Marrying a Nut Case

She married a nut case.
Flowing beard, large mustaches, looking like 'Haji Mastan' of 1970s.
Nomad's life.
Shifting houses every 28 days.
Relocating every few years across India.
Long separations with two kids to handle.
But she held on!
First decade, the next and the next two.

Hurray, we are Forty Two today!
By God's grace, elder's blessings and love from all, we have sailed the boat together.
Many ups and downs.
Choppy waters and storms.
Neeta and I have hung on.

You may browse the story of our 40th Anniversary here. Thanks to those who came or sent their wishes. Here is a collage created by Shilpa two year ago. Thanks Shilpa.

We pray to God to keep us together in the company of friends like you!
Thank you for being a part of our life.
Keep blessing us,

     - Neeta and Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/25th Nov 2018

Postscript: Here are some interpretations of being a 'nut' case.
Rakesh Bajaj: Continue this journey of excellence. Incidentally the mighty Oak was a Nut once.

Sudhir Tuli: Continue to be a loveable nut case!!!

Ashok Suri: Wish you both keep going nuts over each other for many more years.

Rama Moorty: Certainly Ma'am has converted the 'nut' into fully seasoned fruit who is sweetening the lives of all those coming into contact with him.

Harsha Singh:  In a nutshell, the nut case turned out to be just right for her.

Rashmi Bhargava: Nut case has hit well with bolt case.

Amarji Trainer: My wife is 6 months more than your wife, I mean marrying the Nut case

Rohini Tiwari: The nut case joke was fabulous, but I dare you to try it the other way round!

Renu Bhargava: Not knowing who married whom, wishing a very Happy Anniversary to our two friendly nuts :-)


#weddinganniversary #life #celebration #blessings #sailingtogether #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Feel the River

Rivers are life.

It signifies dynamism in life.

Life is not static.

Like the flow, our problems too will pass.

Have you 'felt' a river?

Not just the cold water.

But its flow.

Does it flow past us?

Most of us will say yes!

But it doesn't really flow past us.

Then what?

If you 'feel' it, it flows through us!

(Inspired by John Muir's famous quote).

Here is a PQ- picturesque quote- on a recent picture taken by Ghumakkad's buddy Gopu. River Manas flowing with a strong current in the background. Does the PQ appear apt?

Previous PQs on related themes are linked below:

Rivers and Rocks

Does anybody thank a dry river bed?

Be like Water

Thanks for browsing

   - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/14th November 2018

#rivers #PQ #Manas #assam #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Assam Here We Come

Assam here we come!
Who are we? Twenty four engineering graduates who became buddy-officers in the Navy 45 years ago. We are in our silver innings with balding heads and grey hair. But with God's grace, our camaraderie is still alive and strong. 

Every year we meet up with spouses and re-live the years gone by. A creaking knee or an aching back or even a stented heart, doesn't deter us from going out together. Such is the kinship. Here is how we looked 45 years ago.

As grandparents, we love narrating our tales. This post is also one such tale, rather teaser of tales to come by- but told through pictures.

A bit about Assam. Located in north-east India, it is home to the famous tea gardens. Mighty Brahmaputra is the life line. Assam is also known as Ahom as it was ruled by Ahom kings since 10th century AD. The Ahom rulers migrated to India from Thailand during the turmoil.

Coming from all parts of India- Chandigarh, Kochi, Goa, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai- We all assembled in Guwahati. Local sightseeing included the famous Kamakhya Temple and a cruise on River Brahmaputra. Pictures of these places will come in a later stories. This story is like the curtain raiser. Maps showing Guwahati and its surroundings, route to Manas and about each of us. Here we go.

So, who are the guys who came to Assam? Many could not make it due to other commitments. But they are watching from the sidelines. Eight of us who made it- in alphabetical order:

This trip has been planned by Animesh Bhowmick. Hat tip to him for immaculate research and best deals.

If you haven't read, links to some of our earlier bashes are given below:
Young graduates to younger grandparents
Life begins at Sixty
Buddies in Sixties Rock Goa
Scuba Diving at 65

Thanks for browsing,

    -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 9th Nov 18
#Navybuddies #assam #brahmaputra #kamakhya #coursemates #reunion #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb

Buddies in Sixties- What Do They Love?

What do buddies in sixties and seventies do for Diwali lunch?
They have beer.
Some more beer
They make noise. 
Lots of noise. Spouses join in too!
And?
They gobble up Kulfi! Kulfi after kulfi!
Yes, you are never too old for Kulfi.
For readers not familiar with kulfi कुल्फ़ी - it is frozen milk candy.

We had hosted a lunch for fellow BITSians at our home. Thirty odd-souls turned up and made merry. Pilani taught us team work. Therefore, we had a team game for couples. Who creates maximum smilies with given raw material- bangles, cloves, black pepper and rajma? Winners got Diwali goodies. Dress code: Ethnic.
Special thanks to Prof V Meenakshi, Faculty Coordinator, Alumni Relations and her husband Dr Aravinda Raghavan from Hyderabad campus of BITS Pilani for joining us.
The alumni ranged from the 1st batch (1964 graduate) till 2009 batch. 45 years apart- but it appeared as if we were all from the same batch!
Let the pictures do the talking.

Thanks for browsing.
Those who love kulfi- eat one more.
Those who are barred from eating sweets- share yours! 

Am also sharing below the links to earlier stories about BITS and of BITSians rocking together:
What has Changed in Pilani? And what has not!
What is so great about BITS?
BITS Alumni Global Meet
BITS 68 Conquers Kodaikanal

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 7th Nov 18/ Diwali
#Diwali #Sweets #kulfi #BITSians #BITSPilani #alumni #sixties #bondingatsixty #ghumakkadharsh #ghumakkadhb #BITSAA #seventies

Get Your Hands Dirty

'Get your hands dirty' advised Sumit Ahuja to budding entrepreneurs of Vishwa Vishwani Institute of Systems and Management (VVISM) Hyderabad. Sumit was speaking at the Annual Business Plan Contest 2018 of VVISM held on 2^nd November 2018. 

The Contest had eight finalists who presented their business idea and pitch to an external Jury. These eight Startup ideas which ranged from energy, environment, livelihoods to food sectors are listed below:

1. Stitching Dreams- Empowering rural wome
2. YUMS- Double-decker food truck
3. FITI- Counselling for 10th standard students
4. Casa de Café- Multi-themed cafe
5. Khana Khazana- Chef on call
6. Comida Food- Customised food for medical conditions
7. JSV Bijli- Generating electricity the AI way
8. Bags E-Way- Paper bags supply

These eight finalists had been selected after two rounds of pitches and Business Plan presentations. Total of 29 startup teams vied for the top slots. The whole process was spread over nine weeks of semester load. 

The finalists highlighted five points in their pitch to the Jury:

1. What do they do?
2. How do they do it?
3. Market potential and competition
4. How will the startup be monetized?
5. What is the investment needed?

The Jury comprised of three experienced entrepreneurs- Mr Sumit Ahuja has set up businesses not only in India but also in Japan and Australia. Ms Ishita Raksha and Ms Nidhi Upadhyay have co-founded a Gourmet dessert boutique in Hyderabad. 

The Jury did extensive questioning to each team which added value to the Contest. Pictures for you.

'Bags e-Way’ startup lead by Piyush Agarwal which aims to 

capitalize on Govt’s ban on plastic bags, was adjudged the winner. Team ‘FITI’ which proposed an on-line counselling service for 10^th standard in rural areas, got the runners up prize. 

The Jury were felicitated by Director VVISM.

Each of the Jury members shared their experiences as entrepreneurs. Few of their bites are given below:

The Director reinforced the need for entrepreneurship in our country which was followed up by group photographs.

By now the guests were saturated with pictures. They seemed to say 'bas karo ji' बस करो जी when the following picture was clicked:

The whole event was coordinated by PGDM students as part of the core course Entrepreneurship and Startup Management. Thank you the Class of 2019 for all the excitement! Special 'shabash' शाबाश to the organising team!

Just to recall, the readers may browse the story of the Contest-2017 by clicking the link below:

Can Startup Management be Taught?

We are also giving the links to earlier stories on Startups by Ghumakkad. Please click on any link below to read the full story.

Learning from Failures

How to Identify a Startup Opportunity?

Startup Ecosystem in India

Skateboarding for Startups

Proof of the Pudding- Inspiring Stories of Ghumakkad's Former 

Students-turned-entrepreneurs

We end with Ghumakkad's favourite quotation on entrepreneurs:

Thanks for browsing.

       -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/3rd Nov 2018

#startups #entrepreneurship #startupindia #businessplan #Bplancontest #vvism #vishwavishwani #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh