By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC The United Nations World Tourism Organisation has predicted that India will account for 50 million out-bound tourists by 2020 — a sharp increase from the present figure of 25 million. The same report says that Indian tourists are among the highest spenders per visit in the world and…
Musings on developing relationship
April 25, 2019By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC A typical interview scene: being a quasi-Government servant, working in a PSU, I have sat down as a member of innumerable interview boards. When I look back at some of the interviews, I feel ashamed. Lot of times I have rejected candidates, just because I did not like…
Of tying shoe laces and life’s lessons…
January 10, 2019By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC I always had a problem with my shoe laces. Such an embarrassment. I have tripped several times too. But when I read this delightful article, penned by Prakash Iyer, I could not but put it across to SOM readers to read and enjoy: The morning walk with the…
Repair Leaks, your New Year Resolution-2019
January 3, 2019By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC He lives with his wife in an ordinary rental apartment in the city of San Francisco. He never wears branded clothing; his glasses are trusted and aged. His watches are functional and unglamorous. He does not have his own car, his primary means of transportation is the bus…
Attachment Vs Detachment: A lovely thought by Sudha Murty
December 27, 2018By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC When my daughter, the elder of my two, wed and left home, I felt a part of me gone. With a daughter and a son, I know what both mean, differently. When she was in her teens, I felt as if she was my “physical extension” ! So…
Want to be healthy? Start cooking at home
December 20, 2018By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC Two recent ads in the TV really shook me up. The first one had three generations of ladies — grandmother, mother and her daughter — sitting on a stairs, applying oil on each others head. Picture perfect. A tradition still followed. Excellent so far. The girl suddenly asks…
No pain, No gain
December 13, 2018By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC Another interesting story from the stable of Gaur Gopal Das: In the middle of a beautiful city there was a Museum. The floor in the Museum was laid with marble tiles. Right in the centre of the foyer was a huge marble statue, as part of the display….
Travelogue: Visit Udupi, a Paradox
December 6, 2018By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC In a recent Bunts Convention at Mysuru, I was intrigued by a photograph of many women wearing a typical Udupi flower, ‘sooji mallige,’ a unique flower with a distinct fragrance. Even the way this flower is worn by women is special. Quite expensive but available in Mysuru too,…
An evening with Ravi Shankar Guruji
November 29, 2018By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC Art of Living (AoL), an institution founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar in 1981, has gone international and so when I got an invite from Shantha, the local convener of AoL, Mysuru, asking me to come for a “Sammilana” a meeting with the Guruji, I was intrigued. I did…
Tourism on the Rise
November 22, 2018By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC Disneyland is a one-of-its-kind international attraction. These huge amusement parks are not put up in Tier-2 cities like Mysuru as such high investments require a huge footfall to sustain. The only city which can host a Disneyland kind of investment is Bengaluru. How can an architect based in Jaipur…
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