Thoughts to change people's lives

Thoughtful Thinking

2020-10-22T11:38:00.005+05:30

Ever thought we could have two lines of thought processes ? I from personal experience certainly feel so. One type of thought process is which tries to act/think on lines of person's beliefs of what's right and wrong. This is what we can call as conscious thinking. These chain of thoughts are a formed from multitudes of factors from past experiences to situations the person has been in to external/internal influences. I personally believe this is what makes us human , separate from animals.

Ever get urges of doing something crazy which is out of character ? Ever had a brain fade moment where later you realize 'Oh , my God why did I do this ! ' . Everyone reacts differently to extremely emotional situations : Some people feel like puking ,experience moments where they are not able to think clearly , sometimes end up taking split second decisions.

I believe this is due to another type of involuntary thoughts born partly as reaction to situations. There are times , when you cannot think straight or your conscious mind is not able to direct. in such moments , i think we employ subconscious thinking , like a reflex action. Its often employed in times of facing extreme emotions of anger , happiness , sadness etc.

I think both parts have their own usefulness. Subconscious offers faster reaction time but the validity of decisions depends on your past learnings, genetic factors and generally slow to change. Also it's the default Go-to method for the brain. On the other hand, Conscious mind could have a slower reaction time , but has a higher probability of taking correct decisions.

Consciousness is constantly evolving in nature and will revolve around your what u absorb over the years and believe in. That's why i guess they say to be around positive influences , environment and think good things because it frames your conscious thoughts. But converting them to subconscious thoughts is a much harder process of employing discipline and ones who can do can achieve great things since they see clearly more than others and can react more quickly than others.

So i would end philosophically by saying this : Consciousness is what you want to be and Subconsciousness is who you are and life is all about learning to be who you want to be by transforming your conscious thoughts to subconscious thoughts.

Note : All images are taken from Google and are not owned by me and only used for reference purposes.

Magic of Give , Take & Share

2017-02-24T12:19:00.004+05:30

Give & Take help to share meaningful relationships

I always get the feeling that i am not valued enough. I tend to always proactively help out people but i realized that only a few realize my worth and value the help I give them. Most of the times i am taken for granted and in the odd case i am not able to help , people are visibly upset with me. I always used to wonder why is that ? Why am i not valued when i tend to help people the most ? If this sounds like a familiar story read on ahead...

Then i started analyzing. The basic feeling i have inside of me is to help people. Sometimes that leads to helping people in need and in other cases helping people who could have helped themselves too. This necessary / unnecessary helping out has lead to many complicated situations like the persons becoming dependent on me , expectations from me being raised to levels i cannot achieve and lots of quarrels when i am not able to help a particular person because i was genuinely occupied with some other important thing.

I observed one more vice that i tend to PROACTIVELY help people. By proactive , i mean that i tend to reach out to people and ask them if they need help rather than waiting for their request. In extreme cases , i found that i have gone and helped people because i felt like helping, even in situations when they could have got the task done, themselves. So this proactive help causes people to take me for granted. Because of this automatically my worth decreases. Let me illustrate with an example :

A particular person say A is in a problem. If i help that person out then A's reaction would be : this person always helps , likes to help so its nothing new for him. So , its not a big deal when i help A.
Now take the case of B. Now B never helps A. But in this particular case B went up and helped A. Now A's reaction would be : What a nice person B is. He helped me. It becomes a big deal for A since B never reaches out to help and in this rare occurrence he did.

And Bingo ! That's where my problem crops up. Automatically value for B goes much higher in A's mind rather than me.

A perfect example of that is parents. Our parents are the single most entities in our entire world who will be there for us always , would help us always and due to that we sometimes tend to take their help for granted. We feel so damn special when one of our friends goes out of the way to help us , but in turn do we value the same thing in the same way if our parents do it for us ? Another funny analogy (thought not completely on the mark ) is Sachin Tendulkar. If Sachin scores a century we feel happy , proud and in general happy but we don't think of it as a special thing. But in contrast if a newcomer or a not so known guy from whom expectations are low scores a century , he becomes an overnight sensation. In contrast , if Sachin fails and India loses , then entire nation fumes at Sachin. This is because because expectations are with Sachin and not the new comer guy who also failed with Sachin.

Solution ? Remember the magic of Give , Take and Share

Giving Help :

While helping people evaluate people if they need help before helping out and learn not to set very high expectations which can in turn lead to problems.One more important thing is to learn to manage help i.e to learn what does the person actually need and helping out accordingly.

Taking Help :

Our outlook should be changed. We should try to value each of the good deeds done to us irrespective of who does it. Taking people for granted happens because of expectations. Its OK to have expectations from people and its OK to be mad if those certain people are not able to help but it necessary to value the same people when they do help.

Sharing a Bond

Never forget why we help each other. Its just because of the bond that we share , with the person , do we reach out to help .Let's learn to value this fact and we will all be alright .

Inputs from readers are welcome.

Signing off ,

Tejas D.

Hardcoding of Advice !

2016-05-24T10:48:00.003+05:30

In computer programming , we have a term Hard coding which means putting a fixed value in the code which can be changed only by the programmer. So when a program's requirement changes , the code cannot adapt and hence program fails to do its job. Hence we programmers are given explicit instructions : Avoid Hard coding wherever possible. Program should be coded in such a way that it satisfies the requirement irrespective of any change which can occur in input.

Now how does this relate to advice ?

At every point of time in our lives for taking decisions we take advice from different people. Say e.g for my career conundrum i asked people what should i do ? I really got a variety of answers

A : Go for an MBA. Nowadays , everyone does it and it pays good

B : Go for M.S in USA. You can climb up the company ladder very fast that way

C : Change your technology. XYZ technology is trending these days . You should learn it

Well advice is good , it gives you different perspectives. But where sometimes we go wrong is get influenced by advice. All A , B , C give advice from their experiences , opinions and their environment so it may not apply to you. In short if you change the environment and all other variables the advice may not match. So the advice which may work for A , may not work for B or C. Such kind of advice is fixed, maybe fail to find a probable solution and can cause more harm than good. A , B & C may think that they have given the best advice possible but by blindly following their advice we may not achieve our objectives and naturally get frustrated. We then would do the most obvious thing : blame A / B / C for our situation but from their perspective they though they gave the best advice and rightfully feel offended .What they do not/ will not however understand is the harcoded nature of their advice.

In computer languages we avoid this by making programs generalized. We think of all the possible situations / environments / conditions before writing the code and implement the code appropriately. Person working on the program changed ? Be cool , program is understood easily . Computer shutting down in the middle ? Ok , bring it on , program will wait for it to be back up . Internet shuts down ? No problem , program can handle it. Such programmers who can avoid hardcode are really coveted in the industry and can produce excellent results.

Now ,Coming back to our advice situation , we can solve our problem of advice in two ways :

1. The person taking advice keeps a open mind taking hard coding into question and deriving the basic purpose of advice and applying it

2. The person giving advice can be smart and empathize with the situation of the person seeking advice and give either a generalized or if required a personalized advice which is applicable to that person

Being a programmer myself , i would always prefer the 2nd where we take care of the problem in the initial phase itself.This avoids the problem of misinterpretation / miscommunication and the person taking the advice would forever be grateful to you because you could have possibly made a big difference in his life.

So my generalized advice to you when giving advice ?

1. Keep it short and simple

2. Empathize with the other person's situation before giving advice. Ask yourself, if i were in his shoes how would i solve this problem ?

3. Speaking from experience is good , but since times changes quickly think beforehand that the advice applies for today too.So what applied to our parents may not apply to us.

4. Take into consideration personal motivations , environment , situation before giving advice. If you did something because of a certain situation & reason, it may not apply to the other person too.

5. Do not in any way try to influence the person to accept your advice. It is bad and you can screw the person's life. Often this happens in case of parents want their children do something in a way they would have done , it can prove disastrous since it may not always be the best way out.

Remember guys ---------------> "Avoid hardcoding"

- Tejas Deshpande

The Cycle of Thinking

2016-05-18T08:43:00.001+05:30

My day was going so well...almost. Some astray negative thought cropped up my mind and I started brooding on that.Why did the person so this ? Is there a solution to this ? Why can't this be done ? questions came up and my entire focus shifted from my work to this one damn negative thought. This thought , regarding something I care about led me down the memory lane and my work , my sound mind and my good mood all went down the drain. That entire day was wasted by a single Negative thought !

Does this sound familiar ?

I believe our thoughts define whom we are and are important but there should be an upper limit to thinking.Negative thoughts however promote what I call now " Cycle of Thinking ".

What is this cycle of thinking ?

First step to it is the Trigger which starts the cycle. Then comes Fuel in form of bad memories , experiences and it leads to the next step which is Questions mostly the most common one : Why. These questions then get our emotions up leading to another trigger and cycle of thinking continues.

Now a question : Is this bad ?

Thinking promotes reasoning , defines character and derives solutions .Thinking about negative thoughts is good but it should stop persisting after a while when we determine that a viable coping mechanism is found out..if not then that thinking leads us to brooding. One thing leads to another and we leave what we are doing and we become lost in sea of thoughts. Why what how questions occupy our mind and good / bad past memories flood our senses. This affects our present and we screw up whatever we are doing. Our focus is affected , we become emotional , our reactions become defined by our emotions and everything is a perfect catalyst to turn a pretty good day into a bad one.

So ? The solution ?

There are no well defined methods to solve this conundrum but the Goal is crystal clear : Break the cycle of thinking and come into the present.

First step is Realization that we are in this cycle and it has to stop. Second has to be a rescue ladder which distracts our mind and drags us back to the present. It may be in form on good company , good thoughts and actions which take us away. Third has to be a Lock on the gate to this cycle of thoughts.

Well to come to this conclusion also I had to go through the cycle of thinking and it's time for my rescue ladder. Till the next time folks !!!

- Tejas Deshpande

P.S : This post is dedicated to my very awesome sister Vibhuti who served as an inspiration for this article

Excellence vs Showmanship

2016-04-29T22:40:00.001+05:30

A German once visited a temple under
construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby.

Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you
need two statues of the same idol?"
"No," said the sculptor
without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage."

The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage.
"Where is the damage?" he asked.
"There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work.

"Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be
installed on a pillar twenty feet high.

"If the idol is that far who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?"
the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said,
"I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not.

"Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency.

Don't Climb a mountain with an intention that the world should see you, climb the mountain with the intention to See the World.

* This article has been published with intention of motivating people. I have not written the article and not claiming to do so.

Source : Quora

Things we do for Cricket !

2015-07-09T15:24:00.000+05:30

India is a cricket crazy world. Love it or hate it , it forms a part of your life. It can make trains stop , makes people stand on roads the entire time to check out the match on a television in some damn store. Yes we are cricket fanatics !

But life does not stop for us fanatics right ? Work comes along , schools & college timings tend to spoil the day , so does the occasional shopping , working out , home chores , family getogethers and what not. So we are forced to tear our eyes from the cricket screen and focus on the task at hand. But the fanatic in us still wants to follow cricket. So how do we manage? Let me take my example for a sec

School Days

Cricket...Cricket

In school days , we did not have mobile forget mobile internet so checking the score was impossible. In the recess we used to herd the peons for an update on the score. The teachers used to be generous sometimes and used to give udpates voluntarily but things were pretty much bleak. World Cup 2003 was between Feb- March and was a nightmare for me because of oncoming final exams and I remember mom and dad putting a ban on TV during that time. We used to have cable TV during those days. Mom and Dad had told the cable guy to disconnect the connection. He had just removed the wire from the connector nad taken the joining nut away with him. So , i remember to watch the final me and my sister had secertly indigenously made a conenctor yourself out of silver foil and had watched the match secretly. It was a thrilling experience for us but not so much for India as we lost the final and I had switched off the TV as soon as Sachin got out.

College Days

Fast forward to college days where we now possessed mobiles. Checking the score became easy. We also used to listen to commentary on FM putting the earphones discreetly. But all of this involved a certain degree of risk as we could get caught during lectures.Teacher were a lot meaner here and did not allow even a peek at the score forget telling the class the score unlike the school teachers

Office Days

Now , after graduation , I finally thought cricket watching might become easy but I was again mistaken. I got placed in Infosys , which has a strict internet policy. Then Hotstar.com came along and watching cricket became easy. But Infosys guys then banned it and again it was back to square one. Getting to know scoreso on websites with 2G internet is frustrating because it takes a hell lot of time to update.

Nowadays for checking scores i have found a simpler solution : UC Cricket. I guess everyone must be familiar with UC browser ? Its the browser which i have used since my JAVA OS days. It was fast and efficient. Now these folks have introduced a new thing called UC cricket which offers scores on the go. If you are not aware how , i have included a few screenshots for reference :

UC Web browser : UC cricket

So i don't have to install any new apps , or check different websites for scores and information. I can get it all there.

Check out : http://www.ucweb.com/

GOD : The Universe's Biggest Question

2015-06-01T17:05:00.000+05:30

A conversation takes place between a student and a professor. It goes something like this :

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

P.S.

I believe you have enjoyed the conversation. And if so, you’ll probably want your friends / colleagues to enjoy the same, won’t you?

Forward this to increase their knowledge … or FAITH.

By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.

Source : Encountered this while browsing. Don't remember the exact page hence cannot give credits but this piece is not written by me

Jack Ma: If you’re still poor at 35, you deserve it!

2015-05-25T10:41:00.000+05:30

There was only one friend (who was working in a bank then) who told me, “If you want to do it, just try it. If things don’t work out the way you expected it to, you can always revert back to what you were doing before.” I pondered upon this for one night, and by the next morning, I decided I would do it anyway, even if all of the 24 people opposed the idea.

When I first started Alibaba, I was immediately met with strong opposition from family and friends. Looking back, I realised that the biggest driving force for me then was not my confidence in the Internet and the potential it held, but more of this: “No matter what one does, regardless of failure or success, the experience is a form of success in itself.” You have got to keep trying, and if it doesn’t work, you always can revert back to what you were doing before.

As with this quote by T.E. Lawrence – “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream in the dark recesses of the night awake in the day to find all was vanity. But the dreamers of day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make it possible.”

Jack Ma: People lose out in life because of these 4 reasons:

Being myopic to opportunity
Looking down on opportunities
Lacking understanding
Failing to act quickly enough

You are poor, because you have no ambition.

Ambition is living a life of great ideals; a magnificent goal in life that must be realised.

In this world, there are things that are deemed unfathomable, but there is nothing in this world that cannot be done. The depth of one’s ambition determines the potential of one’ future.

The Story of Juliet Wu Shihong – one of China’s first-generation professional managers, who gained success by working her way up the ranks from a cleaner, a nurse, a marketing executive, through self-education and learning on the job.

She had been the general manager for the world’s most famous multinational IT groups’ Chinese branches (Microsoft 1985-1998; IBM 1998-1999). She is also China’s first successful international corporate executive to join the executive team of a domestic private firm. Wu was seen as a symbol of the new generation of business executives that China has produced in its economic reform and opening-up.

When Wu started off in a big company working from the lowest ranks, her daily job was to pour tea and sweep floors. Once, because she forgot her staff pass, the company’s guard stopped her at the door and denied her entry. She explained to the guard that she was indeed one of the company’s employees, and that she had merely left the building for a short while to purchase office supplies.

Despite her pleas, the guard still did not allow to enter. As she stood at the gate, she watched as those of similar age to her, but smartly dressed in business attire walking through without having to show their passes.

She asked the guard, “Why are these people allowed through without producing a pass?” The guard dismissed her coldly nonetheless.

That was the turning point for Wu – she felt great shame, her self-esteem trampled on.

She looked at herself, dressed in shabby clothes and pushing a dirty push cart. Looking back at those dressed in smart attire, her heart felt a deep ache from the sudden realization of the sorrow and grief from being discriminated. From that moment, she vowed never to allow herself to be shamed like this again, and to become world-famous.

Since then, she used every opportunity to enrich herself. Every day, she was the first to arrive at work, and the last one to leave. She made every second count, spending her time learning the ropes. Her efforts soon paid off; she was made a sales representative, and quickly progressed to being the regional general manager of this multinational company in China. Wu did not possess strong academic qualifications, and was revered as the ‘Queen of Part-timers’. Subsequently, she assumed the position of GM of IBM China. This is the Wu Shihong, the heroine in China’s business circle.

If not for the incident, Wu Shihong would not have had the ambition to become rich, and her life would have taken a very different path then.

You are poor because you do not have the desire to become successful.
You are poor because you lack foresight.
You are poor because you cannot overcome your cowardice.
You are poor because you lack the courage and determination.

With ambition you can overcome all inferiority and maximise your potential!
With ambition you can persevere, continuously learn new things and strive for perfection.
With ambition you can defy all odds, and create miracles when others daren’t.

No matter how poor your family is, do not doubt your own abilities and lose sight of your ambition.

When your family deems you worthless, no one will pity you.
When your parents do not have money to pay the medical bills, no one will pity you.
When you are beaten by your competitors, no one will pity you.
When your loved ones abandon you, no one will pity you.
When you have not accomplished anything by the time you are 35, no one will pity you.

Go big, or go home. Otherwise, you’re wasting your youth.

Some True facts about Human Nature

2015-05-04T12:33:00.000+05:30

Human Nature

You're not scared of dark.
You're scared of what's in it.

You're not scared of heights.
You're afraid of falling.

You're not afraid of trying again.
You're afraid of failing again.

You're not afraid of people.
You're afraid of rejection from them.

You're not afraid of loving someone.
You're afraid of not being loved back.

source : Quora

How I changed my Life

2015-03-19T10:48:00.001+05:30

pic credits : goweloveit.info

Starting a new Life can either be a decision by consent or an enforced choice. The main reason for starting out on a new journey is the need for change and changes are never easy. It takes strong belief and self-confidence to embark on an unknown road and sometimes we need that little push which makes us believe whatever we are doing is going to make life better. So let me tell you my story. May my words inspire people to look at life with a new outlook.

My story till my second year of engineer was that of success. Securing excellent grades in 10th and 12th I had finally got into engineering. I had loads of extracurricular achievements added to my name in that period. But from then things started going downhill. My grades were slipping & I was getting into constant arguments with my close friends over petty issues. My grandpa who was my biggest support died. My sister who stays in a nearby city just got admitted to hospital and my dad suffered a paralysis attack. My mom who has diabetes was suffering even more due to the added strain. To cap it all off I just had a car accident while returning from the hospital where my dad was admitted. I returned home to find that I had failed in one subject in my 3rd semester of engineering.

I was in in complete emotional disarray and looked down and out. I cried and cried over my situation but slowly my tears started drying up. Bouts of depression were clawing their way into my mind and that compounded my problems even more. I started worrying more. Depressing thoughts about my failing career , close ones leaving me , fear of failing in life started hounding me. All the sadness ,

pain led me to a make or break point. At that point I realized I can either take a decision to change my situation or keep lamenting and accept it. I realized crying is not going to help my situation and I somehow have to find a way to change things around. I decided I need a fresh start , a new outlook towards life . Enough was enough , I just had to get out of the mess !

I started with myself. I observed my own flaws which caused me to be in the situation I was in. The primary causes I found out were my careless attitude , my tendency to procrastinate ,emotional & impatient nature and low self-confidence . I started taking more care of my mom and giving her the support she needed. I put up my paper for a revaluation because I believed it was impossible for me to fail in any exam . I started the two minute rule for myself to eliminate procrastination. The rule which I enforced upon myself made me do things right away and not postpone them if they took less than 2 minutes and trust me , most things which we procrastinate come into this category. To pay for the damages done for my car , I started taking tuitions in a class for my favorite subject : Physics and I finally managed to earn enough.I studied in the hospital where my dad was admitted so that my studies would not suffer. It was difficult not to think of my situation but I figured thinking would not help solve it and hence I kept on going mechanically ahead.

The initial days were tough since my mind was divided into two parts ,one which egged me on while the other kept pegging me back. But as they say , God helps those who help themselves , positive things started happening around my life making me believe things would change for me. My dad recovered completely from his paralysis , my sister got released early from hospital. I sorted out things with my friends patiently and things returned to normal between us. My revaluation result arrived and I was ecstatic to know that I had passed. After a year had passed I finally started to come to terms with my grandpa's loss.

I slowly started rebuilding my career and my marks grew. During placement time , I became just eligible with 60.04 % just exceeding their cutoff of 60 %. I got placed in two companies L & T and Infosys. In my final year I secured first class with distinction scoring 70 % marks and I knew life had come full circle. But no , this is just the beginning of my new life. I have to go a long way to go. The hunger to achieve even more excites me and drives me on. Now I know , Life is not about how many times you fall , its about how many times you get up after you fall. I am glad I changed my life for the better.

On a side note if you feel you want a change from the usual boring sites and want to try something new for your next big house do visit https://housing.com/.

Main Khelega attittude

2015-03-18T10:31:00.002+05:30

Life teaches us so many things. It tells us sometimes to keep going on when you are about to give up , shows us situations which make us exercise caution , brightens up our day with a smile or two or make it depressed showing us the stark realities. Its all up to us how we see life and what we take away from it. Everyone has an "eye" for life. Eyeing the good things in people n situations can make us feel optimistic or invoke pessimism if we see them with the wrong eye. All that we require is the "Good Eye" for life.

From my childhood Sachin has been the person I look up to. There are numerous instances and moments and his reactions have completely bowled me over. One instance however stands apart.

Sachin's autographed picture gifted to me by BCCI on tweeting about him
during his last test.
Pic credits : BCCI

This instance is about the series debut of Sachin. He has just arrived at the international scene and The series was tied 0-0 after three tests. Sachin had not scored good runs in both first and second test. In the third test, Despite conceding lead of 65 runs in first innings, Pakistan had hit back through blistering spells from Wasim Akram and Waqar Yonus reducing India to 38 for 4 wickets. Experienced pros like Shrikanth, Manjrekar, Shastri and Azarauddin were back to pavilion. In walked Sachin, to join Sidhu. Waqar bowled a nasty bouncer that went smack on Sachin’s nose. The poor sixteen year old was badly hit and his nose started bleeding. It was bleeding so profusely that every one watching the match started feeling bad about this brutality.

An Indian team physiotherapist rushed to offer first-aid & Pakistan team members gathered to check out the bloody sight. As the physio tried to stop the bleeding, Sidhu suggested Sachin that he should retire hurt and come out later. That would give him some time to get his nose fixed. Even physio suggested him to get back to pavilion.

‘Main Khelega’ said Sachin

Sachin could have gone into the relative comfort of the dressing room but he didn’t. The heat was on, India was in trouble. The pace attack had its tail up, the blood was staining his gloves, his shirt, his face, his spirit. But the 16 year old kid would have none of it, he looked up & Main Khelega was his reply to all his troubles. In the aftermath of the incident , Sachin went on to score 57 runs and shared in a match-saving 101 run partnership with Sidhu. He then went on to play for India and become the highest run getter in the gentleman's game.

Thus , after watching that moment I learnt to see life with ' Main Khelega ' attitude. In life we may face hard and difficult situations. Things may seem bleak , but all we require is that optimistic outlook , the 'Main Khelega ' attitude , the ability to fight against all troubles and come out shining. There is always a solution for a problem or a bad situation we just need to believe there exists one.

Time to say, Main Khelega…

Well on a sidenote if you are in a situation where you cannot decide whom to consult to rent / buy a house I already have a read made solution for you. Just go and visit https://housing.com/lookup to get an idea !

The Homecoming !

2015-03-16T10:51:00.002+05:30

Me with my town : CBD Belapur

Imagine a situation where you live in one place your entire life and then you leave town for a long time. Now imagine the homecoming..Welcome to my story !

I was born and brought up in my hometown of C.B.D. Belapur . I loved every aspect of my town right from my small yet cozy home , my lovable parents , idiotic friends. Everything was near to me , my school just round the corner , my senior college a few stops away via bus , all my friends stayed near to me. Playgrounds , market , trekking spots , temple , seashore , railway station name it and you will find it near my town. So when my Infosys joining date arrived dated 6th October stating that I join Mysore for training , I started dreading the day I would have to leave my town. But that fateful day did arrive and I had to leave my beloved town. For the record I loved staying in Mysore , but I missed C.B.D. For the record , NO , I was not homesick , it was just that C.B.D is sort of a place which grows onto you and its difficult to to get away from such a nice place . After 4 long months my training was ending and I started counting the days till the day I would be back in CBD. Then I got another dreadful news : I got posted to Pune and not Mumbai. Everything from then started looking bleak and I was cursing myself for joining Infosys. Before joining Pune I took one-day leave to return to my Town. When I was returning my entire body language stated my mood. I simply did not have enough motivation to go on.

The day arrived and I left Mysore for C.B.D .when I entered my city limits , seeing familiar surroundings my mood got elevated. A pleasant surprise awaited me. My friends were at the bus stop to receive me. Apparently , my mom had been hounded by their calls and she had told them the time of my arrival. The happiness in the air was infectious. Soon , I was feeling happy and cheerful. I had missed eating the wada-paav from my town hence we took a detour before going home. Eating the same wada-paav (You don't get the Mumbai vadapav in Mysore :P ) from a familiar place felt like bliss. Biding farewell to my friends , I set on a familiar path to my house .The familiar smell of my home greeted me and seeing wide smiles on my parent's face , I just could not help but smile. Eating home cooked food after 4 long months was a heavenly feeling. Then I went to my regular playground and played football for 2 long hours , met some friends and in general and had a good time. It was as if my batteries were slowly recharging and giving me newfound hope and motivation to continue

The fact that I had to leave again for Pune never struck me. In the night , while sleeping I then started to introspect. Maybe it was not my town which I missed. It was the people & familiar surroundings which my made town , the real reason for me missing my town. Then it dawned upon me that this maybe due to the fact that I had spent 22+ years in my town and I was resisting this radical shift. If we devote enough time then we can remain touch with people whom we care about and familiarity can be created with time. Also Pune was not out of the world , It was just a few hours away and I could always return home whenever I wanted . This realization raised my hopes and strengthened my spirit

Nothing significant happened that day, No 'Happening' , groundbreaking things as such. It was just a return of a nostalgic resident to his hometown and the realization of the facts that followed. Some days don't have to be eventful to be important in our lives. I will always remember this day as the day it dawned upon me to look at life in a different perspective and accept changes as they are the inevitable fact of life.

On a side not if you want to buy / rent house in my hometown or anywhere else do check out

http://housing.com

Can Money bring happiness ?

2015-02-27T12:18:00.002+05:30

There was a guy who used to order 2 Pizza worth of Rs. 1000 every Sunday for his family.

After some days, festival of DIWALI was round the corner. This family had a maid working for them. The guy's wife asked him to give the maid Rs. 1000 as her yearly bonus. He said it's too much and they ended up giving the maid only Rs. 500.

The maid took 3 days off during Diwali and came back on the 4th day and was visibly happy. The guy asked her, 'How was your Diwali'? Her answer left the guy speechless,

She replied,

It was very good sir thanks to the money you gave me. I used Rs. 150 for traveling to and fro from my son's village. Used Rs. 100 to buy sweets for them all. I bought my grandson a shirt and a pant for Rs. 200. And donated Rs. 50 to the handicapped beggar near the temple.

Hence,

Money can bring you happiness if you share it with people who know its value and are true need of it.

source : quora.com

Importance of struggle

2015-02-19T11:03:00.000+05:30

A man was an avid gardner.He saw a small butterfly laying a few eggs in one of the pots in his garden.Since that day he looked at the egg with ever growing curiosity and eagerness. The egg started to move and shake a little. He was excited to see a new life coming up right in front of his eyes. He spent hours watching the egg now. The egg started to expand and develop cracks.. A tiny head and antennae started to come out ever so slowly. The man's excitement knew no bounds he got his magnifying glasses and sat to watch the life and body of a pupa coming out. He saw the struggle of the tender pupa and couldn't resisit his urge to HELP. He went and got a tender forcep to help the egg break, a nip here a nip there to help the struggling life. And LO! The pupa was out the man was ecstatic! He waited now each day for the pupa to grow and fly abt like a beautiful butterfly, but Alas that never happened the larvae pupa had a oversized head and kept crawling along in the pot for the full 4 weeks and died.
Depressed the man went to his botanist friend and asked the reason. His friend told him the struggle to break out of the egg helps the larvae to send blood to its wings and the head push helps the head to remain small so that the tender wings can support it thru its 4 week life cycle, in his eagerness to help the man destroyed a beautiful life! Struggles help all of us, that's why a wee bit of effort goes a long way to develop our strength to face life's difficulties !
As parents, we sometimes go too far trying to help and protect our kids from life's harsh realities and disappointments. We don't want our kids to struggle like we did. But Harvard psychiatrist Dr. Dan Kindlon says that overprotected children are more likely to struggle in relationships and with challenges. We're sending our kids the message that they're not capable of helping themselves. To quote clinical psychologist Dr. Wendy Mogel:

"It is Our Job to prepare Our Children for the Road..., & Not prepare the road for Our Children."

source : A concerned parent from Quora.com

Live Life by your own terms

2015-02-10T09:14:00.000+05:30

Life is not always rosy.Sometimes you are in a situation where you know you possess the abilities but nobody's ready to accept it and at such times you begin to doubt yourself.No-one is capable of knowing what you can do except yourself ! People will judge You by how you look. And by what You have.But that is no reason to give up
So what to do in such situations ? Here is a story to illustrate my point !

His name is Sylvestar Stallone. One of the BIGGEST and Most famous American Movie superstars. Back in the day,Stallone was a struggling actor in every definition. At some point,he got so broke that he stole his wife's jewellery and sold it. Things got so bad that he even ended up homeless. Yes,he slept at the New York bus station for 3 days because of being unable to pay rent or afford food. His lowest point came when he tried to sell his dog at the liquor store to any stranger. He didn't have money to feed the dog anymore. He sold it at $25 only. He says he walked away crying.

Two weeks later,he saw a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Chuck Wepner and that match gave him the inspiration to write the script for the famous movie,ROCKY. He wrote the
script for 20 hours! He tried to sell it and got an offer for $125,000 for the script. But he had just one request. He wanted to STAR in the movie. He wanted to be the MAIN ACTOR. Rocky himself. But the studio said NO. They wanted a REAL STAR.

They said he "Looked funny and talked funny". He left with his script. Afew weeks later,the studio offered him $250,000 for the script. He refused. They even offered $350,000. He still refused. They wanted his movie. But NOT him. He said NO. He had to be
IN THAT MOVIE.

After a while,the studio agreed,gave him $35,000 for the script and let him star in it! The rest is history! The movie won Best Picture,Best Directing and Best Film Editing at the prestigious
Oscar Awards. He was even nominated for BEST ACTOR! The Movie ROCKY was even inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever!

And do You know the first thing he bought with the $35,000? THE DOG HE SOLD. Yes,Stallone LOVED HIS DOG SO MUCH that he stood at the liquor store for 3 days waiting for the man he sold
his dog to. And on the 3rd day,he saw the man coming with the dog. Stallone explained why he sold the dog and begged for the dog back. The man refused. Stallone offered him $100. The
man refused. He offered him $500. And the guy refused. Yes,he refused even $1000. And,Believe it or Not,Stallone had to pay $15,000 for the same,same dog he sold at $25 only! And he
finally got his dog back!
And today,the same Stallone who slept in the streets and sold his dog JUST BECAUSE he couldnt even feed it anymore,is one of the GREATEST Movie Stars who ever walked the Earth!

Two weeks later he saw a boxing match between Mohammad Ali and Chuck Wepner and that maych gave him the inspiration to write the script for the famous movie, ROCKY. He wrote the

script for 20 hours! He tried to sell it and got an offer for $125,000 for the script. But he had just one request. He wanted to STAR in the movie. He wanted to be the MAIN ACTOR. Rocky himself. But the studio said NO. They wanted a REAL STAR.
They said he "Looked funny and talked funny". He left with his script. Afew weeks later,the studio offered him $250,000 for the script. He refused. They even offered $350,000. He still refused. They wanted his movie. But NOT him. He said NO. He had to be
IN THAT MOVIE.
After a while,the studio agreed,gave him $35,000 for the script and let him star in it! The rest is history! The movie won Best Picture,Best Directing and Best Film Editing at the prestigious
Oscar Awards. He was even nominated for BEST ACTOR! The Movie ROCKY was even inducted into the American National Film Registry as one of the greatest movies ever!
And do You know the first thing he bought with the $35,000? THE DOG HE SOLD. Yes,Stallone LOVED HIS DOG SO MUCH that he stood at the liquor store for 3 days waiting for the man he sold
his dog to. And on the 3rd day,he saw the man coming with the dog. Stallone explained why he sold the dog and begged for the dog back. The man refused. Stallone offered him $100. The
man refused. He offered him $500. And the guy refused. Yes,he refused even $1000. And,Believe it or Not,Stallone had to pay $15,000 for the same,same dog he sold at $25 only! And he
finally got his dog back!
And today,the same Stallone who slept in the streets and sold his dog JUST BECAUSE he couldnt even feed it anymore,is one of the GREATEST Movie Stars who ever walked the Earth!
Opportunities will pass you by,just because you are a
NOBODY. People will want your products but NOT YOU. Its a tough
world. If you ain't already famous,or rich or "connected",You will find it rough.
Doors will be shut on You. People will steal your glory and crash your hopes.You will push and push. And yet NOTHING WILL HAPPEN.
And then your hopes will be crashed.You will be broke. You will do odd jobs for survival. You will be unable to feed yourself. Yes,you may even end up sleeping in the streets.It happens. Yes,it does.
Being broke is BAD. Really BAD. Have You ever had a dream? A wonderful dream? But You are too broke to implement it? Too tiny to do it? Too small to accomplish it? Damn! I've been there too many times!

BUT NEVER LET THEM CRUSH THAT DREAM. Whatever happens to
You,Keep Dreaming. Even when they crush your hopes,Keep Dreaming. Even when they turn you away,Keep Dreaming.Even when they shut you down,Keep Dreaming.

Even if it means selling all your clothes and sleeping with the dogs,ITS OKAY! But AS LONG AS YOU ARE STILL ALIVE,Your STORY IS NOT OVER. TRUST ME.
Like and share if inspired. Lovely day people!

source : www.quora.com

Sympathy , Empathy & Compassion

2015-02-06T09:06:00.004+05:30

People often confuse themselves with Sympathy,Empathy and Compassion. All the three words have different meanings and convey different expressions.Let me prove my point with a simple example :

I see a young boy disappointed and looking sad because he was not able to pay his college fee on date as it was not arranged yet. Seeing this look on his face following feelings washed over me.

Sympathy : I know there are too many students like him and I feel bad for them.

This is sympathy where you see something going wrong and feel bad for that person for being in that situation.

Empathy :Incident took me years back in memories and I felt pain.

This is empathy where you associate with the person with yourself because you have been through a similar situation and you can actually feel what the person is feeling. Here you see something wrong and can associate with it since something went wrong for you too at some previous point in the past.

Compassion : I went to him and had few words. We decided on a deal "I pay it today, you pay me later." I enjoyed the shine in his eyes.

Here you see something wrong and you do something to correct it.

Thus all three words are related. We all go through these feelings every damn day. Sometimes all people want in life is a little support , a little hope that all is not lost. Always try to be that hope !

HOPE

Cycle of unhappiness !

2015-02-03T16:14:00.000+05:30

A crow lived in the forest and was absolutely satisfied in life.

But one day he saw a swan. "This swan is so white," he thought, "and I am so black.

This swan must be the happiest bird in the world."

He expressed his thoughts to the swan. "Actually," the swan replied, "I was feeling that I was the
happiest bird around until I saw a parrot, which has two colors. I now think the parrot is the happiest
bird in creation."

The crow then approached the parrot. The parrot explained, "I lived a very happy life—until I saw a
peacock. I have only two colors, but the peacock has multiple colors."

The crow then visited a peacock in the zoo and saw that hundreds of people had gathered to see him.

After the people had left, the crow approached the peacock. "Dear peacock," the crow said, "you are so
beautiful. Every day thousands of people come to see you. When people see me, they immediately shoo
me away. I think you are the happiest bird on the planet."

The peacock replied, "I always thought that I was the most beautiful and happy bird on the planet. But
because of my beauty, I am entrapped in this zoo.

I have examined the zoo very carefully, and I have realized that the crow is the only bird not kept in a
cage. So for past few days I have been thinking that if I were a crow, I could happily roam everywhere."

That's our problem too. We make unnecessary comparison with others and become sad. We don't value
what has God given us. This all leads to the vicious cycle of unhappiness.

Live a life valuing the things god has given us!!

source : www.google.com

How to get thrown out of the class in Infosys !

2014-11-01T15:16:00.000+05:30

Infosys Mysore campus is really one of the premier campuses in the country. I was one of the lucky ones to get selected and get the infosys experience. And after a few grueling days I am not quite sure whether I am a professional or suffering an additional engineering semester.

Truth be told, the facilities are jawdropping ( who would provide a multiplex theatre with movies free of cost , cheapest bowling alley rates, a free international standard football turf, atheletics tracks, swimming pool and what not). Just don't get me started on the variety of cuisine available here. I have seven food courts to choose from with everything right from north Indian cuisine to Chinese to even fast food , name the food and you can have it here. We cycle to work, have great classrooms , projectors , amazing teachers and it would definitely have you thinking why the hell did I start ranting from my first paragraph The reason is time. You just don't get time from studies to do anything else.Add to it the fact that the portion is insurmountable so you have to sit beyond office hours and yes did I mention I kicked out of the class in the third week for no fault of mine ??
We were coding two damn questions which were tricky to interpret and code. With luck, yours truly got it sorted and was talking and helping out others. With my voice as loud as a loudspeaker, the teacher was bound to notice. At the precise moment , my friend tariq who was sitting in front asked me a doubt. With enthusiasm , I started "well tariq, I suggest...." And the next thing I heard was the class going silent and the hearing the dreaded words " GET OUT " .
I was too dumbfounded to speak anything when tariq retorted " why ? " . With eyes as wide as a watermelon, he said " what ? " and I knew we were doomed. Still I attempted to diffuse the situation and said "sir , we are sorry it won't happen again." But he was in no mood to listen and said " Either you go out or i will report it to the higher authorities. I was in the middle of explaining something important here when you bellowed like a bull and interrupted me. Tell me have you finished doing the structural part of the code ? " . Seeing no other option I said "Yes " knowing that this could very well piss him off. He was a tad bit surprised but asked "OK what about the logical part ? "
Knowing what was going to come next I replied nonchalantly "Yes" and he thundered " Both of you get out of the class" . We did not want to cause further trouble and got out. Standing out, I was laughing at the fact that that we must be the first ones in our batch to get kicked out of the class.
Don't worry folks. It turned out all right in the end and found out the teacher was not too bad after all. But guys this definitely tops my list of What you should not do at Infosys.

Facts you don't know about Sachin Tendulkar !

2014-09-21T13:24:00.004+05:30

We all know who Sachin Tendulkar is, we regard him as God in our cricket crazy nation.

We came up with 18 things that we know not many of us know about, here we go:

1. Sachin is pretty superstitious. He always put on his left pad before his right pad.

2. When Sachin scored the historic 664-run stand with Kambli, he was wearing wet pants as it wasn’t dried after washing due to monsoon weather and he did not have a spare one.

3. Teammate Praveen Amre bought him his first pair of international quality cricket shoes.

4. The guy you notice in every Indian game, the one painted in tricolor, Sachin provides tickets of all international matches in India to him!

5. Sachin Tendulkar used a very heavy bat, weighing 3.2lbs. Only South Africa’s Lance Klusener used a heavier bat.

6. Sachin Tendulkar wanted to be a professional Tennis player.

7. Sachin Tendulkar is ambidextrous. He bats with his right hand but signs autographs, eats or plays table tennis with his left.

8. Sachin was a ball boy during the 1987 World Cup semi-final match between India and England at Wankhede.

9. Sachin Tendulkar wanted to become a fast bowler, but was rejected by Dennis Lillee’s MRF Pace Foundation in 1987. Lillee advised the young Tendulkar to focus on his batting.

10. Sachin Tendulkar went to watch the movie Roja in 1995 with a beard and disguise. It all went wrong when his glasses fell off and the crowd in the cinema hall recognised him.

11. Sachin Tendulkar was the first batsman to be given out by the third-umpire.

12. Sachin Tendulkar was a huge fan of John McEnroe. He grew his hair and tied a band around it to copy his idol. Sachin was also fondly called McEnroe by his friends.

13. Sachin loves to listen to the rock band Dire Straits.

14. Sachin Tendulkar once fielded for Pakistan as a substitute during a one-day practice match against India at the Brabourne Stadium in 1988.

15. Sachin Tendulkar was without a bat contract until the start of the 1996 Cricket World Cup. At the end of the tournament a famous tyre manufacturer sponsored his willow.

16. Tendulkar batted in his debut Test against Pakistan wearing the pads gifted to him by Sunil Gavaskar.

17. On March 27, 1994 – Sachin opened in an ODI for the first time against New Zealand and scored 82 runs off just 49 balls.

18. Tendulkar has 13 coins from his coach Ramakant Achrekar. He would win a coin if he could get through an entire session of nets without being dismissed.

Why do girls fall for Jerks/Bad guys ?

2014-09-12T15:49:00.001+05:30

A Question was asked by a boy asking "Why do girls fall for Jerks/Bad guys"

A girl answered his question in the best way possible :

Okay. Let me share a little of what I have observed, learned or experienced.

Girls don't fall for jerks.

It's just that jerks don't hesitate to approach girls and take their chance.

Whereas a gentleman guy will :

Silently admire a girl.
Watch her from a distant corner in the classroom.
Stalk her on every damn social network
Tell his friends and everyone else except the girl , how much he likes her.
Pray to God for some miracle.
Wait for the girl to magically read his mind , and approach him.
Either act stupid or arrogant in case they happened to have a little interaction. (Just in case).
Never, or for not at least 3 years (whichever is more ) have the balls to walk up to her and convey his feelings.
And just in case , against all the odds , he gets lucky (or balls) to get along with the girl, 99.98783% chances are he's gonna get trapped in the 'Friend Zone' forever.( Because of the fear of losing her as a friend and all BS).

Whereas Our Jerk guy,

Gets straight to the point with the girl as he obviously doesn't have anything to lose.

So you see, whose fault it is. ;)

Words worth noting : A Teacher's day short post

2014-09-05T23:16:00.002+05:30

Keeping this one short as I have a my own post on teacher's day coming up.This post is from my friend Abhijit who posted this on my Facebook timeline i felt this was worth sharing.

Message on Teacher's Day

A good teacher is like a ball of cotton; stretches himself for sake of others, ready to burn to enlighten, glad to clean messy minds, provides soft dabs to comfort wounds and surprisingly light to be with. With all this his presence does not occupy space in our lives, but his absence creates a limitless void.
- Shubha vilas

3 Reasons why I Love Roger Federer !

2014-08-27T13:12:00.000+05:30

1) During one of his matches the commentator told the following story:    He once went to a hotel with his whole team for the duration of a   tournament.
Upon settling in, he then went to his coach's room, and noticed it was   just a standard double room while he was staying in a nice suite. He   then asked that everyone on his team should have the same level of comfort as he was enjoying. When told that no other suites were available he then downgraded to a regular room too.

2) Roger Federer, on asked about his mononucleosis fever, after losing to Novak Djokovic in the semi final of the 2008 Australian Open,

   "I have spoken about my health throughout this tournament, but not      tonight, because Novak deserved this victory. He didn't win because of    my health or anything else. Never take anything away from somebody who beat me because I was trying my absolute        best."

3) The following article is an essay about Federer. This should give a fair idea as to what the man is in real life.

Roger Federer is decent, humble and kinder than Aunt Bee. He is constantly saying, “I’m just a normal guy.” All his winning shots were just “lucky.” Well, finally, opponents are starting to take his word for it.

Do you realize this man, whom most experts say is the greatest tennis player to ever live, actually goes to restaurants and sometimes waits in line?

He doesn’t have a full-time coach. Has no tattoos. His entourage is a joke. His publicity agent, his scheduler, his hitting partner and his girlfriend are all the same person. And she’s not even a lingerie model! Just an ordinary, very nice Swiss miss named Mirka.

Federer flies commercial. Doesn’t own a jet. Here’s a guy who has dominated his sport far more than Tiger Woods has over the last three years, yet Tiger has a 155-foot yacht and Federer doesn’t even own a dinghy.

Federer made an estimated $28 million last year, yet he doesn’t own a house, just two “flats,” he says. At 33, Federer has won a great number of Grand Slam events yet still stays in the same hotel as the tour schmoes. Roger, you’re an immortal! Rent a mansion! Do you realize that when Tiger played at a tournament in Tucson in February he not only rented a house, but he also had all the furniture removed and his own brought in, so he could be more comfortable? Wake up and smell the indulgence!
“I don’t want to overlive,” Federer says. “I don’t need to be too big. It’s got to feel right when you go to bed at night.”

Arrrggh!
Get this: You can send an autograph request to his parents’ house–their address is on his website–and within a month you’ll get a photo hand-signed by Roger. “Well, if I were a child,” he says, “I wouldn’t want to wait two years for a picture of my hero, would you?” Damn, son, at least get one of those signing machines like everybody else!

Tell you what a sucker Federer is, when he’s done practicing, he picks up his own bench area. “Not many guys on tour do that,” says Federer’s best friend, Yves Allegro. “In fact, most don’t do that.” That’s the other thing–this guy Allegro. Federer plays doubles with him a few times a year just to put some folding money in his friend’s pocket. Nowadays your average tennis superstar would rather bask in limelight than play doubles in a very small tournament. But not Federer. Even if the doubles comes right after his singles match, he plays. It would be like Sachin Tendulkar playing the gully cricket after winning the an overseas Test series. “How can I pay him back?” Allegro says. “He won’t even let me buy him dinner!”

“I tell him all the time,” says his agent, IMG’s Tony Godsick, “you’re too nice.”

Too Nice Example No. 1: Federer sometimes throws pizza parties for the ball boys at tournaments because he was one himself. And he attends!

Too Nice No. 2: The other day he was in L.A. and called Pete Sampras out of the blue to see if he wanted to hit. Pete Sampras is a yesteryear great and not even playing anymore. It should be him calling Federer. And regular tennis players would put him off for a week before they call him back!

Too Nice No. 3: I sent an e-mail to Godsick on Monday morning at eight, asking for a one-on-one interview. By four, I was sitting across from Federer. Eight hours? I know a lot of sportspersons who will put a reporter off for eight years! There were two chairs in the interview room. A large, cushy one with armrests and a plain straight-backed one. He looked at me sheepishly and said, “Would you mind very much if I took the larger chair? I am very tired from my match.” Hello? Roger? Monster sports Goliaths don’t ask. Monster sports Goliaths
plop down in the big one, then put their feet up on the smaller one.
Then they examine their fingernails, sniff once and go, “Make it quick. My exfoliator is waiting.” That kind of arrogance is just not Roger Federish ! He is one in a million

Disclaimer : I have found this while surfing the Internet.I have just edited to make the article relevant to the title.

The Egg

2014-08-20T13:06:00.001+05:30

You were on your way home when you died.

It was a car accident. Nothing particularly remarkable, but fatal nonetheless. You left behind a wife and two children. It was a painless death. The EMTs tried their best to save you, but to no avail. Your body was so utterly shattered you were better off, trust me.

And that’s when you met me.

“What… what happened?” You asked. “Where am I?”

“You died,” I said, matter-of-factly. No point in mincing words.

“There was a… a truck and it was skidding…”

“Yup,” I said.

“I… I died?”

“Yup. But don’t feel bad about it. Everyone dies,” I said.

You looked around. There was nothingness. Just you and me. “What is this place?” You asked. “Is this the afterlife?”

“More or less,” I said.

“Are you god?” You asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I’m God.”

“My kids… my wife,” you said.

“What about them?”

“Will they be all right?”

“That’s what I like to see,” I said. “You just died and your main concern is for your family. That’s good stuff right there.”

You looked at me with fascination. To you, I didn't look like God. I just looked like some man. Or possibly a woman. Some vague authority figure, maybe. More of a grammar school teacher than the almighty.

“Don’t worry,” I said. “They’ll be fine. Your kids will remember you as perfect in every way. They didn't have time to grow contempt for you. Your wife will cry on the outside, but will be secretly relieved. To be fair, your marriage was falling apart. If it’s any consolation, she’ll feel very guilty for feeling relieved.”

“Oh,” you said. “So what happens now? Do I go to heaven or hell or something?”

“Neither,” I said. “You’ll be reincarnated.”

“Ah,” you said. “So the Hindus were right,”

“All religions are right in their own way,” I said. “Walk with me.”

You followed along as we strode through the void. “Where are we going?”

“Nowhere in particular,” I said. “It’s just nice to walk while we talk.”

“So what’s the point, then?” You asked. “When I get reborn, I’ll just be a blank slate, right? A baby. So all my experiences and everything I did in this life won’t matter.”

“Not so!” I said. “You have within you all the knowledge and experiences of all your past lives. You just don’t remember them right now.”

I stopped walking and took you by the shoulders. “Your soul is more magnificent, beautiful, and gigantic than you can possibly imagine. A human mind can only contain a tiny fraction of what you are. It’s like sticking your finger in a glass of water to see if it’s hot or cold. You put a tiny part of yourself into the vessel, and when you bring it back out, you've gained all the experiences it had.

“You've been in a human for the last 48 years, so you haven’t stretched out yet and felt the rest of your immense consciousness. If we hung out here for long enough, you’d start remembering everything. But there’s no point to doing that between each life.”

“How many times have I been reincarnated, then?”

“Oh lots. Lots and lots. An in to lots of different lives.” I said. “This time around, you’ll be a Chinese peasant girl in 540 AD.”

“Wait, what?” You stammered. “You’re sending me back in time?”

“Well, I guess technically. Time, as you know it, only exists in your universe.
Things are different where I come from.”

“Where you come from?” You said.

“Oh sure,” I explained “I come from somewhere. Somewhere else. And there are others like me. I know you’ll want to know what it’s like there, but honestly you wouldn't understand.”

“Oh,” you said, a little let down. “But wait. If I get reincarnated to other places in time, I could have interacted with myself at some point.”

“Sure. Happens all the time. And with both lives only aware of their own lifespan you don’t even know it’s happening.”

“So what’s the point of it all?”

“Seriously?” I asked. “Seriously? You’re asking me for the meaning of life? Isn’t that a little stereotypical?”

“Well it’s a reasonable question,” you persisted.

I looked you in the eye. “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.”

“You mean mankind? You want us to mature?”

“No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.”

“Just me? What about everyone else?”

“There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.”
You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…”

“All you. Different incarnations of you.”

“Wait. I’m everyone!?”

“Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back.

“I’m every human being who ever lived?”

“Or who will ever live, yes.”

“I’m Abraham Lincoln?”

“And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added.

“I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled.

“And you’re the millions he killed.”

“I’m Jesus?”

“And you’re everyone who followed him.”

You fell silent.

“Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you've done, you've done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.”

You thought for a long time.

“Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?”

“Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

“Whoa,” you said, incredulous. “You mean I’m a god?”

“No. Not yet. You’re a fetus. You’re still growing. Once you've lived every human life throughout all time, you will have grown enough to be born.”

“So the whole universe,” you said, “it’s just…”

“An egg.” I answered. “Now it’s time for you to move on to your next life.”

And I sent you on your way.

The End.

By: Andy Weir

The Unknown Hero : Subhash Chandra Bose !

2014-08-15T00:09:00.001+05:30

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose’s slogan of “You give me blood, I’ll give you Freedom” ignited the fire of patriotism in the hearts of many Indians during the struggle for independence. Even today these words don’t fail to inspire and move. The man who coined these words was a true patriot and a man of principle who did all he could to bring independence to India. Here are 7 things worth knowing about this great man that are hardly known to most Indians, including the patriots:

7. He Was a Brilliant Student and Highly Patriotic Since Childhood:

Bose was born into a large family in Orissa. From childhood he was a brilliant child and who did very well in studies. He was also a fierce patriot right from his early days. He came in 2nd in his matriculation exams in 1913. He completed his B.A. in Philosophy with a First Class score in 1918. His patriotism had come to fore when he was expelled from Presidency College for assaulting Professor Oaten for his anti-India comments.

6. He Came 4th in ICS Exams:

After completing his graduation he went to England to appear in the Indian Civil Services exams to fulfill the promise he had made to his father. As expected he performed brilliantly and came in 4th on the merit list. This however did not please him much as he didn’t want to work for the government that he had grown to hate. The Jalianwalla Bagh massacre had left a mark on his memory and in 1921 he resigned from ICS while still undergoing his internship.

5. He Was Twice Elected the President of the Indian National Congress:

After returning to India Bose worked with the Indian National Congress and newspapers such as Swaraj and Forward. He quickly rose within the INC and in 1938 and 1939 he was elected as the president of the Indian National Congress. His stand for complete independence was opposed by Gandhi and other INC members who were trying for a Dominion status and gradual independence. He had to resign as the president and form the All India Forward Bloc.

4. He Sought the Help of His Enemy’s Enemy:

When Bose realized that the British would have to be pushed hard to leave India, he decided that his enemy’s enemy was his friend and visited Germany and Japan to get their support. This doesn’t necessarily mean that he condoned the Nazi ideology but rather that he was willing to use whatever aid he could get in order to bring freedom to India. With the help of Japan he was able to form the Azad Hind Fauj that fought the Allied forces in South East Asia. Along with the Japanese army they brought independence to Andaman and Nicobar Islands and came all the way to Manipur in India. But by then Japan had grown weak and after it’s withdrawal from World War II, the Azad Hind Fauj had to retreat and disband.

3. He Was the Patriot of Patriots:

Mahatma Gandhi called him the “patriot of patriots” which is a high honor especially coming from someone who was opposed to his ideologies. This honor was not unwarranted as Bose really did commit fully to the cause of Indian Independence. There was no sacrifice that he didn’t make for his nation. To this day he is one of the most patriotic figures to inspire thousands of young men and women.

2. His Death Remains a Mystery:

On August 18 1945 Bose is claimed to have been in a plane crash in Taipei, Taiwan. His death remains a mystery because no body was recovered and only some ashes were taken to Japan. Over the years his death has been a mystery as speculations have been made that he didn’t die at all and lived on in Russia and later in India. The alleged plane crash doesn’t even exist in the Taiwanese records. Many theories have come out about his disappearance and alleged death and to this day nothing conclusive can be said about those events.

1. He Might Have Lived as Bhagwanji till 1985:

One of the theories is that he came back to India, and lived anonymously as Bhagwanji or Gumnami Baba in U.P. It is said that Bose took Sanyas and didn’t think it wise to resurface into Indian politics. He is said to have died in 1985 in Faizabad in U.P. It is said that Bhagwanji looked uncannily like Bose and his writing matched that of Bose’s. On at least four separate occasions, Bhagwanji himself admitted that he was in fact Subhash Chandra Bose but that it was in the best interest of the nation that he stay anonymous. That does sound like something Netaji would do out of his love for the nation.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO ALL MY READERS !

Protecting the Bandhan (RakshaBandhan)

2014-08-10T22:53:00.002+05:30

Lots of people have borne the burden of keeping me company but the people who have borne it willingly are few. The name i have given to all those people is : Sisters. Well, people may always wonder why am i a burden ? For starters, I don't lift my calls at the opportune time, at most times i am late , am lazy , sometimes fail to keep my commitments and am weird a few times too. Even after all my tantrums, anger and weierdness its my sisters who are the ones who have unflinchingly borne my burden and have made me the person I am today.
Today being the rakshabandhan day all of them will expect me to praise them and that will be the end of it. But No, false praise is not my modus operandi and i will never resort to it. I want to take this opportunity to tell them what they mean to me. I have to start with the person without whom I can't even think of being in this world : Shruti Deshpande. Whats so special about her ? Think of this situation

Its 1:00am in the night.She has come tired from her IT job and completed house chores and has slept early dead tired. Jerk as i will always be calls her up and says," Shru , I don't know what to do. I am scared of my future. " During that time i was worried about how the hell was i going to complete my engineering and get a good job. Whenever i am in trouble the one person whom i know will find out a way out is her. Inspite of her predicament she consoles me, motivates me and tells me what should i do. Then subtly she says its late, to make me realize my folly. Then i say "ooops and hang up. " (no pointers for finding the jerk here :D )

So basically she is one irreplaceable person in my life. Then there is Dr. Sayali my cousin. I always screw up my health in some way and most of the time the regular doc's medicines do not work out. Dunno why but the medicines she gives me always work out.I guess it has got to do something with trust and her way of convincing me. Then there is Snehal who has been the one whom i could always associate with. She being one year elder to me , I always got my school textbooks from her, could always ask her for help and in general she being my age group could always relate and get along with her.I always had Apurva and Vishakha whom i could bank for support when i needed it the most and tell you what ? They never dissapointed me.

Then I had Preksha who was my buddy in the first year and made life less serious for me. Her fun and frolic attitude was really infectious and i guess that made me much more human. Then from fun and frolic how can i forget Neha,my student aka my sister ? With her casual and care free outlook it was she who made me feel there is much more to life than just careers, goals and academics. Then I had Naisha who i could always have interesting discussions with. How can i forget my book sharing sister Meghana ? Book discussions were never so much fun. Then there was Sony Rawat was one person i could never figure out. Right from studies, partying, being dead serious to being casual she was one person i always admired and will admire for versatility. Another person who falls in the same category has to be dhanashree who always inspired me to do the right things. She is and will always be one person i will look upto for doing the right things in life.

I believe dogs are the most faithful companions but I never imagined they will forge such a good relation with Angana. Also the fact that she looks identical to my sister Shruti made my heart melt. How the hell can two people be so similar ? She gave me shelter when i was at my weakest and i will never forget those moments. Who says you can't have a sister from out side India ? I had one in the form of Marina and I can't forget her ever for teaching me Russian and our discussions on various cultures. That was something out of the box and the relation has continued since then.

All in all i can safely say some good qualities (and some bad ones too :p ) were imbibed within me due to all these close people whom i had a chance of sharing my life with. Since life goes on maybe i may not be able to meet them often but today i just want to tell them that these people have really had their mark on my life and they definitely mean a lot to me. They say its the Raksha Bandhan day. We interpret it as Brothers protecting sisters. But i believe it means " to do raksha of the bandhan " i.e keep the relation strong is the real reason we celebrate it. Happy Rakshabandhan to all my sisters !

Thoughts to change people's lives

Thoughtful Thinking

Magic of Give , Take & Share

Hardcoding of Advice !

The Cycle of Thinking

Excellence vs Showmanship

Things we do for Cricket !

Check out : http://www.ucweb.com/

GOD : The Universe's Biggest Question

Jack Ma: If you’re still poor at 35, you deserve it!

Some True facts about Human Nature

You're not scared of dark.You're scared of what's in it.

How I changed my Life

On a side note if you feel you want a change from the usual boring sites and want to try something new for your next big house do visit https://housing.com/.

Main Khelega attittude

Well on a sidenote if you are in a situation where you cannot decide whom to consult to rent / buy a house I already have a read made solution for you. Just go and visit https://housing.com/lookup to get an idea !

The Homecoming !

On a side not if you want to buy / rent house in my hometown or anywhere else do check out

http://housing.com

Can Money bring happiness ?

Importance of struggle

Live Life by your own terms

Sympathy , Empathy & Compassion

Cycle of unhappiness !

How to get thrown out of the class in Infosys !

Facts you don't know about Sachin Tendulkar !

Why do girls fall for Jerks/Bad guys ?

Words worth noting : A Teacher's day short post

3 Reasons why I Love Roger Federer !

The Egg

The Unknown Hero : Subhash Chandra Bose !

Protecting the Bandhan (RakshaBandhan)

You're not scared of dark.
You're scared of what's in it.