Dining at Hotel Sobrino de Botin, the oldest in the world ..

After reaching Madrid on 21 May '22, we decided to explore the city. We had heard of Sobrino de Botim, the oldest hotel in the world opened in 1725. There was Guiness book of world records certificate to prove this point without any doubt. We decided to visit this hotel situated in the suburbs of Madrid.

Entrance to Sobrino de Botin

The food is about three times as expensive as ordinary eateries around here, but tasty and very comfortable.  Food is served in high class expensive cutlery.

 

Ernest Hemingway mentions the hotel and its most favourite dish in two of his novels, but the fact that he did write part of a novel here is contested. Roast suckling pig is the most favourite dish here.  

Click here for the Statesman link ..

The Roast suckling pig dish

 

This hotel is situated a little away from the main city, in the old suburbs of Madrid in Cuichelleros area. Though we did not have roast suckling pig, we had some of the tastiest wine. We booked and slot was available only at 10.30 PM. We reached the hotel by 9.30 PM and asked for an empty table and we were taken to a corner table. 

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

All throughout we could internalise the solemnity of the occasion. We were siting in the same building where Spaniards in all their armoury would have waled around and where Nobel laurete Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) also sat and wrote some part of his books.

Quoting from www.botin.es -

The love this charismatic North American felt for Spain is well known to all. Few foreigners have felt and reflected our country’s beauty like he did. He needs just a few lines to evoke a landscape filled with all its scents, shifts of light and harmonies.

A fierce and passionate champion of bullfighting, in 1932 he published “Death in the Afternoon”, a veritable treatise on tauromachy in which he mentions Botín:

“…but in the meantime I preferred to dine on suckling pig at Botín than sit and think about the accidents which my friends could suffer.”

All of us at Hotel Botin

Botín also features in “The sun also rises”. For many years we have been gratified to observe the pilgrimage of American tourists who arrive in search of the dining room in which Hemingway sets the novel’s final scene:

“We lunched upstairs at Botin’s. It is one of the best restaurants in the world. We had roast young suckling pig and drank rioja alta. Brett did not eat much. She never ate much. I ate a very big meal and drank three bottles of rioja alta.” 

unquote ...

Enjoying wine ..

The Nobel Prize in Literature 1954 was awarded to Ernest Miller Hemingway "for his mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea, and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style."  www.nobelprize.org

 citation from Guinness group

 

By the time we left the Hotel, it was past 11 PM and had to rush back to the hotel lest we miss the sleep and the bus for the next day trip to Toledo, the capital of Spain till 1560. 

 

Though  I wanted to extend some pleasantries with the main chef of the Hotel and thank him for the excellent dish, due to paucity of time, we had to move out. Click here for a small video ..

 

The Botin visit was indeed very memorable. It helped me hold hands with the people who walked in the hotel about 300 years back while it was being started by French cook Jeanne Botin in 1725. The photo of the Guinness World Records citation is the authentic proof of the age of the restaurant.

George ..

At IESE Barcelona convocation of Easaw George

With family ..

Our son Easaw George finished an exciting two years of study in Spain. He had his MBA  convocation in IESE Business school, Barcelona on 20 th May 2022 in the IESE campus in Barcelona, Spain. We went from Bangalore on 18th morning, reached Barcelona and attended the convocation ceremony in person. A very joyous moment. Our flight took us via Frankfurt with a 2 hour halt there. At the Barcelona airport we met other IESE students and parents with their partners and parents.  Barcelona and Madrid are the two most important cities in Spain which was once upon a time a colonial power that extended its reach to North and South America, the reason why one still finds lot of Spanish speaking people in North and South America. IESE was established with strong support and backing by Harvard in 1958 and is the only Harvard established institution outside the United States. Toledo near Madrid was the capital of Spain until the fifteenth century.

About 350 students attended the convocation which was presided over by the IESE Director after a mass at the IESE chapel. Junetio Maetsu, Dy. CEO of Ikea global was the main speaker at the convocation, who also happens to be an IESE alumnus. The IKEA Dy. CEO was mentioning the importance of being global, trying to understand the customer better and provide him with more value that what he could think of. 

If you ask any IESE student, they are more close with their class group of size 10 than with other students in the class of 50. Easaw's class of 50 students were from 40 nationalities. Thousands of hours of discussions , assignments, role plays etc with the group members have cemented their relationship with the group very stronger.

 

In convocation robes..

All the while I was proud of our son securing an admission at IESE on his own merit with a good GMAT score, but was humbled on learning that some of his classmates at IESE had GMAT scores of 770 out of 800. We should realise that a 730 out of 800 could get one into the prestigious Harvard Business School, considered to be the mecca of business education in the world.  These students with 770 GMAT score, preferred to study in IESE instead. I feel, there is some solid reason why they prefer IESE over other schools. The 350 students of the IESE 2022 passing out batch came from 60 countries of the world, no Institute in the world has such variety of intake, with a few Olympians also joining. With these smart students, we took the time off to share in their happiness and of their parents and relatives, exchanging pleasantries and good wishes for their bright future. It was very interesting interacting with native Spanish students and their parents to understand more of the Spanish culture.

 

In discussions with friends and colleagues it was indeed striking to note that IESE was 2021 global #1 in the 178 year old The Economist rankings (click here). But at the IESE campus I was surprised to find no mention of the Economist rankings, instead they were mentioning the 138 year old Financial Times global #4 rank in MBA (click here) and global #1 rank in Executive Education in 2021. 2021 was a great year for IESE. It has got #2 rank in 2022 global rankings in executive education (click here). 2022 MBA rankings will be out in a couple of months. 

 

A proud moment

At the IESE entrance we were welcomed by a quadruped robot,  I forgot to take a snap of the same, one thing I really missed. The robot was also keeping a tab on all visitors at the IESE campus. After the mass at the chapel from 3-4 pm and a sumptuous tea, the convocation started in the top convocation hall on the terrace from 5 PM and went onto 7 PM followed by an extravagant dinner in the same premises up to midnight. Because of the long ceremony, I could not meet any of the Professors of Easaw, I missed a golden opportunity there too. Though some of them had expressed the desire to interact with parents, sadly it did not materialise. If I had met them it would have given me a better understanding of the expectations and standards of world class management education.

As regards collaboration with other Institutions by IESE, I was told by Easaw that IESE would think twice or even refuse a proposal for collaboration, unless it is really global in intake and offering and there is something reciprocal for IESE to benefit from. A collaboration with other Business schools of the world is totally out of contention unless it is in the top ten or twenty.

To realise that our son was fortunate enough to study at this business school is truly humbling. God has been kind. Also to get an attractive placement with Amazon leadership team was indeed a great blessing from God. While at IESE captaining the IESE basketball team, Easaw brought back a couple of championships to IESE in Barcelona based tournaments. A personality  with equal interest in sports, games, interesting past times like skiing, scuba diving as much as in education, reading, travel, exploring etc by understanding the nuances of the global business environment is how IESE has transformed him.

It is happy to note that Easaw and his batch mates have become the alumni of a great global institution and would be banking on that association throughout their lives to add value to the organisations they work as well as to themselves and their alma mater. 

 

In short, their 2 year study at Barcelona brings a mix of great experiences, friendships and happy memories.

George..

Walking inside Gopalan Lakefront, Ecity.

This evening I tried to find the number.of steps it takes to cover from the main gate of GLF and back, 800 steps. ie. about 615 or app 600 m. 5 rounds is 3 km. 50 rounds is 30 kms. 

I intend to do 10 rounds next week, ie. 6 kms.

George 

Staying at our new apartment .. Gopalan Lakefront A 001

It was after a long search of four to six months that resulted in us zeroing on A001 in the ground floor of Gopalan Lakefront in Electronic city phase 1, Bangalore as our new abode. We finally moved out of our old 12 year old rented house in Koramangala 6th block to the new Gopalan Lakefront group of flats on Hosur Road on 26 th March, 2022.

The location of the new block is right on Hosur Road, but slightly away, facing the new Veerasandra metro station. Just get out of this gated community and you are at the metro station or the bus stand (the metro will be ready after a couple of years, at most). Going to Madiwala or to Chandapura is so easy here, buses keep coming every 15 seconds as Hosur Road is an important artery of Karnataka connecting Tamil Nadu. 

Being a gated community, we see less of strangers inside the gates, it ensures security, but that can also bring monotony to the inmates. The club house that houses a good size swimming pool, besides tt table, billiards table and indoor games like carroms etc, is the meeting place when any large club event or private event occurs in the apartment.

There are three blocks A,B and C, 12 floors + ground floor in each block (8 flats in each floor) making a total of of 3 x 13 x 8, ie. 312 apartments of 2 and 3 BHK configuration, with 2 basements for car parking. 

By 5 pm, we see a good number of inmates out for walking with their pets and this continues till 10 pm at night. Every morning with Anila, we are out for walking by 5.45 am, with nobody around and cool air blowing, it is indeed a terrific environment and an exciting experience. Walking is the favourite exercise of the inmates to keep fit, though at times we see cyclists race on around the buildings.

The Shuttle badminton court and the half basketball court is another way to exercise and keep fit, though we have an outdoor adult exercising centre and kids play centre on the ground floor. Immediately adjoining our compound wall, I could see the large stadium with indoor and outdoor facility coming up in our neighbourhood vicinity. That is a great blessing in future, though it will result in much more traffic passing through our front gates.There is a 300 m walking track around the flat. Every morning we take 4 rounds of this track.

Outside the building, there is a 1.2 km walking track around the lake, that is maintained well, though I was told that the lake is being maintained by Titan co. Tata is doing a good job by helping preserve the pristine nature of the environment. Till now, our experience is good and we look forward to interact with more of the owners and residents in the flats in the coming days and gain more of friends. 

Amazon has a retail centre in ecity which is a big help for us. So far, I am totally dependent on Amazon for shopping, of vegetables, fruits and provision items, they are punctual and good with quick delivery of about 4 -5 hour delivery once an order is placed, rain or shine. 

So far, our stay is fine and we look forward to get introduced to and interact with more acquaintances and friends here. The efficient maintenance team of Gopalan is ready to help with all small maintenance work now and we look forward to their continued support into the future to.

With barely 40% of flats occupied, or sold (do not know), the ambience is good now. Don't know how it would be with more inmates coming in the future. 

That is the update on Gopalan Lakefront, the 76th project of Gopalan Enterprises in Bangalore. 

Ge..

Pleasure of an occasional public bus ride..

However busy and successful we are in life, can we afford to ignore and forget how a common man, gets through his daily chores and lives ? Can we forget how during our younger days we enjoyed a public bus ride ?

We are so busy with our lives now, we rarely get to enjoy life, from one activity to the next, in search of that great goal in life to be happy, secure, healthy, contented and make money for the family. 

One of the simple pleasures of life is to take a public bus ride, overcoming some difficulties in life, to find out how the common man leads his life. Most of the educated people I know are so busy with their life, they have not taken a public bus ride within the city of Bangalore for ages. 

Inside the bus firstly it helps to puncture our bloated ego, how and what we feel of ourselves. In the company of a common Indian, I find how small we are and how small the world is. We understand the common psyche, what motivates them and gets themselves going in their daily lives. Understanding the basic motivation of life of the common man is a very peaceful enlightening experience.  What are the simple aspirations in life of an ordinary Indian, how carefree they are and so on. 

It also gives us an opportunity to gauge where we stand in terms of personal environmental sustainability initiatives,  how one can contribute to the environmental sustainability in a better way and so on. 

During the Covid time, exactly two years after the virus turned killer in China in March 20, presently I find about 40% of the public travelling not adhering to wearing mask and maintaining social distancing. The Bangalore roads are full of vehicles these days, choc-a-bloc, and people are all out on the roads. Thankfully the public services are fully and efficiently functional in Bangalore 

The other reason why I love public transport is the fact that Bangalore BMTC buses are not crowded, like in Kerala or Mumbai. All of us are waiting for Metro rail to reach major parts of the city. The other reason is that one is forced to walk to and from the bus stand to our home, which is a cool 2 km in my case. A refreshing walk and a bonus to keep oneself fit.

One can learn more by interacting with our environment and surroundings,  the common man and the nature, it makes one go in search of our roots, find the meaning of life and our existence on earth. Another more important reason for taking occasional public bus rides is to escape from the traffic congestion on Bangalore roads.

Do go out, interact with the common man and use public facilities , it is an interesting and great teacher in our life.

When not identifying with the common man, I travel in a simple Tata Nano and enjoy the experience.. Living simple is really a lovable and enjoyable experience..

George 

Fifth apheresis at St Johns Medical College ..

My fifth apheresis and my 46th blood donation at St. Johns Medical College Bangalore was carried out on the first of March 2022. Doing this after a conscious gap of 3 months. I went for a simple blood donation but was asked by the hospital authorities whether I would be ready to go for an apheresis. When i said OK confidently, they asked me to wait for some time and started the procedure. 

May be, I think the number of blood donors who are aware of the apheresis procedure is less and this results in less apheresis procedures being done. Being at number fortysix, I am more than excited to be of efficient use to my patients.

Last November I had done 4 apheresis and took a small rest. Also since I had a problem with low back ache, I kept the blood donation aside. Homoeo medicines were a great help.

 

I am still running 86 kg weight. When I go for blood donation, it reaffirms me that I am in good health and shape. Though not obese, I am slightly overweight and am trying best to reduce the weight to about 78 kgs in the near future, as advised by doctors. Hope with more blood donations, my body weight will come down. Otherwise as my senior colleague Prof. AMK Poduval keeps motivating all of us, we are perfectly healthy, fit, safe and sound. 

Dr. Vijayalakshmi at St. Johns was around while I was donating. Her behaviour is really appreciative, so caring, humble and modest, I feel like donating blood again. 

Thanking God for giving me the opportunity to donate blood to the needy cancer patients at St. Johns who are going through a time time of their lives. How lucky we are to be able to work healthy, happy and pursue our chosen profession !

This is how platelets look like ..

Not all hospitals have apheresis machines, St. Johns Bangalore has. Govt Medical College Trivandrum also has one. The proces being more efficient at getting the right blood components, ie. the platelets, plasma or red blood corpuscles, helps in the donation process by reducing the wastage of other blood components. 

The waste generated is high and I was told it costs almost Rs 10,000 to Rs. 14,000 to do a single apheresis and the cost is recovered from the patients or their sponsors. These days doctors are recommending apheresis over just blood donations, which is inefficient. About 300 ml of platelets are taken from each apheresis procedure. 

The Karnataka govt fixed rates for a blood donation, 300-450 ml or pint at Rs 700-950 and Rs 850 for platelets. (click here)

George..

The Diary of a young girl - Anne Frank, the heart breaking story of Nazi atrocities ..

Thirteen year old Anne Frank

It was on a passing mention by my friend Ravin about Anne Frank, that I decided to google about her. When I read that she was a victim of the German atrocities and the diaries she wrote over a two year period around 1942, when she was thirteen years and marching to fifteen, became a true testimony of what the children and common people around Germany especially the Jews feared about the Nazis, I decided it should be read. The book has been read by millions of people all over the world and has been translated to more than seventy languages.  A great testimony of the sufferings of the Jewish people during the second world war.

"The Diary of a Young Girl, also known as The Diary of Anne Frank, is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944, and Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945. The diary was retrieved by Miep Gies, who gave it to Anne's father, Otto Frank, the family's only known survivor, just after the Second World War was over. " - wikipedia.

The atrocities committed by both parties during the second World War, especially the hardships and pains of the Jews of Germany and Europe in general had to undergo during the Second World War has been very well explained from the lenses of a teenager in the book.

The book explains the how Anne's family to escape imprisonment and possible gassing in the concentration camps or gas chambers decided to run away to Netherlands. In Netherlands they had to stay in an office cum warehouse for almost two years to escape the prying eyes of their neighbours sharing their living with another family and three male jews.

Anne Frank diary in her house, a museum now

The narration by Anne of her daily events are very interesting. Especially of the fear that grips the whole family when someone knocks on the door, the efforts taken by the family to prevent noise from the house going outside, masking their daily activities to give everyone the feeling that there were no one staying in the warehouse.

The casual mention by Anne of how Jews were discriminated against by the Nazis and were sent to concentration camps and gas chambers is really frightening and at the same time sad too. How could European white man discriminate and exterminate his fellow white men so disgustingly is a thought that runs through the back of our mind while we are reading the book.

The dairy was written before the era of digital computers and so I was naturally inclined to know how the dairy entries were done manually. 

Wall in Anne's room ..

The beauty of the book is that we are able to see the Nazi Germany from the eyes of a 13 year old girl.  How did an intelligent community of Germans get to be swayed by the communal propaganda of Hitler and the Nazis over fifty years ? The Germans under Hitler were allowing the Nazis to commit the atrocity on the Jews.  Sadly by 1945, the greatest extermination of a race was methodically underway and almost 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis around the world.

The world has learnt a hard lesson from this and see that there is no repetition of this atrocity on any section of the population in any other part of the world. We should not allow politicians to use communal propaganda to divide the people and kill each other. The events happening in Syria and Iraq over the growth of ISIS is a serious event all of us should try to address seriously.

There is a no place for hatred in our society and in this world, let us unite in love. We all belong to the group of Homo sapiens and we may have brutally killed or evolved from our cousins Homo erectus maybe 300,000 years back, but we should not kill our own brothers, be they from Caucasian, Negroid or Mongoloid race, never ever ...

Anne and family were captured on 4 August 1944 by the Nazis on being informed to the authorities by an unknown informer and sent to prison. The reason, they were Jews and nothing else. Around Feb 1945, Anne, 16 and her sister Margot, 18 contracted Typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and died.

How lucky are people living in democratic countries ? they fear nobody and can exercise their freedom to choose their religion, profession, partner and a future. 

The way Anne analyses human emotions and writes of the limited people in her diary from a teenager's viewpoint in a deep and erudite manner, I wonder whether in Anne, we have lost a future Nobel Prize winner in Literature ..

To know more about the life of Anne Frank, visit the Anne Frank website here ..

Click here to buy it from Amazon .. 

If we were to look at the 6 million Jews who were killed during the five years from 1940 to 1945, it comes to approximately 3300 everyday. That is a great tragedy the world does not want to see again. All the world residents and leaders should do their level best to avoid such a catastrophe again, not for the rest of time humans are on this planet. A grave lesson all earthlings should understand and learn. No wonder in spite of constituting just 0.001 percent of global population, they have got almost 20% of all Nobel Prizes awarded so far.  Of the 900 people who have been awarded the Nobel Prizes so far, over 20%, ie. 180 have been Jews. A point for the world to ponder ..

George.