Time to Relax !!!!

Action do speak and so does the picture next. One of the clip from many wonderful ones clicked by a colleague at recently held TCS Picnic at Pali Resort in Mumbai. First of the all weekends I enjoyed since arriving here in mumbai !!!!!! Played some cool games such as standing Kho-Kho (infact while learning the rules of Kho-Kho it struck me that I am a state level player of Kho-Kho .. Any guesses how !!!!!! :P ) , Encircled "Jithe paindi pain de" though very professional in scope ...... The best attraction was the swimming pool ( get a strong desire in me now to join the swimming club as soon as hit Delhi ) and almost 2 hour rain dance though I really never understood which language the DJ thought we all understand.. Got only one punjabi song to contribute to the wonderful crowd with some Bhangra steps ... Following rain dance was antakshri and Tambola... At last someone in my group won a prize in tambola !!!
Overall it was a wonderful picnic though ofcourse TCS could had picked a better resort where they do not serve "Duck’s Egg" omelette and as someone said "Kutta Mutton Subzi" (:P) !!!!!

Pune visited !!!!

In an on going process to visit and list new places in my blog, latest place comes out to be pune. Again another experience to subject myself to mercy of Mumbai Auto and Bus drivers, I manage to get to Pune to visit a friend, Arpit. Arrived at 2:00 A:M, exactly 3 hours after than scheduled ... I sit with my friend in the night till 5:00 A:M savoring some fine whisky and vodkas out of a proud collection of Arpit. To name a few...Black label, Red Label, Teachers and Shark Shots , a collection he made with a "Inhouse rule" for anyone visiting onsite to bring back liquor from duty free..Nice rule !!!!

Another friend of his arrives at 4:00 A:M coming directly from Belgium and I was amazed by the difference in the general gup-shup which we used to have back in college and what we had yesterday..no no Today morning. The conversation encompassed various countries and culture across the world out of experiences of V-3 and from our friends. Truly globalized world but everywhere the same story for bachelors abroad !!!

Jaded, tired and afraid to stay onsite at expense of quality of our lives just to better our profiles and fat paychecks ... It is worth it ??? A unanimous opinion of "NO" prevailed counterfeited by reality.

Apun Mumbaiya ho gayela

Bhai log..apun aa gayela hai !!! Mumbaiya ho gayela re mammu .... Landed in Mumbai on 7th Feb. And guess what ... Guess what ....
WAS CHEATED BY A MUMBAI TAXI DRIVER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a professionalism and commitment these mumbai taxi drivers have to maintain there age old reputation of cheating new comers to amchii mumbai !!.

I tried my best to be safe only to find this guy has over-smarted me !!!Getting in this taxi I told my friend " Do not let this person know you are here for the first time"
Easy said. Difficult to do.
The moment I tell this person to go to Thane, prompt he asks " Where in Thane"
I say "TCS Yanta Park "
"Ohhh is that the one close to that hotel " he asks. Smelling trouble here I say a confident "Yes".
"But sahib yeh east mein hai ya west mein " .... Doomed here...cursing none other myself of not reading the address in advance I say "dekh lenge abhi thane to chalo "

N here he is. He got it !!! I am new and I do not know about mumbai. A fresh bakra for this guy. N he had a feast.

While traveling my sense of direction could not stop making intelligent guesses and though I got convinced that I am getting going round n round somewhere in the same area, I had no ways to prove it !!!! Just sat like an innocent cute little child at helm of a driver dracula !!!

For a normal charge of 400-450 this guy shows me a meter reading of 947 Rs !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow ... n the reason :)) :)) while justifying his high meter reading the driver tells me "Sahib AC car hai yeh..pure raste AC ON raha to meter reading to badhega na " ...Thanks Dude ....I wish I knew it earlier !!!! BTW have u ever ..Have u Ever traveled in a Taxi that have mosquitos inside it ... Yes my dear friend Mosquitos .. I think they must have come there for Taxi was an AC one !!

I salute you Mr Driver !!!! I love your consistency !!!!

Somebody suggested to get a prepaid taxi in Mumbai. However this time my experimental nature got better of me. But it is an experience worth having !!

So the moral of the story is, IF you are traveling on your company expense (:P) experiment with Mumbai Taxi wala or else you better of take a prepaid one !!!!

2007 Flying .......

Year 2007 brought one thing quite unique to me with itself. Flying experience. For a person having boarded a flight only once in 23 years, already 4 flights within first 40 days of the year seems like a big change.
First one from Orlando to NewYork , then Newyork to Orlando, then Orlando to Delhi and now Delhi to Mumbai !!! Wow I am everywhere in air this year !!!

Just hope this run continues as I figure I love traveling as long as it is in air... traveling within Indian cities is a pain ..more on that in later blogs

NLG > Next Level Of Greatness

Ok I know I know I have used this terminology often. NLG (Next Level Of Greatness) quite often. Actually borrowed from the wonderful person in the image.Robin Sharma... Traveling in this familiar train from my hometown Dhuri to Delhi, I sit to identify what exactly this means to me.

I identified three things to change in myself recently. Let me state those first

1. Learn a Foreign Language > French
2. Commit to daily regime of exercise and yoga
3. Create bigger and measurable impacts in my contribution to society

To analyze further, I would conduct a McKinsey's MECE style three point agenda.

Introspection reveals the following are my passions:
1. Connect to friends and to new people
2. Traveling and visiting new places (Vacations and On-Job—New places on agenda Mumbai, Pune and Goa )
3. Cricket (See last blog dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar)

Hey one more things, how about Graphology ?????? (Fantasy doomed by Reality)...
and Writing ???
So, working in McKinsey way following recommendations come across (All in 3's– MECE)

Old Passions to be Reinforced :
1. Connect to friends and make new ones
Listen more and Talk less (2:1)
Stay in present and display interest in everything they say
Offer generous and without-expectations help
2. Traveling and Visiting New Place
Create Google Spreadsheet about places to visit and activities to do
Blog experiences at each place
MECE satisfied here
3. Cricket
Play cricket
Follow Cricket matches
Read and learn more about Sachin Tendulkar : Blog with Cricket (Remember one day you have to meet him)

New passions to be enforced
1. Writing
Bloging
Join several forums and express opinion always.
Read
Business Magazine
McKinsey Quarterly
Daily 2 Newspapers
2. Exercise and Yoga
Daily morning wake-up at 6:00 A:M
Join Health Club always
Read, learn and perform Yoga
3. Tata Group Research
Knowledge about all companies, importance for Tata.
Opportunities in Tata Group to make it BIG here
Direction of it’s companies and group overall

Activities to Research

1. Graphology > Will be an added asset.
2. Foreign Language > French ???

Hope i stay on track !!!!!

Regular ???

I know I know quite a while since i posted. However it was not marked my procastionation but lack of opportunity !!!!

Yet i have been writing blogs regularly n here goes all of them in order !!!

Cheers