Saturday, July 22, 2006

9 easy ways to a smarter you!

Such a cliched subject...but what to do, I am still a sucker for such topics.

I am always drawn towards DIY's and quick fix solutions, norman vincent philosophy, how to do this and that and 10 easy steps to being a better personality... kind of writings. It may be becos I always feel that there is so much to each one of us and how much we can constantly learn new things and absorb from our surroundings.
I know the day u stop updating yourself, reading and imbibing aspects around you one can become a relic, redundant and hence useless.
So when I stumbled on my friends blog with the heading "9 easy ways to a smarter you".....
i jumped at it, read thru it slowly, soaking each word and decided to put it up on my blog for my dear friends to know.
Ironically its a no brainer.... we all know it, its not so difficult and its exactly what most of us keep doing one way or another in our normal routine...but just to show how it helps us to be smart anyway. So here goes an interesting piece for you to know....

Your brain is like a muscle that needs exercise. You can make yourself smarter by increasing neural connections through novelty and stimulation.
They are :

1) Read a daily newspaper, literary classics and the Web.You grow smarter by reflecting on issues, events and people and forming strong opinions.

2) Associate with smart people .Engaging in conversation with a smart person is like playing tennis with a superior opponent.

3) Keep a journal.Your insights—the connections you make about your past, present and future—help to make neural connections.

4) Travel.On the road, you're forced to solve ordinary problems (food, lodging, language), all of which have become automatic at home.

5) Memorize things. Lawrence Katz, author of Keep Your Brain Alive, says memorizing people's names or other important bits of information is a great way to keep your brain fit.

6) Take up a musical instrument. Learning to play the violin, for example, involves physical coordination (working the strings and bow), intellectual challenge (reading music), sensory experience (hearing pitch and harmony), and intuitive work (mastering tempo and rhythm).

7) Play games and pursue hobbies.The philosopher Alan Watts used to praise the kind of learning that is effortless, such as the play we experienced as kids.

8) Create new routines constantly.Katz notes that unchanging routines make us intellectually flabby.

9) Change jobs and positions periodically.Remember when you were in school, learning something new every semester? Some jobs are like a 15-unit class that never ends.

Well, the last one I must do something about it...being with the same company for almost 9 years. Not a smart choice, is it ;-)

Hope you liked it and keep in mind that to be smarter, just keep learning new, interesting and stimulating things. It wont go waste!

Monday, July 17, 2006

Tribute To Mumbai!!!

A Tribute to Mumbai...here are some interesting views and anecdotes written by various writers and very aptly sums up what Mumbai stands for.

We've had our GOODS BADS in BOMBAY!!! BUT WE STILL LOVE HER!!!

Rude city? You bet, says Mumbaikar Jerry Pinto in defence of a metropolis too busy to mind its manners but always ready to help when trouble comes.
Reader's Digest, which interests itself in these things, tells us that Mumbai is the rudest city in the world. This is also themagazine that carried a story saying that global warming might be good for us. I swear, they did this in May, when my cousins in Nagpur were reporting that the city was burning up at 52 degrees centigrade. I come not to praise Mumbai, however. I come to ask whether the Reader's Digest editors really mean it when they say that New York is the politest city in the world? What is it to be polite? In London, a terribly polite city by my experience, a young woman refused to lend her scarf to be used as a tourniquet when a man was stabbed on the bus. He bled to death. I am sure, the young woman said, "I'm sorry but it's an expensive scarf." The person who asked for the scarf probably said, "Right. Cheers." Meanwhile, the blood pulsed on from the dying man's neck. In Mumbai, my mother once was forced to go to a public hospital with a torn-up leg. In front of her, the poor waited in the way that the poor wait, endlessly, patiently, quietly. When she joined the line, they all assessed their need, assessed hers and stepped out of the way wordlessly. She went to the top of the line, protesting quietly all the way. She did not bleed to death. Perhaps, she even forgot to thank all those people. Perhaps, they did not expect to be thanked. But since no one seems to have bothered about definitions, let's dump them too. Perhaps it is polite to be a city like New York where all the shop assistants say thank you and please and the doormen are ready to open the door for you but there are 55,000 violent crimes a year. And that represents a 10-year low. Perhaps Mumbai with its 122 murders in six months must be significantly ruder but less lethal. But are we rude?

Sudhir Mishra -Filmmaker
" My dominant image for Mumbai. I'm standing outside Mahalaxmi railway station, it starts to rain. A man comes out with an umbrella and starts to walk away. He notices another man getting wet, he pauses, and in an unspoken way invites him under the umbrella. Then they see me, and I get under as well. That's Bombay. Three men sharing an umbrella, all getting wet. There's less space under the umbrella now - too many people, too little infrastructure, but people are still sharing it. " Yes, we are rude. We are almost always rude. Cities are always rude. We are the only city in the country. Delhi is a bunch of villages held together by the politics of power and some nice roads. Chennai is a self-satisfied town which wants to be known for its culture. Bangalore looked like it might well grow up to be a city but now that it's got the opportunity to do it, it's choking itself to death. Calcutta had its moment of glory in the 19th century when they built lots of mansions and factories and set up the kind of intellectual atmosphere of a Cambridge debating society. Then they lost it, the Bangla babus and settled into making funny kurtas for their men to wear and selling Bankuda horses to the rest of the country. Yes, we are rude. We don't have time for that. We're too busy dragging the rest of you into some semblance of wealth. We're too busy earning the money that runs the country. We're too busy paying for the Delhi and Kolkata Metros. We're too busy earning the money to pay the 75 percent of the income tax paid by the country. In Kolkata, they don't earn money. In Bangalore, they know how to hide it cyberwise. In Delhi, everyone's a farmer with agricultural income that's tax free.

Sarayu Srivastava - Writer
" I think of Mumbai as a very cold but sensuous woman - it all depends >>on how you warm her up. In this city every kindness begets more kindness. Delhi's eyes literally undress you. Mumbai sees you first as a person then a woman. People do tend to keep their distance here, but if you try and do something nice, a sudden sensitive humanness peeps out.It's hardship city - it gets by on humour. " Land-starved Mumbai? The 14 million of us, we dream of the kind of space that young couples have in Delhi. We'd like a barsati too. We won't get it. But we'll work hard at it. The shop assistant who doesn't thank you probably goes home to his 'side business' and puts in another two or three hours. This could be anything from making papads to selling insurance to giving private tuition. It leaves him with very little time or inclination to say thank you. But when trouble comes, he will do what he can. In the cataclysmic floods of last year, the average person did what the government could not. They threw open their homes. They left the security of dry land and waded into the water to rescue children. They formed human chains to take people off the buses. They made tea and snacks and gave it to people. Contrast that to the way Americans behaved when Hurricane Katrina struck. People went on the rampage. They shot at each other, even at their rescuers. They assaulted each other. They looted abandoned homes. In Mumbai, no violence was reported. No violence happened. Ask me, I walked home. Ask my sister, she walked home too.Together, we covered a distance of 30 kilometers that day and we only saw people helping each other, people offering support and solidarity.

Milind Deora-Politician
" My idea of Bombay? A waiter serving in the Taj - during the day he might be serving Bill Gates and he'll carry himself with aplomb, be as cosmopolitan as anyone. At night he'll be taking the train to Dharavi,return to his slum, put on his lungi and baniyan, help his old parents,help wash dishes, and watch TV. You can be everything at the same time in Bombay. It's like that old Sinatra song - if you can make it here,you can make it anywhere. " One of the most compelling images in Suketu Mehta's essay which Naresh Fernandes and I included in our anthology, Bombay Meri Jaan:Writings on Mumbai (Penguin India, 2003) ... but read on: If you are late for work in Bombay, and reach the station just as the train is leaving the platform, you can run up to the packed compartments and you will find many hands stretching out to grab you on board, unfolding outward from the train like petals. As you run alongside you will be picked up, and some tiny space will be made for your feet on the edge of the open doorway. The rest is up to you; you will probably have to hang on the door frame with your fingertips, being careful not to lean out too far lest you get decapitated by a pole placed too close to the tracks. But consider what has happened. Your fellow passengers, already packed tighter than cattle are legally allowed to be, their shirts already drenched in sweat in the badly ventilated compartment, having stood like this for hours, retain an empathy for you, know that you boss might yell at you or cut your pay if you miss this train, and will make space where none exists, to take one more person with them. And at the moment of contact, they do not know if the hand that is reaching theirs belongs to a Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Brahmin or untouchable or whether you were born in the city or arrived only this morning or whether you live in Malabar Hill or Jogeshwari; whether you are from Bombay or Mumbai or New York. All they know is that you're trying to get to the city of gold, and that's enough. Come on board,they say. We'll adjust.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Stitch in time, saves a lifetime!

"Stitch in time, saves nine"....."Look before you leap"......well! as kids we grow up learning so many meaningful phrases which are meant to be internalised and used in our daily life but we give it a shallow treatment and as life goes on we unlearn them very conveniently. One such commonly used and often mentioned lightly(undeservedly) is "Health is Wealth". And to truly understand the depth of the statement is a) to personally experience ill health or b) to see a near and dear one expereince ill health.
Its a sad situation, but don't we all take our our health for granted all the times...and carry with the notion fearlessly that "I am insurmountable.Nothing will happen to me". And this very belief crushes when one not so fine morning you get up and bruise yourself over some silly mishap or slip trying to catch the 9.05 local or worse still catch the flu. Suddenly your life comes to a grinding halt, you get grounded and become dependant for your smallest needs on your dear ones. Besides the feeling of dependancy what hurts more is to see your mom or sis or hubby or dad running around, pampering you and nursing you. Its only thanks to their TLC you get back to your feet in a jiffy in what seems like a life time. And then ofcourse one forgets about such small incidents and life moves on again at breakneck speed. These are just but typical periods which keep happening thru out our lives.
But then there are times when one is faced with life altering and life threatning situations which God forbid may not happen to any one of us.
So just as a reminder to all of us what life may hopefully not hold for us...but like a Life Insurance policy a mandatory fixture in our life's many plans. I am writing this narration albiet boring and serious and at the cost of losing eyeballs.

Health checks a must for all who are in 30's and beyond!It had been many a days that my hubby and me had been thinking about getting a health check up done. It was a priority issue and something we knew had to be done but always got relegated by another issue....becos we either wanted to see a just released really good movie that day or becos we had long time friends meeting us or some other work priorities.. So you see how extremely important we thought our health check up was in our life's scheme of things.
Never theless after the plan was pushed to its limit of endurance, we decided enough is enough.

"When we gotta go, we gotta go! And so we went. It went like this....The day finally arrived, called up the hospital and requested to book the 2 of us for a complete health check up. What I didnt expect that there were plethora of schemes to choose from depending on the budget and each individual's health requirements. Platinum, Gold, Executive, Senior Citizens but ofcourse the last was ruled out...though our body felt like we were in our 60's.
Also, checked the mullah attached to each of the checks and my eyes rolled in disbelief. Its too expensive.
Thats when another thought crossed my mind when it came to health checks..."Oh my god! its such an expensive affair...do we really want to spend so much on something when we know we are hale and hearty."

Why is it that we cringe and find it difficult to spend on our precious health when we don't think twice before readily spending or rather splurging on clothes, eating out on junk food, electronic items, DVD's and other luxuries. This exact sentiment and also many other feelings are commonly shared by all of us when it comes to our dear health.
Life nowadays has become too fast...thats when George Carlin's theory crossed my mind yet again..(excerpts)
______________________________________________
The paradox of our time in history is that,
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a lif e.
We've added years tolife not life to years.
These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion
More medicine, but less wellness.
______________________________________________

So coming back to our health check, we fixed the date for health checks and very soon the day arrived. Getting up very early and leaving home armed with our "proof of health" in lil bottles for a hospital visit wasnt exactly our idea of spending the week end. And not to forget we had our last meal more than 12 hours back.
When we reached the hospital at 7.30 we thought we would be the first but then we were told we were 5th in line... well, we werent the only fools around looked like. Fools or otherwise was to be proved sooner.
We both went thru the entire battery of tests from morning till afternoon ofcourse interspersed with breakfast and lunch. From one room to another, one doc to another, one floor to another and then finally we were told its done. All we needed to do was to wait for our results.
Apocalypse Now!!! This term wouldnt have been more apt than now. And what a trying wait it was. "Ignorance is bliss" state was soon to come to a bitter end.

We were handed with this huge bag which carried reams and reams of papers neatly filed together what were to be our reports. We were asked to see the physician for what was supposed to be the final stop for the day at the hospital. We were happy that soon it will be out of the way and for good!
We marched with a spring in our step into the doc's room and confidently sat across the lady doc. She greeted us with a warm smile and after the usual round of PC she came down to brass tacks.

She told us she was surprised and happy to see younger people getting health checks done...and we patted our back for that. Then moving to my dear hubby's file she briskly opened it and started perusing the results...she looked like anything but the mouse who belled the cat.

And what followed that remains a blur.....

Of course with the lifestyles we lead and eating habits we follow what the results said was not something surprising but we didnt really expect us to be tagged as "Potential victim of lifestyle diseases".
Its been 2 weeks since then and life has done a complete U turn in terms of what we eat, how much we eat and how much we exercise.
This routine health check which we thought a pain in the neck has in fact proved to be a blessing in disguise. Having got the checks done we now know where we stand, what we need to do and where we need to go from here. And thats definitely not going to be the hospital as a patient for a long time, we promise ourselves.

Fitness is a journey not a destination, it should be continued throughout your life!

Monday, July 03, 2006

Gimme a Break!!! (Travelogue)









How many times, have you heard this voice in your head, "God, I need a break!". And, how many times have you ignored it for lack of time and attention. Well, this familiar thought resurfaced and reverberated my overly preoccupied mind like a thousand gongs in a Buddhist Monastery. And this is notwithstanding the fact that my mind was already whirring with a myriad of thoughts about meeting deadlines, reaching targets and some unfinished presentations. And can you imagine, just the thought of a ‘break’ felt like a whiff of fresh air invigorating my tired soul completely.
When a page out of your daily life starts looking a tad boring with the routine of work, it’s time to sweep aside the files from your office desk. It’s time to look beyond the Calvin & Hobbes screen saver on the workstation and time to pick up the phone and dial in Odati Adventures (www.odati.com)
After my dear hubby also willingly gave in, a break was unanimously decided (with both of us voting it could not get more easy).
With a long leave ruled out, the only break possible was a weekend. Away from the maddening crowd, 9 to 9 routines, traffic snarls, asphyxiating pollution and everything the Mumbai city has become synonymous with nowadays, we decided to reach out to the greens.

Jayesh Morvankar, a friend, is the founder of Odati Adventures, a terrestrial based adventure outfit. He gave up a plum career in the field of advertising and media and started this in the year 2000. He organizes treks, hikes, water rappelling, cycling and heritage walk over weekends for "people who need a break" and adventure enthusiasts. Also, he arranges half a dozen long treks spanning 15-20 days in the Himalayas, Arunachal, Uttaranchal, etc. annually.

I had been with his group for a hiking trip quite some time back, introduced through an office colleague. It was a fantastic experience and I had been waiting to get into my trekking sneakers once again. Well, I knew the time had come.

The weekend was scheduled for a hiking trip to Patta Fort near Igatpuri a perfect solution for our frayed nerves and jagged mind. Both of us were delighted with the destination and got all excited like kids in anticipation of their forthcoming picnic.
Finally, the day arrived.
Pattafort is three to four hours’ drive from Mumbai depending on the traffic situation. So, after leaving Mumbai at 7.30 in the morning on a Saturday from Bandra Station and picking up co-hikers along the way, we managed to reach the base camp of Patta village at around 12.30 noon. The route is via Thane then Kalyan and then on to the road that goes to Nasik up to Igatpuri. The road journey was pretty uneventful altogether. The range of Sahyadri, starting from Igatpuri is also recognized as the range of Kalsubai. Towards the western side of this range we can find forts like Alang, Madan and the Kalsubai Peak. Towards the eastern side of this range the forts like Patta are situated. There are two different routes to climb the fort. The one which we intended to take was the moderately easy route which starts from Patta wadi, which is the base village of this fort. Apparently, Patta fort is this flat plateau on top of the mountain where the wind blows wildly almost knocking you off your feet.
After freshening up from the 5-hour car ride, we collected our camping gear and started lugging it on our backs. The gear included the tents, packed food, clothing, water bottles, sleeping bags, etc. to be carried all the way up the mountain where we were to pitch our tents for the night.
The upward climb was to be not more than three hours and just perfect for both of us (husband /wife team) who were just getting into the hiking mould, unlike co-hikers who seemed seasoned. So, with brimful of enthusiasm we began our journey that was interspersed with singing, joking, interesting anecdotes, etc. It was an eclectic group of 13 odd people from various professional streams such as IT, Stock trading, Journalism, Filmmaking, Finance, Media, etc. all meeting for the first time.
On the way to the top, we came across huge windmills being set up by an energy business behemoth to make the most of the windy place. It took the wind out of us as the tall structures almost overpowered our tiny frames. I must also add that all the way up our hike, we had a few strange escorts. The orange colored crabs provided us constant company all through our upward climb. And we ensured we didn't step on any of those tiny creatures.
We reached the top of the hill, huffing and panting, fighting for breath, thinking hey man, what have we got ourselves into. But one look down the mountain, and we realised how wrong we were. What a breathtaking sight we had all around! A vista view wherever our eyes could see. Lush green meadows with tiny streams enveloped by a pack of mountains and laced with green trees all across. The overcast sky provided an ideal setting for us hikers to make the most of the breezy environs. Being in the throes of monsoon, we were all geared up for the thrashing of rain but alas, it was not to be. Though it was fairly windy, it didn't rain that. Sigh!

After reaching the top, we found a nice green flat patch to settle for our much delayed lunch. While the meal was being cooked on the makeshift gas stoves we played Dumb Charade, and what a hilarious time we had. My tummy still aches remembering the hilarious time we had that day. The noodles and chai was our lunch not forgetting the biscuits. With a voracious appetite built after the climb, we resembled hungry demons out to devour anything in sight. We washed the utensils/spoons under a small stream and collected the waste in a garbage bag that we kept with us through the hike ( an eco-friendly advice).

We resumed the walk to the end of the plateau where we came across a temple built many years before the Great Warrier Shivaji ruled this part of the country. Also, found a granary where the fort used to store all its food grains to protect the inhabitants in dire situations. We were enthralled by the many discoveries especially since it was an old structure dated many centuries. We also came across various ponds and water bodies on the fort that are still being used for drinking, bathing and washing.
The walk to the end of the plateau culminated towards late evening and by then it was time for us to start pitching the tents. Once the tents were pitched, we all ganged up and sat around in a circle on the flat meadow.
Then as it was turning to dusk, one after the other each one started coming with ghost stories experienced by self or imagination. It was frightening and at the same time funny. As stories were being regaled, someone from the group suddenly saw a dark figure lurking in the background. All hearts relaxed once we realised that it was just a shrub dancing in the wind. Once again, one of us thought, she heard a roar of a panther far away, and everybody just froze that moment. But then we comforted each other saying it can't be one since there are no panthers these sides of Maharashtra. And guess what! It turned out to be the airplanes making a roar while flying through the grey clouds above our heads. It appeared funny to all of us only when our doubts were finally laid to rest.
And then after dinner which meant dal khichdi and rosgullas we decided to call it a day. Finally, we hit our sleeping bags in the pitched tents.

Getting up amongst the greens is just some experience and answering nature's call is something else altogether. Let me not specify the details but one important tip to hikers is to drink lot of water.
We woke up to a windy morning with a beautiful mist all around and a light drizzle caressing our face. It was a heavenly sight indeed! After soaking in the atmosphere lasciviously for an hour or so it was time for us to hike down to the Patta vadi. Our hike down was through slippery red soil, green moss and treacherous narrow paths thanks to the light drizzle but all the same it was exhilarating.
Another tip to rookie hikers while trekking down is to completely trust your feet. Also, one must not sit when one can stand while walking down the steep inclines. That worked for me and my hubby, and we felt like pros once we reached the base that is the village at the bottom of the mountain.
Oh, what an experience it was, this hike to Pattafort!
Exhilarating because of the soothing sights, enjoyable because of the warm and friendly company and fulfilling and rejuvenating because we felt alive again! Being with nature over weekend can really do wonders to your soul. A last tip to Mumbaikars, don’t feel bad when someone tells you to “Go take a hike”. They probably mean well.