The Sauntering Guy

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Saturday, 2 October 2021

How to get free Audiobooks

October 02, 2021 0

How to get free Audiobooks on Audible

What is Audible?
Audible is a subscription-driven audiobook service from Amazon with a catalog of over 200,000 audiobooks and a mix of bestselling Indian and international authors. You can listen to A-list celebrities narrate their favourite stories, original & exclusive audiobooks, full-cast performances, and more. 

Browse through Great First Listens, Indian Audiobooks and get Personalized Recommendations.

Sunday, 3 January 2021

Book Summary: The Richest Man in Babylon

January 03, 2021 0
richest-man-in-babylon-book-cover

The Richest Man in Babylon by George Clason

The Richest Man in Babylon is a book about financial wisdom which was compiled from various pamphlets written by George S. Clason in 1926. These pamphlets dispensed financial wisdom through parables set in ancient Babylon and were often distributed by Banks and Insurance companies.

If you are yet to earn your first income/salary, you must read this book to know well in advance how to manage and multiply your money and how to make it work for you instead of working for money.

Even if you have already earned your first salary/income, you should definitely read this book. Better late than never. The only regret you will have after reading this book will be of not reading it earlier in your life.

If you are already good at investing and wealth management, you should still read this book as it would be a refreshing read for even the most experienced investor.

Sunday, 6 December 2020

Get rewarded for paying your credit card bills

December 06, 2020 0

 

Cred - Get rewarded for paying your credit card bills

If you are a frequent credit card user, you would be aware how important it is to pay the credit card bill on time. If you don’t pay it on time, it may adversely affect your credit score/rating and may create hurdles in availing loans or other credit instruments.

So, we all pay our bills on time and Credit card companies provide numerous ways to do it. i.e NEFT, IMPS, Net Banking, UPI etc. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you get rewarded for paying these bills?

Read further to know more about how you can get rewarded for paying your credit card bills through third party apps.

Saturday, 30 May 2020

ઓનલાઈન શિક્ષણ ની આંટીઘૂંટી.

May 30, 2020 0
ઓનલાઈન શિક્ષણ ની આંટીઘૂંટી.

ઓનલાઈન શિક્ષણ ની આંટીઘૂંટી.

મારો ભત્રીજો 4.5 વર્ષનો છે અને હું એક જવાબદાર વાલી તરીકે તેને અત્યારથી ઓનલાઈન શાળા ની માયા માં આખો દિવસ એકલો ભટકતો નહિ મુકું. આજે જ નહિ, કદાચ સમગ્ર પ્રાથમિક શિક્ષણ દરમિયાન એને 'માત્ર' ઓનલાઈન શિક્ષણ વ્યવસ્થા નો ભાગ બનવા નહિ દઉં.

લોકડાઉન શરૂ થયું ત્યારથી તેની શાળામાંથી મેસેજ આવ્યા કરે છે. "આવતા વર્ષનું એડમિશન કન્ફર્મ કરવા 1000 રૂપિયા ભરો."
આવા સંજોગોમાં આ મેસેજને ઇગ્નોર કરતા રહ્યાં એટલે હવે શાળાએ નવો તુક્કો લગાવ્યો છે. "1 જૂનથી ઓનલાઈન શિક્ષણ ચાલુ થવાનું છે, સત્વરે એડમીશન લઈ લો" આવા મેસેજ સાથે પોતાના બેંક એકાઉન્ટ ની ડિટેઇલ આપી દીધી અને ડેટા એન્ટ્રી માટે એક ઓનલાઈન ફોર્મ ની લિંક આપી દીધી.
કદાચ તમારી સામે પણ હાલ આવી પરિસ્થિતિ આવીને ઉભી હશે.

    અત્યારે જ્યારે બાળકો શીક્ષણ સિવાય પણ મોટા ભાગનો સમય સ્માર્ટફોન અને કમ્પ્યૂટર ની સ્ક્રીન સામે જ પસાર કરતા હોય છે એવામાં આ પગલું શું યોગ્ય છે?

    યાદ કરો એ દિવસો જ્યારે તમે પ્રથમ વખત શાળાએ ગયા હતા. કેવું અઘરું હતું એ સમયે શાળામાં અમુક કલાકો પૂરતું બેસવું, કેવું અઘરું હતું એ સમયે પોતાનું ધ્યાન કેન્દ્રિત કરવું. અરે વેકેશન ની વાત તો છોડો, જો ચાર પાંચ દિવસ સળંગ રજાઓ આવી જતી તો પછી ફરીથી શાળાએ જવું અઘરું લાગતું. એક બાળક તરીકે તમારા મન માં કેટલાય પ્રશ્નો હોતા, કેટલું બધું કહેવા-પૂછવા જેવું હોતું. કોઈ દિવસ હોમવર્ક ન કર્યું હોય ત્યારે શાળાએ જતા કદાચ ડર પણ લાગ્યો હશે. અત્યારે સામાન્ય કે ક્ષુલ્લક લાગતી આ બધી સમસ્યાઓ વિશે એક બાળક તરીકે વિચાર કરો તો લાગશે કે એ સમયે કદાચ આ સમસ્યાઓ જ સૌથી મોટી લાગતી હતી.

    આ બધી સમસ્યાઓ નો સામનો કરવામાં શાળાનું હુંફાળું વાતાવરણ અને શિક્ષકોનો પ્રેમ એ મહત્વના પરિબળો હતા. કેટલાંય શિક્ષકો સાથે તો કદાચ તમારે ઘરોબો હશે. તમારા વાલી સતત એમના સંપર્કમાં રહેતા હોય એવું પણ બન્યું હશે. ઘણા શિક્ષકો સાથે સારા નરસા પ્રસંગો માં એકબીજાને ઘરે જવાના વ્યવહાર પણ હશે. કેટલાક શિક્ષકો તમને પોતાના પરિવાર જેવા તો કેટલાક માત્ર જાણીતા લાગતા હશે.
શું આ બધું ઓનલાઈન શિક્ષણ માં શકય છે?

    બાળકના વિકાસ માટે શરૂઆતમાં (પ્રાથમિક શિક્ષણમાં) માત્ર 'માહિતી' યુક્ત શિક્ષણ કરતા 'મમતા/હૂંફ/પ્રેમ' એ વધુ જરુરી છે. જેમ જેમ બાળક મોટું થતું જાય અને માધ્યમિક કે ઉચ્ચતર માધ્યમિક શિક્ષણ તરફ આગળ વધે તેમ તેમ માહિતી નું મહત્વ ઉત્તરોત્તર વધતું જાય છે અને મમતા/હૂંફ/પ્રેમ વગેરે નું મહત્વ ઘટતું જાય છે. આ રીતે જ સપ્રમાણ શિક્ષણ દ્વારા વ્યક્તિત્વનો સર્વાંગી વિકાસ શક્ય બને છે.

શું તમે એ બાળકનું બાળપણ છીનવી લેવા માગો છો?
શુ તમે એ બાળકને બાળક મટી એક રોબોટ બનાવી દેવા માંગો છો?

    જો ઉપરના પ્રશ્નો નો જવાબ ના હોય તો આ વિષય માં કોઇ પણ નિર્ણય લેતા પહેલા વિચાર ચોક્ક્સ કરજો.

    જો ઘરમાં નવું ફ્રીજ, ટીવી કે નવો મોબાઈલ લેતા પહેલા કેટલુંય વિચારતા હોવ તો આ તો તમારું બાળક છે. એના જીવનને અસર કરતા મહત્વનાં નિર્ણયો લેવામાં તો ચોક્કસ ઊંડો વિચાર કરજો.

Saturday, 23 May 2020

'મોરેટોરિયમ' ની માયાજાળને સમજીએ.

May 23, 2020 0

'મોરેટોરિયમ' ની માયાજાળને સમજીએ.

કોવિડ19 મહામારીને લીધે લૉનધારકો ને હપ્તા ભરવામાં થતી મુશ્કેલીઓમાં આંશિક રાહત આપવા તાજેતરમાં RBI (ભારતીય રિઝર્વ બેંક) દ્વારા વધુ 3 મહિના માટે લોનધારકોને છુટછાટ આપી કુલ 6 મહિના 'મોરેટોરિયમ' આપવાની જાહેરાત કરાઈ. આ સંજોગોમાં આ સુવિધાને લગતી ગેરસમજ દૂર કરી લોકોને યોગ્ય નિર્ણય લેવામાં મદદરૂપ થવાના હેતુથી આ પોસ્ટ લખી રહ્યો છું.

  • મોરેટોરિયમ એટલે શું?

મોરેટોરિયમ શબ્દ નો મૂળ અર્થ દેવા-મોકૂફી કહી શકાય. આ શબ્દ સાથે સમસ્યા એ છે કે એક બેંક કર્મચારી આ શબ્દ નો જે અર્થ સમજે છે એ મુજબ એનો અનુવાદ સ્થાનિક ભાષામાં થતો નથી. સામાન્ય લોકો એનું અર્થઘટન સ્થાનિક ભાષામાં મોકૂફી ને બદલે 'માફી' તરીકે કરી લે છે. અને આવું અર્થઘટન કદાચ તમને ખોટા નિર્ણય તરફ લઈ જઈ શકે છે.

જો તમારી પાસે નાણાં ની અછત હોય તો આ સુવિધા તમારા માટે આશીર્વાદરૂપ સાબિત થશે કારણકે આ સમયગાળા દરમિયાન તમે લીધેલી લોનના હપ્તા ભરવામાંથી તમને છુટકારો આપવામાં આવે છે. પરંતુ અહીં એક વાત સમજવી જરૂરી છે કે આ છુટકારો તમને આ ચોક્કસ સમયગાળા (એટલે કે 6 માસ) પૂરતો જ આપવામાં આવે છે અને એ તમારા માટે 'ઋણ માફી' નથી. અને તેના કારણે તમારા દ્વારા લૉન લેવામાં આવેલ કુલ મૂડીમાં કોઈ ઘટાડો થતો નથી કે આ સમયગાળા દરમિયાન બેંક દ્વારા લેવામાં આવતા વ્યાજ પર કોઈ છૂટછાટ મળશે નહીં.
જો તમારી પાસે નાણાંની સગવડ હોય અથવા તો તમારી લૉન પૂર્ણ થવામાં હજી ઘણા વર્ષો બાકી હોય (જેમ કે લાંબા ગાળાની હોમ લૉન - 15 કે 20 વર્ષ) તો તમારા માટે આ સુવિધાનો લાભ ન લેવો વધુ હિતાવહ રહેશે.

  • ચાલો ઉદાહરણ દ્વારા આ વાતને ઊંડાણપૂર્વક સમજીએ.

ઉદાહરણ તરીકે તમે 20 લાખ રૂપિયાની લૉન 20 વર્ષ માટે 9% ના વ્યાજદર પર લીધેલ હોય તો એમાં મહિનાનો હપ્તો (EMI) લગભગ 18,000 રૂપિયા જેવો થાય.

EMI Calculation on EMI Calculator


હવે ધારો કે તમારે લૉન લીધાને 5 વર્ષ થઈ ગયા છે એવું માનવામાં આવે (એટલે કે 60 હપ્તા પૂર્ણ થઈ ગયા છે) અને હજુ પણ 15 વર્ષ (180 હપ્તા) બાકી છે એવું માનીએ તો બેંક દ્વારા તમારી પાસે લેવાનું કુલ લેણું લગભગ 17 લાખ 74 હજાર જેવું થાય.
(જો આ ગણતરી ન સમજાય તો વધુ સમજવા માટે નીચેની ઇમેજ જોઈ શકો છો. જો તમે ચક્રવ્રુધ્ધિ વ્યાજની ગણતરી થી પરિચિત ન હોવ તો કદાચ તમને આ આંકડો જોઈ આશ્ચ્રર્ય થશે પરંતુ તમારી જાણ ખાતર સ્પષ્ટતા કરી દઉં કે  ચક્રવ્રુધ્ધિ વ્યાજની કોઈ પણ લોન માં તમારા શરૂઆતના હપ્તામાંથી મોટો ભાગ વ્યાજ માટે અને વધેલો નાનો ભાગ મુદ્દલ ની ચુકવણી માટે જાય છે. લોન પૂર્ણ થવાનો સમય જેમ નજીક આવતો જાય તેમ વ્યાજ તરીકે જતો ભાગ ઉત્તરોત્તર ઘટતો જાય છે અને મૂળ મુદ્દલ તરફનું ચુકવણું વધતું જાય છે. )

Loan Repayment Schedule in detail


ધારો કે તમે હવે આ મોરેટોરિયમ સુવિધા નો 3 મહિના માટે ઉપયોગ કરવા બેંક માં સંમતિ આપો છો. તો તમને 18,000 x 3 = 54,000 રૂપિયા લૉન ભરવાના સમયગાળા માં રાહત મળશે.

મોરેટોરિય સુવિધા માં સામાન્ય રીતે બે વિકલ્પ હોય છે,
  1. હપ્તાની રકમ અચળ રાખી લોનના કુલ સમયગાળામાં વધારો કરવો. (ઉદાહરણ: હપ્તાની રકમ 18,000 જ રાખો તો લૉન 180 ના બદલે 189 મહિના સુધી ભરવી પડશે) 
  2. લોનના સમયગાળાને અચળ રાખી હપ્તાની રકમમાં વધારો કરવો. (લૉનનો સમયગાળો 180 મહિના જ રાખો તો હપ્તાની રકમ 400 રૂપિયા વધી 18,000 ને બદલે 18,400)
  • જો તમે પ્રથમ વિકલ્પ પસંદ કરો તો મોરેટોરિયમ ના ઉપયોગ બદલ તમારો લૉન નો કુલ સમયગાળો વધીને 249 મહિના (9 મહિના વધુ) થઈ જશે. જે સંજોગોમાં તમારે બાકી રહેલા સમયગાળા (189 મહિના) માટે કુલ 9 X 18000 = 1,62,000 વધુ ચૂકવવાના થશે.
  • જો તમે દ્વિતીય વિકલ્પ પસંદ કરો તો મોરેટોરિયમ ના ઉપયોગ બદલ તમારો લૉન નો હપ્તો વધીને લગભગ 18,400 (400 રૂપિયા વધુ) થઈ જશે. જે સંજોગોમાં તમારે બાકી રહેલા સમયગાળા (180 મહિના) માટે કુલ 400 X 180 = 72,000 વધુ ચૂકવવાના થશે.

તારણ:

સામાન્ય રીતે લોનધારકો આ સ્થિતિમાં પોતાના બજેટને ખોરવાતું અટકાવવા હપ્તાની રકમ અચળ રાખવાનો વિકલ્પ જ પસંદ કરશે. જે સંજોગોમાં તેઓ 1,62,000 જેવી મોટી રકમ વધારે આપવા મજબૂર બનશે. આ સ્થિતિમાં જો તમારે આત્યંતિક જરૂરિયાત ન હોય તો આ સુવિધા લેવાનું ટાળવું એ લાંબા ગાળા માટે તમારા માટે હિતાવહ રહેશે. પરંતુ જો તમે લોનના હપ્તાની ચુકવણી કરવા અસમર્થ હો તો ચોક્કસપણે આ સુવિધાનો લાભ લઇ શકો છો જેથી કરીને તમારા ક્રેડિટ સ્કોર પર કોઈ ખરાબ અસર ન થાય અને તમે ભવિષ્યમાં પણ લૉન સરળતાથી મેળવી શકો.

ભારતની સૌથી મોટી અને પ્રતિષ્ઠિત જાહેર ક્ષેત્રની બેંક SBI (ભારતીય સ્ટેટ બેંક) ના ભૂતપૂર્વ કર્મચારી તેમજ અર્થશાસ્ત્રના અભ્યાસુ તરીકે એક સલાહ જરૂર આપીશ.
ચક્રવૃદ્ધિ વ્યાજ ને શત્રુ બનાવવાની ભૂલ એ 'નાણાકીય કોરોના વાયરસ' છે એમ માની એનાથી 'સામાજિક અંતર' જાળવી શક્ય હોય એટલા છેટા જ રહેજો.
 આ સંદર્ભે તમારા કોઈ સવાલ હોય તો મને ચોક્કસ જણાવજો.

Sunday, 12 April 2020

How to open a demat account with Upstox

April 12, 2020 0

upstox icon
Upstox
How to open a demat and trading account with Upstox

Equity is the best investment option although riskier than other options like Bank deposit or debt instruments.
Most of the investors start their journey in equity investment by applying for IPOs (Initial Public Offers). Many of them face difficulties in opening a demat and trading account. In this article, I have covered step by step details of how to open an online demat and trading account with upstox.

Monday, 6 April 2020

The world after COVID19

April 06, 2020 4

Everything's gonna be alright.

Yeah! But it won't be by itself, we will have to make it right.

They say, this tough time will pass and soon we will get back to normal again.
Well, before we return to that 'normal' and while we still have some time amid this global lockdown, let's think about it.
"Was it really 'normal'?" OR "We 'normalized' it."
I feel, it wasn't normal. And even if you think it was normal, you should consider this seriously because that 'normal' is what brought us here in the first place.

Wednesday, 1 April 2020

How to choose the best Laptop for yourself

April 01, 2020 0
Laptop - Make an informed decision
Few things to be considered when you buy a Laptop

Which Laptop is the best to buy? Though, answer to this question varies from person to person and it may even vary for the same person at different occasion, I am writing about things to be considered while buying a laptop and a few recommendations from my side to make an informed decision.

  • Your Budget
The first thing to be considered while purchasing a Laptop is fixing your Budget. It need not be a fix number but an approximate idea of how much you would be willing to spend for a Laptop. It depends and influenced by many factors but ultimately you should read a price range so that you don't have to waste your time in searching for a product that you can't buy. Due to availability of multiple brands like Apple, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Acer etc. you are likely to find a suitable laptop in your budget.
  • Screen Size
This is purely choice based. Apple Macbook and other laptops have display ranging from 13" to 15.6".
Ideally, one shuold go for 14" or 15.6" Screen.
  • Processor and RAM
The processor is the most important component of a Laptop and determines its capacity to process a task. Similarly Higher Random Access Memory (RAM) leads to smooth functioning and multi-tasking in day to day operations. 
Intel and AMD Processors are the most widely used. But they too have different sub-categories like i3,i5,i7 in Intel and Athlon, Fenom and Ryzon in AMD.
I personally prefer a laptop powered by an Intel processor but you can also choose AMD if you want. (I have always used AMD in my desktop irrespective of the heating issue it brings)
Intel’s Core i3 is generally found in entry-level laptops, whereas the Core i5 is found in the majority of the mainstream systems. If you want to go for some heavy usage and gaming, you can also opt for i7 Processor.
Though 4 GB RAM is sufficient for normal usage, you should consider buying 8 GB if the budget permits. (Anyway, you can expand it after purchasing as most laptops nowadays come with expandable memory slots. Check it before buying.)
  • Storage
Storage is never enough if you have unlimited usage like me. For a regular user, storage of 500 GB or 1TB is sufficient. Apart from Mechanical Hard disk drive (HDD) that are quite common, solid-state drive (SDD) are also gaining popularity due to its faster data access capacity and compactness in small and lightweight laptops. But, SSD is expensive compared to HDD.
You should choose HDD if your budget is low, otherwise you can consider buying hybrid version which offers both SSD and HDD. Generally, operating system comes installed in SSD to give higher speed while the other data is stored in HDD.
  • Battery
Battery is important factor because you wouldn't want to end up using your laptop as a desktop, constantly plugged in to the power socket. Some Laptops provide 2 cell battery with 4-5 hours backup while others come with 3 cell battery with 6- hours of battery backup. choose according to your need,

After considering these factors, I have shortlisted a few laptops that can be good buy for a person with moderate to heavy usage and budget ranged between 30,000 to 60,000. (From time to time, I update the list of products below. Visit the product page or contact me for more information)
 
Take a look at them and choose according to your need. 

    I personally prefer HP or Dell for their build and battery quality as well as good after-sales service.

  • Laptops with Core i3 Processors


  • Laptops with Core i5 Processors


  • Laptops with Core i7 Processors


  • Laptops with AMD Processors


Tuesday, 11 February 2020

Get some of the finest deals on Flipkart

February 11, 2020 0
Get some of the finest deals on Flipkart
Great Deals on Flipkart!

Flipkart, India's biggest online marketplace keeps coming up with lucrative offers on various occasions.
Apart from its flagship BBD (Big Billion Day) sale, flipkart brings special offers and sale on festivals throughout the year.

Sunday, 8 September 2019

Half day trip to Sunsar Waterfall

September 08, 2019 0
Sunsar Waterfall at its lowest point
A short trip to Sunsar Waterfall

Waterfalls have always been fascinating for me. Landscape and climate of Gujarat is such that there is not a single giant waterfall in Gujarat and those which are there are of very small height. Sunsar waterfall is one such small waterfall located near Bhiloda village in Aravalli district which is active only for a few days in monsoon that too only when there is significant rain in the catchment area around this region.

On August 31 this year, while returning from Polo forest to Modasa, I, along with my friends, visited Sunsar Waterfall.

I have provided details about how and when to visit this place to enjoy its beauty to maximum extent.


Friday, 30 November 2018

7th Ahmedabad National Book fair

November 30, 2018 0
Image source: amdavadbookfair.com

I have been visiting Ahmedabad National Book fair since 2013. Every year in the month of May when Ahmedabad is experiencing the scorching heat of summer, this book fair is a kind of relief for book lovers. The arrangements made by AMC (Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation) make it comfortable for literature enthusiasts to endeavor in the world of information and knowledge. The evening programs and interactive sessions with authors add a flavor to it. The activities conducted by VASCSC (Vikram A Sarabhai Community Science Centre) are commendable as it motivates the children to explore science beyond school and sparks the hunger of knowledge in them.


In April 2018, when I got to know that AMC decided to postpone the national book fair till November, I was a little disappointed and so were the others as we had to wait for 6 more months. But I think the wait was worth it. It was nice to have a different experience in winter at GMDC ground this year. As the sun sets at about 6 PM in Ahmedabad during this time, this was a different experience for visitors. The spacious parking and basic facilities by AMC were up to the mark. Apart from 190 stalls for book lovers, the events were also interesting. The enthusiasts who couldn’t visit for certain reasons can feel the vicarious excitement of the events with the help of live streaming of some events on Ahmedabad National Book Fair’s facebook page. It was a soul enriching experience. Today (30.11.2018) on the last day of literature event, it would be concluded with the evening lecture on the subject “સાહિત્ય અને હું” by the orators like Jay Vasavada, Bhagyesh Jha and Vasant Gadhvi.
          I will be waiting for the event next year and I would recommend each and every person in Ahmedabad as well as nearby places to visit this event, irrespective of their age, as there’s something for everyone in this comprehensive event.


Wednesday, 14 November 2018

The Pursuit of Knowledge

November 14, 2018 0
Knowledge makes a man unfit
to be a slave ~Frederick Douglass
Knowledge is one of the most important aspects of life and liberation of oneself. The process of gaining knowledge doesn’t stop at school or university, it's a constant pursuit that doesn’t end until you die. Feeding your brain with the right kind of information is necessary. It gives you a wake up call and saves you from being a slave to the system. It allows you to stop being a sheep and start thinking on your own. Once you’ve awaken yourself, you will be hit with the bitter truth of reality and it will completely take over your mind, like a dense cloud. You must push through and help others to wake up. The more people are awake, the better this world can be made.

Monday, 12 November 2018

How to choose the best Air Conditioner

November 12, 2018 4
What to look for when you buy an AC

Few days back I decided to buy first Air Conditioner for home. As always, I like to do my homework before I buy anything.
First of all, this article is about my findings as a layman to decide what to look for while buying an AC. There are different variants of ACs available in the market like Window, Split, Centralized or Industrial but I've exclusively covered Split Air Conditioner in this article as it was already decided to buy a Split AC irrespective of brand or other factors.

Wednesday, 11 July 2018

Beat the fuel price hike with Co-branded Credit Cards

July 11, 2018 0
Worried about rising fuel prices? It's certainly a problem for most of us when the fuel price hike pinches in our pocket by disrupting our monthly budget slowly but steadily. (of course not if your employer pays your bills directly or owning a car is not a necessity but luxury) Well, you can't do much about the price hike as it is inevitable in a scenario where global crude oil prices are soaring and government is reluctant to reduce taxes on it. So why not to focus on the part of the problem where we can do something? The part where you either reduce your consumption or get some relief by using the smart way of paying for fuel.

Tuesday, 19 June 2018

Today is World Sauntering Day

June 19, 2018 0
Speed thrills! Most of us like to feel the thrill of it and some of us are even crazy about it. When I mention speed, it's not limited to fast and furious movies, Formula One race or Sports cars; even in our normal life we enjoy speed. Think of someone getting a promotion earlier than her peers, Or of some prodigy who completed her graduation at 12 or finished her Ph.D at 18 or some player debuting to some sports with a milestone record at half the normal age. It titillates us, isn't it?

Saturday, 19 May 2018

The Reader

May 19, 2018 0


Sometimes it's a lecture, sometimes it's a phrase or words of a particular teacher or a leader whom we admire, sometimes it's a lesson from a parent or a friend, or even a life experience that explodes our conception of what is possible in the world or what's possible in us.

Friday, 18 May 2018

The Traveler

May 18, 2018 0


“What you’ve done becomes the judge of what you’re going to do-especially in other people’s minds.  When you’re traveling, you are what you are right there and then.  People don’t have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.”
-William Least Heat Moon.

Last year on a Saturday morning, I suddenly got myself offline, disconnected from all the means of communications without which life of a geek like me becomes very difficult. I stopped using Whatsapp, Facebook, E-mail and even intermitted replying to text messages. When I resumed, there were number of unread emails, messages and missed calls
In between these two points there were number of checkpoints of experiences which I was striving to have since long. It had been long since I went for an outing or a short trip which was almost unplanned. Though Life is itself an unplanned adventure and we all are here to live it as best as we can, taking a break from routine, disconnecting yourself from the virtual world and feeling yourself connected with the real world is an experience worth having.
A solo unplanned trip gives you some unexpected experiences, good or bad, but it is certainly worth trying. The best thing about not planning in advance is that you are always prepared for the best to the worst. I had some pleasant as well as difficult moments but at the end of everything, I enjoyed a lot. One advantage of travelling alone is that you focus more on present than spending most of your time in capturing moments. 
The best moments of life are those which you forget to capture in camera but it gets captured forever in your memory.
 I have seen people capturing moments for future instead of enjoying it in present. Some people, instead of enjoying the ongoing show, captures it in camera and then (try to) enjoy it later. While some people live in present and take the full out of it. I prefer to be the latter one.
Taking a break from the life dominated by World Wide Web and smart phones, you get some feelings which are not at all possible in virtual life.
Sometimes listening to tweets (of birds) is more enjoyable than posting one (on twitter).
Sometimes expressing your emotions requires more than 140 characters (of tweet).
Sometimes sketching your thoughts on a paper gives more pleasure than clicking photos.
Sometimes a journey guided by your heart is more adventurous than following Google maps.
Sometimes managing your time is more important than managing your timeline.

This article was published in State Bank of India Souvenir 2016 at SBLC, Bhavanagar which was originally written in my diary in 2015.
Pic credit: Clicked by Prem Solanki during our visit to white ran of kutchh

Tuesday, 15 May 2018

I am not Asocial, I am just Selectively Social

May 15, 2018 1


I am not Asocial, I am just very selective in socializing with people.

Life is short and I don't want to waste any part of it by pretending to be someone who i am not. According to me, what others think of you matters less compared to what you think of yourself, and it takes a lot of time and efforts to build that level of confidence and ability to believe in yourself when nobody else does. I have invested so much of my time and efforts to build it.
https://twitter.com/TheAmblingSoul/status/605425990836183041?s=20
I'd be less introverted if the conversations in my head weren't better than the conversations I have with other people.

There are days when I talk a lot with people and there are days when I prefer solitude. Sometimes (or most of the times) I don't even reply to those 'Good Morning' and 'Good Night' messages. It doesn't mean I don't like talking with people. It simply means that I have some more important work to do than replying to those texts. Sometimes, I may even plug in earphones, without any music being played, so that I don't have to oblige to reply other people in some trivial things. However, I won't mind to indulge in the conversation the very moment it takes a turn towards something interesting and informative.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people just exist, that is all! Instead of living, they just scroll through life!"

What exactly socializing is? Does it mean wasting your time in doing something just because many others are doing it and if you will not do it, they will call you an eccentric person. If so, I don't find socializing any useful to me and it won't contribute to my personal development.
The Pursuit of Happyness
"Can I say something? Um, I'm the type of person that if you ask me a question and I don't know the answer, I'm gonna tell you that I don't know. But I bet you what, I know how to find the answer and I will find the answer. Is that fair enough?"    ~The Pursuit of Happyness

Socializing, for me, is to learn from the surrounding environment and use it to ultimately improve yourself. Let me take an example to explain. An infant doesn't know much about society and he has no opinions about what is right and what is wrong. Neither he knows how to speak, behave or walk. He learns all those things from surroundings. When he grows up gradually, all those activities becomes as common as breathing and he doesn't need to apply any conscious efforts to perform those actions. Tarzan -A fictional character, though being a human child, when grew up in the jungle became like those with whom he grew up. it was because he learned from them only and had little contact with the human beings.

To those people who don’t know me; I am and will remain that ‘eccentric, grumpy, rude and asocial person’ which in reality I am not.

The original article was published by me on my old blog in June 2015. Click here to visit my old blog!

Wednesday, 9 May 2018

A new Start!

May 09, 2018 0


I have been blogging since 2011 and this isn't my first post. Yet i feel like it's a new start as I am not the same person that I used to be in 2011. After writing more than 250 posts on various subjects including technology, mathematics, events and life, I intermitted writing for last couple of years. I used to post regularly on other social networking sites like facebook but blogging was almost at halt. I even tried to resume my old blogs twice but i was unable to maintain the consistency and ended up being irregular which also affected the content of my writing adversely.

A New Start!

 A new domain and new start.

The journey begins!

Tuesday, 31 December 2013

Goals in Life

December 31, 2013 0
Goals in Life

    No matter how fast you are moving, if you are moving in the wrong direction, it won't be fruitful. Similarly, if you don't have any destination in your mind, it may not take you anywhere. As a human being, we are always fascinated about speed, it thrills us and gives us moments full of excitements.
    Having clearly defined goals is an important step towards making your life meaningful. Life becomes a burden if you don't have any goals in your life.