Mcleod Ganj took me to Mysore

Trip to Mcleod Ganj

My first visit to Mcleod Ganj was with a clear purpose of getting some fresh air far away from polluted Delhi. We also wanted to cover up the gym sessions we missed the entire year with extensive trekking,  mountain climbing and rock climbing. 

I never thought that Mcleod Ganj would take me back to my good old times in Mysore.  Seeing Tibetians and meditating monks all around the place, I was deported to Mysore where I used to see the same crowd many years ago. I remember my college days in Mysore. I remember Tibetian guys used to like me and Tibetian gals disliked me. I remember Tibetian guys saying a "word" to me in Tibetian and  one day I decided to ask the meaning of the word to a Tibetian hostel mate. She said it meant "Beautiful". 

Flashback continued. I remember those crazy time when one day I decided to become vegetarian, quit all ornamental things in life. I remember a friend who converted to vegetarian after me and then we went to a famous Tibetian restaurant. She wanted to have Biryani. There was only Chicken Biryani. She felt sad, I thought because there was no Veg-Biryani but she told me "I will order Chicken Biryani,  but who will eat the chicken,  I am vegetarian". My sweet crazy friend! Then I remember our Manipuri group dance performance at one of the biggest stages of Mysore. Our dance performance was applauded by all. I remember after the performance while I was sitting at the back,  a small monk boy came to me with a chit of paper and said "That man told me to give it to you.". When I looked there, there was no one.  I opened the chit which said "You were amazing on the stage. Can we be frens?" along with his email id and phone no. 

Coming back to Mcleod Ganj from Mysore, watching the sunset sitting at the Monastery, writing this story, I couldn't have asked for anything better. The best part is we did everything possible in the span of 3 days, from shopping to eating,  trekking to sight seeing, tea garden to waterfall, rock climbing to playing in the river... Food lovers must visit Jimmy Italian Kitchen and Clay Oven, former is famous for varieties of authentic Italian cuisines, latter is famous for authentic Tibetian food.  But the best thing about the trip is the massive view of the snow-covered Dhauladhar range of the Himalayan mountains.

Fraud at Petrol Pump – Don’t Get Cheated, Be Very Alert

Beware when you go to Petrol Pumps

It was the third time I was filling petrol from Hindustan Petroleum Petrol Pump near Tis Hazari Metro Station Delhi. First time when I went there, as usual, I asked the attendant to fill petrol for Rs. 1000. But the attendant filled for Rs. 300 and said “Madamji, your Rs. 300 petrol is done.”. I said “I asked for Rs. 1000.”. On that he said, “Sorry Madam, I will fill the remaining Rs. 700.”. I said fine. 2^nd time I went to the same petrol pump asked for Rs. 1000 petrol. Like first time, the attendant filled only for Rs. 300. Like first time, he apologized and then I said to fill the rest Rs. 700. This time again when I asked to fill for Rs. 1000, the attendant filled only for Rs. 300. But this time I was not quite. I blasted both the attendants who were attending me. I said “This is what you do, fool people every time? I am not filling the rest Rs. 700. I know I am paying this Rs. 300 without getting a single drop of petrol. I don’t wanna deal it with you, I will take it up to higher level.”. As expected, fuel gauge didn’t move a pinch which normally does even after filling petrol for Rs. 100.

I went to Hindustan Petroleum Complaint Site. I was more disappointed to see that the site was not working properly, the complaint was not taken and took me to an error page. Next thing was to dig out emails of all the Big Shots of Hindustan Petroleum which I did successfully and I wrote a disappointment/complaint email to “All” which include the Corporate MD. Within 10 minutes I got a call from the Pump Manager. He apologized me for all the inconvenience and assured me that strict investigation and actions would be taken. He also told me if required he would terminate some of the workers but requested me to take back the complaint as his job is in danger. On this I calmly said “My intention is not to prove that I am right or you are wrong. Also, my intention is not to give harsh actions like termination etc to the employees. My intention is to make sure that strict investigation and actions are taken and such fraud cases do not happen again.”. 2^nd call was from the Area Sales Manager. He also apologized me and assured me that he would personally investigate the case. He agreed to share post investigation data and findings. On this I said “I do not want to see your findings/data etc. Just make sure that such frauds do not happen again. Please don’t cheat your customers.”.

A Juvenile Rapist... Is he a criminal?

A Juvenile Rapist... You might think he is a criminal. Now read this...

WOW!!! In India a bloody rapist gets all the good attention which might include one-time financial grant of Rs 10,000 and arranging a sewing machine so that he can rent a tailoring shop.

Despite knowing the fact that how brutally and inhumanly this bastard raped and murdered someone, just because he is a juvenile, he is gonna escape easily? 

WHY WHY WHY??? - Why the System wants to set wrong examples again and again? Now every juvenile bastard will have more courage to rape an innocent. Forget about fear, they now see benefits in it. 

For God's sake, for once, make it simple and clear. There should be no Mercy for Rapists (irrespective of their age). Capital Punishment is the Answer (Period).

Food for Thought - You have Two Choices

Festive Season - Don't waste Food

It’s ‪#‎MyStory‬, please make it ‪#‎YourStory‬ too.

It’s celebration time with Diwali, Christmas and New Year around the corner. For a foodie like me, celebration means eating out with friends and family. Out of excitement we order too many items and then end up taking just a small portion of whatever we order. So, do we throw away all the left-over food? Not really. Not me. 

I make it clear with my group that I am strictly against wasting food and I don’t care if it is embarrassing for them but I am gonna pack all the left-over food and give to the first person I come across whom I think would be really happy to get this food. Most of the time, this food goes to the road-side beggars or beggars near metro stations or to the workers who work near my place. I have done this many times, no food gets wasted. On the contrary, you make someone happy by feeding something really nice, something which they couldn’t afford in this life-time. Not just that, you get blessings from these unknown people. Trust me, the experience is priceless. 

So, next time when you go to a restaurant and you have left-over food, you have two choices in front of you. 

Please share this (or your own story). Let’s make people aware about not wasting food (not even one grain).

A man's money does not excite an independent woman

Independent Woman

Nancy was in a middle of a high class elite party. While wondering herself "What am I doing here?" , someone from the back greeted her "Hi!".  She turned around to see a man who looked over dressed for the occasion. "Another boring rich man... " she said to herself. That was actually mean of her to tag "boring" with rich men. Not all rich men are boring. He introduced himself as Peter. He also told her how he was related with the family who organized the party. 

Next 30 mins was going to be an interesting experience for Nancy. Peter started the conversation...  "Nancy...". Before Nancy could wonder how did he know her name, he continued... "Not just your name, I know more about you. You are a single independent woman. You are a foodie. You love wine.". Nancy interrupted "Hello Peter! What else my friend told you about me?". Peter smiled and said "Just that. That's why I am here to know more from the horse's mouth.". Nancy laughed out loud and said "Some other day funny guy.". Nancy said to herself "Perhaps not all rich guys are boring.". Next day morning while Nancy was in office, she got a phone call... "Hi Nancy. This is Peter. Good morning!". He continued... "I live very near to your office. Can I join you on breakfast?". Nancy...  "So you know I usually have my breakfast in office.". Peter... "I am on my way, coming to pick you. I should be there in 5 mins.". When Nancy asked how was he coming,  thinking he might be walking towards her office, he said "I am driving a Mercedes, Red Mercedes.". Nancy thought she heard it wrong. But she had a jaw dropping reaction when she saw him coming in a 2 seater convertible Red Mercedes. He stopped the car right in front of her. Nancy said... "I am not sitting in this car.". It was a mind boggling experience for Nancy.  Of course, she was super excited. Peter and Nancy sat in a coffee shop. Peter started the conversation with a "I, me, myself attitude", something which turned off Nancy. Peter was a super-rich business man who owned a construction company. It was clearly a one-sided conversation. Nancy didn't feel like telling anything about herself. She wanted to quickly finish the breakfast and rushed back to work. 

Change is good

After some casual talks Peter asked Nancy out on a date. It was the worst date in Nancy's life. Peter was so gaga about his power, assets, money. He wanted to buy her the most expensive items, wanted to take her to the most expensive places in the world. Overall he wanted to change Nancy to one of those rich plastic women who think they have everything. Perhaps any ordinary woman would die for such attention and importance but Nancy was not ordinary. Nancy said very politely... "Peter, I am happy the way I am. Change is good but not the kinds of change you are talking about. I got the point that you have money, you can buy almost everything you want. But, can you buy Happiness?". Perter understood that she was not interested. While going back home Nancy said to herself "Nancy, the worst date in your life. But It's okay sh*t happens.".

Hare Krishna... Why am I chanting this so frequently?

Hare Krishna Hare Rama

I believe in God. I pray to God everyday. But I am not someone who chants God all the time like my grandparents do. Then why am I chanting "Hare Krishna" so frequently?  I wondered myself. I got my answer when I went to give darshan to Madan Mohan ji at Karouli, Rajasthan. I didn't even know about this famous Krishna ji temple, visiting this place was out of question. But Krishna ji has His plans. The very moment I saw Krishna ji inside this temple I understood why I have been chanting His name so frequently. Tears rolled down from my eyes. This reminded me of my unique experience at the ISKCON temple some years ago.

Since childhood every year I go to ISKCON temple on Janmashtami. But something happened after I started worshiping Mahadev.  I can never forget Janmashtami of the year when I first started worshiping Shiv ji. I experienced something very different when I saw the majestic beautiful Krishna ji wrapped in a soft silk attire, covered with fresh and colorful flowers. Tears started rolling from my eyes non-stop. I was not able to understand what was going on. I was not able to stop those tears rolling from my eyes. I felt that Krishna ji was upset with me. I felt Him saying "I was always there in your prayers. Why have you stopped worshiping me?". 

There is something about Lord Krishna. Whenever I go far away from His Belief and Existence, He makes sure that I come back, He pulls me in. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare...