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"I am in love with a girl. And, my parents want me to marry another girl. What should I do now? This question had nothing to do with chess but it didn't stump the chess champ during one of the Family Track events - `Chess session with Viswanathan Anand', at the Pan IIT - 2008 in the City. Pat came his reply:

"You have to be able to give a chance to both," said the Grandmaster as the audience burst out in laughter, which took a while to cease. He added: "I can't say more as my mother-in-law is around."

To another question on when the thought of becoming a world champion dawn on him, he said: "I guess, when I was seven."

The next one was directed at his better-half, Aruna, who was also present on the dais. "If one thing you want to change about Vishy, what would be that?"

"For sure, I want him to stop biting his nails," was her quick response.

Before the Q&A session, Anand interacted with the family members of IIT-ians who were present in large numbers. He also played chess with 20 groups, including a few children simultaneously.

Producers all !

In the last much awaited plenary session of the day, which involved three top Tata group CEOs and management guru C.K. Prahalad, referring to the three of them Mr Prahalad turned to Mr B. Muthuraman, MD, Tata Steel, called him a producer of steel and to Ravi Kant, Tata Motors MD, as a user of steel for cars and lastly, turned to S. Ramadorai, TCS MD, and called him a producer of people who can afford to buy those cars! Needless to say, the packed hall of almost 3,000 people was in splits.

Military man McDonald

Procter & Gamble's chief operating officer, Robert McDonald, who zipped down in a corporate jet to speak on innovation at the Pan IIT event, is a former US Army officer who studied at the West Point Military Academy and then joined the Army for five years before embarking on a corporate career in 1980. "The mission is different in the military but it's all about leadership, it's part of the same piece of cloth," he says. Ask him about taking on competition he says he doesn't want a war as there's plenty of room for everyone. No war, surprising, coming from a military man, we ask. "Well, look at the history of warfare..guerilla warfare is better for shareholders and employees," he says. - Our Bureau

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