BE HAPPY, IT's ONE WAY OF BEING WISE!!!

Yesterday, I was driving, and the FM radio went off for few seconds. I thought, I should have an iPod. Then suddenly I realized that I have not used my iPod in last 6 months. And then more things, Handy cam in last 2 years, Digital Camera in last 2 months, DVD player in last 1 month and many more. Now I can say that I bought that Handy cam just out of impulse, I have used it twice only in last 4 years.

So, what's wrong and where? When I look at myself or my friends I can see it everywhere. We are not happy with what we have but all are stressed and not happy for the things we don't have. You have a Santro, but you want City, You have a City, but you want Skoda. Just after buying a new phone, we need another one. Better laptop, bigger TV, faster car, bigger house, more money .I mean, these examples are endless. The point is, does it actually worth? Do we ever think if we actually need those things before we want them?

After this, I was forced to think what I need and what I dont. May be I didnt need this Handy cam or the iPod or that DVD player. When I see my father back at home. He has a simple BPL colour TV, he doesnt need 32'Sony LCD wall mount. He has a cell phone worth Rs 2,500. Whenever I ask him to change the phone, he always says Its a phone, I need this just for calls.And believe me; he is much happier in life than me with those limited resources and simple gadgets. The very basic reason why he is happy with so little is that he doesnt want things in life to make it luxurious, but he wants only those things which are making his life easier. Its a very fine line between these two, but after looking my fathers life style closely, I got the point. He needs a cell phone but not the iPhone. He needs a TV but not the 32" plasma. He needs a car but not an expensive one.

Initially I had lot of questions. I am earning good, still I am not happy why ? I have all luxuries, still I am stressed.... ....... why ? I had a great weekend, still I am feeling tired...... why? I met lot of people, I thought over it again and again, I still don't know if I got the answers, but certainly figured out few things. I realize that one thing which is keeping me stressed is the stay connected syndrome. I realized that, at home also I am logged in on messengers, checking mails, using social networks, and on the top of that, the windows mobile is not letting me disconnected. On the weekend itself, trying to avoid unwanted calls and that is keeping my mind always full of stress. I realized that I am spending far lesser money than what I earn, even then I am always worried about money and more money. I realized that I am saving enough money I would ever need, whenever needed. Still I am stressed about job and salary and spends.

May be, many people will call this approach not progressive attitude but I want my life back. Ultimately its a single life, a day gone is a day gone. I believe if I am not happy tonight, I'll never be happy tomorrow morning. I finally realized that meeting friends, spending quality time with your loved one's; spending time with yourself is the most important thing. If on Sunday you are alone and you don't have anybody to talk with, then all that luxuries life, all that money is wasted. May be cutting down your requirements, re-calculating your future goal in the light of today's happiness is a worthwhile thing to do. May be selling off your Santro and buying Honda City on EMIs is not a good idea. I believe putting your happiness ahead of money is the choice we need to make.

I think, a lot can be said and done but what we need the most is re-evaluation of the value of happiness and time we are giving to our life and people associated with it.

BE HAPPY, IT's ONE WAY OF BEING WISE!!!

Hyundai I 10 Sportz ...

Buying a car can be a difficult task.There will be so many opinions, your friends,your family, your colleagues , your relatives and of course YOU. Internet only increases the confusion , it just increases the number of opinions and recommendations and If you are married you have had it. The number of opinions double. After all its ...an add on wife..her friends, her colleagues,her family,her relatives and of course HER. I somehow came out of the confusion by a TOSS. Believe it or not yes it was a toss between Swift and Hyundai I10 1.2 L . I was with I10 and my wife with Swift.

" If its a head its gonna be a swift Vxi and if its a tail its gonna be I10.." she said...

" But lets make sure this will be the only toss ..aisa na ho ki ...after this you say one more toss or lets do it again...or best of 3 or best of 5 kinda stuff.." I replied...

"Oh sure......I m sure god is with me and I can be sure of swift.." she said...

"Ok then lets consider this as the voice of god..no more overruling for this" I knew this would ensure no more childish response if she looses...but deep down fearing what if its head...i cant play this childish tricks as well...

Well it turned out to be my spin...and in came the Hyundai I10 . She was pretty sad and disappointed and I had to really cheer her up saying color will be of your choice. She was as always a great bargainer and despite loosing ..she demanded Black and further bargained for Sportz model whereas I had thought of Magna. Haarkar jeetne waale ko baajigar kehte hai and jeetkar haarne waale ko Ankur Kehte hai I guess.And she would have definitely felt like a baazigar. For those of you reading this for review of the car here are my readings for Hyundai I10.

Looks..: 10 /10 I went in for a black sportz model 1.2 L Kappa Engine with Electric Red Interiors. I personally like the look both external and internal , and to be honest from the heart I find it the best. Even my wife agrees so after I bought it. She says.." Yea black I10 is better looking than any swift.." ..that coming from a staunch supporter of looks of swift was more than a compliment. Wonderful Interiors , Red Colored , Beige interiors ...display of the music system.. wonder internal dashboard lights.. oh how much I love it.

Engine : I m not a mechanical engineer or great with engines and all....I know that its 1200 cc engine generating good power and torque without making any noise( some times I check with accelerator whether engine is on or off...at signals..specially) . I took it to coorg within a week after I bought the car and it was zooming off those mountain curves with steep hikes without any problem. On the highway it touched 130-140 as well without any one realising any sound/ noise/ vibration. On the mountains of talacauvery a constant drive of about 40-60 km at 3-4 gear and any drop in speed I could pick up from 3rd gear itself..so sufficient power and pick up I believe.

Mileage : 10/10 Well this was something I never expected . When I left Bangalore I got it full tank with extra premium ( Speed ...may be..) petrol . I got the tank filled up again after 370 km and only 21 lts was all that was required. That was a mileage of 17.6 km/l . I was very very happy. AS the maximum they claimed was 15-16 km / lt . I thought may be Speed Petrol ...something to do with it. But slowly the facts dawned on me. I had switched on AC for almost 170 km ( heat in some places and some where for mist and rain ). I am a new driver so I don't go much on to 5th gear, My drive was mostly on 3rd and 4th gear . I drove for about 100 km.Rest was driven by my driver who drove mostly on 5th gear. Then drive from Coorg to Talacauvery was always ghats where my driver drove on 3-4th gear. Went and came back about 80 kms of ghats ( up and down) out of 370 km ..here is the break up

90 km of ghats ( 45 km Ac and 45 without AC )

250 kms of Highway ( 130 with AC and 120 without AC ( 100 driven by me and 20 by driver appx))

30 kms of City and traffic.(without AC)

Now despite all this I get a 17.6 mileage ...Its unbelievable for a one week old car. But I will get it checked up again on my next filling and come back on the corrected figure.

Other Features : AC works pretty well ,it cools immediately and like a chilled shimla.., Power windows too good, Music system very good. But we miss remote in the system.Nor is the USB slot directly available .Got to get some converter soon but CD player,radio and IPOD player were too good and sound quality also good throughout the car...4 speakers..I have. No space for a can,bottle,cup on the dash board,but its fine.I keep it in the middle below the gear but that's one disadvantage. I keep searching for putting my water bottle. Now the electronic central locking. It works fine but after such rains it has stopped making sounds...guess electronics you cant say anything ..even the back gear sound/alarm has gone down.Power steering is a bit weak when u compare it with swift ,estillo...etc. But still its a power steering.

Price : I got it for 4.2 On road with the annual tax option . Got a few accessories ..some basic ones.Car cover , central locking..sun film etc. (I am thinking of getting an under-chassis coating to be done after the first servicing). I thought it to be reasonable when u compare it with swift and similar cars.Price was one factor I was with I10 and not Swift after its my salary and not hers. :)

Overall : I feel that it had been a good bargain when compare it with swift . May be after six months or so I will have to add / change something but now I am happy as I have got what I had thought of when I bought the car.

Overall Hyundai I10 (I love to add KAPPA engine in the name) has been the dream come true kinda car for me..

And above all my wife agrees with me... :)

Lamhe.....Lazy Lamhe...

I had just had my food. It never tasted so good , though it was just a plain pulao and chatni stuff but the taste was unlike ever before. In the process I ate more than i had to and then I started dozing off.
Lazy Lamhe....Lazy ..Lazy lamhe..
It was just after a 2 minutes nap that she spoke something which I could decipher as 'now come on ,drop me back to my house before it gets too late I wont even get an auto'. She generaly says that you dont listen to me at all .I heard her this time quite well though. Well to be very frank I am not sure whether this is what she said or is it something like that .

No choice I had to drop her back from the restaurant to her place. It was a cold night outside and I had to pick up the bike. Thought it would be just a good drive. Well I was soon going to be proved wrong. Since it was pretty cold I had put on double trousers and two jackets. Yes it was warm since I had a packed air tight helmet as well. The drive started..

chalte ..khissak khisak ke ...lazy lamhe.

I had never felt so sleepy on a drive before. But I was constantly kept awake by some talk she was doing from the back. I only listend once when she jolted me and asked me why arent you replying to anything. I told her its just that I m feeling sleepy . When we reached her place , she brought a water bottle and I washed my face and the coldness awakened me up.

I decided to take the water bottle along with me on my way back.

It was about a kilometer I had traveelled when i first dozzed off ..
I was driving at 60 when ..
vrooooooooooooooom...a horn..keeeeeeeeeeeeee awakened me.

It was a car coming from the opposite direction just whiffed past me. I was wide awake for a second. Then thought it was a close escape I should be careful now..Well after another 5 kms...

palkein ye bhaari bhaari ye lazy lamhe,

It was a flyover, I had to take my bike BELOW that and take a RIGHT turn.Well I did take a RIGHT turn but that was not BELOW the fly over ,it was ABOVE the flyover and unfortunately there was no right turn over there and i was about to bang a railing barrier.But somehow I had slowed down on instincts and was able to put up a break and then come down from the flyover. Though its quite clear but still for the sake of positive persons let me make it very clear..I had again dozzed of for a couple of seconds ..may be more on my bike...

Yes a doze on bike is very much possible..for details of such technology contact me.

...I decided its time now for a face wash. I took out the bottle and washed my face ,had a sip as well . Then started of the journey again. Yes it was soon turning out to be a journey. The wind was pretty pleasant,..weather nice and cold and the road full empty ...Pleasant drive.Well another 5 kms.....

letaa hai bagal mein mausam, thaam le zaraa…jaam de zaraa…
ye lazy… lazy… lamhe…
ye lazy… lazy… lamhe…

Now i was driving at 70 and at full speed thinking about the scene from movie I saw that day Spider Man. Where our Tobby macguire says......"hey I am baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaackkkk...." .I was smiling at the scene when he says 'my back.....' when I suddenly realised I also have to say the same .."Myyyy Back...".but I was safe . It was just a pit on the road. those who travel in Bangalore know a pit in indian terminology is no less that a small well used for drinking water...and I had crossed the small well at the speed of 70 and jumped on the road. There was a bit of Jhatka on the back bone. I soon realised I wasnt thinking about spider man , I was dreaming about spider man. ..Again took out the water and washed the face. Pledged not to drive so late in the night again.

Finally just managed to reach the house about 100 m from my house confident enough that I have finally made my journey without any MAJOR hiccups before one final turn. I had reached I thought . I blinked for a second , at least I Thought it was a second ..I blinked for a second. May be it was a bit longer. In front of me was an arch about a meter off ..with me on about 50 kmph . Stone arch had enough space to allow my bike but my head would have been chopped off with Helmet intact on the head. So I decided to bang the bikes tyre on the pillar of the arch. At least my head will be safe.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnngggg....

MY EYES WIDE OPEN....I FELT DOWN. and bike on me.
morr de kamar, ke koi dil dhoond le… ( yes it was pretty bad...)

some bruices...
hothon ke kareeb manzil dhoond le…

head had hit the bike...
zulfon ke paas ikk ghar dhoond le…

Saw above a man having a tea in the night on his balcony on the nearby house.He smiled and asked in sign language whether I had enough drinks for the night or I need more. I smiled back. Thats all I could do....because I wasnt sure whether he used only sign language or he spoke as well but may be I coudlnt hear. I replied no was just sleeping...
" Why dont you get up ? Or are u so sleepy u wanna have a doze there only ..."..now I could hear him for sure...My ears are right...
dragged myself and got up..
chalte khisak khisak ke ye lazy lamhe,
Bike looked perfecly ok .I somehow reached my apartment.

Next morning I was perfectly ok but Bike had shown some serious signs of damage. Fork Bend etc...
No more Lazy lamhe...but still another song on from Lamhe...
ye lamhe, ye pal .....

hum barso yaad karenge.. ..

Gone are the days...

Gone are the days...

When the school reopened in July,
And we settled in our new desks and benches.
When we queued up in book shops and tailors shop,
And got our new books and notes along with the new uniform.
When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, yet
Managed to sit line up daily for the morning prayers.

We learnt writing with slates and pencils, and
Progressed To fountain pens and then ball pens .
We started calculating first with tables
and then advanced to calculators and computers.
When we chased one another in the corridors in Intervals,
and returned to the classrooms drenched in sweat.

When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors,
Playgrounds, under the trees and even in cycle shed.
When all in the whites,
Decorated the campus on the Saturdays.
When a single 'games' period in the week's Time Table,
Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons.

When cricket was played with wooden patas as bats,
And stones and socks rolled into balls.
When few played "kabadi" and "Kho-Kho" in scorching sun,
While others simply played "book cricket" in the confines of classroom.
Of fights but no conspiracies,Of Competitions but seldom jealousy.

When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast,
In the opposite house of our friend after school.
When few rushed at 1:30 to "Conquer" window seats in our School bus.
While others played 'aiis paais' and 'gippdi fod'

Gone are the days Of Houses Day, and the annual School Day,
And the one-month long preparations for them.
Gone are the days Of the stressful Quarterly,Half Yearly and Annual Exams,
And the most enjoyed holidays after them.
Of tenth and twelfth standards,
when we Spent almost the whole year writing practise tests in tuitions.

We learnt, we enjoyed, we played, we won, we lost,
We laughed, we cried, we fought, we thought.
With so much fun in them, so many friends,
So much experience, all this and more.

Gone are the days when we used to talk for hours with our friends.
Now we don't have time to say a HI.

Gone are the days when we played games on the road.
Now we code on the road with laptop

Gone are the days when we sat to chat with friends on grounds.
Now we chat in chat rooms.....

Gone are the days where we had no money in our pockets and fun filled on our hearts
Now we have the atm as well as credit card but with an empty heart

Gone are the days where we got lectures from all.
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....

Gone are the days
But not the memories, which will be
Lingering in our hearts for ever and ever and Ever and ever and Ever.....

Waqt nahi

READ THIS ONE SOMEWHERE .LIKED IT SO MUCH THAT DECIDED TO HAVE IT ON MY BLOG

Har khushi Hai Logon Ke Daman Mein,
Par Ek Hansi Ke Liye Waqt Nahi.
Din Raat Daudti Duniya Mein,
Zindagi Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Maa Ki Lori Ka Ehsaas To Hai,
Par Maa Ko Maa Kehne Ka Waqt Nahi.
Saare Rishton Ko To Hum Maar Chuke,
Ab Unhe Dafnane Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.

Saare Naam Mobile Mein Hain,
Par Dosti Ke Liye Waqt Nahi.
Gairon Ki Kya Baat Karen,
Jab Apno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Aankhon Me Hai Neend Badee,
Par Sone Ka Waqt Nahi.
Dil Hai Gamon Se Bhara ,
Par Rone Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.

Paison ki Daud Me Aise Daude,
Ki Thakne ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.
Paraye Ehsason Ki Kya Kadr Karein,
Jab Apne Sapno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Tu Hi Bata E Zindagi,
Iss Zindagi Ka Kya Hoga,
Ki Har Pal Marne Walon Ko,
Jeene Ke Liye Bhi Waqt Nahi.........