Airtel 4G - The Fastest Network Ever

Airtel 4G - The Fastest Network Ever

Food, water, clothing, shelter and Internet – These are the basic needs of the common man of todays modern world. Moving ahead, now slowly mobiles has become the sixth need. Considering that, how far are we with the mobile internet requisites? Not far at all! Mobile internet penetration is far more faster than the desktop or broadband connection and India is one of those nations which has the most prospective markets. As per a study, India is the 3^rd largest smartphone markets in the world and with the current mobile internet users as 200 million plus as of today, the base is going to grow more than 300 million by the next two years.

While the growth story of mobile internet markets in our nation is on the highway, the “need-for-speed” is also on the rapid upsurge. The testimony of this is the decline in the 2G user base vis-à-vis the surge in 3G customer installed base. Why is this phenomenon? We as users have made this paradigm shift from the basic conventional feature phones to smartphones. The usage of the phones just as a communication (calling or sms) device is a story of the stone ages and now we use it for a host of services like social networking, internet messaging & chats, email, online gaming devices, movies or video streaming, photography, music and a host of other useful things. Perhaps all these are not possible without a good consistent mobile internet speed. Airtel fills in this gap and the telecom giant which is also the No. 1 in India, is now the first in the country to roll out 4G services. Airtel is launching its 4G services nationwide across its 296 cities and this truly is going to be a game changer because they are offering the lightning speed internet at 3G rates. Can you believe this?

I am an impatient individual and this speed in mobile internet connectivity is like a boon to me. Wondering how all will I use it? Here we go:

• Browsing speed: I am a freelance candid photographer and it is very important for me to show my prospective clients my portfolio or share albums with them. Now this is going to be easy by means of hosting it up on websites or social networking domains through mobile.
• Downloads: Downloading reference materials, photographs, music will be a hassle free work.
• Video calling and conferencing: Video calling or conferencing requires better connectivity and hence I have to use my laptop to connect through Wi-Fi. Airtel 4G addresses this shortfall and I can meet & talk to my clients directly through my mobile apps, anywhere.
• YouTube and video streaming: I watch a lot of videos or movies online and predominantly I do it with my home Wi-Fi on. With such crazy speed through Airtel 4G, I don’t need to worry about buffering and can watch videos seamlessly, again anywhere.
• Office on-the-go: I can use my mobile as an office-on-the-go and can manage my work through my mobile.
• Hotspot: With most of the smartphones having this “hotspot” feature, you can create your own Wi-Fi with the incredible 4G speed.
• Internet Radio: I listen to radio while driving and if you need to use internet radio stations, a good connectivity is quite indispensable. With a 4G service, internet radio is as smooth as silk.

 These are the top-of-the-mind usages as far as I am concerned but I am sure there will be far more for many more individuals. So why wait? Just tweet #GetAirtel4G with a hashtag on Twitter and you get you’re your 4G sim sitting at home, delivered at home!!

Watch the Airtel 4G ad here:

Say No to Crash Diet and Yes to Good Health with Dabur Honey!

Good Health with Dabur Honey!

Which is the most common resolution during a new year? Yes, it is losing weight. I know most of us would have planned this for decades now but not many are successful. It requires a lot of self-motivation and consistent efforts in order to get the desired results and it isn’t easy.

Keeping a good shape is extremely important and it has become much more important now because the quality of life we lead and the type of food we eat. With what I have experienced, it is very easy to put on weight but very very difficult to shed. There is no single mantra to reducing weight however it is a blend of solutions which when adopted can give us the best results. A balanced health diet and a solid workout is the best mix anyday. There are many fat reducing things available in the market like oils, sauna belts, tablets, health drink powders etc. but their tall claims are all questionable and debatable. We all need to understand that there is no short cut to success and one of the most famous & dangerous solution for this is a “Crash Diet”. Yes, you read it right. It is dangerous! Now let me tell you why:

What is a crash diet? It’s basically a plan to cut down your meal and make it restricted. May be even severely restricted.

• Usually we eat mostly calorie rich food (and hence the fat!) and the basic idea of a crash diet is to consume very minimal calories so that no fat gets a chance to stick to our body. In such cases the metabolic rate comes down drastically and your body refuses to work.
• The objective of a crash diet is to burn fats but sometimes the diet becomes so intense that it ends up burning up the tissues and muscles as well
• Such diets have psychological effects which instigates stress, anger and irritation. For e.g. imagine if you are eating fruits or veggies while your colleagues are having a ham burger or chicken biryani for lunch at your workplace. You will go mad and irritated. Secondly you feel hungry all the time and want to eat anything and everything.
• Remember, you are/may be missing a lot of important nutrients very key for your body in your crash diet. This works negatively on your body.
• You become lazy and just a small work would like moving mountains. Energy levels plummets

There are many more negatives about such crash diet plans and therefore I never encourage it. I always believe that crash diet can only be a quick fix but it can never be a permanent solution.

So what is the alternative? Following a healthy nutritional diet, with a little bit of workout.

Now what is a healthy nutritional diet?

• Include a lot of green leafy vegetables in your meal
• Have black beans weekly. It is a great source of protein
• Make Oats as one of the meal options. It is rich in fiber, enhances metabolism and burns fat.
• Have a lot of fruits in the form of fruit bowls. Keep changing the fruit mix
• Change the oil. Move to Olive or Coconut oil for food
• Drink loads of water
• And last but not the least include honey as a part of your daily routine. It is a natural sweetener and a super substitute for sugar. Read why honey is better than sugar here. It reduces fat big time and also improves blood sugar controls, boosts immunity.

When it comes to honey, I cannot think of a better and household name than Dabur honey. People can be easily duped in honey but Dabur honey is authentic and of premium quality. There are tons of delicious and easy recipes using Dabur Honey and which can be well used for healthy supplements. You can get the recipes in this link 

  

Say no to crash diets and yes to healthy ones! Eat well, Stay healthy!

UC Browser for fast and the impatient!

Cricket is a religion in India and there is no doubt now that it is “the” most followed or practiced sport in the country. The passion, the obsession, the craze, the enthusiasm with which people are engrossed in this sport is unmatchable. Earlier parents used to comment “kya khel roti dega?” and prohibit their children to practice a sport but cricket has changed the entire scene & belief. It not only is a sport but now it is a major source of income for billions of people.

Cricket is not the national sport but one would certainly get surprised if they look at its patrons and their craze. The game has elevated to this level from the day India won its first world cup in 1983. The Gavaskars, The Kapils, The Amarnaths of the game have inspired the nation and now cricket is much more than a sport. It was that part of the era when televisions started telecasting the cricket matches. It was the only sport by large which was getting featured and the success was far reaching. People started following the sport, the sportsmen, the statistics, their personal life and everything.

For me I am an avid cricketer and I track the sport very keenly. I want the information on my fingertips and easily accessible. Many a times there are tons of commitments which may compel you to skip seeing a live match but that’s the last thing I want to do. So what’s the solution?

UC Browser is the name! Now I don’t need to compromise on my obsession i.e. cricket and I can watch it anytime, based on my convenience. I do not need to skip office on a match day with some lied sickness reasons. I can watch it in office on my mobile and keep a tab on the scores. UB Browser even makes you a star. Let me tell you how. I am a candid photographer and I cover a lot of marriages. I was covering one such marriage outside the city during an India match and my only resort for the match updates was the UCBrowser - UC Cricket. I was able to get the scores with jet speed and I became a single point of contact in the entire marriage hall for the live match scores. Everybody were around me watching the match and it was that sweet moment of temporary stardom. Similarly sometimes I take a walk in the park or beach and watch the match in the open air. This attracts few cricket enthusiasts around and a quick opportunity to make friends.

As far as features are concerned, UC browser is packed with tons of features, this browser works with lightning speed and it is highly dependable. This browser is ultra-smooth with a great ease in terms of navigation. Typically people who love desktop browsers will not be disappointed for sure. If you want to explore it further, why wait? Download it immediately from the stores and have fun!

Watch the UC Browser's interesting ad here: 

Kellogg’s Chocos ke saath ‘Khuljaye Bachpan'

An African proverb says, “Honor a child and it will honor you”.

We all live in a modern world, and the world around is really fast. Time is far most the scarcest resource in our life. We end up spending all the time in making money and in the scheme of things, family takes a backstage. The relationship between a parent and child is a very special and crucial one in life. Like it is said, you work with the clay when it is wet, similarly a child’s mind and personality gets molded in the way you want. Children are totally dependent on us i.e. parents for existence and hence it’s a completely 168 hours/week job. There are certain attributes that they develop from genetics however the most important things in life comes into them only through experience. And it is this experience that I want to talk about which directly comes from us or the society in total. I will take an example of a very close friend of mine and how he is shaped up with the help of his parents in such modern times. This concept is called as buddy parenting and it is not only new, but the need of the hour.

First things first! The most important thing that you can gift your child is your TIME. Nothing can replace it whatsoever. My friend is a single child and has working parents. Despite their busy schedules, they ensured that he gets ample amount of time with them. Here we need to be very clear that we are not talking about the quantity of time but the quality of the time with the child.

Second is the ability of being a friend. It is not only important but now it has become a mandate for a parent to become the first best friend of their kid. My friend’s parents were superb here and they were the people who would hear it first from him. Be it about an issue in school or be it his new crush! In this process of being a friend, a parent learns so many things in life. Let’s take the technological aspect which is very easy and aptly fits today’s scenario. Most of the parents learn invariably the mobile phone operations from their children who are in the age bracket of 8-15 years.  My dad is a carom champ and he taught me the nuances of the game during my childhood. This learning journey in the form of a pal strengthens the bond and brings a lot of comfortability to the relationship. The Raj (ShahRukh Khan) – Pops (Anupam Kher) relationship in Dilwale Dulhaniye Le Jaayenge not only looks good but it fills the gap exactly.

Third is encouraging the special skills in child. I understand and endorse that education is important but skills which are beyond the classrooms are equally important. My friends dad is from the army and involves my friend all the physical training he undergoes like swimming, running, badminton or soccer. My wife is a professional Carnatic vocalist and she involves my daughter in her vocal classes to kindle that interest in her right at a very nascent age. 30 – 40 years ago a career in sport was considered to be stupid idea and parents used to say “khel khana nahi dega” but look at today! Khel khana hi nahi balki aaj bahut kuch deta hai! Every child has a special skill and jt may be in any form. It is the responsibility of the individual parent to foster it and help its growth. Can you imagine what would have happened if Sachin’s parents were not supportive, if Saina’s parents were conventional.

All in all, net-on-net, the modern child and its needs are completely different. Hence it is important that we communicate with them right from breakfast table to bed. This may be difficult, but it is vital. As it is said, today the gadgets have distanced the individuals but here we need to strike a balance and see how we can use the gadgets to bring the family together. Everyday tell them you love them. Everyday give them a hug. Reward them for their efforts. At the end of the day, for the world you are just one person but for one person you are the world!

Happy parenting!

Visit this link: https://www.facebook.com/mychocos

Here's the video:

Mera Wala My Airtel App

Today mobiles or tablets have become indispensable objects and I would not be exaggerating if I say that mobile devices are now a key part of everybody’s life. There are thousands of mobile handset manufacturers but very few quality network providers and in that space, Airtel who call themselves the "smartphone network" has been the customer’s most preferred choice. 

In the modern day scenario, we are all on the move and mobile internet is used more widely than the traditional online methods. The need of the hour is information on the fingertips and mobile apps plays a very vital role here. For any business, irrespective of being large or small, it is important to have a mobile app for its growth in customer base and business operations. Be it financial institutions or entertainment hubs or travel and holiday providers or restaurants or hotels, everybody have their own private mobile app and through this modern day solution, it not only increases the visibility of the business, but also boosts the turnover in a significant way. In the same lines of mobile applications, the telecom giant Airtel have their own mobility solutions and it is one of the best intuitive apps that I have ever used. Here are the top features of their My Airtel App that I think give them the edge over others:

1) Airtel Surprises: It’s a brilliant marketing win-win idea by Airtel. With every recharge through My Airtel App, the customers get discount coupons from a host of vendors like Café Coffee day, Flipkart, Amazon.in, VLCC, Myntra, ebay.in and PVR Cinemas etc. With a strategic association with India’s largest coupon and marketing platform “mydala”, Airtel Surprises is a fantastic initiative not only for the telecom vendor but also for its customers. Adding to the fun, they have this “shake and win” feature where one has to shake his/her mobile to get the offers. That’s marketing at its best!

2) “I want to”: This is my personal favorite. This feature in My Airtel App helps you pay the bill, recharge your packs, buy games, look at your balance, verify your data consumed, the recharge history, all at click of a button. One just needs to create a shortcut to the home screen and then with one tap, it’s ready for use. Highly customizable, this is incredibly useful for people who want to get things done quick and fast.

3) Service Request: Gone are the days of customer care numbers, and emails and this feature comes as a fresh air! Through the My Airtel App you can lodge or file a complaint just and also can check the status of your request/complaint at your disposal. This is think is a great customer engagement model facilitated via #MyAirtelApp

4) Safe and secured payments: As I said earlier, we are all on the go and we would prefer everything right at our fingertips. Paying bills, making purchases, sending money everything online sounds great and can be made through My Airtel App. It has given us the facility to store our credit card details and the feature is completely secured by PCIDSS certification. The checkout is ultrafast and it is highly intuitive.

The Airtel mobile app, My Airtel App not only has been a tremendous marketing tool by making the customers aware of the new launches, new features but also it creates a new engagement platform. Here I think Airtel has a perfect score in the area of mobile app and has done great preparation to grow in future.

Dil nahi Dimaag: The mantra of Ek Nayi League!

In the last few weeks if we had been watching the IPL, none of us would have missed these ads on #EkNayiLeague.

If you have, here are the ones for the quick view:

Featuring one of the Gods of cricket, the captain of the world champion Indian team, Kapil paaji is creating a huge amount of suspense all around. Ek Nayi league – Kya hai yeh? is the buzzing question!

Although new to the Twitter platform, the personal handles of Kapil sir himself @therealkapildev and the leagues exclusive handle #eknayileague is brimming with posts from variety of audiences. The wild guesses includes singing competition, dance competition, talk shows etc and like many others, even I am scratching my head figuring out what this can be all about. I did a web search with #eknayileague as the key word but unfortunately there isn't much available on the internet as well. In each of his ads he says Dil Se Khela toh Hit Wicket and Dil Se Khela toh aapki Googly meaning if you play with all your heart, you are setting up for failure. Wow! That’s a little weird but a very important hint which needs to be taken into consideration.

I am pretty much sure that this is going to be a television series and more of a reality show however the theme is where the speculation is all about. After rounds of permutation combinations, considering a few points and hints, here are my guesses:

Guess #1: He being a sportsperson himself, in some videos he has spoken about Yuvraj, Sania and MS Dhoni. Here are the videos to view:

So, can this be a sport show with small games or sport to be played which is more about the brawn than heart? Getting together people from all walks of life and getting them compete in some physical sport for some prize money.

Guess #2: In one of the videos he also talks about Comedy nights with Kapil star Kapil Sharma aka Bittu and how he bowls googlies (read as questions!) at people coming to the show. Here's the video:

So can this be a talk show with some real questions to some of the stars from various fields? A chat show where it's about answering based on brains than heart!

Guess #3: By saying Dil Se Khela toh Hit Wicket and Dil Se Khela toh aapki Googly he is actually asking people to use the brain more than the heart. Hence can this be a quiz show like the Kaun Banega Crorepati however something specialized in sports involving prize money.

Guess #4: He is asking everybody to follow him on Twitter and hence could this be an online saga?

We need to make a very important note that our honorable PM has congratulated Kapil Dev for this effort and wished him the best of luck. Hence I think this going to be for a good cause and it is going to bring the society together. As a person, Kapil sir is a social brand in himself and it definitely will have contribution back to the society. Whatever be it, I am looking forward for the truth unfolding and the event’s gala release.

Keep following the website http://www.eknayileague.com/ and the twitter handles @therealkapildev and #eknayileague for more updates!

Heal the world, make it a better place!

Today we live in an environment where people do anything for economic benefits. They kill animals, cull trees, pollute the surroundings with a “who cares” attitude. In such a scenario our environment is changing, almost every day. Hence it is imperative that we understand the problems that our planet is facing and the magnitude of the consequences.

Currently the pressing issues that we are facing are:

Global Warming: Climate changes influenced by man because of the production of greenhouse gases like carbon monoxide, methane etc. Rising temperatures, melting of the polar ice caps, flash floods are some of the consequences which are going to change the entire geography of the human race.

Pollution: Polluting the air, water, soil is very easy but to bring it back to usual, it takes years. Today’s high car emissions polluting the air, oil spills polluting the ocean waters, toxins releases by various big industries are one of the major contributors to environment pollution.

Overpopulation: Every natural resource in this world is limited and the splurge in the world’s population is pushing it to unsustainable thresholds.

Deforestation: Erasing the green cover and making it available for residential or commercial purposes for the human habitats is on the rise. Forests regulate temperature, rainfalls and by cleaning the trees up, we are putting our future in the greatest of dangers.

Above are some of the major environmental issues that we are facing but besides that we have many more like Resources scarcity, weakening of the Ozone layer, Genetic Engineering, Rise in the urban spread, water pollution etc.

Having said these, it is quite vital that we bring in some changes to our daily life and also push the Government to bring in policies for safeguarding the future. Here are a few easy things can we adopt to contribute to environments betterment:

• Stop littering and use the garbage bin
• Always carry your own bag for a grocery shopping and avoid usage of plastic
• Take public transport once a week for travel
• Join a car pooling group
• Take a walk or ride bicycle for distances less than 2-3 kms
• Use the stairs more often than the elevator/escalator
• Turn off the taps while shaving or brushing teeth. Use the mug
• Think twice before you hit the “PRINT” button and if at all, use the “print on both sides” options
• Unplug the electronic devices and make sure you switch off all them completely if the appliances are not in use
• Drive at 40-50 kms/hr.
• Always use a timer while using air-conditioners
• Use energy efficient lightings
• Buy more of e-books than hard copies
• Avoid charging your phone while sleeping.
• Before buying new clothes, make you sure donate your old stuff

The above are just few of simple things which we can do immediately and it is not rocket science.

Yes, it is true that we cannot clean the ocean water, we cannot fill in the holes in ozone layer, we can’t create forests forests in a day or two but raising awareness in our neighborhoods, by teaching our kids & families the rules of cleanliness, joining hands with a hew NGOs like Green Yatra, we can make the world a much better place to live in. At the end of the day when are a part of the problem, we need to be a part of the solution as well.

Think positive, Do positive and Be positive!

What is optimism? As per the Oxford Dictionary - optimism is hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something. Let's take an example. We are in the last leg of the cricket World Cup 2015 and the entire nation is optimistic that we are going to retain the cup.The nation was positive that the Mr. Narendra Modi would bring in a much wanted change and hence he is our Prime Minister now. The recession hit America was positive that it would jump back to normality over a period of time. Optimism actually can mean different things to different people but for me it's mostly making the best of the bad outcomes in life or looking at the brighter side of life as a whole. So let me take an example of a real life scenario and see how optimism changed my life.

Smoking kills, everybody knows but how many believe in it?  And for people who believe in that truth, why do they do it at the first place? Why are they still indulging in that habit?  Why don’t people quit it forever? Why aren't they able to do it? Ever thought about it?

I have been a smoker myself and I used to puff up quite a few of them. I am an early entrant in this area which was during my teens and have been consistent if not a chain smoker. Hence I am doing “walk-the-talk” and not giving a sermon here!

Normally teens start smoking because they feel it is “cool”. Well even I thought smoking is fun, kind of psychological pleasure. It is quite natural that you do not realize the consequences of this habit at that age and hence care a damn about what people say. I used to smoke a couple of packs when I was in junior college and that gave me a hunk feel. Slowly it followed me at home as well. Whenever I was alone at house, the amount of sticks increased in arithmetic progression and if it was a night out with friends, the numbers followed the geometric progression pattern. My clothes used to stink of nicotine and my shirt or jean pockets had leftovers of tobacco. Finally it had to happen! My parents back home came to know about this habit of mine and they give me piece of their mind. Although it was a tough few sessions to handle but I did not care much because I earned my own pocket money through tuition and so the “give-a-damn” attitude continued. I graduated from college, joined work and the routine came along harder. This time I had more money at my disposal and hence I started buying costlier brands of the cigarettes with an increment in the quantity as well. I did not realize the toll that my body is taking because all these deeds. Did I try to quit in the middle? Yes, I did but was never successful. But then came a time when I had to put my foot down and say this is it!  

I am a complete sportsperson and an active cricketer. I understand that sports and smokes have such negative relationship but I never could actually sense it. In a game of cricket, earlier I could bowl 6 overs on the trot but later the number came down gradually. Thirty minutes under the sun and I would feel tired. One chase to save a boundary and the tongue sticks out! Two laps in the swimming pool and I would gasp for breath. Cigarette is regarded as a stress buster but now this was giving me stress in return. I was ashamed of my fitness level and I immediately knew the root cause. I decided to quit smoking immediately!

Mark Twain said – “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times!” He was 100% right. Kicking the habit was easy but sustaining that was very tough! The most important attribute because of which I was able to sustain this life changing move was “positivity”. I started disbelieving the fact that smoking is an addiction. No, it is not and I really feel it is not how much ever scientifically proven it is. I added positivity by analyzing the amount of savings that I can generate just by doing away with this habit. I always had an excuse to smoke but now I started thinking of reasons why I shouldn't with only one question. Which was more important – sport or smoke and the answer was easy to pick. By putting more efforts on conditioning my body and mind through a lot of physical activities, I stayed positive about the end result. Like the great Dalai Lama says - "Choose to be optimistic. It feels better", I was quite optimistic that it is tough but not impossible and finally here I am, after being quit smoking completely for close to 5 years now.

I have come a long way on this habit and if I really put my head around it, I recognize that there’s nothing great about this. Although I completely agree that it is the most difficult habit to resign but I can truly tell you that it’s a package of pleasure worth kicking! Think all positive effects of quitting smoking, Do positive things to quit smoking and be positive that you can quit smoking! Quitter wins, sometimes!

Optimism is everywhere and with that you can achieve literally anything in life. Stay strong and never give up - that is my story on optimism!

Chai pe nahi, breakfast pe bulana hai!

Mayer Hawthorne said – “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I definitely have a hearty breakfast before I do anything.” And we as Indians literally beg to differ to that concept and usually we are the first to skip breakfast citing n number of reasons. Children getting late to school compromise on breakfast, working parents due to want of time grabs something and rushes to office and most importantly for the housewives & moms breakfast is generally a cup of tea with a couple of biscuits that too way past the breakfast timings! Have we not experienced this very often in each of our households?

All these we have indulged in very conventional type of food when it comes to breakfast like idly, dosa, pongal, vada, upma when it comes to the southern part of the country. These are little heavy on our stomach, requires a lot of ingredients and eats up a humongous of time before it comes to the table. But the question is can we bring in a change in the system of breakfast to make it more interesting, more delicious, more nutritious, more compelling and absolutely uncompromisable?

Dhan te dan!! The answer is yes! Here comes the welcome change in the form of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes has redefined the very concept of breakfast. We all have heard about a three course or four course meals but have you heard about a three or four course breakfast, at least in India? Never! But Gupta ji’s home has all the recipes ready to meet such demand of a breakfast spread. The most important point here is the time consumption. With Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, nobody can give an excuse of “no time”. Out of the lavish 116 spread, each dish doesn't take more than 15 minutes of time and hence throw that excuse of “no time” goes out of the window. Not only that, one has a recipe or an exclusive dish to match every occasion and to celebrate it. At the Gupta ji’s household from celebrating Sunita mousi’s home visit cancellation to impressing the kid’s first crush; from getting back the authority on remote to preparing tiffin for a competition in school to a “Sanskaar” session at home – Kellogg’s Corn Flakes has a perfect breakfast recipe for everything. Isn't that exciting?

Secondly this gives way to the old school of thoughts where one invites another over lunch or dinner. Now with this versatility on the breakfast spread and lesser time consumption in the areas of preparation, who would even have one percent of apprehension? So #KelloggsWaleGuptaji, like many others, I am waiting for the breakfast invite and to be a part of the Kellogg’s Corn Flakes family.

Here’s my wish list for the nashta:

Welcome drink: 

• Kellogg's® Oats Peppy Papaya Drink

 Starter

• Kellogg's® Oats Veggie Nutri Cutlets
• Cheese Curd Dip
• Grilled Cornflake Polenta Sticks
• Basil Curd Dip

Soup & Salad

• Cornflakes Mushroom Soup
• Crunchy Fruit Salad

Main

• Apple Cornflakes Pancakes
• Mayo Cornflakes Sandwich
• Cornflake Dahi Upma
• Cornflakes Anjeer Porridge
• Kellogg's® Oats Tamrind Rice

Dessert

• Cornflake Walnut Chocolate Muffin
• Cornflake Coconut Ladoos
• Cornflakes Kewra Badam Kheer
• Black Forest Shake

  

To naashte mein kab bula rahen hain #KelloggsWaleGuptaji?

We are always better - Together!

Life isn’t easy all the times. The smallest of things like missing project deadlines, unhappy appraisals, credit cards EMIs, high housing loan interest, traffic, load shedding in the night, Chennai Auto rickshaws fare negotiations, SPAM emails, low phone battery, flattened tire, personal loan phone calls, houseful signs for movie to the largest of events like demise of somebody close, financial losses, health problems can drain you completely. In such situations you brains refuses to work and this effects everything in you and around you. One such year for me was 2013! I had hit lowest point of my life and I needed a break bigtime.

I packed my bags and headed to Kolkata for a week’s break. The beauty of Kolkata lies in its people and being born & brought up there, I had no dearth of friends. For me the first stress buster has always been cricket. In our complex or apartments in Kolkata, we started of something what is called “Gully Cricket”. The uniqueness of this cricket was it is played by plastic ping pong balls. We have a bi yearly tournament called the Shantikunja Premier League (SPL) and the second edition of it happens in Dec that too with day and night match schedules. My friend pulled me into his team “RED BULL” and with a series of victory, we won the tournament.

If you ask me the best time to visit Kolkata is the Dec –Jan apart from the Durga Puja time. I was right there during the best of the winters with the best of my friends and during such times what’s fun without a road trip!! Hence on the chilly Christmas day, four of us decided to take a road trip to this place called Falta which was 50kms from Kolkata. The place is right on the banks of Ganges and pretty scenic. We booked a cottage at Hotel SeaBird and started our day out. We had a few drinks, hogged on some good food and spoke our heart out.  Since we knew each other from our childhood, we had so much to talk about. Reliving our schooldays, discussing about ex-girlfriends, movies, life abroad, Indian Tax system, gadgets, medical facilities in India, law and order, our time just flew! We had so many things to talk and discuss that a night wasn't enough. The food was fantastic to complement the occasion and added to that was a splendid location overseeing the river Ganges. One of my friends is a singer and we had small jamming session playing the guitar as well.  In the night we took a stroll to the banks and by looking at the vastness we felt how small we were. We slept for an hour or so and early morning took a boat ride on the river. It was beautiful! Soon after a filling breakfast we packed our bags and were on our way back listening to the Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik songs of our times!

Outside Hotel SeaBird

Boat ride on the river Ganges

Life had been tough and it will still be! It’s not only me, it’s a known phenomenon for everybody and nobody can escape it. The trick is how to come back to normal from such demotivation, such falls, such situations. It is such small events of togetherness bring you back to life! For me these friends, these moments of togetherness are like rechargers. After this quick get together, I could recoup, infuse positivity, feel motivated, plan on the next set of events, execute and achieve success. Trust me, it works.. that’s the power of being together!

#together

Start A New Life - From Kolkata to Chennai

It was a hot & humid sultry afternoon in May 2000 when my cousin gave me this news. My dad was getting transferred from Kolkata to Chennai. I was 19 then and at the peak of my youth. I did not know how to react to this at that time. I am basically born and brought up in the "city of joy" and hence for me Kolkata is my hometown. Culturally I am a bong but racially a Palakkad Tamilian. I don't know to write tamizh but I am well versed with Bengali. Because of this homogenous mix I was quite popular and the Bongs loved me. It was a huge matter of pride when Bengalis appreciated my diction and love towards Kolkata. With a huge set of friends I was quite settled.

Then came this transfer bomb which created ripples in my life. When you are in first year of college you have your own set of friends and way of life. With 19 years in a place, you would have figured out how to live, way of having fun but this location change derailed it. While in the beginning I was against this move and I decided to stay back in a hostel or at a relative’s place, later my dad's emotional blackmails impelled me to reconsider. Finally I decided to move to Chennai tagging along with my family. 

In June 2000 we reach Chennai. Fighting the hot and humid conditions we reached our new den, our new house. I hated it... 'Hated' was an understatement. I wasn't comfortable with the people around in our colony. I just wanted to get out of this place. 

Next was the college. In Kolkata I had completed my first year B.Com and getting admission directly into the second year in Chennai was a difficult task. Finally I chose a college which was close to my house with help of some influences. The first day in college gave me a culture shock in the form of girls and boys sitting separately. I hated Chennai more! 

My Tamizh was bad especially not local and my accent was like Palakkad'ish resembling the Kameshwaran of Michael Madana Kaamarajan! People used to make fun of me and I hated it. 

Adapting to this change was hard. It was getting tougher and tougher day by day! I had to do something about this because as the famous life-coach Tony Robbins said - Change is inevitable, progress is optional! I had to lift myself up. I starting looking at what best ways should I adapt to bring this change? I got the first cue when I realized I need to do something to keep myself happy. Immediately I started to play cricket with a club close by. My neighbor used to take me out for some prominent leagues and that kept me quite happy. Next step - make friends. The question was how? It was sheer coincidence that I friend of mine suggested for some part time work. Wow! that was a great idea! I immediately got placed in MusicWorld for a part-time job especially because of my multi lingo skills. This move was a great one. Not only did it keep me busy but also was I making friends and was also learning business, customer service plus getting paid as well. My team, customers loved me there and I think that was a changing point in my life. From there I never looked back.

This approach changed my life. I got good scores in academics, and then got placed in multinationals with a decent pay.

Today I look back and think what would have happened if I had been in Kolkata? or If hadn't changed to the situation in Chennai? Life would have been difficult!

From this entire experience, I think the best and most important parts to manage a change are:

1) Are you aware of the need to change? Now I call this as "Awareness". I was in a different city Chennai, talking a simply different language, with a different thought process, living in a different culture but was I aware that I need to switch to survive here?

2) Do you really want to change? Is there a need? What is the benefit? I call this as the "Need" step

3) "Capability" is the third step where one needs to understand if he/she has the capability to manage the change. Here how do I read Tamizh? How to speak local Tamizh? If I don't have the capability, then how to develop? This is the third part of the phase

4) Finally for every small achievements, celebrate and reinforce! 

Making a big life change is pretty scary but, you know what's even scarier? Regret!!! #StartANewLife

HMT Watches, it's legacy& my madness

Recently I heard in some news sources that the famous Indian watch manufacturer Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) is closing down. When I told dad about it, he was quite heartbroken. He has a couple of watches which is more than 40 years old and he treasures it. HMT is considered as an household name in India and the tagline of the product runs as "timekeepers to the nation" . The HMT watches are an integral part of the Indians because it brings in a lot of nostalgia. HMT watches are typical gifts which a parent promises to give their sons/daughters when they clear their board exams. In the 1970s and 80s, like the Bajaj scooters, HMT watches were sought-after dowry gifts and cherished status symbols at a time when household incomes were low. It's a part every wedding as it's one of the gifts given to the groom & bride. An HMT watch exemplifies goes on for decades because it gets passed from generation to generation, from a father to a son to a grandson.

Today the unit is getting shut down because it is getting saddled with losses for close to a decade. Growing competition from Indian rival Titan and the entry of foreign quartz watches after import restrictions were lifted in the 1980s and HMT’s failure to adapt to change led to falling sales, a slump from which the company never recovered. This watch making public sector unit has been ailing since 1999 when the Government took actions including pumping in capital to restore it's operations and boost its performance. It went through a restructure to make it like a Royal Enfield brand however nothing big has changed. The company has close to 1100 employees including 180 odd executives. 

Like many others hearing its shutdown even I frantically started to look out for two models i.e. HMT Janata & HMT Pilot. I called up literally all the HMT retail outlets in Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata but in vain. The answer was the same NO everywhere. While inquiring about the models availability, the person from the Bangalore office blamed the customers for not been loyal & the government's policy equally responsible for the company's demise.

My review on HMT Janata:

Finally after a lot of search and wait, I got the Janata from the HMT official website.Among the first watches to be made by HMT, the Janata was a favourite of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. This winding watch was plain, affordable and had more than 25 variants. Janata watches have been known to tick on for more than 40 years.

Pic source: HMT official website

The size of the dial is smaller than I thought compared to an usual men's watch however this is how it was manufactured and so be it! The the whole thing is rather thin, due to the the manually-wound movement. The seconds hand mentioned in the image is red however the watch I got delivered had it as silver colored. I love the handwinding mechanical movements and since this was the first time I am using one, it created some problems. After a brief usage I found the watch stopping quite frequently despite giving the key but then later I found that I was doing it anti-lock wise instead of clockwise. Pl remember usually if you key the watch in the reverse way it may screw up the watch springs but since this was coming from the house of HMT it withstood my err. Now it works absolutely perfect!

The strap with the pack is a sad one. It's made out of cheap rubber however I went ahead and changed the entire strap which cost me more than the watch in itself. The person in the strap store (and I think it was Titan) was surprised seeing my watch and he really appreciated for wearing old watches despite changing times.

Now I am waiting for HMT Pilot and the stock is awaited for a long time now in the HMT stores. The pieces are available in e-retails but it comes at a premium.

Pic source: HMT official website

I am a watch collector myself with around 8-9 watches and Janata would be right on top. I am dying to add the Pilot piece into the collection and without these a collectors box would never be complete.

My Bullet, My Life!

My first post was on my Bullet which I bought way back in 2006. It was a 2004 make RE Electra 4S with cast iron engine and right leg gear. I had tubeless tyres and original harley parts in the form of gear shifts and brakes.

During that time the RE Classic was just launched. It's craze pushed me to dispose this to get a new one which eventually never happened!
I sold to at a throw-away price only to repent for the next 8 long years! I was using my brother's Bajaj Pulsar 180 for my daily commutation however it was in 2012 that me and my brother decided to go for a new RE Bullet. I had enough of the bikes! I did not for a Classic because a) the height was a little low and b) there were lot of technical complaints. So I stuck to my old choice - RE Electra.

I got my Bullet delivered a year later (yes! that was hell of a waiting period!) and here we are with the life coming a full circle, finally!

My thoughts on Bullet based on my experience:

• Never sell an old Bullet. It's gold!
• Never indulge in huge modifications. This will only pull down the performances and invites recurring issues.
• Stick to RE authorised services and worst-come-worst a Bullet specialist. It's very difficult for a 100 cc two wheeler to understand the dynamics of a Bullet.
• Never go below the petrol reserve capacity. I would prefer to have the tank filled to the brim every time it hits reserve. Make sure you have a petrol lock to avoid thefts.
• Identify a puncture mechanic who would be available on the call. At least keep a good track of all the puncture shops on the roads that you travel frequently. It's a pain on the wrong place to drag your machine when the tyres are flat!
• Avoid rash driving and squeezing in between vehicles. You may have done this on a 100 Cc bike but this may be fatal on a Bullet given it's size. Never ever try this!
• Rust is a common problem. Always wipe off the water on the guards post rains. 
• Always talk to fellow Bulleteers and ask for opinions & insights. This is gold dust!
• A little Petrol/Oil leak is normal. Don't worry.. it's marking it's territory! :)
• Never triple carry people. The Bullet may have extra space but it is manufactured only to carry two aaram se!. Remember - it's against traffic rules as well! 
• Wear a helmet - always! You have brains and you gotto protect it!

While I am looking forward for some of the future Bullet trips, do get in touch if you have planned one. Would love to tag along! :)

Keep riding.. keep thumping!

Made like a gun, goes like a bullet!

Some brilliant Quotes:

http://www.quora.com/Royal-Enfield/What-are-the-best-quotes-one-liners-for-riders

My review on Sterling Holidays MariGold Ridge - Yelagiri

It was long since I took my wife & parents and a vacation was long due.
Being in Chennai, finding a vacation spot is quite a task but considering the amount of time we had, Yelagiri was an obvious choice. Being a frequent traveller myself, I had never being to Yelagiri but have heard a lot of reviews (positive) about the place and this added to the reasoning behind the choice of destination. Finally after a lot of research and lot of reviews on various websites, we picked up Sterling Holidays MariGold Ridge as our place to stay. We booked the hotel from 14th Jan to 16th Jan through MakemyTrip & they gave us some decent offers with a pricing of 4k/per room/day

Location:
The hotel is located right next to the Lord Murugan temple and hence finding the place isn't a challenge.

Parking:
The parking space in front of the hotel premises can accommodate around 5-6 cars and since it was a Pongal holiday, we couldn't get a space because of the brimming crowd. Nevertheless, they have a additional parking half-a-km from the hotel and that space can accommodate more than 10 cars.

Property:
It's a decent sized property which has an old design It's a four storey building with rooms on the three sides & a swimming pool in the middle. You can visualise the Centaur Hotel which we would have seen in a lot of Bollywood movies however the size is much smaller.

Rooms:
Brilliant.. Brilliant.. Brilliant! I asked for a hill view and the rooms exactly gave that! The rooms are quite big with good moving space. This was important to me because we had an infant with us :)
The highlight of the room was the see-through big glass door which divides the room and the balcony. The bright view of the hill & the greenery from the bed is simply outstanding. Aesthetically the rooms are premium with beautiful lighting, paints and bed location. It also has an additional sofa-cum-bed or can be termed as a recliner. The bed is quite big and ultra cozy! Pl see if your door locks work because we found it late in the midnight and had an issue fixing it.

AC, TV & Fridge -
Of course it has AC and thankfully works brilliant including the remote. You have a mini fridge for the bar usage. The room is equipped with a 20-22 inch LCD TV with STB.

Facilities:
The property provides a host of facilities like Gym, game room with TT and carrom tables, swimming pool with child area, trampoline for kids, Meditation room. They have a Spa which comes at an additional cost. They organise party games with music based on customer request & since it was festive time (Pongal), they had some events in progress during our stay. I also get to know from them that they organise treks and team building games on request.

Food & Dining:
A big heartbreak for the tipplers - this place doesn't have a bar. So if that's a part of the agenda make sure you have it before you end up here.
Food is good but when it comes to the cost, it comes at premium! The breakfast spread is huge and most people would enjoy it the most because it comes for free however when it comes to the Lunch or Dinner, the spread & quality doesn't justify the cost. The hotel provides room service but as I said earlier charges gold.


Staff:
Huge plus of this place! Very helpful and courteous people.
The place is filled with some Oriya & Bengali people and since I am from Bengal, it was easy to connect. You have native language speakers as well and communication isn't a challenge at all in this place!

Ambience: 
I would say the ambience is good if not excellent. Given the backdrop of the location the ambience could have been much better. Since the swimming pool is right below your room, the commotion & pandemonium creates a lot of disturbance. This I found was quite irritating.
Apart from this, the walk area isn't that big given the size of the property however it serves enough for a quiet walk after dinner with your spouse.

Overall - I would rate this property Sterling Holidays MariGold Ridge a 3/5

OnePlus One - my review

Just a month back my Nokia Lumia 820 conked off and its display got screwed up! Courtesy - my wife!

Lumia 820 was a fantastic phone (and it still is!) with great display and camera however was handicapped because of the Windows OS. Mind you Windows OS is pretty good but for a person who has tasted the Android blood, this OS may be primitive stuff.

I got the Lumia 820 one day after its launch which is more than 2 years and hence I decided to go for a new one.

There were lot of mobiles in my contention like ASUS Zenphone, Moto G (2nd Gen),  Xiomi but then when I did some research on the OnePlus One, I was bowled over.

I would consider it as the Numero Uno phone of the segment and it would give the rest of the "master" androids a run for their money.

After a lot hard work over the social media for the invite finally ordered the phone with 10 mins in hand for its expiry.

My take:

Size: one of the features where I was a little apprehensive cos I find 5.5" a little too big. I have used Dell Streak earlier and people used to gaze with awe because 5" during those days was a big deal. In two days when i got my OnePlus, this fear went out of the window.

5.5” inch is big. Yes it is, but you can handle it with two hands it’s easy. Size is one of the best features of this phone and you would realize this only when you watch a few videos on this phone. Remember the Sandstone finish? – gives a super awesome rough grip.

Display – is a stunner with 401 Pixel/inch! It has awesome color reproduction with great sharpness.  Auto brightness and the warm hue are additions for ambient lights and eye fatigues.

Call Quality – Fantastic call quality with noise cancellation

Battery Life – I would say is average compared to their tall claims with 3100 mAh battery. For me it comes around a day with decent use (not heavy for sure!) and I think my phone battery is still getting acclimatized with my usage. Pl remember I DON’T game at all and I have hardly 80-90 apps overall with 20 odd apps always active in the background.

Design – Absolute beauty! Thin, lightweight (trust me!) and the finish gives it a posh look. It is made up of high quality plastic but nowhere would you get the feel of that material. It will fit into the pocket but riding a bike with it is a challenge because you would be cramped for space when you bend your legs for the gear/brakes.

Processor - Snapdragon 801 Quad Core Processor clocked at 2.5 GHz for flawless performance and Adreno 330 GPU for perfect acceleration at par with iOS devices. The Device has 3 GB of RAM and works like a war horse!

Media & Sound: Full HD support and plays almost all the important file extensions. Sound quality is better than the most and with the headsets (JBL Silver Bullet), I cannot ask for anything more.

Camera – plays a spoilsport here. 13 MP rear camera with Sony glasses and 5 MP front. My selfie pics are much much better than the other pics from the rear camera cos of motions blurs resulting due to the absence of IS. I think the rear camera pic quality is poor compared to the Lumia 820 carl zeiss lens though was had less mega pixels.

Storage – 64GB (Internal only!) is like a world in your phone! What more?

Price – 22k, is awesomely priced for this featured phone which would beat its competition with same or similar features hands down.

Overall there’s lot hype behind this phone but after a month and more of usage I think this phone is a beast. It is the best Android device available in the marked and would go on to kill its competition in the same circuit. The invitation is a pain but it’s worth it!

For me: Air, Water, Cloth, Food, RE Bullet & now OnePlus One! :)