First impressions of Melbourne ('coz that's where I am right now): Empty (where are all the people?? Roads were deserted at 7 in the evening!!), clean and very Victorian in look and feel. Though the place where I am staying - Collins Street - is surrounded by shimmering highrises of glass and steel, mainly belonging to the endless number of banks that are present here. This has to be one extremely rich city to accomodate so many!!
This is the start of a two week vacation. Its been long overdue. You know that a break is needed when even your bosses start telling you likewise. And I know they actually like me (touch wood!!), so its not that all they really wanted was to get me out of the office.
Flew into Sydney today morning, then took a connecting flight to Melbourne. Though the Mumbai-Sydney flight was a gruelling 12 hours it went off quite painlessly. The aircraft was quite empty, so could put up the handrests and have a good lie-down at night. And Qantas has some great service!
A tip for people taking the connecting flight to Melbourne - even if your travel agent in India tells you that there has to be a 7-hour wait in Sydney, try getting the flight advanced from the Qantas counter at the Sydney domestic terminal. It worked for me - and I saved 5 hours in the process.
Tomorrow its off shopping (Tourism Victoria has booked me on the Shopping Secrets Tour) and then a visit to the famed Melbourne casino at Crown Entertainment Plaza. Hope that I will win enough money to retire for life :)
August 15, 2005
August 04, 2005
Chetan Patel: A Tribute
Chetan Patel, a dynamic, hardworking young guy in his late 20s, on the fast track to corporate success and greatly looking forward to his upcoming wedding in December, passed away today morning.
Who was Chetan Patel? Chetan was a part of ICICI Bank at the Nariman Point branch. Those of you who ever came across him would remember him as a vibrant, full-of-life guy who looked after his private banking customers with a devotion that made you want to rob the bank, steal Rs. 5,00,000 and put it in your account just to have him as your relationship manager. And he went out of his way to help anyone he could. His last promotion, which put him in the top leagues, came just a couple of months ago. This, combined with his upcoming wedding had him ecstatic and seemed the perfect validation that good guys do get everything they desire! So popular was he that his promotion had all the corporate big guns calling to congratulate him – not as part of their PR exercise, but just because he had that kind of impact on people where you wanted to wish him well!
I also did not know Chetan all that well - he was my father's relationship manager, but as I said, so infectious was his personality that you could not help but be drawn into his sphere! Even though I was not his customer, he always went out of his way to help me.
All this was till today morning, when Chetan became just another statistic in Bombay’s long monsoon drama. The sequence of events is unclear, but it seems that he was a casualty of the Bombay rains. He became part of the horror that descended upon thousands in the city….exposure to the elements, leading to what seemed to be a combination of malaria and influenza, and which later turned out to be dengue and then having to live through all the sickness without electricity and water. But there was never any indication that things would take this turn. In fact, just day before, he was telling my dad about all the piled up work he would have to tackle in office on Monday, when he would rejoin!
Never thought I would say this, but at this moment I hate the rains. They have wasted too many lives at one stroke. I cant stop thinking of his young fiance, whose world must be shattered. And his parents...when one person dies, so many others are ruined in his wake.
Dear Chetan, I know you will never read these words, but I still wanted to say this...you touched many, many lives and will always live on through them always! May your family have the courage to see them through this difficult time. I know they will never get over it, but maybe in time the pain shall become a little more bearable and they shall be able to look back on the good days and be thankful that they had you in their midst, even if for a few short years.
May your sould rest in peace.
Who was Chetan Patel? Chetan was a part of ICICI Bank at the Nariman Point branch. Those of you who ever came across him would remember him as a vibrant, full-of-life guy who looked after his private banking customers with a devotion that made you want to rob the bank, steal Rs. 5,00,000 and put it in your account just to have him as your relationship manager. And he went out of his way to help anyone he could. His last promotion, which put him in the top leagues, came just a couple of months ago. This, combined with his upcoming wedding had him ecstatic and seemed the perfect validation that good guys do get everything they desire! So popular was he that his promotion had all the corporate big guns calling to congratulate him – not as part of their PR exercise, but just because he had that kind of impact on people where you wanted to wish him well!
I also did not know Chetan all that well - he was my father's relationship manager, but as I said, so infectious was his personality that you could not help but be drawn into his sphere! Even though I was not his customer, he always went out of his way to help me.
All this was till today morning, when Chetan became just another statistic in Bombay’s long monsoon drama. The sequence of events is unclear, but it seems that he was a casualty of the Bombay rains. He became part of the horror that descended upon thousands in the city….exposure to the elements, leading to what seemed to be a combination of malaria and influenza, and which later turned out to be dengue and then having to live through all the sickness without electricity and water. But there was never any indication that things would take this turn. In fact, just day before, he was telling my dad about all the piled up work he would have to tackle in office on Monday, when he would rejoin!
Never thought I would say this, but at this moment I hate the rains. They have wasted too many lives at one stroke. I cant stop thinking of his young fiance, whose world must be shattered. And his parents...when one person dies, so many others are ruined in his wake.
Dear Chetan, I know you will never read these words, but I still wanted to say this...you touched many, many lives and will always live on through them always! May your family have the courage to see them through this difficult time. I know they will never get over it, but maybe in time the pain shall become a little more bearable and they shall be able to look back on the good days and be thankful that they had you in their midst, even if for a few short years.
May your sould rest in peace.
August 02, 2005
Natural disasters are God's way of telling us that, boss, whatever you might do, the day I decide to teach you a lesson, you will jolly well sit down and listen to me!! And nowhere is this more true than in Bombay - its finally official that part of the reason for Bombay suffering such widespread devastation in the continuing rain story, is that we have snatched acres away from all the catchment areas to reclaim land and build more apartment blocks and buildings, leaving no place for excess rainwater to drain; have cut down mangrove forests, thereby removing the city's natural barriers against the elements; and in general, created such a congested city with every inch being built-up, narrow roads and antique drainage systems, that such a tragedy was simply waiting to happen.
Nature also happens to be the greatest leveller - in the last few days, it really did not matter whether you were a slum-dweller, an office executive, head of a huge business empire or a sparkling Bollywood star. Everybody was stuck on the road as equals....Aamir Khan, Nita Ambani, John Abraham, Rani Mukherjee....these are some of the big names who just had to live it out on the roads like everybody else. In other times, maybe an ultra-rich industrilaist like Nita Ambani would have pressed the buttons on her cell phone and called in her helicopter to lift her out of the mess...but what to do when cell phones are not working and the choppers simply cant take to the skies??
Although, have to give kudos to Nita...when she found out that her school kids (she runs Dhirubai Ambani International in Bandra) were likely to get stuck in the traffic jams, she rushed her commandoes to retrieve them and put them up in an extremely comfy hotel. She herself left the safety of her plush mansion at the height of the downpour to rush to their aid, and was consequently stuck in Mahim till the wee hours of the morning. There are few who would be so dedicated!
Nature also happens to be the greatest leveller - in the last few days, it really did not matter whether you were a slum-dweller, an office executive, head of a huge business empire or a sparkling Bollywood star. Everybody was stuck on the road as equals....Aamir Khan, Nita Ambani, John Abraham, Rani Mukherjee....these are some of the big names who just had to live it out on the roads like everybody else. In other times, maybe an ultra-rich industrilaist like Nita Ambani would have pressed the buttons on her cell phone and called in her helicopter to lift her out of the mess...but what to do when cell phones are not working and the choppers simply cant take to the skies??
Although, have to give kudos to Nita...when she found out that her school kids (she runs Dhirubai Ambani International in Bandra) were likely to get stuck in the traffic jams, she rushed her commandoes to retrieve them and put them up in an extremely comfy hotel. She herself left the safety of her plush mansion at the height of the downpour to rush to their aid, and was consequently stuck in Mahim till the wee hours of the morning. There are few who would be so dedicated!
August 01, 2005
Bombay helpline numbers
Rediff has compiled a great list of Helpline numbers for Mumbai. I suggest you take printouts and keep them in a couple of easily accessible places around your house, office and vehicle...never know when you might need them!
Bombay needs a break!!
ok...this is getting really old now. This is the 6th day that the entire city has been practically shut down due to rains and their attendant problems. While it was fun and adventurous till yesterday (mostly because I was one of the fortunate ones who did not get stuck outside on the roads or in the office), now its feeling like you are under imprisonment - cant step out of the house, phone connections are erratcic so cant talk to people, house keeps getting flooded (I am on the 19th floor, but the rain pressure is so heavy that the windows cant seem to keep them out), no food supplies coming in and office work coming to a total standstill. The last is particulary worrying because I have to leave for Australia in under two weeks now, and have to close this month's issues before I leave :(
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