Weight issues after pregnancy

      Is weight gain after childbirth, the biggest issue to be discussed? I don't understand why people are much worried about the weight gain of celebrity women after delivery. Is this not a personal matter for the celebrity?

Read from this blog that Aishwarya Rai Bachan has given birth to the baby by normal delivery without the help of epidural at the age of 38. Isn't that a great thing itself? If you are a mother, you would understand how difficult it is to bear labor pains and deliver a child without the help of epidural. 

          During Pregnancy, the skin and abdomen stretch a lot and after following a strict healthy diet for breastfeeding the baby, it is not easy to come back to normal weight within one year for any woman. It also depends on the body tendency, genes etc., However, with my experience I have jotted down some tips for weight loss after pregnancy.

• First and foremost rule is to breastfeed the baby. Some studies find that breastfeeding exclusively will make weight loss faster.

• Exercise - Brisk walking is the simple thing that can be done as new mommy may not get much time/ break from babysitting. Abdominal exercises can be started at a later stage after consulting a doctor.

• Good sleep - this is impossible to achieve since some children will wake up in the nights and mother cannot have a peaceful sleep of course until there is someone else to help.

• Diet - A healthy diet with all varieties of fruits and vegetables. Having green tea twice a day and avoiding heavy meals with rice in the dinner may help.

• Taking care of a baby itself is a big work out. breastfeeding, playing with the kid, cleaning, bathing the kid etc.,

• Try Yoga or hit the gym if time permits. I am sure this cannot be done at least until 6 months after delivery and that too only after consulting doctor if it is a Cesarean delivery.

What is your say? Do you know any simple tips to lose weight without taking much time out of babysitting? Please do share your opinion on weight loss in the comments section.

Until next time,

Image courtesy: Google image search

Urban shots - Cross roads [Book Review]

Book details:

Name: Cross roads

Editor: Ahmed Faiyaz

Publishers: Grey Oak in association with West Land

Price: Rs. 199

What this book is about?

A collection of Indian short stories (30 urban stories by 26 authors) edited by best-selling author Ahmed Faiyaz.

It is very difficult to write review for a short story collection, because you cannot judge if book is good or not. If one story is excellent and another story is not good, you cannot give an overall rating. So, in this post I recommend some good stories in the book leaving behind the not so good ones.

What I liked?

My favorite is Rajasthan summer by Ayesha Heble -  It is a simple ghost story with a twist at the end.

Everyone has a story by Gayathri Hingorani – Minu bai, a maid walks through us to different homes, different lives, different problems and different stories from where she works. Rich or poor or liberated or neutral or joint family everyone has their own share of problems.

Cross Roads by Ahmed Faiyaz – Excellent story narration and un-predictable climax. This is my next favorite pick form the book.

Plummet by Avnee Rajesh & Pranav Mukul – A close up on a student’s life, his perspective on everyone around him. Story is very realistic as we see many parents in India who compare academics of their children to their neighborhood kids without realizing the potential of their children in other fields like sports, arts etc., This also shows how much pressure is put on those children which sadly leads to suicidal tendency.

Baba Premanand’s Yoga class by paritosh Uttam – One of a kind humorous story and we can expect such an excellent story from Paritosh obviously. Story shows how circumstances play with us some times and make things out of control.

Look how far we’ve come by Shreya Maheshwari – An emotional story of a divorced couple with a child. It shows how couple copes up with things and also shares a good bond with child. Dad meets his son every weekend and spends time with him, while his son is taken care by mother Rhea. Kid is happy that he can share their love without listening to their parents shouting at each other daily. But, last 2 lines from dad say a lot

It felt odd, realizing that it wasn’t so much that my eleven-year-old son needed me, but that I needed him.

Mind games by Manisha Dhingra – It’s a complex story of a person with some mental illness because of which he is in a hallucination that he married his college love even after breakup. We just feel pity of the character.

Wrong strokes for Deepalaya – A motivational story dedicated to many soldiers who lose their lives to protect us and our country from invaders.

Jump Didi by Sharath Komarraju – It’s about a mysterious baby sitter with her own dark secrets. It highlights the issue of child sexual abuse.

Pasta lane by Siddhartha Bhaskar and The Gap by saritha rao are also worth a mention.

There are also some stories which are not good at all and I felt boring to read. But, overall collection is good. When compared to other short story collection ‘Urban shots – bright lights’ this collection is not that great. My earlier review on Urban shots - brights lights can be found here.

Final say:

A time pass read best for a train journey. Pick up the book from flipkart.com if you need some discount.

Until next time,

This post is written as part of book lovers book review program. http://thebookloversreview.blogspot.in/

How life changed with mobile

Do you remember ??

• those days when we had only letters for detailed updates,land line phone conversations and telegrams for important updates..
• those first days of holding a black nokia phone with pride which used to be so strong that it would be safe even after throwing it from a multi storied building :)..
• playing first games on mobile like snake :)
• talking to your love for such a long time that phone switches off finally
• utilizing the sms pack by sending unlimited sms daily to your friends. Reading and forwarding good morning/ noon/ evening messages, jokes and quotes to friends and family
• playing latest songs to friends and colleagues and listening to those songs on train/bus journeys with head phones
• downloading different hello tunes, ring tones and setting up weird sms alert tones
• replacing camera and alarm clock with your phone
• started using first touch screen mobile with 3D motion gaming
• checked mails, facebook and twitter updates on go
• posted pictures on social networking sites and browsed fb even after 12 am for updates form US friends
• used GPS, instagram, mobile banking and hell lot of new apps on Iphones

If you have done all of the above, you might agree that mobile phone really has become a part of our life gradually.

When mobile usage started slowly, i thought i would use my mobile only to talk, sms and listen to songs. Then, i started using it as camera, take photos and send MMS. Now, i use it to check my mails, Facebook and twitter updates as well. Sometimes, when i feel bored, i used to browse internet, read my favorite news paper and magazines online from mobile. These days, many sites are customized for mobile display and it is not difficult to browse or read from mobile. Playing games on iphones is totally an enjoyable pass time. 

There are also some disadvantages due to this, i agree. We are becoming dependent on mobile day by day. We need a birthday reminder, to do list/ memo to remember important things and best friend's birthdays. We are always available online making our bosses in office happy that they can expect important work to be done on weekends as well quickly( i mean replying to important client mails, anyways actual coding and testing cannot be done on mobiles comfortably as of now). Sometimes, we are too much engrossed in playing games, sending sms and talking for such long hours on phone that we miss personal time with family or time to pursue hobbies or learn new things. However, it depends on individual to prioritize things and handle everything well.

On this note, i want to know your opinion on how do you feel about the advent of mobile in your life? Did it make you happy , changed your life negatively? or positively? Please do share your opinion in comments.

Until next time,

This post is written for Internet is fun on vodafone contest. www.vodafone.in/fun

Image: twobee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

My passport renewal story :)

Do you know how difficult it is to apply and receive an Indian passport? Re-issue/ Renewal of passport is also the same process as applying for a fresh passport and here is my looong story..   

         First of all, I didn't know until last year that an Indian passport validity is 10 years. So, after I found that mine is due to expire in March 2012, started reading the process of applying it online. I have started with creating an online user account on passport website. Online account creation and submission are cool. The website is also working fine most of the times, but some days site doesn't open at all. If you are applying from a specific city, you need to go to the regional passport site. 
For ex: Hyderabad has a separate passport regional site. 

After logging in, we can check for the documents required to apply for the passport by a link on the left side. This is a very useful feature. We can also check fees to be paid.

           I have verified both documents required and fees to be paid for the renewal of my passport. I was thinking whether I should opt for the tatkal or normal option. As per site, the tatkal passport will be delivered in 15 days, whereas normal passport will be delivered in 45 days. There is one extra document required by us to apply for tatkal. We need to submit a verification letter attested by someone who is a manager or above level in any public sector undertaking company like BSNL, BHEL etc., It was difficult to get that, so I opted for a normal scheme.

 I have to make a change in my last name after marriage and want to include my spouse name as well in my new passport. There is an address change too to be considered. 

Following are the documents required for this case:
1. copy of first and last 2 pages of old passport - self-attested
2. Proof of address - I submitted my spouse's passport copy with the marriage certificate
3. For last name change and the inclusion of spouse name - a copy of the marriage certificate

                If we have any valid visa for old passport, a copy of that page also to be submitted. Other options for address proof are electricity bill, telephone bill(bsnl), One year statement (with transactions)/ Passbook of running bank account (Scheduled Commercial bank excluding Regional Rural banks and local area banks) etc.,

               So, after arranging all the above, i logged into my account in passport site and filled the application online with all details. Now, comes interesting and difficult part of creating an appointment in any PSK (passport seva kendra). At that time, the site used to allow to book appointments only 2 days in advance and that too appointments get filled in 5 to 10 mins after 7 PM. So, it was really difficult to get an appointment. Daily I used to try at 7 PM and at last could succeed after 2 days. 

                I went to passport seva kendra (Begumpet) on time with my original documents for verification.  Usually i keep one pen drive always in my hand bag so that it will be useful to trasport data in emergency. Security personnel in the building didn't allow me to take pendrive inside and worst part is they dont have any clock room to place it. I said in frustration to throw it in dust bin as i cannot go back home and keep it there and return. Security lady told she will keep it and i can take it while leaving. She was straight away demanding money for keeping it while I was taking it back. I don't have any other option than to give some money.

                After entering inside passport seva kendra, there are counters to verify the original documents and copies required. After passing through first verification, in second counter also they verified all these again, verified our personal details and address to ensure that passport reaches to correct address when dispatched. They also took a photograph, gave one token and told to wait in the next counter until our number is called. The first 2 counters are run by TCS employees and the third counter is actual verification by passport employees. After it is done, we need to wait for 4th counter call, where they will stamp on old passport that it is extended and confirm that new passport will be dispatched after police verification. Not to forget, there is one last counter where we need to collect receipt which is very important. This receipt has a file reference number which is useful to track passport status. I completed all these formalities on Feb 02nd and waited for almost one month for police verification to start. But there is no update on it. So, we sent someone to go to passport office and track the status. They told it will go to respective police station in 2 days and we need to contact them. Atlast, police officer has come and completed verification by checking all documents again that i submitted for passport application. He took signatures from our neighbours and then left by taking some bribe. After this, it took around 15 days for my passport to be dispatched. It came by speed post and an sms and email sent to me informing that it is dispatched by speed post with tracking number. Even post man expected some bribe which is common and I received my passport on May 8th 2012. 

Can you believe? It took 3 months to receive my passport from the day I appeared in Passport Seva Kendra excluding the days when I filled the application and submitted it online. If I consider the whole process from the day of creating an account in passport site which is on Jan 4th, it took 4 months. I did all these without the help of any agent. I am not sure how fast it can be with the help of an agent.  

Don't lose hopes, if you are going to apply now. Because there are many changes in the site. One major change is the ability to book an appointment for 7 days in advance and also check this link to know how they are improving the process to dispatch a normal passport in 3 days!!!

http://passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/whatHasChanged

I hope this will come true soon :) 

How about you? did you ever have such a bad experience while applying for the passport? Please do share in comments.

Until next time,

© Swamin | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

The Moonstone Legacy - [Book Review]

Book details:

Name: The moonstone Legacy

Authors: Diana De Gunzberg & Tony Wild

Publishers (in India): Hachette India

Price: Rs. 250

What this book is about?

Inspired by the classic ‘The moonstone’ by Wilkie Collins, this novel brings the mystery and intrigue of the past into the 21^st century. Story is about ‘The moonstone’, a precious and sacred stone which was stolen by George Abercrombie from Gujarat, India and the curse which follows their family because of it on creepy full moon day.

The Plot:

Story is about Lizzy Abercrombie, a 14 year old girl, who discovers that there is a mystery behind her mother’s death and finds that there is a curse on Abercrombie family. She takes help of her Indian friend Ravi Chandra, travels to India, finds a chronicle of her ancestor George Abercrombie, and finds that the moonstone is stolen by George from Somnath temple in Gujarat. She deciphers each and every detail written in chronicle to find out where the precious stone is hidden in exotic mansion called ‘Shalimar’ in Yorkshire moors in England. She risks her life to save the diamond from famous Indian writer Shankar pujari to return it to the temple back. Will she succeed in this process?

What I liked?

Author impresses us with perfect characterization. We can actually feel and understand Lizzy’s mind set by reading the book. The way landscapes of India and Shalimar are explained with every detail is excellent. Unlike the novel ‘The moonstone’, where the emphasis or focus in much on British, this novel also covers Indian cities, history, the mindset of Indians when British conquered etc., Excerpts from novel like below about cricket show author’s humorous touch to the storyline and novel is interesting to read throughout.

“When India threw British out of Independence, we kept your bats and balls. Now we are better at it than you are..”

It really is a good thriller with gripping story line and page-turner for sure. Climax is simply superb.

Final say:

An enjoyable read throughout. So, if you are still thinking if you should pick up this book to read, just go ahead and let me know how you felt :) It is Rs.200 in flipkart.com.

My rating:

4/5

Until next time,

This post is written as part of book lovers book review program. http://thebookloversreview.blogspot.in/

Leader leading by example

A good leader is someone who can lead you by example.  Here is a story about one leader who influenced me.

In the starting days of my career, I have all the confusion and doubts about my career as any new hire would have.  Fresh out of college and being new to corporate world,  iam not habituated to work for long hours with patience to complete an assignment. I was honest, hardworking but fickle-minded and easily distracted. I didn’t have any long term goals at that time. I just wanted to earn, make my family happy, spend and enjoy.

This was the time I met a team lead for my first assignment. He seemed to be strict, explained all the terms and introduced me to other team members. He introduced me to different people or I can say experts in different fields whom I can contact for help in office. I felt welcomed to the team, started understanding the work and enjoying my time without any interest of improving my technical skills. I was improving on my work though.  

One day my lead suggested that I should improve my technical skills, network with other experts in the same field, read technical blogs, participate in technical debates, contribute in quality initiatives, explore new technologies, implement new ideas  and last , but not the least enjoy the work iam doing.  I have seen him doing all the above and he became my role model or a leader leading by an example. He participates in all kind of technical discussions in forums, guides other people to solve problems with his experience. He talks to all the team members, connect with them personally to improve their comfort levels and motivate them to work with collaboration. He recognizes flaws in the current process of software development and proactively suggests quality initiatives and best practices to improve the quality of software. He is open- minded and listens to every individual in the team for constructive feedback.

I feel fortunate to learn all the good qualities from him and use them in shaping my career. This made me grow as a real consultant and also a pragmatic lead in my career. Now, I will become another leader in action.

Until next time,

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Summer holidays - childhood memories

               Summer holidays were the only thing we used to wait and dream for whole year in our childhood. Ours was a christian missionary school and we used to have Christmas holidays as well for 20 days, which was cool. But, summer holidays were always different. After Pongal holidays or Christmas holidays, we used to have some exams and so we need to study at least for some time. But no need to study anything for summer holidays.


          Every year we (my sis , me and my cousins) used to go to my grand mother's home which is in a nice village in east godavari district. As you might be knowing already, East godavari district is famous for nice scenery with many coconut trees. Our grand mother's home is a big one with around 13 rooms and a big garden behind the house. Garden has all types of trees (coconut, Guava, mango, orange, jack fruit, flower plants etc.,). So, there is always place to play many games outside the house. We used to watch TV together, play anthyakshari, caroms, hide and seek and many other games running around the house and it was very difficult for my uncles to control us when we were all together. Evening snack time was favorite. My uncle used to get sweet mangoes and water melons which were delicious to eat.


        There was one funny incident happened on one night. Power was not there on that night and all children were already slept. My aunt brought and kept a big lantern nearer to our room. My cousin woke up at that time and didn't see the lantern kept near our room, but saw the image of mirror on the wall due to lantern light. The image was in the shape of a white haired girl due to the design on the mirror. She got afraid seeing the image and shouted loudly with fear. I don't know if a shout/ fear can be contagious, but all cousins shouted one after the other waking up from sleep in panic. Every one woke up and realized the reason behind my cousin's fear and showed her that it is only a image. After she realized, we all laughed heartily for long time for the mess that she made.


Good or bad or funny or emotional, there are many memories tied to summer holidays which will remain as the best family moments in my life.
Do you have any such experiences/ memories related to summer holidays? 


Until next time,

This entry is a part of the contest at BlogAdda.com in association with imlee.com

Blue ocean strategy - [Book Review]

Book details:

Name: Blue ocean strategy

Authors: W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne

Publisher: Harvard business review

Basically, iam not interested in management kind of books and am hesitant to read this kind of book. But, i found this book very interesting with many real time examples and research study facts. It is a must read for entrepreneurs who want to do something new in the business or implement new strategy. No wonder, it was the best management book in 2006.

What this is about?

Blue ocean strategy is nothing but creating a demand in an untapped market space rather than competing with other suppliers in the existing industry for profits. Main aspects of strategy are the 6 principles of strategy and the four actions framework. The four action framework - Reduce, create, Raise and Eliminate raise 4 important questions, whose answers can help in creating a blue ocean.The four questions are:
1. What are the factors that industry takes for granted and can be eliminated?
2. What are the factors that can be reduced well below the industry's standard?
3. What are the factors that can be raised well above industry standards?
4. What are the factors that should be created that the industry has never offered.

                       Practically, we can use this four actions framework to create a blue ocean in any industry. If we take 'redbus.com' as an example, they reduced the complexity of booking a bus ticket to anywhere in India by a simple and easy to use website. They eliminated the need of agents to book a bus in less time. They raised the standards of bus travel booking experience by providing a good search feature and displaying ratings of the bus by different parameters like punctuality, cleanliness, service and comfort. And finally, they created a new service to customers that never existed before in the industry.

This book can be very useful for someone who wants to start a new business or make changes to the existing business. It is also helpful for management students to understand a new business strategy with different case studies mentioned in the book. 

What i liked in the book?

It gives you a different perspective on industries and business strategies. Writing style is simple without complicated management jargon. Many real life examples are given throughout the book which are very interesting.

Take time to read the book and let me know if you too liked it. Here below is a link  to purchase this:

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Ocean-Strategy-Uncontested-Competition/dp/1591396190
 



Until next time,

Reality dance shows - A story

Chutki, an 8year old girl looks pretty with adorable eyes and innocence in the face. She is from a middle class family, her father being a government employee and mother a house wife. She has a younger brother who is very naughty. Her parents made her join dance class as they like their little princess dancing rhythmic with music. She too loves dance and she picks up every step very fast and she is also good at academics. Her life is simple and happy. 

          Whenever she used to give a dance performance, people used to say to their parents "Chutki is a child prodigy and she is very smart. You are very lucky to have a daughter like this with exceptional talent in dance in an early age". Her parent used to feel proud and happy and that makes her also happy. She starting winning first prizes in all dance competitions that she participates. Her parents made her participate in even district level and state level competitions even though it is difficult for them to spend money on her travel and dance dress and accessories. They encouraged her in every step. 

            Her father took her for the auditions to a dance reality show for some tv channel. All judges are spellbound seeing her perfection in dance, her expressions, footsteps, hand movements etc., She got selected in auditions and even first 3 rounds of the program very easily without much competition. Now, its time for quarter finals. Their family is given accommodation in a five star hotel in Mumbai where competition takes place and the schedule for shooting is for around 2 days. There is rigorous practice with all other participants, Chutki is groomed well, every detail taken care of like her hair style, dressing and makeup. Even though there is slight competition, she could win quarter finals too. Semi finals are just few days away. They came back to their home town. Every one started recognizing them on the streets and Chutki has become a star around the household. Neighbors, teachers and all well wishers congratulated her and wished her all the best for next rounds. Prize money is a very huge amount if she wins in finals. As there are chances for her daughter to win, their parents dreamed of a comfortable house, car, giving better education to their children etc., Chutki never cared about win or loss in competition, she just enjoyed her dance till now. But, seeing her parents dreaming big, she also thought she should win for sure to make them happy. Pressure started building up. She got selected in semi finals too with another good performance. 

             Organizers arranged a shooting schedule of 10 days for finals. Each participant is assigned to a celebrity dance professional and their practice, guidance, song selection, everything is picturized. They also went to every participant's native place and interviewed their family and grand parents, showed their home, life style etc., Chutki felt like she is in a cage with all lights focused on her and every one expecting her to perform the best. Every thing around her is exaggerated and show cased in tv.  She couldn't attend school for 10 days and had to miss classes in between for different rounds of selection and shooting schedules. Their school head mistress and teachers are fine though as these organizers also showed their school in tv interviewing some of her friends and teachers. But, Chutki felt she is missing something. She wants to play like earlier with friends, fight with her brother, get good marks in academics, spend time with her parents etc., On the other side, she is becoming nervous that she might disappoint her parents, friends, teachers, neighbours and every one else if she doesn't win this finals. Earlier, she always enjoyed her dance, but now she want to perform to win the prize. 

             At last, the D -day came. Her parents took her to temple and also gave their blessings and best wishes. They made sure that she is well fed and her father also promised that he will buy her new toys and more dresses after she wins. She wanted to ask, "is it fine even if i don't win? I don't want to dance this time. Can i drop out?" etc., but didn't dare to ask. When her turn came for dancing, she is nervous, couldn't concentrate on music and is checking the faces of judges and audience in between to see the reaction. She understood that she didn't perform well like earlier and the result is as expected. She didn't win either first prize or second. Her parents, friends and everyone else who supported till now are disappointed. They showed sympathy on her and told her that she can do best in future competitions , but no one asked her why she failed and why she was not like earlier. 

             As she never experienced a failure earlier, it is difficult for her to forget this. Her parents didn't say anything and they just told her it's fine. But, her teachers, neighbors, relatives still show sympathy for not winning it even though they say at the end that it is ok, not to worry much. At last, she decided that she will never perform anywhere again and she want to concentrate on her studies. 

Author's note: These reality shows just create a hype for TRP ratings and if parents are not mature enough to counsel their children that win or loss doesn't matter much in the world, children like Chutki will feel depressed and pressurized. 

What do you think? 

Until next time,

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Should we show sympathy?

Did you see beggars irritating people near traffic signals? How do you react? Sometimes, i don't know how to react - whether to show sympathy or hate them for their pestering attitude. They knock the car windows again and again even if we signal them to move away. Their main objective is not to request us to give money, they want to irritate us by touching many times(if we are in auto/ bike) such that we will end up giving something to just avoid them.


 It's not that i don't have sympathy on them. But, if you have watched the movie 'Slumdog millionaire' you might have understood that there will be a big gang around it, who will sedate little children or sometimes infants too and send them with a lady for begging to win on sympathy factor. The gang will set the targets for them and until and unless they earn that much amount they will not be given any food. Whose mistake is this? whom to be blamed in such situations? We cannot see the gang behind these beggars and just show our anger on beggars. 


We also listen of accidents near traffic signals due to these kind of people running between cars and bikes  creating a confusion when green signal is given. In some places, police check that beggars don't come between signals and interrupt traffic, but in some areas in the city, situation is still the same. 


I remember my father's advice in my childhood. He said once, if you really want to help a beggar, take them to a hotel nearer, order a meal and pay the bill. Because, few beggars request money saying they haven't eaten for a long time. So, that will suffice them. You know.. my father actually did that many times. I have also seen a few who will beg money to buy liquor and enjoy :) those will obviously reject the offer :) I think, basic necessities are food and clothing for any one. So, if we can help them with these both that's enough. No need to give money specifically.


What do you think? 


Until next time,

Urban shots - Bright lights - [Book review]

This time, i got a chance to read another short story collection edited by Paritosh Uttam titled 'Urban shots - Bright Lights'. 
Earlier, i read 'Wise and Otherwise' by Sudha murthy which is one of the best short story books that i read so far. You can find review here. 



Book details :
Name:  Urban Shots - Bright Lights
Price: Rs. 199/-
Publisher: GreyOak in association with Westland


It is a roller coaster ride of emotions when i go through this book as there are different stories with different story lines edited to  the perfection by Paritosh. Some stories make you feel the pain of characters, some are funny and light reads , some are emotional and we can relate to them easily, whereas some will make you think about the characters even after few days. There are also a few stories which are not that great. All stories are just 4 or 5 pages and so it is very easy to read. People who are not book lovers may also enjoy this book. 


Book starts with a story 'Amul'. Author 'Aravind chandrasekhar' takes you to the heart of an innocent child who is ill and how she perceives harsh realities around her life. It is interesting to read how she correlates maths principles to happenings in her life.
'Across the seas' is another heart touching story about a mother waiting eagerly for her son working in another country to come home and how happy she feels reading the letter from him. We can relate this to many people that we see around us, as author 'Ahmed Faiyaz' has written it in a very realistic way. Iam really impressed with the writing style of Ahmed after reading his other stories also like Mr Perierra, It's all good and Jet set Go!
'Maami menace' is very hilarious and a joyful read. 'Father of my Son' and 'Good morning Nikhil' doesn't have a story line exactly but every family can relate to those easily as they capture a simple happy family moments. My favourite story is 'The rain coat' by 'Rashmi Sahi'. Many parents try hard to get the best things for their children but children may not realize the value of small sacrifices made by their parents. In this story, 'Roma' could understand her mother's sacrifice at last. 
P.K Koshy's daily routine seems to be a unique story. It makes you involved in the character and make you think like a retired government employee and see his office and neighborhood through his eyes. It also shows how artificially an employer gives a send off to their employee after working with dedication for whole life when we read his reaction about the gift that he receives from his ex-colleagues.
The weeping girl is just awesome! climax is very funny indeed. 
I mentioned only a few stories that i liked out of 29 stories in this book.
My Rating : 3 out of 5 
Do read when you get time and let me know what you felt :)
Book is on a discount in flipkart.com. Try it if you are interested.


This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!


Until next time,

Travelling by auto in Hyderabad - Not an easy task

To all those who travel by autos in Hyderabad.. do you have a hassle free travel always? I have a few good and many not so good experiences.
I have patience of a saint.. not kidding :) true! i wont get angry often and even if i get, i wont lose control of myself and shout/ scold in the peak of my voice. I try to control and talk about the issue with logic. But, when it comes to auto wallahs i just lose my patience and get angry. See below some of the reasons..

1. Auto fares: First thing that irritates me is autos not having meters. In few areas of Hyderabad, autos will not have meters which show fare and distance. Even if some autos have, 80% of them are tampered as per ndtv survey!
Auto wallahs who doesn't have meters for their autos will demand a hell lot of amount(which is at least Rs.50+ genuine meter fare) and our skill of bargaining helps to some extent. If you speak perfect hyderabadi language with confidence,there are more chances of reducing the fare.


Got this info from andhraspider.com which might be useful to know auto fares:
Minimum Fare for Autos in Hyderabad: Rs14 for first 1.5Km
Fare per km: Rs8perKm
Waiting Charges: Rs15/hour – minimum 1minute is taken
No extra charge for luggage
Formula for calculating cost of your journey (for more than 15kms): Rs. [14 + (Total Distance-1.5)*8] 


2. Language: Some auto drivers here just try to scare you by speaking in urdu/ hindi, especially if you are a Telugu person. So, usually people who come from different places of Andhra feel un-comfortable to bargain in Hindi. This is what they want! I have come across some auto drivers who are reckless, drive very fast, doesn't talk with respect etc., So, any day, if i come across an auto driver who speaks to passengers with respect, i just give him extra money without bargaining much. Because, it is very difficult to find these kind of people.


3. Safety:  Just observe traffic signals.. autos being small, move between vehicles easily. If you are a newbie driver, then first thing you should be careful about in cities are auto drivers. Autos go zig zag in the gaps between vehicles so easily like bikes do. Forget about safety if you are travelling in share autos. They can fit any number of people in auto and driver will be fine with very less space for him to sit/ even stand. 


Sometimes, i feel taxis are better when compared to autos except for the fact that they are not very economical. It will cost around Rs.100 by auto from our place to Secunderabad railway station and auto drivers will demand at least Rs.150. If we book a cab, it will cost Rs.250, but driver will be waiting at your door step 10 mins before the expected time to leave. Since distance is constant and time to reach station will be within one hour, there will not be any change in cab fare. There will be enough space for luggage and 4 persons can travel comfortably in cab with AC.
What you say?


Until next time,

Image courtesy: http://www.spiritualbangalore.com/

A day @ papyrus port resort, Hyderabad

Entrance of resort

Free birds

Resto-Bar

      We went for an office outing to this resort named 'Papyrus port' which is located in Thimmapur, near Shamshabad, Hyderabad on Bangalore highway. The theme of the resort being Egypt, it looks cool as seen in photos. This is a very small resort when compared to many other good resorts in Hyderabad like Leonia, Golkonda, Pragathi , Lahari resorts etc., We cannot find much greenery inside unlike other resorts and it is not well maintained. Actually, after reading many reviews about the resort online, i knew it is not worth a visit, but wanted to check what is not good there :p. 
Food was good on that day and swimming pool was also nice where dinner was arranged. Staff doesn't look professional and the tables, table cloth and plates on which food was served were not looking that good either. There is a place constructed for boating which is empty. So, no option of boating too.. There is a room for indoor games  and a conference hall. There are 26 rooms to provide accommodation. I give a rating of 2/5 to this resort. Check the photos below :)

isn't it nice?

Lovely!

near entrance

Pyramid construction

Mummy model

Until next time,