Thoughts

 On our flight back from a recent holiday, as the flight took off, water started dripping from the overhead luggage compartment.  As soon as the seat belt sign was turned off, the family sitting there checked their luggage and found out that their water bottle cap had a crack that caused the water to leak. They took out the bottle and emptied it. The crew member gave them some tissues to wipe the water. After some time as the airplane tilted a bit, the water again started dripping on the man in the front. More tissues were used to soak the water. The man was offered another seat which he declined.  As the food was being served, the family apologised to the crew member. She politely said 'Don't worry, it happens sometimes' After de-boarding, the family also apologised to the man on whom the water dripped. He too politely said 'Don't worry, it happens' No scene was created, no shouting, nobody asked for compensation, nobody making videos, no trolling. Apart from a...

 The ‘alter-tailor’ is a concept I find uniquely Indian. Near my office, there is a long row of alter-tailor shops. They have no space to operate their sewing machines inside, so the tailor often sits outside with the machine. I am always amazed by how they operate in such a tiny space. I often wonder why there is such a great demand for alter-tailors. There are three main reasons: 1. The poor quality of ready-made clothes available here. 2. The lack of multiple or accurate sizes. 3. Fluctuations in body weight or changes in measurements, which lead to clothes becoming tight or too loose. Other reasons include altering hand-me-downs or repurposing clothes—like making a pair of shorts from old trousers. I think the first two reasons are the major contributors. I’ve often visited the tailor myself: to repair unravelling seams on a shirt, shorten a new pair of trousers, or get a kurta fitted to my size, since it was only available in XL. This makes me wonder: is it a problem that read...

 "खाता पिता ढेकर देता हातखंब्याचा ब्रम्हराक्षस" किंवा "अल्लल्लाङुर्र" अशी आपली ओळख मुलांना करून देणारा हा आमचा 'बालम' काका. पण हा कधीच राक्षस वाटला नाही. सतत झाडाफुलांच्यात, मातीत काम केल्यामुळे रापलेला चेहरा आणि लाल मातीचा रंग चढलेले कपडे, कधी वाढलेली दाढी, असा उंचापुरा हा माणूस एकदम आपल्याला उचलून आपल्या पाप्या घ्यायला लागला की मुलं जरा घाबरायची. पण ओठ काढून रडायला सुरुवात करायच्या आत हा बोलायला लागला की मात्र मुलं रडणं विसरून अचंबित होत असत. गमती जमती, किस्से, झाडा फुलांची विचित्र शास्त्रीय नावं, विनोद असं काय काय सांगत तो लहान मोठ्या सगळ्यांशीच झटकन दोस्ती करून टाके.  झाडा फुलांची नर्सरी ह्यातला हा तज्ज्ञ, सतत त्याच विचारानी आणि कामानी झपाटलेला, अगदी शेवटपर्यंत. न शिकता पेटी, बासरी वाजवायचा, गायचा, अनेक भाषांत संभाषण करू शकायचा.  काही शब्द त्याच्याकडून ऐकलेले - टचाटच, डिफडिफ्रंट व्हरव्हरायटी, रत्नागिरीचा नॅशनल ड्रेस - आता आम्हीच इतके वापरतो आणि प्रत्येक वेळी त्याची आठवण काढतो. त्याच्याबद्दलच्या प्रत्येकाच्या आठवणी अनेक आहेत, त्याचे आम्ही आई बाबांकडून ऐ...

  First jobs and first jobs... 30 years ago, in March, I started my first job as a software professional at Trilogix Systems Pvt. Ltd. As I reflect on those days, I realise how lucky I was to have such colleagues, such an open and supportive work environment, and, most importantly, to have Vibhas Joshi as our CEO. To quote my husband Sumedh Karandikar, who was also my colleague at Trilogix, "𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘵 𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘹. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘰, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴. 𝘝𝘪𝘣𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘏𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬...