Opportunity favors the well groomed!

Every artist is looking for an opportunity to showcase their skills and get appreciated in return. As a photographer, even I am always in the lookout for such golden opportunities. A few years ago I saw a photography contest advertised in the newspaper for which the winner would get to work on a project involving high profile people at a National platform. There is nothing like getting an exposure at National level. So without further thinking, I submitted my images for the contest and hoped for the best!

The contest apparently had two stages. In the initial screening round, a group of senior photographers with great experience in the field would scan through all the submitted images and select a bunch of photographers. Next is the live portfolio review round, upon winning which the photographer will get the dream project to work on. First of all, since this was a competition at National level, I knew there will be entries from very senior photographers in the field. So, for a person with limited experience, I can only submit and hope for the best.

The day came when the organizers announced the name of the photographers who got selected in the initial screening round. I couldn't believe my own eyes when I saw my name in that list. My happiness found no bounds and from that very moment I couldn't just wait for the next round when I would be called for the live portfolio review. Couple of days later, I even got an invite  too for the live meeting!

As a photographer I always cared for my subjects in front of my camera to be at the very best while photographing them. Proper lighting, expression, their makeup, hairdo and personality as a whole. But never bothered about myself while always standing behind the camera. Without my own conscience, unkempt hair, long mustache and dry stubble had literally become my identity over time. For the live discussion, I had brought my best of the best images to showcase my portfolio in good light. As hoped, discussion went very well with the panel of judges and they were impressed. I walked out of the room as a happy person, hoping for the best. Later outside I met one of the judges who told me, 'If only you cared for your looks and portrayed yourself like those wonderful photographs of your's. You see, we were looking for a winner in a person with great personality!'.

I got the meaning clearly. His lines had that tinge of poison which I didn't want to take. But I had to, that time, without any choice! That was a great lesson for me that it is not just the subject in front of the camera that matters but to take myself to greater heights, I need to mind the personality of the subject (which is me!) working hard behind that same camera!






OH BOY, Wouldn't I sport a clean well groomed looks henceforth? YOU BET!













This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette

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No Stubble, No Trouble!

In the down south of Tamil Nadu, it is considered a matter of pride to grow facial hair! For a man it is supposedly a measure of his masculinity. It is very rare to spot a man with a clean shaven face. Big mustache with a stubble is how people prefer to sport their look!

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This blog post is about a fun little college time love story of a dude who flopped in the game of love, just for simply missing a point ;-)

So this dude from down south, whom we nicknamed 'romeo' was sincerely after this girl who was from Delhi. Like 'Spot the ten differences' column that appears in the news paper everyday, one could easily spot ten differences between them both. First of all this guy with his dark complexion was like an opposite pole to that girl with her 'fair' complexion. Not that dark complexion is any bad, but just there was no match there!! Next coming from down south he had absolutely no 'abc' knowledge of Hindi to pataofy her! But was that any problem for him? Absolutely not! Why? It doesn't require any language to keep staring at someone right? :) Well that was his great saga of love story until one day he finally decided to approach her directly and ask that question he dreaded!

'Will you join me for a cup of coffee'? .. bang came the reply 'NO' ..
Boy, was he dejected? NO! .. after a few days .. again in the cafeteria ..
'Can I buy you a cup of coffee, please'? 'REJECTED' ..
Did he give up! Nooo ... Of course he had his confidence! Why not? He was a good guy and pretty good in his studies too! So the chasing didn't end there just the staring continued ...

An year passed, another bold and desperate attempt in the cafeteria expecting the usual reply ..
Dude: 'Can I take you out on a date'? .. with a long pause '... Please Please !!' ..
Guess what would've been the reply!?!
Her: 'Oh ...' with a long pause ... 'not with a devdas who is already going through a love failure !!'
Dude: WHAT !@#$%

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Well .. if only he cared for his clean shaven looks like he cared for simply staring at her! His bushy mustache and the stubby face totally damaged his impression!!

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And the boys in the hostel had just one piece of advise for him ...

"Boss, if you want to 'patofy' a girl, Go get a Gillette before you tell it!! ;-)"

"This post is a part of #WillYouShave activity at BlogAdda in association with Gillette"

Meet me under the Clocks!

In India, Cricket isn't just a game. It is a religion. A religion where cricketers are Gods and every victory is a festival that is celebrated big! Because of the recent Test matches with Australia happening at MCG and International Cricket Council (ICC) announcing Melbourne to be the prestigious host of opening ceremony and finals venue for the most expected cricket event of next year 'World Cup 2015', I've been hearing about 'Melbourne' quite often these days. Being a  cricket fan and a curious traveler myself, I did a bit of reading about this cool cultural capital of Australia. Guess what? as I read more and more about this city, I virtually fell in love with it! Now my bucket-list certainly has a new city to meet and greet for its friendly attitude!!

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"Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody."

~ Jane Jacobs

First and foremost, everyone knows that cities are defined by its people and not by its numerous tall buildings. People can help define their city only if the city is capable of providing them all the support. Only few cities in the world meet this success criteria and to my surprise Melbourne has been successfully snatching the coveted title of "World’s most livable city" for the fourth straight year awarded by Economist magazine! This is a fascinating news for anybody who wishes to visit this city in terms of friendly people, places to satisfy varied interests, safety and sustainability; literally ticking off all the basic expectations in a traveler's checklist! Hear it yourself from the horse's mouth :)


Next, not every person travels to a place with similar interests. There are different kind of travelers with multitude of interests! From all my reading about this city, I can definitely say it has all it takes to satisfy different kind of travelers! In fact, I was astonished by the choices in offer for people with different travel interests! Hmmm as a traveler I think it is wonderful to be spoilt by choices!! :)


Now as a budget traveler myself with multitude of interests ranging from culture, history, photography, food and adventure, here are my top picks why I think Melbourne is cool and lovable!

First of all what attracts me is that public transport is cheap and well connected for any kind of traveler to get around the city in an economical way. Imagine getting a whole day pass for less than $10 for a unlimited travel around the city!! Very notably, 'the vintage' city circle tram goes around the city connecting all the iconic places offers hop-on hop-off service totally FREE OF CHARGE :) I think this is a golden egg for anyone who wants to get around the city and get a feel of it in the first place!!

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Next, there are plenty of local attractions both indoor and outdoor to keep a tourist busy on a family vacation! My favorite picks in this category would be

Eureka Skydeck 88, the highest viewing platform of the southern hemisphere that offers indisputably best views of Melbourne! It would certainly feel crazy to be standing at the very edge of the building and watch the entire Melbourne slowly crawl below!!

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Old Melbourne Gaol, for a fun historical trip to a old prison to understand the earlier OZ system of crime & justice and especially for those fun photo-opportunities with its old prison & cell setup :)

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Queen Victoria Market to observe and shop the way Melbournians shop for the local produce. For me, it is a wonderful way to understand the lifestyle of the local people!

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The shark and ray center for a truly unique experience of standing in the knee deep water and feeding the sharks and rays. Sounds crazy isn't it? :)

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No trip to Melbourne is complete without a visit to MCG or "The G" as the locals call it! :) Their museum with extensive and exclusive collection of sports items will truly satisfy any sports loving person! It will be a dream come true for any Cricket fan to sit and watch a game of cricket played by their favorite team. I can only imagine how the atmosphere would be during the 'World Cup' next year!! Only wish I could be part of that crowd!!

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It is said if you walk up to any Melbournian and ask what makes their city? undoubtedly their answer would be 'art and culture'! Being a cultural capital of Australia, art and culture makes this city truly unique. As a lover of arts, I adore the impressive urban street art of the Hosier Lane, could easily spend hours together appreciating the art work at National Gallery of Victoria and Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. And most importantly Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) with its rare collection of film, TV and digital media for an unique experience on moving media! I can't imagine all these being in a single area - 'Fed Square'! As if it is not enough there are plenty of free entertainment events for public that happen there through out the year! Now tell me who wouldn't want want to spend all their evenings there??

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For those who love exploring the city by foot and prefer to get lost like me, Melbourne with its safe narrow alleyways is a treasure trove of hidden secrets to explore! I would love to roam around the alleyways and arcades exploring, shopping and getting the local taste of the city in my own sweet pace :)

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Melbournians love their food and wine! So a foodie like me could very well celebrate my vacation treating my taste buds to sumptuous food and exotic wine. From authentic local cuisine to international cuisines there are plenty of restaurants to satisfy people with different budgets. Imagine there are even exclusive trips for strawberry picking and wine-tasting at some of the finest vineyards!! Another typical and local way to enjoy food in Melbourne is by doing the famous Australian barbie - Yep, the BBQ!! Oh god, don't I just love it!!


Ok, that's not the end of story. As if the local attractions are not enough, there are many interesting locations within an hour of driving distance. When one can go wine tasting at a vineyard, have a comfortable swim, drive a section of the great ocean road and then drive back to the city, it certainly explains the accessibility of all these great locations from the main city!

Nobody would miss the Great Ocean Road, the scenic west coast ride with the iconic 12 apostles and many interesting heritage towns. With just driving distance away from the main city, such places arouse the nature lover in me and will be a great treat for photography. It will be fun beyond doubts to take the great ocean walk to enjoy the rugged coastal scenery peacefully.

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Another place that is so of my type is the Yarra valley!! It will be dream-like to raise high up in the sky over the vast stretch of beautiful vineyards and enjoy the sunrise from a hot air balloon. One of a kind of experience that is not available in many cities with such easy accessibility. Now imagine getting down from the balloon to taste some exotic wine!

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Dandenong Ranges is another place that kindled the explorer in me with its vintage train passing through heritage villages and pristine forests. A perfect place to escape the hustle bustle of the city and enjoy hiking through secret villages and towering forests!!

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Beyond all this, at the end of day, vacation is meant for relaxing! Melbourne is a perfect place to even do nothing and relaxing :) With its undying love for Coffee, it is just the perfect place to sit by a cafe, relax with a cup of coffee, converse and just do people watching!! One of my favorite pass times when I am bored of doing a lot over a vacation.

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Uff these are just a few places that I found already matching my mindset and would love to visit when I get to visit Melbourne. But I am sure there are plenty more to explore and experience. So if you are still with me, I am sure you'll accept Melbourne has a lot for every kind of traveler to bring the feeling of world in a compact place!

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It is for this multitude of choices and the flexibility to plan and do things based on my own interest and pace I fell in love with this city even before visiting it!! And I would certainly love to visit it one day! :)

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Ok my dear reader! Here is an interesting contest for you, are you ready??? :)

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Go grab your favorite beverage, sit back and enjoy watching all the fascinating videos of Tanmay & Rohan's travel across different places in Melbourne! Then tell me by commenting to this blog post, if you get to visit Melbourne, which of these places would you want to visit and why?

It's that simple!! The best answer on every valid entry will win a gift voucher!! Awesome isn't it??? So hurry up before the contest closes on 4th Jan 2015!

If you are wondering at my title for this blog post "Meet me under the Clocks!", well, it's a famous phrase that fun loving Melbournians use to describe their favorite meeting spot under the clocks at Flinders Street Station! :)

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If I get lucky, I would certainly love to visit this place, meet a few OZs and interact with them for a grand personal experience!! :)

This blog post is entirely based on my own research on Melbourne and places I found interesting already. But there are plenty more to this place to suit your own interests and needs. If you are interested, you can refer to the official Tourism Victoria Australia website here (http://www.visitmelbourne.com/India.aspx).

This post is written for IndiBlogger campaign "What's your reason for falling in love with Melbourne, the most livable city in the world?"

Let the truth set you free!

Sometimes situations will force us into telling lies. It will look like a comforting solution in tackling the situation at hand. Truth will look bitter and daunting. But beyond every lie told is a pricking conscience that will not let us forget the incident and sleep with peace of mind. I am sure each of us faced one such situation at some point or the other in life. Here is one of my memorable experience where I preferred truth over lie at a most difficult point of handling choices. Though handling the situation at that time was very difficult, the end result was definitely sweet and that's what probably made it more memorable!

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Not very long after I developed my interest for high altitude trekking (read my story here), I seriously wanted to trek to the most fascinating Mt. Everest Base Camp in Nepal at 19,500 feet, a mere vertical 10 km below the summit of majestic Mt. Everest, the roof of the world. I trained very devotedly for the next two years to develop my stamina and physique demanded by this trek! With just six months to go for my planned schedule, three of my friends expressed their keen interest in joining me for this trek. Out of them two of them were used to trekking in higher altitudes before but one of them was totally new to the world of trekking. Even after I explained him all the intricacies involved in trekking in the higher altitudes, he was just not convinced and unwilling to listen. He promised to workout everyday to develop his stamina in the next six months and be prepared to face the mountains. As promised he did hit the gym devotedly. Finally the tickets were booked for four to Nepal, with lot of dream and excitement!

On the d-day, we were flown from Kathmandu to Lukla to begin our exciting trek to 'the bottom of the top of the world'! As expected the trail was challenging with its fair share of ascend and descend. Three of us had no problem handling the terrain since we had experience in hand. The newbie was finding it difficult to carry his backpack and negotiate the terrain. He was slow but our local trek leader gave him company and took care of him all the time. He managed the day but was badly tired at the end of it. Next few days we saw him trekking at a much lower pace finding all the ascend very difficult to handle. Our trek guide even offered to carry his backpack and ease the pressure on him. Three days into the trek and we were already at 13,000 feet. We crossed the last treeline into the barren snow territory. Oxygen levels in the air dropped consistently.

Fourth day at 14,000 feet was very difficult for all of us but he was determined. It was on that evening he felt very weak, developed a mild headache, opted to skip his dinner and go to bed early. At high altitude, people can develop headache for multiple reasons. One common reason being the cold weather not suiting the body and another, a bit serious reason is acute mountain sickness (AMS), a condition when body is not able to cope with the reduced levels of oxygen in the air. All body parts are not getting sufficient oxygen to perform their essential functionality. It is serious because ignoring this condition can lead to high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), which are potentially fatal. Having read about all these conditions and symptoms before the trek, I suspected him of catching AMS.

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At high altitudes, nothing should be taken easy like in plains. A mild headache when ignored can potentially become deadly. As a rule of thumb, person with the headache should be taken down to the lower altitude as soon as possible for them to recover quickly. Over the dinner, I discussed this potential situation with my fellow trekkers to take a call. We were at a juncture of taking some big decision of quitting the trek and going down, since there was no option of sending him alone - Live together, die alone? On the other hand there was this big dream collapsing and all the money going down the drain. With regular day jobs there was no option of taking more holidays again and doing this trek from scratch, spending more money. Keeping all this in mind and after some heated arguments, folks took a call that we will observe him for the night and if required we will take a final call in the morning. Also it was decided, when the trek leader comes for status check, it will be only portrayed as if everything was fine! Though I was unhappy with the call, unfortunately I had to go with majority at that time.

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Though the lie satisfied all our egos at that time, it started pricking my conscience in no time. I went for a long walk in the cold weather and spent sometime introspecting the situation. When I returned back to the tent, I directly walked to the trek leader's tent and broke the truth. I explained the situation to him and additionally told him what made us tell a lie about his condition at the time of inquiring. Though he was pretty upset with our approach, he was very thankful for me opening up at least later. Straight away we both went to check his condition. As expected he was running high on fever and had all the symptoms of AMS. Since our guide was an experienced person, he had the medication in hand to handle the sickness. He gave my friend a tablet and advised him to drink loads of water & urinate regularly that night. I later went to bed with a little satisfaction of telling the truth!

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Thankfully my friend's situation became all fine in the morning and he was feeling much better & willing to continue with the trek. That afternoon over lunch, our guide offered me special thanks appreciating my decision to open up and speak truth instead of concealing my friend's condition. It was when he told us about one of his bitter experience from the previous trek when people simply hid the fact about their fellow trekker suffering from diarrhea (to continue with their trek) and went on trekking to higher altitudes. Due to the heavy lack of body fluids, that trekker's condition worsened on the higher slopes and he developed AMS. It was too late when the group figured that. By the time emergency evacuation was called and he was brought down to the plains, the trekker sadly breathed his last. It was when it stuck me how that simple of decision of telling the truth was just the right decision to do!! My happiness and satisfaction found no bounds that moment. Later my friend slowly got adopted to the altitude conditions and we all went on to complete the trek together happily and successfully!

In all this, I learnt an important lesson that a lie will only bring happiness for a short while but will keep pricking the conscience forever. Holding on to the nerves and speaking the truth will permanently bring happiness and satisfaction in life!! Check out this wonderful Kinley 2014 TVC that demonstrates this simple truth in life in a more beautiful way :)

As time goes by ...

Keep all special thoughts and memories for lifetimes to come. Share these keepsakes with others to inspire hope and build from the past, which can bridge to the future.

~ Mattie Stepanek

Recollecting beautiful memories of Christmas spent in the winter wonderland last year! Frozen wilderness of the Himalayas, spine chilling cold, zillion star accommodation in the wide open and most importantly warmth of the like-minded fellow travelers!

Wishing you all a merry Christmas!! :)

View the photograph Large on Black canvas!

Old-school is a safer bet for now

We live in a highly hypocritical society. Talking about Sex in the public is considered uncultured and shame while the same is considered holy and tasteful when portrayed through statues of gods in our temples. We talk in length about equal social rights and status for our women in the society yet the term chastity is only pinned to our women. Our youngsters consider it socially inept if one is not open to the idea of love, partying and sex but they strictly want their partners through marriage to be homely, family caring and virgin. I can go on, as there is no end to this list. But all this mean one thing - we are big time hypocrites! We don't live the way we preach. We live old school, fearing to the rules (good or bad) set by our society but still want to look cool and contemporary in front of the same society! Confusing isn't it? It's because we are those four members of the society, who fear for the four members and maintain a false social image. Well .. 'Chaar Log Kya Kahenge?' :)


Currently our country is going through a phase which is more like a person with split personality. On one side are the strong rooted people who still go with the age old thought of religion, faith and culture that binds them and gives them their highly respectable social rank in the society. The other side is the young India that wants to feel liberated from all these unproven social formulas.

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Thanks to the economic development that our country has seen in the last couple of decades, many youngsters are forced to come out of their family circle very young, for the sake of career. Many leave their family to lead an individual life as early as their end of teens. Education and jobs take them to a totally different culture, forcibly mixes them with people of different social mentalities. With quick money coming from their highly paid jobs, many are even economically liberated to pursue their own thoughts. In all these, the only thing that is considered important to them is 'going with the trend' so as not to be labelled as 'old school'. Here is where the clash of ideologies begin. But seemingly so far, more often than not the side that ranks 'faith and culture' on the top seems to win over the side that ranks 'things in-vogue'!

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In this current situation, it is too difficult for our confused young India to blindly go with everything they want and turn it on the society as 'acceptable'. It is exactly at this juncture we stand, when we discuss about the topic of 'Pre-Marital Sex'! With the highly accepted and proven current trend of 'marriage-love/like-sex' on one side, young India that wants everything too quick in their life right from job to healthy money to luxurious house and car, is rooting more towards the experimental western idea of quick 'love-sex-marriage' trend and wants our society to accept this trend. As expected there is a clash in mentalities!

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As Humans, we have been evolving for centuries. Our our way of living, practices and culture, everything has been changing for good. At each point of time, society analyses the practices they follow and go with what is proving beneficial for them in majority. The same holds good with this topic as well. If we clearly analyze India at this point, we are a society of religion fearing people more than commitment fearing. There is no religion in this country at this point that accepts the idea of experimental 'love-sex-marriage' trend. With this new trend entirely based on the confidence driven by the commitment between the interested parties, it is at a perfect risk of being broken with no support from the society! Also there is no back-up for the party that is at the loose end. This can be tragic to the society as a whole.

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Our country was facing a similar dilemma a decade ago - Whether to accept the 'then vogue' trend of love marriage with the widely accepted and proven 'arranged' marriage still in picture. Today more and more people are comfortable with love marriages as they have seen no hit for both the parties. There is 'no irrevocable physical' factor involved and they can safely decide to say 'No' any time before the marriage. It is this flexibility that the society saw as non-damaging. But the same is not true for the currently tending 'Pre-Marital Sex'. There is more lust attached to it than love. There is a 'physical' factor involved and people at the weaker end of it, especially women are at sheer danger if the commitment is broken (for the very fear of society) without records! Society on the whole is not bound to accept such ideologies with its known weaker links and without proper support from law. Though from the side of young India, I will go old-school at this time not to accept this trend for the same reason!

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But yes, this is just my take on this topic. Read Poonaam Uppal's take on it with her story scripted in the enchanted land of magic and miracles and discover where the true love is!! :) You can get the book Poonaam Uppal's True Love - A Mystical True Love Story on Flipkart (http://www.flipkart.com/passionaate-gospel-true-love-mystical-story/p/itmd9ybcf9qm7sca?pid=9788192105109&otracker=from-search&srno=t_1&query=poonaam+uppal+&ref=665a3878-5c80-4a50-b0a3-c20af207cfd7).

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PS: This blog post was written as part of IndiBogger topic "YES or NO to Pre-Marital Sex"

It's not tricky or tragedy!

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.

~ Walt Streightiff

December is a great time for winter vacation! Mountains to forests to desert to oceans, all wait to treat people with a great family experience. But sadly many families back out for the fear of taking their children along and ruining their so called 'relaxing time'. Well, vacationing with children is not tricky or tragedy as most people consider. All it takes is a bit of matured understanding, careful planning and setting reasonable expectations out of the vacation. When I say matured understanding, I only mean understanding the simple fact of 'Perspective Change'. Let me explain it in a simple way. It is very normal as adults, we are so used to seeing things from much above the ground level. If we squat down completely and see things from the ground level, those same mundane and boring things will now present itself in a completely different perspective, totally challenging our perception of the world wide open! It is understanding this simple fact about perspective that will go a long way in understanding a child's requirement for a great family vacation!

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A great family vacation with children starts with planning for their 'expectations' instead of 'locations'. For this the family should involve their children (assuming they are not toddlers, in which case location absolutely doesn't matter) in the destination planning instead of "we-planned-it-now-blindly-follow" pattern. This can be done by presenting them a list of pre-identified destinations along with a rough visual idea of what they can expect out of each destination. If they prefer to be in mountains for some reason, why force desert on them? This activity in itself will seed the sense of belonging in them as a family and on top of it will create a lot of excitement about the vacation!

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Prior to the trip, it is also very important to keep their curiosity ticking by keeping a vacation countdown calender and by initiating the idea of coming up with a vacation book where they can do research and write down all places they want to see :)

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Once this is done, it is all about their unpredictability during the trip which can be easily handled by doing a careful-flexible planning! Instead of covering all the places in the itinerary, it makes sense to slow down and cover few places in their pace. This will give them plenty of time to "question" and "understand" things around them. It is very important to nurture this curiosity, as ignoring it will slow down their reasoning capacity which is an important skill for their future! New places will naturally provide interesting things for them to perceive and understand it in their own terms of sights, sounds and smells. Unlike adults, exhaustion is definitely not in their dictionary!

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Taking the day easy is the key. Later in the hotel room they can just jot down their experience or draw what they saw during the day in their little vacation book. It will certainly come handy too when they come back and explain their memories to other family members or their friends back in school!

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Apart from this families just have to plan their budget in advance and keep extra room for children's needs. Saying 'No' to their favorite candy or toy will only create unnecessary stress and unhappiness. By not complaining about things on their face and by being flexible to their ideas with a smiling face, families can create a wonderful happy vacation that will leave a long lasting memory!

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After all when adults want to enjoy their vacation without limits and restrictions pushed on them, why expect them from children? :)

Check out Club Mahindra's initiative of Teddy travelogues (http://membership.clubmahindra.com/TeddyTravelogues/index.html), wonderful travel stories as experienced and written by children.

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PS: This blog post was written as part of IndiBogger topic "Teddy Travelogues"

Safety doesn't happen by accident!

You wake up from your bed in the morning - positively wishing it to be a great day! You prepare a refreshing cup of chai and sit down to read the newspaper. Now imagine being greeted by such horrifying pictures that make it to the headlines more often than not these days!

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It is sure to create some negative energy that will linger around through out the day. Newspapers don't put them there intentionally to spoil their reader's mood early in the morning but they want to highlight the horrifying reality of accidents and meager safety standards we follow in our daily life! Few take it seriously by considering it a warning and reminder of safety standards to follow but a majority sadly ignore them as if they are staged images!

India's economy is growing steadily and so is the standard of living. Now even a lower middle class person can afford to buy a two-wheeler and upper middle class a four-wheeler. With this current and potentially-expected-to-multiply kind of scenario, do we have enough co-ordination between the government that provides infrastructure for our roads, people who drive the vehicles and the manufacturers who make the vehicles? The answer is a big 'No'. Everyone is running in their own direction in search of money, leaving other's safety and life at stake :(

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Being a four-wheeler owner myself, I can very well relate to situation on the roads today. The place I live was nothing more than a village just a decade ago. Now due to Hitech boom, inflow of people have multiplied and so are the number of four-wheeler & two-wheeler users on the road. First of all is the road equipped to handle this sudden surge of vehicles? A big 'No'. Result - 'Complete Chaos'. Peak traffic time commute is a hell. It inevitably leads to reckless driving and hence accidents! This one is to be blamed on the Government! Why provide license to so many vehicles when the infrastructure doesn't support them at first place? Well, it's the money they get out of road tax from each vehicle owner that lure them into brainless issuance of approval!

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Instead of acting immature, our government should concentrate on building infrastructure for effective mass-public-commute and generate income from that. Once efficient public commute is in place, tax on private vehicles should be increased in such a way that not everyone can afford them. Yes, it certainly brings down the luxury that we have today but will definitely shift our attention towards public-commute options! This will automatically reduce the load on our roads and streamline the traffic and fuel usage on the whole.

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Along with it, government should take strict steps towards enforcing speed limits. In fact current speed limits can be brought down further for safe handling of our chaotic traffic. Those who break the speed limit should be fined very heavily and given a immediate training on driving cautiously.

Well, you are wrong if you think this is yet another blog-post blaming government!! This is just one part. When government is responsible for providing infrastructure, citizens are equally responsible for utilizing them responsibly to their advantage!

When government provides good roads for effective connectivity, it should not be taken as a license for speedy driving. When traffic lights are provided to decongest traffic, we should realize it should be respected. Instead of taking it to their advantage, people just panic and make every futile effort to clear it before it turns red.

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When speed limits and other rules are marked, it should be respected and followed. Most prominent of them being wearing Helmet (it is said wear helmet or be ready for hell-met!) or wearing seat-belt.

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When it is advised not to involve in drunken driving, it should not be cheated by drinking partially to drive! When you want to enjoy, why enjoy partially? Drink to your heart's content and take a cab back home. Everyone is safe and happy that way!


and yes, it takes just self-realization more than advise or rules to avoid using mobile phones while driving!!


Most accidents happen due to citizens not having proper education on driving. Driving schools should not consider 'teaching driving' as a process of minting money. They should really equip their learners with all the skills required for driving safely. Today half the drivers don't understand how risky it is to switch lanes without indicators (well, most of them don't even have them) and why drive with full beam? If only they were taught about it, today we don't have to face this situation. On the same lines, the procedure for attaining license should be made very stringent. Driving tests should seriously test the drivers skills both theoretically and practically without having any influence of middle-men. This will automatically put responsible drivers on the road, avoiding cheating and bribery later to escape the bad situation!

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Lessons on road safety should be made a part of curriculum to impart necessary knowledge on safety guidelines from the early age. Today most youngsters (even before reaching minimum age for driving) enjoy speed without following proper safety guidelines without understanding - "Speed thrills but kills"! This should JUST STOP!!

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On a fantastic move today CBSE board has announced its intentions of introducing a new course on road safety in its curriculum. Hope this reaches the young generation fast!

Now, finally coming to the vehicle manufacturers, instead of thinking as an attractive mass-market to make profits, they should think about producing quality vehicles. Recently two big brands failed even the basic safety regulation tests! With improving technology, they can do research to provide built-in safety measures like not allowing the vehicles to speed more than designated speeds. Automatically reducing the speed depending on the gap between vehicles, Not allowing the vehicles to start without helmet or seat-belt etc. Even though drivers are expected to take care of few things for their own safety, mandating it via technology will doubly ensure their safety on the roads.

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The Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., conducts the Nissan Safety Driving Forum (NSDF) in India as part of its safety driving promotion activities. As part of its 'Blue Citizenship' global social responsibility platform, it addresses various issues that affect road users, including fatalities on the road. To know more about their promotion activity, click here (https://www.nissan.in/innovation/NSDF.html). It is always good to know about safety practices and prevent any undue incidents instead of getting hurt and looking for cure. If you are around in one of the cities where this program is being conducted this year (Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Jaipur, Vadodara, Nagpur, Chennai, Mangalore and Kochi), do take sometime to participate and benefit from this program.

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