Kalesaheb

It's 2 months since I shifted from the old office in Bandra.
What i miss is Kalesaheb-Arun Kale!

Kalesaheb was across in the opposite garage. Kalesaheb was a partner with Mohammed Khan in the glorious Enterprise Nexus days. To date, Kalesaheb's work is of a higher order than the norm in Indian Advertising.

Kalesaheb came much after i started working out of Excella.

& over the years I have grown fond of this simple but yet great man who evokes respect by his work, his work ethics, his passion for design, his endearing benevolence for the young, the talented, and the needy, and his endearing relationships (Advertising people who had worked under him used to rush to meet him the moment they came to know that he was in the garage opposite).

Every now & then, his friends (A directors, painters, and artists) of 40 years and more frequent his office to share, to discuss, and to thrash!!!

& I have learned to tread with trepidation to restrain my eagerness when i show my completed TVCs...

Mrs. Kale is sunshine-easy to smile. And as eager to lend a helping hand; a bounty of energy!!! & the talented Apu Kale that i lost to the US. I had nefarious plans to use him as an AD.

I’ll miss them…

Adieu to the Bandra office

On the 1st of Jan, 2008, my landlord lands up at the office I've had for 8 years.
"I have sold the property, Ravi. You will have to vacate..."
For 8 years, we have inhabited this beautiful, quiet office in the by lanes of Bandra.
"Some misunderstanding...My sons made the deal when I was in America."
He has been a nice man to know all these years.
"I would not have thought about this had you not told me 3 years ago that you wished to shift to a bigger place..."
He is still a nice man cause he can face read me.
So be it. Welcome 2008 with the first poke!
We will leave this place with fond memories, attachments to moments stuck to these walls; ppms at midnight, diwali get togethers and ganesh aratis. Heated discussions, breakdowns, and the air filled with mirth and laughter. My assistants will remember the endless nights on edits, and the early mornings before the shoots...
Me and Swati will miss it for the warmth we infused in to it...I had designed the office interiors with all my love for Swati, while she was far away in Australia...