How to reduce stress while travelling to office, daily?

We all want to know how to avoid stress completely OR at least how to reduce stress while traveling to office as it is a daily activity? We have all seen people seemingly racing against time, trying to outpace others not to win some race, but just to reach office on time. Not just have we witnessed others, probably we are bitten by the bug ourselves & we can't seem to get over the early hours' office frenzy ourselves.

How we wish that our lives would progress smoothly like the water which flows in a streamlined manner in a tranquil river! Wish everything was organized! If others follow set rules of getting up on time, follow traffic rules, be empathetic then at least traveling & reaching office could become a  purely mechanical activity totally deprived of stress.

We see people repeatedly taking a glance at their cell phones or watches to get to know what's the time if they are stuck in a traffic jam on the road or in a long queue or while using public transport like the Mumbai local, Best buses, Uber or Ola cabs etc. As if frantically checking on the time would help them reach faster. The number of times you check on how many minutes you have with you to still make it on time will not cut short the distance that you have to travel nor will it free up the traffic congestion. The distance will remain the same.

By repeatedly checking on the time we only subject ourselves to undue stress. As pointed out earlier, checking on your wristwatch will not cut down on the distance that you have to still travel, neither will it free up the traffic congestion, nor would you want to jeopardize your safety by increasing your speed beyond the safe limits because trust me, it is not worth it! I really want to emphasize on these points hence on purpose I have repeated them.

Let's look at the solution.

1) First thing- Just STOP CHECKING on the TIME. My personal experience is whether I am late or early, I always make it a point to never check on the time till I have reached office. I don't even take calls while traveling. The calls could be personal or official, I don't answer phone calls before reaching my destination. Just don't pull out your phones to find out how much more time you have to make it on time as it only helps to build anxiety. It's been pointed out multiple times earlier, keeping a tab on time does not help. At most what will happen? You will only be late, that is all! It is not going to be the end of the world! Even if you don't reach office today at all, life in this world would still go on!

Rather than worrying, focus on the journey. Enjoy the commute. Focus on your mental peace, try to be calm & composed. Those who are spiritual can chant names of their God whom they believe in. Others can listen to some music or focus on anything constructive like go through the course contents of that course you have opted for, to upgrade yourself. Try to add value to your persona rather than fretting & cribbing about the unorganized world around you! It helps.

2) Get up Early! Yes, that's actually a solution! Rather than waking up & still lying in bed just because you want to somehow manage to sleep for a few more minutes, jump out of the bed. If you wake up early morning, you will realize that you have got such a lot of time for yourself.

People who get up late, are playing the catching up game the whole day where they try to catch up with time or try to catch up with people who have got up from sleep before them!

Try these 2 suggestions:-
Don't check your phone or watch to find out what's the time when you are on your way to office & Get up Early!

They really work. It's working well for me & my friends!

Dubai Tourism. Should you opt for a Dubai Tour Package or not?

Dubai Tourism

For a Dubai Tour, most of the people will opt for a Dubai Tourism Package via a local travel agency. If you ask Indians what is their dream destination or if given a chance which country would they definitely want to see in their lifetime Dubai is one place which will figure in the list of at least
6 out of every 10 people you will come across. That's the reason first timers want everything planned by people who have been organizing tours & don't want to risk their enjoyment while on tour with the anxiety of planning, interacting and fixing deals/negotiating with foreigners in an alien territory.

A lot of people also have the misconception that a Dubai Tour Package would be very expensive, beyond their budget. However this is quite contrary to the factual reality.

Dubai is a dream destination- this fact is contributed to by the promotions it gets from our very own Bollywood movies. The most recent movie "Baby" featuring Akshay Kumar & Rana Daggubati was shot extensively in Dubai. Among the 'Old is Gold' category movies, Sanjay Dutt's Naam was shot in Dubai. These movies & a lot of other movies have been shot in and around Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab etc hence these locations have shot into prominence.

Most of the tourists have Dubai Aquarium, Desert Safari, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Marina & Burj Al Arab at the top of their list of places to visit.

Burj Khalifa was earlier known as Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010. It is one of the most wonderful and exotic locations. It has the honor of being the tallest skyscraper in the world. At 829 meters, the peak of Burj Khalifa provides you with a fantastic view of it's magnificent & clean surroundings. It has 124 floors, 57 elevators, and 8 escalators. Witnessing the whole city from
the top is a once in a lifetime opportunity. From the top, you get a bird's eye view of the whole of Dubai which is a sight to behold, a memory which you would want to cherish for the rest of your life.

Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel which is amongst the 'not to miss' list of tourists. The unique part about this hotel is that apart from it being a luxury hotel it has been built on an artificial island which
was specially constructed only to lay the foundation to set up this majestic hotel which was named as Burj Al Arab. It is located at an approximate distance of 280 meters from Jumeirah beach. If you will
look at the hotel from a distance, it will look like a ship. The fact that a small island makes up the base & some of the world famous genius architects have gotten together to demonstrated their skills in full glory in developing a structure which resembles the sails of a ship, is a sight that everyone who visits Dubai wants to witness without fail. These places in Dubai provide a soothing & relaxing experience to one's eyes as well as the brain.

How to make your Girl happy? How to go for shopping with your GF?

How to make your GF/Wife feel that you have been with her, even mentally, while she was shopping or while she was trying various outfits to finalize that one outfit she is gonna wear  for the party at the weekend?

Visualize this scene...

Girlfriend- Which one is better? This one or that earlier one?

Boyfriend- *has a blank mind but gives her a deep look. Kind of thinking hard look*(In reality he did not even hear her question. Was checking Rohit Sharma's strike rate after hitting 200 in ODI against Australia on  Cricinfo*

Girlfriend- Tell me what do you think?
BF-*Now with a blank mind he has a blank look*

GF- What are you thinking about so deeply? This is not looking good, no?
BF- *she is holding a dress, must be asking about the dress* I was thinking what should be added to this outfit to make you look more stunning? Just change of colour, probably more dark?(Wowww! such a life saving, pragmatic monologue)

GF- Even I was thinking that it is making me look fat. See, almost like I have a tummy *looks at her reflection in mirror*.
BF- That's what I was thinking, was searching for words to express my thoughts.

GF-Crimson red & scarlet red make me look jaded as well. Brick red always makes me stand out in the crowd
BF- Huhhh! Red has so many variations?

*Another shop*

GF- These curtains will look good in my room. Walls are of grey colour, doors have a dark coffee colour, study table has pink cloth laid over it & ceiling is white. Will Magenta be fine? Or I think the curtains should also be of grey colour, what do you say?
BF- *Bloody hell! So many things need to be taken into consideration to decide the colour of curtains?* I think this dark one will be good because it will give a soothing effect(safe option- pick a colour giving any vague reason that you can think of)

GF- You mean magenta? No yaar, dark colour will absorb more light. Not good for my room. Grey colour curtains will look good.
BF- Right & you even have a grey T-Shirt!

GF- Wowww! You remember that T-Shirt? *grins* I no longer wear it after that day.

The point is your girl/lady will invariably give you the straight answer or at least drop hints in the conversation unknowingly herself ,as to what option she wants you to choose... Be on the look out for clues in her monologues. You are just loitering along with her while she does some meaningful shopping(from her perspective) to make her feel secure & give her company. It's imperative to make her feel that the choices she makes are the choices she arrives at after some really deep intellectual analysis.

Opportunist - Naam Hai Siddhu! Siddhu snubbed by Imran Khan! What's wrong with Siddhu?

In Hindi there is an adage which goes like "Bin Pendi ka lota". Google.com suggests its English equivalent as "Rolling stone" in some places. The message the Hindi adage conveys is having no inclinations, preferences or leanings. The Hindi adage uses analogy of a rounded vessel which is used to pour water. Since the vessel is absolutely rounded hence when it is left to roll on the ground freely, it can roll in any direction. Sometimes the 'lota' or vessel will lean or move to the left and sometimes to the right. You can neither predict in which direction it will turn nor you can explain or understand why it turned in that specific direction.

If we talk about human equivalents of "Bin pendi ka lota" one might be able to think of a lot of generic examples from history, past, personal experiences etc. However, if you talk about the contemporary scenario, one individual has really caught everyone's attention. He might even leave the 'lota' embarrassed & red-faced. The 'lota' could surrender by putting down its weapons saying "Mr. Navjot Singh Siddhu, you are better than me at MY art." But how come? From where did you pick these skills up, Mr. Siddhu?

Or is it just that you are making your moves with a clandestine agenda up your sleeve?

Siddhu has made a paradigm shift in his loyalties. His switch in sides from BJP(Bharatiya janata Party) to Congress, from being pro BJP, to becoming intensely anti-Modi, anti-BJP, pro-Congress, pro-Sonia Gandhi has zapped even the apolitical individuals & has forced them to sit up and take notice. Siddhu's switch in loyalties is so drastic that he has been absolutely condescending in addressing or talking about BJP & PM Narendra Modi. Images of him touching the feet of Sonia Gandhi have gone viral. No one has a clue as to what is the exact reason...

There was some disagreement earlier between Siddhu & BJP party members because of some issue. It pissed Siddhu off so much that he quit BJP. He was dilly-dallying with the idea of joining AAP(Aam Aadmi Party) or even floating his own party. He took a while to decide & to everyone's surprise, he joined the Indian National Congress(INC) Party. 

After some introspection, his recently developed vocabulary & oratory skills, recalling his wisecracks which he used to come up with in commentary during cricket matches or serials like The Kapil Sharma show etc one's mind refuses to believe that Siddhu's decision to join INC is an imbecile decision. This could actually be a very well thought out decision. Considering the fact that Congress Party is absolutely deprived of balanced orators who can speak with a rich blend of knowledge coupled with recent facts and statistics it could be the most shrewd & tactical decision made by someone in recent times.

We have all heard that when you need to prove yourself, it is prudent for you, to line up among the fools. It becomes easy for you to make a mark & impress people. With the Congress party having a lot of tainted leaders like Shashi Tharoor(suspected of killing his own wife) & the current 'party president' Rahul Gandhi allegedly 'Raul Vinci'  managing to reveal his 'dementia' every time he opens his mouth, Rahul Gandhi & Sonia Gandhi just managing to get bail & several  more cases of corruption lined up against them, Siddhu could turn out to be the show stopper for Congress.

He could turn out to be the standout star performer in the run-up to 2019 elections. Apart from his switch in loyalties, if you look at Siddhu's credentials everything seems to be right about him. From lofting Shane Warne for sixes at will, being a celebrated cricketer, to wielding his willow at Aamir Sohail at Sharjah during an ODI(in which india had scored beyond 300 & he himself had scored a century) & scaring the daylights out from him, his self professed meditation routine & his seemingly unique oratory skills, Siddhu has a large fan following. He might have lost some followers or left a lot of them bemused by his switch from BJP to Congress. His magnanimously criticized, (in)famous visit to Pakistan to witness Imran Khan's swearing-in as the Prime Minister has conveyed the message that he will do what he feels is justified. Whatever was the reason which made him visit Pakistan, though he was snubbed by Imran Khan & not given importance, he has created an impact on the minds of people back home. Congress might increase his workload in the coming elections.

But he could be having something really big in his mind. If he sustains the uniqueness in his speeches which was displayed during his TV stints on commentary & comedy shows, he would easily be a big crowd pulling factor for Congress. Easier for him to shine amongst the allegedly tainted & corrupt, scam weary leaders. He could be shooting for something huge & he wants to reach there in double quick time? CM seat from Punjab, is that what you are eyeing Mr. Navjot Singh Siddhu? Maybe...

What do you mean by Good Communication Skills? How to speak well?

We have all heard this a lot of times - "xyz has good communication skills", "you need to be good in communication skills to be successful", "communication skills xyz..." etc. Lot of people move around with misconceptions regarding communication skills.

It is imperative to first understand what exactly is the meaning of Communication Skills? Good or Bad, we can decide later. 

Communication Skills means, the person should be able to express his ideas clearly providing cogent arguments. It does not really matter what language he uses. He could be using a mix of 2 languages for eg English & Hindi, while speaking. But if he is able to establish a connection with the listener & can address the concerns/points of skepticism/disagreement raised in the conversation he can be considered good. If the speaker gets the listener on-board or the listener completely or even partially agrees to him, though he might be having a diametrically opposite view to that of the speaker, you can conclude that the speaker has good communication skills. 

A person who has good communication skills will be able to get people to endorse his views though he may be speaking in Hindi or Marathi or Gujarati... He can make people make a paradigm shift in their ideologies because he conveys the message clearly & pinpoints the incorrectness in their thoughts, beliefs or analysis. We have all seen the most polished speaker being a spectator while the one who was not as polished being hailed as a good communicator. Empathy plays an important role in communication.

For good communication skills, the ideas need to be relayed clearly by the speaker & at the same time he needs to be a good listener so that he is always connected to the responses and addresses them in a lucid fashion.

A lot of people live under the delusion that if someone is able to speak English well without using any fillers(using 'umm', 'a' etc sounds when getting stuck) he/she has exceptional communication skills. People do use fillers while speaking. The use of fillers could be to either buy time to streamline the thoughts that need to be expressed or simply because they have an underdeveloped vocabulary which does not equip them to speak in a flow though they could be equipped with a smooth flow of thoughts. They could be searching for words, mentally, to express themselves lucidly.

Of course use of fillers may not be appreciated by most of the listeners as fillers prove to be a distraction to most people & they need to focus more to comprehend in totality the excerpts of the conversation. It is possible to eliminate the use of fillers by practice. But even people who use fillers while speaking are sometimes found to be exceptional communicators. The yardstick being they easily get people to support their views or in their endeavors.  

So, coming back, if someone speaks impeccable English & sounds polished, it would not be appropriate to label that individual as someone who has exceptional communication skills just because of his speaking skills. Indians, specially those from the rural areas do seem to get captivated by anyone who can express himself in English. We can conclude that a person who is good in English can be termed as a polished speaker or a good orator. A good communicator will express himself clearly & be empathetic. A lot of people will introspect & change their thought process or their respective stands after introspection after listening to him. 

I would strongly recommend that one must not get obsessed by someone's mastery over a foreign language.

Travelling with your pet dog via train(IRCTC) in India...(Intercity travel with Chetak, the German Shepherd.) Part 1/n-Ticket & Coupe booking

If your pet is very young i.e a puppy/kitten etc, who can travel with you in a small basket & you take proper care of your pet, then you & your pet can travel together in a train however, there is some constraint about the maximum permissible weight of your pet. You will need to inquire about it with the authorities...

If I begin by saying traveling from one city to another in India with your medium-sized or giant breed dogs like the German Shepherd whom you love as a family member is an arduous task thanks to the senseless rules of IRCTC, it will be an understatement.

Let's start with the ticket & coupe booking. I am only talking about how difficult it is or how unfriendly the rules are for the pet & the owner who wants to travel with his pet with him in the same coach & not siphon off the poor soul in the dark, stinking, unhygienic luggage van. How difficult & stressful it can get for your dear pet is something that's totally beyond words. The English language is deprived of words/adjectives to express the sentiments & trauma of the poor creatures.

I will give an account of a 2 seater coupe booking at Bombay Central I did while traveling from Bombay to Delhi. It was a harrowing experience.

I had gathered this info that if you book the travel of your pet in the luggage van which is a closed, dark, non-ventilated, dirty, ill-kept coach your pet may not even reach its destination in a fine state. In some cases, pets get robbed or they suffocate & don't even reach their destination alive. Hence it's much better to travel with your pet by your side in the same coach which is only possible when you book a coupe(cabin) in the 1st class AC compartment. You can get a coupe when you book at least 2 or 4 seats as there are only 2 seater or 4 seater coupes

I started enquiring & running around more than a week before the travel date to confirm a coupe booking in my name against the 2 seats I booked in the First AC of Rajdhani Express. Harrowing is a soft word to explain the experience. 

The procedure is that you have to submit an application with your PNR number & photo id proof at the main station, Churchgate-in my case. In this application, you need to explain why do you need a coupe- a separate doored personal cabin? You can address it to the Chief Station Officer, submit it from 2-3 days before journey date up to 2 hours before the seating chart of your train is out on the date of the journey. You will get a ticket for your pet dog at Bombay Central only, that too couple of hours before your journey begins. You cannot board the train at Borivali which could be nearer to your home & easily accessible compared to Bombay Central- I was told this explicitly by the person who would issue my German Shepherd, Chetak's ticket, at a later date. The staff will first check if you have been allotted a coupe & then give you your pet's ticket. This makes your pet eligible to enter the train(Rajdhani Express train no. 12951 in my case), with you.

The farcical content of this scene is even after you have submitted an application, you are NOT guaranteed a coupe. The logic which the IRCTC authorities gave me was if any MLC, MLA, MP(politicians) etc are traveling on the same day, they will be given a preferential allotment of the coupe. The preposterousness does not stop here. You will only get to know whether you have been allotted a coupe or not once the seating chart is out i.e 3-4 hours before the start of the journey. Once the chart is out, you can cancel your journey, but you are not entitled for a refund if you cancel your tickets. You could be on your way from home to the boarding station with your pet dog as you need to reach there 2 hours before the departure time to complete some formalities. Thus your trip from home to the station with your pet could be totally futile courtesy some foolish rules being followed by IRCTC- the Indian Railways system.

Let me add, the vet whom Chetak, my German Shepherd has been visiting since more than 3 years, told me I would need a fitness certificate to travel. He said he will charge INR 400 to 500 to issue a fitness certificate!!! What the hell? He was talking about the same fitness certificate which we used to present in school/college when we used to stay at home to watch a cricket match, go to attend wedding ceremonies, receive a friend/relative from airport/station etc. It used to be given free of cost by our family doctor, isn't it? The vet was treating Chetak(for vaccination, deworming, supplements etc) since I got him home when he was a 30-day old puppy, should he be charging me just to scribble 3-4 lines on a piece of paper? Was it ethical?

The anxiety caused by the uncertainty in getting a coupe was killing. Imagine, you could be traveling alone with your pet dog from one city to another. But to get a coupe you have booked another seat(which will remain vacant) just to be eligible for a 2 seater coupe booking as in my case & because of some idiotic rule implemented by IRCTC you are never sure whether you will be able to even start the journey with your furry friend...

Ultimately with repeated follow-ups, some pyrotechnics & dramatics, we got a coupe booked, a ticket for Chetak, my German Shepherd was issued & we started our journey. 

I have attached the ticket issued for my pet & a video link when we just entered the Rajdhani Express train. More about the journey after the journey started, I will possibly write later...

I believe the IRCTC should not be so myopic when dealing with people traveling with their pets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS3eQHYVTY0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7vZemGA-Y8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBIbcH1rq2o

India vs Hong Kong Cricket match & it's impact on India vs Pakistan in 2018 Asia Cup

Indian cricketers were given a real run for their money, or that's what it at-least seemed like in last night's encounter with Hong Kong.

First about India's batting:- Indian batsmen never got going. This, one would believe is a full strength side in the batting department. Virat Kohli has been rested, but then India is not just Virat Kohli. 11 players or rather 5-7 top order batsmen make your batting line up. In IndvHK(India vs Hong Kong), either all the batsmen were in the mindset of slowly accumulating runs, getting match practise OR pitch was not conducive to batting when India batted. Astonishingly the same pitch became impeccable for stroke play when Hong Kong batsmen like Anshuman Rath etc were batting.

Indians could not accelerate. One would never really get to know the reason why Indians could not switch gears & slog when less than 50 runs were scored in the last 10 overs. Were the Hong Kong bowlers so disciplined? We are talking about Dinesh Karthik, Ambathi Rayudu, Shikhar Dhawan, M.S.Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav. These batsmen were batting in the middle & final stages. These same batsmen were smoking boundaries at will in the IPL 4 months ago... It looks weird that none of them could accelerate & the inexperienced Hong Kong batsmen skimmed the Indian bowling with ease, on the same pitch.

India's bowling:- We had Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal. These bowlers keep international hard hitters tied down & quiet in IPL. But they were made to look absolutely stingless & ordinary. It was a pathetic display in front of batsmen with no experience of facing quality attack, who were batting under pressure of chasing almost 300 against India, the Cricketing Giants, a side that's been amongst the top 3 cricket playing sides in the world since quite a while.

Even the tail end Hong Kong batsmen smoked sixes. As India won the match only by 26 runs, with just a little bit of luck Hong Kong could have easily caused the biggest upset of the Asia Cup 2018 tournament.

Only inclusion of Jaspreet Bumrah will be the discipline enforcing factor in today's India vs Pakistan match. Either Ravinder Jadeja or Hardik Pandya could get a look in depending on the contemporary match/pitch scenario. India's batting line will mostly be the same as yesterday.

One big factor, probably the most decisive & impactful factor would be the disciplined, left arm pace & swing bowling attack of the Pakistanis in IndvsPak game. Couple it with Pakistanis treating UAE, Dubai, Sharjah as their home grounds, the crowd support. The mental & physical exhaustion due to back to back matches of Indian players.

It will be a real test of stamina, physical endurance, mental strength of the team & leadership skills of Rohit Sharma to motivate his team & get the optimal performance out from every individual to compete fiercely & win this match...

Boss = owner of organization

This is a part of the MNC culture. The corporate world. I have heard it zillion times either when my colleagues would discuss it among themselves or talk to me on same lines..."What did your Boss say?", "My Boss is late", "It's difficult to get Boss on the same page", "My Boss won't agree", "His Boss was being unreasonable" ... etc.

I cannot get myself to address my reporting manager as "Boss", I also found it difficult to comprehend the reason as to why do my friends, colleagues address their reporting managers as Boss? Factually, it's unfathomable for me & I personally believe it's absolutely ludicrous of them to do so.

Boss, by definition, is the owner of an organization. Boss could be the owner(sole proprietor), or one of the partners with the majority stakeholding in the firm. Boss is someone who does not take orders from anyone.

I just don't understand why do people address an ordinary salaried employee(just like themselves) as Boss?

The intent is not to disrespect someone. We do give the immediate senior or those above us in the hierarchy his/her share of respect by addressing him/her as Sir/Ma'am.

But unless you are talking to the Owner, Founder, Co-Founder of an organization, I believe, it would not be appropriate to address the individual as BOSS !!!

ujjain, prayag, haridwar kumbh. chetak

India, Hindu Rashtra, Hindutva

Hindutva is a way of life.

It is believed that every child born in any corner of the world is Hindu. After Baptism or circumcision etc rituals the new born baby’s faith is changed.

Neither Lord Shri Ram nor Lord Shri Krishna have established 'Hindu religion', they incarnated in this religion. Sanatan Dharma, which is now known as Hinduism, is a way of life. Lord Shri Krishna addressed all human beings in Shrimad Bhagwad Gita & taught everyone the intricacies of life on this planet. The ways to deal with happiness, sufferings, depression, sorrow, victory, defeat, achievements & fulfill the ultimate purpose of life.

After we yot independence from British, 2 small nations separated from India. They got separated on the basis of religion. Those muslims who wanted their Triple Talaq, Polygamy, halala etc rules to be enforced in real life & who could not gel with people from other faiths, respect their beliefs, demanded a separate land & they got it. So technically India should have been left only with Hindus & ultimately a Hindu Rashtra, but thanks to Nehru & Gandhi, we became a secular state.

Hence by default, India is a Hindu Rashtra. The then PM Nehru, declared India as a secular state as that possibly served his cardinal desires apart from safeguarding his post of PM. However the overwhelming majority of India was, is Hindu. Still, we accepted secularism. It’s because we Hindus are in majority, India is secular.

No country with majority population being muslim is secular. Countries where muslim population is in a sizeable proportion, have wiped out the people from other faiths over a period of time & established an Islamic identity. People can cross check & validate this by going through global history.

A shining example is Pakistan where Hindus were > 20% at the time of partition & establishment of its independent identity. Now Hindus are less than 1% in that country in 2018. Ethnic cleansing, forced conversions are a routine, people are coerced into becoming muslims. Beautiful Hindu girls are kidnapped at gunpoint, married off forcefully & law enforcing departments give ludicrous statements, set up narratives to save the culprits. Rinkle Kumari being just one burning example. Check BBC coverage... Row over missing Pakistani Hindu

Likewise for Christians. All the countries where East India company ruled, were forced into accepting Christianity. Even now conversions continue via Evangelists in India which is funded by Vaticn city.  Sonia Gandhi, Nun Teressa are/was the top evangelist. This happens on a massive scale in neglected regions, tribal areas etc... Check the profile, real-time daily updates on --> https://twitter.com/noconversion/status/1029215510217609217

During muslim rule in India, apart from harassments, mass conversions, Hindus were forced to pay ‘jizya’ tax to survive & remain alive as Hindus. Likewise to escape atrocities of British, people converted into xtianity.

It is to the credit of the Hindus who had the spine to resist & endure the atrocities of muslim invaders for more than 500 years & British for > 200 years that we have maintained our Hindu identity. It speaks volumes about our DNA & our strong culture, seeds of which were sown by sages, saints, rishis & gurus of ancient Bharat.

Though this has been negated to a great extent since independence by our culture shaming, Hindu bashing projects by Bollywood, Convent schools, taking false pride in English education enforced by Nehru & people who are catalogued with him. The sense of pride in our rich culture which was globally respected, is now missing in youngsters. They want to believe a virgin giving birth to boy as scientific/miraculous truth, witness a Hindu protagonist in a movie dance to music of 'Jumme ki Raat hai...' but will dismiss our history of Ramayan & Mahabharat as myth & impossible thanks to the convent education & Bollywood being funded by Gulf & Dawood type of jihadi criminals to eulogize muslims, xtians & demonize/make fun of sanyasis, saints, Hindu Gods & rituals.

Being in digital marketing, what benefits can I gain by learning data analysis as well?

I presume, you want to remain in the field of digital marketing & check what’s the add-on if you learn data analysis! Though these 2 are different fields but whether you will benefit from learning data analysis, it will depend on your current KRA & Designation.

Take one of numerous possible examples:- using Sentiment Analysis on Twitter via R, you can check what are the feelings for a particular political party being aired by the public, mood after a cricket match is lost, whom does the crowd feel responsible for the loss, does a political leader elicit positive vibes or negative vibes or positive vibes etc. 

Thereafter, you can use Digital marketing to cash-in on the result.

Choosing a Data Science Course !

It would depend on the time & funds that you can set aside to do the course. If you want to do a full-time course, you will need to do a bit of research. My premise is that you intend to work as a Data Scientist after passing out.

Check which institutes get campus visits of companies for recruitments. If any institute boasts of mass recruiters(for eg Infosys, TCS are mass recruiters for Electronics/IT related profiles-they recruit many students from the same batch), it would be a good choice. The placement records of institutes vary almost every year. Most good institutes publish their placement reports & it’s not difficult to contact a passed out student. Either you seek details from the institute, or you can use social media to connect to get plausible info.

If any institute allows you to work on concurrent projects/live projects → they would probably be a good choice. If you get internship, good. Because chances are you get experience, stand a chance to get PPO(Pre Placement Offer), as well as you get connected to the MI/AL crowd, which could be of helpful later on.

The buzz is that R(tool for D.S) is not enough nowadays, people are migrating to Python. You must check the curriculum. Whether they are going to teach you only R or will teach you extensive use of Python as well. Python is an easy language to learn. You can pick up a lot of free material on the internet to learn Python. Also, check if they are delving deep into AI/ML(Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning). You will get to know this either via ex-students or by going through the curriculum/syllabus which you may get in the brochure.

Don't go by the publicity done by the institutes. Though the placement stats may vary every year, still there is no astronomical level of change expected. I can take the names of institutes, rank them city wise, but that could influence your ultimate choice. Rankings are dynamic. They are based on numerous factors. The yardsticks which govern your choice could make an institute ranked much lower in a particular ranking as your more preferred institute.

Based on the metrics/constraints you have, make an informed decision. You will have to live with the result that accrues as a result of your decision. But hey, that's what data scientists do- draw interpretations based on data made available.

Good Luck!

Aamir Khan, Swara Bhaskar -today's Bollywood actors were Bhands of earlier times.

There was a time when the entertainers - the Bollywood actors of today, were nomenclated as bhaands in the days when kings ruled various states of India. These bhands used to stay outside the city/state boundaries. They used to venture inside the boundaries only for business/purchase. They were not given residence within the territories of states.

Check "bhand" in wiki:-   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhand

They were not really trusted nor respected, nor was their opinion sought on important issues concerning warfare, governance, strategies of states. No learned man/woman would even think of becoming a bhand at that time. It was kind of a humiliating profession, as depicted even in some of our Old Eastman Colour/Black n White movies. The movies having the concept of Kabila/Carvan in our Bollywood enunciate this in a pretty firm & lucid manner.

However, as cultural values have eroded, noble & dignified karmic professions known as Teaching, being a Defence personnel defending the country against invaders, a learned person showing the true path-Guru etc are nowadays even despised, forget about commanding respect.

Now the respected people are the bhands of Bollywood. The media gets inputs from their paymasters who are mostly foreigners, & they eulogize Bollywood actors(bhands of yesteryears) & demonize the Saints who are torchbearers of our majestic Indian culture. We need America to authenticate the truth of Ramayana, Dwarika, RamSethu etc via NASA. When the same facts are enunciated by the pious Saint or our scriptures, secular/liberals will dismiss it as regressive or mythological. It's not a myth it's our unique majestic culture.

India in ancient times was a land where knowledge was highly respected. If the spiritual knowledge was harmonized with materialistic prosperity by an individual, it was a rare combination & the individual was regarded as blessed & as someone who had done a lot of good deeds in the previous birth. Now with the advent of Kalayuga, people who have money are considered successful & are respected. Materialistic prosperity has become the sole criteria of success which is a brazen truth.

In India, we have torchbearers who are carrying this legacy forward. Is it a surprise that Aamir Khan has never seen the inside of a college as a student? He only has a school education, no college education. And he makes statements of feeling insecure in India? He is probably surrounded by his bodyguards 24x7, how did he feel insecure? From whom? He was only uttering a pre-set narrative to globally tarnish India's image which is probably a part of his Jihadi Islamic agenda. How else do you explain his ungrateful attitude? He was a brand ambassador of India when he tarnished India's image on a public forum open to the global media. If he would bad-mouth Coke which he endorsed earlier saying "I feel like I am drinking toilet cleaner when I am drinking coke", Coke would have slapped defamation & compensation suites worth crores. He was let off scott free by Indian government. That's the tolerance of India & Indian government. Still, people go & watch his movies yet he feels insecure. Hypocrisy is a mild word for such parasites. And the paid media jumps for his defence by rationalizing his foolish & Jihadi sentiments.

Salman Khan is a college drop out. Deepika Padukone. Is it any surprise that Swara Bhaskar is a product of JNU a hub producing anti-India traitors. And these people blow trumpets trying to earn sympathy for anti-India activities/terrorist elements. These bhands make foolish statements, media is paid to carry out propaganda, they create narratives which are spicy & people engage with such parasitic creatures which makes the paid story a success.

However, with rising awareness among people, especially youngsters; more & more people have realised that no one, especially these bhands cannot set the benchmarks of what & what not is tolerance, who should feel insecure, what is right, what should an Indian be ashamed of! Certainly bhands like Aamir Khan, Salman Khan or Swara Bhasker types decide nothing, neither do they set the standards of tolerance nor benchmarks of acceptance metrics. Indians have now come of age and have been able to call out the fake, anti-national agenda of these parasitic bhands who are feeding, surviving & making a living off the money Indians spend in buying tickets of their movies.

What is an ebook? How to create an ebook

The answer to the question, 'what is an ebook', is quite obvious! Easy to guess. ebook, eBook or e-book is an electronic book. 

It is a book made available by a publication(or an author having all the rights of the book) in a digital form. It is just like the hard copies, notebooks, textbooks & consists of written content or images. 

Click here to create unlimited ebooks.

Check out this 5 second water hack that crushes food cravings & melts fat.

This method helps you to get deep sleep, stop the accelerated aging process of the body, improve your libido(boost your sex drive) & helps you to lose fat.

What is chronic kidney disease's remedy?

A healthy working kidney plays an important role in keeping the whole body clean, well-fueled, strong and functioning properly. Kidney failure puts the body at risk, 

allowing waste to accumulate and damage the kidneys from inside. It is a good idea to do a kidney cleansing and keep a check on the health of the kidneys in your middle and old age. 

Good to start your study/work by following this ritual.

You can chant “Sarva Dharman Parityajya Maamekam Sharanam Vraj, Aham Tvaa Sarva Paapebhyo Mokshayishyami Maa Shucha” … It’s a shloka of Shrimad Bhagvad Gita, it means - ‘O Lord, I surrender to you, please enlighten me’.

You may also chant the mantra - “Om Gam Ganpataye Namah” 108 times. It removes obstacles to success as it is Lord Ganesha’s Mantra. Pray to Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, for her blessings.

You may pray with a part of another Shrimad Bhagvad Gita shlok - “Shishyaste Hum Shaadhimaam, Tvaam Prapannam”… It means - O lord, I am your disciple, please guide me.

Beginning your work with "Om Narayan Narayan Narayan" also helps to finish the task successfully by putting in sincere efforts. It's believed Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Ji used to follow this procedure & was immensely successful.

Data Science, Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence(ML/AI), Analytics - the sudden rush!

Even if you browse aimlessly on Google, chances are that you will see an ad for Data Science, Big Data, Machine learning or Artificial Intelligence.

I have myself pondered, tried it, have been quizzed & grilled about it. Out of personal experience & experience of my seniors, I will try to address, provide some guidance & possibly clear the air around this sudden buzz.

These buzzwords - Data Science, Big Data, AI/ML(Machine learning or Artificial Intelligence) are definitely getting people piqued with curiosity. For those with limited info, consider the amount of data we are generating nowadays. From bank transactions to buying from Flipkart, Amazon etc E-commerce sites, to ordering food, Domino's pizza online; to booking train/flight/bus/movie tickets etc involves submitting personal/generic data online. Using this data; firms can track previous sales, performance, buying behaviour etc as a function of various factors like geography, gender, age group, education, income etc. After this, they can predict future behaviour eg which product sells more at what time of the year, age groups, gender preferences, whether or not the loan should be sanctioned, if it's sanctioned what's the probability of default by the customer etc... This is just a snippet of the magnanimous possibilities. And the whole world is possibly moving towards digitalization with the advent of smartphones & apps.

Students or those suffering from the midlife crisis in their profession due to stagnation or other reasons & wanting to change profile are taking up courses to get an entry into this field.Let's make this very clear there are very very few good institutes in India which offer a full-time course in this field. There are hundreds of institutes which will give you the "blended" course, i.e online, weekend lectures, recorded lectures, live video lectures etc...

Doing a full-time course at a college which is reputed will make sense as it will help you with campus placements. The multiple companies which will come during placement season will give you lot of chances to get that job offer with the sought after "Data Scientist" designation. Companies come with their requirements & accordingly adjusted package. If you are having experience, X could be the CTC. If you are a fresher package could be Y. My point is you will most probably get opportunities to face the interview panel & get a job. You will be trained during the initial period by the company that hires you which would be a healthy on-job-training kind of experience for you. If your college is really good, you will do an internship(which is normally a mandate in good colleges). This will stand you in good stead.

If you look at job posts on Naukri, Shine, TimesJobs, Monster, Hirist, Indeed etc the number of opportunities for experienced candidates, those with 2+ years experience overwhelmingly exceed the opportunities for Freshers. Which means opportunities, in case you are planning to switch profiles from Sales, Finance, Operations etc into Data Science & Analytics, are limited.

And for people changing fields after working in a different profile; the age & package become an impactful factor. Someone already drawing a monthly salary in the range of 50k to 125k+ will find it difficult to adjust with the salary offered for a beginner or with no experience in this field. Likewise, even companies would be sceptical to take them on board considering their seniority, previously drawn salary & currently package that can be offered on basis of the tangible & intangible gains for the company, ROI for the company or CTC on basis of various metrics.

Sagacity would imply one should go for a full-time course from a reputed college, especially if one is planning to switch profiles midway through one's career if your family supports you/you can sustain & your pocket allows.

Now let's talk about these "blended" courses... The range of their duration is from 3 months to 11 months. If you can maintain the intensity during the course duration, good. I have seen people lose interest midway(from different institutes) & some people totally dropped out. They did not even complete the course.

Chances are that course will be stretched by 1-2  months duration from the earlier declared duration because of various holidays/offs/procrastination… Even 6 months is a long duration for a part-time course. Chances are that a course which was supposed to end in 6 months ended in the 7th or 8th month OR to wrap up the course in the stipulated time, content was skipped/not taught properly.

I re-iterate, this is a part-time, online, weekend course; you will have your own personal, family, social, most importantly - professional life to take care of. In a full-time course, you are deprived of the burden of balancing your professional life which comes with its share of baggage. You could miss out on important sessions due to your work, this does not help at all. Unless your current company is paying for it, chances are that they will not understand that you need a certain slot of time for next 3-4 months or 9-11 months. Those institutes which conduct classes on Saturdays will need you to be free on Saturdays which is a big ask if you don't have offs on Saturdays. Some have classes on Sundays which is fine, but keeping yourself available for that 3 to 5 hour period for 3 months or upto 11 months depending upon your course duration is not an easy task. It becomes even difficult if Sunday is the only off you get from your office. Some institutes keep a weird timing of 6-9 @ night on weekdays, for classes. You could be travelling from work back to home. So this "blended" course will demand a lot from you.

Also:-

1) You need to be absolutely sound in Statistics. Statistics is an entire subject taught in colleges.

2) A bit of coding background helps. It’s not a mandate, but you must not be resistant to coding.

How good is the support that these institutes offering "blended" course offer for doubt/query resolving can make or mar the enthusiasm of students. I have seen very focused students lose interest because there was no concept clearance/doubt solving assistance offered.

So, my strong recommendation would be:-

1) If your company is paying up for you, go ahead with a "blended" course. But you need to be super-charged so that you depend more on yourself to be able to derive full benefit of the course.

2) If you are looking for placement assistance get credible & plausible info of the scenario of students passed out from the institute you are joining by reaching out to them.

3) If it's possible for you depending on your family/financial constraints, go for a full-time course from a reputed institute after checking out the placement statistics of your previous batch. Most reputed institutes willingly share their placement stats. In fact they publish an audited report. Check their websites. Or else connect through their passed out students on Linkedin or Social media sights & then decide.

Do your own research, back your basic instincts & gut feeling. You need to take an informed decision because ultimately it's you who will have to live with the result accrued as a result of your decision.

 Good luck!

Submission at Lords by Indian batsmen, reminds of the 100 all out in South Africa in 1996

If  'abject surrender' would be used to describe the 1st innings batting performance of Indian batsmen, it would possibly be an understatement. It reminded a similar batting performance of Indian team in South Africa in 1996-97 when Indians were shot out for 100 in the first innings of the test.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/16126/scorecard/63736/south-africa-vs-india-1st-test-india-tour-of-south-africa-1996-97

Normally at least one tail ender & one top order batsmen stand out in such matches. Today it was only Ashwin. Though the non-performance of the specialist Indian batsmen could result in the mental fatigue of  Virat Kohli stressing him out to the extent of driving him into playing false strokes. No one else really applied themselves. That does not take away the credit for the good deliveries bowled by Curran, Woakes, Broad or Anderson. But this supposedly 'best team equipped to win in England' could have done better.

It's the all familiar scorecard for an Indian cricket fan. In all the innings that Dinesh Karthik has batted on this tour, more & more fingers are being pointed on him. Possibly he will come good in the next innings, but the collective failure of Indian batsmen has the spotlight hovering on him, Pandytop class or current Indian batsmen just lack the calibre to play genuine, quality swing bowling or both the points are true. Whatever is the case, blame needs to be shared. Ownership needs to be taken.

a, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul. The fact that Pujara becomes immobile with fall of an early wicket was re-stated with him scoring 1 out of 25 deliveries. Either the swing bowling by Curran, Woakes, Broad or Anderson was

Whether Kohli will be able to motivate his bowlers to come out tomorrow with a similar/better display of bowling than their English counterparts we need to find out tomorrow.

Anderson's hostile swing bowling @ Lord's Cricket Test Match India Vs England

After the first day's play being washed out, second day's start of play saw India lose 2 early wickets to hostile swing bowling from James Anderson. How will India's brittle middle order perform, remains to be seen...

Cheteshwar Pujara was batting with Virat Kohli when rain stopped play again. Pujara had played 19 deliveries & scored 1. It's imperative that batsmen should not be too much bogged down by the match situation. If the fact that we need to hold up one end & not give wickets along with the fact that my place in the team is at stake, plays too much on batsman's mind, he will be nowhere near even his normal self, forget about being his best.

Indian fans would be already missing the services of a swing bowler like Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, mentally. Kuldeep Yadav has been picked along with Pujara. Whether they will be able to make telling contributions & push their team beyond the finish line for the victory, we will have to wait & watch to find out.


What is an ebook? How to create an ebook
The answer to the question, 'what is an ebook', is quite obvious! Easy to guess. ebook, eBook or e-book is an electronic book.
It is a book made available by a publication(or an author having all the rights of the book) in a digital form. It is just like the hard copies, notebooks, textbooks & consists of written content or images.
Click here to create unlimited ebooks.


Check out this 5 second water hack that crushes food cravings & melts fat.

This method helps you to get deep sleep, stop the accelerated aging process of the body, improve your libido(boost your sex drive) & helps you to lose fat.


What is chronic kidney disease's remedy?
A healthy working kidney plays an important role in keeping the whole body clean, well-fueled, strong and functioning properly. Kidney failure puts the body at risk,
allowing waste to accumulate and damage the kidneys from inside. It is a good idea to do a kidney cleansing and keep a check on the health of the kidneys in your middle and old age.