Day 76/ 365 – Almost killed someone…

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Last night after finishing work, I was driving back home listening to music, windows rolled down, enjoying the empty roads. I had just crossed the National Park flyover and there was a stretch of road where there were no street lights. I saw a small crowd gathered around a rickshaw on the left side of the road, but I was in the right lane didnt really care much when all of a sudden a man with suitcase who was crossing the highway came in front of the car and this wasnt even an intersection. The time to react for me very less and I hit the brakes right away and car swerved and skidded and I avoided hitting that person. I was in complete daze for the next few moments trying to understand what had just happened. At the same time, I realized I was shaking head to toe  in sheer panic. Since all this happened so quickly, I was already near the Magathane flyover when I decided to stop the car for a few minutes to calm myself down.

I just started thinking what would have happened if I had hit that person. He would have probably died or atleast would have been in the hospital for a very long time and I could have been arrested by the police for reckless driving or involuntary manslaughter, even though it wasn’t my fault. The problem in India is anytime you have hit a person, and even though you are not fault, you are assumed guilty. Why? Just because you were driving the car and the “poor” man was just trying to cross the road. Even though there is a pedestrian bridges and subway built at various points on highway, people still choose to cross the road. Just a few meters ahead of the spot where this event happened, there was a footover bridge which was built so that people can safely cross. However, the man chose to cross the road. Still the police would have held me responsible saying I was speeding, or driving recklessly or in worst case scenario would say I was driving drunk.

The problem with us is that we dont tend to obey rules and I dont why. The same person who has been breaking all the traffic rules in India will obey all the rules whenever he/ she goes abroad. The part of the problem is that rules cant be implemented in India looking at number of people vs. the number of traffic policemen we have. Plus our cops are paid poorly so bribing them usually ensures that people get away with any type of traffic violation. Anyways, I am just venting right now on what could have happened etc. I am just hoping that the person who was crossing today realizes that he is very fortunate to be alive today and hopefully does not repeat the same thing again.

Day 75/ 365 – Think Different

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

The first time I saw this advertisement,  I was absolutely blown away. I have always been a fan of Apple products and when I saw this advertisement I just felt it suited them perfectly because their products were just different to others. However, recently they have lagged behind when it comes to introducing new products, being taken over by Samsung and Google. I am not sure this advertisement has ever been played on Indian television, so just thought of sharing it here.

Day 74/ 365 – Mumbai Marathon

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, I participated in Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon in the half marathon category. I have been running the half marathon for the last 5 years and this was the first time when I was running without any practice. I started to practice sometime around Oct/ Nov for this year’s marathon but because of scheduling conflicts I was not able to prepare for it all. I started running around 5:30 am in the morning; but then there would be sometimes I would reach home from work around 4 am and sometimes around 6 am and would be like super exhausted and just didn’t feel like going for a run(mainly because I would be tired and just felt like hitting the bed).

So I reached the race start point on time at 6 am and was hoped for the best. I did get to see John Abraham (who is the event ambassador for SCMM) and started running hoping that I would be able to complete the race. I was targeting to complete by 2 hours 45 mins and I decided to join the 2 hour 45 mins bus. I kept following the group for 6 kms before the lack of practice caught up with me and I started walking. After walking for a couple of kms, I started to run again however by this time my lack of practice had really started to hurt my legs. I was cramping up and was in some pain. At around 12 kms mark, I stopped running altogether and decided to walk to the finish line no matter how long it took. In between I met Prem, my old colleague and we talked together for a few kms before he took to finish the race.

Post this experience, I am not sure if I am going to participate in any further marathons unless I am able to practice regularly.

PS: A shoutout to all Mumbaikars for coming out to support the runners. It is really amazing to see so many people out on the streets cheering the runners and offering them with biscuits, water, bananas, and in some cases jalebis!! You guys are awesome!!!

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Day 73/ 365 – Some of my favorite Hindi movie dialogues

~ Akshay ~ 1 Comment

A couple of weeks ago, a 3D version of Sholay – one of the movies made in the 1970’s was released. The movie was superhit when it was released, smashing all records and was playing at Maratha Mandir continously for 3 years (before being overtaken by DDLJ). The movie had some of the best dialogues like “Kitne aadmi the” and “Yeh haath mujhe dede Thakur” and many more. This got me thinking and decided to write this post highlighting the 10 best dialogues from Hindi movies which I like:

  1. Ye bachchon ke khelne ki cheez nahin, haath kat jae to khoon nikal ata hai… – Waqt (1965)
  2. Babumoshai, zindagi aur maut uparwale ke haath hai. Usse na aap badal sakte hain na main –  Anand (1971)
  3. Aap ke paon dekhey, bahut haseen hain, inhen zameen par mat utariyega, maile ho jayengey – Pakeezah (1972)
  4. Saara shaher mujhe loin ke naam se jaanta hai – Kalicharan (1976)
  5. Mere paas maa hai – Deewar (1975)
  6. Don ko pakadna mushkil hi nahi, namumkin hai – Don (1978)
  7. Draupadi tere akele ki nahi hai, hum sab shareholder hain – Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983)
  8. Jab yeh dhaai kilo ka haath kisipe padta hain, toh aadmi uthta nahi, uth jaata hai – Damini (1993)
  9. Teja main hoon, mark idhar hai – Andaz Apna Apna (1994)
  10. Koi baat nahi Senorita, bade bade deshon main aisi chhoti chhoti baatein hoti rehti hai – Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1994)

Day 72/ 365 – Today you tomorrow me – 2

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

This is in continuation to my earlier post on the same topic, which can be found here. I believe I have been deeply impacted by the above saying and I try and follow this as much as I can.  The meaning of the saying is simple – help someone who is facing a problem today and tomorrow, may be someone will help you when you are facing a problem. I believe that if we each one of us follows this, world could be a better place to live in. About couple of months ago while I was returning from work, I saw a stranded police officer along with a couple of luggage bags on the GB road asking for a lift to Mira Rd police station. It was around 3:30am in the morning and at this time public transport on this road is very rarely available. I was in two minds when I saw the cop asking for a ride. I was wondering is he really a cop or is he some thief who is disguised as a cop and looking to fleece people. Considering the time of the night and bags on the road, I was kind of leaning more towards the former – i.e. a cop looking for a ride. There was only one way to find out. So I stopped the car and asked him to get in.

Once inside, he thanked me profusely and told me he was waiting for more than 30 mins until I offered him a ride. He told me he was travelling from Nasik and had been transferred to Mira Rd. We started chatting and I realized that he is also just a normal person like the rest of us and who happens to work in a very stressful environment. We keep cursing them, getting angry at the law and order situation etc. But at the end of the day, he is just as human as we are. It was a good 20-25 min discussion, where we discussed about our families. He told me about his kids who are studying and how it was difficult for him to make ends meet. I wanted to ask him, if he takes bribes etc. but then decided to keep my mouth shut. The best part of travelling with him was that I didnt have to pay any toll fees :). We reached his destination and once again he thanked me and told me he is going to be posted in Mira Rd for a couple of years. I wished him all the best and continued onward to home.

A few weeks after that incident, I had trouble with my bike and was helped out by a stranger in the middle of the night equating the karma. The above incidents have kind of reinforced my belief in Today you.. Tomorrow me.

Day 71/ 365 – Bird photography at Bhigwan

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Last weekend I had an opportunity to do some bird photography at Bhigwan. This is place approx. 100 kms from Pune on Pune – Solapur highway. My friend Sid has visited this place a couple of times and always had good things to say about the number of birds that one can see over there. We had planned for this trip since December and this allowed me enough time to seek the right lens for the trip. I have a Canon 55mm – 250mm telephoto zoom lens and obviously for this trip it was going to be inadequate. Hence I decided to rent a camera lens. After checking at 2-3 places, I found Primes and Zooms who rent lens and other camera equipment in Pune. I registered myself online, submitted my verification documents and booked a Canon 100mm – 400mm L series lens for the trip. The people at Primes and Zooms were very professional and there were absolutely no hiccups in the entire process.

I along with my friends Sid, Rahul & Bhavana started early on Sunday morning to reach Bhigwan. The drive on the highway was good, except for some stretches where the road work is still going on. We reached Bhigwan around 8am. South of Bhigwan town, exists a widespread backwater formed due to a man made dam built on the Bhima river. The dam is called as Ujni dam. The backwaters is spread over a wide region and is mainly a shallow waste water reserve. The birding place is called Diksal and is approx. 2-3 kms away from Bhigwan. Once we reached the backwaters, we hired a boat and began our bird watching experience. Birds seen during the trip

  1. Greater Flamingos
  2. Sea Gulls
  3. Grey Egret
  4. Great Egret
  5. Indian Pond Heron
  6. Kingfisher
  7. Bee Eater
  8. Sandpiper
  9. Black Headed Ibis
  10. Black Ibis
  11. Black Drongo
  12. Rudy Shellduck (not captured)
  13. Painted Stork
  14. Indian Cormorant

PS: I may have got some names wrong. Please help me to correct them. Thanks!!

Day 70/ 365 – Blogging has taken a back seat

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

The last few days have been extremely exhausting at work with planning for this year and all going in full swing, I just haven’t had time to update  my thoughts on the blog. Even now I am updating the blog because I have a few minutes to spare before I get pulled into some other meeting or get busy updating another deck. I know this is not helping my Project 365 and I am way off course now. I need to close the gap as much as I can in the next few days. I should probably also start blogging in the morning, rather than writing in the evening when I am occupied with work and all. Hopefully, I will be getting back on track in the next couple of days with regular posts.475px-Busy_desk.svg

Day 69/ 365 – Superhero Identity

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

So I received the below image on my WhatsApp today and it made me wonder why did Ironman disclose his identity. If you look at any of the superhero’s like Batman, Superman, Spiderman – they have always tried to withhold their identity so that the enemies wont harm their loved ones.  In the first movie, we see Ironman announce to the world that he is Ironman. This is in spite of the fact that he had just saved Pepper Potts from  Obadiah Stane. Also once he announced to the world that he is Ironman, obviously he became a target for everyone and in the process endangering the lives of people around him. I find it a bit odd as it flies against the traditional logic of being a superhero. I am not sure how disclosing his name really impacted the good deeds that he planned to do or was doing. Or was it purely to increase the stock price of his company since the company stocks had tanked after Tony Stark announces that Stark Industries would no longer be manufacturing weapons? Or was it simply his ego? What do you think?

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Day 68/ 365 – Plucking flowers at Sindhudurg fort

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

We, me and my wife, saw this flower while walking through the Sindhudurg fort. The flower was just out of our reach (even after we jumped to grab it). The flower was on a low hanging branch of a tree which was standing in the front yard of someone’s house. I wasn’t sure how we could get to that, so at first I decided to jump and see if I can reach it. Unfortunately, it was a bit higher and I was not able to reach it. My wife was so floored by the beauty that she wanted to have it at any cost. So she decided to climb on the yard wall and pulled down the branch for me to pick up the flowers. While the passer by’s gave us some weird and strange looks, the smile on my wife’s face after getting the flower was priceless.

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