Dreams

Do dreams come true? May or may not.. It doesn't matter... 

Many times they are weird.. Sometimes in real life, we feel that we have encountered such things before and when we think, we can link it to a previous dream we had. So dreams do come true!

Dreams belong to the individual and its theirs.. No one can take it away from anyone, unlike in real life.

Dreams take you through different emotions, happiness, sadness, love, friendship, fear, anger, etc.

People say it is an amalgamation of our own thoughts.. But what I went through in my dreams were very different.. It is something out of our normal thought process.. Most of the dreams, we forget; Very few we remember..

A lady appeared in my dreams, who I have met a year back, and I had never thought about her.. How and why such things happen? Sometimes we even get answers to our problems in our dreams. I have woken up in the morning happily with answers to my problems. 

Can you force something in your dream? Never. That's what my experience was.. I read somewhere that we can manipulate our dreams. But it has never happened to me.. May be there are techniques! 

But dreams happen out of the blue and they are never connected to what we go through the day, was my experience.. I heard from my daughter she had dreams since she was 3 years old.. She was even able to narrate what she saw in her dream.. Probably she even had dreams before 3, but was unable to communicate.. I was surprised. I don't remember when I started getting dreams and when I was able to narrate them..

Dreams have given me experiences, answers, which I would not have got from people around me in real life.. I think dreams make you stronger and wiser. Dreams are mine, whether they come true or not.. I need not get IPR for it.. They can never be taken away from anyone...

Shopping in Beijing

There are lots of shopping malls in Beijing. Visited 3 of them, i) Yashow market ii) Silk and Pearl Market iii) Tianyi wholesale supermarket. The third one was the best. The only issue in shopping at these markets are they quote very high prices, and you have to bargain to bring it down. The final price you settle, may also not be the best price. I am making a list of some of the things I bought and the prices I paid. I am not sure if I bargained better or got cheated??! This might be useful for people when they go shopping. This should be the starting price for bargaining… General rule is to start at 20% to 30% of what they quote..

A Play Date!

On a very busy day at office, I suddenly get an invite from someone I don’t know for a ‘play date’! Oh, the invite was not for me, but for my daughter from her friend’s mother. First reach of me – “What is a play date?” Where else to go, other than ‘Google’. Here are some few lines from Wikipedia for people who are ignorant like me.

“A play date or playdate is an arranged appointment for children to get together for a few hours to play. Playdates have become the standard for children of many western cultures because the work schedules for busy parents, along with media warnings about leaving children unattended, prevent the kind of play that children of other generations participated in. The intention of a playdate is to give children time to interact freely in a less structured environment than other planned activities might provide. Playdates are different from organized activities or scheduled sports, because they are not usually structured."

I even read through different sites to understand how it is arranged, what do the host do, what do we do, what should we carry? Finally called her friend's mother and fixed the day. Got a small gift for her friend, discussed the "Do's and Don't" with my kid. ALL SET TO GO! I was more excited in the 'play date' than my daughter. Finally we couldn't go, on the fixed date. 

Three weeks later, I called up her friend's mother again, and got the 'play date' fixed. The schedule of the D-day got aligned to accommodate the playdate time, "waking up-breakfast-lunch-sleep-snack". Me and my daughter reached her friend's home at the right time. I was happy to make new friends, with her friend's Mom and her aunt. We began with a light conversation, in getting to know each other. The kids (My daughter, her friend and her little cousin) started to play with the toys. There was 'sharing', 'grabbing' , 'complaining' between them. After a while, we were served some snacks and tea. They reached to point of getting bored in their games. So I called for my free car pick-up (by my husband). By the time, my husband could reach, their games started getting interesting again. My daughter was not willing to part with her friend and toys when her father called from the gate. Finally, managed to come out. 

On the kids's opinion on coming back together for playing,

My kid - " I don't want to come again. She is not sharing her toys"

Her Friend - "I don't want her to come. She is taking my toys"

Me and her friend's mother probably became good friends than these kids!

Got a feeling of completing a big ordeal - "PLAY DATE"

When I travel back in time, me and my brother would jump the compound and go to our friend's house to play. Our friends would also do the same. There was no formal invitation, and never felt embarrassing to go and disturb our friends as well as their families, at any time of the day. I also come from a small town, and this makes me realise that I am many generations behind!

Being Second!

Is being second a better option?

• Second rank in school
• Second position in industry
• Second best to your husband/wife after your kid
• and so many 'second's...

There are so many advantages in being second. You always want to improve, either move to first or lessen the gap to being first. There are the elements of strategy, politics, tactics in the second position, compared to any other positions. 

Contrary to the old school of thought, 'Be Number One' and 'Be the Leader', everybody wants to be the 'SECOND' nowadays. In this position, you enjoy all the benefits, similar to the first position, leaving out the troubles of the first position (constantly under watch, pressure to maintain the first position, ...)

Its all about "Stealing"

"Stealing the moment"
"The stolen boat ride"

So many! but not considered as a theft..
I read somewhere that 'what' stealing is for people. It is only about stealing 'Money'.
The other things are ok with us... And everybody 'STEALS'

'The stolen boat ride' poem of William Wordsworth remains fresh in my mind, after 13 years of learning. I did a similar act, drove the car, without my husband knowing it.

'Stealing somebody else's moment' is one thing I would never do. But it kind of happened without me knowing, in a treat hosted by somebody else. And I still regret attending the treat till today.

How does it feel after the act of stealth? William Wordsworth describes it all in his autobiographical poem,

There in her mooring-place I left my bark,-- 

And through the meadows homeward went, in grave 

And serious mood; but after I had seen 

That spectacle, for many days, my brain 

Worked with a dim and undetermined sense 

Of unknown modes of being; o'er my thoughts 

There hung a darkness, call it solitude 

Or blank desertion. No familiar shapes 

Remained, no pleasant images of trees, 

Of sea or sky, no colours of green fields; 

But huge and mighty forms, that do not live 

Like living men, moved slowly through the mind 

By day, and were a trouble to my dreams.

Pune - Polkas and Palkhis

I am here in Pune,

• a city very less denser than Chennai, 
• roads designed to ferry traffic for the next 5 years or more,
• a weather, in which people like to holiday, 
• mixed culture, where you feel you belong to the crowd here,
• happy young working population, 
• time for the family, even for the working couples,
• long daylight, to enjoy the extended evenings,
• community living - flats, flats and only flats,
• retired old men and women, who gossip from 6am to 11pm,
• even the outskirts of the city is well developed,
• more military campuses and their smart officers,
• buses which never stop in the bus stops,
• buses which stop, stop only for few seconds,
• autos which stop 200m away from the place where you stood and waved your hand,
• crowd who shops at star bazaar and big bazaar at 9 am sunday morning

Another thing which caught my attention - "White shirt with polka dots"

The girls who ride two wheeler here have a uniform - "white shirt with polka dots". The colour of the dots vary from girl to girl, but rarely identifiable. An 'undeclared' uniform, but 90% of the girls adhere to - very amazing! Generally, it is difficult to lay some rules and follow, and here all girls follow the two wheeler dress code! They don't wear helmets though! Even few female pillion riders wear this shirt. Why is that, this is popular among girls here? I am yet to find an answer. 

 

Next interesting occasion was the Palkhi to Pandharpur. Around 4 lakh people walk around 400 km during the journey split into two groups - Sant Tukaram palkhi and Sant Dhyaneshwar Palkhi. They recite prayers and sing songs on their way. During their journey, other people offer food and snacks to them. There are sometimes, strong fights while collecting food and snacks. Some groups, take along with them a set of people to cook food and feed them. The cooks and the food items are transported by vehicles and these vehicles run slowing along with the people who are walking. Traffic is blocked at different places during these days. I had an opportunity to see around the city, when i was travelling with my colleagues to office, during one of these days, since our normal travel route was blocked.

 

Hmm, I need to know a lot more about this place!

TRUST Folder modified

I should say that last 'Sunday' was a day of learning for me. There are times in life when you change your perceptions towards life. Two such incidents have modified the folder of 'Trust' in my life. This is one of the folders which had constantly got updated in my mind till today. 

First in 'Coffee Day'. After a long while, in the hot sun, wanted to have cold coffee. It had been a long time since me and my husband went for a coffee chat. Each step there took a long time, from receiving a menu card, to taking an order, and receiving the order. People there didn't bother much about the long wait, all in their own world with their friends! We got our menu card, me a 'cafe frappe', a 'cappuccino' for him and a 'warm choco indulgence'. The waiter didn't speak good English, but he uttered words very fast and asked about lot of toppings and add ons. We avoided the toppings. The order arrived little late. Time just passed looking at people around, muted 'animal planet' on TV, loud Hindi song. Finally my 'cafe frappe' arrived, but without the whipped cream on top! 'Where is the whipped cream?!' was my first reaction. Then they added to it.The hot weather made me enjoy the cold coffee. I really relished it and the yummy choco indulgence. I was happy about the wonderful evening and the coffee, but the happiness really didn't last long. Here comes the Bill, almost double than what we had ordered! We could count the three items we had ordered, and there was a fourth one 'Pomegranete quencher' - quantity 2. Oh! we hadn't ordered that. When enquiring the guy said that it was the sweet flavour which was in the coffee! 'Can you show us in the menu card?' was our next questions. The guy showed us a 'drink' in that name and said that was the extra flavour we had ordered. He argued with us for long and trying to make us believe that he was very correct. We went to the branch manager and asked him about it. His response to his subordinate was 'this is different' and cancelled the charges for that order. After this a lot of unanswered queries still linger in my mind:

1) Does all the people in the branch have a hand in this fraud?

2) Missing of 'whipped cream' - was it deliberate?

3) When people come with their girl friends and boy friends, do they find it hard to get into the details of the bill, feeling that the other might take it bad?

4) Does the shop do this kind of things regularly or am i the only victim?

A basic shake of TRUST from a branded popular chain. But we could get our money back. How many people here are getting deceived??

The next incident want in the Gaming area of 'Skywalk'. The same evening, after returning home, me and my daughter went out to Skywalk. I always wanted to take her to the Gaming area of skywalk and finally found time for her. I am not an ardent lover of video games. I went to the counter, asked the guy for details of payment, since I was going there the first time. There was an offer that day, i.e., you pay for 2000 and get 4000 rupees worth of gaming free, pay 500 and get to play for 700, pay 300 and play for 380. It took the 300 rupee scheme and he gave me a card. The money is not refundable unlike the food counters in Skywalk. The place was so crowded as it was a Sunday evening. I was looking around to see what kind of games would suit my daughter. A small boy came to me, and guided me to a direction where games for small kids is available. I didn't find the games suitable for kid. But swiped the card in two areas, and played the games, with guidance from the small boy. The third game was bike racing. The boy swiped the card for me, to start the game and gave back the card to me. I was holding my daughter and helping her play and after which, I found the boy missing. I thought he might have gone to help others. I took my daughter to a next play booth. I didn't know what the game was about, no instructions. I swiped the card, and got an error 'Insufficient balance - please recharge'. I counted the expenditure the last three games and it was less than 100 rupees. I tried 2 to 3 times and I thought there was some problem with the machine. Another set of people were able to swipe their card and play in the same booth. Then I realised there is something wrong with the card. I went to the counter and asked him to check the balance. The balance was 10 rupees. I realised that the has swapped the card! Then I told the man at the counter that there was a small boy with me who was helping me operate. The person at the counter said that there are people like that, and he could do nothing, but put some 100 rupees in the card. He escorted us with a person and asked him to take us around. I was not in a mood to play any further. I never expected this from a small boy like him.I went out and called my husband and narrated the incident. He asked me to be there and he could come. I suddenly realised that since it is an electronic card, it should be easy to block or deactivate the card. I went to the gaming section again, asked the person in the counter if it is possible to block. At first he hesitated, but finally agreed to check it for me. I narrated the first 3 games we played and the approximate time. He could trace the card name for me. He made the previous card balance as zero and moved the balance of 300 in a new card and he gave me the new card! I was happy, thanked him and came out. Here too, I have a set of unanswered queries:

1) The people at the counter are aware of such frauds. Why have they not written down any 'warning'

2) Are they also involved in this fraud?

3) How did the small boy target me?

Whatever be the situation around us, the success or happiness lies in how well we handle the situation. My TRUST folder has been modified and folder is linked to a SITUATION HANDLING folder. Both the folders have been updated with some valuable information.

VALUABLE MONEY

This piece is one inspired from a line from Airtel Ad - 'What is valuable money?'
What is the value of money?
Few searches on the net quoted this:
"It is the ability to use them in exchange for things we want or need that gives them value. As long as individuals have confidence that their money can be used in that way, then the money will have value."

If you ask people what do they consider as valuable money, it will vary with each individual.
It is finally "MONEY AT THE RIGHT TIME AND RIGHT PLACE"

Till today, what I consider valuable money for me, was '50 paise'! This value, I recognized during my college days. We had college bus to travel, and there was hardly any need to take other modes of transportation. In spite of this many students would travel by their own bikes and scooters. I would travel by college bus everyday. One evening, a friend of mine from a different department said she would drop me home by scooter. I wanted to have a change from the routine college bus travel and readily agreed to her suggestion. We started a little later after the college bus and half way, her scooty got punctured. She suggested that I take the local bus. I left her there on her own, and went to take the local bus. Today, when I think of that, I feel I should have been with her and helped her correct her scooty. I don't remember, if I offered her any help.

I took the bus. Luckily got a seat. Conductor was two seats ahead and he was approaching my seat. I looked into my bag, to get money. The ticket was just Rs. 2 from that point to the stop near my home. I could just get one rupee and 50 paise from my bag. I didn't know what to do. I was scared that the conductor would embarrass me in front of all people in the bus. There was a girl 'akka' sitting to me. She was very pretty! Her charm caught my eyes, even though I was in mixed mood of fear and tension. After thinking for a while and evaluating different options, all these in few seconds!, the conductor is nearing me. I asked Akka, if she had a 50 paise and if she could give me. I never explained her anything, and she never asked me anything. She readily gave a 50 paise coin. I took it in my hand and I see the conductor asking me for 'Ticket'. I gave the money and got the ticket. I thanked her! I felt embarrassment till I got down, hated the act that I borrowed money from somebody. Till today, I remember the incident and still feel that, that 50 paise was the most valuable money for me!

Everybody's Crazy!

I grew up in Vellore, a small town, now a Corporation! Initial few years of my life, I spent in place, where houses are very close to each other, small street, people always on the street or in the front of their houses, chatting, gossiping.. Evening, you can see children playing around on the streets. Being controlled by my mother, me and my  brother would be standing and watching children playing, flower sellers going by, sonpapdi wala's bells, people going to market, neighbours fighting and so many new things. There used to be a boy, who walks in the street every evening. He will stand in front of every house and ask for palpodi box(Tooth powder). Everybody used to give him some old empty tooth powder boxes and he will happily take it. I found out that he was mentally ill, had a little pity on him. I used to be afraid of him too, I should be 5 years then. The boy should have been around 18 to 20 years of age. Learnt that he was from a rich family. Somebody would come and then take him home. I could still get the same scene in mind, as I am writing. I used to think, what would he do with that?

Now here I am, 30 years old. When I think what I do now, I almost do the same thing. I like to store my kitchen  stuff in transparent bottles - Turmeric powder, chilly powder, jeera powder, coffee powder, everything! I started buying Lion Date syrup as a nutritional supplement. After some months, it was for the bottle, which helped to store stuff in the way I wanted. I gathered lot of bottles. After sufficient number of 100g bottles, I started buying 200g bottles and 500g bottles. I have a lot of them.. Ofcourse, now I again when I buy, it is as a nutritional supplement only, but still I store those bottles. I don't throw them away!

What difference is there between the guy who was collecting the palpodi(Toothpowder) and me collecting Lion Dates Bottle! NOTHING.. Everybody's crazy right?

One of the vehicle I drove in Namakkal Driver Training Centre

Rise to an MD with courage

Heard about an MD from my cab friend! Worked in SBI and shifted to BHEL. BHEL has external recruitment once in a while. Internal candidates can also apply. KG Ramachandran rose to different levels in the organisation by applying externally for every level. Few lines on KG Rachandran from the net.

Mr K.G. Ramachandran obtained his Bachelor's Degree in Commerce from Mysore University and Bachelor's degree in
Law from the Bangalore University. He is also an Associate Member of the Indian Institute of Bankers. He started his working career in 1968 as an officer with SBI. He worked with SBI till 1983 when he was the Deputy Chief Officer in-charge of industrial lending. He migrated to Bahrain to take up a job in credit administration with the offshore banking unit of the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait. He returned to India for personal reasons in 1993 and joined BHEL. He played an important role in setting up the new Financial Services Department to take care of treasury, cash management and foreign exchange exposure management functions. He was elevated to the Board of Directors of BHEL in November 1993 as Finance Director. He became Chairman and Managing Director of BHEL

My Pongal Kolam in Vellore

Some Auto Incidents

Funny and stupid!
I took an auto to reach office. I said to the driver 'Chellamal college signal'. The driver nodded, and rates agreed. We travelled through venkatnarayana Road. Auto driver took left before the signal, where we had to take right. I thought he know a better way to reach Guindy, where the though process itself was so stupid. He almost reached Teynampet, when I asked where he was taking me. He said he is going to 'Stella Mary's college'. Then I argued with him and found that he really heard the destination wrongly. He didn't fight with me much though. Then he dropped me in Office. I paid him 10 rupees extra.
Learnings:
1. I started telling 'Guindy Chellamal college signal' or my Office which has now become the landmark there
2. When in doubt, don't assume, but ask

Lost!
I missed my mobile in auto, don't know the model number but after losing, I was not so sad. It was an old model and happy that I could buy a new one. But still not the latest or the popular mobile. I have only seen in movies, where auto drivers return back stuff left in the auto. Rajinikanth in Basha returning diamonds!! I remember an incident where I went with my mother, grandmother and brother to a relatives home. We bought nice sweets and snacks from Adayar Ananda Bhavan. We place the sweets behind the seat in auto. We reached their house in Perambur and everybody got down forgetting the sweets and snacks in the auto. We realised after we entered their house and couldn't trace the auto. Here too, the auto driver didn't return. He must have really had a party!

Experience with Autos

Actually, I like autos and like the ventilation aspect of autos compared to closed car. I wanted to own an auto initially, but no one liked my idea. I am mostly dependent on autos for my travel and hence had this idea. But my husband got a small car instead. I am still not comfortale driving the car alone, since no one had the courage to sit with me and guide me drive. So, my dependency on auto continues....

Travelling  by Auto from Central Station to Anna Nagar, to my Grandmother's place was a routine during summer holidays when we were kids. That was the time when I know only Anna Nagar in Chennai. I remember my father bargaining with the auto drivers on the fare. With my father, auto drivers always got bonus. Didn't use autos much in Vellore (my hometown), where my school was just 10 minutes by cycle and college was another 10 minutes by college bus. So auto holds a place in the memories of my summer holidays in Chennai.

Landed in chennai to work and travelling by small autos became little more frequent, atleast once a month and other days travel was by share autos. The travel was mostly during the day and never found difficult. Slowly learnt the art of bargaining, but still not mastered. I remember some of the official visits to Bangalore where I had to travel by auto during early morning, when it was still dark. Scared but not showing it to the auto driver, paying more for lesser distance. When I am more scared, I used to message the auto registration number to my husband. They can always trace if I don't reach safely.

Work taught me more of Chennai. Auto trips reduced after I bought my first purple Scooty out of my salary. No bargains, no fears, no fights. I was not dependent on anyone except during rains where I had to again go back to autos. I didn't get to have a pleasant trip by buses, as they are always crowded and hence preferred autos.