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Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Tribute to the Legend: Dr. A.P.J Abdul kalam

                                                 
                                      

3rd December 2005 ;That day was the best day of life. I was going to meet the most inspiring Man of India,The president and the Missile man of India. I could see the happiness on my fathers face as well. More than the happiness of getting a "National Award", I was happy to be meeting him. I had rehearsed my lines over and over again and was waiting impatiently for the moment to arrive.

A small man in appearance he had the persona that not even the strongest men in world can have. when he went to the podium to welcome all of the Awardees,I smiled when I saw a guard placing a small stool in front of the podium for him to step on it and talk. I was mesmerized with every word he spoke.

The time came when Award distribution started. when my name was called.my heart started beating a thousand times. I made my way quickly up to him and shook his hand. a smile went all over his face when Meira Kumar,(the then Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and now the Lok Sabha speaker) told that she is just 16 years old. he smiled proudly and asked me my invention. he was patient enough to hear me speak and did not care if it was taking some more time.He then told me that India wants more youngsters like you. those words were truly inspiring and it was an honor to hear it from him.


                     

I am lucky to have met and spoken to a man who has inspired everyone around him. I had tears in my eyes when I heard of his death, which is inevitable yet feels like we have lost an organ of the body. Its satisfying to know that he died doing what he did best, inspiring the students,the future of India.

There are a blessed few in this world who live their lives with humbleness despite of being big achievers. Today, as every soul in the country mourns this loss and prays for his soul; I just have one prayer to God. Please don't let Dr. Kalam be just some person that our kids read in their history text books. Please let his ideology be a way of our life. We may never be able to be at the same level as him, but bestow us with the wisdom that we at least try.

A country where dreams are imposed, there was a man that has led to us seeing our own dreams. He was an extraordinary person, an exceptional political person who was an inspiration for youth of India.


Thank you for being my Inspiration
Thank you for putting the Pride in the Presidency.


Read the Final Words by Abdul kalam by Srijan Pal Singh

The last words of Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam: Srijan pal singh


What I will be remembered for.. my memory of the last day with the great Kalam sir...
It has been eight hours since we last talked – sleep eludes me and memories keep flushing down, sometimes as tears. Our day, 27th July, began at 12 noon, when we took our seats in the flight to Guhawati. Dr. Kalam was 1A and I was IC. He was wearing a dark colored “Kalam suit”, and I started off complimenting, “Nice color!” Little did I know this was going to be the last color I will see on him.

Long, 2.5 hours of flying in the monsoon weather. I hate turbulence, and he had mastered over them. Whenever he would see me go cold in shaking plane, he would just pull down the window pane and saw, “Now you don’t see any fear!”.
That was followed by another 2.5 hours of car drive to IIM Shillong. For these two legged trip of five hours we talked, discussed and debated. These were amongst hundreds of the long flights and longer drives we have been together over the last six years.
As each of them, this was as special too. Three incidents/discussions in particular will be “lasting memories of our last trip”. 

First, Dr. Kalam was absolutely worried about the attacks in Punjab. The loss of innocent lives left him filledwith sorrow. The topic of lecture at IIM Shillong was Creating a Livable Planet Earth. He related the incident to the topic and said, “it seems the man made forces are as big a threat to the livability of earth as pollution”. We discussed on how, if this trend of violence, pollution and reckless human action continues we will forced to leave earth. “Thirty years, at this rate, maybe”, he said. “You guys must do something about it… it is going to be your future world”

Our second discussion was more national. For the past two days, Dr. Kalam was worried that time and again Parliament, the supreme institution of democracy, was dysfunctional. He said, “I have seen two different governments in my tenure. I have seen more after that. This disruption just keeps happening. It is not right. I really need to find out a way to ensure that the parliament works on developmental politics.” He then asked me to prepare a surprise assignment question for the students at IIM Shillong, which he would give them only at the end of the lecture. He wanted to them to suggest three innovative ways to make the Parliament more productive and vibrant. Then, after a while he returned on it. “But how can ask them to give solutions if I don’t have any myself”. For the next one hour, we thwarted options after options, who come up with his recommendation over the issue. We wanted to include this discussion in our upcoming book, Advantage India.

Third, was an experience from the beauty of his humility. We were in a convoy of 6-7 cars. Dr. Kalam and I were in the second car. Ahead us was an open gypsy with three soldiers in it. Two of them were sitting on either side and one lean guy was standing atop, holding his gun. One hour into the road journey, Dr. Kalam said, “Why is he standing? He will get tired. This is like punishment. Can you ask a wireless message to given that he may sit?” I had to convince him, he has been probably instructed to keep standing for better security. He did not relent. We tried radio messaging, that did not work. For the next 1.5 hours of the journey, he reminded me thrice to see if I can hand signal him to sit down. Finally, realizing there is little we can do – he told me, “I want to meet him and thank him”. Later, when we landed in IIM Shillong, I went inquiring through security people and got hold of the standing guy. I took him inside and Dr. Kalam greeted him. He shook his hand, said thank you buddy. “Are you tired? Would you like something to eat? I am sorry you had to stand so long because of me”. The young lean guard, draped in black cloth, was surprised at the treatment. He lost words, just said, “Sir, aapke liye to 6 ghante bhi khade rahenge”. 

After this, we went to the lecture hall. He did not want to be late for the lecture. “Students should never be made to wait”, he always said. I quickly set up his mike, briefed on final lecture and took position on the computers. As I pinned his mike, he smiled and said, “Funny guy! Are you doing well?” ‘Funny guy’, when said by Kalam could mean a variety of things, depending on the tone and your own assessment. It could mean, you have done well, you have messed up something, you should listen to him or just that you have been plain naïve or he was just being jovial. Over six years I had learnt to interpret Funny Guy like the back of my palm. This time it was the last case.
“Funny guy! Are you doing well?” he said. I smiled back, “Yes”. Those were the last words he said. Two minutes into the speech, sitting behind him, I heard a long pause after completing one sentence. I looked at him, he fell down. 

We picked him up. As the doctor rushed, we tried whatever we could. I will never forget the look in his three-quarter closed eyes and I held his head with one hand and tried reviving with whatever I could. His hands clenched, curled onto my finger. There was stillness on his face and those wise eyes were motionlessly radiating wisdom. He never said a word. He did not show pain, only purpose was visible. 

In five minutes we were in the nearest hospital. In another few minutes the they indicated the missile man had flown away, forever. I touched his feet, one last time. Adieu old friend! Grand mentor! See you in my thoughts and meet in the next birth.
As turned back, a closet of thoughts opened. 

Often he would ask me, “You are young, decide what will like to be remembered for?” I kept thinking of new impressive answers, till one day I gave up and resorted to tit-for-tat. I asked him back, “First you tell me, what will you like to be remembered for? President, Scientist, Writer, Missile man, India 2020, Target 3 billion…. What?” I thought I had made the question easier by giving options, but he sprang on me a surprise. “Teacher”, he said. 

Then something he said two weeks back when we were discussing about his missile time friends. He said, “Children need to take care of their parents. It is sad that sometimes this is not happening”. He paused and said, “Two things. Elders must also do. Never leave wealth at your deathbed – that leaves a fighting family. Second, one is blessed is one can die working, standing tall without any long drawn ailing. Goodbyes should be short, really short”. 

Today, I look back – he took the final journey, teaching, what he always wanted to be remembered doing. And, till his final moment he was standing, working and lecturing. He left us, as a great teacher, standing tall. He leaves the world with nothing accumulated in his account but loads of wishes and love of people. He was a successful, even in his end. 

Will miss all the lunches and dinners we had together, will miss all the times you surprised me with your humility and startled me with your curiosity, will miss the lessons of life you taught in action and words, will miss our struggles to race to make into flights, our trips, our long debates. You gave me dreams, you showed me dreams need to be impossible, for anything else is a compromise to my own ability. The man is gone, the mission lives on. Long live Kalam.
Your indebted student,
Srijan Pal Singh
(pic .. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam meeting the jawan who stood in the gypsy)

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

5 Reasons to dislike Bengaluru

So my last post was on 5 reasons I love Bangalore for. here are things which I completely dislike and that needs to be changed.
note that I have used the word dislike but not Hate.:)

1#: TRAFFIC

I mean look at the picture below and tell me how can one reach a place on time. and this is not the case for just few areas. This is the case in almost EVERY area in Bangalore.
I bet people can reach earlier by walking than in the most fast car in Bangalore. Having a two wheeler is a boon. it feels great when you zoom past the traffic in all possible zig zag curves and when people sitting inside their luxury cars have a look of jealousy on their faces.

what I have observed is that there is only one person sitting inside those Big cars stuck in traffic and also causing traffic. why cant people just car-pool. in this way they could contribute to less traffic and save fuel as well.


2# Auto rickshaws

seriously I prefer walking than arguing with the Auto-walas in this city. I have this deep hatred towards them. they never go by meter and ask for the first amount that comes out of their mouth. I pity those people who have no option than to bow to their unrealistic demands. Its like the autowalas are spineless asking such a huge amount for the minimum distances as well. All hell breaks loose if they find out that you are not from this city. then get ready to pay double the price.



3# Are you sure its priced this much?

Yes, Bangalore is one of the costliest city in India. right from a small chat to house rent, its overpriced. The worst part is that every seller thinks that all belong to the IT field and earn in dollars.
I avoid going to movies at the weekends since the tickets are so costly. A small 1 BHK starts from 10K. vegetable are priced as if they are being imported from other cities. Clothes in the cheapest market cost almost double that what we get in other cities. even play schools are priced so much that its either we do two jobs or settle for low level schools.Maybe some people wont agree or have their own views about it, but since I belong to North India, I feel a big change cost wise.




4# Humps and Traffic Lights

 I have named many streets here as Humpistan .  there are like never ending humps in one road and in places where you dont need them and some you cant even see and have to apply sudden brakes.
and the Traffic lights.if you have just successfully breached the heavy traffic jam, behold, the traffic lights are waiting for you at the next step. you have sat in your vehicle patiently while the traffic was red and as soon as you started to gain speed after it turns green, there is another signal waiting for you within 300 meters. some roads are not planned well and a good amount of time is spent in going round and round of a building you want to get in because of one ways.
Bangalore has so many one-ways that many people from other cities are still wandering about on the roads, unable to figure out where to go. and if by mistake you turn into the wrong road, you are done for the day. you have to take so many turns again to go back to the way you wanted to go.




5# Miscellaneous 
 Yes, I could not find a 5th solid reason to dislike Bangalore. few are personal reasons like the number of Malls here and no where actually good to hang out and boast about to friends from other cities.No restaurants/few operating after 11pm. This makes it difficult for someone to grab a late night dinner.Its no longer a safe city which it used to be some years back.



Nevertheless, Its my city and has accepted me as I am and Am proud to be a BANGALOREAN.


check out my 5 Reasons to like Bangalore

Saturday, July 18, 2015

5 Reasons why I Love Bengaluru





Bengaluru (aka Bangalore) is the capital of India's southern Karnataka state. The center of India's high-tech industry, the city is also known for its green spaces and nightlife. Near Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha is its massive Neo-Dravidian legislative building. Former royal residences include 19th-century Bangalore Palace, modeled after England’s Windsor Castle, and Tipu Sultan’s Summer Palace, an 18th-century teak structure.
I have been in Bangalore since 2011 and I am in love with this city for various reasons apart from it being my official hometown now.


#1 WEATHER


This is one city where you will face a diverse weather. its neither too hot nor too cold. infact within one day one can feel all kinds of weather.
early morning-winter
afternoon- summer
evening-rainy
night-winter





#2 Trees Trees everywhere


Yes, its not called the 'green city' for fun. Its indeed much greener city than other high speed cities of India. the trees which form a canopy specially at Malleswaram, HAL road etc just makes you feel on top of world.







#3 The People

I have been to Chennai,Mumbai, Delhi and various other cities but the cultural diversity found in Bangalore is nowhere else. no matter where you are from,you are welcomed here. You would struggle unless you knew the local language in every other big city in our country. In Bangalore I've seen people go to extraordinary lengths to try and communicate and help outsiders.Sign language is common, they even throw in a few random words from every other language they know.






#4 TheFood

Idlis and chicken tikka co-exist peacefully in Bangalore. If your the kind of person who's open to all kinds of food and is excited at the prospect of tasting something new maybe its time to find an excuse to move here. You get everything and its tastes magnificent. Continental and street food live in harmony here (yes, alongwith idli and chicken tikka)
and if you haven't stood in queue to eat the south Indian thali at the famous MTR in Mavalli, make sure to go there ASAP










#5 The Places

From high end Bars and pubs to ISCON, you can find everything here.
Corner House, MTR, Brigade Road, Church Street, Blossoms, the Iscon temple, Lalbagh, Cubbon Park, Pecos...all this would make sense only to a Bangalorean. I can't begin to tell you about the charm of these places.


















These are the few of the things which I can brag about my city. In my next post I would cover the worst things of Bangalore which needs to be changed.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

The Dabur Honey Diet- a new way to stay fit




Recently I attended the Dabur Honey Diet blogger Meet held at Bangalore. I was inspired by the talk given by the famous nutritionist 'Pooja Makhija' who spoke about the health benefits of Honey. She elaborated how replacing sugar with honey in our daily life can bring about good changes in our body and help us burn those fat easily


Today's generation likes to indulge in lots of junk/processed food that leads to various health issues. Eating a proper, nutritious diet offers numerous health benefits that keep you mentally and physically well.
A healthy diet may help to prevent certain long-term (chronic) diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes. It may also help to reduce your risk of developing some cancers and help you to keep a healthy weight. It is important to find the right balance between these different nutrients to achieve maximum health benefits .
Maintaining a balanced healthy diet is indeed not very easy - there are many people who work on a regular diet prescribed by a nutritionist/dietitian and there are also equal number of people who go on diet with their own opinions and ways to lose weight/gain weight or just be healthy.

The crash diet- a quick way to reduce weight is a myth. It involves starving yourself which does not help in reducing fat. There are two ways to loose fat. One by loosing the bad FAT and the other by loosing muscles. Crash-diet reduces your muscles which is very bad for your health. FAT can only reduced by healthy diet and ample amount of exercise.Crash diet works wonder for a month but are later regretful.
                                   
When you eat a balanced diet including whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, and fruits and vegetables, your body has the fuel that it needs to manage your energy level. To meet the body's nutritional needs, it is necessary to include a good supply of whole grains, vegetables and fruits in the diet, along with a smaller portions of dairy and meat products. Eating a healthy variety of these nutrient-dense foods every day leaves less room for those calorie-dense foods that tend to expand the waistline, such as processed foods and fatty or sugary snacks.


Benefits of a balanced diet

1. A healthy diet can protect the human body against certain types of diseases, in particular noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, some types of cancer and skeletal conditions.
2. Healthy diets can also contribute to an adequate body weight.
3. Healthy eating is a good opportunity to enrich life by experimenting with different foods from different cultures, origins and with different ways to prepare food.
4. The benefits of eating a wide variety of foods are also emotional, as variety and color are important ingredients of a balance diet.


Healthy eating can help you avoid diseases that may lower your life expectancy. Many of the benefits of healthy eating contribute to potential savings. If you stay healthy, you’ll have fewer medical bills to pay and by cutting back on food, you’ll eat less and have fewer groceries to purchase. Save your body and your wallet and eat your greens today.
So we always believe "HEALTH IS WEALTH".


Introduce Honey in your daily life and feel the change 
To learn more about the Dabur honey benefits click -> The Honey Benefits

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Surf it up : the game of CRICKET



Cricket is most popular game in our country.Anybody can play it, Tall, Short, Fat, Thin, Slow, Fast… anyone can be a player in cricket. If you’re good enough then nothing matters.

People get Lamenting , when India get a loss for the team and that’s more than enough to drop one’s spirits. Meanwhile, when India loss in Pakistan, we go days without smiling as we continue to live in the nightmare.Every country gets the hero it deserves. In India, Sachin Tendulkar is worshiped as God.

we always love & keep good relationship with with our neighboring countries but when it comes to cricket we fight as warriors. Say it is any gender, any season "CRICKET" will be played. Usually when monsoon is at its peak and entire streets are waterlogged. However, this has not hampered the enthusiasm of school kids and youngsters from indulging in their favorite game of cricket.No wonder, this gentleman’s game is termed as our religion. Moreover, every cricketer is worshiped as a larger than life hero in India.We not only keep a track of centuries they scored but also we keep ourselves updated with their goggles, tattoo and hairstyles.



"Cricket ko pyaar karne ki wajeh toh haazar hain. yeh toh aisa mazhab hai hindustaan ka.. jahan har mazhab ke log ek ho jaate hai." I still remember when I was a kid and Sachin was batting with Sanjay Manjrekar or with Ganguly, I used to pray god let Sachin scores century, my heart would be very high when he is bating.

When India made into semi-finals in the world cup 2015, properties of your office go for a toss. You and boss may sit next to each other and discuss something common with same conclusion that India will win unlike other matters. Nowadays due to electronic media, commentators who have played cricket also getting importance.  By the way we all are commentators in one way because when batsman misses a bowl or drop the catch we always comment as if we are legends, funny but true.

If India win the match all cricketers are hero's but incase if they loose the match I think they are badly treated by electronic media and social media which is not good! At the end of the day cricket is a winner. We believe cricketers success is our success.

Few funny saying which we will hear about cricket "beta fail ho gaya!! Pura din ya toh cricket khelta hai, ya cricket dekhta hai".Apart from these our parents allow us to be part of cricket that's the great news for cricket.

Inspite of sachin tendulkar retirement we always believe "Hindustaan woh jahaan hai jahan gaali gaali mei ek Sachin paida hota hai". That is the cricket mania.

with the  21st century technology, we have now smartphones and high speed internet to stay connected to the game no matter what time and what place it is

now get the all new UC Browser to watch the game of cricket.