Sometime in August, 1989
In August 1989, a group of 60 students joined the Osmania University College of Commerce and Business Management (OUCCBM) with all sorts of motives and objectives.
Roll Call - Not all 60 present (courtesy Shrini)
The OUCCBM had recently moved from being one of the many departments in the majestic Arts College building on the Osmania University campus, to a separate building created next to the Law College.
New Beginnings - OUCCBM in 1990-91 (Pic Sunnie)
With a new identity and fresh ideas, the OUCCBM burst with energy. The MBA, as a professional course, was catching on those days. Everyone thought the MBA was the route to corporate success (money) and other accompaniments like pin striped suits, flights, cars, money and the good life (not to mention good looking women secretaries etc) which was in sharp contrast to the dowdy government job as an option. (All who had the US option had left or were packing to leave.)
Pretty much all of us 25 years ago
Not many of us knew what business was (except a couple) nor about management, but we hoped to get it right in two years, if not master it. I did not want a Civil Engineering job. The MBA offered me a lifeline, an escape. I thought I could join the corporate world and end up with a life like they show in the ads - a car, house, wife, kids, dog. Somehow I thought that life would pan out that way. I decided to put my heart and soul into this course - something I had not done ever - hoping that all the rest would follow.
The whole lot
The Osmania University campus had been home to me for the past four years. During that period I studied Civil Engineering and played first class cricket apart form doing many things that need not be mentioned here. From my Engineering College class, Sanjay and I joined the class of OUCCBM 91 together.
At the OUCCBM we discovered familiar faces. Sridhar Neelam (now Commissioner Customs, Pune, then keen cricketer and philosopher), was my batch mate from OUCE, from EEE. I met Shobha, introduced to me by Rithu, my junior from the Engineering College who instructed me to take care of her and I have been dutifully doing so ever since (I hope Rithu is listening). I knew Vijay, who played cricket along with me since school days, me representing All Saints and he, Little Flower.
Others from OUCE included Pankaj, Ramana, Arvind, Nishikant and Esther - I knew them all well. Over time I came to know the rest - Sunnie, Bijju, Ramanand, Satish, PV, Sudheer, Sudhir, Sudha, Vinay Soni, Sharath, Vijay Lakshmi, Visa, Hema, Saritha, Annie, Chandra, Kashinath, Sreeramulu, Vinod, Radhakrishna, Radhakishan, Madhu, Ravinder, Sridhar, Devender, Pragati, Prasanna, Ramesh, Venkateshwarlu, Veeraprakash, Venkataswamy, Venkataramana, and the others. Some abandoned ship midway but the rest of us continued till the two years made something of us.
Prof Govardhan Reddy was the Head of the Department, an imposing figure with a deep voice and a strict demeanour. He meant well and was a good sport. He was assisted by a worthy lot of Professors - CS Shyamsunder, Trivikram, Balaji, Hanumantha Rao, Narendranath Menon, Maruthi Ram, Madhusudhan Rao, Shekhar and others. Our academics were in safe hands. It was up to us to make the most of it.
Intense stuff - PV holding fort
Apart from the sports room and the dingy bars on the outskirts of the campus, the insufferable Liaquat, puny and whiney, provided entertainment and refreshments by establishing a small tea stall - a prescribed 100 yard distance from the college. He stood on the hillock like Samba guarding Gabbar's hideout. His main aim in life was to violate the 100 m line of control and get closer to his market but he was kept in check by the watchful BGR.
Last day at NAARM
CSS's class would begin as early as 830 in the morning which was a fine time to start classes. Daily routines included attending classes and staggering off to Liaquat's territory at first break like addicts. From the tea stall many vanished without a backward glance while others returned to class. Lunch was at Arts College canteen or in homemade dabbas, a visit to the library and sleep (or read), or go off to a movie. Sometimes we indulged in co curricular activities. Once in a while there were exams.
Shobha lecturing away
Apart from poisoning ourselves in small doses over Liaquat’s tea and bribing Akbar to let us drink on the terrace we protested against the management's decision to unilaterally stipulate a Rs. 300 charges for computer use. We indulged in some activism, and we all came to an early compromise at 150 in the interests of the nation.
Cultural festival - Concept 90 (our senior batch did this)
We organised a cultural festival. We reached the finals of the Inter collegiate tournament which was a first for our college. We did some pre placement activity and were surprised that one very interesting gentleman from JL Morrison came to our college. We organised an inhouse presentations series on business to help our growth, wrote newsletters. We released a copy of the Memories which we find is invaluable today to identify our colleagues and ourselves.
We wasted a lot of time.
Shobha (partly), Satish, PV, Bijju, Me and Pankaj
Some of my memories of those days are - Sunnie arriving on his TVS clad in a longish raincoat looking like a Scotland Yard detective. Satish and PV gravitating towards each other like long lost souls and engaging in drinking and singing binges. Satish shouting expletives loudly and corrupting low flying innocent birds which fell off the skies in shock, Esther dazzling us with her American accent that reached her before she reached America. Sharath and his intense ways. Bijju, Ramana, Arvind, Saritha, Hema conspiring over lunch, Hema's focus and dedication to the course. Saritha's easy humour and grace. Shobha, Sanjay, Sudheer, Sudhir and company at tea - they were a more civilised lot, the A section people. Vinay Soni slamming the sports room door and catching Shobha's head in what could have been the first murder at OUCCBM. Pankaj dragging us all to some small bootlegging like unit to bring back bottles of Julep. Bijju gracefully letting the crucial boundary go under his legs and walking off nonchalantly. Sunnie's terrific return catch off Vernon Paul and his fabulous last over against Engineering college. Winning the tennis ball tournament in the Engineering college. Listening to Vijay belt out Dil Dekhe Dekho and his Whateethere. PV's stylish TT play. Vijaylakshmi's chicken and rice. Daddu's elegant speeches as Master of Ceremonies - 'Yesterday was a vision, tomorrow a dream.'. Sudha Swaroop's intense philosophy about karelas and cigarettes. Dev's rendition of Aashiqui songs - Nazar ke saamne comes to mind. Sridhar, for some reason picking up the title of Drrr. Ramanand's irrepressible energy that was hard to contain, both in class and on the cricket field. Shrini's nickname of Chandni in spite of his volatile ways. Ramana's incessant jokes. Some philosophical discussions with Sridhar N. Annie's mysterious entries and exits and her wholehearted laugh. Shobha and I bumping into Prof. Arvind Korba at Skyline while we watched a movie festival - he was an avid fan too. Arvind studying his chess and carroms with great concentration - and humour. PV's great love for rock music and his perfect score at OR. Sreeramulu's solo performance at NAARM. Venkateshwarlu officiating a volley ball game with an iron fist. Venkataswamy's carefree gait. Vinay Soni's voice booming along the corridors. Vishwa's TT games.
So many more.
Heading off to NAARM from OUCCBM
There was this unforgettable 3 day residential outing at NAARM, Rajendranagar at the very end of our course. Presumably by then the college management discovered that we lacked employable skills or even plain survival skills. Credit to the management for the pre placement course or whatever they called it – which opened many unexplored areas and ideas for us. It was lovely to have the three musketeers BTV, Balaji and HR show us many tricks that we could use later. The topics dealt were - an intense look at ourselves first, at the people around us, perceptions, communication, sales and negotiation, public speaking and so on. Late night walks, bonfires, early morning chais. The unforgettable sight of BTV in his track suit remains etched in our memory. My big takeaway from that outing – play on your strengths and not your weaknesses. HR reminded me of another exercise the other day - of writing our epitaph on our tombstone. Wonder what I wrote.
Sunnie meditating - default state
While in OUCCBM we won the Inter varsity tournament after a gap of ten years under Vijay's captaincy - a campaign I can never forget. I learned the art of winning, tasted the sweet taste of a well fought and planned victory. Just before the Inter varsity cricket tournament I hit a purple patch - I got a job in the Bharath Petroleum which was as good a job as you can get.
The placement activity brought jobs to Sunnie, Ramanand, Visa (PCL), Sudha, Ramana (BPL), Satish, Pankaj (Signode), Shobha, Saritha (Gandhi Consultants), Shrini, Sudheer and Sanjay (Onida). The rest found jobs on their own or found something else to do.
There was a farewell party for us on the first floor - a fine affair. We were told to come in formals and ties and we did. Satish Singh landed up in jeans and chappals, smiling sweetly like an angel with a mouthful of the chicest Hyderabad gaalis.
If we all thought we'd become CEOs after that (actually PV did become one) we did not. But none of us have ended up in jails either – as far as I know. Some of us used time and energy wisely while some (like me) showed suicidal tendencies in chucking everything up and picking up careers not trained for. But we survived. I wonder if the college had greater expectations of us. If it did, it never showed.
Most of us made it through these 25 years.
Two much loved friends Sharath and Vijayalakshmi left us a tad early. Both succumbed to ill health - Sharath battled diabetes and kidney issues heroically for two decades with amazing grace and the sweet and beautiful Vijayalakshmi to cancer. But they lived well and left us with fine memories and indelible impressions of being fabulous souls. We carry a part of them within us.
During the two year stint at this college I found a process, and revisited the basics of hard work, of being honest, of backing your strengths and standing your ground. In retrospect this gave me much of the courage to take some of the decisions I did. I somehow knew I could back myself to get out of a hole.
After the farewell party we left on our own directions. Thankfully some of us stayed in touch - Sunnie, Shobha, Bijju, Pankaj, Satish, Shrini, Ramana, Vijay, Sanjay, Sudheer, Sharath, Visa are those I remember.
25 years later - OUCCBM Class of 91 Reunion on December 17, 2016
In October 2016, the idea of a silver jubilee meeting germinated. Pankaj proposed the idea.
Roll Call
A Whatsapp group was started. enthusiastic supporters roped in. We met at Minerva Coffee Shop. I attended with Sudheer, Ramana, Bijju and Pankaj. The verdict was Yes - but with subtext.
Bizz, Bond, Pankaj, Shobhs, Me, Visa, Shrini, Satish, Sudheer, Vinod, Chandra, Ravinder
Sreeramulu, Vijay, Vijay T, Sunnie, Nishikant,
One thing led to another and we finally got about 21 of us to attend the function on the 17th December. Radhakishan is missing in this iconic picture with the Vice Chancellor of Osmania University, Professor Ramchandram. He arrived late.
The 21 - and what they are up to now
Sunnie (Shankar Narayan), Atlanta, US - Philosopher, martial arts expert, cycling champ, thinker, writer, Super Dad, great sport
Visa (Visalakshi), California - Adventurer, traveller and global citizen,
Vijay T, Bahrain - Chief Risk Officer, Banking
Radhakishan Vootla, Nebraska, Omaha - Principal Engineer, Union Pacific Railroad
Madhu Shakelli, New Jersey - Software
Satish Singh, Owner - Tetrahedron Consulting, Dubai - Marketing research firm Tetrahedron Consulting
Sridhar Pulei, Chennai - Senior Manager, Highway Retailing, HPCL
Ravinder, Solapur - Senior Regional Manager Sales HPCL
Hyderabad
Shobha Nargundkar- Hypnotherapist, Radical Forgiveness coach, Counsellor
Nishikanth - Senior Engineer, ONGC
SV Ramana (Bond/Mirchi bajji) - Superintendent, Central Excise, Hyderabad
Bharadwaj (Bijju) - AGM, HDFC, Hyderabad
Pankaj - Boss, Nirmal Enterprises, Hyderabad
Prof. Sreeramulu - OUCCBM, Osmania University
Vijay (Malli) - Superintendent Central Excise, Hyderabad
Chandra - Senior Manager Finance, BDL
Shrinivas A (Shrini) - Global Head, HR Shared Services
Sudheer- GM, Sales, SAARC Region, Great Sports Infra
Vishwa Prasad - Owner Software Company
Vinod - Superintendent, Central Excise,
Harimohan P - Writer, CEO Coach. Speaker, Full time escapist
Those who could/did not make it:
Anil Kumar - Not traced
Arvind Kumar, Hyderabad - Software
Annie, US - Homemaker
Dev, Delhi - Big shot in the Railways
Hema, Sydney - Homemaker
Kashinath, Maryland, USA - SAP Practitioner
Koteshwara Shasstri - Not traced
Krishna - Not traced
Narasimhachary - Not traced
PV, NY, USA - CEO, Open Source Solutions
Pragathi, Hyderabad - SBH
Prasanna Kumar - Not traced
Radhakrishna, Hyderabad - Professor, Marketing Management, NMIMS
Ramanand, Dubai -
Ramesh, Poland - Software
Sanjay, Hyderabad - Own business
Sarita, Pune - Homemaker
Sridhar N, Pune - Commissioner, Service Tax
Sudha Swaroop, Cochin - Indianoil
Sudhir K, Hyderabad - GM. GVK Bio
Venkateshwarlu, US
Venkataramana- Not traced
Venkataswamy, US
Vinay Soni, Nizamabad - Own business
(to the best of my knowledge which is not much - please correct me if I got it wrong)
D Day - December 17, 2016
On D Day Shobha, Sunnie and I went together at 1130. Nishikanth was there and so were Shrini and Ramana, Bijju came in next. Visa. Pankaj, a while later. Sudheer, Ravinder, Sridhar, Vinod, Vijay T, Chandra came in. Sreeramulu was busy organising many surprises for us, Satish came. Vijay came with the t shirts while we were at the chai joint.
Welcome to the jungle
Radhakishan said he would join us late. Sridhar Pulei came. Vishwa. We wore the reunion t shirts, changing into them right there (the more shameless ones among us) near the chai shop, sipped chai like in the old days (Liaquat is long dead, some smooth talking usurper has taken his place), took pictures and ended up inside the hall.
Old criminals
Shrini prepared a lovely AV of our old days with pictures etc and a power point that had the old Memories and the new reality - 25 years down. Most of our colleagues could be tracked down.
Shrini's AV and the Star Wars ppt were the highlights of the morning pretty much just as his energetic compering of the show was.
Registration
Favorite Prof HR
Intense discussions - I am not paying!
HR again - hasn't aged a bit
Vijay's found something interesting
Bizz and Visa find something funny at Najma's expense
Wishing Prof. Shekhar, Principa, OUCCBM
Shrini, MC par excellence, getting the show going
Chandra, Sreeramulu, Sridhar Pulei, Vinod walking in style
The students of the present day batch put up a show for us - music, dance. Our Professors were low in attendance - Shekhar, Hanumantha Rao, AVS, Narendranath Menon, Chandrika were present.
Guard of honor
Shrini and Sreeramulu got the show off to a rousing start.
Lamp lighting.
The Vice Chancellor Prof S. Ramachandram graced the occasion which was a pleasant surprise.
Meeting the Vice Chancellor Mr. Ramachandram
Pankaj spoke,
Pankaj holding forth
I spoke. On relevant themes - Cruelty and Survival,
Najma being felicitated by Satish - with too much gratitude for someone who never visited the library
HR being felicitated by Sridhar
Narendranath Menon in his inimitable style
Prof Narendranath Menon spoke in his inimitable manner and HR spoke warmly of the occasion.
HR speaking
Vice Chancellor Mr. Ramchandram speaking
Chandrika madam told me happily that her son was a huge fan of Golconda High School. The felicitation program for the Professors got underway.
Giving Ms. Chandrika a copy of 'The Men Within'
I gifted the Profs a copy of my earlier books. One copy for the library to Najma, who used to be 25 years younger then (we were too).
Some more pictures and we went out to have a fine lunch. Most of us went inside the college once again to see the classrooms, the sports rooms. Finally it was time to say bye to the college and head to Leonia resort.
At Leonia Resort
At Leonia we checked into the place, ate some snacks and tea, checked into our rooms and came in to the designated hall by 730 dressed in our party clothes.
Vijay, Sreeramulu and Sunnie at Leonia
There was a karaoke singer Richard, who sang well. fine drink and great company to catch up on.
Chandra, Me, Nishi, Ravinder and Sudheer
We hopped table to table, checking old pals and catching up. Chandra stole up to the mike and started singing.
Me, Vijay, Satish, Bijju and Sudheer
Then the usual suspects sang. I sang a song (I'd sung 'Aise na majhe tum dekho' at NAARM 25 years ago and sang the same one again).
Me singing helped along by the fabulously talented Richard
Satish sang one (he also sang the same song he had sung then 'Nadiya se Dariya').
Chandra singing
Sridhar sang beautifully (Hansini). Sudheeer did too. Biju and Visa also did. But Radhakishan stole the show with his thunderous renditions of Telugu, Hindi and even a Tamil song. Fantastic.
The singing sensation - Radhakishan Vootla belting em out
Selfie time - Bijju and Pankaj
Radha told me he could sing 200 songs off hand, that he had sung in a band and had learned the rudiments of classical singing from his father. We clapped and clapped. The party went on and on.
A sombre moment for Visa, Shobha and Sunnie - probably watching me singing
At some point every one danced as as expected - thankfully I was away while this activity was going - and returned when it was almost done. Nishikanth was revelation on the floor with his nifty moves, Vijay did an obscene number,
Sreeramulu, Radha, Sridhar and Vinod
Ramana shook a few body parts, some fat and flubber was in action on other bodies, and everyone shook a leg - almost. Satish seized the mike and started off with his old and familiar expletives - an act that seemed to have settled him - he was unusually quiet all morning with a cough.
Vijay and Radha
After addressing us all fondly with his choicest gaalis, he proceeded to sing a couple of songs, completing them heroically even though his voice was giving up and cough was interrupting his singing.But just the effort was beautiful. He is not the sort to give up.
By now the spirits were high.
For a full two hours or more after that, Vijay held centre stage and made us all laugh and laugh and laugh. We finally ended the party at 2 in the morning after a nice cup of coffee. By the time we hit the sack it was 3. My roomie was Vijay and he slept off in a jiffy after we discussed some selection related incidents which are always good to make you go comatose.
Breakfast in Leonia - Bijju, Satish, Pankaj, Me and Sunnie
In the morning we went for a walk - Pankaj, Sunnie, Biju, Ramana, me and Vijay - and later joined the others for breakfast. A couple of our pals had to leave early - Sreeramulu had to organise viva voce for 1000 students that day so he had to go. The rest of us were to congregate in one of the rooms for some beer before lunch. Meanwhile Shobha, Vijay and I snuck out and played a few games of table tennis where I found I was hopelessly short of reflexes.
Sridhar, Vijay, Visa, Ravinder, Shobha, Nishi, Vishwa, Vinod and Radha
As we sat with our beers, some 17 of us, the question - 'What was the be