Rain 'N' Clouds

View from my Balcony :)

Rains are here and so are the clouds. 
Love to see the clouds hugging the mountains and gliding by swiftly....
as if two lovers disengaging from the warm loving embrace,
with a promise to come again together, because LOVE is in the air :) 
"MONSOON" is my one of the best seasons, 
The other two are WINTER's and SUMMER's :)))

From My Diary - Choices I made ~ #2

This is the second post on the series "From My Diary - Choices I Made" 

In my earlier post on this series I wrote about my first professional choice. If you haven't read it by now please read "From My Diary - Choices I Made ~ #1

After I resigned from my first job and there after finishing graduation, I was now out looking for a job.

I applied for the post of 'Medical Representative' and got selected as one for a major Pharmaceuticals company named "Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited"

By the way here is a confession I wish to make,  I never wanted to be an MR (Medical Representative), but here I was starting my work as an MR. Why?

Because the money seemed good, it was a field job, the company was well known and besides image of MR's looked nice. well groomed with Tie and shoes, meeting Doctors, first class travel everything seemed good.

I was always good with communication and people (that is what all said) so getting in tune with my new job profile was not a problem.

The job involved meeting Doctors, reminding them of our existing brands and briefing on new launches, and finally asking them to prescribe my company product.

To ensure that the prescriptions were honored, ensuring the availability of stocks at pharmacy store was also vital.

During the course of job I learned the difference between a General Practitioner (GP) and a Specialists and super Specialists. Up until then, doctor was a doctor. I soon got to know the various kinds of doctors and their relevant degrees and line of specialty.

The two things which I was not very comfortable with were the samples that we used to get and the morning and evening doctors calls.

As it is the homes in Mumbai are not very spacious and in that, to make an extra room for samples was something I did not like.

Also their should be continuity in the flow of  working hours. But then  since most of the doctors would meet only during mornings or evening hours depending upon there convenience or patients, we had no choice but to meet them whenever they allowed us.

Besides these two things I loved my work :)

I guess I was the only person in my company at least, who did the least number of evening calls.

It was over two years now on the job , when one day sometime in August or September 2001 ( I do not remember exact date now) my then Regional Manager (RM) Mr. Himanshu Desai came to work with me.

Mr. Himanshu had a very dashing personality and I remember asking him why he did not go into modelling ;)

Mr. Himanshu was the one who took my final interview during selection process.

He was to meet me at 10:30 am at Mulund station near platform no. 1 indicator. I was there before time but he came only after 11:00 am . After exchanging greetings the first thing he told me was this:
"I have heard lot of things about you and that has not portrayed a very good image of you." 

• You do not do evenings,
• Do not meet VIP doctors enough
• Only do the prescribed 10-12 calls
• Do time pass with girls, etc

Now what I could have said to all this as some of them was true. Well I always believed in smart working so as required was doing the prescribed number of doctors. VIP's I did not concentrate much was, because according to me they already had reached their saturation of prescribing the number of prescriptions for me. I instead believed in catching hold of new doctors. I used to meet them when no one else went to see them, because of this I not only developed great rapport with them easily but they were the first to prescribe my product first. As far as girls were considered, we had very few females working in this industry then and because of my easy going attitude they found it easy to talk to me. That does not mean I only talked to girls in fact my core group of friends were all males and we still meet as and when we can even to this date.

Anyway with the impression my RM had for me, we went on to work. We did few doctor calls, chemists visit and lot of waiting in between calls.

By the time it was 2:30 pm we manged to do about 10 calls. which included 3 VIP doctor calls

We went for lunch and it was then what he said made my day :)

He said,  "Nilesh I have been working with you today and I saw your style of working. You have great rapport with your doctors, the prescriptions are coming, the stocks is available at the medical store and your equation with your colleagues too is great. I must say I will have to change mu opinion about you"

Before he left for the day he said, Nilesh you work smart and I like the way you work, I want you to be an FM (Field Manger) start preparations for interview this coming March.

Now what do I say to that :)

So did I go for the Field Managers interview???

"NOPE", I did not.

Before it happened, I had already made up my mind to resign from my job.

Now why did I do that??

Well, after working for more than 4 years under someone else, I realized I was not cut out for a job. I did not liked to be answerable to anybody, nor was I interested in chasing  the numbers the so called big targets. I wanted to do my work my way as per my convenience. But above all, the most important thing which inspired and motivated me to resign was this simple logic :
" If I worked  even half of  what I did here for myself, I will end up making more money, and that too with less working hours "

I resigned in the month of October 2001, to venture in to a totally different industry of which I knew nothing except for the fact that I wanted to be a "SELF- EMPLOYED"

The job as an MR at Torrent pharma was good, money was good, company was good too, but yet again I wanted more, and this time too everybody in my circle and knowing advised me against leaving the job. 

My field manager even went to the extend of saying that I could choose to do both, work at your thing as part-time. What if  it did not workout as you think, at least with job financial security is there?

Yes the risk was there, but then I had read and  heard a lot and knew the "Risk of not taking the Risk" 

Was this next "CHOICE" which I made then was worth the risk I took?

To find out do follow or subscribe for my next blog-post "From My Diary - Choices I Made ~ #3" coming out soon...

What do you think about the choices I made in my this series so far ? Have you made any such choices which led to greater gains or did they ended up giving pain ?

Do write and share with me your story. You may drop a comment or write to me as an email on "nilesharma@gmail.com"

You may also ask me for any guidance and help if you need and feel that I can contribute with. I will be more than happy to help you if I  can ,from my rich and diverse experience.

Happy day :)

Book Review: 26 Days 26 Ways for a happier You (Priyanka Nair)

Book Review

Cover Page of the E-Book

Book Name: 26 Days 26 Ways for a happier you (An A to Z guide to Self- Help and Self - Awareness)
Author: Priyanka Nair
Genre: Self help
Pages: 72

Review: 
The book offers its reader a chance to amend the ways of dealing with self, people, relationships and our emotions.

As the name goes the book offers 26 insights into various aspects of life which affect our mental health, relationships and  above all our self esteem and confidence.

Topics like Acceptance, Letting go, Negativity, Stop Pleasing and many more which often some find difficult to overcome are beautifully dealt with and written about.

The Book not only talks about the issues but also gives practically tried and tested solutions as it comes from Priyanka's (Author) own life experiences.

At several instances Priyanka has very beautifully used idioms and quotes to put her point and perspective across for the readers.

The easy flow of words and simple language makes it a smooth read powered with loads of impact.

I have been through the same set of experiences and learned a lot from my own experience, back then knowledge by way of internet and social media was not within reach of most as can be seen now.

This E- book can be your source of learning and inspiration to avoid the pitfalls and/ or come out of them using Priyanka's Wisdom as a guiding star someone else's Wisdom force.

Why read this book?
Each day brings with it challenges and opportunities, but seldom do all focus only on opportunities. Instead all the attention stays on the hardships and the struggle that each  life comes with. We all have a choice to to design our destiny. I have shared one such in my earlier post "From My Diary- Choices I made ~ #1

This book offers you all the simple key to unlock the gates of opportunities and perspective you never might have thought of. This book comes handy by way of its 26 ways to take charge of your life and design your own destiny the way you always wanted.

About Author:
Priyanka Nair is a full time blogger and a Vlogger now. Before venturing into the world of blogging which according to her is her "Happy Space" she worked with various multinationals for over eight years.

Priyanka battled with depression during her critical illness and it was during those days she got the time to introspect and analyse her life and then decided to take charge of herself and had to take some tough decisions to make amends in her life and come out as a survivor.

From her interactions on people through her blogs Priyanka realzed that their are lot of people who are in the same boat as she once was in, so she actively started sharing her story and this helped people thus contributing towards the betterment of people and society in general.

She got so involved that she got motivated to acquire a skill set in tthe field of Mental awareness that Priyanka is now also pursuing her Doctorate in Pscychology.

To know more and connect with Priyanka choose your preferred medium from any one or all of the below:

Blog: https://priyankaspen.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirtualSiyahi/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VirtualSiyahi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtual_siyahi/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/priyanka2323

Rush and get in touch NOW with Priyanka Nair to grab your free copy of her e-Book "26 Days 26 Ways for happier you" (limited period offer)

Do read her book and share your feedback and comments with us. If you like it please share and subscribe for more

Happy day :)

Amazingly Beautiful Skyline

There have been new dimensions which I discovered and am still discovering about my self. "Photography" is one of them. Writing poetry's and blogging being others :)

I am not the type who has a "DSLR" or goes out looking to click pictures every now and then, yet I manage to take some snaps as and when it happens or the nature reveals it to me, and you know what ? they are all amazing and beautiful.

Like this one here, as can be seen below :

One fine evening from my Balcony

One evening as I was standing in my balcony ( yes  having BALCONY is sort of a privilege here in Mumbai), I noticed the change of play in the skyline, and I saw the colors beautifully coming up in the sky. I liked what I saw and the photographer in me immediately reached for my smart phone. I put it on the camera mode and managed to capture this beautiful sight, and as I was capturing the moment, all my senses were filled with a sense of alignment and in my heart of the hearts I was saying "Wow" 

Fun Movie with a Dose of Inspiration

Mostly all of us love to watch movies, isn't it?

And the best thing about movies is that everyone gets to choose their pick of genres (Comedy, Romance, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Horror, Inspirational, Musical etc...)

Like many other blissful things in life I also enjoy the liberty of  watching movies usually at least 3-4 in a week :) some times one every day ;)

For some it may look like a waste of time but the way I see it, every movie has something to teach us. They can be looked as a package which is filled with loads of drama and emotions, sometimes joy of songs and dance, fun element by way of comedy, some fight sequence here or a murder or mystery there, and romance ....but above all they all comes with some sort of message.

Today I am writing about one such movie (A Real Life Story) which is not only fun to watch but comes with loads of  "Dose of Motivation"

Plot of the Movie
It is a story about a old man Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) who lived in a  village named Invercargill in New Zealand.

Anthony Hopkins as 'Burt Munro'

He is very passionate about motorcycling and speed. He has a 1920 Indian Scout which he modifies in his workshop such that the bike which was designed for a speed of 55 mph  touches a recorded speed of 205 mph. Not only this he simultaneously also worked on increasing the capacity of the bike from 600cc initially to 950cc.

The Bike - Indian Scout

He is retired and does not have much money on him, but over a period of time manages to save enough to head to USA to fulfill his dreams. He boards a ship from New Zealand with his bike in the ships cargo to go to USA. He is travelling on n tight budget so takes on to cooks meals aboard for the shippy's

Here I come America

On his way he comes across number of amazing people who helps him reach his destination, And yes he also happens to meet a lover for a very brief time ;)

Finally he reaches his dream destination " The Salt Flats of Bonneville

Bonneville Salt Flats

Here he meets Jim Moffet (Christopher Lawford) who is also a bike enthusiast and they become friends. Jim finds it amazing to learn that Burt has come for speed landing and helps him get through the process of participation for speed landing at Bonneville Salt Flats.

The Friend and supporter- Jim Moffet

Once at Bonneville and after lot of convincing and coercing the panelists at Bonneville speed landing allows Burt to give a chance, but they first needs to know if the bike is good enough to qualify for the speeding.

Heading for trial run on the Salt Flats

During the trial run Burt realizes that his bike needs some modifications and fine tuning. He makes the necessary changes with his other two friends whom he also meets while in Bonneville. Before he gets back on to the track he wants to test ride his bike so goes for a ride to Nevada where their is no restriction on speed limit. While he was speed riding a police officer coming from the opposite side of the road notices him and comes after him. He chases Burt with the police siren on and Burt pulls over to side of the road. He asks him the reason for his speeding and Burt explains why he was doing so.

Burt pulls over his car for the Police Officer

After his episode with the Police officer and convinced that is bike is good to go for the speed run Burt reports to the Bonneville Slat Flats speed tracks the following morning. He is greeted by supporters gathered there who had seen him the other day when he did the trial run to qualify for participation.

As he starts his bike on the track everybody stands there holding there breath and praying for Burt's well being more than anything else. The announcers are keeping track of his bike run progress and are reporting it live as Burt is riding and speeding up with each passing LAP.

Announcers at Bonneville Salt Flats 

If you liked what you read so far, I am sure you would like to know more... as in What happens to Burt?  Does he makes it through the highest speed? What about his bike from 1920 which he modified and is running on the Salt Flats of Bonneville in 1967 (almost 47 years after its manufacturing) ? What are the lessons and what made me choose this movie as a source of motivation and inspiration?

Answers to all of the above (and many more questions which are coming up in your mind) see this brilliantly made movie made on the life of Burt Munro who followed his dream with sheer grit and determination and passionately worked on his bike to achieve the feat which most in his age ( and otherwise) won't even dare to think of .

Trailer of the movie - The Worlds Fastest Indian
I present to you a glimpse of the movie through its trailer below.

The Worlds Fastest Indian (2005)

Click here >>> for the Cast & Crew of "THE WORLDS FASTEST INDIAN"

I hope you will enjoy this movie as much as I enjoyed and share your experience and learning's from this movie with me soon enough.

If you enjoyed this post of mine do like and share it .

Your comments will help me understand if I should bring more of such motivating and fun movies for you all.

Thank you all  for your valuable time, have a happy day :)

From My Diary - Choices I Made ~ #1

Life is all about making choices at every juncture...isn't it ?

Like you all I too have had made many choices in my life some of it turned in my favor yet some were not. Yes that's how it is with all of us, won't you agree?

Today here I wish to mention about one such choice I made about twenty years ago. Rather my life's first major choice.

I was working then for a commissioning agent firm "Sai UnicornGroup of Companies" which back in year 1995 was offering its services primarily in FMCG markets for defense sector. Now it has come up with its own brands and has emerged as one of the  market leaders in retail markets.

I was one of the best performing employees and was the only one in the firm who got five increments (Yes you read it right) five increments within a very short span of service of  about two years with them. 

I had joined the firm in order to help my family financially. 

The thing was that my father was a Government employee ( an honest one, of which I am very proud of). During that time he was posted in B D Bari (Jammu) and we were at Mumbai. 

We had bought a modest one bedroom apartment in suburbs of Mumbai and his salary was not enough to support the expenses of two houses (he being posted at  B D Bari & we staying here in Mumbai) and the EMI of our new house.

Being the eldest one I took upon myself the responsibility of doing something about it  I decided that I would do anything I can to help my family get through this, and thus came into this job at Thane.

The salary was okay but the profile was good and the bonus was that it gave me the opportunity to travel to all the major cities of India. The only catch was that back then I was a student, pursuing my graduation in science stream and this job kept me from attending science practicals, and hence I discontinued my studies then.

I really wanted to do study, but  for me it was not my priority at that point of time of my life. My priority was to help my family through those financially troubled times. 

I am a living example of this famous Quote

I had not read the book nor was I aware of this very famous quote by world renowned author "Paulo Coelho" from his famed book "The Alchemist" (which was apparently also used later in one of the blockbuster Bollywood movies "Om Shanti Om" ) 

Now when I look back something similar happened with me. Yes I very much wanted to study and at least finish my graduation and so it happened :)

It was year 1998 when the Fifth pay commission was announced and when it came into affect I got the opportunity to go back to my studies. The increase in my father's pay scale almost compensated my salary :)

I decided to quit my job and carry on with my studies after a gap of almost two years. But the decision was not easy, why? Because during those times I was making good money. Better than some of the graduates I knew. 

I was my Boss's favorite so he did not want me to resign. He tried all he could to keep me. He proposed to me a very tempting offer, which not only would have been good for my pocket, but he also offered me a designation of "National Sales Head" with several other perks which included company provided vehicle.

When I talked about this with the people at home and my fiends and some of their parents, they all advised me to continue with my job. They all said I would be a fool to let go such a great opportunity in order to fulfill my dream of completing the graduation, which gave no guarantee of a job. in future.

What they said did made sense at some level but somehow I was not feeling right about it. 

The choice was difficult for me then. At one side I had a job which most would have wanted and on other I had my desire to complete graduation which came with no promises. 

I chose to let go of that opportunity and followed my heart . 

I resumed college, finished my graduation. Worked in corporate culture with one of the biggest names in pharma industry, and later in 2001 came up with yet another situation similar to this...

What happened, what was this new job and what were my circumstances and choices then....

to find out do come back to read my next phase of life story...

Till then read my other posts and if you like them do share and subscribe. And if there is any thing you want to suggest or ask please drop your comments in the comments section at the end of this post and I will revert to them as soon as I can.

Thank you for droping by and reading this post :)

Have an amazingly Happy time !!!

Vasai Fort, a treat for Mind Body and Soul

Today I had been to Vasai fort. Although I have visited Vasai many a times this was the first time I explored Vasai west and Vasai fort which is also known by the name ""Fort Bassein"

The distance from Vasai Railway station to Vasai fort is about 9.9 kms. I took a share auto from the station. As we were riding, I came across various houses which dated back to as early as 1947. The structures were well preserved, maintained and still habitable.

The city was neat and and the roads were mostly wide. I enjoyed my sojourn to the fort.

I got down at 'Nageshwar Temple" just near Vasai fort. The temple is dedicated to "Lord Shiva"

Nageshwar Temple- Vasai

In the same premises there is one more temple, that of 'Vajreshwari Devi"

As per the information jotted down on the board, During the Pehswa regime Mumbai upto Daman was under the Portugese Ruling. The news of their barbaric treatment on the fellow country men and the ongoing rape assault on the women folks of the region reached "Chimaji Appa". It was then, in the year 1737  Chimaji Appa had made a vow that if his troop succeeded in defeating the Portugese who were Ruling this part of Mumbai back then, he would construct a temple for "Vajreshwari Devi". He did manage to conquer the Portugese and thus fulfilled his oath and installed the idol of Vajreshwari temple here.

After coming out of the temple I proceeded to what seemed like a fortress to me. The grand entrance welcomed me  and I entered in to see what lay behind those walls

Entrance to the Vasai Fort

Inside there was nothing much to see except for the vast open space laced with lots of Date trees and huge Mango tree in the center of the those walls. But being there I found myself in tune with nature. The cool wind blowing on my face, the chirping of birds and sight of butterflies and lush green trees all around. It was a very unique experience I have had. I took a small video of the place and you will be able to see how clean and beautiful the place is and also hear the sound of the winds blowing and sounds of birds chirping in the background.

I stayed there for some time soaking in the overall beauty and the lively experience of the place and my being there. As I was coming out I once again looked at the entrance from where I had gone in. There I saw some symbols inscribed, so I took a close up snap of the visual. I do not know much about those signs but I intend to find out soon.

Signs & Symbols on the Entrance of the Vasai Fort

I could see another structure in some distance so I moved towards it. The road to that place was covered with trees of Mango and Dates on both the sides. It was like I was walking through the forest except for the fact that the pathway was very clear almost like a road.

The pathway 

After walking for about 3-4 mins I reached what seemed like a sort of gathering hall or courtroom ( I really wished there was a guide or some local person one who could have given some insight about the place)

Court room as per my guess work

One good thing I liked and admired about this place was that it was very neat and clean. Although I did not see any instruction or notice board regarding loitering from Government authorities yet the place was well kept.

I also noticed that there seemed scarcity of water in the area as the "Well" inside the fortress was almost dry.

Dry Well in the Fort

Also the local female folks were fetching drinking water from one other well and were also using its water to wash their clothes.

Local women washing clothes by the "Well"

Some other interesting things which I saw and took pictures of can be seen below :

An old dead tree with huge trunk

Date Tree

That one thing which caught me attention was a cut out on the tree which read " Rs 1,000/- fine if found plucking Mangoes"

Warning stuck out on the tree

The journey had come to an end, and it was time to head back home. So I got to the auto rickshaw stand and took the share auto for Parnaka, and from there another auto to Vasai Railway station.

Auto stand near Vasai Fort

My trip to Vasai fort will remain one of the most memorable ones.

It rejuvenated me, as for few hours my Mind was away from all the daily life hum drum, Body was inhaling pollution free air and Soul was immersed in the silence of the historical monuments in the natures galore and beautiful surroundings.

Sometimes it so happens that even though we live close by ( in my case about 50 kms from Vasai) but we seldom go to the place, for which people come looking from all over.

Have you any such experience of the place which you visited which was close yet you never went or want to go. Please do share it with me and I will appreciate if you take out few more moments to drop your comments and valuable feedback.

Stay connected for more....

Happy Day :)

When I was a Kid, I ran away from "MILK"

Yes we all have been there,when we were kids.... and boy what a time it was :)))

Then it was all about just playing and eating and beating and when I think of more the list will goes on and on and on...

Back then my Mom would often be behind me to drink "MILK", making all sorts of stories and giving examples to explain how Milk was so important for our overall health.

I am sure your mom or you as a parent now, too does that?

If yes, then you must continue reading this post...

Few years ago a very close friend of mine introduced me to one of his colleague . It was a very brief interaction and we never met again.

Very recently the same old friend called me up and asked me to talk to Vidushi, since she needed some professional help related to one of my fields of expertise,.

 I asked, Vidushi...... Who?

It took him some time to help me recollect who he was talking about.

Vidushi is still his colleague but is now "Dr Vidushi Agrawal" in fact a very renowned "Dietician & Nutritionist"

I was checking out her website, when I came across her blog-post Why NO to MILK & YES to CURD & PANEER (COTTAGE CHEESE)

On the same lines, I also came across her video  "Beautiful Explanation on Relationship between Diabetes & Milk"

I was astonished to find how Milk could play a part in Diabetes. It was hard to believe for me as a lay man, so I saw her complete profile on her website and her credentials.

I found out that not only is she well qualified with a long standing practice and seemed to be an authoritative figure in her filed., since she is also has to her credit several  "Recognition & Awards" which speak for her.

She knows what she's speaking and this made me think, should one consume milk, at all ?

Well as they say there is always three set/ group of people The one's who are "FOR" then there are those who are "AGAINST". I belong to the third group, that of a "NEUTRAL". My main reason being I do not have milk except for a very little quantity that too in my morning cuppa tea.

Whether you  should or wish to continue with drinking or having milk in your daily diet is something you need to decide, but yes if you are looking for some Diet advise do get in touch with Dr. Vidushi Agrawal through her website or Blog.

And if you already have a Dietician, but need someone to home deliver "Healthy Food" for you (only in Mumbai) then please log on to "www.leanmeal.co" for some yummy and mouth watering recipes
specially designed and  hand crafted, as per their in house assessment or your Dietician's diet chart

Hope the information shared here was helpful.

If you found this article useful please share with your friends and near and dear ones. And do not forget to send in your feedback and please drop in comments section.

Happy Day :)