tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-310623872024-02-04T12:18:13.194+05:30Whatever...From what happens in my life to what happens in yours. Environment, politics, society, education, economics....in short..."Whatever..."thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-50892926083760659482021-05-23T10:38:00.000+05:302021-05-23T10:38:24.007+05:30What (not) to expect from a politician<p style="text-align: justify;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWmpGLbmVquutBSDBLq17QK3Ug5bLJRDoUtp5Is90Q5gOYX-nas2wglRq4-7ktY56W1ksTiZJ-V-HnSV-G9kcu-pBWDjoh4CCBmeTwG15230ECJN9LXPNNsE-EOalCpagJBMFjA/s3264/IMG_2267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWmpGLbmVquutBSDBLq17QK3Ug5bLJRDoUtp5Is90Q5gOYX-nas2wglRq4-7ktY56W1ksTiZJ-V-HnSV-G9kcu-pBWDjoh4CCBmeTwG15230ECJN9LXPNNsE-EOalCpagJBMFjA/w640-h480/IMG_2267.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The photo has no real significance to the subject being discussed :-)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Off late, I have seen a lot of my friends venting their anguish against politicians. Many of them expected the politicians to behave more responsibly, discipline the public on dos & don'ts of COVID precautions, get national priorities right and basically change the society to which they belong and are elected representatives.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">I think this bunch has wrong expectations from the wrong group of people. Here is why -</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><i>A <b>politician's</b> entire existence is centred around election victory. Winning an election is their Key Performance Indicator (KPI). A consistently losing politician who is not making any effort to come to power, is not even a politician. Acceptance from society, popularity and majoritarian view are the fundamental characteristics of a politician. They have to operate within the limits of these fundamentals to maintain their existence. Isn't that why we always refer to successful politicians as someone who 'knows the pulse of their people'? </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>If we don't like what the politicians are doing, that means there is something fundamentally wrong with the society - at least the majority of it that these politicians care about. To expect the politicians will show mirror to the society & it's people, highlight their shortcomings, false beliefs is utopian. For a politician focussed on getting elected, going to a voter (or a group of it) and telling them that they are wrong, is a recipe for disaster. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>To do that, you need an <b>activist</b>. Someone who will call a spade a spade. Someone, who will tell the world if there is something wrong - even at the cost of unpopular. In fact, being righteous is the KPI of an activist, not being popular. An activist will always tell the world what they may not want to hear. As activists work tirelessly to educate the society about right & wrong, eventually (sometimes) the majority swings in their favour. They start gathering crowds and form a popular opinion. At this point, they can chose to become politicians and get elected OR let a politician take advantage of the majoritarian view.</i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i>I hope with this, we have clear expectations from individuals based on their KPIs and stop whining. </i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">PS: a politician may pretend to be an activist but not the other way round. </p>thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-83374539134571549922019-09-18T12:48:00.000+05:302019-09-18T12:48:04.533+05:30Lessons from an Uber driver<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These days, I often take an Uber cab to commute to/from work. On one such trip last week, I received some of the most precious insights on work ethics. I thought about them over the weekend and decided to internalize them in my personal & work life. So I thought of sharing them here for the reader's benefit. Since I do not have the driver's consent to share his name etc., let us just call him Mr. Uber.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It was 9:35 PM when I booked my Uber. It is sometimes tough to get a cab at this time since many people are in transit and probably the number of cabs is also lesser during night. I was lucky to be assigned a cab quickly, which seemed to be travelling in opposite direction. Half expecting a cancellation, I called the driver and he said he will be there in 2 minutes. As soon as I entered the car, he asked if I was going back home. Now, I won't go into word for word dialogues, but some lines stuck with me, which I am sharing along with how I intend to apply them for myself -</span><br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<i>I guessed you would be going home. I wanted to cancel this ride. But then I thought why delay someone who is just waiting to reach home on a cold night</i>" - <b>Empathy</b>. This was the first sentence he said to me, and it resonated with me straight away. I was not just another ride for him. When he got the booking, he put himself in my shoes. He was not just taking me from point A to B. He knew what difference he was making to my life! I will approach my interactions with the same empathy.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<i>I never fill gas while on a trip. Between trips, if I see a gas station, I tank up no matter how little</i>" - <b>Professionalism</b>. Respecting the time of the people you deal with, through little things that may seem inconsequential, builds up confidence in others. Mr. Uber understood that when he signed up for a ride, the passenger wanted to reach the destination in minimum time possible. His lack of planning should not tax the customer. This was a great eye opener for me to think about how I spent my time and what value my employer or customer got out of it.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"<i>There are times when I am very close to meeting my target and earning a bonus. But it also means, I may have to stay on duty for 14-16 hours. So I decide to let it go and go home to sleep instead</i>" - <b>Balance</b>. Mr. Uber works around 12 hours everyday. That is the time he is on the road, waiting or driving. Give or take an hour. He earns upto Rs.3000 a day on a good day. If he completes 48 trips in 4 days, Uber gives him Rs.1450 as a bonus; almost 50% of his 'good day' earnings! But the way the algorithm is built, probably makes the driver wait a lot to get there (as per him). So, on a fourth days, if the qualifying ride on does not come easily, he just logs off, opting for rest instead of the extra buck. He has his priorities in place, something I need to learn from him. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last one is a dialogue that speaks volumes about Mr. Uber's character and value system. here goes -</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Mr U</b>: <i>I knew someone who used to live in this lane. He used to iron clothes for a living. He is a rich man now. He owns businesses in Dubai. His sons run them.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Me</b>: <i>Wow! What did he do to become that rich?!</i></span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr U</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He worked hard.</i></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">: </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">...</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Have you had any encounters like this? Any life lessons in most unexpected places?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">P.S.: I also posted this experience on LinkedIn (<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/people-behind-wheels-laukik-desai/" target="_blank">here</a>) albeit with a bit of editing. The post here is more free flowing, more me! </span></div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-2575316477396599682019-04-09T10:24:00.001+05:302019-04-09T10:24:31.227+05:30Immortality of an ideology<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtKEcGKpb1wtbdXSeB2W_TuDfiwGXjTlgsvZNk0zz0tvjTNFgAr-7JOji0ntvdEKY2GwJ8IyAWGMiOQlN9B0tOxlRPBtuvtpNX7adT2LwfUY3XVHITocBaNsjwgTt3DYJSIW8Jw/s1600/Parrikar.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUtKEcGKpb1wtbdXSeB2W_TuDfiwGXjTlgsvZNk0zz0tvjTNFgAr-7JOji0ntvdEKY2GwJ8IyAWGMiOQlN9B0tOxlRPBtuvtpNX7adT2LwfUY3XVHITocBaNsjwgTt3DYJSIW8Jw/s320/Parrikar.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Goa lost a dear son on the evening of 17th March 2019. The electronic, print & social media are bursting with messages and memories of Mr. Parrikar. He was indeed a visionary man, hard working and an astute statesman.<br />
As I follow images & video feeds of people of Goa gathering to pay homage to this great man, A lot of thoughts flood my mind as well. My personal experiences, limited public & private interactions with him and how Goa changed around me while he was at the helm.<br />
Though I feel like sharing those with you all, I begin feel as if they are just stories. Just like snippets from Ramayana or Mahabharata. But I want to remember the real crux of the series of stories that people will be narrating today or in the years to come. In my mind, every departed should should be immortalised through their ideology.<br />
Days will pass and time will play it's part. But every person who remembers their <i>bhai, Manohar, Sir, Parrikar</i> today should make it a point to immortalise his ideology. And I don't say this only for Mr. Parrikar's followers. Humans will come and go. There is a reason they are called mortals. But what stays behind is values, beliefs, ideologies. They need to be preserved & immortalised; and sometimes even changed with time!</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-37074859728759289522018-09-15T22:09:00.001+05:302018-09-15T22:09:38.719+05:30Why I chose iPhone over an android<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyzfjao1-fSc0SK7Mw-kGtloga_2Yt3D-agjp8kCJxBrRTwftYE_HOyzcBsee0_39Ipr1cAX57vWVjWlOFLtIno4Fwq_Mm9pVNY42p6hXOLv29sHcMLdalLHn4vFy1nHcKWPSiA/s1600/IMG_2836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijyzfjao1-fSc0SK7Mw-kGtloga_2Yt3D-agjp8kCJxBrRTwftYE_HOyzcBsee0_39Ipr1cAX57vWVjWlOFLtIno4Fwq_Mm9pVNY42p6hXOLv29sHcMLdalLHn4vFy1nHcKWPSiA/s320/IMG_2836.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is no end to this debate. I have been a faithful android user from 2010 to 2015. I started with using a sleek HTC handset that I bought on <i>Vijaya Dashmi</i>. Every 2 years I have had to change my android phone as the older one could not support a new update or became unusably slow as more apps were installed. Till I moved to an iPhone towards end of 2015. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3 years gone and I am still in favour of the Apple phone I am using - an iPhone 6 plus 16 GB that iPaid a whopping fifty thousand rupees for. It is stable, secure & consistent performer. It has supported all iOS upgrades that Apple has released so far. It is a great business phone because of it's reliability. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But not all is hunky dory after 3 years. With an ever increasing mobile focus from various applications, high definition content and digital media, the 16 GB internal storage is insufficient. I need to backup videos and photographs twice every month. On a 7 day vacation, I invariably run out of space for clicking pictures or shooting videos (time lapse is my favourite!). I feel the need for expandable storage. But I'm someone who believes in longevity of things and drawing maximum value from a purchase. So I bought a wifi storage device which I carry on vacations to backup the photos from the iPhone. Yet, the 16 GB storage is not sufficient to store all the music, apps and email. Yet, it is something I can live with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the other had, OnePlus, Redmi, Samsung are coming up with impressive configurations and pricing. The RAM that comes on a flagship OnePlus phone is more than my laptop RAM! And all this comes for half the price of my original iPhone purchase price 3 years ago ЁЯШЖ. The marketing, the numbers, pictures clicked from these phones and uploaded on Instagram, all look very enticing for an impulse purchase. My eyes twitch, hands itch when I see a discount for a latest android phone on an online portal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are some deep rooted, usability factors as well that I think android has an edge over iPhone. Let me go through some that matter to me -</span></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dual Sim - an important feature when you need to use 2 sim cards e.g. on an international trip or if you have a business number and a personal number. But an iPhone that comes with this feature was launched in 2018!</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The calling app - most frequently used app on any mobile phone. I feel it is a lot more intuitive than on an iPhone. On an android, the experience is seamless. You can start typing a name or a number or a part of it and android bring up a relevant record from your contact or call history. Whereas on an iPhone you have to search in the specific section with the 'exact match'. I find this extremely important feature.</span></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The ecosystem - I am deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem. But some of the native apps are downright non functional to say the least - maps & Siri being the leaders. In comparison, Google has very functional apps - Google Maps Google assistant. These apps work extremely well in Indian context. I have always had trouble instructing Siri to call a number while driving, whereas Google assistant has done in flawlessly 9 out of 10 times.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having said that, my minimalist mind still doesn't want to change the phone because the iPhone is working just fine. In earlier circumstances, my android phones have presented the opportunity to replace them every 1 or 2 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Google coming up with the Pixel and a host of other companies creating a flagship every 6 months, I am hoping android reliability should match an iPhone now. With this in mind, I am willing to consider an android next, whenever that is. What has been your experience? What would you recommend?</span></div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-46603999504754328012018-05-05T14:51:00.000+05:302018-05-05T14:51:05.862+05:30Changing wiper blades on Ford Figo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has been a while that I have not paid personal attention to our Ford Figo. This vehicle has run 80 thousand kilo meters and served us well for close to 8 years. I recently had changed the front tyres on it from Yokohama Earth 1 to Apollo (cannot remember the brand) stock size. The rubber cost me about Rs.9000. And then I spent some more on rubber this weekend.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9GnfvFZ42oz1DpTFiKgbs5SMhjMOS-HCFADOcdGQheOOnF13nMr9w9lpgXmr__8FxqKq2QQ1ii5I-Odg46t7DOm4SUo_lfqTy5zju855IvN6AsBmHKQ4qoECLRTb0IUr3WP2hA/s1600/IMG_7162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9GnfvFZ42oz1DpTFiKgbs5SMhjMOS-HCFADOcdGQheOOnF13nMr9w9lpgXmr__8FxqKq2QQ1ii5I-Odg46t7DOm4SUo_lfqTy5zju855IvN6AsBmHKQ4qoECLRTb0IUr3WP2hA/s1600/IMG_7162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR9GnfvFZ42oz1DpTFiKgbs5SMhjMOS-HCFADOcdGQheOOnF13nMr9w9lpgXmr__8FxqKq2QQ1ii5I-Odg46t7DOm4SUo_lfqTy5zju855IvN6AsBmHKQ4qoECLRTb0IUr3WP2hA/s200/IMG_7162.JPG" width="150" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But today I decided to play attention to the broken rubber on front wiper. The picture on the left shows what had become of it. This was also causing damage to the windscreen. There are probably some scratches there which will need 3M care. I remember changing these just last year with the Authorised Ford service station in Hyderabad. But, I really don't know the life of the wiper rubber, so cannot complain. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I guess this is mostly the result of lot of heat making the rubber brittle and running the wipers without water. The later happens a lot in case of Ford Figo because of it's unconventional placement of wiper controls. For the uninitiated, Ford, Chevrolet and some other car manufacturers have the wiper and light controls on opposite side to the Suzukis and Hondas. So when your car gets driven by someone else who is used to driving a Maruti, the wipers are run dry 99% of the time. The last time I got the rear wiper changed, I remember being fleeced for Rs.900 in Hyderabad. So, this time I decided to take the matter in my own hands.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5XWJtP4MwuE3GWtXRg9fDuiNdSBcjZV-M7K3FfJk46GqtrizY5_9AnUO5R_9wXIc4IIAgjhD5_Uhk1ER-uB7-u8h8TQVpsGodM33X2ZFcILM8-vp8wFqy9WD7WpxrrvDiT5oKw/s1600/IMG_7163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5XWJtP4MwuE3GWtXRg9fDuiNdSBcjZV-M7K3FfJk46GqtrizY5_9AnUO5R_9wXIc4IIAgjhD5_Uhk1ER-uB7-u8h8TQVpsGodM33X2ZFcILM8-vp8wFqy9WD7WpxrrvDiT5oKw/s200/IMG_7163.JPG" width="200" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe5XWJtP4MwuE3GWtXRg9fDuiNdSBcjZV-M7K3FfJk46GqtrizY5_9AnUO5R_9wXIc4IIAgjhD5_Uhk1ER-uB7-u8h8TQVpsGodM33X2ZFcILM8-vp8wFqy9WD7WpxrrvDiT5oKw/s1600/IMG_7163.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While I had gone to Noida, Sector 18, Atta market to drop the Bullet with the Ustad for a servicing (separate post on that), I decided to pick up a pair from the auto market there. Always note that both the wiper blades are mostly different size. On the Figo they are 22 inch and 16 inches. The pair cost me Rs.250. Yes the pair!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgvWCu7sie9Bn53hHp5WovTQar6Py66xgg6ruRUUNtMNHCv4ZXVuWXnvLwWHBn3bmPVjuDA4ydzWp7kRcgm0tfmMnQrjNG5jQaLa0F0oGneyD3i4cROLPwfNsyf_1XkQEE2Fi_g/s1600/TNHP.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="127" data-original-width="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkgvWCu7sie9Bn53hHp5WovTQar6Py66xgg6ruRUUNtMNHCv4ZXVuWXnvLwWHBn3bmPVjuDA4ydzWp7kRcgm0tfmMnQrjNG5jQaLa0F0oGneyD3i4cROLPwfNsyf_1XkQEE2Fi_g/s1600/TNHP.gif" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Removing and replacing the wipers is easy peasy. The instructions are also written on the packaging of the new wipers. Basically, you simply slide out the old ones and slide in the new ones till they click in place. If you cannot do this, do not read this post any further. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPs59yBG291J8aEvBzaSTom8npqMi97b2rSw7bGR8lgKhxLub2I0Bv3mLv4q1vCl0dJOoH1tiKGw1TCP4xUI599kpxKcyjJlLFKrYnP9DluYbWVW9zRhY4diSwQwDvqkXZPrVvUQ/s1600/IMG_7164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPs59yBG291J8aEvBzaSTom8npqMi97b2rSw7bGR8lgKhxLub2I0Bv3mLv4q1vCl0dJOoH1tiKGw1TCP4xUI599kpxKcyjJlLFKrYnP9DluYbWVW9zRhY4diSwQwDvqkXZPrVvUQ/s200/IMG_7164.JPG" width="150" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, the easy part is over. But there is a catch. In my opinion, I did not have to replace the entire assembly. Only rubber refills (the rubber portion that actually wipes the water off the glass) should be available. It can surely easily be removed.Look at the picture on the left. I removed the rubber by simply sliding it out. However, I have not been able to find only the refills online. I will definitely look for them in the auto market. If available, the same replacement will take less than half the cost. Essentially the metal assembly is in a good shape and does not need replacement. So there should be a place where they would sell only the rubber. Expect and update on this post as I get some conclusive evidence that money can be saved on replacing the wiper blade refill rubbers!!</span><br />
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-29792519899156501612018-04-28T01:29:00.001+05:302018-04-28T01:29:16.938+05:30рдЬрд╛рдЧ <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
рд░рд╛рддреНрд░реАрдЪрд╛ рез рд╡рд╛рдЬрд▓рд╛ рдЖрд╣реЗ . рдбреЛрд│реЗ рдЭреЛрдкрд╛рд│рд▓реЗ рдЖрд╣реЗрдд , рдкрдг рдорди рдЭреЛрдкреВ рджреЗрдд рдирд╛рд╣реА . рдПрдХ рд╕рд╛рдзрд╛ рд╕реЛрдкрд╛ рд╕рд┐рдиреЗрдорд╛ рдПрд╡рдврдВ рдХрд░реВ рд╢рдХрддреЛ?<br />
рдЕрд░реНрдзреНрдпрд╛ рддрд╛рд╕рд╛ рдкреВрд░реНрд╡реА 'рдХреАрд▓реНрд▓рд╛' рд╣рд╛ рд╕рд┐рдиреЗрдорд╛ рдкрд╣рд┐рд▓рд╛. рдПрдЦрд╛рджреА рдЧреЛрд╖реНрдЯ , рдирд╡реНрд╣реЗ рднрд╛рд╡рдирд╛ рдХрд┐рдВрд╡рд╛ рд╕рдВрд╡реЗрджрдирд╛ рдореНрд╣рдгреВ рдХрдореАрдд рдХрдореА рд╢рдмреНрджрд╛рдд рдХрд╢реА рд╕рд╛рдВрдЧрд╛рд╡реА рдпрд╛рдЪрд╛ рдЙрддреНрддрдо рдЙрджрд╛рд╣рд░рдг рдореНрд╣рдгрдЬреЗ рдХрд┐рд▓реНрд▓рд╛ рд╣рд╛ рд╕рд┐рдиреЗрдорд╛. рдкрд╛рд╡рд╕рд╛рд│реА рдУрд▓рд╛ рдЪрд┐рдВрдм рдЖрдгрд┐ рд╣рд┐рд░рд╡рд╛ рдХреЛрдХрдг, резрепрепреж рдЪреНрдпрд╛ рдЖрд╕рдкрд╛рд╕рдЪ рд╕рд╛рдзрдВ рд╕реЛрдкрдВ рд░рд╛рд╣рдгреАрдорд╛рди, рдореЛрдмрд╛рдИрд▓ / рдЗрдВрдЯрд░рдиреЗрдЯ рдЪреНрдпрд╛ рд╡рд┐рд│рдЦреНрдпрд╛рдд рди рд╕рд╛рдкрдбрд▓реЗрд▓рдВ 'рдмрд╛рд▓'рдкрдг рд╣реЗ рд╕рдЧрд│рдВрдЪ рдЦреВрдк рдиреЙрд╕реНрдЯреЕрд▓реНрдЬрд┐рдХ рд╡рд╛рдЯрдд. рдЧреЛрд╖реНрдЯ рд╕рд╛рдВрдЧрддрд╛ рдирд╛рд╣реА рдпреЗрдд, рдкрдг рднрд╛рд╡рддреЗ рдирдХреНрдХреА. рджрд┐рдЧреНрджрд░реНрд╢рдХ рд╕реНрд╡рддрдГрдЪ DoP рдЕрд╕рд▓реНрдпрд╛рдореБрд│реЗ рдкреНрд░рддреНрдпреЗрдХ рдлреНрд░реЗрдо рдиреЗ рдбреЛрд│реЗ рджрд┐рдкреВрди рдЬрд╛рддрд╛рдд. рдорд░рд╛рдареАрддрд▓рд╛ рд╕рдВрддреЛрд╖ рд╕рд┐рд╡рди рдЖрд╣реЗ рд╣рд╛ рдЕрд╡рд┐рдирд╛рд╢ рдЕрд░реБрдг. рдмрджрд▓ , рддреНрдпрд╛рдЪреНрдпрд╛рд╢реА рдЬреБрд│рд╡реВрди рдШреЗрдгреНрдпрд╛рдЪреА рдорд╛рдгрд╕рд╛рдЪреА рдзрдбрдкрдб, рдЖрдИ рдореБрд▓рд╛рдЪреЗ рдирд╛рддреЗ рд╣реЗ рд╕рдЧрд│рдВ рдПрдХрд╛ рдкреМрдЧрдВрдбрд╛рд╡рд╕реНрдереЗрддреАрд▓ рдореБрд▓рд╛рдЪреНрдпрд╛ рджреГрд╖реНрдЯрд┐рдХреЛрдирд╛рддреВрди рджрд╛рдЦрд╡рд▓рдВ рдЧреЗрд▓рдВрдп .<br />
рдорд▓рд╛ рдпрд╛ рдлрд┐рд▓реНрдордиреЗ рдЬрд╛рдЧ рдареЗрд╡рдгреНрдпрд╛рдЪреЗ рдореБрдЦреНрдп рдХрд╛рд░рдг рдореНрд╣рдгрдЬреЗ, рдорд╛рдЭреНрдпрд╛ рдЖрдгрд┐ рдорд╛рдЭреНрдпрд╛ рдХреБрдЯреБрдВрдмрд╛рдЪрд╛ рдЖрдпреБрд╖реНрдпрд╛рдд рдорд╛рдЧрдЪреНрдпрд╛ рдПрдХрд╛ рд╡рд░реНрд╖рд╛рдд рдЭрд╛рд▓реЗрд▓реЗ рдмрджрд▓ рдорд▓рд╛ рдПрдХ рд╡реЗрдЧрд│рд╛ connect рджреЗрдКрди рдЧреЗрд▓реЗ. рдЬреБрд▓реИ реирежрезрен рдордзреНрдпреЗ рдЖрдореНрд╣реА рд╣реИрджрд░рд╛рдмрд╛рдж рд╣реБрди рдиреЛрдПрдбрд╛ рд▓рд╛ рдЖрд▓реЛ. рдореА рдиреЛрдХрд░реА рдмрджрд▓рд▓реА рдЖрдгрд┐ рддреНрдпрд╛рдореБрд│реЗ рдШрд░рд╣реА рдмрджрд▓рд╛рд╡реЗ рд▓рд╛рдЧрд▓реЗ. рео рд╡рд░реНрд╖рдВ рд╣реИрджреНрд░рд╛рдмрд╛рджрд▓рд╛ рд░рд╛рд╣рд┐рд▓реНрдпрд╛рд╡рд░, рддрд┐рдереВрди рдЙрддреНрддрд░ рднрд╛рд░рддрд╛рдд рдпреЗрдгрдВ рд╣рд╛ рдПрдХ рдЦреВрдк рдореЛрдард╛ рдмрджрд▓ рдЖрдореНрд╣реА рдЕрдЬреВрдирд╣реА рдкрдЪрд╡рддреЛрдп. рдкрдг рдХрд┐рд▓реНрд▓рд╛ рдордзрд▓реНрдпрд╛ рдЪрд┐рдиреНрдордпрдореБрд│реЗ рдорд▓рд╛ рдорд╛рдЭреНрдпрд╛ рдереЛрд░рд▓реНрдпрд╛ рдореБрд▓реАрдЪреНрдпрд╛ рдордирд╛рддрд▓реА рдШрд╛рд▓рдореЗрд▓, рддрд┐рдЪреЗ рдирд╡реАрди рдорд┐рддреНрд░рд╛рдВрд╢реА рдЬреБрд│рд╡реВрди рдШреЗрдгреНрдпрд╛рдЪреЗ рдкреНрд░рдпрддреНрди рдЖрдгрд┐ рдпрд╛ рд╕рдЧрд│реНрдпрд╛ рдордзреВрди рджрд┐рд╕рдгрд╛рд░реА рддрд┐рдЪреА maturity рдорд▓рд╛ рдЬрд╛рдгрд╡рд▓реА. рдХрджрд╛рдЪрд┐рдд рд╣реЗ рдХрд╛рд░рдг рддреБрдореНрд╣рд╛рд▓рд╛ рдлрд╛рд░ рдлрдбрддреВрд╕ рдкрдг рд╡рд╛рдЯреЗрд▓, рдкрдг рдХрдзреА рддрд░реА рдпрд╛ рдмрджрд▓рд╛ рдмрджреНрджрд▓ рд╕рд╡рд┐рд╕реНрддрд░ рд▓рд┐рд╣реАрди. рд╕реВрддреЛрд╡рд╛рдЪ рдХрд░реВрди рдереЛрдбрдВ рдмрд░рдВ рд╡рд╛рдЯрддрдВрдп рд╕рдзреНрдпрд╛ . ЁЯШК</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-60617423198498438942017-04-19T20:04:00.000+05:302017-04-19T20:04:32.180+05:30What I am outside my job<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2DeN-wl5q_cCHjetg-b9WqtkRZhucSpCk3A2zs6zkld6iQGXcqkiwmH0Wvf1kioU8EGGg4FBGHnx0oh0MRCBQhDGUzhMI8s9r6W7YRAOZe6o3pH5iOLl3dUQeoHluD4p_V6cAg/s1600/iPhone+069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw2DeN-wl5q_cCHjetg-b9WqtkRZhucSpCk3A2zs6zkld6iQGXcqkiwmH0Wvf1kioU8EGGg4FBGHnx0oh0MRCBQhDGUzhMI8s9r6W7YRAOZe6o3pH5iOLl3dUQeoHluD4p_V6cAg/s320/iPhone+069.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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What defines you? </div>
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Your job? Career? But that is a 20th century invention. People did not have 'careers' before that and still lived happy life!</div>
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Your kids? Spouse? Parents? Family? They are important! But does your happiness define what they think of you? That is difficult to control. Are you always going to try and please them to maintain an 'image'?</div>
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Your friends? What kind of friends? Those who like you? love you? speak their minds or dont speak at all? Who will back you up even if you have done something wrong? </div>
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Neighbours? Colleagues? They are integral to your life but you will keep changing. What do they mean then?</div>
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Your hobbies? Would you do them if no one appreciated you for them?</div>
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What defines you is </div>
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- how you would treat others if you had nothing to do with them</div>
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- what you would do if no one was looking</div>
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- would you do something if it did not pay you</div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-16885710665987646042017-03-10T11:52:00.004+05:302017-03-10T11:52:42.865+05:301000 kgs of Goa - Book review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30134352-1000-kilograms-of-goa" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px;"><img alt="1000 Kilograms of Goa" border="0" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1462730448m/30134352.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30134352-1000-kilograms-of-goa">1000 Kilograms of Goa</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14241228.Rohan_Govenkar">Rohan Govenkar</a><br />
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1800213702">4 of 5 stars</a><br />
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This brilliantly written book is a good movie plot. The Author, Rohan Govekar, being a Goan lad himself, lends authenticity to some of the facts about Goa.<br />
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If you are a Goan yourself, his narration takes you through some of the well known landscape and portrays a few typical Goan characters quite realistically.<br />
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The only part I would say could have been completely done away with, is the protagonist's philanthropic redemption of his ill-gotten wealth towards the end of the book. It comes across as a little too self indulgent and guilt ridden.<br />
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Having said that, awesome first book!
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/46901990-laukik-desai">View all my reviews</a>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-9077631820102668842016-12-22T17:25:00.000+05:302016-12-22T17:25:16.565+05:30The origin of God<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Long long time ago, the human race was just evolving, and was learning how to cope up with health, hygiene and disease. I donтАЩt know what тАШeraтАЩ or тАШageтАЩ it was. Monolithic, bronze, stone or some <i>yuga</i> like <i>dwaparyuga</i>, <i>tretayuga</i>тАжetc. But it was an era when diseases spread fast, even simple ones like lose motion ! And people died of these little diseases. This was way before humans knew the benefits of personal hygiene or fresh cooking. I am talking about like really old times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">But we were evolving. There was this one guy who took bath everyday (probably because he liked it). Lets call him the тАШclean guyтАЩ. He even had bath multiple times a day. He had learnt the art of cooking over fire. He knew how to make fire, and how to use it to roast or cook. So he cooked everyday in his cave. And he had bath before cooking, after cooking, before going out, after coming back to his caveтАжall the time! Now, other people who did not know how to cook, would hunt animals or get fruits and vegetables to this guy and he would cook and serve them fresh cooked stuff. Also since bathing and cooking is all he did, he had lot of spare time on his hands for art. He made sculptures and decorated them. Other people who visited the тАШclean guyтАЩ loved his sculptures too.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">And then one day, there was an epidemic. Humans caught a strange infection through air, food and touch. Since they never had bath or cooked food daily, the disease spread very fast. Only one person was not affected. The 'clean guy'. Everyone looked at him with admiration. He looked like the wise one now. They went to him for help. He kept serving them cooked food. Since the food he served was hygienic, it slowly cured rest of the people.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">So, thus was born <i>prasad</i> - that cures all illnesses, the <i>pujari</i> - the wise one and God - his sculpture and creation in spare time.</span></div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-26081917589594038682016-09-07T00:07:00.000+05:302016-09-08T13:32:33.328+05:30The perils of urban living<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56GBIKt52-fa6RxAZqIz6OaDMfEFLiIa-A01DUnS5EYIS_bSjS-YSbOPYdGvbvdvrOEbP5DEpiqX1PUx42YWdS7BSMjpSN3BOhw3nAG523nnsPE__GrOY6IGFQ1COQmT3AM9VzA/s1600/IMG_2389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56GBIKt52-fa6RxAZqIz6OaDMfEFLiIa-A01DUnS5EYIS_bSjS-YSbOPYdGvbvdvrOEbP5DEpiqX1PUx42YWdS7BSMjpSN3BOhw3nAG523nnsPE__GrOY6IGFQ1COQmT3AM9VzA/s400/IMG_2389.JPG" width="300" /></a>I have been living in a city for more than 10 years now. Before that, I have lived in a village in Goa, India. The total population of my village was less than five thousand. Whereas, since 2004, I have lived in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune & now Hyderabad. Being raised in a village, I have always had difficulty liking a city. In fact, the first time I visited a house on 14th Floor in Mumbai, I got a very weird feeling. It is a perspective I had never had in my village! Since then, I have tried to blend in, albeit forcefully.</div>
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Over the last decade, having lived across cities, with all the constraints of a family man, I have zeroed in on <b>3 main issues</b> that stare us in the face. And these issues have remediation (if not to resolve, at least ease it) at individual level. We need not wait for the government to do anything. I have already started doing my bit.</div>
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This post is only for setting the context on each of these issues. I will dedicate another post individually to how I am trying to handle each of these by doing my bit. </div>
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<li>Waste Disposal - if you feel you are not being creative or not able to 'make' something as an urban dweller, here is the good news! Our life styles create one thing in abundance - garbage. garbage of all types, textures, weight and colour. And we know nothing about where and how to put it. We think that a garbage fairy picks it up from our doorstep where we put it every morning. </li>
<li>Commuting - we all commute within the city in private cars and hate the traffic. If you do not commute in a private car, please leave a comment and then we have a lot to catch up on. Traffic (which is basically us!) causes delays, pollution of all sorts and unnecessary fuel expense. All this can be avoided.</li>
<li>Water - I rest my case!</li>
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Just 5 minutes into discussion on any of the above topics, you will know that the root cause of all these is us - the people. So it is upto us now to solve these issues.</div>
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Another issue that is at the root of these three problems is the social divide (urban / rural, rich / poor, them / us etc.) For instance, we keep generating waste till it is not disposed in our own backyard. We do not mind if it gets disposed in a nearby village (from where our water also comes). Unless we take responsibility for these problems and accept that we are creating them. We will never (yes, NEVER!) be able to solve them.</div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-85334052696769467222016-02-04T13:16:00.001+05:302016-02-04T13:17:24.688+05:30Should women be allowed in religious places?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yes!<br />
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Having settled the matter there, let us move forward with some rant since this is a blog...<br />
<br />
There are a lot of religious places that are banning women from entering. This includes temples, mosques and not sure if also a few churches. In retaliation, women and feminists are going all crazy calling it their fundamental right, challenging the diktat in court etc. I have a different view point on this and may sound crazy to a few, but since you are reading till now, go on further...<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Practicing your religion is your fundamental right, not going to a specific building. So just chuck it and practice your religion somewhere else. Just like if you want to gulp a few drinks but are not allowed in a specific bar because of dress code, you don't go to the judiciary or stage a protest!!?? You just go to the theka, get some daaru home and get high. </li>
<li>Why do you desperately want to go to a place that does not want you? Would you visit a jewellery shop or saari shop if they ill treated you, even if they had the best stuff in town? (afterthought: I guess women would go to a saari shop even after being ill treated...wrong example...but you get the point. Right?)</li>
<li>I would suggest ban those religions places back. Like remove them from your 'must visit' places. Don't go there even if you are not menstruating or not pregnant or not wearing a lungi or <add condition="" here=""></add></li>
<li>We need to start parallel belief system. E.g. movies, theatre, parks, libraries, museums, zoos don't stop you from entering and are so much fun. Go there! worship those places! If I ever have the money, I will start a temple with an un-delcared god inside that allows just about every living being to enter the sanctum sanctorum. </li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-80966407134074864582015-11-20T11:23:00.000+05:302016-01-10T16:25:32.125+05:30Ford Figo 5 years ownership experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
10/10/2010 was the exact date we purchased the Ford Figo Titanium 1.4 Diesel variant. Since I like to keep my vehicles in stock condition, it has not undergone any modification so far, except for non-stock tyres that came in at 50,000 Kms. I shifted from MRF to Yokohama with no upsizing.<br />
This post is intended to share the ownership experience over the last 5 years. After 5 years, this is what I still love about the car -<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>It is spacious - one of the largest boot space in it's category. It can conveniently fit in a week's luggage (or even a month's) for a family of four. Also, the legroom is ample. With a 6 footer like me in driver's seat, 5 foot 10 inch adult can be comfortable in the rear seat even on long journeys. The cabin also feels quite spacious because of ample use of glass (and also because I have not used tint on them)</li>
<li>Solid build quality - Even after 5 years, the interiors look like new. The plastics are still shiny and every button on the console has a firm click. I would take some of that credit for regular maintenance and cleaning. But the feel and robustness of interiors was one of the key points in our buying decision, even 5 years ago.</li>
<li>Great handling - This car is great to drive on long drives. Mainly because it is very well behaved even at speeds of 140 Kmph. It feels stable and firmly grounded at those speeds. Having dual airbags and ABS also adds to your confidence. </li>
<li>Amazing comfort - The rear seat comfort is stellar in this vehicle. Unlike the Swift, I found the rear seat to be larger giving good thigh support on longer rides. It easily accommodates 2 adults and a kid on long journeys comfortably.</li>
</ol>
<div>
What I have begun to dislike and the downsides -</div>
<div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Ground Clearance - anyone who owns a first generation Figo will tell you that it can't even take a speed breaker under it. With 4 adults, it scratches it's underbelly in each and every cellar parking, gets a beating on each speed breaker and if you are in Goa, never enter a ferry boat. If it were minor bruises, I would have neglected it. But once on a road trip to Bangalore, on the ultra-awesome Bangalore-Hyderabad expressway, a trucker had left a stone in the middle and it hit the underbelly of my Figo, damaging the cross member. This not only cost me a pair of tyres but also had to replace the cross member. Total loss - 25K</li>
<li>The rear windows open only 50% - they don't open much. I thought this would not be much of an issue but if you have to pass a bag out (e.g. to your laundry guy), it does not pass though- irritating!. </li>
<li>The rear windows are manually operated - Again, I knew this right from the beginning and thought, since the car is driven with AC on 90% of the time, this should not be much of an issue. The issues are 2 fold. Firstly, the windows open up slightly over a period due to vibration or passengers accidentally bumping their knees into the lever. So you constantly have to be on the lookout. Secondly, if you are driving and you spot that the rear window is open slightly, imagine trying to close it manually....on a busy road....on a rainy day. </li>
<li>The ignition wants you to wait - and then wait some more. When you want to start the Figo, the ignition gives out beeps like - beep beep beep, pause, beep beep beep. You should not ideally start your car unless all the beeps are over. Also, before restarting, you need to turn the ignition completely off and then start, else it won't. On a busy junction, if you happen to stall, there are more beeps in people's mouths then in your car's ignition! Oh and wait! If you are on low fuel, the the beeps have low fuel audio indicator in between, so it be like - beep beep beep, pause, ting ting ting, pause, beep beep beep. WTF!</li>
<li>The stock audio is a mess - the Bluetooth does not connect to most devices, CDs get stuck and Ford takes months to repair.</li>
<li><span style="color: blue;"><update> The door lock system is a real mess - The doors do not have a separate 'lock' button. The same lever that opens to door is pushed inside to lock the door. Hence, a kid can accidentally (& easily) unlock any door. And you cannot always use child lock! </update></span></li>
</ol>
<div>
On maintenance expenses side, the largest amount I spent till date was 2 months ago to replace the cross member, the clutch assembly and a major servicing at 60 thousand kilometers. Sounds decent to me!</div>
<div>
Having said all this, the downsides are still minor irritants and nothing that makes you get rid of the car. Even after 5 years with decent maintenance, my car looks like it is just a year old. This car will certainly go on for another 5 years. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-12716089096334175882015-09-23T13:10:00.001+05:302015-09-23T13:10:42.454+05:30How to pay property tax in GHMC<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I was away for an year and had not received any property tax notice. So was not sure how to pay the property tax at all since there was no base document with amount etc.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, I went to the GHMC office in Serilingampally and met a person in Revenue department. The process is quite straight forward. All you need is the TPIN of your house. You can get this from your old notices or receipts of property tax (even if the notice is not in your name).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You simply have to give them the TPIN and they will tell you the amount with penalty, if any. Pay it by cash or by cheque and your receipt is handed over to you then and there. Easy!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Apparently, this can also be done at any e-Seva counter. But, I have not tried it yet.</div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-26735520857575773672015-09-21T12:07:00.001+05:302015-09-21T12:07:30.883+05:30Yeh Dil Maange More!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Liberalization, represented by Pepsico, entered our lives with this slogan in 1998. And since then it has held and grown it's roots through our existence. Everybody who was yet to take up a job in the 90's is today possessed with the 'need' for more. Mind it, it's not wanting more of everything but needing it!<br />
Today the careers we all are into are mostly driven by this need for more. More speed in cars, computers and phones, more return on investment, more homes to live, more luxury, more health care and what not. If you take a ratio of everything that is more today to what the same parameter was 20 years ago, the result will almost be infinity! But does all of this come for free? How come all of us are inclined to believe that this 'infinite' amount of 'progress' has come with no cost at all. In fact most of these things have become cheaper than they were 20 years ago. Isn't that hard to believe and against the order of nature?<br />
In my opinion, the cost is not monetary. It is more abstract and is in the form of peace. We all have paid for this development by collectively giving up a part of our human existence and peace of mind. We all have agreed to be a part of this race for more by wanting more for ourselves and also fulfilling this artificial & induced 'need' our our customer's or the customers of our employers!</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-62296693737745683252015-05-06T13:09:00.000+05:302015-05-06T13:09:22.771+05:30Why working from home is a bad idea<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A couple of years ago I wrote <a href="http://globestop.blogspot.in/2013/08/a-beginners-guide-to-working-from-home.html" target="_blank">this</a> piece about how to work from home. From the stats and comments I received, it looked like a pretty famous topic close to many people's heart. However, after having worked from home for 2 years (and also having worked from office before that), I believe today that working from home ALL THE TIME is not such a good idea. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I am not denying the benefits of WFH entirely. You get to babysit when needed, spend time with parents if required, run errands etc. But, this cannot be the norm! The days you decide to work from your home should be an exception which should be generously allowed by your employer. Like, an acquaintance who worked from home for 6 months to look after her bed ridden mother. Or, like another friend who could work from home while her husband got transferred from city to city.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But what changed my mind? Here it is -</div>
<div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: justify;">Networking: one of the main advantages of going to an office facility is when you come face to face with people who matter. This helps you network and build professional & personal bridges. Without being physically present, you are left to virtual means to achieving the same results. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Work environment: When everyone around you is working, you want to be working. If others around you are watching TV, reading books or worse having a siesta, how can you work?</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Accelarators: The scanner, the VOIP, the copier, the dispatch office are all so handy and co located at your work place. You waste very little time doing any of these over head activities. That is a pain when at home!</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The Commute: Your commute to and from office is the time you gradually go from 'home' mode to 'work' mode. Take that away and you are left feeling guilty most of the day for mixing work with family.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The work-life boundaries: When working from home (especially in India), it is difficult to convince your colleagues that though you are working from home, you need a lunch break! or that at 6 PM, when rest of the world is commuting back home, you need to take your kids to the park!</li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Just like everything else in life, access of WFH is not good. So, let your employees work from home, don't <u>make </u>them work from home.</div>
</div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-1056117195542515082015-04-15T11:55:00.000+05:302015-04-15T11:56:37.332+05:30How my job changed me as a person<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have been working for 11 years now. The first 2 years I spent in a bank. Doing trade finance operations. I used computer like a took back then. I used it to do my job faster and better. Circa 2006, I moved into I.T. Consulting because it was 'the place to be'. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Since then, my life has changed a lot. From being a people person who liked to go out and meet people, I have become a laptop & smart phone person. Having spent close to a decade in IT, I have started believing that a person can achieve a lot and 'get things done' through just a laptop and a data connection. Well, guess what, I AM WRONG!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This feeling has been fuelled further by all the on line utilities like paying bills, bank transactions, shopping, ticket booking and what not. You can even get entertained (or so you think) in front of the laptop! You almost feel like you can live your entire life in front of the laptop and not regret it at all.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I don't mean to blame my job entirely for it, since a lot of technology has changed in the last 10 years as well. However, being in the same industry that has driven this change, definitely adds up to my feelings.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It is only a false sense of control and achievement that the technology gives you. There are millions of other jobs done by billions of other people that don't need a computer and are as important, if not more! Using the computer and Internet as a tool is critical to success. But when one builds a life around it, the life starts becoming miserable. A lot of crop is grown, a lot of patients cured and a lot of houses built across the globe with minimal intervention from computers or internet. I feel small in comparison. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I have started becoming so anxious when not with my laptop or smart phone that I almost feel like I need rehab! It's time to hit the reset button. Could I reduce my dependence on the technologies?</div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-37736816169779447852015-03-16T09:28:00.000+05:302015-03-16T09:34:52.188+05:30#MyDaughters<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A common thread that has come across on social media with the BBC documentary of the <i>Nirbhaya </i>rape case convict, the #IndiasDaughter hash-tag and the ensuing debate is that, as a nation, we need to change our mentality. We need a change in education, change in society, change in the way we raise our kids. Well, I am all game!<br />
Now, I am a father of two daughters. They are very young, the sum of their ages being about 4 years. But I am already petrified at the thought of them growing in this society. The child abuse, rape, pedophile, kidnapping and all sort of news I have heard, are scaring me and dictating my decisions. They dictate where I want to live, my career choices, the friends I make, just about everything! So, if there is someone who wants a real change, it's me! No doubt!<br />
So, here is the tricky part. Do I have to change something? If yes, then what? I am all in for freedom to my daughters. I want them to grow up like free birds and I will ensure to the best of my ability that they will grow up without fear or prejudice.<br />
But do I control the way boys are raised in this country? What about those boys who are out there and have already been wrongly raised? Can I control them? Or do I keep a 24 hour vigil on my daughters?<br />
These are questions I have no answer to! Do you?</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-79709167055726024082015-02-10T12:48:00.006+05:302015-02-10T12:48:58.928+05:30A Husband's reply to the Breastfeeding Wife<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When I read <a href="http://crunchynotcrazy.com/2014/12/16/husband-breastfeeding-wife/" target="_blank">this </a>post on Facebook, I began thinking if I really needed to be told this and in this manner! Are men so insensitive that they can't see their wife tired? Do men of my generation who have access to Internet, don't know how demanding is it to be a mother? I felt offended for being typecast. So, I decided to respond...</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Dear Breastfeeding Wife,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
First of all, it's OUR baby, not MY baby. Stop referring to the baby like a strange object that has entered our relationship. Didn't we speak at length about this? Didn't we both know raising a baby would be demanding, both for you and me? I didn't do it to you by force!!!</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Coming to the part of breastfeeding the baby. I know it's demanding. I can SEE that you are tired from all the chores and the breastfeeding. I don't have an iota of doubt that it's taking a toll on you. If it was practical, I would have left you to only nursing the baby and do all the chores myself. But it is not! Which is why I try to do the chores from time to time. But, you need to cut me some slack as well. I am not good at chores. Let's just accept it. I am not built for it, mentally AND physically. It's just the way men are. While there are exceptional home-maker husbands, you haven't married one. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So, after WE had the baby, the house isn't going to look like it used to. You may have to use the 'wrong side of the towel' sometimes. You may see me using the wrong broom in the wrong place. The <i>khichadi </i>I cook may be a tad salty. I may buy marginally bad and expensive vegetables. But hey, it's <b>both of us</b> trying to raise a baby together and I am only doing the best I can.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Remember - neither of us have chosen who will play the mother and who will play the father. It was decided when we were born. What we have chosen to be, <b>collectively</b>, is being parents!</div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-43240758385425663262015-01-12T15:02:00.000+05:302015-01-12T15:02:59.118+05:30Open letter to all the kids in the world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dear kids,<br />
Hope you are having a good time! Since you believe in Santa, fairies, knights and all the mythical characters that are righteous, I am sure you live with eternal optimism (though you don't have a clue what that word means) through all the thick and thin.The stories you have heard of obedience, selflessness, honesty and all the other right virtues are probably shaping you into an ideal person. But this is not going to last! You will soon turn into an adult, which is a far worse version of yourself. Your parents will teach you to lie. All the kids will help each other in becoming adult humans with egos (I can't really describe to you what an 'ego' is, but is it what makes us adults, other than a moustache) bigger than the largest playground you have seen. We all adults wish that our kids remain kids, but we haven't so neither will our kids remain!<br />
The purpose of this letter is to bust some myths about adults or grown ups, whatever you call us. I will go one by one so that you can quickly refer to any point as and when need arises:<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Adults have responsibilities: If any of us tells you that we have so many 'responsibilities' and that is why we are 'stressed', they are lying ! Most of our responsibilities are work we have created for each other. Auditors, consultants, police, judges and many more people exist because we adults don't trust each other.</li>
<li>We go to work to buy you new toys: No! We go to work so that we go to fancy restaurants where yelling kids are not welcome. Or to buy a swanky car where each drop of ice cream you spill is going to count. If we had never introduced you to video games or electronic games, you would have never asked for them. Simple?</li>
<li>We save money so that you can have a good future: If we wanted a good future for kids, we would be saving the planet. We use the resources from the planet, to earn more money which 'we think' will safeguard the future. </li>
<li>We are smarter than you are: If I gave you a glass of water and told you that's all you will get the entire day, will you drink it or wash your face with it? We adults are bathing with that glass of water. And we claim to be smart. </li>
<li>We are careful & thoughtful: We drink, we smoke, eat stuff that we know is harmful to us (in fact we tell kids NOT to eat it) and how can we then claim to be careful? We are aware of the stuff we don't have in abundance like fuel, time or minerals and we still waste it. Thoughtful? </li>
</ol>
<div>
This is just the tip of the iceberg. We do a lot more that we should not be doing and shun away from doing what we should be doing. There could be books written, research paper published and conferences held to highlight how we adults are not doing what we should be. But unfortunately all of it is created and consumed by us adults, for our own gratification. You kids know nothing of it. </div>
<div>
The day you will see through our facade of adulthood, it will arouse a feeling within you that you may not have witnessed before - HATE!</div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-38427242272879970172015-01-11T11:21:00.002+05:302015-01-11T11:21:24.217+05:30Is it good to be money-minded?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have spent last few weeks trying to make choices between health, children's education, career choices, safe & secure environment for kids, time with parents and most importantly - money. People who have witnessed my dilemma have told me I am too emotional, not ambitious enough, 'wasting my talent' and what not!</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbT8WwyX4vA/VLIN1TwwlzI/AAAAAAAASWw/m2lQeAXdrjY/s1600/15%2B-%2B1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZbT8WwyX4vA/VLIN1TwwlzI/AAAAAAAASWw/m2lQeAXdrjY/s1600/15%2B-%2B1" height="200" width="148" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the same time, I have also seen people of my age and caliber make the same choices with ease. So, I got thinking. What is it that helps them make these decisions? After a lot of deliberation, I think it is money. I have grown up in a household that places minimal emphasis on money. My father once told me that money will help me survive but it's my passion that will help me have a life. So, money has been no more than a tool! In fact so much was my self gratification that I even looked down upon people as 'money-minded'. My definition of such people was - people who would make decisions purely based on monetary gain. While, I made my decisions based on my emotional quotient. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last few weeks though have made me realize, that money is a far more reliable and quantifiable goal to keep! If you take decision based on what (you think) is best for your kids, it may not always turn out to be that way. If you think your parents need you, they may not think in the same way. Besides, middle class parents have spent their entire life trying to make ends meet and earn some money. To them your earning opportunities outweigh their emotional needs. If you think you are awesome at some art, say painting and make career choice based on this belief, you may be in for some reality check. The one thing that almost always turns out right is - if you think you will make money, you WILL make money!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What do you think?</span></div>
</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-36227608288145516292015-01-07T07:50:00.000+05:302015-01-07T07:50:36.460+05:30Hyderabad to Goa by Bike<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy new year 2015 to you! Hope you spend hours and days on roads without traffic in the coming years. I had a dream new year eve - on the road, going home. After numerous previous road travels on this route (read <a href="http://globestop.blogspot.in/2011/12/hyderabad-to-goa-by-road.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://globestop.blogspot.in/2014/04/hyderabad-to-goa-by-roadagain.html" target="_blank">here</a>), this time I decided to travel by my Royal Enfield Std 350.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was short on any sort of planning time, so decided to use my experience and just take the route taken before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Google maps says it should take about 14 hours to do this journey. However, we took a night halt at Raichur and including the halt, completed the journey in 29 hours.</span><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m77!1m12!1m3!1d1960225.1870306237!2d76.58242964250088!3d16.3451654537243!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m62!1i0!3e0!4m5!1s0x3bcb92c669f5354f%3A0x8bc6f68f0f90ef21!2sSerilingampally%2C+Hyderabad%2C+Telangana!3m2!1d17.479464699999998!2d78.3199015!4m5!1s0x3bcb971a0c7d6821%3A0x15cbd01242164ba!2sMehdipatnam+Bus+Stop%2C+Mehdipatnam+Road%2C+Royal+Colony%2C+Hyderabad%2C+Telangana!3m2!1d17.394673!2d78.440468!4m5!1s0x3bca3014afe84e05%3A0xebefc10297073153!2sJadcherla%2C+Telangana!3m2!1d16.7667!2d78.14999999999999!4m5!1s0x3bca2603faaea475%3A0xc6e3676d440af165!2sMahbubnagar%2C+Telangana!3m2!1d16.737508899999998!2d78.0081221!4m5!1s0x3bc9d70837208f91%3A0x6af35ce02e44cf1b!2sRaichur+Bus+Station%2C+Bus+Stand+Road%2C+Androon+Quilla%2C+Raichur%2C+Karnataka!3m2!1d16.201691!2d77.346441!4m5!1s0x3bc77889eae13979%3A0x2911d2fb816d80c4!2sBagalkote%2C+Karnataka!3m2!1d16.1817!2d75.69579999999999!4m5!1s0x3bbf669f5095362f%3A0x7e34b31edcdefb5f!2sBelgaum%2C+Karnataka!3m2!1d15.850499399999999!2d74.49997359999999!4m5!1s0x3bbf9ea184bb65c7%3A0xb200f14206bc46af!2sChorla%2C+Goa!3m2!1d15.6577825!2d74.1460166!4m5!1s0x3bbfbdb51af2e19d%3A0x1c7eb6fc49bbabd2!2sMarcel%2C+Orgao%2C+Goa!3m2!1d15.5165373!2d73.9620654!4m5!1s0x3bbfbabfcfe07ead%3A0x9c903a261e1e41c4!2sPonda%2C+Goa!3m2!1d15.399999999999999!2d74.02!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sin!4v1420594325291" style="border: 0;" width="600"></iframe><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our <b>itinerary</b>, roughly, was:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">30.12.2014, 16:00 - Depart from Lingampally, Hyderabad</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">30.12.2014, 21:15 - Reach Raichur, Karnataka </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Night Halt at Hotel Kubera Palace @ INR1400 per night including complimentary breakfast</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Better option is Hoten Kritunga which we took last time</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31.12.2014, 08:30 - Depart from Raichur, Karnataka </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31.12.2014, 09:30 - Puncture in rear tyre about 40 Kms from Raichur</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31.12.2014, 11:45 - Resume after fixing the tyre</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31.12.2014, 15:00 - Reach Bagalkote. Karnataka [brief halt for snacks]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31.12.2014, 18:30 - Reach Belgaum, Karnataka [city traffic and halt for snacks]</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31.12.2014, 19:30 - Depart Belgaum city limits</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">31.12.2014, 21:30 - Reach Ponda, Goa</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, we spent about 18 hours on the road and the rest in halts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The bullet behaved extremely well. I was riding with a pillion rider and consumed approximately 25 liters of fuel. Maximum speed was 80 Kms per hour.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Road condition:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This route takes the super smooth Hyderabad - Bangalore road till Jadcherla and then takes the SH20 all the way till Belgaum. The SH has a good tarmac quality but is single lane without dividers. Also, be watchful of work in progress, especially at night. These are small patches but extremely dangerous and fatal if you are not paying attention. And since this is a state highway, there are speed breakers near village crossings all along.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy touring!</span><br />
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P.S.: Detailed travelogue and some motorcycle touring advice probably later.</div>
thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-1117346050920164812014-12-06T15:55:00.000+05:302014-12-06T15:55:09.672+05:30Preparing for a trip to Kenya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is my Nth trip to Kenya, primarily Nairobi in the last 6 months. I have spent 90% of my time till date in this beautiful country. The experience has been amazing and enriching. I have met people from various countries across the globe, observed the life of a Kenyan closely, basked in the natural beauty of this country and as a result changed for the better, as a human being.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifS2-aagUqL3ObLE0vcSUUFqDz6NfyCEGeH8qUupHp_idn9yy7RAo-4y2CeKlCPNXI3Xkjpae1nTZrpwOqSrdPibLEBrcogMTukmW-CTrsuUqJgWwhzdg5fMPrewGr4Wa6BbQHvQ/s1600/IMG_0080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifS2-aagUqL3ObLE0vcSUUFqDz6NfyCEGeH8qUupHp_idn9yy7RAo-4y2CeKlCPNXI3Xkjpae1nTZrpwOqSrdPibLEBrcogMTukmW-CTrsuUqJgWwhzdg5fMPrewGr4Wa6BbQHvQ/s1600/IMG_0080.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like always, I am <u>planning </u>to write a series of posts about the experiences I have gathered, <i>Inshallah</i>! Time will tell, whether, like always, I will fail. :-) But, like the journey of an engineering degree starts with the first back, I will start with this introductory post, my first step. This one is just about how to prepare for a trip to Kenya, from India that is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are travelling for the first time to Africa, your trip preparations should start at least 45 days in advance. This is mainly for the yellow fever and oral polio vaccine that one needs to take before coming to this country. Mind you, you can't take the shots from any five star hospital like Apollo. But you need to visit a <i>sarkari </i>health centre designated in your city/ state to give these vaccines (Google for your location). They will give you a yellow card with date and stamp indicating that you have taken the shots. You can travel only 30 days after taking these shots(this is a bit disputed rule. I have heard another version that says 10 days moratorium).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGR2a0VXTT-AVLBZbE162CldCvt1bwXMDLNn_meMrenVMjbRMVUntaBiKo8_erjgwwAzBlNh9y0umBAF_y3E7Y4_kBH9mqyY2j0CYSfvVqd1eG2p2rjgK-T_ooCrf296JrBDrg4Q/s1600/IMG_0081.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGR2a0VXTT-AVLBZbE162CldCvt1bwXMDLNn_meMrenVMjbRMVUntaBiKo8_erjgwwAzBlNh9y0umBAF_y3E7Y4_kBH9mqyY2j0CYSfvVqd1eG2p2rjgK-T_ooCrf296JrBDrg4Q/s1600/IMG_0081.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next activity is booking your tickets. <a href="http://www.kenya-airways.com/" target="_blank">Kenya Airways</a> operates 2 direct flights from Mumbai and one from Delhi. The flight time is about 6 hours from <i>Amchi Mumbai</i> and 7.5 hours from The Capital City. This airline is the equivalent of Air India. Cheap, convenient and sucks on service. There is an alternative for you to take the route via Doha or Dubai. With that you spend about a day travelling in extreme luxury that the economy class of any airline in the world can offer. I prefer suffering for a shorter time though! Book in advance to get real cheap deals on flights.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Visa can be secured at your local embassy or also on arrival. The on-arrival visitor visa costs USD50 and is a single entry visa valid for 90 days. The visa on arrival is simple and is the most effective option if you are here on a one-off trips and purely for pleasure. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once you are here, there is a lot to do. Plan well and plan in advance to make the best of the time. Best time to visit is between August to October since you can witness the large scale wild migration at Masai Mara (which I could not visit ... yet). Details posts on places I visited will hopefully follow. If you have any more tips and tricks about travelling to Kenya or Africa, or if you have any queries, do post in comments. </span></div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0Nairobi, Kenya-1.2920659 36.821946199999957-1.5460579 36.499222699999955 -1.0380739 37.144669699999959tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-27447997763623878332014-11-05T18:36:00.000+05:302014-11-05T18:36:19.381+05:30The disconnected world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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So, the world is a global village! Stuff and people moves across continent in days if not hours. Information travels in milliseconds and technology changes every hour. So when someone wears a fine pair of snickers, they don't really care if it was manufactured in a sweatshop in Bangladesh in totally inhuman working conditions. They just buy them in an air conditioned shop (or better still, on line from the comfort of the couch). Everyone is in for a 'good deal'. The person who has provided us with the product or service is in some far away land majority of the time. This has made us all ungrateful. If the Internet </div>
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Now, Imagine a world about 50 years ago. People cared more than they do now. Because everyone who catered to you, lived around you. It was a more human world.People cared about other people. Your tailor mattered to you. Even if you had a fight with him, he was still part of your village and your world. So was the carpenter, the mail man, the farmer ...everyone. Well, not any more.</div>
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Which is why in most of the industries stress levels are rising. Consumers/ customers have stopped caring about their providers. All they care about is the product / service and the price. It's a disconnected world now!</div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-84645760250377021872014-09-28T19:50:00.000+05:302014-09-28T19:50:55.208+05:30What development do we need<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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India has elected a new government based on the promise of development. Wider roads, more free water, more industry, better power (electricity) supply etc. And within days of swearing in, this government has kicked into action to deliver. Deliver, it will, what we expect.</div>
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But have we 'base-lined' our definition of development? </div>
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As a nation, development or growth still is measured in terms of GDP, roads, FDI, malls, construction, number of millionaires and everything that can be counted! There is no real measure for inclusive growth. What developed nation would have people dying of hunger? Would GDP measure the plundering of natural resources and the irreversible nature of this 'growth'? Is this growth healthy? It is time we start looking at other nations who have plateaued on development and learn from their experience. Course correction for such a large country will be painful. But sooner the better.</div>
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And the government needs to lead the way. Instead of giving in to the popular notions of development, the government at each level needs to make people realise that we need to re-align ourselves. If we keep following the uni-directional, non sustainable development model, we will soon realise we have nowhere left to go!</div>
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In another post, I will also illustrate how this principal also applies at a personal level.</div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31062387.post-49861410460927857932014-07-19T16:15:00.000+05:302014-07-19T16:15:07.373+05:30Learning from a business trip<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am currently on a short business trip to Nairobi, Kenya. While I sat in my overnight flight from Mumbai to Nairobi, tired from all the running around I had to do, I decided to learn from this experience. The overweight luggage, carrying things I didn't need, hat books to carry etc. Now, the experiences here are personal. So, to some of you, it may be quite obvious or irrelevant. But, pick what you like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. <b>Starting early</b> - start everything early. Start packing early. Start weighing your luggage early, contact the hotel early. Book the cab early. Do everything earlier than you think is 'sufficient'. People may think you are crazy. But they are not going to run around for you. So screw them!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. <b>Invest in bags</b> - If you are a frequent air traveller, invest in good bags. Light, sturdy and those that will keeps your stuff in place. My biggest mistake on this trip was to carry a suitcase that was utilised only 70%. There are multiple problems with this. Firstly, the bag eats into your luggage weight limit permissible on the aircraft. Secondly, since the stuff inside is not packed tightly, it moves around. When I opened the bag midway (you'll know why as you read on) I saw all my neatly ironed clothes had become a mess. It could also be a good idea to split the stuff into 2 bags if you don't have just the right size.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, buy a good overnighter with a smaller laptop bag inside. This helps you utilise the 8Kg/ 10Kg cabin baggage limit effectively. And the laptop bag inside is what you carry to client site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. <b>Pick stuff wisely</b> - pack depending on where you are going to stay. If you are going to be put up at a decent hotel or service apartment, don't bother packing towels, toiletries etc.If in doubt, don't hesitate to speak to the hotel. These things add weight and once you check-in you realise you wasted time, space and weight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. <b>Books </b>- I am not much of a kindle guy. But on trips, I feel like I should give it a try. My criteria of choosing books for a trip is I pick books that I won't get on line. So I carry Marathi books. Other I can get to read on iPad via the Kindle app. If you are Kindle friendly, nothing like it!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. <b>Medicines </b>- you don't get all medicines everywhere. Always carry a the basic ones on you. Some countries don't allow some medicines carried into their borders. On landing you may have to dispose them off, but I would rather do that than being sick alone with no access to basic medication.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">6. <b>Connectivity </b>- This is my second trip to Nairobi. The first one was for just 2 days. I didn't take a mobile connection then. I incurred huge costs on international roaming. This time around, I took a connection as soon as I landed and it's turning out to be the wisest decision. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Irrespective of the length of your stay, if you can quickly get a local number for cheap, get it! Connecting with local friends, calling a cab, calling home, staying in touch on Whatsapp, all becomes easy. And remember, it also helps other people call you!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">7. <b>Eatables </b>- Call the hotel and find out if they serve Indian cuisine (most do). You don't need to stuff your bag with eatables then. I am carrying 4 packs of biscuits this time which I could have totally avoided.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is it for now. If you've got any, do share!</span></div>
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thelaukikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00745341708775166728noreply@blogger.com0Nairobi, Kenya-1.2920659 36.821946199999957-1.5460579 36.499222699999955 -1.0380739 37.144669699999959