Dreams becoming true - choti ashayein

How do you feel, if all your dreams are becoming true slowly, one after the other? Iam not talking about big dreams like great career, money or something else.

      Iam talking about smallest wishes that we make to God from childhood and dream to make them realize - like drenching in the rain without worrying of getting cold, listening to your favorite song in Walkman without anyone’s disturbance, eating all junk food or eating ice cream in chill weather without worrying about health, dancing as if no one is watching, pursuing your hobby like painting or singing or blogging without worrying about studying or going to work. I hope you got the picture on what iam leading to.

         I have many small wishes from childhood. I wanted to travel in AC first class in train. I couldn’t do that in childhood and it got postponed for a long time. There were many opportunities, but I didn’t get a chance to travel in AC coach until I reached my age of 25. And, when I could travel, I didn’t feel the same happiness or excitement I thought I would feel when I was in childhood. It’s obvious right!

          I wanted to dance in heavy rains, jump on the mud, enjoy the smell of soil before it rains. But, always when I get chance, there will be someone else who would stop me doing so or I, myself stop in the fear of getting cold.

I used to like eating 5 star chocolates in childhood. I used to think I will buy a big bag of chocos when I start earning and I will eat daily one. Isn’t it funny now? I don’t want to do that even when I have enough money for it. It doesn’t seem that interesting now.

          I wanted to get a very good job, support my parents and make them happy. Realized this wish after 6 months out of college, but I didn’t feel anything exciting as I dreamt in childhood. Everyone does that. Getting a good job is not such a great thing, I feel now.

          I wanted to travel to different places, take photos and enjoy nature. I could travel a lot after my marriage and the thirst for travelling doesn’t end. It increased day by day. If you have visited your state, you want to visit other states. If that is also over, you want to visit other countries. It’s never ending.

          I wanted to spend time for myself. Wanted to drench myself in a huge pile of books and read all my favorite books without any disturbance in my room. Wanted to enjoy loneliness, be selfish, cook for myself, eat, do whatever I like and sleep. I got the chance now, but I don’t enjoy it now or feel the same way as I dreamt earlier because iam missing my family and friends now. Enjoying loneliness doesn’t seem interesting now.

I wanted to visit US. But, when iam already here, I don’t feel the excitement. It feels to be a very common wish that anyone can achieve.

As we grow up, gradually we will achieve everything what we want, but circumstances and priorities may change. Dreaming for things and achieving them is first step. Second step is dreaming for some more things and it should go on. Dreams, ambitions, priorities and everything will change day by day. Change is the only constant in this world. 

Until next time,

Image courtesy: Google

One and a half wife - [Book Review]

Title: One and a Half Wife
Author: Meghna Pant
Publisher: Westland Publishers

My take:
         I got a chance to read this book by blog adda book review program. As the title sounds interesting, started reading the immigrant life story of Amara Malhotra whose American big dreams turn to ashes due to several reasons. Even though story line is not very unique, narration is good but it goes with very low pace. 
          First we are introduced to Shimla town , its beauty, the people and their behavior. Amara's parents, especially her mother Biji had big American dreams, their family gets a green card and they want to make her daughter marry a rich Indian immigrant, so that she will spend a happy life. Biji prepares Amara from childhood to adjust with her husband always after marriage and give importance to only his desires, ignoring her own passions/interests completely. So, Amara always thinks that adjustment is the only thing to make a marriage work. But, since her husband Prashanth roy is interested in some modern American and not an Indian wife, their marriage breaks due to compatibility issues and lack of love. Amara feels guilty for her failure in marriage and everyone else from Indian society blame her for breaking the marriage. No one actually try to understand that problem is with her husband and that she has done everything to save her marriage. Her parents see the word 'Divorce' as a big sin and they will return back to Shimla with Amara to avoid embarrassment from Indian immigrants in America.
               Remaining story is about how Amara gains her confidence, thinks about her interests, passions etc., starts a new business on her own and at last finds her true love.


Pros: There are some excerpts from book which i liked a lot:


About woman adjusting in an arranged marriage

A woman began her marriage by behaving like a new born baby who was utterly helpless and whose life depended on care taker, that is, her husband. Slowly, like a growing child, she had to pretend to gain ability as per his rules.Once she won over his loyalitiy and love, she could turn hostile, like a surly teenager, and live under the show of deep offense, mythical and hurtful to those who loved her most. And then, only then, could she come to a level playing field, come into her own, become her own person and lay her own rules.

About how India is a mix of modern and traditional norms 

Modern thought in India was gurgling along a river with two polarised banks. By one bank was an aberrant section of people, who had diverted from conventional norms, and by the other bank were the extremists who wanted to protect society by controlling the aberrant people. The two banks could never meet.

Cons:  Character of Amara doesn't look convincing as she is very much dependent on her family in the complete story until she is guided by Shikha didi to realize her dreams. Narration is good but at the end, it seems to be very much dragging that we lose our interest and everything is predictable at the end. I didn't like the climax especially. 


My Rating: 2/5


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


Until next time,

The Monk, the moor and Moses Ben Jalloun - [Book Review]

Book details:
Title: The Monk, the Moor and Moses Ben Jalloun
Author: Saeed Akhtar Mirza

Publisher: Fourth Estate, Harper Collins India
Genre: Literary Fiction
Pages: 247

Reason to pick this book:

I studied to some extent about Hindu religion and Christianity, but didn't get the opportunity to learn about Islam religion. In 'The story of my experiments with truth' by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi mentions that we need to read books and epics on different religions to understand different religions to be able to comment on any religion.   I too feel the same. We should form an opinion on any religion only when we have done a thorough research on it. 

I got this book as part of book lovers book review program. This book is about the glory of Islamic civilization, how it flourished and how ideas on different fields like astronomy, biology, geography etc., passed on to western countries from Arabs. 

The plot/ story line:

There are 2 stories running in parallel in this book. One is from present period where a group of students studying in an American university find an old manuscript about the translations made from Arabic to latin by a christian, a moor and Ben Jalloun. They research on the topics mentioned in manuscripts, try to understand and discuss on great moors or scholars who contributed to different fields like philosophy, astronomy, politics, poetry etc., when Latin America is still in nascent stages of development. They call their meetings as ‘House of wisdom’. Another story from past (AD 1010) is about an Iranian woman ‘Rehana’ , her life, her teacher and scholar ‘Abu Rehan’ and her quest to learn.

Pros:

Storyline of Rehana, research of Abu Rehan, characterization of Rehana and her husband Dilwar khan is nice to read. But, I cannot believe that an Iranian woman was given that much independence at home to learn from her teacher and decide on her own marriage in those old days like AD1010.

Cons:

Novel seems to be in bits and pieces. It is very difficult to correlate the facts and understand. It seems like we are dumped with hell lot of information or facts which doesn’t seem to be true sometimes.

Book is not interesting going forward, as all chapters are alike and story narration is not very impressive.

My rating:

A serious read and i rate it 3/5. 

Here is link from flipkart.com to purchase this book.

Until next time,

Dream for a beautiful hair

Tell me, which girl doesn't like to have a beautiful long, black hair? (like which is shown in clinic plus ad :)) From childhood, I always wanted to have a healthy, black and silky hair. I saw people with curly hair dreaming for silky hair and people with silky hair dreaming for beautiful curls. It's so natural :) Both curly and silky hair has their own advantages when it comes to looks and maintenance.

I have  frizzy, dry and  unmanageable 100% curly hair. Combing the hair daily itself is a big task. Till my 12th standard, my mother was the sufferer. She used to comb my hair with patience. Curly hair is prone to tangles, dryness, splits at the end and so, more hair fall. Frequent oiling, using a good shampoo and conditioning are important for my hair to avoid frizziness and splits at the ends. Sometimes, i used to joke on my hair that

• It is a concrete jungle and if a mosquito or any insect sticks to it, it cannot come out easily and will die for sure before coming out. 
• You need to have a glass of glucose water to get enough energy to comb my hair without any tangles

There are positives too :)

• You can go out after applying oil to your hair without any problem. As hair will be basically dry, will not make your face oily. 
• No need to use hair pins to pin flowers. They will stick to your hair and very difficult to remove also later. :)

People who see my hair will always feel like I have a thick hair and be jealous as it will be bushy. No one knows actual thickness of my hair unless I do ironing (only in such case, it will be thin)

Now, you might have understood how dry and frizzy my hair was. I have tried several shampoos and conditioners of different brands like Clinic plus, sun silk, Biotech, Loreal, Matrix etc, tried different hair spas, deep conditioning, permanent straightening and also ironing from good parlours, but nothing of much use. Permanent straightening which is supposed to last for at least one year, lasted just 8 months for me. So, the dream of soft, silky hair has remained only a dream forever.

One fine day, I came across Dove shampoo and conditioner specific for 'dryness care' and 'damage care'. I didn't have much hope but tried it. I could see the difference. Frizziness reduced and hair is becoming soft after shampoo and conditioning. Now, hair is manageable. I couldn't believe that this brand suits my hair, as i tried international best brands like Loreal earlier. Whatever may be the reason, this specific product worked for me and that was the end of my hair problems!

There is an awareness quiz by Dove to know which product suits your hair. Here is the link. Try for sure, it may help.
https://www.facebook.com/dove/app_127320750626819

How about you? Do you have any hair problems? how you solved them? Please do share your opinion in comments.

Until next time,

Image courtesy: Google
This post is an entry to the Dove and Indiblogger 'My beautiful hair story' contest. 

Sun fighting with clouds?? Welcome Monsoons :)

Mine is not a photography blog, but just wanted to share this picture. Isn't it lovely?

Until next time,

Is dowry practice a root cause of other problems??

After watching 'Satyameva jayathe' episode 3, I feel dowry problem is not a single issue but is leading to several other problems.

1. If a marriage is involved with the dowry ( bride's parents forced to give dowry), how can a bride be happy with her husband without even mentioning the pain that their parents are facing? How can she make their in law's home a happy place when their parents are recovering from financial problems? Will it not create any problem in her marriage? Won't her husband be also a sufferer due to her behavior/ pain?


2. I feel, one of the root causes for female foeticide is dowry problem. Why I say this is - if you give birth to a daughter and you know that you have to pay a huge sum to get her married and see her happy in future, then you may feel baby boy is better than a baby girl. When parents don't have this fear in mind, then female foeticide may reduce. 

3. Another problem is illiteracy. Many people are not interested to make their daughters study well as per their wish. They think, if she becomes an engineer or doctor or any professional and earns well, searching for a suitable bridegroom of that stature and qualifications will become difficult, as they need to spend much on dowry for an engineer or doctor or any professional bridegroom. 

I know, days are changing. I am hearing this from my childhood. But, still, some people are not coming strong against dowry. I am not sure how many years will it take to completely eliminate dowry practice from India. 


I am dreaming of one scenario:
- Marriages happening with expenses paid by both bride, and bride groom's side equally
- Bride and bridegroom responsible for buying the furniture or anything related to their house independently without depending on either side of parents
- No dowry deaths, No female foeticide
- Girls getting educated and becoming independent 

But, I believe change comes from within us, as we are part of the society and we cannot blame others for this. I decided I will show the right path to my children and guide next generation to eliminate this social evil practice. What else can we do as an individual? Please share your opinion in 'comments' section.


Until next time,

Image courtesy: taken from google image search labeled for reuse

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,

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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,