Ideas & Reflections

Long before Facebook, Netflix, or online banking, there were Romans standing guard at city gates. Their system was simple: whisper the watchword of the day to be allowed in. No capitals, no special characters, and no OTPs — unless you count a spear pointed at your chest as multi-factor authentication. Fast forward to 1961 at MIT, where Professor Fernando Corbató invented the first computer password…

It all began, in a moment of idle curiosity. I was at Mumbai’s historic Royal Bombay Yacht Club (RBYC), standing before the grand Roll of Honour — polished teakwood boards with gold lettering, chronicling decades of regatta winners, commodores, and champions. Founded in 1846, with its elegant neo-Gothic clubhouse completed in 1896, the RBYC’s distinguished sailing pedigree - a legend. As my eyes moved slowly…

Over the years, I’ve come to a not so comfortable conclusion. The more I engage with humans, the more I long for the simplicity of a sparrow’s chirp or the rustling whispers of trees. Somewhere along the way, as we mastered the art of language, we lost the essence of conversation. Won’t you agree with me? Words today are wrapped in agendas, tweets disguised as…

Ever wished you could rewind your life? Not to undo the past — but to explore what life could have been? I asked this question to my Professor friend. We were sitting in the Verandah of his bungalow in the outskirts of Mumbai close to Karjat hills. For the past several months Professor had parked himself in this Bungalow. Professor’s long absence in Mumbai appeared…

    According to my Professor Friend, there are two types of sustainability enthusiasts. Those who only talk (Type I), and those walk the talk (Type II). (Please don’t mix these Types with diabetes !) He said that the world is not changing the way it should because we have more of Type I around. Perhaps he was saying this as he just returned after…

Last week after a long time, my Professor friend visited my office. He sat on my chair and whirled around and enjoyed the view outside from Cabin that overlooks the Bandra Worli link. “Great view Dr Modak” he said. “You must be enjoying sitting here everyday. But how long are you going to do drab consulting work? Don’t you get inspired to change your company’s…

It is difficult now a days to get the right kind of people you want in your organization. I guess the situation is tough when you want to hire the new breed of sustainability professionals. This is because most say that they already know what sustainability is. To say that they understand sustainability they use the right words in the CVs and during the interviews…

Last week Professor called me to check if I was free to join him to attend a meeting at a Corporate on Sustainability. The Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) had prepared an elaborate presentation that described Company’s sustainability initiatives, achievements of various targets in comparison with the peers and the impact  created across its various external stakeholders. The story was really impressive. The meeting conducted was…

I was telling my Professor Friend that I am often in two minds.  There are many occasions when I am not certain about something  and  have two opinions or ideas and I simply cannot decide which of the two is right.  In many cases therefore I don’t take a decision or react. My “thinking mind” and “observing mind” perhaps conflict and I don’t know which…

Me and my Professor Friend bumped into an old buddy outside one of the top polyclinics in Mumbai. Polyclinic is a great idea as you get to see specialists in multiple fields in one place. Many a time however these doctors play a “passing the buck” game and you get to see almost everybody for advice and examination and you generally come out with a…