Prashant Ivaturi

As most of India celebrates the harvest season, we too celebrate Sankranti in a big way. Bhogi is the first of the three day festive celebrations. Bhogi Manta It was Gastu's first Sankranti in India since returning from the US. My mother in law made a lovely colorful rangoli in front of the house. Girija brought mango leaves to tie them to the door. We made some sweets for the festival and invited a few of our neighbours from the building for the Bhogi Pallu festival for Gastu. It is a ritual in our household to celebrate Bhogi Pallu till the kids reach an age of 5 years. All elders come home home and bless the kid(s). While I am not an expert on the festival, here's a write up on that. Those who are interested may read more on  http://www.srimeru.org/balavihar/sankranthi.html Kite Flying Happy Sankranti to all of you! May the year be good to you.

Recently we found out that ISB is host to nearly 100 different species of birds. Retd. Prof. Raghoo Sinha, the father of our current faculty Prof. Ruchi Sinha penned down a book with nearly 68 different species of birds captured in it. He volunteered to organize bird watching tours for the ISB community and today I took the tour along with my mother in law. We went to the '08 Lounge by 7.20 AM and started the tour by 7.30 AM. We saw close to 15-20 different birds - some rare species too. Of the names that I could remember (and/ or comprehend) were Bulbul, Cormorant, Dip chicks, Kingfisher, Heron, Sunbird, Egret, House swift, Painted Stork, Dove, Pigeon and Peacock. I learnt a little about birds, how they eat, how they act, and what they do. For a man who thought that a dip chick was a duck, this was invaluable! The tour lasted all of 2 hrs, but the memories will last longer and will leave a deep impact. An experience not worth missing!

A nice little birthday. A visit to Charminar, buying of bangles and some dresses. A good dinner, lots of happiness, and a little introspection at the end of it. Thirty years gone by. Three decades of life. Each a different shade. The first decade went by in observing and learning. The second decade went in observing and learning some more. And the third decade went by, in trying to apply that learning. A marriage, a visit to a few countries, and a kid - all as per plan. Or was it? Thirty years, in percentage terms, it is even more than that. With an average life expectancy of 70 years, it is above 40% of life gone by. And given a retirement age of 60, it is 50% of our life behind us now. Reality hits hard. But when it hits, the urge to accomplish something increases even more. What can I do to make the most of the next 30 years of my life?  I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and have my own firm. It is time to take that plunge and start turning that dream in to...