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Ranga Kanadam - an eternal Team man

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For the life of me, I cannot believe that I am writing an eulogy for my former team member, cricket teammate and a great human being, Ranga Kanadam. Was never on the radar, near or far. The call that I received while browsing at a Photography & Video event, from another former team member, Rajesh was direct and to the point that Ranga was on ventilator support ! Here was a guy who played various sports (Cricket, Golf, Badminton), had a heart of Gold and was only thinking good of everyone around him, fighting a relapsed battle of liver infection. Life is but cruel.  I recruited Ranga in the late 90s at our stint with Siemens. Here he was, a mature and confident individual who had given up a career in the States, returned home to Bangalore in order to set up and support his Brother's business and was eager to resume his IT career. There was something direct and honest about him that I didn't hesitate to rope him in.  He was very methodical about his work and we hit it off qu...
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Remembering my Brother-in-law Dr.Krishnakumar

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  The call from my sister-in-law, Geeta at 4.28 a.m on 25th Jan 2025 was brief and worrisome. "Come now, Krishnakumar has had a cardiac arrest and we are taking him to the hospital."  My mind went blank and all I could think of was :  How? Why? Can't be! I'd heard about KK from my wife, Sheila while I was getting to know her during our stint at TCS, sometime in the early 1990s. Heard tales about how KK as a student leader had gheraoed one particular senior doctor (Kuthiravattom Mental Hospital administration) to address injustice to mental patients at the hospital. This particular doctor was later to become family when he married Geeta. How he missed his newborn son, Akshay and his wife, Geeta, while pursuing his Masters in Chennai and was somehow persuaded to not drop out of the course. And about his  parents and particularly, his mother who was a rock to the family,a Teacher in her own right and who didn't hesitate to help the needy in and around Kodolipuram. Wh...
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Farewell, Mr.Patankar - our mentor, cheerleader and well wisher forever

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  The Whatsapp message on May 30 from a former Colleague brought the news of the passing away of Mr.Giridhar Patankar, the mentor and well wisher of scores of Colleagues, Vendors and Partners of the erstwhile Siemens Public Communication Networks Limited (later Noka Siemens Networks & eventually Nokia).  And to note that he passed away doing what he is known for, being physically active, on a treadmill at a ripe age of 83, in an manner of speaking, only befits his personality of never clam up and staying idle.  Mr.Patankar was your best supporter and well wisher at work or outside of it. He rarely raised his voice and his soft spoken and particularly calm behaviour with a smile that could disarm the angriest vendor or Colleague in a moment. I have probably shared the most of my business & personal life titbits with him during my work stint with Siemens. He was all ears, provding encouragement and never forced his opinion on me. He seemed to have endless patience a...
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Odisha - World Cup Hockey follower's experience

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First up, what's with this sport of Hockey? Twenty two players chasing a pimpled ball on carpeted artificial turf,  to pump that ball past a heavily padded Goalie onto the back of a net?  Or a sport that perpetuates nostalgia on a dwindling set of  Hockey-mad partisan fans in India, who can't but reminisce about the 'good old days' when India / Pakistan dominated the sport worldwide? Or, in an arguable viewpoint, one of the fastest sports to be played and with the toughest umpiring rules? Or a team sport that can expose the weakest links or  the strongest team member pretty quickly? In India, we had/have several 'pockets' of prominence in Hockey. Punjab/Haryana & extending into Delhi; Kodagu, Bangalore; the typical tribal dominated regions in Odisha and Mumbai to name a few. And over the past several years, Odisha have taken upon themselves to back this sport unquestionably. It is well documented as to how the current Odisha dispensation has not only sponsor...
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Location: Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
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My Father, my tireless & complicated Hero !

As I write this in the lounge of the Bangkok Airport waiting to board a flight to see my departed Father who lies at my Brother’s home, I’m engulfed with so many layers of memories and a number of whys & whatifs. What epitomized my Father was the extent of sacrifice he has done over the years, particularly during the formative years of my siblings & me. He borrowed /pledged money to buy up a plot of CITB land, (which in itself was re-allocated in the matter of an afternoon, due to political powers taking over the allotted land at Sadashivanagar and instead allocating it at Basaveswaranagar.) and built up a modest home with a single minded determination to put a roof over us and my extended family in my Grand mother & her son. We did not have electricity or piped water for the first 6-9 months and merrily gathered around a single petromax lamp that shed light for us to study, cook, eat & sleep. Years later, when I could reach an understandable age, I ...
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World Cup Hockey 2018 Final

Dec 16, 2018 After the one-sided Bronze medal match that brought a sense of relief to one and all when the final whistle was blown, the stadium was packed to the rafters with the spectators overflowing onto the aisles, steps and pathways. And it was not without reason. The World Cup Hockey 2018 final promised a methodical technical hockey battle between the three-time Champions, Netherlands and first-time finalist, Belgium. The Netherlands were the first on the pitch with a purposeful practice session, well ahead of the Red Lions who followed a few minutes later. Given that the Netherlands came out of a tiring but exhilarating semi final that was resolved via the sudden death, I suspect that they wanted to swipe the highs of the previous night and start with a fresh page. The Red Lions were used to many a final and stacked quite a bit of 'silver'ware. Meanwhile, the crowd snapped up glimpses of their Cricketing hero, Sachin Tendulkar in th...
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