Bringing back the peppy side - My better half

Life has become so fast paced that we forget to even count how quickly the days or even weeks pass- by and we are unable to acknowledge the deeds of our near-one who are always thinking and working for us behind the scene in their wishes , thoughts , prays and deeds .

My wife is one of the peppy gems, who act as the creative director of my real life film. As famous proverb goes “Behind every successful man, there is a women”, but in my life there were four of them. Started with my mother, 2 sisters and then come wife as i advanced in various stages of life. It has been 5 years of Marriage and due to professional responsibilities, the so called work -life balance was nowhere to found and the scales are heavily tilted towards work, which took almost 13-15 hours every day and similarly every weekend passed away in attending seminar/conferences/corporate events. Whatever time left behind gets divided into attending family functions and taking care of household duties. So no matter how much I feel  and keep telling my wife sorry for not giving personal time to sit /talk/eat/drink/travel with her and to understand her expectation and perspective of life , Helplessly all I have been giving her is a dead smile . 

But this time, I decided to break free from this routine before it breaks me. I booked a resort at Lansdowne over long weekend on HOLI for just 2 of us. Lansdowne is a Hill station situated approx 250 Km from Delhi in Uttarakhand State. When I told her about this plan 1 week before actual travel date, she was very skeptical and based on my history of postponing everything for work; I expected this doubt naturally from everyone. Finally the day arrived and we packed our stuff in car, which I decided to drive and keep driver at home to utilize the travel time to open up. As we started, I have mentally prepared to hear complaints and issues related to home and my attitude towards her. Surprisingly, Reverse happened and she actually praised me as how i have been putting my wishes and comfort at stake to give entire family financial security and help in crafting a better future.  For next 3 days, we watched movies together, Relived our 8 years of togetherness which included 5 year of marriage and 3 years beforehand. We eat/drink/sleep/laughed/played like old collage days and had zero communication with external world .There was no alarm clock ringing , no cell phone buzzing , no sudden burst of anger /frustrations . What was there was two of us in present form and a believe that no matter what happens we will remain on each other side forever and keep inspiring each other to fulfill our duties along with not forgetting our love for each other .

At the end of trip, we promised to keep a week apart from world just for each other every year and go on a holiday/vacation which will keep us going for remaining 359 days of year.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

The musical journey around Pink City

Let's start with sharing the lyrics of a song from movie " Shuddh Desi Romance " . Even when the movie worked below average on box office,  but this song was a instant hit and it's shooting was done inside the city and it celebrate the connection of town with the color of love pink " Gulabi " . Music which touches the soul ..

Shaam gulabi, sehar gulabi
Pehar gulabi hai gulabi ye shehar 

Main bhi gulabi
Tu hai gulabi
Din bhi gulabi hai gulabi ye kehar

Gulabi dori hai
Bandhi ye chori hai
Naa jora-jori naa seena zori hai
Gulabi dori hai
Bandhi ye chori hai
Naa roka-toki hai na seena zori hai re

Rang bhi gulabi
Ye naav bhi gulabi
Dariya me jo main bahun gulabi
Kahun bhi gulabi
Main sahun bhi gulabi
Lagta hai main rahun gulabi re

Jaane re jaane mann jaane hai
Rang, rang gulabi hai preet ro

Jaane re jaane sab jaane hai
Rang, Rang gulabi hai preet ro (x2)

Gulabi dori hai
Bandhi ye chori hai
Naa jora-jori naa seena zori hai
Gulabi dori hai re
Bandhi ye chori hai re
Naa roka-toki hai naa seena zori hai re

Nain* gulabi chain gulabi
Dawa bhi gulabi hai gulabi hai asar

Naav gulabi ye nain gulabi
Nain gulabi hai gulabi hai safar

Haule gulabi hain tez gulabi
Karte shararat lab bhi gulabi re

Choom le gulabi rangrezz gulabi
Haule le chal tez gulabi

Drive : Jaipur in Total is spread-ed across 50 + kilometer but the business border is within 20 km rest being industrial hubs  . With Jaipur being a part of upcoming DMIC ( Delhi - Mumbai Industrial  corridor ) . It has 6 lane national and state highway connecting on all sides .Also Being State capital , it host the Topmost politicians and is host of events which show changes in govt across decades . 


This City DNA is the food and Tourism ,  Indian and international tourist drove in Millions across the year to grab a piece of heritage in AMAR , JAIGARH , NAHARGARH Forts . There are numerous restored Haveli's which have now turned into guest house and let it's guest relive the Era of Kings and feel like one themselves . 

Dal - Baati - Churma , Mirchibada , Jalebi , Pyaaz ki kachori are few snacks which shows the dominate use of Red chilli's and Ghee ( vegetable Fat ) in local food and always makes the Travelers came back for authentic taste  . 

Historic monuments like Jantar Mantar shows scientific mindset of previous Princely rulers of State and deep interest in exploring the whereabouts of the universe and beyond .Situated in middle of  pond " Jal Mahal  " is a major tourist attraction centre for local as well as for tourist which looks glows like newly married bride when moon light fall on it an dis reflected by water around ,

Local Handicraft is a must pick for every outsider who wants to grab a part of Rajasthan back with him/her . Jaipuri Quilt's,  Bed-sheet and Printer "Saree and suit " made of block printing is  culture inherited by this town and is heavily exported round the globe

Also know as " Shekawat " , the design of this city is well on path to be in TOP 5 cities of India by 2030 with excellent Rail , bus , Train and upcoming metro train connectivity .City is well connected with every knock - corner of the country by extensive rail network

With DMIC( Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor ) coming up , the manufacturing units have been flowing around and MNC like Hero Motocorp , HONDA , JCB , Infosys , Genpact etc have set multiple centre's to take benefit of amazing infrastructure .

City is driven by the business acumen of local's which have set billions worth of business within and outside india . Even Many India'a top billionaire have their roots either from Jaipur or Jodhpur including Birla's , Goenka's , Mittal's .

Visit this city once and probability of wishing to live here forever is very high . The warmth of people and the culture , the joy of enjoying the happier side of life with access to all modern amenities make it a wonderland to live in .

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Events which leave ever lasting impact

Events are known to leave ever-lasting impact on us .. Few are scary and others inspire us to look back whenever we feel short of courage or need to take some impact-full decisions . I would like to narrate one such incident  .

  

It was very very late in the night or I can say too early for a morning because even newspaper hawkers and milkman who are obviously first to wake up in the world are also 2-3 hours away from hitting the roads. I seemed to be landed in a No-man's Land at 3 am in morning and the surrounding seemed to be a perfect setup for EVIL DEAD version 34.

I work with a Company involved in installation of Wind Turbines and these are generally located at sites far away from residential/commercial area and put up on barren or abandon land parcel. So travelling to these sites is always a logistical challenge. As my work involves pre-site survey, I am generally the first one to venture to these sites before team is given go ahead for further civil work.

During One such assignment, I need to visit a site which is 120 km away from railway station and there was only 1 train going from Delhi and reaching around 9 pm in night. It was month of January, days were short and the density of fog was super high. Due to FOG my train got late and reached at 2 am in morning. Being a broad gauge there was no Pantry attached and I was starving for food for almost 6 hours since dinner time. Also my phone has gone dead; the station was in complete dark due to probable power cut. Only 2 more passengers got down at the station and both seemed to be the Warrior of Dark Forces :). I was shivering with cold and was hungry and was scared to hell and there was no single transport to take me to the hotel 40 km away. With low on energy, even my mind started slowing down. In the darkness, even dog barking seemed to echo like a lion's roar. Although I know it's childish to fear from dark, but yes I was scared as hell. For the first time, I prayed to God to send someone. 

To get over my fear, I started singing loud. Although, I was messing up with lyrics of song and my mind was only throwing songs taken from Horror movies like, but I kept singing.

Suddenly I saw a flash of light, probably coming from a torch with increasing intensity coming towards me. It was a 75-80 year old man with “Khaki “ colored uniform who came very close to me and whispered “ Bhai , Kaun ho “ . I was so happy to see a Human Figure and desperately wanted to HUG him but my social sense prevailed and I calm told my entire situation.

He introduced himself as a Hawker for the only newspaper stall on Station; he has lost his memory and got separated from his family 10-12 years ago. He took me to his closed shop , opened it for me and offered Water , some food . I thought He will use this situation to charge high money from me but he totally refused to take any and said “ We are child of One God and instead of Paying it to me ,  hopefully help someone in future who seeks help from you “ “ It’s our way to keep humanity alive “ .

I was totally moved by his words and courage.  He shared his mattress with me and let me sleep inside his shop to prevent from cold. At 7 am, when fog reduced and people started arriving on station, he made some breakfast for me and arranged a taxi to drop me to hotel .

After my site visit, while taking train back to Delhi . I again met him and thanked from bottom of heart.

So every time, when I feel world is getting worse and humanity is vanishing. I recall that night encounter and get re-filled with optimism that there is still a hope. And I will continue to pass on this hope to everyone surrounding me.

This blog post is inspired by the blogging marathon hosted on IndiBlogger for the launch of the #Fantastico Zica from Tata Motors. You can apply for a test drive of the hatchback Zica today.

Art of Making PHIRNEE

I remember ,  every sunday  Dad used to switch role with mom to cook 5 course  lunch for  us ..  It's a ritual , which was religiously followed and we found Dad's cooking skills as good as Mom , sole reason being he used to travel across globe for business purpose and brought back  his experience as inspiration for next few cooking session;s . This helped me and my sister learn a lot about world's cuisine .

Although I adopted food habits from dad , but laziness kept me away from kitchen and have not been able to pick even 10% of his sense of flavors and zest to make good food . But one dish which is my all time favorite and I made on multiple occasion  during Engg. / MBA days at hostel was PHIRNEE .
Easily available ingredients , low cooking time , lovely flavors with  Saffron , Green Cardamom  and can be used for 3-4 days as it has high shelf life when Refrigerated .

So let me de-mystify , the art of making " PHIRNEE " with you .


Serves : 4-5  , Cooking Time : 25- 30 Min ,

 Ingredients :

1. Milk - 300  ml
2. Sugarfree NATURA - 6 Level Spoon ( 6 gm)
3. Basmati Rice powder - 30 gms
4. Condensed Milk - 10 ml
5. Desi Ghee - 10 ml
6. Cardamom Green (Elaichi) powder - 1 gm
7. Saffron - 2-3 leaf's
8. Cashew Nuts - 3 gms
9. Pistachio Nuts - 3 gms



Cooking  Instructions 

1. Boil Milk in a thick bottom pan
2. Add  Basmati Rice powder and stir well for approx 10 min to avoid any lumps .
 3. Add Sugarfree NATURA  and mix well till it melts.
 4. Add condensed milk and stir for 2-3 minutes.
 5. Mix Saffron in 2-3 table spoon of water and add to mixture n
 6. Add  ghee and cardamom powder and stir till it thickens.
 7. After cooling the mixture, pour into small terracotta pots or serving Bowls  and freeze for an hour.
 8. Sprinkle cashew and pistachio nuts and serve chilled.




Importantly , to keep balance between my taste buds and health , I have switched from using General Sugar to Sugar free " NATURA " which  guarantees the sweetness of sugar without the calories using a derivative of Sugar know as " SUCRALOSE " . This help us in indulging with delight of deserts guilt free :) .

Bonding over happiness

In the name of modernization, our tech has changed drastically. From standing outside PCU for hours to make a phone call to power to make 10 calls simultaneously sitting right on our couch can truly be termed as revolution. From 1 / 1 million getting a chance to fly evening economy class to everyone flying at as low as INR 99 fares is sign that what considered luxury once has become a day to day affair for us .

These and many other changes like Bullet Train , Skyscraper to live , 2 minute meals to eat , World to roam around , 100 GB's of data to carry in pocket , starting revolution on click of button and many more . People have adapted and benefited from these changes over the years in very positive note. 

But few things which have never changes include the laziness and not caring for cleanliness. Although Keeping own house clean is number one priority but beyond the doorstep of our house, the rest of a world seems to be a garbage bin for which " GOD KNOWS WHO " is responsible to clean . The percentage of responsible citizen is very few compare to billions of others thinking it's Govt. responsibility to clear up the mess because they are public servant. 

Unfortunately such attitude has turned a amazing park near our society into a dumping ground of waste material. The Foul smell has attracted pigs, insects and it's difficult to pass across the road without putting a handkerchief on nose and mouth. Our Resident Welfare Association ( RWA ) have been putting request to local municipal body , MLA , MP and even local media to get this garbage cleaned up as it was potential hot bed for diseases . Even though few truck load of heap was cleared but it was far from over as more and more piles were coming up as even Waste building material, Hospital discharge and local restaurant leftover were also finding this park as their place to rest upon. 

Finally when cases of dengue started Appearing in our town and govt, issued advisory which clearly mentioned places which can be breeding ground then a sense of urgency appeared in mind of every parent . Immediate Meeting was called upon and we decided to take things in our hand and begin ”Cleanliness drive " right away .

Took almost 15 days to clear everything and dispose properly, 30 days to disinfect entire area and more 30 days to plant trees / grass in park .. Everyone worked and contributed , even taking guards at night to ensure no-one is again dumping anything at the place . Even have to call Police for assistant few times to fight with Builders and enacted local force to fine them every time. Dustbins were installed at every corners and daily collection was contracted. Nearby School / Hospitals /Office were sent circular to help us in this drive.

Now , People actually get out of their houses and to fill their lungs with clean air and this developed a sense of working together , connect neighbors , building trust and to raise voice to prevent crushing of nature earth . This surely inspired our new generation that world/life is not bad as they thing and humanity prevails and best companion of your life is mother earth.

No man made technology can do magic as nature can do and growing around them is the best thing that can happen to life.

Checkout this TVC by Kissan TVC by Kissan , where a bunch of seeds help connect people across and enjoy the miracle of organic growth .  #RealTogetherness. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFR-ruC43l4

Lightning Web surfing with 4G

Gone are the days when 2 minute of Video took 10 minute of time to stream, when anything above 2-4 MB in size used to scare us while sharing over mobile network. When we used to compress pictures clicked from 13-20 Mega Pixel phone camera from 4-5 MB to 200-300 Kb before sending over WhatsApp.. When Clicking selfie was easy then Posting it over Insta , Facebook . Time when we were depended on High Speed Office Leased Line , requesting to IT guys to let us download movies / Music/ Games/Software over proxy as it was not possible over mobile slow connection But things are surely going to change with 4G launch by Airtel .  

 Airtel has recently launched for first time in India.  4G in Approx 300 Cities covering length and breadth across country enabling users with Mobile Phone compatible with 4G LTE to experience the real meaning of High speed web surfing. People who used to Travel to USA or Europe often compared the state of affairs of our Internet Connectivity and speed and why high end handsets are no use under Indian conditions. To make 4G available to all, Airtel has proposed a series of customer friendly scheme such as: 

• All 4G data Plans are available at same pricing as 3G

• They are providing free 4G sim to their present customer base .

• Even current user can Tweet and get 4G sim delivered at their doorstep 

• Have set up customer experience zone at Airtel Stores to test before switching.

• Expected to launch many handset Bundled Scheme to make 4G compatible handset available to mass at every price level .

 And what Excites more is the Multi-dimensional opportunity 4G will really open such as Live streaming of Video content – So watching fav. TV show, Match Live from Stadium , Webcast /Podcast of Product Launch , Imp.  news are all available on click of button with zero lagging time and no more wait for “ Loading / Streaming “ screen·       Video Chat/ Conferencing: So business’s who’s Sales Force is located in various geographical location can interact over phone via Video’s without need to travelling to be at one location. It will help reduce cost and time. On personal Front , As pictures speaks louder than words and as a humane our face shows many expression which we can’t express in our speech and many more things are all delivered face to face .
·         Growth of E-Commerce: With Service sector growing triple digit growth in India and Selling goods/services via Mobile App is the fastest route of growth . High Speed Net would further encourage user and developer to improve and deliver their products/app faster and easier . Fine Example is MYNTRA which decided to shut down their desktop version and sell only through APP only. With Increase in speed browsing categories of products and buying would by easy on App too
·         Content Sharing: High Size files can also be shared over phone.
 And with Future set to be a “Digital world “ , the application are beyond imagination and we have just taken baby steps on the upcoming digital revolution in field of Education , Medical , Security , Travel  and many more matter . 

Checkout Details on how to , where to grab a connection at http://www.airtel.in/4g/. 

Connecting with Cricket

Work and Play Can't Go Hand In Hand is what everyone says ... But for a Cricket addict like me, I have to find a way to have " Ladoo in both my Hand " . Recently with Advancement in Technology, Keeping in touch with Electronic media has been easy. Watching Video, Listening to music, Playing Games and Even Making Video Call has been a reality...

So once we grab a decent Smartphone, Things fall in place and entire media comes in grab of our palm.. For Offline/Downloaded content, we can play and watch anytime, anywhere and the only limiting factor can be your phone memory or Processing Capacity. Solution lies in switching to higher end smartphone with Rock Solid Hardware specification and then this end of problem is Resolved.

But watching content LIVE needs Support of Other things too.. Most Important is Internet connection Speed made available by the Service Provider. In India, Most of the Places have connectivity under 2G and recently 3G have started showing 1MBPS + speed but only in METRO /TIER 1 cities. 

So for a travel junkie like me , Who spend 20 Days in a month moving around to meet clients / Pitching Business / Accompanying to Project site visit .Internet Mostly works on 512 Kbps or even lower at 64 Kbps . And When I try to Stream the Cricket MATCH LIVE, then forget video even Audio seems to be getting delayed by 1-2 min and am unable to understand anything “ Sidhu Pajji”  says about the perfect Yorker or the cover drive .

I believe the browser I am using sucks up half the speed and take ages to buffer the video even in their so called “LIGHT “mode. This has really been a cause of Stress for me over the time which has shown impact on Phone getting thrown away in form of ball on the floor/Wall/Ceiling. Even though the problem is not with Phone and I end up finding silly excused to avoid Travel and stay in Home town to catch the cricketing action. Some of the Funny one is: 

• I have to help my wife's Sister's nephew's Best friend in getting admission in Nursery school.
• The Water Supply to my home has been accidentally cut off by MCD and without taking a bath it's not a good idea to come to office.
• Today Morning Horoscope corresponding to my zodiac sign said “Stay at home or your loved one may get hurt “and I really care about you my BOSS , so I will remain at home even if your FIRE me .

And many other Endless list of Excuses I have been using since entering the professional life ..But their is a Hope of Light which is found in form of UC Browser which is promoted by our " Yuvi " and have shown really promising result since 2 month I have started using it and if you are facing similar issue then it's time to switch is NOW 

Log on to  http://www.ucweb.com/  or Search in Google Play Store or Click Here and download the browser to experience their   Dedicated UC cricket Section which will surely turn the Surfing Experience on Phone/Web like Sachin's Straight Drive