New year is just around the corner. Everyone is thinking about how to make the coming year even better. And so, making new year resolutions. Sticking to them however, is another story.
This tradition of making New Year resolutions and the whole exercise of thinking about the things that can make your life better and of those around you is very healthy. And it might not be always about how to make your professional life better, to loose weight, quit smoking, blah blah. Believe you me, there’s a lot of thought that goes in that direction anyways. I mean, in this busy life style how often do we sit back and say to our self that I’ve to become more environmentally responsible, that I‘ve to help the children with no homes, that I’ve to make my little contribution towards making my city a cleaner and safer place, that I’ve to be more responsible citizen, that I’ve to enjoy nature, that I’ve to ….
I KNOW that thoughts turn into actions.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
The secret, Conversations with god
Today I finished reading The Secret. I could not help but to draw comparisons with another book that I read a couple of years back, CwG, conversations with god book one. I feel both these books essentially conveys that all that there is and ever will be is just manifestation of our thoughts. There is no such thing as impossible or unbelievable. If we can think it we can do it. Both the books promote idea of abundance; that there is enough joy and happiness in the universe for all, just that people choose not to ask for it. Both these books encourage the thought that we all are one. What’s most intriguing about both these books is that as you read them you are constantly saying to yourself “Yes! That’s what I felt when..”
Universe is like a big machine feeding on raw material of our thoughts and feelings and churning out the results in form of actions and events happening in our life. If we feed positive thoughts into it, the same positive reflects back into our life in form of events, situations, memories that we cherish forever. Contrary, if we keep on whining and complaining, we end up getting more of it.
These books beautifully draw a parallel between science and spirituality. It reinforces the concept o Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence (E = mc2) which simply states that energy can be converted to mass. Astonishingly similar to what these books suggest, that universe feeding on energy of our thoughts converts it into mass/events/actions.
But can science really explain every single phenomenon in the universe? Is there a logic behind all that happens in the universe? Can mathematical/scientific models be developed to help us comprehend the unsolved mysteries of universe? OR is there anything at all to know?
We are not here to learn anything new but to remember what we already know – Plato
Although, The secret doesn’t explain why or how the secret works, but I’m sure as hell... nopes I'm sure as heaven that it does. Try it!
Universe is like a big machine feeding on raw material of our thoughts and feelings and churning out the results in form of actions and events happening in our life. If we feed positive thoughts into it, the same positive reflects back into our life in form of events, situations, memories that we cherish forever. Contrary, if we keep on whining and complaining, we end up getting more of it.
These books beautifully draw a parallel between science and spirituality. It reinforces the concept o Einstein’s mass-energy equivalence (E = mc2) which simply states that energy can be converted to mass. Astonishingly similar to what these books suggest, that universe feeding on energy of our thoughts converts it into mass/events/actions.
But can science really explain every single phenomenon in the universe? Is there a logic behind all that happens in the universe? Can mathematical/scientific models be developed to help us comprehend the unsolved mysteries of universe? OR is there anything at all to know?
We are not here to learn anything new but to remember what we already know – Plato
Although, The secret doesn’t explain why or how the secret works, but I’m sure as hell... nopes I'm sure as heaven that it does. Try it!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Commencing education resuscitation?
"I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make them think."
Socrates
HRD minister Kapil Sibal recently announced that CBSE 10th board exams will be optional from next year and the grading system will be put in place. Students will be allotted grades on basis of their performance throughout the academic year.
Indian education system has stood the test of time and a lot of questions are being raised on this new proposal. Main argument in favour of X class board exams is that it instils a sense of responsibility in students at an early age and they are much better prepared for XII class boards. Moreover a lot of students feel that boards are much more scoring than internals. Educationists however have welcomed the move. They feel that it was long overdue and will help in developing wholesome individuals. X class board exams are in no way a reflection of the aptitude of the students. Continuous evaluation throughout the year is definitely a better yardstick for allocating stream to students in class XI, rather than judging the student on basis of marks scored in single exam.
I reckon that there shouldn’t be any boards in class XII also. And if not, then a substantial weight age of board exam marks should be considered in entrance exams otherwise I see no point in scoring 96% marks in boards only to drop a year to get seat in good university.
Believe me, it does happen.. a lot.
It’s a good step forward. A lot more needs to be done though. We have world class institutes of higher learning such as IIT's, IIM's, IISC, BITS-Pilani etc where the education system and infrastructure in second to none. But what disheartens me is the quota system in these temples of learning, barring BITS-pilani. Not only does it denies an opportunity to deserving candidate, but it also become tough for such quota students to cope with studies and eventually they pass out with bad grades. Why can't we strengthen the primary education system instead? Why can’t we make education loans more accessible to lower classes? Why do we need to pass a bill for quota in private schools as well? Why can't we improve the quality of education in government schools itself?
There isn’t any scarcity of good ideas. Mid day meal scheme was one such great initiative. Statistics show that it had helped tremendously in increasing school attendance and to some extent in addressing malnutrition. Student exchange programmes could be started between govt and private schools whereby a few selected students from govt schools can spend a week in private schools and take back with them good practices being followed there. Each private school can adopt around fifty slum children and can organize one hour classes for them once a week in their premises. Instead of teaching the usual subjects, senior students can impart some moral education, play some team games and get a quick feedback on studies. This will not only help the poor children gain a lot more exposure but also help increase socialization amongst different stratum of society. Govt. should also step forward and give special recognition to such schools and students involved with such noble cause.
"You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one"
John Lennon
Socrates
HRD minister Kapil Sibal recently announced that CBSE 10th board exams will be optional from next year and the grading system will be put in place. Students will be allotted grades on basis of their performance throughout the academic year.
Indian education system has stood the test of time and a lot of questions are being raised on this new proposal. Main argument in favour of X class board exams is that it instils a sense of responsibility in students at an early age and they are much better prepared for XII class boards. Moreover a lot of students feel that boards are much more scoring than internals. Educationists however have welcomed the move. They feel that it was long overdue and will help in developing wholesome individuals. X class board exams are in no way a reflection of the aptitude of the students. Continuous evaluation throughout the year is definitely a better yardstick for allocating stream to students in class XI, rather than judging the student on basis of marks scored in single exam.
I reckon that there shouldn’t be any boards in class XII also. And if not, then a substantial weight age of board exam marks should be considered in entrance exams otherwise I see no point in scoring 96% marks in boards only to drop a year to get seat in good university.
Believe me, it does happen.. a lot.
It’s a good step forward. A lot more needs to be done though. We have world class institutes of higher learning such as IIT's, IIM's, IISC, BITS-Pilani etc where the education system and infrastructure in second to none. But what disheartens me is the quota system in these temples of learning, barring BITS-pilani. Not only does it denies an opportunity to deserving candidate, but it also become tough for such quota students to cope with studies and eventually they pass out with bad grades. Why can't we strengthen the primary education system instead? Why can’t we make education loans more accessible to lower classes? Why do we need to pass a bill for quota in private schools as well? Why can't we improve the quality of education in government schools itself?
There isn’t any scarcity of good ideas. Mid day meal scheme was one such great initiative. Statistics show that it had helped tremendously in increasing school attendance and to some extent in addressing malnutrition. Student exchange programmes could be started between govt and private schools whereby a few selected students from govt schools can spend a week in private schools and take back with them good practices being followed there. Each private school can adopt around fifty slum children and can organize one hour classes for them once a week in their premises. Instead of teaching the usual subjects, senior students can impart some moral education, play some team games and get a quick feedback on studies. This will not only help the poor children gain a lot more exposure but also help increase socialization amongst different stratum of society. Govt. should also step forward and give special recognition to such schools and students involved with such noble cause.
"You may say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one"
John Lennon
Sunday, August 23, 2009
My swift tryst with cheela
This independence day, I was’nt flying kites in Delhi rather I was flying high in the shivalik ranges. I had just reached haridwar a day earlier to visit my sister along with my first cousins, six of us. It had rained heavily on 14th, but that had’nt dampened our spirits and it had been a day well utilized by our gang in the ganges city. In the morning we went to local market near har ki pori, afternoon we visited the Mansa devi temple, and evening we visitied some other temples decorated beautifully on the occasion of Janamashthmi, and couple of hours of chit chatting after returning back home. Not to mention 2.5 hours of waiting in mansa devi temple compound for rain to stop on our way down. All inclusive, we hit the bed around 1 at night.
On 15th august I woke up early around 6:30 and had a short trip to BHEL, Ranipur in haridwar with my jiju and elder brother. We saw the independence day parade organized by group of schools located in BHEL campus, including my nephews school DPS. The parade was organized in a big circular ground surrounded with hills covered with trees.
It looked much like the playground where Harry potter played a quidditch match. There were steps along the circumference for audience to sit. A particular section of steps was well decorated with flowers and tricolour and all the chief guests were seated there. Flag hoisting had already taken place and although there was a slight drizzle; students were ready to start the parade. I wanted to spend more time there but we headed over further to Sidcul industrial area in hardiwar for business reasons.
By the time we reached back home plans had been made to visit Rishikesh. After having our breakfast six of us and my niece kicked off for rishikesh around 1pm. Its just an hour ride from Haridwar, but because of the heavy rains the previous day the usual route to rishikesh was jammed. Momentarily we thought of returning, then we asked a traffic constable for an alternate route and he directed us towards another road to rishikesh via Rajaji National Park or locally known in haridwar as Cheela. I had only heard about Cheela once from jiju but my elder brother had been there. He had apprehensions about the route related to land slides and wild animals but we decided to march on. The prospects of seeing wild animals seemed very thrilling to us. There were hardly any vehicles on that route which planted even more doubts in our mind. Anyways, we headed forward. The weather was cloudy and we were enjoying the scenic beauty on the way. The road was running parallel to river ganga with lush green surroundings
We were talking about our chances to catch a glimpse of a deer, or probably an elephant on the way. We had been driving just 4 kms on that route and we were already in high spirits discussing about the adventure sports activities like river rafting, trekking etc that we could do in rishikesh.
When suddenly, Robinson crusoe inside us took a back seat. There was no road ahead of us. Around 15 yards of road stretch was completely submerged in water flowing with a strong current. We were awestruck. All of us just gazing at the strong water current. I could see all the aspirations of adventure sports vanishing. It was terrifying but awesome. After a minute or so, my elder brother told me that the ganga water might have been diverted through this channel because of heavy rain.
I’m adventurous but not audacious. Moreover, I could not afford any heroics then, I had my little cousins with me. We decided to wait a while. After some time we saw a scorpio coming over from other side, it paused for a while and then crossed over without any trouble. But that’s a pretty heavy vehicle as compared to santro, I thought to myself. We were still unsure when a group of locals came in maruti 800 and crossed over without any concern. That gave us a lot of heart. We all stepped back into the car, chanted JAI MATA DI loudly and crossed over.
I must confess those four seconds were pretty un-nerving but in a strange kind of way spiritual too. I was’nt thinking of anything else but god during those four seconds.
Only after we had covered a couple of kms that I asked if anyone had taken a picture of that. Four mobiles with camera and a digicam too but not a single picture clicked. We were’nt thinking of anything else but to cross over at that time. But we were not to be disappointed as we had something even better or should I say worse waiting for us. After a km or so while paying the toll tax I asked a local if the road ahead was clear. With a very sarcastic grin he said, “haan sahib, pehle jaise hi ek aur jagah hain bas ab”. That was’nt good news. We decided that if we were to find any other problem on our way we’ll just spend a couple of hrs in Cheela itself and head off backwards. After 15 mins of drive we were again in somewhat similar situation. This time however, the submerged part was much longer but water current a little lesser. Nevertheless, it was scary. We halted for a second and then chanting JAI MATA DI for next ten seconds we crossed over. Afterwards, I did take couple of pictures.
Even though we didn’t see any deer or an elephant, nor did we do river rafting in rishikesh but that was more than the share of adventure we expected that day. Rest of the journey was smooth, we saw lakshman jhula in rishikesh and returned back to haridwar safely from usual route :)
During this independence day I got freedom from some of my fears. Next time though, I would definitely like to explore cheela more and experience more chills.
On 15th august I woke up early around 6:30 and had a short trip to BHEL, Ranipur in haridwar with my jiju and elder brother. We saw the independence day parade organized by group of schools located in BHEL campus, including my nephews school DPS. The parade was organized in a big circular ground surrounded with hills covered with trees.
It looked much like the playground where Harry potter played a quidditch match. There were steps along the circumference for audience to sit. A particular section of steps was well decorated with flowers and tricolour and all the chief guests were seated there. Flag hoisting had already taken place and although there was a slight drizzle; students were ready to start the parade. I wanted to spend more time there but we headed over further to Sidcul industrial area in hardiwar for business reasons.
By the time we reached back home plans had been made to visit Rishikesh. After having our breakfast six of us and my niece kicked off for rishikesh around 1pm. Its just an hour ride from Haridwar, but because of the heavy rains the previous day the usual route to rishikesh was jammed. Momentarily we thought of returning, then we asked a traffic constable for an alternate route and he directed us towards another road to rishikesh via Rajaji National Park or locally known in haridwar as Cheela. I had only heard about Cheela once from jiju but my elder brother had been there. He had apprehensions about the route related to land slides and wild animals but we decided to march on. The prospects of seeing wild animals seemed very thrilling to us. There were hardly any vehicles on that route which planted even more doubts in our mind. Anyways, we headed forward. The weather was cloudy and we were enjoying the scenic beauty on the way. The road was running parallel to river ganga with lush green surroundings
We were talking about our chances to catch a glimpse of a deer, or probably an elephant on the way. We had been driving just 4 kms on that route and we were already in high spirits discussing about the adventure sports activities like river rafting, trekking etc that we could do in rishikesh.
When suddenly, Robinson crusoe inside us took a back seat. There was no road ahead of us. Around 15 yards of road stretch was completely submerged in water flowing with a strong current. We were awestruck. All of us just gazing at the strong water current. I could see all the aspirations of adventure sports vanishing. It was terrifying but awesome. After a minute or so, my elder brother told me that the ganga water might have been diverted through this channel because of heavy rain.
I’m adventurous but not audacious. Moreover, I could not afford any heroics then, I had my little cousins with me. We decided to wait a while. After some time we saw a scorpio coming over from other side, it paused for a while and then crossed over without any trouble. But that’s a pretty heavy vehicle as compared to santro, I thought to myself. We were still unsure when a group of locals came in maruti 800 and crossed over without any concern. That gave us a lot of heart. We all stepped back into the car, chanted JAI MATA DI loudly and crossed over.
I must confess those four seconds were pretty un-nerving but in a strange kind of way spiritual too. I was’nt thinking of anything else but god during those four seconds.
Only after we had covered a couple of kms that I asked if anyone had taken a picture of that. Four mobiles with camera and a digicam too but not a single picture clicked. We were’nt thinking of anything else but to cross over at that time. But we were not to be disappointed as we had something even better or should I say worse waiting for us. After a km or so while paying the toll tax I asked a local if the road ahead was clear. With a very sarcastic grin he said, “haan sahib, pehle jaise hi ek aur jagah hain bas ab”. That was’nt good news. We decided that if we were to find any other problem on our way we’ll just spend a couple of hrs in Cheela itself and head off backwards. After 15 mins of drive we were again in somewhat similar situation. This time however, the submerged part was much longer but water current a little lesser. Nevertheless, it was scary. We halted for a second and then chanting JAI MATA DI for next ten seconds we crossed over. Afterwards, I did take couple of pictures.
Even though we didn’t see any deer or an elephant, nor did we do river rafting in rishikesh but that was more than the share of adventure we expected that day. Rest of the journey was smooth, we saw lakshman jhula in rishikesh and returned back to haridwar safely from usual route :)
During this independence day I got freedom from some of my fears. Next time though, I would definitely like to explore cheela more and experience more chills.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
A plea to doctors
H1N1, or simply swine flu, is the new buzzword in media circles these days. As of now 10 deaths have been reported and total of 864 people have been reported to be infected with the virus. I’m not surprised at all that swine flu has grown to alarming proportions. And in days to come it is feared that it might become a rampant epidemic. Needless to say that we should all be cautious. There were enough indications before the disease claimed so many casualities but the inept government has kept up to its expections by not doing enough.
In midst of all this, there are discussions about how the virus spreads, what are the symptoms, where it could have originated from, should schools be closed around the countries, should doctors be held responsible for the death of Reeda Shaikh in pune and many more.
Blaming health ministry is the obvious first reaction, but will it or rather has it changed anything till now. I really don’t want to point a finger on health ministry here as I have no expectations from the highly incapable and corrupt ministries of govt, be it health or any other. But I felt so furious and frustrated when I heard the comments of Ghulam Nabi Azad that the little girl Reeda from Pune might have infected 80 other people in order to get the treatement. WTF! What exactly is he suggesting ? Should she have stayed at home and done nothing ? Did'nt she deserve an alternate medical opinion ? But... hey, can't blame the politicians here. Afterall, most of the politicians are innately inhumane and with no moral values. Unfortunate but..
For a change, rather than cursing the politicians and the govt. for not being vigilant and blah blah blah, I would like to put up a question to the private medical practitioners. Why don’t we see private doctors stepping forward and organizing camps where they would do a free-checkup of patients ? Would it hurt them so much if their money making machines, also known as clinics are opened for poor patients when there is a fear of epidemic ? Is there no morality left in doctor’s profession ? Probably, very strong words to say but can they be denied ?
There is tremendous pressure on govt hospitals currently. The ratio of patients to doctors is approx1000:1 which is abysmal. If private doctors were to just devote 3-4 hours a week for treating the poor then we’ll have a healthier and happier country.
I would be the happiest person if some doctors could step forward and prove me wrong
Period
In midst of all this, there are discussions about how the virus spreads, what are the symptoms, where it could have originated from, should schools be closed around the countries, should doctors be held responsible for the death of Reeda Shaikh in pune and many more.
Blaming health ministry is the obvious first reaction, but will it or rather has it changed anything till now. I really don’t want to point a finger on health ministry here as I have no expectations from the highly incapable and corrupt ministries of govt, be it health or any other. But I felt so furious and frustrated when I heard the comments of Ghulam Nabi Azad that the little girl Reeda from Pune might have infected 80 other people in order to get the treatement. WTF! What exactly is he suggesting ? Should she have stayed at home and done nothing ? Did'nt she deserve an alternate medical opinion ? But... hey, can't blame the politicians here. Afterall, most of the politicians are innately inhumane and with no moral values. Unfortunate but..
For a change, rather than cursing the politicians and the govt. for not being vigilant and blah blah blah, I would like to put up a question to the private medical practitioners. Why don’t we see private doctors stepping forward and organizing camps where they would do a free-checkup of patients ? Would it hurt them so much if their money making machines, also known as clinics are opened for poor patients when there is a fear of epidemic ? Is there no morality left in doctor’s profession ? Probably, very strong words to say but can they be denied ?
There is tremendous pressure on govt hospitals currently. The ratio of patients to doctors is approx1000:1 which is abysmal. If private doctors were to just devote 3-4 hours a week for treating the poor then we’ll have a healthier and happier country.
I would be the happiest person if some doctors could step forward and prove me wrong
Period
Saturday, August 1, 2009
FICN.. latest WMD
FICN is not a new phenomenon. A little googling will tell you that its been going on since early 90's but now its a bigger threat more than ever primarily because the magnitude of production and circulation has increased drastically. Mainly because of technological advancements in fields of drawing, design and printing.
The nexus and protocol is well known too. Fake currency is printed in Quetta, Baluchistan in Pakistan. Then its transported to UAE. From there on, it finds its way in India through Thailand or Nepal. The sheer volume of the operations suggest that there must be some strong backing and motive behind all this. ISI and D-company are the backing agencies and motive is to fund the terrorist activities in Kasmir and subvert the indian economy. This is the reason that the influx of FICN in India has increased exponentially during the last 8-10 years. Pak has seen no tangible effects of its felonious activities in Jammu & Kasmir and after 9/11 attack has always been scrutinized closely by the world as one of the places that harbors terrorism. With its dwindling economy and ever unstable govt. probably FICN is the only means left to support henious acts of terrorism against India. Most of the funding for last year mumbai terror attack was also obtained through fake currency racket.
Dossiers in IB ministry are filled with the details of how Pak's ISI agency carries out these operations. Its an open secret and no surprise that Pakistan is behind all this. What shocked me most was a report published by IB in August 2008 which stated that Pakistan has been procuring currency-standard printing paper in huge quantities from London-based
companies; much higher than normal requirement of the country for printing its own currency.
How could UK govt be not aware of this? When it comes to sucking up to US and expressing their support against terror they come wagging their tail.
We as responsible citizens should be aware too of the diffrences between original and fake currency. RBI has release set of "Know your bank note" postures which are very informative.
http://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/English/Scripts/CurrencyNotePosters.aspx#
Also RBI has advised banks to install currency sorting machines which can detect counterfiet currency.One of the myths is that most of the FICN are of denomination 500 or 1000. However, IB sources say that there is probably more FICN of denomination 100 than 500 and 1000 together, just that people are not aware of counterfiet 100 rupee notes in circulation.
Sometimes, I think that if Pak was to work in full capacity in terms of money, time and intellect in upliftment of their economy rather than devoting these resources for terrorist activities then probably it would be doing just as well as India. Alas!
The nexus and protocol is well known too. Fake currency is printed in Quetta, Baluchistan in Pakistan. Then its transported to UAE. From there on, it finds its way in India through Thailand or Nepal. The sheer volume of the operations suggest that there must be some strong backing and motive behind all this. ISI and D-company are the backing agencies and motive is to fund the terrorist activities in Kasmir and subvert the indian economy. This is the reason that the influx of FICN in India has increased exponentially during the last 8-10 years. Pak has seen no tangible effects of its felonious activities in Jammu & Kasmir and after 9/11 attack has always been scrutinized closely by the world as one of the places that harbors terrorism. With its dwindling economy and ever unstable govt. probably FICN is the only means left to support henious acts of terrorism against India. Most of the funding for last year mumbai terror attack was also obtained through fake currency racket.
Dossiers in IB ministry are filled with the details of how Pak's ISI agency carries out these operations. Its an open secret and no surprise that Pakistan is behind all this. What shocked me most was a report published by IB in August 2008 which stated that Pakistan has been procuring currency-standard printing paper in huge quantities from London-based
companies; much higher than normal requirement of the country for printing its own currency.
How could UK govt be not aware of this? When it comes to sucking up to US and expressing their support against terror they come wagging their tail.
We as responsible citizens should be aware too of the diffrences between original and fake currency. RBI has release set of "Know your bank note" postures which are very informative.
http://www.rbi.org.in/commonman/English/Scripts/CurrencyNotePosters.aspx#
Also RBI has advised banks to install currency sorting machines which can detect counterfiet currency.One of the myths is that most of the FICN are of denomination 500 or 1000. However, IB sources say that there is probably more FICN of denomination 100 than 500 and 1000 together, just that people are not aware of counterfiet 100 rupee notes in circulation.
Sometimes, I think that if Pak was to work in full capacity in terms of money, time and intellect in upliftment of their economy rather than devoting these resources for terrorist activities then probably it would be doing just as well as India. Alas!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
4.5 hours
Approx twice the time of air travel between Delhi-Bangalore or
One and half times the duration of any Hindi movie or
Slightly more than duration of twenty twenty cricket match or
Time it takes to cover meagre 29 km strech between Noida and Delhi (subject to rain)
July 27 – Monday - 7:30 pm
Weather: Cloudy
Place: Ring Road - Delhi
Culprit: Rain
Victim: Delhiites
Verdict: Your call !!
That day I was car pooling with my friend Gaurav Khurana. Although he was suppose to pick me up at 7:00 IST, but nevermind IST, my dear friend follows KST viz IST + x where x is the lateness quotient. But the weather was nice that day and I did'nt mind waiting a little. We started off from my office towards home at exactly 7:30 pm.
The traffic was a little slower than usual but we were'nt too concerned. We were discussing about the process to file ITR online and enjoying the good weather. I offered to drive as I wanted my friend to have a look at my form-16. Little did I know that it would turn out to be a costly proposition in the end. Then it started to rain at around 7:45 pm and we were happy to get some relief from scorching heat of Delhi.
We were moving slow but were pre-occupied with the discussion on filing ITR and did'nt bother about our pace. We slowly crossed DND flyway, south extension and AIIMS. We reached Motibagh flyover at around 8:50 pm. It had taken us 30 minutes more than usual to reach there. We thought another 20-25 min and we'll be home. By this time it was raining very heavily. Rain god was generous. The prayers of Delhiites were heard and rain god was showering his blessings.
Gaurav was tired so he took a little nap. Meanwhile, I was just admiring the rain. It was 9:15pm and we had’nt moved a bit. Most of the vehicles were turned off by now and so was mine. It was pitch dark and I was listening to sound of the rain. Just one of those things that soothes my mind. Lying there on middle of one of the busiest roads, driving for past 1hour 45 minutes, with no sign of traffic moving, and starting to feel hungry as well but I was’nt complaining. I was almost asleep listening melodious rain drops when I saw some lights flashing in front of my eyes. Traffic was ready to move, or so did I think. For next 45 minutes or so traffic moved at snails pace and we managed to cross significant 800metres of the motibagh flyover. It was 10pm and by now Gaurav was also awake. He offered to drive but since he was looking tired so I decided to stay in the driving seat.
Dhaula Kuan was approx 1.5 km or so from there and my home another 8 km from there. After Dhaula Kuan, Delhi cantt area starts and the road really widens out and we were hoping that there’ll be no trouble after that. However, there is a diversion from Dhaula Kuan towards Gurgaon which merges ahead into Delhi Cantt along Army golf course. We were very hungry and decided to defer the decision of choosing the route. We had a lot of time to think about it considering the pace of traffic. Gaurav left the car to find out something to eat. Ho got hold of some patties. The patties was totally soaked in water and it seemed as if stuffing inside had been pasted with gum. On any other day I would have definitely not eaten it but it was’nt just any other day. We ate gleefully. It was 10:30 now and we were still 1200 metres from Dhaula Kuan.
Distance was best measured in metres that day.
I had received numorous calls from home till now and there was’nt much to tell except that we’r still in Motibagh. Finally we reached the Dhaula Kuan at 11:30pm and Gaurav told me that we better take the diversion towards Gurgaon. I suggested that we stick to our usual route straight through Dhaula Kuan. There wasn’t much argument and we took the diversion. Good call in the end as we later found out that the other route wasn’t cleared until midnight. The way ahead was clean and we reached the home at exactly 12pm tired and exhausted.
Next day I heard comments of our honourable chief minister Shiela Dikshit that the rain had caused just a little trouble on roads for only two hours or so.
Gee!! Is that so ?
One and half times the duration of any Hindi movie or
Slightly more than duration of twenty twenty cricket match or
Time it takes to cover meagre 29 km strech between Noida and Delhi (subject to rain)
July 27 – Monday - 7:30 pm
Weather: Cloudy
Place: Ring Road - Delhi
Culprit: Rain
Victim: Delhiites
Verdict: Your call !!
That day I was car pooling with my friend Gaurav Khurana. Although he was suppose to pick me up at 7:00 IST, but nevermind IST, my dear friend follows KST viz IST + x where x is the lateness quotient. But the weather was nice that day and I did'nt mind waiting a little. We started off from my office towards home at exactly 7:30 pm.
The traffic was a little slower than usual but we were'nt too concerned. We were discussing about the process to file ITR online and enjoying the good weather. I offered to drive as I wanted my friend to have a look at my form-16. Little did I know that it would turn out to be a costly proposition in the end. Then it started to rain at around 7:45 pm and we were happy to get some relief from scorching heat of Delhi.
We were moving slow but were pre-occupied with the discussion on filing ITR and did'nt bother about our pace. We slowly crossed DND flyway, south extension and AIIMS. We reached Motibagh flyover at around 8:50 pm. It had taken us 30 minutes more than usual to reach there. We thought another 20-25 min and we'll be home. By this time it was raining very heavily. Rain god was generous. The prayers of Delhiites were heard and rain god was showering his blessings.
Gaurav was tired so he took a little nap. Meanwhile, I was just admiring the rain. It was 9:15pm and we had’nt moved a bit. Most of the vehicles were turned off by now and so was mine. It was pitch dark and I was listening to sound of the rain. Just one of those things that soothes my mind. Lying there on middle of one of the busiest roads, driving for past 1hour 45 minutes, with no sign of traffic moving, and starting to feel hungry as well but I was’nt complaining. I was almost asleep listening melodious rain drops when I saw some lights flashing in front of my eyes. Traffic was ready to move, or so did I think. For next 45 minutes or so traffic moved at snails pace and we managed to cross significant 800metres of the motibagh flyover. It was 10pm and by now Gaurav was also awake. He offered to drive but since he was looking tired so I decided to stay in the driving seat.
Dhaula Kuan was approx 1.5 km or so from there and my home another 8 km from there. After Dhaula Kuan, Delhi cantt area starts and the road really widens out and we were hoping that there’ll be no trouble after that. However, there is a diversion from Dhaula Kuan towards Gurgaon which merges ahead into Delhi Cantt along Army golf course. We were very hungry and decided to defer the decision of choosing the route. We had a lot of time to think about it considering the pace of traffic. Gaurav left the car to find out something to eat. Ho got hold of some patties. The patties was totally soaked in water and it seemed as if stuffing inside had been pasted with gum. On any other day I would have definitely not eaten it but it was’nt just any other day. We ate gleefully. It was 10:30 now and we were still 1200 metres from Dhaula Kuan.
Distance was best measured in metres that day.
I had received numorous calls from home till now and there was’nt much to tell except that we’r still in Motibagh. Finally we reached the Dhaula Kuan at 11:30pm and Gaurav told me that we better take the diversion towards Gurgaon. I suggested that we stick to our usual route straight through Dhaula Kuan. There wasn’t much argument and we took the diversion. Good call in the end as we later found out that the other route wasn’t cleared until midnight. The way ahead was clean and we reached the home at exactly 12pm tired and exhausted.
Next day I heard comments of our honourable chief minister Shiela Dikshit that the rain had caused just a little trouble on roads for only two hours or so.
Gee!! Is that so ?
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Chew on this !
During my school and college days I often ate junk food, but my stay in Bangalore for three years expanded my junk food horizons. I got introduced to what still remains the top fav on my junk food list. The fried chicken. My roomie forcibly took me to fried chicken treat the very first time. Although a non-vegetarian, I had never tasted fried chicken before and cringed even at thought of tasting it. But, it was then that my sweet relationship with fried chicken started which helped me survive my weekends in Korea for ~3 months. Breakfast, lunch and dinner – all fried chicken !! But make no mistake, I ain’t promoting junk food here.
Junk food is not good for your health. A cliché, I know, but can you resist the temptation. Yes … maybe No. But once you know the ill effects of the fast food you would probably think twice before indulging your senses in oily and greasy stuff.
Swallow this:
Junk food has high salt contentRoughly a single junk meal would provide the body twice or thrice as much salt as needed by the body. High salt content leads to high blood pressure. Also it increases amount of calcium excreted from urine.
Junk food is high on trans fat / partially hydrogenated vegetable oilTrans fat raises bad cholesterol and lowers the good cholesterol, which are linked with cardiovascular disease including heart disease and stroke. Trans fat may also affect learning ability and cognitive capability.
Further, It Slows down your metabolism.
And WORST of all, its addictive.The whole idea of writing this blog is to educate myself (and hopefully others too) a little more about hazards of junk food. But, I don’t intend to cut down on junk food absolutely. I strongly believe that if we exercise regularly then eating some fried chicken or burgers once a week wont do us any harm. Remember, excess of everything is bad, junk food is no exception. Next time, I’m about to grab a piece of junk I would think of all these things. Let’s see how well it comes along ;)
Junk food has high salt contentRoughly a single junk meal would provide the body twice or thrice as much salt as needed by the body. High salt content leads to high blood pressure. Also it increases amount of calcium excreted from urine.
Junk food is high on trans fat / partially hydrogenated vegetable oilTrans fat raises bad cholesterol and lowers the good cholesterol, which are linked with cardiovascular disease including heart disease and stroke. Trans fat may also affect learning ability and cognitive capability.
Further, It Slows down your metabolism.
And WORST of all, its addictive.The whole idea of writing this blog is to educate myself (and hopefully others too) a little more about hazards of junk food. But, I don’t intend to cut down on junk food absolutely. I strongly believe that if we exercise regularly then eating some fried chicken or burgers once a week wont do us any harm. Remember, excess of everything is bad, junk food is no exception. Next time, I’m about to grab a piece of junk I would think of all these things. Let’s see how well it comes along ;)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Fris-Kalam
Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder; and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and un-equals alike - Plato
With due respect to Mr Kalam, I feel that there was’nt anything wrong with the frisking episode. Law is equal for all, atleast thats what we're taught in books.
Indian civial aviation security protocol exempts President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, former Presidents, Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Ministers, Chief Justices of High Courts and the Cabinet Secretary from security checkup at airpoirts. However, thats just the official version of list. Unofficial version would probably eat up all of my blog space. US Airliner Continental breached this security violation by daring to frisk Kalam. Result... FIR filed against Continental… apology from airlines mentioning frisking incident as a misunderstanding… Praful Patel’s happy… done.
I ain’t saying that US airlines set a good example by violating the civil aviation rules nor am I suggesting anything against honourable Mr Kalam.
I say, why is there such a rule at all. Why not treat everyone the same way. Afterall, how much inconvenience can a quick security check cause. Even Indian Airlines should frisk all the foreign diplomats. No exceptions. I don’t care what the security protocol in other countries is, if you know the right way of doing things why to go the wrong way just because others are following that path.
Be the change you want to see in the world – Mahatma Gandhi
Perfect gentleman that Kalam is, he did not say a word before frisking nor has he commented anything on the incident afterwards. I’m sure he would’nt have been embarrassed by a routine security check. However, I would have loved to see Kalam coming out in public and expressing his thoughts on the issue. That would have sent a strong message to the world that ours is a society with equality and justice for all. We look up to leaders like Kalam to set examples for others to follow. I’m really anxious to hear first comments of Kalam …
With due respect to Mr Kalam, I feel that there was’nt anything wrong with the frisking episode. Law is equal for all, atleast thats what we're taught in books.
Indian civial aviation security protocol exempts President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, former Presidents, Lok Sabha Speaker, Chief Ministers, Chief Justices of High Courts and the Cabinet Secretary from security checkup at airpoirts. However, thats just the official version of list. Unofficial version would probably eat up all of my blog space. US Airliner Continental breached this security violation by daring to frisk Kalam. Result... FIR filed against Continental… apology from airlines mentioning frisking incident as a misunderstanding… Praful Patel’s happy… done.
I ain’t saying that US airlines set a good example by violating the civil aviation rules nor am I suggesting anything against honourable Mr Kalam.
I say, why is there such a rule at all. Why not treat everyone the same way. Afterall, how much inconvenience can a quick security check cause. Even Indian Airlines should frisk all the foreign diplomats. No exceptions. I don’t care what the security protocol in other countries is, if you know the right way of doing things why to go the wrong way just because others are following that path.
Be the change you want to see in the world – Mahatma Gandhi
Perfect gentleman that Kalam is, he did not say a word before frisking nor has he commented anything on the incident afterwards. I’m sure he would’nt have been embarrassed by a routine security check. However, I would have loved to see Kalam coming out in public and expressing his thoughts on the issue. That would have sent a strong message to the world that ours is a society with equality and justice for all. We look up to leaders like Kalam to set examples for others to follow. I’m really anxious to hear first comments of Kalam …
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