Is it too difficult to speak the Truth ???

Is speaking Truth such a big challenge that people always tell lies. I read some where that Truth is the Hardest thing to Do on the Planet! Even Adam said,"It wasn't Me!". I just want to put a open question why do people refrain from speaking the truth ? Is speaking truth such a big think or people are just casual and don't bother about it.

My father used to tell me that no matter what happens and how big it is you should have the guts to accept it. I have been told to be honest but i am very surprised at the amount of manipulation that people do. I am really puzzled and just want write my heart out, maybe this is the only way by which I can feel relieved. I also believe that every person has his own perception and thinks accordingly, so what is good for one may not be good for others. But having said that I still cannot justify myself that not speaking the truth is good for anyone. I have also learnt that if a lie can save a life then it is not bad, but if people tell a lie on very small and insignificant things which could have been easily avoided I just don't understand it.

I maintain that It is always better to err on the safer side so if you are not sure what exactly you need to do you should tell the truth. If you tell one lie, you will have to tell another 1000 to keep the fisrt one in place. Remember that sequence from DDLJ when Farida Jalal asks ShahRukh and Kajol to run away and ShahRukh says something like "Meri Maa kahti hai beta jeevan mein hamesha tumko 2 raaste milenge ek sahi aur ek galat. Galat raasta bahut hi aasan hoga aur tumhe apni taraf kheechega, aur sahi raasta utna hi mushkil". Similarly it is always very easy to tell a lie and very difficult to tell the truth. But the problem is when the lie is exposed it destroys everything. No relation can ever survive if it is not based on truth and trust.

I would request all of you to refrain from telling a lie and have the guts to speak the truth. If you are doing something that you cannot tell someone it simply means that you are doing something wrong. So by speaking the truth you are also maintaining that you are doing good things. So let us pledge to speak the truth as much as possible and to resort to other means when we have no other option left. I would like to make reference to an advertisement that played some time back (ye meri seat thi.... tumhe jaldi chalna chahiye tha) which ended with something like 'janwar banna aasan hai par kya insaan bane rahe itna mushkil'. I want to put a question to you all "Jhooth bolna aasan hai par kya sach bolna itna mushkil hai ....". Think over it and take your decision.

25th June 2007 to 10th July 2009

I joined FirstRain on the 20th of June 2007 and Yashpal did on the 25th of June 2007. So both us came in at the same time. We went through our induction program together, we got the training session together, started working on the same module and finally were part of the same team. It is very clear that this post is dedicated to Yashpal Singh Bhandari or Bhandari as we call him. This one is for you mate.

I still remember the early days in FirstRain when we used to be together almost all of the time. We used to spend long hours discussing the training modules, various technologies that we don't know and were being used by the Company, discussing modules like XML and XSL, trying to figure out the code flow and the system flow. Lately we used to play Table Tennis together as well.

We have been together for more than 2 years now but it all came to an end last Friday, 10th of July 2009, when Yashpal left the FirstRain premises for once and for all. We have had a great time together and i will be the one who will miss him the most. Bhandari has been like a younger brother to me and we have shared good and bad times together. We were there to support each other whenever the situation demands. As he decided to move on, I was very happy him and with the fact that he is moving ahead in life but at the same time the thought that the distance between us may increase and that we might not be in touch.

Having said so I truly believe that the friendship that we share is very intense and it would continue irrespective of the distance that might come between us. I firmly believe and wish that he gets whatever he wants and all his dreams come true. Some of his wishes have already been granted, he is happily married to the love of his life, he is also a proud owner of new maruti alto. So he is on course and God is on his side. He has had some hiccups in his life but i think he has recovered nicely and is over it now. He is very cool, calm and collected and always knows what he is doing. He is very clear regarding his aim in life and is working towards it. I strongly believe that all his dreams would definitely come true one day.

All said and done, I have a hard luck when it comes to maintaining friends. Bhandari was one of the person who has come very close to me in the space of 2 years and is one of my dearest friend. I wish him luck and all the best for his future endorsements. May God fulfill all his dreams. Take care mate and enjoy you life.

Yashpal's Farewell from FirstRain

In one of my blogs earlier I had discussed this topic without taking any names. Well Yashpal had resigned a few days back and his last day at FirstRain was 10th of July. We have a practice of giving a farewell lunch to any person in our team. We fixed Yashpal's Farewell Lunch on the 8th July for few reasons. First on the last day there are lots of formalities that need to be taken care of and 9th was Thursday so many people in the office won't eat Non Veg Food. To add to the occasion Yaspal's birthday was also on the 10th of July. So we decided to give him a Formal Lunch on the 8th July and then we will have our very own 'Drink and Dine' party on the 10th itself.

We went to Barbeque Nation, Sushant Lok, for the formal lunch on the 8th of July and had a good time. But as mentioned it was a formal lunch so things were pretty formal. But the main event was the 'Drink and Dine' party which was held after office hours at my residence in Dwarka. We have 2 rules regarding the so called 'Drink and Dine' party. First rule says nobody leaves until all the liquor and drink is finished and the Second Rules says if you did not understand the first rule, read it again. This simply means that nobody can sit without a glass full of his drink. Well just to make sure that the amount of liquor is good enough let me walk you through our bar for the day. We had 2 full (750ml) of Teachers (you better know what this is or you are reading the wrong blog), 12 beers and 10 litres of aerated drinks and 2.5 litres of Slice(Aamsutra). We were 12 in all with 5 contenders for Teachers [Ritesh, Kushagra, Gaurav, Deepak, Gurmeet], 4 for Beer[Ankush, Nilendu, Ajay, Vikas] and 3 for Soft Drinks[Yogesh, Yashpal and Yours Truly]. The two names missing that should have been there are Rohit and Ahmad.

We were all prepared and set for the Dhamaka, things started at around 6:30. We had ordered a lovely Black Forest Cake for Yashpal's Birthday (I got three candles along with it from the shop. I am still confused what they meant anyways...). We had a special card with some prints from my heart and it got better when everyone chipped in with some comments or the other. We enjoyed each any every moment, it is such a great feeling to be celebrating together. The atmosphere was electric, glasses all around, plates filled with snacks, the clouds of smoke formed by cigarettes, a song playing for may be the 910th time as no body was listening to it. My living room for the first time saw these many people together.

To make things better one of the person who came to deliver the food offered to contribute to the occasion by singing two beautiful songs. The song that he chose was fit for the occasion. Remember that song from Nazaayaj.. Barsaat ke mausam main, tanhai ke aalam main, main ghar sey nikal aaya, botal bhi utha laaya, abhi zinda hoon to jee leney jee leney do, bhari barsaat main pee leney do.. We had a great time together and enjoyed each and every moment.

The celebrations ended at around 1:00 am. My living room is still unsettled and by the looks of it I can say that its been great fun. As time was passing my heart was pumping and saying friend one of the members who walked with you lived with you is leaving and we are celebrating his farewell. This is the last time Yashpal and all the office colleagues are together, from now on there would be parties but not together with Yashpal and Office friends. I will discuss this in later posts, i don't want to spoil the party mood as of now. In the end I, on the behalf of all others wish Yashpal a bright future and a great life ahead. May God Bless him.

Swami Ramdev and Homosexuality

The decision of the High Court to decriminalize homosexuality has faced many challenges, the latest coming from Swami Ramdevji. Swamiji has decided to challenge this decision of the High Court in the Supreme Court. A petition was to be filed by Wednesday, the 8th of July. This moves comes as a surprise and reinforces my question Does this have a negative impact on the society ?. Why is swami ji against this decision and what exactly does he want and what are the reasons behind this step. According to swami ji homosexual activities are not only against public morality, public health and healthy environment but also against the interest of the society. Homosexual activities are unnatural and there is high risk of exposure of a large chunk of population to dangerous sexually transmitted disease including HIV/AIDS. With this as the petition Swami ji has decided to go to the Supreme Court of India.

Swami ji believes that "the decision of the High Court will have catastrophic effects on the moral fabric of society and will jeopardise the institution of marriage itself. This offends the structure of Indian value system, Indian culture and traditions, as derived from religious scriptures". He believes that homosexuality is also a disease and it can be treated like any other disease through yoga, pranayam and other medication techniques. He also believes that this decision may bring the growth of Indian population to a hault.

If we go by his views he is absolutely correct, he is not only boosting the ill effects of the decision but also is ready to try and cure it. His belief that he can cure them may not be as easy to achieve as said but still he is willing to do it. Its been a good step taken by swami ji and we should all support it. Some of the points in the petition are worth noticing. The institution of marriage and the very purpose of marriage shall be defeated. The population may actually come to a stand still. If the high court wants to use this decision as a means to check the growing population then its ok otherwise i cannot see any sense behind this decision.

In my previous blog post i said i was confused, but now i am very clear that the decision of the high court is not in favour of the Indian society and culture and should be overruled. I now stand along with Swami ji and the many other people who were against this ruling. Even if i don't buy the idea that he can cure them, i cannot move away from the other points put in the petition. This is very good step that he has taken and we need to support it. It is for our own cause and its only the society that would benefit from it.

A Journey called Life...

Life is a very simple but complicated word, everyone knows the meaning of it but it is very difficult to describe it. There are various theories doing the rounds regarding life, but all have their own definition and none point to a similar definition. So during the course of this article i will try to put in my interpretation of the word 'Life'.

Life may be attributed to human existence and one's personal life. It is a gift given to us by the almighty, it is a beautiful thing that comes our way only in a very long period of time. It is a honour and is a prize for the good deeds that we have done at any point of time. Life is a reality imposed upon us by the Nature. It is often understood as the cycle of birth-growth-death, but in reality it is much much more. Life can be defined as a characteristic state or mode of living; "social life"; "city life"; "real life". . Earth is the only planet in the universe that has life and there are various theories regarding the origin and evolution of life on Earth. But Life as per my understanding could be described as the journey that every person in this world has to undergo, it is a phased activity that takes place throughout the life of an individual.

Life to me is the entire path that a person follows from the day of his birth till the day he bids adieu to this beautiful world. When a person is born he starts his life, then his deeds decide his fate and the activities that he performs constitutes to the journey which has been aptly christened as 'Life'. Each and every step that a person takes no matter how big or small it is constitutes his life. We are the architect of our own lives, we have the power to live life as we want to. We are the one who make it good or bad, it is totally our decision. Society and surroundings do also play their part in defining a man's lie but their say is limited. They just act as a catalyst and their role is pretty defined. I agree with Paulo Coelho 'Maktub....its written' in The Alchemist but i also believe that if we just sit and try to face what is written, the writing seems to be dirty. If we make a bit of effort and try to add to what is already written we can definitely have a good life.

So Life is a gift of God, it is the most beautiful thing in this world. It is an template or a prototype on top of which we need to provide the definitions as per our requirement and understanding. Every body is same in the eyes of the Almighty, so he who makes the most effort, gets the most out of life and understands and enjoys the true life. In order to have a good life, it is compulsory to be very clear in your mind as to what exactly to need to do. Life is a journey, enjoy it and make the most of it, you never when this journey comes to an end. Let us make our lives so beautiful that even after we are gone people remember us and we live in their hearts. It is not an easy task to get into the heart of people, but with a little effort it doesn't seem too difficult as well.

Advertisements, My Favourite T.V. Show

Which is your favourite TV serial is a very common question. My answer to this question is 'Advertisement'. Well you must be surprised, but the reason is that we actually get to see the commercials more than the programs themselves.
The creativity that goes into creating these advertisement is unbelievable. It is not an easy task to come up with ideas that not only convey your message in the best possible way but also make it short, sweet and simple.

The advertisement that has moved me lately is the Happy dent White Chewing Gum. I was really moved by this advertisement, i was imagining the creativity of the person who came up with such a brilliant idea. Another advertisement that comes to mind straight away is the Fevicol advertisement. There are a number of Fevicol advertisements my personal best being the one in which the kid keeps running away till his mother places him on a empty box of fevicol.

There are several other advertisements that are so suttle and that convey their meaning in such a way that attracts several people. The competition among the various brands has increased the creativity level and each one is trying to come out with an idea that beats the other and is also creative in its own way. A good example of a suttle advertisement that conveys its message is the Feviquick advertisement, remember a person is fishing in isolation and another person uses feviquick and catches fish for the entire family.

Another way of getting into people's mind is by using famous personalities as brand ambassadors. They range from a politician, actors, actresses, cricketers or any famous and popular person. But these things are not as big a factor as they were sometimes back. The people are now more mature and need something good to get motivated. A concept that is very common in advertisements is a girl advertising a shaving cream or an underwear due to the direct impact that they have on the boys and men out there.

We see these advertisements numerous time each day, but we very rarely think about the creativity that goes into creating them. So next time when you see a advertisement don't just treat them as fillers but take a note of the fact that some one actually thought about it and finally made it. They require a lot of hard work and dedication. They are the work of genius. Indian advertisement industry has now matured enough and could easily challenge the best in the world.

This was my attempt to salute and congratulate the Indian Advertisement Industry for coming up with such meaningful and creative advertisements. I have several ideas in my mind which i would love to share with guys within this industry, but that is a different subject and i shall discuss it some other time.

Friendship....

Friendship is the only relation that a person makes all by himself, all other relations in world are forced upon us. Some come by inheritance and some by birth. So this pious relation is a very delicate relation and needs utmost care and understanding to survive. We have several famous friendship examples, Krishna and Sudama being the oldest and most famous known friends. Even movies these days boost friendship and show how friends can do anything and everything for each other. Just for reference we have the famous Jai and Veeru from Sholay.

Friendship could be defined as a co-operative and supportive behavior between two or more people. But in the actual sense it more than just supportive behaviour. In my opinion a friend is such a person with whom you feel very comfortable with and share all the secrets and feelings. A friend is one person who is always there when you need and on whom you can have blind faith.

There are so many things that we cannot share with our parents but we can easily let our secrets out on friends. Friends are basically like brother and sister born of different mother. In words of Aristotle Friendship is A single soul dwelling in two bodies. I totally agree and i am sure you will also agree with me on this. I can remember several instances when i have been in a fix and my friends have bailed me out of it. I am presently living from away from my parents with my friends and i am very content and satisfied. I have never had the feeling that i am living with friends, we live like a family and share each and everything.

There are and will always be conflicts between friends, but true friends never keep anything in their hearts and try to resolve the misunderstanding that have lead to the conflict. They never grumble over small things and understand each others mental state and help them in their tough times. Another important thing in friendship that we know the actual person, so if i make a friend it would mean i am ready to accept the person with all his qualities, good and bad, as it is without any change.

Friendship is a relation that demands too much from a person. It demands love, affection and understanding. These are the ingredients that indeed make good friends. It is not necessary for friends to be physically available, the important thing is that they live in each other's heart. I have some really good friends with whom i talk once in 3 months or so and have not met for months but we share a unparalleled friendship which demands no explanation. Sometimes i need not even say things, friends close to you are able to understand what is going inside you without anyone telling them about your mental state at any point of time.

We share and spend a large part of our life with our friends. For people like me who live away from their home and parents are more dependent upon friends. To quote Walter Winchell: A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. So all in all a friend in need is a friend indeed. Friendship is one of the best and wonderful relation in this world. It is a beautiful feeling and i must say that a friend is the only other person from our parents and relatives with whom we share all the important things of our life.

I thank all my frinds for being there for me and helping me out each and every time and supporting me throughout my life. I would like to conclude with Robert Alan's words:
"The rain may be falling hard outside, But your smile makes it all alright.
I'm so glad that you're my friend. I know our friendship will never end."

Delhi Gurgaon Toll Plaza and Smart Tags

Delhi Gurgaon Express way has a total of three Toll Plazas and the largest toll plaza has a total of 32 + 4 reversible toll lanes. The Project has a total of 24 Electronic Toll Collection(ETC) with some of them mixed type with cash and smart card facility ; the remaining being cash and smart Card type. All lanes are equipped with Automatic vehicle classification systems . All the three plazas are interconnected through a WAN.

I am a resident of Sector 5 Dwarka and my office is in Sector 39 Gurgaon so i have to cross this Toll Plaza twice daily. I also hold a Smart Tag. The fact that the Toll Plaza has 32 lanes is the indicator of the heavy traffic that crosses it daily. The peak traffic could be found between 8:30 to 10 in the morning and after 5:30 to 8:00 in the evening. My office timings are such that i have to cross this toll during the peak hours itself. I have had a good experience of this toll plaza but for the fact that i have to pay 18 rupees daily.
I have found the workers at the toll gate very energetic and enthusiastic. They are very dedicated and perform exceptionally well to handle the amount of passengers they do everyday.

But there are a few flaws in the system that should have been rectified by now, it has been a long time since the plaza has been made operational. The sensors at the toll plaza are not up to the mark. I should also accept that the drivers are also at fault as they do not maintain the minimum required distance between the two vehicles. Another problem being that the cash payers enter the tag lines and that causes slow moving traffic even in the tag lines. There are defined penalties for this breach of conduct but i have not yet seen any person being punished for entering the tag line without having a tag.

But for the flaws as mentioned above, things are very helpful and the chaos that it created at the time of its opening have been done away with in a very professional manner. It has really soothed the passage between Delhi and Gurgaon. I have also read people complaining about the Smart Tags and the problem they face with regards to recharging the smart tags. I would like to say that i never ever had a problem in getting my smart tag recharged. I have paid by Credit Card and Cash and it was a very good experience. Though i except the fact that the only way to get it recharged as of now is through their office at the plaza itself. I request you to keep patience, i am sure they will come up with some easier way to recharge it. They have already introduced a MCheck facility using SMS but i am not completely aware of it.

All in all its been a good change and has been managed superbly. A few patches here and there would make it even better. Hoping that things would improve with time. I wish the concerned people all the best and even take this opportunity to thank them for coming up with such a good idea.

Delhi High Court Decriminalized Homosexuality

In an historic decision and to every body's surprise Delhi High Court has decriminalized Homosexuality. So section 377 of the Indian Penal Code has been written off. Section 377, a law from the British Raj era, says homosexuality and "unnatural sex" is a criminal act. A bench of Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar said that if not amended, section 377 of the IPC would violate Article 21 of the Indian constitution, which states that every citizen has equal opportunity of life and is equal before law. This made them take this decision.


This decision comes as a surprise to me. But i am confused, is this a move ahead where we except homosexuality as a part of our society or are we just trying to act modern ?. I could not find one reason that supports this decision. But still i would say if a decision has been taken by the High Court, we should respect it. Well it is still not the end of the road for the people who are against this decision, they can go to the Supreme Court against the decision.

I find my views divided on the decision. On one side i think it is brutal to snatch away a man's right to share his feelings with someone he loves while on the other i think what impact will this have on our society and will it hamper the Indian culture and society ?

Maybe Konkona Sen Sharma will be relieved now, she was the one who kept running into homosexual people [remember Page 3]. How would the general public react to this and how much impact this decision has still remains to be seen. Also how would Supreme Court react, to this decision of the High Court, if asked for shall be interesting. Linking the decision to Artile 21 of the Indian Constitution has made the decision strong and if the Supreme Court has to defy it, it really needs to come up with some solid reasons and negative impacts that the decision would have.

Even the Congress is not sure about supporting the decision. It is evident by the statement of Chidambaram who says that the government is open to rethink on the issue. They also claim that it is a decision between the court and the government and that the party has nothing to do with it. This just goes to prove the point that nobody is sure if this decision is a good one and would be welcomed or is this a wrong decision that will be shunned by people.

Petrol and Diesel Prices Increased

Effective Midnight today (1st of July '09), the cost of Petrol and Diesel have been increased. Petrol is costlier by 4Rs while diesel goes up by 2Rs. So Petrol will now cost 44.62 in Delhi and it would not be wrong to say that travelling just got costlier. The increase in cost of CNG few days back had already sparked the Auto drivers to increase the rates and they have yet another reason why they would charge us more money than what the meter shows.

With Recession continuing, this rise in prices have not made life easy. Many people like me who commute to and from office on their own vehicles will now have to pay more. I have a run of approximately 60 Kms to and from my office so this increase the daily commutation cost considerably.

The big question that still remains unanswered is if this is it or are the prices going to rise even more? Lets hope that the prices remain here for a while. I know as time passes by we will get used to things and finally live with it. But the initial jolt is big enough to have its impact directly. These things directly drive our lives and play a very important role in or day to day activities. So an increase would definitely dent the other prospects that could have been possible otherwise.

The best we can do now is just live with it.

Happy Driving !!!!