chaotic order

Jottings - slice of life - 209 ( The wedding Royale - Saga continues..) One of my distinct childhood memories is that of Princess Diana's wedding. I must have been in 5th or 6th grade, when teachers announced that all of us will assemble in the school auditorium the next day to watch the live ( or recorded, i dont recall correctly) telecast of this royal event. They wrote a short message to this effect in our study notebooks for our parents to read and acknowledge. Few months before this wedding, I remember a lot of buzz going around, lot of adult talk about an impending wedding of grand proportions. I vaguely remember seeing glimpses of Diana’s young and smiling face in the Hindu, one of our national Newspapers, proclaiming her as the bride of the century. I was too young to notice if she was beautiful or not, but the image I distinctly have at this distance in time is - she did look very pleasing to the eye. A kind of disarming and open smile with a touch of melancholy which

Jottings - Slice of life - 2017 ( The woman who put the man on the Moon - Margaret Hamilton) On 20th of July 1969, Apollo II landed successfully on the Moon, and two male astronauts, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, stepped out their spaceship and placed their first tentative step on its hallowed surface. It was a momentous event in Human adventure. That we could physically propel ourselves out of earth, soar into unexplored areas in space, and land with precision on a targeted satellite outside of earth’s orbit - was a grand dream come true from the time of the copernican revolution. From that moment onwards, we were no more tied to earth. Our destinies could now be linked to vistas beyond this planet. But little do many know that Apollo II nearly aborted before it landed, and even fewer know that if not for the robust and pioneering effort of Margaret Hamilton - the young software programmer in NASA who conceived, developed and deployed the complex multitasking code required to fl

Jottings - Slice of life - 207 ( Prakash Menon - a tribute to a gracious Man, and a leader par excellence) A few weeks ago, I was sitting in Prakash’s hotel room in Gurgaon. It was a long day for both us; more so for Prakash. The launch of our new products for the retail market was extracting every ounce of energy and time out of him. He was tired, but his mind was bubbling with ideas. He put his leather bag on the table, settled down with his drink and instantly began talking about NIIT, its future and what ideas he had in mind. Few minutes into our conversation, his phone rang. He picked up his mobile and before answering, turned around and said: “Bala, I have to take this call. I am sorry”. “Absolutely, Prakash!!” For next ten minutes, he was speaking to a lady. That much I could understand from his tone and conversation. He was enquiring about her Husband’s health, sharing positive advice, and commended her for showing good presence of mind and courage. What stuck me as h