50% off on traffic violation challans

 Till date we have heard about discounts at shopping malls and ecommerce sites but never in our weirdest dream we would have thought about a discount on our traffic challan.

But to our surprise Bangalore Traffic Police came up with the idea of 50% discount in challans issued again the vehicles of individuals. It was an unbelievable move by Bangalore Traffic Police, which reaped them with good dividends.  

So, people just thronged on to the BTP website as well as Paytm to check their challan status and made instant payments too. The traffic volume on the site was so high that the site would slow at time. During this time people will opt Paytm to make the payment which forced paytm also to go slow.

This campaign was well marketed by Bangalore Traffic department, as everybody was talking about it. Even in my office we became a part of this campaign. A colleague of mine was checking his challan status which prompted me also to do it.

Then we informed others in our department about the same and guided them with the process to help pay the challan and avail the benefit. By doing so, our department became the part of responsible citizens group who abide by traffic norms.

The best part of this challan exercise was, people attained peace of mind and now they can drive their vehicles peacefully without being scared at the sight of traffic police but they should follow all traffic norm when on road.

Great initiative by Bangalore Traffic Police and  we will look forward to many such people friendly initiatives in future too.

Importance of good phone cover and screen guard

 The craze for high end mobile phones is high amongst all of you but how many of us buy really good gear for our most loved possession. I doubt only a few of us. Reason we all want to flaunt our phones to others, especially the brand.

That’s the reason such phones don't have a good life reason, the screen of the phone will be damaged and it loses its sheen.

I have this habit of taking good care of my phone which has yielded me good returns. A recent incident has reaffirmed my faith in my habit.

I bought this phone almost a year ago and the first few things which I did while purchasing the phone was to buy a good phone cover other than the one provided by the company and a good quality tamper proof glass on the phone.

Last week I went to an unknown location on my bike using google maps. I had clamped my phone well on the phone holder installed in my bike. While going to the place it was fine but, on my way back the phone just flung in the air and fell on the road. I thought my phone was gone but to my surprise nothing like that happened because the hardened cover on the phone saved it from damage.

Prima facie I thought the screen would be broken looking at the condition of my outer screen guard. But when I came home  and checked the screen one more time, I was sure that there was no damage to the screen of the mobile but I was still dubious about it .

So, I took it to the same shop where I had put the screen guard last time. Last time when they had put the screen guard, I told them, don’t you feel it is expensive but this time I kept quiet, as my phone’s screen was safeguarded only because of that tough screen guard. I even told them about the incident and asked them to put good quality screen guard only. I don’t find it expensive because I have learned my lesson now.

So, if you also want to safeguard your phone and want to keep it new along with a good user experience. Then I think you should start buying a good phone cover and toughened screen guard for it.

Why people go blank while speaking in English?

I always say English is a beautiful language and if you love the language, it will love you back.

We all want to speak fluent English but some of us fumble or go blank either while taking to someone or during a presentation. There are multiple reasons for it, in some cases people know what they can do to enhance their communication skills but they don’t want to work on it

First reason - People are still not well versed with English words, which are joined together to form a sentence, secondly  the grammatical portion of English, hence people commit blunder while taking especially with tenses. The fear of not knowing the language take control on people, which in turn takes control on their mind and people start hating the language or avoid it all together.

Second reason -  People refrain from speaking in English else speak only when required or with a set people whom you are comfortable with. So, when you are speaking in front of people who are at par with you, they may not be correct your mistake and you will continue with it.

Some people don’t speak in English at all unless the situation arises and when they are asked to speak in English, they run out of words as well as their confidence as they haven’t used the language for long.

Third reason – People don’t put any effort to learn the language or to  speak in English language. This is done by 90% of the people, hence they lag behind.

Let’s see how we can overcome this problem

Firstly, brush your school’s grammar once again, this will help you to  commit less mistake while speaking and you will be able to learn new words also.

Secondly, try to speak in English with your friends and encourage them also speak in English only especially with you. When group of people is large then, they may come forward to correct each other mistakes and the initial inhibition of talking to someone in English will vanish over period of time. It will make you more confident to speak in English

English can’t be taught overnight, one to really work hard towards learning it. Daily try to spend 30 minutes to learn the language so that you can enhance your skills. 15 mins to read English newspaper, read slowly and carefully. Spend the next 15 minutes in listening to English news, sit down and listen to the news carefully. The benefit of both listening and reading is you will learn about sentence formation as well correct use of grammar in a sentence, how to pronounce certain words as well as get introduced to new words.

Because to speak fluent English people will need all these things.

The only reason people run of words is because their vocabulary in not strong and they don’t practice of the language. Reading and listening are the two ways through with you can enhance your vocabulary and try speak in English to people with your newly learned word. Before using any new word, pls cross check its meaning once, don’t use a word if you are unsure of its meaning.

So, when you start talking to people in English with confidence they might ignore your silly mistake and appreciate your effort in learning the language. But that doesn’t mean you stop learning English, the more you listen, read and speak, more fluent you will become in English.

Even I practice the same technique and spend an hour of my time in this exercise.  I speak to most of my friends in English only, baring a few. Sometimes when I make mistake, they correct me immediately.

I would request all of you to try the tips suggested by me to overcome your reluctance to talk in English. Pls share your thoughts in the comment section.

Doctor G - Movie Review

Finally, I got the opportunity to watch the movie Doctor G after it was released in OTT. And I just loved the movie, I wanted to watch it in the theatre but I couldn’t due to my busy schedule. So, the moment it was released on OTT I didn’t wait much and watched it the day it was released in OTT.

I had a great time watching this movie, full of entertainment, I just loved it. 

Movie revolves around Ayushmann Khurrana, who has got a medical seat in the gynaecology department, a seat which he hates the most. He is the only guy in the course as all his batch mates are female, which again adds fuel to the fire.

He meets Rakul Preet there with whom he befriends and they create a great pair at work. The biggest challenge in front of him in the gynaecology department is the dean of the department, which is Shefali Shah. She is a tough nut to crack.

While working in the department Ayushmann has to perform a lot of duties which are done by gynaecologists and all female patients want to be looked after by him only. Poor guy, here he must perform a task, which he hates the most but is an integral part of his area of study, what is that, for that you should watch the movie only. 

During the course of the movie an incident happens in Ayushmann Khurrana’s life to someone whom he had just acquainted with but that person has led an impact on this life.  That is the turning point of the movie because this is the time, when Ayushmann has to think and act like a gynaecologist if he wants to succeed in it. Will he able to succeed in that is needs to be seen in the movie

Movie is a complete family entertainer with some amazing performances. But I was impressed by the performance of Shefali Shah because I felt she was the dean of the department. The way she conducted classes for students, most important was the seriousness on her face, which she carried all throughout the movie.

I watched the movie on a breezy sunday, if you too want to enjoy your day with some laughter and fun then Doctor G is the movie for you. 

 

Betta fish / Fighter fish as pet at home

 

I always wanted to keep a pet at home but keeping at home is a big responsibility. Especially when you are out of town, who will take care of your pet. Some cities have pet shelter homes but not all cities have this privilege. So, I evaded pets at home.

One of my friend suggested that I keep an aquarium at home and I said setting up is not easy as it consumes a lot of space, hence I disapproved it. I wanted a low maintenance pet.

One day I was at an aquarium shop. I saw fish in a glass bowl and I was attracted to it. I enquired about it from the shopkeeper, he told me about the fish and its upkeep.  I was like, this is what I wanted. I immediately bought that fish and kept it at my Kerala home. Daily I used to feed it food and change water when required and over a period of time, it became a part of life. 

When I was about to shift to Bangalore, I wanted to take the fish with me but it was not possible so I left it there and gave its responsibility to my mom. Now my mom has become fond of it. 

Here in Bangalore, I was missing something at home and I didn’t know what it was. One day when I was at a friend's house, I saw her aquarium and then it struck me that I was missing my fighter fish at Bangalore.   

The day I was back to my house from her home, I bought a fighter fish. Though it was a small thing, it made me happy. Everyday morning after I get up the first thing, I do is to feed my fish. 

Initially the fish was less active but now it is active. The moment I see my fish lying stale in the bowl, I skip a heartbeat. Evening also the first thing I do after going home is check on the fish, touch the glass and the fish will start playing around. That makes me happy. 

Sometimes when I am alone at home, I even talk to the fish, I know it doesn’t understand anything but still I do that.  Sounds crazy but it’s funny.

 One more thing that I have noticed is that, the aura of my house has changed from the moment I got fish to my home. There is lot of positivity in my house now, which I enjoy. Most important thing is, with the fish around me, I feel more happy now.

This fish is my responsibility and I want to take good care of it as long as it is with me. So, I have made arrangements that the fish is fed even when I am away from town for a day or two. 

Fighter fish is a low maintenance fish, anyone can easily keep it at home, if you can’t afford an aquarium. There is not harm in trying it out, I bet you will love it. 

What happens to body if you eat less?

 

We all are aware about the benefits of eating small portions of meals but often don’t know the right way to do it. Today, I am going to share about my experience about how small changes in my diet helped me to eat less and lead a healthy life.

When I was back at my work place, I began my day with green tea, which has few drops of lime in it. It helped to take out all the toxin from the body on a daily basis. It was my first and last tea of the day, throughout the day, I won’t drink tea / coffee after that. But yes, sometimes I may have coffee, that too if I come across CCD (café coffee day) outlet or CCD vending machines. I just love their coffee. Common, I am human being too.

Green tea is followed by breakfast, I have cornflakes with milk and raisons. I add raison to get the sweet taste. I take a small cup of milk in a bowl and add cornflakes to it, so that cornflakes is submerged completely in milk. That’s it, I am done with my breakfast. You can use any other food item like chapati, idli or muesli but keep the quantity minimal. Earlier I used to have 4 idli’s now I eat only 2, as its sufficient for me to survive. I never skip my breakfast as it is the first meal of the day, we shouldn’t skip it. Breakfast itself means breaking the fast.

For lunch I have little rice, curry and some vegetable. I also try to include cucumber as much as I can in my lunch. Whenever I have fried fish or fried chicken, I make it a point to have either cucumber or onion. In such situation, rice portion is reduced a bit.

My evening snacks are digestive biscuits, rice puff or groundnut. As there are healthy snack options and can be easily found at home. But yes, there are days when I crave for having something from outside like samosa, rolls or anything which I feel I having then. And I just have it, believe me it makes me really happy. As these are done occasionally.

I have my dinner by 8 pm usually unless I am out or attending a party. Because I sleep by 10 pm and doctors say we should have minimum 2 hours gap between our sleep and dinner. After dinner I don’t eat anything, not even snacks. Drink water whenever thirsty and also keep a water bottle handy near bed for night. I make it a point to drink good amount of water before and after dinner. So, that I don’t feel thirsty at night. Best way to avoid eating after dinner to brush your teeth 30 mins after your dinner. Then the chances of eating anything is less.

I like to eat something sweet after my lunch and dinner. So, I always keep jaggery handy with me, I take small bite of it or have groundnut jaggery chikki.

 

I know some of you will ask me some tips for eating less

Ø  Drink water before your lunch and dinner, water will fill your stomach and you will tend to eat less

Ø  Include salad for your lunch and dinner, salad will fill your stomach

Ø  Once a week eat very light meal like curd rice or khicdi, it is good for digestion and healthy for stomach

Ø  Always drink water from water bottle and not glass. Reason, through water bottle you will drink more water than glass. Keep your water bottle handy

Is losing weight a mental thing?

If I ask to a question “ who wants to reduce weight?”  I think all of you will raise your hand, including me. We all want to look slim and fit. But it isn’t as easy as raising our hand, we have to work towards to it to achieve it.

The first thing most of us do in order to reduce weight is to either go on a crash diet or take gym membership. This enthusiasm doesn’t last for more than 2 weeks or max to max a month. After that we are back to our usual routine.

But, if we tame our mind we can cut down on our food and try to eat less, which can help us to shed little weight. You would be wondering how to tame our brain to control our hunger pangs. Its time taking process but if you follow it for a long time, till brain process this information. You will see the difference.

Let me explain it to you through an example

We usually tend to eat less at home but we are out for some party or a restaurant were all our favorite dishes are served, we can’t resist and tend to eat a lot. Problem begins from this stage only.

Before I moved to stay with my parents, I followed a strict 3 meal plan with an evening snack occasionally. But being at home, my diet plan changed and I put on lot of weight, which I realized which I was unable to get into my trousers.

So, I again went back to my previous plan which was little tough initially but over period of time, I was able to get my diet plan and control my hunger pangs.

After coming home, my dad used to get samosas or Vada's daily home at around 6.30 pm and I used to have either 2 Vada's or samosas followed by dinner, which resulted in weight gain. As brain got the message that my appetite has increased, it got comfortable with me eating more especially during evening times.

If you eat more in evening, then you tend to feel hungry in morning too. Hence, portion of breakfast also increased but lunch portion was the same.

So, I decided to control my diet again and send a new message to my brain, so that my desire to eat more is reduced.

First thing I decided to do was either have samosa for dinner or chapatis. In case I am having samosa, then I won’t have dinner on those days. Yes, I felt hungry at dinner time so I drank some water for a day or two and from the third day onwards, my hunger pangs decreased a bit and within week things were normal for me.

As a result of which I wasn’t feeling hungry for breakfast also. Now my appetite for both breakfast and dinner have reduced drastically and I am happy about it. And I made a point to continue with it.

On days when I have heavy lunch, I skip my dinner or have very light dinner. Reason, if I have dinner followed by a heavy lunch then again, brain will get a new message and I didn’t want that to happen again, which  I didn’t want to happen.

Try it, I am sure you will get a feel of it when you practice it for long time and stick to this regime that long.