"Insecurities and Possessiveness"

Today I am finding it very difficult to find the words for the feelings and emotions that I want to express, yet I can not stop myself from giving up on writing this post. So here it ....

I want to start with a question?

Do you have a spouse or are you in a relationship where one of the spouse is so in-secured and or possessive that he/ she won't let you have relationship outside the family???

I guess there are many....

In arranged marriages it is quite possible that you never got the chance to learn about this aspect of your spouse before your marriage, but I guess in love marriages you spend enough time with your partner in knowing them before you take the plunge.

One of the mistakes which most of the couples in love do is that they think I will change him/ her my way or things will change after the marriage. Does it???

I had an arranged marriage and my would be wife came from a very conservative family. 

I would not say I belonged to a progressive thinking family, but yes my parents were I guess open minded. May be that is the reason we never felt that it was inappropriate to have friends of the opposite sex, because we were never told not to speak or make friends with opposite sex. 

For us friend is a friend male or female doesn't matter as long as you know where to draw the line.

All my life I have had friends from both the sexes coming to my house, but that got significantly reduced after my marriage and I guess you all know why???

After few months into marriage my then wife asked me if I ever had a girlfriend before marriage. The answer was NO because I never had one. It does not mean I did not wanted to have one, it was just that the girl I was interested in was not interested in me :)))) 

The other question she asked me after this was a googly, she asked Will you remarry if I die???

Hard one wasn't it??? 

I tried to dodge that one and tried to change the topic, I mean I never thought about it and here she was hell bent on getting the answer, so after thinking for a while I did answer her.

She got me sweared and wanted an honest answer, which I gave her. 

It was YES, why not? 

I guess this was the first hint she threw about how possessive she was which eventually showed its face after few years into marriage. 

As mentioned already that I had friends from both the genders whom I continued meeting outside of house.

Of these one was my female friend whom I had known since we were kids and hence we gelled well. I would go to the extent of saying she is my soulmate. Before you jump to any conclusions read my post >>>"Soulmate"

She did not approved of my keeping any ties with her, may be because she was single (she still is) and I did not take her advise. 

According to my limited knowledge the foundation of a successful and happy marriage are  based on four key things. To know what they are as per me please also read "Marriages are made in HEAVEN"

Source: https://asriran.info/lists/b/broken-mirror-reflection-wallpaper/

I did not break my friendship to save my marriage. 

I am not seeking any endorsements from you for the decision I took, but yes one thing I wish to ask you all reading this mail is this... Why should any or both the partner expect that there should be no one else in your respective partners life while dating or after marriage? And by this I am not referring or promoting extra marital affair or adultery. 

What harm in having a platonic friend. Is it that difficult a fact to digest or do you belive that such kind of friendship's do not exist? 

If you are possessive as a partner or are in-secured about your relationship it's time you ask some tough questions to yourself and to each other.

Above all if you find it difficult to trust your partner despite all their assurances which actually may be true, then I guess it will be wise of you to "LET GO" off one of these two, your INSECURITIES or your PARTNER

Not all relationships have Happy endings but each one of us is empowered to make a choice of living a Happy life.

How??? go figure out..

I shared my story as I think there are many out there who either had gone through the same experience or are going as you are reading this.

What did you do or what do you think you want or wanted to do? share your thoughts or ask me if you want to know from my insights.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post is solely mine and the sharing is from my personal experience and is not to be construed as a PROFESSIONAL ADVICE 

From My Diary - Choices I made ~ #3

In this series I am sharing the choices I made as far as my professional life goes.

Why I took up my 1st job at the age of 17 is answered in my earlier post  "From My Diary - Choices I made ~ #1 and then why I moved on to my 2nd one and why I left that can be read here >>. "From My Diary - Choices I made ~ #2

The first two jobs is about me as Salaried person.

Here now you will read about my journey of transition from being salaried to becoming Self- employed.

I was brought up in a lower middle class family. No one from my family ever ventured into business, I was the first one to take this path. Naturally every body was worried about me.

I wanted to do something where money was not required as a capital to start something. As it is we did not had enough money, and then asking for help from my parents for business was not something I wanted to do, so I explored my options. I was prepared to do hard work and long hours.

A friend of mine told me about "Life Insurance Corporation of India" (LIC). During those days I was staying at Ambarnath and there was an LIC branch I was aware of. So one day I went there and met Mr. Deepak D Sawant also called as DD by his colleagues and friends.

DD is a very dashing personality and he spoke very enthusiastically about his work and how his agents working under him was doing both professionally and financially. He introduced me to few of them while my meeting with him.

One thing I observed about him was that he was different as compared to all the other Development Officers there. His approach was very professional and he was not trying to push me into anything.

I came back home and went over with all that he spoke. The decision was made and I enrolled myself under his mentor-ship to become an LIC Agent.

I had to undergo IRDAI training for 100 ours in order to get my License to do LIC business.
I completed the training and procured my License. In the meantime DD encouraged me to meet people and talk to them about my new profile and how I could help them in securing family and saving money for various provisions of life.

Before I did that I had made two of the most important principles which I followed, the first one was "I will not ask for business from my family or friends" and the second one was that "I will not do unethical business"

DD believed in learning and hence encouraged his agents to do the same. So I also involved myself in the learning. Usually all the agents preferred agents manual for easy premium calculations but DD made sure that all his agents also learned the basics of calculations manually as prescribed in LIC's agents manual which I call as LIC's bible.

Thus DD was instrumental in incorpoarating in me the habit of working from basics, and I am very grateful for him for this. Even today I start with working at the basics first and then gradually move to the advanced stages.

Within a very short span of time I knew about all of the plans offered by LIC the purpose they were meant for and how it worked.

At LIC I also met one of the most important person who further groomed me at various levels. He was an MBA Finance who also joined LIC like me as an agent under leadership of DD. His name is Krishnan Raman Vedant.

Krishnan and me became very close friends and our friendship has grown stronger with each passing years. He is lot of things for me a great friend, a mentor, a guide, a teacher and an incredibly brilliant and well read individual. With Krishnan it's never a dull moment.

We started our journey in the financial service sector together and are still walking the road together.
It was Krishnan who introduced me to Mutual Funds and shares. He taught me about FD's and NCD's, Bnnds & Debentures.

I owe a lot to these two people whom I met during my course of working with LIC.

You must be wondering what the heck, did he left LIC too :-/

Yes, I did that because it was time to take the next big leap. What that next big leap was and when and why I decided to do it?

You will learn all about it in my next post on this series, till then keep wondering and if you have any questions please feel free to write to me at "nilesharma@gmail.com" I assure you that I will respond to your e-mails within 48 hours

Thank you so much for dropping by and reading my posts.

Stay Happy :)

Taking baby steps in Video making...

Life is all about acquiring new skills and learning.

Keeping up with this philosophy, I recently acquired a new skill, that of making videos using video editor tool.

Although I have been taking photographs and shooting some scenic videos from my travels, but putting them in an album or making a slide show out of them never occurred to me.

But that has changed now.

I have decided to make an album/ slideshow from the travels and compile a video of it and share with you all on my channel "Nilesh Sharma- YouTube"

Yes, I know it may sound silly, but then I acquired this skill only very recently.

I took help from some online tutorials of some fantastic Vloggers on Youtube.

A very special thanks to "Billi 4 You"

His video "Best Video Editing Software for you"really helped me the most :)

I am taking baby steps, one at a time. Mistakes are bound to happen, but so will the new learning. 

With time I will master the art, in the meantime enjoy my kiddish work on display for you all to laugh and have some :)))

Find below my video which I have uploaded very recently, in an attempt to make a presence on new platform which is "Yuotube"for me.

If you want to know more of  this trip , I had also written in detail about it on my blog "River Rafting @ Rishikesh"

Please revert with your feedback and ideas as it will help me greatly.

I look forward for suggestions and support from you all. Thanks for reading,

Happy day :)

#billi4you

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 :)

Can men, not choose to be a house husband ???

I met someone whom I have known for some time now. Unfortunately she is headed for a divorce.

The lady is self employed with two lovely kids and makes a decent living of her own. She is financially independent and takes care of all her household expenses and kids education.

Her husband does not work, but never asks for any financial aid from her. How he manages his expenses only he knows. And yes he pays the EMI of their house too. He does have some ancestral property back in his hometown, but I am not sure if that is good enough to take care of his expenses and house EMI !!!

I did meet him once, and he seemed to be a nice man. Well behaved and cordial, smart and well educated with an MBA degree. He did work for some big firm for few years.

I asked the lady the reason for her decision to divorce this man whom she loved and dated for 8 years before they got married.

One of the reasons for the divorce was that he was not working.

Yes it was a valid one, yet I somehow felt that it was not such a big issue. Why you may ask?

Well to answer that one, let me take help of a Bollywood movie "Ki & Ka"

If you haven't seen this movie you should see it first or may be sometime to understand the underlying reasoning.

I wonder if it ever occurred to her that may be her husband does not want to go out and work , and wanted to be at home and preferred taking care of house and kids, while she worked !!!

Till few years ago typically it was a man's responsibility to earn for the bread and butter and upkeep of the family and females played the role of housewife.

Then came the time when both husband and wife earned and contributed for the prosperity of the family.

So is it not possible that there will come a time or may be it is already in evolution stage ,where in man would like to be at home and take of the household chores and children while women will go out and earn for the family ?

Apparently I have a friend who stayed at house and took care of his child while his wife worked. Its not that he never worked but before the baby came in they had talked about this arrangement and it worked out just fine for them.

I myself love working from home and loves household chores too. and my question to all you out there reading this blog is this...

Can men, not choose to be a house husband or homes-man???  The way some females prefer to be a housewife.

Do share your thoughts and stories of such unconventional couple or people you know of, or the idea in general. I would love to read your comments and reply to them.

Stay connected, for more... Happy day :)

Sun-soaked Leaf

I was walking down the road in Dehradun when my eyes saw this sight.

There was a tree and on it I saw few leaves, One of which looked so beautiful and glowing. The reason for this was the sunlight which was falling only on this particular leaf. I could not help but take the snap of this beautiful sight.

River Rafting @ Rishikesh

Recently I went to Dehradun with a very close friend of mine. This is the second time I went there within a span of just 2 months.

Why so?

Because last time I did not get the chance to do that one thing which I so much wanted to do :(

And, what was it?

River Rafting at Rishikesh, Yes this was my only reason to go once again :)

We stayed at "Homestay" at Dehradun managed by Kshitij Malhotra and his parents. The stay was comfortable and the place was nice. Food was great and hosts were friendly and helpful.

Coolest corner of our Homestay

Rishikesh is only an hours drive from Dehradun. Me and my friend reached there at about 12:30 pm

We went to one of the booking agents at Rishiskesh near Ram Jhula. A group of guests at our homestay had been there a day earlier and hence told us that there is choice of distance for rafting viz; 11 kms, 16 kms & 21 kms.

We opted to go for the 16 kms ride. Each rafting boat takes carries about 7-8 rafters. We along with other members boarded the jeep for Shivpuri.

My friend and other Group members

Shivpuri is the base and the starting point for 16 kms River rafting. The instructor explained all the safety rules and riding instructions to all the group members. 

Our guide cum navigator readying the boat

Loaded with instructions and geared up with the floater jacket, headgear and paddle in hand, we were all ready for the adventure ride.

Our boat getting offloaded in the water 

The water current gradually increased as we moved forward. There were four rapids, and every time we passed through each one of them the adrenaline flowed even faster then before through the veins. The ride through rapids was bumpy and the boat went up and down with all of us screaming out loud and having fun.

After third rapid few of us jumped into the waters after instructors okay. The water was cold and the experience was out of the world. I just laid on my back  and the current of the water carried my body with it. Looking at the sky lying on my back was just an amazing feeling. You need to feel it for yourself , no words can explain it.

Jumped into water for a swim

After about 500 mtrs of float we stopped for a short break of 20. minutes There were several makeshift shops which offered tea, coffee and snacks for the rafters. We had maggi and tea and then got onto the boat once again for the final lap of the ride.

Got down for a short break of tea and snacks

The entire journey from boarding the jeep to getting back to our boarding point lasted for about two and a half hours.

End of the ride

Me and my friend had a very memorable trip, but the River rafting ride was one of the best experiences which brought out the fun and childlike joy to us.

P,S: To see more from this travel adventure see this Youtube vidoe "RiverRafting@Rishikesh"

#riverrafting@rishikesh #rishikesh #riverrafting

Bhairavgarh - Rappelling & Rock Climbing

I received a call from a friend of mine with whom I had gone trekking to KalsubaiTrek and about which I wrote in one of my posts, which also got the selected as "Featured post" in indiblogger.
This time her son Vishesh and she were going to Bhairavgarh, near Malshej ghat. The offer was tempting but the notice was very short, so I could not join them on this one. But then I did ask them to share the experience, which they did, and thus this post.
My friend is quite adventurous and being a single mom she sees to it that her son Vishesh is not only well looked after but that he also grows on to be an independent and fearless individual.
The exploration and trekking lesson started for him early last year with small treks in neighboring hills of Pandav Lene, Nashik.  Major trekking happened with Kalsubai Trek, sometime in November 2018.
Bhairavgarh was more of a Rock climbing and Rappelling. With some experience in trekking both Mom and Son were all set to go.

The duo reached the base of the mountain and joined the group at around 9: 30 pm. The climb was 1145mtrs and started at 11:30 pm. Vishesh age 8, was the youngest member in the group and hence also the center of attraction of all present there. The instructor and guide took special care of him and there responsibility grew even more than what they already had...

Loaded with all the enthusiasm, instructions and dose of Do's and Dont's Vishesh set out on the climb with his Mom and the group members.

The valley was deep and the atmosphere was cool, and the night was dense in all its glory, the ever beautiful...

It was two hours of climb after which the group reached the base of the fort. It was a plateau big enough to accommodate about 1000 people at a time. Everybody took rest and had a short sleep. At 5:30 am the group had a tea which was prepared by the instructor team members.
With harness in place Vishesh took to the ropes and started rock climbing. It was like he had done this many a times. With cheers and claps and his name being called out by the group members Vishesh marched slowly and carefully uphill.


With expert guidance of his instructor Mr. Rohit Hiwale and applauds and cheers of his group members Vishesh continued the steep climb

and finally made it to the top of the summit, and flagging the winning pose. Vishesh might not be the youngest of all, but definitely the only youngest one on this expedition.

Now that the easier part was done, here comes the tougher one, climbing down the mountain. Rappelling down is not so easy, especially when you are this young and that too a first timer without any proper training. But then kids know nothing about fear, they only need encouragement and proper guidance, and that is what his Mom and the instructor Mr. Rohit Hiwale did. The group members encouraged and motivated by cheering up for him. No task is difficult if you decide, and with some support and encouragement one can achieve whatever one wishes for. Vishesh is a very good example of this. Age is not the deciding factor, motive is.

It's not about the big things one does, but small achievements like these and encouragement  and trust of parents in their kids, that make them grow into extra ordinary individuals. We should never underestimate the potential of kids, we just need to be there to guide them when needed thus allowing them to explore the experiences to the fullest. After all our experiences are our best source of inspiration, just like mistakes are our best teachers, and the sooner they learn and get this the better.
If you like this post please share with others. Do remember to drop in your comments. Thank you so much for reading this post. Stay connected for more such stories from my diaries.

Strange Journey with a Stranger...

Daily walks is one of my favorite rituals. Earlier I used walk in the vicinity of my residential complex, but now I go out on the roads often changing routes. This way I get to see more of my town. The new happenings and the changes taking place.
I had to buy something for the dinner and so I went by walking. The distance back home is about 4.5 Kms. As everyday today also I went out for a walk a while ago. But today it made me feel special !!!
So what was so special about today?
Well it was nothing much if you think, yet a deeper pondering will surely help you resonate with my perspective.
As I was returning back after the purchase and was only about 750 meters away from my house, an auto rickshaw stopped by and asked me to hop on. I said no it was okay and that my house is at a very close distance.
The good soul auto driver still insisted that I sit in and that he will drop me wherever I ask him to. This was a very kind gesture and I did not wanted to disappoint him. I saw the goodness in him and the way he spoke, saying no to him would have meant I am saying no to goodness and kindness of humanity, so I sat in.
It was barely a two minutes ride, yet we managed to exchange few words. The commonality we found was that we both had the same native.
He called me 'Maharaj" a very pious word commonly used for the spiritual and enlightened souls, and called himself a "Bhakt" (a Devotee)
"I do not know what he saw in me, whether it was something in my appearance or something beyond... "
I got down and we both bid good bye with folding hands to each other and a smile on our faces :)
In those very brief moments, we did make a connect, that of mutual trust and respect and one of Love for mankind. This small yet uncommon incident instills my faith in humanity and belief that goodness is all around us, all we need to do is keep ourselves with both our heart and mind open.
If you too have experienced such wonderful moments, I ask you to please share them, I will be happy to know more.
Thank you so much for reading this post. If you liked reading this article please share with others. Happy Day :)

Husn aur Ishq...

Woh husn hi kya husn hai,
Jo itna bhi na itraaye,
Hum kare aarzoo milne ki,
Aur woh milne se katraaye....

                              - Nilesh Sharma

Meri Kahaani...

Saansein jaise chalti hai sine mein,
Kuch waise hi basi hai tu mere mann mein,
Dil ka dhadakna jaise jeevan ki nishaani hai,
Har pal mujh mein tera ehsaas ab meri kahaani hai.

- Nilesh Sharma

My Visit To Police Station

Today morning I received a call from a PSI (Police sub Inspector) attached to Dadar Police Station. The call was for me to come and collect my bag which I had forgotten in a Taxi.

The taxi driver a good Samaritan and a responsible citizen who had dropped me home found it out when I guess he was calling off for his day. I am now assuming that since he might be staying at Prabhadevi, he went to Dadar police station and handed over my bag to them, so that it reaches safely to its rightful owner, which is me.

As per our telecon I reached Dadar at around 1:15 pm and made a call to him. He did not pick up the call as he was in court at that time. I dropped him a message informing that I was at Dadar and where do I come to meet him. After few minutes I called him again and this time he answered that he had to go to court and that he will be back only by 4:00 - 4:30 pm

I had enough time on my hand so I took my Mom and my younger brother who were with me, to Mahalaxmi Temple and Siddhivinayak Temple. They are very religious and I thought why not make this time useful and take them there.

They had good darshan at both the temples and were very pleased. While they were visiting Siddhivinayak temple I went to the Police station. I asked my brother to give me a call on my mobile phone when they are done with temple visit.

I had to wait for sometime because the person (PSI) with whom I spoke was still to come. I must have waited for about forty five minutes or so there. While I was waiting I was observing everything happening there. I saw the people working there were very helpful and co-operative to all the other people who came by with whatever there reasons were. Not only they all the police personnel's but the overall staff were doing there respective jobs very diligently and responsibly. Not once did I see any of them behaving rude or being uncooperative with anybody who came there with there grievances. The over all staff was very well behaved and polite and helpful.

The other good thing which I saw was there adaptation to using technology be it e-mail, or whatsapp or text message. This person (PSI) had used whatsapp to get in touch with me while my phone was switched off. I had an envelope in the bag which was supposed to be sent to a friend and which had both his and my contact details, this helped him (PSI) to get in touch with me.

There was one more thing which I observed. Most of them were in a very good shape. Fit and healthy. I was amused at seeing all this. The image which normally is portrayed in films or the way people had perceived and talk about them was very different. Here I had my first hand experience and seeing and listening to them and the way they were all carrying there duty was really commendable.

I did manage to get my bag with all my contents in it safe and intact, after verifying my identity and the contact details. I was asked to give a xerox copy of my identity and address proof , which I did but not as hard copy as in xerox, but using online mode. Yes I shared it via whatsapp the social media application.

The experience I had there was something I wished to share and let you all know that police people are not as bad as they are portrayed or perceived. They are very helpful and cooperative and are very responsibly honoring there command of duty through there services. They too are like us and they empathize with us and are doing there duty well as we all try to do in our respective fields of work.

When I came out of that place I had came out with a sense of safety and security, and my respect and faith in them was elevated. Today in that police station I witnessed the change, a new changing India and changing people, all changing for good. They are also helping to make this world a better place to live.

I don't know how or what has caused this, whether it is our current governments effort in promoting technology in all government institutions, deploying steadily CCTV's  in all there offices and workplaces, on road and stations and all those places which needs constant monitoring so as to let us all know that we are being watched.

Yes, India and its people are adapting to change both in terms of using technology to its benefit and there behavior and attitude in the way they carry out their work, and this I am seeing happening in every filed of work. May be the governments slogan "Acche din aayenge..." will be a reality soon, all we need to do is have faith, patience and lend our support to them in whatever they are doing. Because only those in the highest echelons in the government knows what they are doing, why it needs to be done and how it needs to be done. One of the important pre-requisite of a good leader of the country is that he/ she needs to be a visionary and think long term and serve selflessly putting its country and people first, above anything else. Thus I believe will ensure the well being of all nation and its inhabitants in the times to come.

We all want a better and clean and progressive India, right? They are doing there bit, so should we. Let us all make effort at our individual level to act responsibly in all our deeds and help our country become on the Best countries in the world, let us all join hands to make INDIA, truly Incredible India....

P.S: After seeking his permission, I am putting the name of the PSI who helped me and the police station he is attached to where I was waiting and wrote my observations. The name of this kind man is PSI - A. Gadhave, who is attached to Shaitan chowky Police station, Dadar, Mumbai, Maharshtra, India

What is LOVE....

They ask me, what is LOVE?
How do I explain to them, what LOVE is...
when all they are seeking is an intellectual answer.
The fact however is that LOVE happens in SOUL.
Mind manipulates,whereas LOVE has its own ways,
of revealing and unfolding itself.....

                                                       - Nilesh Sharma