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OPINION

Phew! In Defence of Poor Pilots.

Someone recently tweeted pilots’ salaries in an airline. That tweet began with a ‘phew,’ so I will list out the realities of a pilot’s life, just a few! I didn’t say the realities of a pilot’s job, because it’s not just a job; it’s an interesting lifestyle, but not a cakewalk.  It requires commitment, consistency, …

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Are you MBA? Must Be Awesome!

Decades ago, Mr NR Narayana Murthy, lamenting about the Indian education system, had said, “More than 80% of youngsters are not trained enough for getting jobs.” Since then, a lot of industrialists and CEOs have repeated, that a majority of educated Indian youth are ‘unemployable’.  I always thought they were exaggerating, or maybe talking about …

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China Air Crash: Separating Facts from Fake News

A Boeing 737-800 of China Eastern Airlines crashed yesterday, baffling a lot of real as well as self-styled ‘experts.’ The confusion was not helped by fake videos and pictures doing the rounds on the social media, being picked up even by prestigious news outlets. I’ve been flying Boeing 737 for almost two decades, which is …

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India Fires a Missile into Pakistan: All Your Questions Answered

Is it true, or only Pakistani propaganda? It is true, and the Indian government has acknowledged it with regret. Which missile was it? From the flight path described, we can surmise that it was a BrahMos missile. India developed it in collaboration with Russia and therefore named it after two rivers in the two countries: …

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Bell Bottom – A Tale Without a Bottom

You may have read my review ‘Bhuj – The Pride of India is But a Ride of Hysteria.’ I wrote that as a former fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force. And now I write this as a current commercial pilot in an airline, flying the Boeing 737NG, the latest version of the hijacked airplane …

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भुज – न भूतो न भविष्यति!

मी भारतीय हवाई सेनेत लढाऊ वैमानिक होतो आणि भुजमध्ये दोन कार्यकाळ केले आहेत. तब्बल पाच वर्षं त्या भागात उड्डाण केल्यामुळे, मी माझ्या वायूसेना आणि कच्छमधील आनंदी आठवणींना उजाळा देण्यास उत्सुक होतो. पण हा चित्रपट बघून माझ्या डोळ्यात पाणी आलं. खरंच आलं. पण हसून हसून पाणी आलं, कारण निर्माते इतके गंभीर असूनही हा चित्रपट हास्यास्पद निघाला. …

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‘Bhuj – The Pride of India’ is But a Ride of Hysteria!

I was a fighter pilot in the Indian Air Force and have done two tenures in Bhuj. Having spent five years flying over and driving around Kutch, I was keen to relive the happy memories of my days in the IAF and in Kutch. I must confess, the movie brought tears to my eyes. Tears …

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In Defence of Air Power

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) recently said, “…the Air Force continues to remain a supporting arm, just as Artillery or Engineers support the combatants within the Army…” I retired from the IAF full 18 years ago, and to borrow from Harry Belafonte, “No one wants my opinion anywhere, any time, on any subject, about …

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Don’t Blame the Pilot – Just Yet

Deepak Sathe was my friend and a longtime colleague. Our lives and careers followed a similar path except that he was a brilliant senior and I was a wide-eyed and often awed junior. My sense of loss is personal, and I have so far shared my feelings only with my family and close friends. But …

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“Where is the Maulana?”

I normally avoid television news, to preserve what little is left of my sanity. Internet headlines are enough to paint the grim picture for me. But, in these Corona days, getting the latest news is important, so I began to endure the news channels. Last night, a popular channel announced an exclusive special report on …

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MG Road and Corona Virus

Is there a connection? There is! Most Indian cities have the ubiquitous MG Road. Thankfully, youngsters can still identify MG, unlike the SB Roads in Pune and Mumbai. A young lady who lives there didn’t know what SB stood for. Her friend knew the full-form, but not the person they named it after. Worse fate …

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Unnati – The Progress

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet.” Shakespeare said. Who can argue with the great Bard? But maybe, the times have changed, and names evoke expectations in products and people. For example, if you see a restaurant called ‘Nana-chi-Tang’, you would expect Oriental food …

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Happy New…?

I did nothing special on the night of 31st December, but, hearing the revelries outside, began to wonder why they were drinking, dancing and bursting crackers all night. I wondered why they were drinking, dancing and bursting crackers all night. Why were they celebrating? To forget the stress of the lives they led last year, …

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DTH: A Truly TRAIng Task!

“Haven’t you done the job yet?” Wife asked. “I’m trying…” I said, actually trying only to sound more confident than I felt. If you have done that job, and that too in one attempt, I salute you. I’m talking about the Package Selection for the television channels from your DTH provider, as mandated by the …

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आपला(च) माणूस

नुकताच ‘आपला मानूस’ हा सिनेमा बघितला. नानासाहेब पाटेकर यांचा सिनेमा असल्यामुळे आमच्या अपेक्षा जरा उंचावल्या होत्या. सिनेमा सुरू होतो अल्फ्रेड हिचकॉक स्टाईल मधे प्रेक्षकांच्या समोर एक डेड बॉडी पडून! ते पाहताच आम्ही घाबरून, मोबाईल बंद करून, धडधडत्या छातीला अन वाढत्या पोटाला न जुमानता, लाह्या खात खात सिनेमात रंगून गेलो. थोड्या वेळानी कळलं कि नानासाहेबांचा डब्बल …

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बकेट लिस्ट – आमचीही

द बकेट लिस्ट नामक एक इंग्रजी सिनेमा अनेक वर्षांपूर्वी आम्ही पहिला होता. तो इंग्रजीत असल्यामुळे आम्हाला समजला नाही. बकेट लिस्ट नावाचा मराठी सिनेमा आम्ही नुकताच बघितला. तो मराठीत असूनही आम्हाला समजला नाही. सिनेमाच काय, आम्हाला तर त्याचं नाव देखील कळालं नाही. ‘Google Translate’ संकेतस्थळाला आम्ही ‘बकेट लिस्ट’ या शब्दांचा अर्थ विचारला असता त्याने ‘बादलीची यादी’ …

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The Difference

In 2012, my son Agneya, then 19, was doing Bachelor’s in Commerce while simultaneously studying to be a Chartered Accountant. To become a CA, the first step is to pass the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) and the second test is for the Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC). The number of students that pass the CPT …

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Who’s the Fairest of Them All?

I believe I am fair. Fairly fair. Fair in my feelings and dealings, but not fair in the colour of my skin; not the way we complexion obsessed Indians look at it. I have, what the matrimonial ads call, a ‘wheatish’ complexion, which as per the Oxford Living Dictionary means, ‘complexion of the pale golden …

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A Year After Demonetisation

Exactly a year ago, on the night of 8th November 2016, I got a call from a friend, asking agitatedly, “Are you watching television?” “Yes,” I replied, “A movie.” “Movie?” My friend screamed, “Watch the news, you fool, the world is coming to an end!” “What happened? Earthquake?” I saw visions of massive eruptions from …

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Horrific Honorifics

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose; By any other name would smell as sweet,” said William Shakespeare, in Romeo and Juliet. I was reminded of this quote on seeing a government advertisement some time ago. It was very practical, and refreshingly different. Names of public office holders and political leaders were …

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