Mallesham - Movie

Enjoyed watching. True story of a school drop out turned Padmasri award winner who invents a weaving machine.

Canteen Fundas - Just Focus on Results, No Excuses Allowed

Results vs excuses!

https://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/47935286

Desi Modern Love - Anthology Curated by Ranjani Rao and Nandini Patwardhan

The book is an anthology of seven essays/stories - all desi and modern. The anthology is curated by Ranjani Rao and Nandini Patwardhan. It is a slim book of 52 pages and a delightful read.

'Facebook Friends' by Kalpana Mohan is about a couple who find themselves caught up in extreme Facebook faceoffs - statuses, unfriending etc - until they rediscover each other off it. Very nice. 'Your Mother in Law is a Mother Too' by Chandrika Krishnan is exactly that - a reminder that your mother in law is a mother too so be pals with her. 'One Small Step for a Man, a Giant Leap for Womankind' by Surabhi Pandey is about a career woman getting married to a husband living abroad and making excuses to not join him - until it strikes her that she should honour her commitment. I liked it. It had some strong energy, honesty. 'Second Time Around' by Ranjani Rao is a delightful story of a second marriage - well written as always by Ranjani. Again, very honest, witty, full of detail and insight. 'Acceptance' by Nandini Patwardhan is about two people meeting twenty-five years after college during which time he proposed marriage and in many ways shows how much he cares for her - and how they end up being friends who make each other happy. Subtle and nice. Well written.  'Motherhood Cleaved' by Lakshmi Iyer is about a mother with adopted children who look different - Caucasian and Asian - skin, hair colour and how she copes with the differences and the underlying love. Again well written. 'What's Love Got to do With it' by Sathya Ramaganapathy is a delightful love story that plays on words from song titles - a story about a marriage that worked out really well despite her misgivings. She has a way with words, funny, light, breezy and gets the story across well.

I found it to be a very good read. The stories are interesting and written well. Impressive writing by the contributors. Well curated.

The Sunday HANS - What Do You Know About It?

IANC! And other things!

epaper.thehansindia.com/c/47898769

Anjali - It's you who's Responsible

I was telling Anjali that I wanted to finish my project by the end of 2019 but it got delayed and now further delayed and I don't know why and that I was feeling bad etc.

She looked at me straight in the eye and said 'From what i figured with my work Nanna, it's us who are responsible for things not getting done. Even if a typhoon comes we cannot blame the typhoon - we still have to finish the job ourselves.'

'And no point being harsh on yourself. Forgive yourself and move on. And finish your work.'

I couldn't say much in reply.

Mirza Rahmath Ullah Baig Sir - The Heartwarming Story of an Ailing Coach and his Students

Baig sir fell seriously ill with an auto-immune condition that manifested as mouth ulcers and soon infected the insides of his mouth, ears and eyes. For the past five weeks; he comes on the weekends to the Jaisimha Academy, I noticed his discomfort on week one, more discomfort on week two and on week three he could barely speak. I asked him what it was and he mumbled and said it was all ok and there was a doctor taking care. It sounded rather bad but I thought he had it in control. The next week he did not come to practice and the week after that I got a call from Prakash, who is as big a hero of this story as any. Now Prakash and Hemant went to train under Baig sir when they were young (a decade or so ago) and are now employed - Prakash as a software engineer and Hemant as a Commandant in the Indian Navy. Both of them adore Baig sir. Ever since Baig sir had a fall from his scooter a year ago, he has been banned from riding the scooter so Prakash it is who picks him up in his car and brings him to the academy. Prakash is a wonderful batsman - and as we realised, a wonderful human being.

Prakash, Baig sir and MSK Prasad

Well, Prakash called me and said that he got a call from Baig sir's home and that he was very unwell - not able to speak, not able to eat or drink water. He was hallucinating. There was pus coming out of the ulcers in his mouth. I told Prakash to shift him immediately to Apollo Hospitals where an ex-student of Baig sir - Dr K Hari Prasad is currently the President.  Hari was my skipper in the Under 22 tournament at Trichur in 1985 so i took the liberty of troubling him. I messaged Hari and told him of Baig sir's condition and could he help. Hari says less, does more - and he said he would. Prakash convinced Baig sir's family that no more time could be lost. After some resistance, they moved him.

Robin Uthappa, Baig sir and Prakash

After the initial examination by the doctors, Hari said that there had been a gross delay. He ensured that the best doctors took care of Baig sir. He kept an eye on the proceedings, complete with updates on Baig sir's progress every few hours. Despite the intensive care, the best medical help, Baig sir's progress was painfully slow. Even after eight days, he's still struggling, unable to take food, even speak. But he was getting better.

Prakash - The Unsung Hero of the Story
From coordinating with the family, with Hari, the doctors, with me and many more, and spending as much time as any son would with Baig sir, Prakash completely took ownership of Baig sir. He has a job at Madhapur, a young family. but any time of the day he would pick up calls, coordinate with people.

Financial Distress
After a few days, the problem of paying the bills came up - which would have at some point of time. The hospital raised a bill and some amount was paid by the family. But more bills would come and financial assistance would be needed. Worried about the financial situation Prakash and Rawat started a small WhatsApp group of Baig sir's students to raise some funds. It was a sweet gesture by them. But it was rather random group to which I had been added too, so I told them to wait until there was more clarity about the bill and the gap. It was distressing that Baig sir was in this position. While we were pondering on what to do, Prakash called me for MSK Prasad's number on Baig sir's request. Now MSK is the Chairman of Selectors and a busy man, but I am told he trained with Baig sir a lot and has high regard for him. I passed on the number, not sure where it would lead to.

VVS Laxman with Baig sir 

Now, many a cricketer, several test cricketers among them, have trained under Baig sir. One of his biggest complaints is that no one seems to recognise him. Baig sir has now coached for 50 years, and he is at the ground at 6 in the morning to 9 and then again at 3 in the evening to 6 pm. Thousands and thousands of hours of coaching youngsters irrespective of their community, caste, social standing - Baig sir's only religion was and is cricket. Everyone knows of his passion for the game, the way he coaches even at 79,  the passion that keeps him going on for hours without food even. I have seen him work with Laxman, Dravid, Uthappa at the Jaisimha Academy. I've seen the respect Kapil Dev gave him when he visited the academy.

Not many have turned back and acknowledged him, and I was not sure if anything would change now.

Mrs Baig, Baig sir, Chamundi, Gopichand and Dr. K. Hari Prasad

Enter  MSK Prasad - Fantastic Gesture
My doubts were unfounded. MSK was made of a different mettle. He immediately went to the hospital (even before I did! Shows why they are so successful) and met Baig sir. He told Prakash who was now the official representative of Baig sir, that he would do something. Without a second thought he formed a group of elite cricketers and put out a passionate request for financial assistance. And he sent the request out. Here's the request.

Dear friends this is MSK Prasad. I am really sorry that I taken the liberty to join you all for a noble and divine cause. Baig sir has served BCCI, HCA and SAI and also helped individuals like us for over 50 years with highest degree of commitment and honesty. He made an impact in majority of our lives. He has helped many cricketers who went on to play the game at the highest levels and some of them have gone on to become legendary players. Today Baig sir is struggling with his health and we have admitted him in Appolo hospitals. He has ulcers  in his mouth that went on inside till his
Chest. He is struggling to open his mouth. Doctors have done several tests including bone marrow to rule out cancer. Friends this is costing him very much which he is not able to afford. Time has come where we need to stand united as one cricketing community and show our love & respects to our Guru who is in fag end stages of his life. One helping hand from each of us will only help him in recovering and coming back to normal life. We spend lot of money to safeguard old heritage monuments . Don’t you think we should all stand united to save this grand old man who served the game for last 50 years and who is not lesser than any heritage monument in India when it comes to cricket. When we go to holy places we offer some money according to our capacities and affordability. Similarly please treat this as divine cause and contribute as per what you feel.  I will post the online personal bank account details of Baig Sir for your contribution.

Bank Details Name: Kursheed Fatima
A/C: No: 0606101560198
Canara Bank, Hyderabad Abid Road
IFSC Code: CNRB0000606
MICR Code: 500015003

MSK's Plea Goes Viral
In no time MSK's message went viral. Aiding it was an article by the redoubtable Jagannath Das in the Telangana Today about the ailing coach and his students. Suddenly cricketers from the USA, KSA (Akram Quadri called and asked how he could help) etc were enquiring about him. Azhar, the President of HCA, sanctioned 3 lakh. Prakash i was again, who took leave from work and handed over the letter to a very sympathetic secretary Vijayanand. Thanks HCA!

Enter VVS and Co
While this was going on Laxman, Dravid, MSK, Uthappa and others started sending in their contributions. Robin Uthappa visited Baig sir, then VVS Laxman. Ehtesham and I visited together. D. Suresh and Masood promised contributions. I saw R. Sridhar's message saying he will take care of the entire bill.  Arvind whose son Mohit just started training contributed his bit. Chamundi, a generous giver as any, dropped in with Pullela Gopichand and handed over a generous cheque. 'He was my only coach,' Chamundi said. 'It's the least I could do.'

Unknown, Prakash, Ehtesham and me

As the news spread, hundreds of students and trainees visited Baig sir in hospital. Prakash has been looking after him more than any son would, like a shadow, doing all the work, coordinating with everyone patiently. Prakash is the real hero of the story, just as much as Hari is for taking such good care of Baig sir, MSK is for starting the initiative and VVS is and Uthappa and Pullela Gopichand and Chamundi and Azhar and Vijayanand and HCA.

Slow but Steady Recovery
When I met Dr Hari Prasad to thank him, he told me Baig sir was now better but he may have to take medication for a while carefully. We discussed his upcoming book launch on January 24, 2020 - he wrote his autobiography and it will be very interesting to read. I gave him a copy of 50 Not Out!  I stopped to see Baig sir in his room and found that there was a peace in his eyes. The contributions apart, the recognition from his wards, the tidal wave of love and affection for their uncompromising passionate coach moved him. He held my hand and said something as I left. I could not make out, but his daughter said he was saying thank you.

Thank you Baig sir.

Azhar with Baig  sir - on his way home after discharge 

You taught us much more than just the technique. You taught us the spirit of the game. Despite what some petty people allege, you never differentiated between your wards and today there are students of all religions, communities, castes who visit you and pay you their respects. Cricket was your only religion. It was such a heartwarming sight to see the outpouring of love and affection for a respected teacher, coach.

We did learn a few things from the game after all.

Cannot ask for more.

Final Discharge after 10 days
Baig sir has been discharged today (January 11, 2020). MSK Prasad came to Hyderabad to visit Baig sir - he flew in and flew out. Jagannath Das and I went together. Arvind joined us. Baig sir is still unable to speak clearly and the sores haven't fully disappeared but he can be treated at home. Hari and Apollo Hospitals sprang a lovely surprise and gave a big discount to Coach! 'I got calls from all over the world,' said Hari. 'There's so much love for Baig sir.'

And one of the last visitors today, just as Baig sir was being discharged, was Azhar, President of the HCA. A fitting finish to a beautiful story.

Prakash, well done. What you did was beautiful and reinforced our faith in humanity, in the guru-shishya tradition. Just as all the generous gestures from these hugely busy and successful people did - MSK was brilliant, VVS big-hearted as always, Azhar's prompt reaction, HCA chipping in, Secretary Vijayanand being on the job updating me in early hours, Rahul, Robin and all else. If there's one thing I learned it is this - the good we do never goes waste. It comes back from the most unexpected sources. And one another insight - the successful people - they know their priorities and take time out for what's most important. 

Day Out at ZPBHS, Yellareddy, Kamareddy District

E Chandrasekharan, CEO, ECS Consultants engages in a lot of philanthropic work besides running a successful financial services company. He is deeply patriotic and wants to do his best for the country. He is also very humble, provides opportunities to a  diverse group of employees and employs differently-abled people as a rule. Frugal to a fault, he uses every penny wisely and helps many.

ECS as he is also known, identified education as a game changer and sponsors Zilla Parishad schools in faraway Yellareddy village in Kamareddy district, a distance of 138 kms from here. He also sponsors another school near Pondicherry. I am not really clear why he chose those two schools but he does. ECS asked me a while ago if I would like to address students in the Yellareddy school to motivate them to do better in their final exams - they come from poor backgrounds and do not take education very seriously. Most drop out after their tenth. I agreed then, not knowing what I signed up for.

On 8th January ECS told me he would pick me up at 630 am and he was home by 625. Bad roads make the 138 km travel a three and a half hour journey. When he travels by himself ECS tells me he travels by bus which works out to 4-5 hours one way. I am sure he does not want to spend on his comfort what he can spend on the project.

A first for me - flowery welcome!

So we went there by road in his Maruti van - past  Medak through some lovely forest areas, past the Pocharam reservoir and to Yellareddy. At the Zilla Parishad Boys High School which is located to one far corner of the town, 80 students of the 8th and 9th class are to attend the talk. I am still not sure what to talk about. ECS and his assistant Srikanth, a young multifaceted 19 year old, set it all up with the school staff. The kids are curious. I wait in the staff room which has so much information - periods, attendance, biometrics and even a poster - 'I love my job'.

Some 80 kids came forward to listen to the talk. There was a mike. I had to speak in Telugu which I was not very confident of and was absolutely unsure how I'd make any difference. To my pleasant surprise I was given a guard of honour with students lining up on either side on the corridor and giving me bougainvillaeas, yellow wildflowers, a rose or two, anything they could lay their hands on. Some showered me with petals. Nothing like I ever experienced before - the best bouquets ever.

Event about to start!

After a lamp lighting ceremony, some intros, I spoke. I told the students my Telugu was bad and worse than the Telugu they knew. That made them feel better. Then I told them to accept that they know a little and don't know much - and that when they don't know they should say 'I don't know'. It's not a crime not to know. Then they must ask their teachers and pester them until they understand. If the teacher cannot answer them, they should ask their fellow students. But as students, all they should do is ask, and learn. They all shouted out loud - I don't know. I also asked the Headmaster if it was ok for them to ask doubts and he was very happy to say they should ask. (As an example I asked what Parishad in Zilla Parishad meant and not many of us knew, me included. One teacher said it was 'block' - so I demonstrated how we can learn by asking!)

Speech on - in Telugu

Then I asked them how the weakest in the class can top in the next 90 days. Work hard they said. I told them that was right - that there is a difference between putting in 1 hour a day and 5 hours a day. We made some calculations and realised that at 1 hour a day they would put in 90 hours while at 5 they would put in 450 hours. They agreed that it would certainly help.

Clarity on SMART Goals - be specific about what you want

But why don't we study then?

Rajendra speaking - first time for him

They said because it is not interesting. I asked why it is not interesting and they finally said because they did not understand. So we came back to going to the teachers and asking questions and discussing with their friends until they got clarity. I told them to get up early and study so 1 hour would be equal to two hours without distraction. Also their parents could not ask them to work in those hours. One guy aid he would wake up at 5, another at 4 and one even at 3. They agreed more hours would help.

Gifting the teacher's gift to a student

Then we looked at their goals. I asked them to write down their goals. Driver, police, engineer, cricketer, teacher, army officer. I explained how they should be more specific. Instead of police, they could write - constable, or inspector or an IPS officer. The bigger the goal the bigger the preparation required -  so being clear helps. Same with wanting to be a teacher - at ZP school at IIT, at Harvard. Each had its own preparation. The bigger their goal, the bigger their preparation. Go for big.

The doctor to be in a red shirt, and so many other future stars

I shared the story of Suman, who is Chandu's son. Chandu washes my car and Suman his son, studied hard and now works at Deloitte. He earns 50 k a month - or perhaps more. I told them that in the next 90 days and then the next 700 days of their Intermediate - if they studied hard, they could also earn 50k a month and better their lives and that of their parents. One could see them struggling with the idea but trying to hold it.

Some after speech interactions

Then they shared their goals. It was beautiful to see them - will work hard, get 9/10 GPA, become a doctor, farmer, teacher, bank officer. One boy told me he would become a bank officer and invite me then to the village. At QA time Dasarath, a student, asked me to clarify how one achieves a goal. I told him that the first step to be clear about the goal and always keep it in your sights - most times we are not clear about our goal. Then the teachers wanted the students to speak which was a good idea.

Outside the school with all the teachers and Mr. E Chandrasekharan (in white t shirt and cap)

One was the son of parents who eked out a living by begging, (wants to be a police officer), many work in the market the teachers said, coming from extremely poor backgrounds. And on and on. The infectious energy caught on and where no one came to speak up earlier, now every child wanted to come up and speak. Most said they liked the fact that they could say 'I don't know' and ask for help. The teachers got so excited that they started offering the shy students cash prizes of 100 rupees from their pockets. The quiet Head Master Chiranjeevulu, Srinivas, Bari and all other teachers kept plying students with cash from their pockets. So did Mr ECS who was as effusive in his love for them. Their love for their wards was beautiful to see. After several cash awards were given we finally wound up. I feel some small beginning was made.

At the Government school in Lingareddy village, the Head Master in the red shirt

We were already behind schedule and hurried to the small school in the neighbouring Lingareddy village and met young students there, full of energy and beans. Then we saw the Vidyalaya ECS had built near that school - a place for learning where teachers are available for students desirous of learning.

At the ECS Vidyalaya in Lingareddy

And then we headed back. A stop at the beautiful Medak church, lunch at Chandra Bhavan and a long journey back.

At the beautiful Medak church

One of the most satisfying days ever for me. Thanks Mr. E Chandrsekharan. Thank ECS. And good luck ZPBHS boys. Looking out for you achieving your goals.