I think my mind is blank right now as I don’t have anything to write today. Nothing new has really happened today and I am already thinking how I am going to manage to write a post each for the remaining 361 days. What if I don’t have any topics to write or what if I encounter a writers block (not that I am much of a writer). I was hoping to put this post up after a few weeks, if not some months later. However, this is way too soon in the project. Hopefully I should be able to write something interesting as the day goes on. Have quiet a few things lined up for today – MBA presentation and all. In the mean time, I leave you with some illustrations of Indian Gods which I found on Reddit today. Enjoy!!
Author: Akshay
I am Akshay Varma, a Project Manager who likes writing, taking pictures, and listening to music. I am mainly work with projects in transition and onboarding of new client projects and business transformation. I like writing about current affairs and how they effect me, my personal life and anything and everything which comes to my mind. I like landscape and bird photography. Humans as photographic subject don't attract me :). This is a personal blog and thoughts written here are my own and do not reflect/ represent those of the organization(s) that I am with in professional or personal capacity.
Day 3/365 – Bike troubles continue
You can refer to my earlier post for more details. I picked up the bike next day from the Yamaha Service Center and they told me that it was a battery issue. They have charged the battery, but if it happens again I would have to change the battery and or change the ignition coil. I assumed that the problem was resolved and decided to take the bike to work. The distance from my home to my office is approx. 45 kms (total). There seemed to be no issues while riding to work, and I was happy that the issue was resolved. I felt my faith in the Yamaha Service Center guys was restored. I think I was optimistic too soon. While returning home, I saw the “orange” engine warning light once again and this time I knew the problem was much worse. I immediately lowered my bike speed and turned off the headlights once there were sufficient street lights. I wanted to stop the bike in between and let the “light” turn off on its own, but was afraid that the bike may stall and may not move forward and I was in mood to drag the bike at 4am in the morning to home. So I decided to keep riding and slowing I saw the light in the odometer dimming, and the horn sounding weirder by the minute. At this point, I was atleast 5-6 kms away from home and was now really in panic mode. On one hand I knew what the issue was, but on the other hand there wasn’t anything I could do about it and didn’t really want to stop anywhere. After riding in such state, I finally reached the building where I stay. Since the gates were closed, I parked the bike outside and went to open the gates. On returning, I tried starting the bike.. and guess what.. It didn’t start. I tried starting 4-5 times, it made a strange sound for the first couple of tries and then there was no sound at all. The battery had finally given up. But it ensured I reached home (my heroic battery..hahah).
The next morning I decided to turn on the bike once again hoping in vain that there would be some juice in the battery and the bike would come to life. Alas.. no such miracle happened and I had to drag my bike to the local mechanic’s place. I told him what the issue was and he suggested that I either charge the battery or get a new battery. I told him that the battery was charged just yesterday and today this happened. I told him I wasn’t sure if I trusted the Yamaha guys to do a proper job and asked him to charge the battery again. In case if it fails again, I would have no option but to get a new battery. Tomorrow is going to be D-day for testing the battery. I am hoping I don’t have to change the battery right now, but then only tomorrow will tell.
Day 2/ 365 – The impact of IPL
Today we witnessed one of Team India’s biggest victories over Australia in cricket. While winning in such a emphatic manner is a very good sign and it shows everyone why we are the world champions, I was wondering how is a team like Australia who is without most of their star players able to score 359 runs against our bowlers. Obviously, our bowling attack needs to improve drastically to have any impact on conditions which are tailor made for batting. But there is another reason why the team like Australia is able to score so many runs. It is because of the IPL. When I went through their team list, most of their top order batsmen, with exception of George Bailey, have been playing in the IPL for last 2 editions, which is basically 4 months of exposure of playing in the Indian conditions. Earlier, the teams used to take quite some time to get used to the Indian conditions, the full stadiums, the noise etc. and by the time they would get used to conditions, the series would have been over. But now with the IPL, all those shock factors are gone. Now since most countries are allowing their players to participate in the IPL, they are adapting to Indian conditions pretty well and it is showing in the way they are handling our spinners and fast bowlers.
Obviously on the other hand, the quality of Indian team’s batting has also improved drastically. No longer is any target not chase able and most teams know that no target is safe when the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni get going. Somehow I feel that IPL has helped create an aura around the Indian one day team – that this team is unbeatable and any team would have to play out of their skins to beat us.
Day 1/ 365 – Scare with the Bike
The last few days, I have been commuting to work on my bike as it is offers me good flexibility as far as working hours are concerned. Last night after the shift got over, I was traveling on the Ghodbunder Road and faced the usual truck traffic and was able to negotiate safely. After reaching Dahisar Toll Naka, I see the Orange “check engine warning light” come on. I had seen this warning light come on earlier when I did the road trip to Asherigadh. However, after reaching Mumbai I got the bike serviced and didn’t get the warning light. So I didn’t really take any action. Like earlier this time also, I decided to ignore the light and continued towards home. After a few seconds, the light didn’t appear and I thought to myself just like last time. Just when this thought was going through my head, my bike stopped right in the middle of the road. This is the first time in 3 years that something like this had happened with the bike, so my first reaction after panic was to park on the side of the road and wait for a few minutes. After waiting for a few minutes, I turned on the bike again and it didn’t start and made a very strange noise. The noise was good enough to tell me that something is seriously wrong with the bike. I was hoping that the bike would turn on and I wouldn’t have to park the bike in some unknown street or building. I tried again after a couple of minutes and the bike turned on. So I drove extremely cautiously and reached home.
Today morning, I took the bike to the Yamaha Service Center and they said it is a known “minor” issue and there could be some problem with one of the seven sensors in the bike. I was hoping to get the bike fixed today and get it to work, however, it is still not ready and I am thinking if it was just a “minor” issues what is taking the people at the service center such a long time. Just hoping that there is nothing major.
Update: So it turns out the battery in the bike was dying and had to be recharged. However, have been asked to keep an eye on the “orange” warning light. In case if it comes on again, I will need to get a new battery or probably replace the coil. So nothing major so far yet.
Project 365
I have been thinking of starting this project for some days now. Going forward, I intend to write a post everyday. There could be a few days where I wont be able to post, but hopefully would have written something in the draft. Beginning of another project. 🙂
Song in my head – Fitoor
Been hearing this song on repeat for quite sometime now. One of the best songs by Mohit Chauhan.
Der se aaye Der se jaaye Chahaye ban ke saroor
Lakh manao paas na aaye Ishq hai yaara fitoor
Der se aaye Der se jaaye Chahaye ban ke saroor
Chandni raatein paas bulayein yaad kare koi door
Tujhko kiska dil kis dil se mil jayega kya ptaa
Kaise hoga woh dil mein jo Khul jaaye band aarzoo
Kiska dil kis dil se mil jayega kya ptaa
Kaise hoga woh dil mein jo Khul jaaye band aarzoo
Tu ye jaane ya na jaane
Humko ptaa hai hazoor
Tu ye jaane ya na jaane
Humko ptaa hai hazoor
Hoga nazara chaand kinare Raat kahe hai zaroor
Marjana .. marjana meri jaan
Mujh mein samaye mujh ko churaye
Kis ka hai ye kasoor
Der se aaye Der se jaaye Chahaye ban ke saroor
http://www.top10bollywood.com/
Der se aaye Der se jaaye Chahaye ban ke saroor
Lakh manao paas na aaye Ishq hai yaara fitoor
Marjana .. marjana .
Solo car drive to Pune
Last Thursday I completed my maiden driving visit to Pune. As a new driver, I was really looking forward for a long drive and the drive to Pune was just about the right distance for me. 180 kms from home. Not too short and not too far. I decided to leave early on Thursday morning as I didn’t want to get stuck in the famous Mumbai traffic. I left my house around 7:15am while it was raining cats and dogs outside. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to drive in the rains but the challenge seemed too irresistible for me and I decided to get going. Since it was raining very heavily, the traffic was really slow on the highway and it took me almost an hour just to get to the Airoli bridge. Thankfully the rains stopped after reaching Airoli and the conditions got better for driving. Soon I was cruising along the Mumbai – Pune Expressway. After driving for 30 mins on the expressway, I got a feeling that I am going to fall asleep. I guess it was due to the fact that I had gotten up early and also that there was no company other than the music playing. Thankfully I was nearby the rest area and decided to park at the rest area and get some coffee and water before deciding to get going again. Fresh again, I was excited to drive along the Lonavala ghats and was able to drive along the ghats without any issues. The rest of the journey was equally uneventful and I was able to reach Pune around 12pm. Ideally, I should have reached there by 11:30am, but then I took the Dehu Road exit and was looking for a UPS store and hence was going quite slow on the highway.
I left Pune Friday night and realized a problem which I had not faced before. Almost everyone in Pune drives with their headlights on high beam. That means that lights from the vehicle coming from the opposite direction, is right in your eyes and temporarily blinding you. I have seen many drivers in Mumbai also driving on the high beam, but and large, they are a selective few only. Here, the two wheelers and the four wheelers were all driving on high beams and it was really difficult to drive. I wanted to understand the reason as to why they would be driving like this. But then I realized it is the same city which protested against the law for wearing helmets. I guess a lot of it boils down to lack of awareness as far as driving is concerned. I was having trouble reaching the expressway as a lot of oncoming vehicles were driving on high beam. I had to flash my lights quite a few times before they would lower their lights and make driving easier. In this matter, I found the trucks to be most friendly. They usually drive on low beams and if they are driving on high beam and if they see you driving on low beam, they immediately lower their lights and thus allowing easier travel for both the drivers. I guess Pune traffic police really need to crack down on this menace. When I was in Chandigarh last month, driving on high beam was a punishable offence. May be they should do something like this in Pune also.
After reaching the Mumbai – Pune expressway during my return leg of the journey, driving in the night was considerably easy and I was manage to complete the trip quite safely. The only time when I felt a little nervous was while getting down the ghats, there are a couple of blind curves along which I felt driving was a bit difficult. Other than that, I had a good trip and I really enjoyed driving. Hopefully next time, I will have some company while going for a long distance drive.
Horrible experience at Vodafone gallery
Today I had been to Vodafone Gallery in Kandivali to get my mobile number transferred from Corporate plan to Individual plan. I reached there around noon, was given a token and then asked to wait until they announced mu number. While I was waiting for my number, I observed them calling numbers in sequential order and all,of a sudden they announced a couple of numbers randomly. So I went and asked them why are we calling numbers randomly and they said these numbers have been allocated to senior citizens. There was a senior citizen standing next to me and he said how come my number hasn’t been called. So the store manager (Kunal) says you didn’t ask for it. I was very surprised with this response as the man was clearly a senior citizen. However, the store manager arranged for his number to be called out next.
Finally, my number was called out and I was assigned a customer service executive called Devika. I told her I need to transfer my number and told her I have all the required documents. I was told that I can no longer use the existing plan and would have to choose a new plan. I was given a list of all the plans and I chose a plan which I wanted. After selecting the plan, she goes and speaks with someone and then says that the plan is no longer available. I was surprised with the same and I asked why is it on your list of plans? She didn’t say much but said that they are no longer offering that plan. She then offered me a plan with basic rental of Rs. 129. After explaining the plan details, I agreed to the plan and asked her to go,ahead and confirm the same. She goes to her superior and then comes back says that she was confused and this plan is also not available. So I asked her patiently, give me a plan which is available. We finally agreed on a lan with a monthly rental of Rs. 99/ month. I was also given an option of adding 2 numbers for a fixed monthly rental of Rs. 98/ month. I agree to the same. While signing the form, I see an offer to add 3 numbers in a group and calls to those numbers was free and only for Rs. 49/ month. I told her that this add on makes more sense and it is less expensive than the earlier add on of Rs. 98/ month. After finalizing everything, she takes the form to her superior for a final check and then comes back and says, I need to pay Rs. 15/ month for a promotion.
On hearing this, I simply lost my cool. At that point, another executive named, Chandan, came,over and started explaining why the additional promotional fee. I told him I am no longer interested in getting the number changed and told him the entire experience has been bad for me. I have been with Vodafone since 2006 and this is the worst experience that I have ever had. After all this, they decide to waive off the promotional fee and we agreed on the plan. The entire experience was completely bad. I spent approx. 2 hours just to get a new sim card.
Diwali Diyas
A friend of mine is making some beautiful diyas for this Diwali. Please message me if you are interested in getting them. You can also visit their website to view or get in touch with them directly.
How have we become like this?
Today me and my colleagues were having a very interesting conversation in the cafeteria. The topic was “How have we become like this”? Considering the fact that we got independence in the year 1947 and since then how as a society we have become more and more corrupt. We compared the corruption levels in India to other countries and realized that we are probably worst of the lot and were left wondering where did we go wrong? Is corruption so imbibed in us that we will never change? Or have we started to see some change in the society? During the conversation, we tried to identify the beginnings of India being corrupt. We agreed that we were corrupt since the time India was ruled by many kingdoms. During those times, there were constant fights between two kingdoms with one wanting to establish supremacy over the other and obtain the resources of the other kingdom. During those times, allies would have been paid fees to fight and thus quite a lot of money would be exchanged. Some of it would be exchanged to return a favor, some to get certain work done etc. We felt this how corruption got its roots in India. Greed – was the root cause of corruption.
There is corruption in all the countries, but not to the extent that we have in India. The reason we felt was lack of implementation of laws. While we have laws, we do not have the will to implement the law, thus allowing people to get away with corruption. Once people stop fearing the law, it becomes a way of life and that’s what we are seeing today. Every one from the top to bottom goes scot free even though they would have broken a thousand laws or would be involved in scams worth billions of rupees. In developed countries, people don’t get away. Law is applied equally and hence everyone fears committing a crime or being corrupt. We don’t have equality in our laws and thus we end up creating more problems rather than solving them.
While there are always a few people who are fighting for the right thing, people in general need to awake and move towards changing their behavior. Even a person accepting a bribe is successful when someone pays him. If we don’t pay, chances are people won’t ask. I believe if we have the strength to apply laws with equality and speed up the judiciary process, we should be able to move towards a better society.
My thoughts...My story 