photo be looking like now?
Subhash Kataria, Girish & Gadbad Gulati
Some More Photos Later.
PS: (The photos had to be converted to lower resolution for the web)
Girish
Thursday, November 02, 2006
An Evening with Mrs & Mr Nirmal Singh
It was so nice of Mrs Nirmal Singh to have braved her knee pain and still commute from NJ to Manhattan to meet us. Nirmal hosted Me and my wife (Anu) at the Khyber Restaurant - which was a walking distance from our Hotel. They are a great pair. We talked of this and that. Children - their marriages. Future hopes and fears.
Indian when abroad, wistfully wait for two things - Indian Food, and water instead of Bottoms paper.
My first need so wonderfully met by Nirmal.
The second one was met only after my return to India.
If an ass could smile, it did.
To Prof Mal and all Mech'71'rs
Prof Mal ordered me to create a blog. Here it is. It will be Mech'71's blog - they will do the postings, hopefully. To start with let me add one about the nice evening I had with Nirmal Singh at NY.
Girish
Girish
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