Journal

The writings of Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher Carl Gustav Jung (1875 –1961) have been my personal guidepost. Inspired by his autobiographical ‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’ published in 1957, when he was eighty-one years old, I am presenting here a record of my significant experiences in public life and sharing feelings, emotions, and reflections that sprung up from these events. They offered me help in self-evaluations, and corrections that eventually shaped my life and may inspire you.

March 27, 2014

March 27, 2014

Although I am a mechanical engineer, Dr Kalam’s decision to develop civilian spinoffs of defence technology led me to work with doctors and biomedical scientists. I was involved in developing a special stainless…

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March 9, 2018

March 9, 2018

I started my career as a teaching associate at my Alma Mater in an accidental manner. A professor was needed to teach Machine Drawing when I completed my graduation. Prof A.K. Dhol, the Head of the..

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June 19, 2023

June 19, 2023

There was no television when I was growing up. The Radio ruled the roost, and life revolved around its bulletins and slots when film songs were played. The newsreaders were celebrities for their voices…

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November 30, 2018

November 30, 2018

I visited the ‘father of the Zambian nation’ and ‘Gandhi of Africa,’ Dr. Kenneth Kaunda (b. 1924), at his home outside Lusaka. Born to a missionary teacher, Reverend David Kaunda…

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August 8, 2018

August 8, 2018

I met Prof. C.N.R. Rao (b. 1934) during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. Conferred with a Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in India…

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November 23, 2017

November 23, 2017

Life unfolds itself through you. There is no rationale behind how I met diamond baron Govindbhai Dholakia, Chairman, Shree Ramkrishna Export (SRK), of Surat. It was 2012, and my friend Mani Iyer, who was trying to start a technology incubation fund…

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November 21, 2016

November 21, 2016

Accompanied by my wife, Anjana, the young Kenyan-Indian, Dil Patel, and our Swiss host, Stefan Müller, I visited the Einsteinhaus (Einstein House), a former residence of Albert Einstein in Bern, Switzerland, which has been…

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July 24, 2016

July 24, 2016

I met the American economist, Joseph Stiglitz (b. 1943), in Seychelles. Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Joseph Stiglitz declared that that capitalism and globalization had failed to sustain standards of…

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July 23, 2016

July 23, 2016

I met the veteran African leader and former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo (b. 1937), at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Annual General Meeting of of shareholders in Seychelles. Mahesh Patel ji…

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