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.

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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June 20, 2016

June 20, 2016

Dr. Kalam and I went to Sarangpur, Gujarat, to present to Pramukh Swamiji Maharaj, the spiritual Guru of Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Sanstha (BAPS), the first copy of the book, ‘Transcendence…

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January 24, 2016

January 24, 2016

I met the former President of Tanzania, Benjamin Mkapa (b. 1938), at Dar es Salaam. I was invited there for the release of the book, ‘Transcendence’, and met there for the first time, the Indian origin Tanzanian, Mahesh Patelji…

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January 29, 2013

January 29, 2013

Dr. Kalam took me to the Young Indian Leaders’ Conclave in Gandhinagar. Chief Minister Narendra Modi received him and surprisingly, I was included in what was supposed to be a tête-à-tête. Modi ji affectionately made me sit…

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