People & the Ordinary

(sourced from http://heartsense.in/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/angioplasty.png) In 2007, after I suffered from a cardiac angina, my cardiologist Dr Rajani said “Well Dr Modak, you have a problem but you don’t need to do angioplasty right now. It’s not an emergency situation. However if you are not going to change your life style, and continue to follow the same mess you are in, then I recommend you an angioplasty. It…

  (cover image sourced from http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/04/14/southwest-reveals-new-seats-yay/) You can judge a person based on the seat he or she chooses in the aircraft. Some travelers choose window seat – because they want to be aloof and private and look outside the window during take-off and landing. Some take window seat because they want to take pictures two thousand feet above and put on the Facebook. Those…

(This blog post is one of my real travel experiences) I received an invitation to speak at an International Conference at Alexandria in Egypt. The Conference was organized by Professor Ahmed Hamza and his wife Samia Saad. My friend Jim Gallup from US AID had organized the funding. He ran the EP3 project that focused on Industrial Pollution Prevention. I was very excited as I…

I went to see my Professor friend last week in his office. He was busy as usual with two mobile phones ringing. He was having a tough time in moving between conversations. Behind his large desk, there was a wooden panel with hooks. A large number of conference registration tags were hanging there. Some with thick green nylon strings and a plastic pouch, some with…

I was driving as usual to my office. It was morning time and an office rush. I was weeding through the traffic. When I stopped at the signal near the SiddhiVinayak temple in Prabhadevi, a tall Man standing at the signal opened the front door and took seat next to me. I was surprised - how did this guy get into my car when the…

I was attending a cocktail party at a triplex apartment in one of the tall buildings on the Carmichael Road, in south Mumbai. Someone said that a famous Environmentalist was attending the party. I looked around for someone in organic cotton Tee shirt or a Khadi sling bag first, but couldn’t locate one. Since many famous environmental NGOs are now “rich and corporatized”, I looked…

[This story is real, but I have changed the setting, names and characters for the interest of privacy. I have also blended a few instances. A little lengthy post but I do hope you" enjoy” the coincidences and experience. Personally, I learnt a lot and understood myself better in the process] I joined a mission in 1995 on a project for Development of Expert System…

On a Sunday, doorbell of my apartment rang. I opened the door expecting my maid but instead found a stranger, dressed in the clothes of a King. The stranger gave me a warm smile, extended his greetings and shook my hand. "Good morning Dr Modak, I am Harun Al-Rashid. The Caliph of the Arabian Nights" I couldn’t understand what was going on. Was I dreaming?…

I was in Montreal to attend an international meeting on Ecocities. I arrived a day early as I was keen to listen to the Jazz played at Modavie Modavie is one of the famous bistros in old Montreal. I will highly recommend. Seven nights a week, local bands take the stage at Modavie. Modavie’s spirited setting encompasses two intimate floors and sets the scene for…

Science, Administration and Politics are often difficult dots to connect. But if you do connect them well, to form a circle, then the magic of “ripples” happens!  You can potentially bring in the change. Dr R D Deshpande (RD) was one personality who showed me how. He was a friend, guide and a storm in my life. I miss him today very much. A very…