Managing Self

  Earlier Chinese migrants to India (1778) were Cantonese, who specialized in carpentry. As they made Kolkata as their home, they flourished in the business of Tea, Porcelain, and Chinese Silk. Kolkata was the hub, from where merchandise moved to England and Portugal. By 1850, Hakka Chinese from Central China arrived in Kolkata. They settled in Boubazar and Moulali. Hakka and Cantonese though both from China did not see each other eye to eye. With history of conflict in mainland China, the same was repeated here at Kolkata. Hakka Chinese could not compete with Cantonese. So, they started the business of Home cooked Chinese food (noodles). First Chinese food outlet was opened in the same building where "Tung Nam" restaurant (Tiretti) is housed at present. Chinese food was outright success. It tinkled the Indian Test Buds. Cantonese saw the opportunity in the business, by being suppliers of condiments for Chinese food. They supplied sauces for Chinese food. Soon, the cuisine wa...

Those born before millennials will vouch for the  impact that Indian Cinema made in our growing years. Going to Movie theaters, was a staple diet of entertainment for the whole family.  Arranging tickets in advance booking / standing in queue for tickets in sweltering summer/ purchasing in "Black" from touts  or else keeping good relations with Theater Managers were the few options. Men-folks used to show off their skills in arranging tickets. With tickets in place, the whole family wore its best outfit and moved to Theater hall to be ensconced in the ever capturing dark environs with tantalizing  dream-world, that was to be unveiled before them, with sequences of emotions, laughter, tension, fights and the law catching wrongdoers in the last scene.  We were thrilled to see the song sequences and the machinations of villains- how they were failed at last by the Hero.  As a child, I was amazed with few stereotypes -  a) How the song sequences appeared s...

  That day at Nagpur, one afternoon in the year, 2014, I was discussing with Shri Khishty, on a cup of tea, his feedback post his lecture session with officers of a leading Corporate in energy sector.  Mr Khishty, a sought after external faculty, with rich experience arising out of Board level assignments at the large Public Sector Corporate in India, articulated his thoughts in simple terms for the aspiring executives.  As in charge of corporate HR I used to engage with faculties, as they came out from the sessions. At that time, they were at their best of eloquent self.   Shri Khisty shared the gist of the day's discussion with participants through the prophetic lines - "I wish, Officers should exercise restraint and hold files at least, for 24 Hours at their table before onward transmission." The Backdrop for comment was a footnote story popped during his lecture, on the managerial decisions gone wrong, as seen in retrospect. Obviously, the story ended with t...