Dear Sibling

September 13, 2015September 14, 2015 / tvs21292 / 3 Comments

Some of us have had the fortune of growing up with siblings while others haven’t. In your growing up years, your sibling relationships have likely been roller coaster rides. You make the best team at one moment, and could well be fighting a-la Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in the ring the very next.

But no matter what, the equation always remains. You continue to share a good rapport despite all the disagreements. And this is a common experience irrespective of the part of the world you are from.

Today is my sibling’s birthday. And we’ve grown up with our share of good times and quarrels alike. I have learnt a lot from her over the years and continue to. And needless to say, we do make a great team.

I am not sure if she’d remember this. But my earliest memory of practicing cursive handwriting dates back to sometime in 1998. I was only in the first grade, but I’d be forced to practice cursive writing every day. I use the term ‘forced’ because I can recall being reluctant to do so on more than one instance.The practicing helped and I have learnt to write beautifully over the years (in the aesthetic sense at least). Many of my friends over the course of school and college have complimented me for my handwriting and claimed that my notebooks looked like printed books. Well, if it wasn’t for the practice, that wouldn’t have been the case.

I hated being forced to practice cursive, but today, I can’t thank you enough for it. Thank you!

It was because of you that I developed a penchant for reading. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had a good vocabulary and the ability to write as well as I can. This very blog then would only have been a distant dream – far from reality, never transcending the realms of fantasy. You introduced me to the world of happening kiddie newspapers and got me to read. No kid fancies going through a Times of India or a Loksatta, after all. It took me a while to be a consistent reader and eventually a writer. I still have a lot to learn when it comes to writing, but I will in due course.

But credit to you for getting me started. Thank you!

I am the most clueless person in the world when it comes to shopping for clothes. Over time, I have learnt to pick and choose. But it hasn’t happened on its own. I am still a bit apprehensive when it comes to shopping for myself, although it’s easier when I have you for company.

For helping me choose the right stuff – Thank you!

There was a time when I didn’t know of a world beyond McDonald’s, KFC and Subway.

For introducing me to varieties of food beyond my imagination – Thank you!

Here’s to the best siblings in the world, to all of the nonsensical jokes we crack and still laugh wholeheartedly to, to putting up with football matches and desperate housewives.

Happy Birthday!

Black and Yellow

September 6, 2015September 7, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Here in Mumbai, we are all too familiar with the colors black and yellow.

And the ruckus raised by vehicles donning these colors, their infamous drivers and unions keeps making it to the headlines at regular intervals. I am one of the many citizens of Mumbai who have taken an acute dislike for these occurrences. Mind you, I wasn’t always this way.

As a kid who was ferried to and from school in an auto rickshaw, I wasn’t conditioned to despise them.But as I grew up to start traveling around the city by myself, I realized that successfully getting into an auto/taxi to anywhere could be a whole new ball game. The power dynamics at play blew my mind. No prizes for guessing though – I didn’t stay amused for long.

Every time I get refused, I have this urge to give them a high five –in the face, with a brick. But wouldn’t that be inhuman bordering on illegal? Every time I consider doing it or get frustrated, I also wonder why I waste my time getting all worked up. For all I know, they do not give a damn and just go about their day rather merrily. It might also fill them with a false sense of pride – you know, to wholly be in control of where they go whenever they choose to and to not give two hoots about what happens with your life post the refusal.

That’s not to say all the cabbies or auto riders are errant. Let’s say it’s roughly 70% of them (Am I being too lenient? Let me know).

There are two things the black and yellows can really do to successfully compete with private cabbies –

Acknowledge the existence of the word ‘yes’:

Say yes for a change. The very reduction in the number of passengers being refused could divert half of the uber/ola faithful to the black and yellows.

Rent better cabs:

Who wouldn’t fancy going around in a Hyundai i10 as opposed to a worn out Premier Padmini?

vs.

Better cars = Happier Customers = More Customers = More Income = Happier Cabbies

Hiring a cab is an event that can unfold in a number of ways..

Around the world, refusals aren’t the norm. You would never come across a taxi driver refusing customers saying, “Arey lekin mujhe idhar nahin, udhar jaana hai” or “Abhi gas bharne jaana hai” while in Tokyo or New York. It’s pretty routine that way – Passenger arrives > opens door > gets into taxi > tells the driver where he wants to go > off to destination.

The routine in Mumbai is rarely, if ever, the same. It could be like any of the following depending on a person’s luck/ astrological chart / destiny / determination/ persistence:

Case I:

Passenger arrives > opens door > gets into taxi > tells the driver where he wants to go > off to destination.

This event is as rare as an elephant in Antarctica (and is often considered hypothetical).

Case II:

Passenger arrives > opens door > gets into taxi > tells the driver where he wants to go > driver refuses > passenger requests > driver refuses > passenger requests > driver refuses > passenger begs > driver agrees > off to destination

Case III:

Passenger approaches taxi > Tells the driver where he wants to go > Driver looks the other way and drives off without a response> Passenger feels like an idiot

Case IV:

Passenger approaches taxi >Tells the driver where he wants to go > Driver refuses > Passenger threatens to take the driver to a police station for refusing>Driver doesn’t say a word > off to destination

Case V:

Passenger approaches taxi > Tells the driver where he wants to go > Driver refuses > Passenger leaves fuming > Somehow finds another cab > Lodges a complaint about the driver on RTO’s website> Hopes and prays the driver is punished or at least warned > Never gets any response with regard to the complaint > Same old miserable feeling!

No wonder every Mumbaikar has learned to make-do with the situation.

Inconveniencing thousands of Mumbaikars and subjecting passengers to hostile treatment will never do these guys any favors. Ola and Uber will do better than usual every time they stay off roads – Protesting against a service only to increase its demand is the epitome of irony!

When will they learn? Sooner than later I hope.

5 Things I Learned From The Japanese

August 30, 2015 / tvs21292 / 2 Comments

It’s been a year since I set foot on the land of the rising sun with a few of my college mates. And although we might not have aced the competition we had been there for, the experience and the country at large taught us many a valuable lessons during our time there.
Let’s take a moment to travel back in time –
Just for the record, we landed at Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya.
The prospect of familiarising myself with another country was pretty exciting. As an aspiring world citizen, this is something that will continue to be so for the rest of my life.

1. The Warmth:

As foreigners in Japan, the warmth and courtesy on offer at just about every nook and corner makes you feel wonderful about this place.

Considering the ever-increasing number of Indians abroad, Hindi is gaining ground around the globe and as a result, people in many countries do happen to be somewhat familiar with simple everyday greetings in the language.

We were surprised and touched when greeted with “Namaste!” at the bus stop outside the airport. Chances are, the arrival of Mr.Narendra Modi in Japan a day before we landed had fuelled all the warmth. Irrespective of the reasons for that, it’s something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives.

2. The Discipline:

The Japanese are all about impeccable discipline. We spent 10 days in the country and failed to notice –

a. People crossing the streets at random and showing no consideration to oncoming traffic.
b. Taxis being hauled around recklessly.
c. Taxi drivers fleecing customers.
d. Cars going down the wrong side of the road.
e. Vehicles changing lanes at random.

I can recall an incident that occurred on our first day. We were waiting to get across the road at a zebra crossing and had a few Japanese folk alongside us. The clock read 9:30 pm with barely a soul or vehicle on the road, and in spite of having no signs of oncoming traffic, people refused to budge. You wouldn’t see this in a similar scenario in India, which is why, anything of the sort seems ridiculous to us.

We aren’t accustomed to waiting at a pedestrian signal even in the presence of heavy traffic, let alone no traffic (Our kind of swag).

Lane discipline is a standout feature for traffic in Japan.

PS – I also appreciate their patience. I didn’t hear a single vehicle honk in 10 days. Dear fellow Mumbaikar, take note and stop abusing my ears.

3. Language isn’t necessarily a barrier:

Before our departure, we did go through a few everyday greetings in Japanese on Google Translate. Was that enough? Not really.

Clearly, if you intend to stay in Japan for a few months or even years, it is advisable that you know the language. And remember that you would be doing it for your convenience more than theirs.

A lot of people we came across knew little or no English – now this obviously varies from place to place. (Our first stop, Hamamatsu had a very small number of locals familiar with English, this changed for the better when we arrived in Tokyo)

But even then, the Japanese went out of their ways to help us every single time – and this is unlikely to vary from place to place.

Be it with finding your way around town or looking for an item in a supermarket, you can and will always get help.

We thought we were lost somewhere in Tokyo while looking for a museum. After a while, we asked a local walking by if he knew where the place was. He didn’t understand a word, but asked for the map. We show him the map; he looks around and finds the place, asks us to follow him halfway to the place, points at it, smiles, acknowledges our thank you(s) and walks away.

Food for thought – How often do we go out of our way to help foreign tourists in our country? If behaviours shown in all the “Atithi Devo Bhava” adverts we see on TV were the norm, the adverts would never have to be made in the first place.

4. The Cleanliness:

Statistically, Tokyo is the most crowded city in the world and in spite of that; it’s also one of the cleanest.

If they can do it, I believe Mumbai can too. It’s all about the attitudes of our people. We can always make a conscious decision to not do certain things and abide by it. Problem is, most of us don’t. And when most of us don’t, it also discourages those of us who often want to. The feeling perpetuates and continues to grow. God save us!

PS – Start small. Start with yourself. You never know who’s watching and getting inspired to follow in your footsteps in the process.

5. The Timeliness:

The Japanese aren’t very fond of being late. This is evident at every place from offices to railway stations. Trains arriving on time are the norm here and I am pretty sure this rubs off on the people too.

This country has given the world all it could right from great cars to management principles that have taken a number of companies to world class over the years. It’s no surprise that they’ve made plenty of progress in little time. There’s so much you can learn from the people there, and it’s for everyone to see as they go about their daily lives.

Dilemma

August 22, 2015August 27, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

I am not sure if any of you have been through this, but I have over the years and continue to. Man is a social animal and conversations are a significant part of our lives. You might talk about current affairs, sports, your favourite TV series or movie, careers, family issues or relationship concerns. While most of your conversations would obviously be in the company of a friend, colleague or relative, there are some which are limited to the confines of your minds.

You wouldn’t usually declare this to anyone around you at that point in time because it might seem irrelevant or just plain crazy. “You need a shrink” is not even the last thing you want them to tell you.

Everybody talks to themselves about something or the other, sometimes in their minds and sometimes, out loud. If you say you don’t, you’re a liar!

(Still in denial? Let me help you change that. Click here)

In my case, the questioning never stops. It’s not that I am fond of disagreeing with widely accepted norms; but my curiosity always gets the better of me. When someone tells me to do a certain thing a certain way just for the heck of it, they can always expect me to counter question, out loud or otherwise.

I have a great fondness with talking to myself. Especially when I travel, this becomes very obvious. I am always looking around and talking to myself about anything and everything I see. It could be anything – hurling abuses at an idiot causing traffic snarls, ‘reviewing’ a hoarding, pitying a dilapidated building or just my views on a tree by the roadside. I don’t make sense half of the time and that’s okay – because I am the only one who’s ‘listening’ which means no one’s going to judge either.

When it comes to social interactions though, I think and analyze everything I am about to say, perhaps to avoid making a fool of myself. But as it often turns out, it doesn’t work – not for me, at least. People often get frustrated by my lack of conversational participation. Those are situations where they would love to know and hear more of me, but I won’t let them for some stupid fear of appearing to be less than a skilled conversationalist.

I have come to discover that going with the flow can feel a lot better and while I might still make a fool of myself, it could be worth the risk.

Awkward silences have haunted me eternally – those are moments when I am trying to collect myself and utter a few words without any erratic pronunciations resulting from the dread of being murdered for uttering something that could only be regarded as immensely nonsensical. (In other words, I take the proof-reading bit too far) My apologies for all the awkwardness if you have experienced any while I struggled to let out a syllable.

I tend to run out of things to say faster than most people would, and that’s not because I speak too fast.

I tend to contemplate if my utterances would really interest the other person. Now, this will not be the case if I am absolutely, undoubtedly, positively sure that you would be – this applies to formal meetings. I can be great at formal meetings, but the informal ones? well..

(You might read this and wonder why I feel the need to be a designer and not an analyst – for all the knack to be analytic of every single thing).

I also get fascinated by people who can literally talk all day. That must be some talent. Yes, to me, the ability to make small talk is talent.

I’ve tried defining myself as an introvert, only to realize that I wasn’t doing the definition enough justice. Unlike most introverts, I enjoy going out with people and I could spend a lot of time interacting with the lot that has me company so long as we click. But there are times, when I just need to be by myself.

Ambivert might apply, but it’s not something I fancy. I am trying not to give myself a label.

The advent of this blog has been the beginning of an adventure in many ways. A journey of self-discovery, of getting to know myself a lot better along the way while also giving myself something to look forward to each weekend. With each article, I learn to accept myself (quirks included) a wee bit more.

And in a journey of self-discovery and acceptance, if this isn’t success, what is?

Go for glory!

August 16, 2015August 17, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Regardless of whether you are a working professional, are a student or a sportsman, you’re ultimately doing it all for one thing – Glory. That winning feeling or the sense of accomplishment is so addictive, you never want to let go. But life has its own ways – throwing surprises at you all the time. Some of these are pleasant, some not so.

Let’s face it – getting your share of victory takes a good amount of work. And most of us are in for it, at least as long as it looks all easy peasy. The moment things start getting tough, we tend to back off; our inner defences are activated and our default survival mechanism kicks in, telling us not to do it because it’s apparently a threat.
This could apply to any situation that forces you to get out of your comfort zone – to each their own.

Yes, this so-called ‘survival mechanism’ is for real and research says it has been a part of the human instinct ever since our earliest ancestors walked the face of this planet. The fact that it’s still part of our instincts is a bit unfortunate for two reasons:

1. This is the 21st century for God’s sake. Back in the Stone Age, when man didn’t have a permanent home and wandered from one place to another, his survival instincts kept him wary of any approaching predators so that he could protect himself from any imminent threat.

Human life has come a long way since and we are not nomads anymore.

Life’s obstacles are not hungry grizzly bears running at you like it’s lunch time.

2. A bunch of meteorites isn’t about to hit the planet anytime soon.

So take a moment to calm down and free your mind of all the chaos.

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Because a lemur is insisting? Yeah right.

Sportsmen also crave their fix of glory. How often do you see an ambitious batsman trying to hit the ball for a six, only to get out caught? Or a footballer trying to dribble past four defenders, only to be brought down by a well-timed tackle?

Of course, the hunt for glory doesn’t always end in failure. And we deserve to seek the best for ourselves, even if it involves a slight degree of risk.

So don’t judge how things may end, and try taking the leap of faith.
The uncertainty involved gives you a rush of adrenaline. You might succeed or at most fail, but that’s as bad as it gets and you still live another day having learned from the experience.

Many of us look at successful people and feel a sense of awe. They have an aura of greatness to them. What many of us fail to realise though, is that none of them have been overnight successes. Your path to glory has to entail consistent effort.

This TED talk tells you how to NOT achieve your dreams.

Nationalism alert!

Indians around the world are making it big these days – and while that gives me immense pride to be a compatriot, I have also derived a huge amount of inspiration from them. Be it Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Indra Nooyi or someone else – they have all had to work their way to the top with a lot of effort and patience. So let’s pledge to never give up on our hunt for glory, for it could be just around the corner when all hope seems lost.

So..

Each one of us is on their own journey. They say, the soul is eternal and keeps transcending from one realm to the next. Our time as humans on earth is one of those realms.Make the most of this time to dream, do and achieve. Stop being so afraid of falling short, and even if you do, be sure you know that everyone does at some point.

True glory comes not from never falling, but rising every time you fall.

“And why do we fall? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.”

Well, couldn’t have skipped that. Batman flicks have taught me so much.

Getting There

August 9, 2015August 9, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Mainstream media and the internet are full of fitspirations these days. Blog articles, fitness pages on social media and numerous TV shows are vying to get fitness mantras and to-dos across to an increasingly impressionable audience mainly comprising of the youth. All of the mayhem can ultimately affect us, no matter how hard we try not to let it.

As a person who considered himself to be of the overweight variety about four months ago, I had to make a conscious decision to get fitter and leaner. I have made some progress since, but I have had my share of hiccups en route to a fitter self over the years. Here’s to all of those..

1. Walk, Jog, Run, Repeat..

As an amateur in the workout world, extensive exercise was my go-to solution. I would do extensive bouts of cardio at every chance I got. I’d cover 8 kilometres a day and still end up doubting if my efforts were paying. Needless to say, they never did.

Don’t be surprised. I was never consistent with my efforts then. I’d run on a Monday, then skip workout for the next 3 days owing to sheer lack of motivation and the supposed “lack of time” that was a product of my imagination.

As a result, I never got ‘results’. (Yes, I am great at puns)

It was only when I decided to buck up did things change bit by bit. Yes, running around parks these days is nothing short of an obstacle course – too many merry makers walking in groups, leaves a small part of the track to joggers.

However, take it or leave it are the only choices you have mate!

2. Green Tea – The Frenemy.

A close friend once suggested green tea as a health drink. It’s supposed to help you lose weight and also detox your body. Sounds good, eh?

The description was impressive. The taste wasn’t.

My first trial with green tea didn’t end well. I actually had to eat a chocolate post that cup of tea to rid my mouth of the horrid taste. (Imagine the irony! A health drink that makes you eat a bar of chocolate)

I have shared a love-hate relationship with it since. I still drink it at times, oft forcefully than willingly.

Just for the record, I have also tried black coffee since and I find it more bearable.

3. Those elusive gym sessions..

Gym memberships that count for nothing were my forte once upon a time. I have had instances when in a three month membership, I have been to the gym for just one.

Giving up too soon, expecting overnight results and not giving your body the time it needs can have adverse effects (on your health as well as your state of mind).

As of now, not thinking too far into the future and taking those gym sessions one at a time seems to be working well.

4. To eat or not to eat?

Trying to regulate your eating habits can be an uphill task when you’ve just started off.

There are times when I am good at it. More often than not though, I tend to give in to my temptations and wallow in regret soon after. The guilt however, lasts only for five minutes.

No matter how strict my diet plans are, you can always serve me a scoop of frozen dessert and watch me go weak in the knees.

Ice cream wins on most days and might well continue to.

5. Clothing crisis..

The sad bit about losing those extra pounds – too many oversized pieces of clothing in your wardrobe.

They can make you look like anything from a sumo wrestler to a hippie.

The solution – Gain all the flab you have lost in the form of muscle and voila! They’re perfect again.

I hope to get there, eventually.

#MustKeepWorking

6. Desperation

Unlike Bruce Wayne, I have tasted desperate. There was a point in time when, if someone had told me that walking upside down all day helps you lose weight, I would probably have done that.

7. YouTube Videos

Before I had my gym membership, I depended on YouTube to train me on my way to fitness.

Before you undermine this idea, let me tell you that YouTube has a decent collection of channels dedicated to fitness – I chose one that focused on bodyweight training.

This one

I was all pumped up and ready to go when I saw these videos. They had exercises for every muscle group.

It was only after I started doing these exercises, did I realise, that I was running out of breath halfway through those sessions. Just 15 minutes into those workouts, (with plenty of resting between sets) I would be huffing and puffing as if I had done a full blown tabata session – I was wishing I could head out to the market and buy myself some stamina. (If only that could actually happen)

The road to a fitter version of you is one laden with challenges at every step. However, I believe that determination and dedication along with a spoonful of consistency can get you there. Diet plans might crash, you might inevitably miss your workout on some days and on some others, dragging yourself out of the cosiness of your bed might be a challenge in itself.

Ask yourself, is giving up even a choice?

This guy \m/

If you do find an answer and an easier way out, let me know please.

An Obsession With Uncertainty.

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Life be like.

Unless you are a psychic/ astrologer/ somewhere close to being a god-man/woman, chances are, your life is full of uncertainty. You can always hope things turn out a certain way, but you can never be sure. This is the story of our lives. No matter how far you’ve come or how confident you are, you are always a tad unsure about how life would turn out – “Will I get to work on time?, Will I miss the train?, Will I pass my exams?, Will I beat those deadlines?, Will I? Won’t I?”

It’s this sense of uncertainty that keeps us on our toes all the time. It’s responsible for keeping us focused on the task at hand while also adding a sense of urgency to it.

Imagine living a life full of certainty. Knowing everything before it happens – with no traces of suspense and no mark of the unknown. Life then would be mundaneness in all its glory. You would have nothing to look forward to, no anxiety attacks and those tinges of nervousness before any significant task would be non-existent entities.

How exciting no? And unimaginably boring too..

Uncertainty makes our lives interesting. Admit it, losing all your nails during a game of football, cricket, tennis or whatever other sport you’re into has never left you wallowing in regret – unless of course, your team lost on the day. Even then, a close loss wouldn’t leave you feeling as bad as a comprehensive loss would. Interestingly, post a close encounter like one of those games, you would likely still be full of praises for your team because they supposedly put their best foot forward.

The Power Of Illusion!

July 26, 2015July 29, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Illusion – (noun)

1. something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality.

2. the state or condition of being deceived; misapprehension.

3. an instance of being deceived.

You might have heard of kids having imaginary friends, been deceived by a professional magician or heard someone calling out to you only to realise there’s no one around. These are occurrences that are part of the realms of illusion, of distorted reality and to the uninitiated, a horror movie.

Illusions can serve us – A magic show has entertainment value, having imaginary friends helps children develop socially (More about that here). And then, there are voices – some remind us of a friend or a relative we haven’t been in touch with and urge us to call or text them immediately.

Some is the keyword here. Because there are some voices that could outright freak you out.

As an example, you could consider this voice:

Honestly, it still gives me the creeps.

Illusions when experienced outside a magic show, are like mind games, albeit they can help you set your priorities right unlike the usual occurrences we consider to be mind games. They give you a sense of what you really want to be, do or achieve. They introduce you to who you really are while also reminding you of your current situation. We are accustomed to treating illusions with wonderment – clueless about how they come into being. Unaware as we are, of the fact that they come into existence by way of our thoughts, actions as well as our circumstances.

Part of this approach stems from the fact that they are easier to fathom when treated with astonishment. After all, don’t we all fancy a life brimming with awe, of moments that leave us speechless, of unbounded happiness derived from an occurrence of wonder?

Some illusions are instinctive and can have life-saving consequences.

Fear, in this case, would be an unfortunate approach – for it takes away all of the fascination and replaces it with doubt, the most malignant of all living experiences. Doubt can cripple and take away any traces of inner peace. The answer? Illude yourself into believing otherwise. That positive boost of energy might just work for you. Here’s proof.

This works perfectly well when used to change one’s mood for the better and to facilitate a more joyous state of being. It does for me, and as a normal human, I can testify it could well work for anybody else. Associating a feeling a wonderment with anything makes life look like an exciting journey. So the next time you feel low on hope, excitement or hunger, bring in a bit of self-deception and soar!

Illusions can also spark creativity, making something that was never thought of a possibility. Chances are, taking a break from being real is good for you, after all.

Flip Side Alert!

However, the other side of the coin is that illusions aren’t always hunky-dory. For some, they are signs of a psychotic problem and no matter how hard they try, ridding themselves of these harmful distortions seems impossible to them.

Intense illusion in the form of hallucinations is not a healthy sign.

In such cases, treatment is mandatory.

Go Figure!

Want to be captivated some more?

Haila!

Head here.

And here.

Is your head spinning already?

Our brain is a fascinating little piece of flesh – processing or skipping bits and pieces of information at will. Time we took a moment to acknowledge the power of our mind.

Watch a renowned illusionist explain how magic works.

Have more to say? Anything I missed out on? Let me know in the comments.

Aptitude versus Gut!

July 19, 2015July 29, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

Aptitude (noun) – a natural ability to do something

Aptitude Test – a test designed to determine a person’s ability in a particular skill or field of knowledge.

Gut (noun) – *informal* used in reference to a feeling or reaction based on an instinctive emotional response rather than considered thought.

Be it as students or as professionals, we’re subjected to a number of aptitude tests throughout our lives (or at least as long as we work for someone/intend to do so).

In simple words, an aptitude test tells you if you are eligible for/capable of pursuing a career in any particular field.

I’ve had my trysts with a few, and the first one was particularly testing. There were two reasons for this:

I didn’t agree with the result.
I couldn’t get myself to agree with the result.

Or you could say, I just didn’t want to. I had other plans you know.. Or I thought I did.

(Just to give you a quick background, it happened one fine day in school during my SSC and lasted 8 painful hours)

A week or so after the test, it was judgment day. It was my turn to meet the counselor.

Here’s how it all unfolded, and more..

During my counseling session –

You Are An IT Guy, They Said:

Would you believe that? A future Production Engineer was told he was meant to be an IT guy. Say that to me now, and it’s like hurling an abuse at me.

My first reaction: “No, thanks.”

“Trust me, you’re a software engineer.”

You ARE AN IT GUY, They Said:
They must have said that about 10 times, following which, I nodded my head so that I could walk out ASAP. I can recall how I was told that being good at Math meant I would make an excellent programmer. It took me a while to let the whole episode sink in.

After the session –

Convincing Myself:

Some disbelief and brainwashing later, I managed to convince myself that I was meant to spend my life coding. Consequently, I chose Computer Science in junior college and the rest is history.

Trust me, it really is. Everything I stuffed into my brain back then is history.

In Junior College –

They Laughed At Me:

Visual Basic, followed by C++ and those endless microprocessor codes – I could hear them all laugh at me hysterically for every attempt I made towards answering any questions.

PS – Even getting a part of those things right was a challenge in itself.

Misunderstandings:

I vividly remember an episode wherein my professor declared that I was a great listener and therefore, a great student. Little did she know that my silence in class was testimony to the fact that much of the CS lingo was Hebrew to me.

Pretension Aplenty:

Those were the days when most of us were heavy on pretension. Sure, we knew nothing. But we were vocational science students, the so-called elites. Needless to say, we were exuding swag at all times.

Comedy Classes:

We were lucky enough to also have a tutor in one of our college professors. He did his best to turn us into coders, but he always knew most of us were just hopeless. He was kind enough to never mention that to us directly though.

More than the CS, it was his sense of humour that kept us hooked. I can recall all of the laughter and none of the CS.

After Junior College –

My gut always said I needed to do something else. So I tried my hand at Engineering. Went along pretty well – but then, I stumbled upon something that influenced me unlike anything ever had.

Building a vehicle from scratch and watching it run is a joy that remains unparalleled to this day.

I dream of a day when I can design and build one from scratch. (That’s a minimum. If I get to several, nothing like it.)

As a result, a Transportation Designer is now in the making.

Final Score: Gut – 1 Aptitude Test – 0

Reasons Why Driving In Mumbai Is NOT A Pain In The Right Place

July 11, 2015December 30, 2015 / tvs21292 / Leave a comment

They say, if you can drive in Mumbai, you can do it anywhere else in the world. Damn right!

1. Lane Discipline:

As drivers/riders, we are staunch followers of lane discipline. The thought of inconveniencing another driver by changing lanes with no initial warning, never crosses our minds. We use our turn indicators at all times.

[Special mention: The rickshaw guy who put on his left indicator and turned right. *Mah Lyf, Mah Rules!* #ThugLife]

2. We obey traffic lights:

Of course we do! Don’t we? We know that Green stands for go, Orange stands for go faster and Red stands for try your best to get through against all odds.

3. Driving Tests Are Never Easy:

The driving tests at our RTOs are so tough to crack. Seriously! Isn’t going a few meters ahead and a few in reverse the toughest thing a driver can do?

4. All of Mumbai Is A Silent Zone To Our Drivers:

If there’s one thing a Mumbaikar with his vehicle on the road thoroughly hates – its the honking. In fact, we don’t honk at all. It doesn’t matter if the lights are red or green, or if some driver brushes another’s ego the wrong way by changing lanes in front of him/her, or if traffic rules cease to exist for his/her convenience. Silence is golden!

5. We Know Why High Beams Exist (Or do we?):

Most roads in Mumbai are well lit. So most drivers know that the low beam is enough and there is NO point using the high beam. We are wise enough to know that blinding oncoming traffic could have undesirable consequences.

(For more information on the high beam, the low beam and their uses depending on the situation, click here.)

6. Our Pedestrians Are The Best:

We as pedestrians only try to cross the road when the vehicles have a red light. Also, pedestrian signals exist and we never fail to look at them before rushing to the other side. NEVER. And yes, we were told that zebra crossings exist in school.

7. You Shall Never Be Bullied By A Truck/Bus Driver:

Drivers at the wheel in trucks and buses are very cautious on the road. They stay in their lanes and don’t bully other drivers/riders by threatening to hit them. Besides, they’re never drunk and won’t ever come speeding at you when you least expect them to.

Think you can add to this? Have your say.

The Telltale Journal

Tales, musings and ramblings

Author: tvs21292

Dear Sibling

Black and Yellow

5 Things I Learned From The Japanese

Go for glory!

Getting There

An Obsession With Uncertainty.

The Power Of Illusion!

Aptitude versus Gut!

Reasons Why Driving In Mumbai Is NOT A Pain In The Right Place

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