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! :)

KG Kaptures - A new brand in photography!

"You don't take a photograph, you make it" famous American photographer Ansel Adams once said. Photography is an art, on par with perhaps music and poetry. It captures the moment for years to come, allowing that one instant to live in the memories of generations in the future.

With my characteristic observational and non-intrusive style, candid photography is my calling. The leisurely yawn, the gregarious laughter - moments shared with unsuspecting candour find a new life through my lens. Viewed from this perspective, weddings, family reunions or any occasion of joy finds a whole new dimension of expression.

The clichés are many. A picture is worth a thousand words. Let your actions speak louder than your words. The list goes on. Yet, ever since the shutterbug bit me rather late, this has been the characteristic of my work. I allow my pictures to do the talking, being a man of few words myself.

Every picture tells a story, brings back memories, crystallises experiences.  Years after you have forgotten that moment of time, a picture has the power to bring it all rushing back to you in a wave of nostalgia. It is this pursuit of deriving and spreading the joy that drives me to photography.

My portfolio includes various conferences and events such as TiECON, TEDx events across the city and flashmobs apart from a multitude of pictures taken for family and friends. For anyone who asks what I do, the answer is simple – I shoot people.

Benjamin Franklin is believed to have said “Lost time is never found again.” Grandmother’s tales draw a parallel to trying to hold a fistful of sand that quickly slips through your fingers. The question of capturing time is said to be impossible.

My answer is simple. Try me!

KG Kaptures

https://www.facebook.com/kgkaptures