First hand experience of McAfee antivirus

If anything happens to our laptop or mobile, we feel a portion of our life has gone for toss, such is our reliability on these electronic gadgets. They are our lifeline today. Recently one of my lifeline went for a toss, my laptop L It was then that I realized, its importance in my life.

It was a virus attack that hampered the performance of my laptop. Existing antivirus detected and removed it but it had corrupted my drives by then. Hence I had to format my system completely. And then my friend suggested me to try McAfee antivirus and I decided to give it a try, must say I took the right decision and am happy about it.

Installing McAfee was not easy so I had to take help from McAfee technical team, my case was referred to Mr. Sanjay. He tried to install it but due to some driver issues, the installation process was getting stalled every now and then. Even my system was taken remotely to fix the issue but couldn’t be resolved initially.

Then I was allotted the time slot of 10am time next day to fix the issue. I was surprised when am phone rang exactly at 10. Bingo, people still respect others time. Once again Mr.Sanjay took my system and made sure I was close by, to help him do few things from my end. After spending all most an hour, when we were close to completing the installation process but my internet speed forced us to abort the process midway. Internet speed of my Wifi connections had gone down drastically. One of them boast about their connectivity across India like anything.

I had given up on the process but Sanjay said, it’s a challenge for him and he will ensure that the problem is resolved by all means. He checked with me, if am available late in evening to get the issue resolved. I said fine and 10.30pm was the new time slot allotted to me, this time it was not Sanjay but Mr. Shiva from his team who took over the reins.

Since Sanjay had briefed Shiva about the issue, he clearly knew what he had to do. It took us sometime because of some update were pending in my system and without that installation wasn’t possible. I couldn’t do that now, so he had to figure out some other way to fix the issue. Finally after sometime McAfee antivirus was finally installed in my laptop and it was all the effort worth taking as am very happy with its expertise. Mr. Shiva extended the validity of my antivirus by a month, goodwill gesture.

More than the product am happy with the timely support which I received from McAfee technical team. They had spent good amount of time in helping me install the antivirus, it could have been done earlier but the delay was from my end, firstly due to internet speed and then due to my reluctance to update a software as it was creating trouble for my system. So they had to find another way to fix the issue. Challenges were there but McAfee’s technical team was willing to overcome them.

I am mesmerized by the dedication, devotion and determination of McAfee team. They have an undying attitude towards the task undertaken by them. It is clearly evident in their work too, this can’t be possible unless McAfee has strong policies adhering to the concerns of its esteemed customers. Irrespective of the intensity of the concern, McAfee treats all its customers at equal power. Kudoos to McAfee and its team.

My meditational journey

Meditation has been termed by people in different ways depending upon their experience. Some state it as a practice to calm one’s mind while other state it as an exercise of brain. I didn’t have any such notion about meditation, till I started practicing it sometime back. It’s been 9 months that I have been meditating and now it has become a part of my life. If I skip exercise a day, feel guilty about it, same is the case with mediation now. Even today when I speak to my friends about meditation and its impact in one’s life, they disagree with my thoughts.  So I thought to write about my journey for them.

I used to exercise regularly at home till 2016, focusing mainly on lower abdomen, crushes were a part of and I loved doing it. I wanted flat stomach, if I get any packs in the process that would be like “icing on the cake”. But in 2016 I started getting shoulder pain, doctors diagnosed it, as an issue with disc, due to prolonged usage of laptop accompanied by inadequate sitting posture. I was advised not to do any exercise for some time and crunches were completely ruled out.

I had sleep issues too, due to pain especially during night time. Had to be on bed rest for good amount of time initially, then my cousin suggested me to attend yoga classes, I might feel better. It was another gateway for me other than physiotherapy sessions. I enquired about yoga classes near my place and apprised them about my disc issue. They assured me, my comfort will be taken care of during the sessions, then enrolled for it.

On day one we were asked to closed our eyes and be in that state for some time. I was pretty difficult to remain in that state even for one minute. But our tutor asked us to continue in that state for at least 5 minutes. Nobody in that class was able to reach 5 mins, we all opened our eyes before the stipulated time. We were anxious when we opened our eyes, then our tutor asked us to relax and said these things happen initially but if we are able to overcome our anxiousness then we can prolong our meditation time. This will not happen overnight, we have to work on it. Basic reason why people don’t like to meditate is that they aren’t able overcome the “eye closure task”. If we overcome this then, rest is cakewalk because during meditation we are expected to close our eyes.

After my first session when I reached home, was feeling too tired and slept for some time. That night I had peaceful sleep and got up full fresh and energetic in morning. On 4^th day, tutor asked us a question “are you able to find any change in your life?”. We all looked at each other, then one person responded, she is sleeping a lot these days. Then we all joined her in chorus that our experience is the same. He laughed and said this happens.  Reason meditation enhances blood supply to brain.

I could notice one more thing, my pain had subsided completely now. And my frequency to lie down on bed has been reduced considerably. All thanks to meditation, now I was able to meditate for 10-15 mins at a stretch and every time I open my eyes after the session, would feel refreshed and energetic. Despite such enriching experience, I quit meditation immediately after classes got over.

For few days I was doing good, then as I resumed my routine schedule, pain started to relapse, quality of sleep declined. All this while I was doing customized exercise as per my condition still I felt something was missing, that was the calmness of mind. Never did it strike to me that by meditation, again I can regain my mental peace and energy.

9 months back I decided to start meditation again, after the first session itself I could feel some difference. Since the gap was long, I had to start from scratch again but it was worth taking the effort. Again there was difficulty in closing the eyes and the time taken was long. But slowly and steadily now, I have mastered the art a bit, by meditating daily for about 15-20 mins. The days I miss it, try to listen to the music for about 5 mins with eyes closed in sparsely lit room. That’s it

I have noticed one more change in me, my introspection towards individuals and situations has changed drastically now. Now I am able to analysis situation with calmness and ease, which wasn’t the situation before. Few of my friends have noticed this change in me and have pointed it to me. My will power has also increased substantially and now am not frightened of adverse situation rather am ready to face any situation with courage. Credit goes to meditation for bringing about this change in me.

So all my friends who come with time, as an excuse for not being able to meditate, I hope your concern has been answered now. For meditation one need a quiet place with minimal lighting, physical presence and music (you can do without it also). If you are not able to do it during day or evening time, you can do it before going to bed for 5 mins. Common anyone can spare 5 mins a day from their busy schedule. Do something for yourself daily by investing 5 mins of your time in meditating.

Sridevi, the iconic star you left us too soon

Sunday morning of 25^th Feb’18 was not a normal one, reason we got up to a shocking news, about the demise of Sridevi, bollywood's 1^st female superstar, fashionista, doting mother,diva are just few things to speak about her. Sridevi was an ocean of talent and elegance. We can rarely see such combination. Many actors of recent times idolize her for her eminent work and looked at her as an artist who can carry of any role with ease and poise. Such was the charm of Sridevi

She ruled Bollywood for over 2 decades before taking sabbatical from the industry to focus on her personal life. She was a complete family person, who has always prioritized her personal life more than professional. This is evident from the fact, that she was never alone in any her outing, her family was always with her. Sridevi’s family was picturesque and close knit comprising for her husband and daughters, her Instagram account speaks volume about it.

Despite such stature in society, she was very humble and down to earth person in real life. Once you meet Sridevi, you will never forget her, that was the charm of the legend. She was an actor only in front of camera but behind the camera she was one among us. That’s what made her special and unique.

Memories of her comeback movie “English Vinglish” are still fresh. After watching the movie nobody will say that, she was facing camera after a hiatus of 15 years, such was her screen presence and charm. The subject chosen by her, was so close to the heart of people that they were easily able to relate with the movie and made it a huge success at box office. Sridevi shouldered the entire movie on herself, risk usually eluded by stars especially in their comeback projects. This only tells us about her ability as in actor and her belief in the projects undertaken by her. She yearned for power packed performance in her projects. Her untimely demise is an irrevocable loss to the fraternity

When I read this news, my first reaction was, it’s a filthy joke. Such jokes are common these days, every other day we read about the demise of a celebrity and in some time that celebrity responds back stating it’s just a rumor. But that wasn’t the case with Sridevi, all news channels and papers carried this news, which forced me to believe, the story is true. Then WhatsApp messages too substantiated the stance.

The feeling is yet to sink in me that Sridevi is no more with us. This was not the case with me, it was the same with all the people I spoke about. Nobody was willing to accept the fact that Sridevi has left us. Initial reaction on hearing the news was “What”.  She has travelled to a different world too soon, leaving us in a state of shock and despair.

Am thinking if we as her fans are so devastated by her demise, what would be the case with her husband and daughters? Till date Sridevi was always around them, now when she’s not there, how will they cope up with the vacuum brought in to their life’s? Sridevi was too excited, as her daughter Jhanvi Kapoor was about to debut in film industry and was looking forward to Jhanvi’s performance in front of camera.

I just pray to god that her soul rests in peace and almighty gives her family the courage to bear with loss of Sridevi.

Padman- A husband’s undying quest for his wife’s menstrual hygiene

Biopics are an inspiration not only for the people involved in its making but also for the masses. As it portrays stories of individuals, who have achieved something substantial in their life by sheer determination and will power. I happen to watch one such biopic recently and it was Padman- A husband’s undying quest for his wife’s menstrual hygiene.

Journey of India’s Padman (Mr. Arunachalam Muruganantham) effortlessly portrayed by Akshay Kumar in the movie. What caught my attention was, when a man is ready to stand up for his wife? Why wasn’t his wife supporting him? As whatever he was doing it only for her not for him. Most men aren’t much aware about pads and its importance in a women’s life till they get married. 

Padman is the story about a man who was so engrossed in his wife’s menstrual hygiene that he couldn’t see or feel anything other than ensuring a hygienic solution for his wife, during her menstruation. All he wanted was that his wife should use pad instead of cloth, as pads was more hygienic and safe in comparison to clothes. Usage of clothes can lead to infection and death in some cases. His wife was reluctant to use pads as they were pretty expensive and clothes were economical.  It was this thought which forced an ordinary man to become the Padman, man who made economical pads.

But the agony is that Padman’s view point was never understood by anyone, first set of people to boycott his vision was his own family member, which was eventually joined by society. It went to the extent that he was ousted from his village with little or no means of survival. His wife, for whom he started the initiative, could have played an instrumental role in his enduring journey but too left him mid-way, making him lonelier.

These adverse situations weren’t strong enough to break the determination of Padman, who vowed not to turn back unless he has been successful in making budget friendly pad for the ladies of the county. He has foreseen each adversity as an opportunity to grow and learn. His failures did break him but not to the extent that it deters him from his mission. That’s Padman, kudos to him

Padman was successful in making budget friendly pads but he was unsuccessful in finding the right set of people who could visualize his vision and tell him that he has achieved his goal. Unless a woman (character played by Sonam Kapoor in the movie) comes to his village and uses Padman’s  pad and apprise him that his mission has been accomplished. She was so moved by Padman’s saga that she decided to help him. That was the turning point of his life.

His days of struggle and insult were replaced with honor and recognition. His invention was not only acknowledged in India but globally too, this was evident by the fact that he was invited as a speaker at United Nation. Padman has really travelled a long way from the lanes of his village to the roads in London. But these fame didn’t change him as an individual, he was the same old villager who wanted soothe his wife during her menstruation.

Many international companies approached Padman to buy his invention at astronomical prices but he rejected those offers, telling them that the purpose of his invention is to serve ladies of the country with low cost pads and not to earn capitalize his invention as done by multinational companies in past, which forced him to become Padman.

A pad that changed the life of Padman and ladies of the country

Will Foreign Nationals be recognized in India like Indians abroad?

Recognition is marked as a token of appreciation towards ones work in the area of their interest or professional accomplishment. It motivates people to enhance their work and reach the zenith of success to make oneself and others gratified. Recognition isn’t achieved easily, it’s the combination of hard work, dedication and devotion which one showcases towards their work.

Recognition is not bound by countries, one can be recognized in the country of their origin or in a foreign land. But when a person is recognized in a foreign country, their achievement is celebrated by 2 countries, one of their origin and other where they are currently.

I have seen people of Indian origin recognized globally for their achievement and India celebrating their success with grandeur. Such celebration are proud moments for all Indians, few such celebrated Indian are Sunita Willams, Kalpana Chawla,  Indrani Noori, Sundar Pichari, Satya Nadella and the list goes on… People of Indian origin have been active in the political too in foreign countries and have become ministers, governors or held prestigious position in foreign land. Their achievements have been torch bearer not only for people of Indian origin but for other foreign nationals too.

My question is when people of Indian origin are given so much respect and diligence for their work, why can’t we in India reciprocate a similar example for our counterparts oversees? We can also make a foreign national head of some Indian company or allow them to be active in Indian politics. What stopping India from giving an opportunity to foreign nationals to prove their metal here in India? Till date India has celebrated the achievement their offspring in foreign land now think India should give this privilege to other countries too.

Indian media tries to cover even the smallest achievement of people of Indian origin offshore. Today while going through the paper I came across a news that a person of Indian origin has been appointed speaker in their parliament. All details about that person (who was not even born in India), was covered in the article, proud moment for Indians globally but how are we going to return this favor? The only way to do so is to recognize foreign talent for their work in Indian soil.

Make foreign nationals feel they are part of India and their achievement do matters to us like any other Indians. Make them fall in love for India and recognize themselves as Indian not as foreigners. Indian settled in foreign land address themselves as a citizen of the land they reside in and not as Indian.

I know that it wouldn’t be easy but when we adopted so many good things from western culture and imbibed it into our culture, can’t we imbibe this too? I think we can, what we need is the right approach and our wholehearted acceptance towards it.

So now the big question is WHEN are we ready for this change?

Padmaavat's journey from shooting till release

Padmaavat (Padmaavati initially) movie was mired in controversy from the time, shooting for the movie began. Set was attached, cast and crew members of the movie were under constant threat from Karni sena activist, who were hell bend against the completion of the movie initially and later against its nationwide release.

But not only was the movie competed but was released too after lot of hiccups, this happened only because of the undying determination of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and the crew members of the movie. They were thick and thin with each other, faced controversies and criticism courageously from media, karni sena and the film fraternity to some extent. Deepika was the worst effected with life threat. But today their hard work and patience has been paid off with Padmaavat joining the 100cr brigade, that too with the movie being banned in few states. This is their true victory, as they had faith in themselves and the vision of Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

There was time when it was really cynical whether the movie will see light or not. It was during the month of December’17, when Padmaavat thronged the nation by capturing headlines in social media, internet, newspaper, Supreme Court and Central Board of Film Certification for all the wrong reasons, courtesy Karni Sena. Supreme Court and CBFC were under constant pressure to trash the movie into bin. But both Supreme Court and CBFC handled the situation meticulously which opened doors for the movie to be released nationwide.

After a month long enduring battle Padmaavat was released nationwide barring few states on the eve of republic day in January’18. Multiplexes and movie theaters were given police protection and at places, bouncers were hired for smooth screening of the movie. People were skeptical about taking the adventure of watching a movie at the stake of their life. But the support from multiplexes and movie theaters forced them to take the risk, it was worth taking. All negativity about Padmaavat had evaporated in air, as people’s verdict was out. Movie is a masterpiece of Art, well research, conceptualized and executed. Kudoos to the team

I too watched the most controversial movie of recent time Padmaavat, must say it was breath taking. Padmaavat is the perfect example of attention to detail magnificent sets, costumes, performances of the artists and the narration of the story were all in sync.

The movie didn’t show Queen Padmaavati in bad light rather warrior Khilji was the torch bearer of negativity and barbarism. Queen Padmaavati was a rare combination of beauty with brains. This was clearly portrayed in the movie. She fought for her honor and dignity. And her undying grit to never let Khiji succeed in his envious intentions, she lived and died with her husband whom she loved unconditionally. That’s it

Khiji despite winning the battle suffered the biggest loss of his life, a lesson well learned by him. Queen Padmaavati despite losing in the battle field, won the battle with ease and dignity.

Now I fail to understand why was all this all hue and cry about the movie “when Queen Padmaavati never met khilji face to face”? Despite Khilji’s best attempt to have a glimpse of Queen Padmaavati, he never succeeded in his mission. His desperation to see Queen Padmaavati, was never accomplished in his life time, then WHY were people against the movie? Initially that was the issue which later shifted to Jauhar.

I feel people raising concern should have pointed out one strong validable reason to express their anguish instead of shifting focus every now and then.

Unplanned dinner with Jugal

Myself and Jugal have been trying to catch up with each other for quite some time now but we weren’t able to find time. Thanks to our busy schedule and my frequent travels. Weekends are hectic for us to spare time for anything else. Weekdays we can plan, provided we decide to take off from work. After pondering our thoughts on it a lot, we decided to catch up on a weekday. We will take off for that day.

All planned and set but just the day before we were supposed to meet, he called me late in the evening to inform that we have to cancel the plan. Jugal had an important client visit at work and his presence was mandatory. More than me Jugal was feeling bad but I said it happens. Things don’t go as planned usually. I told him, we will meet one day when both of us were expecting it the least. I didn’t know it will happen that way.

It was Friday afternoon when Jugal called me out of blue moon and inquired about my dinner plans. I said didn’t plan anything yet but its too early to commit. His immediate response was don’t plan anything, we are catching up for dinner today, I was like, WHAT? He told there’s a restaurant named “Hyderbadi Spice” close to his office, we can catch up there for dinner. He WhatsApped me the location, but there’s a twist here. Jugal is pure veg and I am non veg. How can I have veg food at an authentic non veg place was my dilemma? Jugal told if I want, I can have non veg, he has no issues. I said no, I will try veg food at non veg place for the first time.

We planned to catch up by 8.30 at the restaurant. When I was about to step out, it started raining heavily, I thought, today’s plan also went for a toss. I tried booking a cab but due to peak hour, cabs were not available and I have left my car at my friends place. Going to my friends place and getting the car was next to impossible, though its close by but I will get drenched in rain.  I have 2 options either to wait till the rain stops or cancel the plan. I chose the first option and decided to wait but informed Jugal about it. He was also bit upset but agreed to wait for some time. Luckily rain stopped in 15 mins and I heaved a sigh of relief.

Immediately took my bike and set off before it starts raining again. Google map was my charioteer in the journey but today even it got confused a bit. Reason there were 2 places with the same name and I landed at the wrong one. I called Jugal to inform that I reached and he said, am not where to be seen. Then when he inquired about the landmark, it was then I realized I am at the wrong place. I have no words to express my aggression at that moment of time.

Jugal told he shared the location with me, them how did this happen? It was my fault I searched the place in google map and followed it instead of his shared location. Sometimes smartness can land you in mess, today I was feeling it. But now I was determined, come whatever I will meet him for sure. Then I started following the location shared by Jugal, my destination was 3 km away.

After lot of twist and turn I reached my destination, I parked my bike. Called Jugal to tell I reached. He came out of the restaurant, his happiness was clearly evident on his face. First thing he said when we met was “Finally”. True, after whole lot of struggles we were catch up today, finally. We hugged each other as long lost buddies and went inside the restaurant. The aroma of chicken and mutton biriyani was so strong that I had to change my mind. I told Jugal l dude, sorry but I want chicken biriyani no veg for me. Jugal smiled and ordered accordingly. He knew I will change my mind after coming to the place, so he was not amused a bit, rather he wanted me to try biriyani but didn’t tell.

Biriyani was yummy, if I had ordered veg, would have regretted for it. Jugal asked me how’s the food? I said awesome, saw a sense of pride in his eyes then. He was happy to find a decent place where one could get yummy food. His choice of the place was not wrong. From the moment food was ordered till it was finished, we were engrossed in talking. Both of us had lot of things to be discussed in person. We used it to the fullest.

By the time we were done with our dinner it was almost an hour, Jugal had taken only an hours permission from his work for dinner. Bill was cleared and we left the place. Before leaving home I asked Jugal one question, how was the experience of unplanned meeting? Jugal instant response was awesome. Really it will be a memorable dinner for both if us, as we wouldn’t have struggled so much to catch up with our friends before. That day it was hectic but today when I think about it can’t stop laughing about the entire experience, it was crazy.