Moto G 3rd Gen Phone Review: It's a steal

For about a week I was searching for a good phone to gift but couldn't finalize on what to buy. That is when I came across Moto G 3rd Gen and ended up buying it. So here is the Moto G 3rd Gen Review with first impressions. 

Screen Size: The device is handy (a bit more than what usually is comfortable in your hand) but the extremely good display keeps it interesting. The display is one of the clearest I have seen in this price bracket and the design makes it more than convenient to watch a video, movie or play a decent game. With two variants - 8 GB + 1GB Ram and 16 GB + 2 GB Ram available, and with a powerful 1.4 GHz quad-core processor the phone can be really magnificent.

Camera: With a 13 MP rear camera and dual LED flash and a selfie friendly 5 MP front camera, the phone can whip up some amazing photos to stop you from carrying an additional camera when you decide to lave your DSLR home. 

The Moto G 3rd Gen is also Water-resistant and Worry-proof. You need your phone to be there for you, even in less-than-ideal conditions. IPX7-rated water protection keeps your phone safe from splashes and drops in water. After an accidental splash into a puddle or sink, just dry off your phone and keep going.Also the water proof/rain spill protection comes in handy to the Indian conditions. I am not sure about the other covers that are available from third party vendors but the original one has a beautiful texture to it and gives a good grip.

The battery is well packed and has 2470 mAh giving a mixed usage up to 24 hours. We used it for a full day, played some videos, clicked some 50 pictures and made some 2 hours worth calls and still the battery is decent. Being in built, there might be a difficulty if you need to replace it in a year or two. But who uses a smart phone for more than two years?

The device is pocket friendly too with the 8 GB variant coming up to 11999/- and the 16 GB version coming to 12999/-. I honestly think you should go for the 16 GB one as the additional 1000/- is worth it for the price.

Though wify and many of us want to cover it up with a screen guard, I am dead against it. The new Moto G 3rd Gen comes with a Corning Gorilla Glass display. If you need a phone that can stand up to your demanding lifestyle, Corning Gorilla Glass 3 spans Moto G from nearly edge to edge to help keep your phone protected from unsightly scrapes and scratches. So skip the cover and have fun.

Here is the list of all specifications of the Moto G 3rd Generation phone that makes it a great deal. 

• Advanced water resistanceIPX7-rated protection from splashes and accidental drops in water
• 13 MP rear camera, 5 MP front camera
  Includes a colour-balancing dual LED flash
• 12.7cm(5) HD display
  Brilliant display quality and the strength of Corning^® Gorilla^® Glass
• Expandable memory
  Slot for an optional microSD card with up to 32 GB capacity
• All-day battery
  A 2470 mAh battery lasts all day
• 4G LTE  speed
  Browse, stream music, watch video, and play games at blazing speed

What can be improved: The camera is a little fuzzy when you click pictures in continuation and pixelates indoors. If I have to wait between pictures, then it defeats the purpose. It would have been great to have a battery removable option for longer life. 

You can pick up the Moto G 3rd Gen phone here. Should I say I fell for the Motorola dimple or for the chop-chop action that turns the flash light on and off or for the twist action that turns on the camera in 3 secs? I would go for the dimple. Chop-chop!

Behavioural activation for Monday Blues

As a part of our Monday Blues series, we will talk about behavioral activation to single out our stress factors and how do we beat Monday Blues.

Though the theory is detailed, let me try and explain the essence of behaviourial activation. Every day as you start out at work, make a list of tasks that you want to do or complete during that work day. Now once the list is done, assign difficulty levels to each of these tasks and see which ones are more difficult than the other. Once you have this sorted out, try out the most difficult one first and then move on to the next difficult one. While this is one of the suggestions from behaviourial activation, it also means that you would be finishing the most toughest of tasks early in the morning when your energy levels are high. Once you move on to the next task, they get easier and easier to help you solve better.

As a result of this model, you would be rejoicing and easing away as you move on to the easier tasks as you pass through the day. This is extremely helpful in a desk job as you can easily get carried away. So try out the listing on tasks, organizing from the most difficult to the easier ones and breeze through them.

Most importantly this helps in creating a positive mindset to help overcome stress and any avoidance behaviour in handling various tasks that you ought to complete. You can use this every day to a great professional success and skip the avoidance behaviour and waste less time. Try it and let me know what you think. Beat the Monday Blues and have a great day!

Book review: The Fall of Shuruppak

Are you someone who likes fantasy books and appreciate a technical writer who uses his creative writing skills to recreate history? Are you someone who loves academic writing and non-fiction books that makes novels look like a mirror of a civilization readable? 

Well then you must love Dr. Shankar Kashyap. I was asked to review his latest book - The Fall of Shuruppak. In this book he brings to life the ancient kingdoms of Harappa with a finesse of a surgeon with the chaos of the magic from the ancient civilizations as if he has been there really traveling with the protagonist hero and his small group of truth seekers who take up this adventurous journey through the ravishing jungles, fighting ferocious creatures, long sojourns in treacherous rivers, storms and shipwrecks.

What makes you buy this book is the impressive storyline that will grip you and keep you inspired to read more. The interesting, awe inspiring well planned cities of ancient India thump your pride as the doctor uses his years of research to paint a very realistic picture for your reading pleasure. When the lovable protagonist Upaas, a doctor himself, is accompanied by his wife Lopa and the crown prince and the fearless soldier Parthava narrates the story to you, you just sit there and listen.

The interesting turn of events take them in search of various sages while they encounter extraordinary people, scientific discoveries, new lands, threats, fire fights, abductions, miraculous and close encounters while being street smart and move on to the next location.

If this book were a movie, you wouldn’t have anything less than the Lord of The Rings scale. Unfortunately we don’t have many books celebrating the great civilisations of Harappa and Mohenjedaro around Indus Valley with their advanced technology, know-how and what not! When I came across Shankar’s book, this was pure joy.

The epic battle between a mythical creature demon and Enkidu and the great loyalty and friendship between Emperor Gilgamesh and his journey to seek a solution helps us understand the great cultures and values of the Sumerian civilization and their practice of medicine, cultures, religions, how they treated their people, visitors and guests, their economy and what not. The Fall of Shuruppak is less of a fantasy book and more a journey of self-discovery and bonding while educating us about one of the greatest civilizations of the world.

For more book reviews check out this link.

Rating: 3.5/5
Verdict: Pick it up just for celebrating our ancient culture

Buy Harappa 2 : The Fall of Shuruppak

12 ways to beat Monday Blues

Faced with Monday Blues?
Want to know how you can beat Monday Blues?

Everyone around me have come in with a grumpy face to work and it reminds me that it is a Monday! We face Monday Blues meaning that we all face some issues with the situations every day. So here are 12 easy ways to handle Monday blues. 

1. Start with a smile! Monday blues are more about your emotional needs than physical and need not necessarily mean you have to suffer. Once your emotional needs are tended to, the situation can improve a lot. So start your day with a beautiful smile or share a joke, spend time with someone you love and come to work. See the Monday blues disappear. Smile your Monday Blues away!
2. Identify the problem: Ask yourself this. What is the reason for my feeling this way? Why am I prone to Monday Blues? How do I avoid Monday Blues? Is it because of someone or something or is it because you have a problem with someone? Most of the times, it is essential to identify the reason to solve the problem. So identify, then face it.
3. Look forward to a Monday: I would suggest you look forward to working on Monday. Have goals, plans, meetings, schedules and also plan something interesting as to how you will go and achieve your goals that day. It is very important to get that in place as it would assure you a sense of purpose. So plan and look forward to a Monday to beat Monday Blues.
4. Plan some exciting things to do: Every Monday, have something exciting to do. I know what you would say. Monday Blues and excitement don't go hand in hand. Which means you need to plan something very interesting like a tennis match with your buddies, a family cook out with your loved ones which is there to look forward to once your day at work is over. Even a working lunch would do a lot of good for you when you plan. So make exciting plans for Monday to beat Monday Blues.
5. Unwind on the weekend: Make sickening plans to enjoy your weekend. This is to ensure all your pressure weans off once you finish your weekend and come back recharged when you come back to work. plan to beat Monday Blues with a party.
6. Eat well: One of the greatest motivators is good food. Have a good healthy filling breakfast on Monday. Go fully on to work and beat the hell out of your Monday Blues.
7. Listen to good music: What jives you on? Plan that music playlist and keep it going so you can work your magic while your favorite tunes take you away! Music is such a good mood enhancer and in most cases helps your performance too. Sing and dance your Monday Blues away.
8. Wake up early: Start your Monday early to beat the feeling of Monday Blues. A good start to your day could be reading your favorite book, listening to something you love or just go for a walk. Start your day with blazing colors to make it happen.
9. Be cheerful: A cheerful person would spread joy around. (S)he would also help in creating a happy, warm, positive atmosphere around her work space and it is very important to get that moods right. not just on Monday but every day. So by default, be cheerful and happy! A cheerful attitude takes your Monday Blues away.
10. Help someone: At work, on the street, from your team, friends and family. Help someone so you can take that positive energy to work and meet your expectations. You can always use some positive energy anytime of the day. So genuinely help someone. Helping someone beat their Monday Blues helps you beat yours.
     
11. Hydrate yourself: Keep yourself hydrated. Grab that coffee, juice box or that bottle of water. Keep yourself hydrated and refreshed. It will help you come out of the boredom and stay active throughout the day. So be on your toes and be healthy. Keep sipping. Flush out that sad Monday Blues feeling and some toxins out.
12. Power dress for success: Yes go ahead. Pamper yourself. Grab that green tie that you like, wear your favorite jersey if that is your mojo. Dress to your confidence and make it count. Once you have your confidence in Monday Blues rush to their exit. If you need to relax, do that. If you dress for power, do that. Doesn't matter what you wear as long as you wear to success and go ahead.

Now that we have 12 ways to counter the feelings of the Monday Blues, go ahead and make a positive contribution to your team, company and most importantly to yourself. Say no to Monday Blues and have a great Monday!

For more tips, read our Monday Blues series here.

A part of India's life for 100 years

Understanding consumer psyche is a tough job. Like I always say, understanding consumer is the most important person in any business. Collecting consumer insights and using them to get in to your consumer's head to tweak your message to meet their expectations and understanding what they would like to see is very important. Nestle is one of the brands that managed this successfully over a long period of time. The latest ad that the brand floated is one of the best and most compelling that I have seen in a long time. Watch the advertisement and add this to your consumer behaviour notes or consumer behaviour in marketing and their implications in marketing strategy. 

So Nestle comes up with this ad which traces the important moments in Indian history. It is very nostalgic, communicates the greatness of our nation with historic references to show that they have been a part of our culture, our memories and have been there always. Brilliant concept. Very easily one of the best advertisements for 2015 from the grand old Nestle.

Say Hello to The Conditioned

His name is Ramundo Arruda Sobrinho and for 35 years, this 77-year-old homeless man spent his days doing his passion: writing poetry and short stories. But his work remained completely invisible to the world until one day in 2011, he befriended a woman named Shalla. 

The video below is a critically acclaimed documentary called “The Conditioned” and it tells the incredibly story of Ramundo’s life and how it changed after giving Shalla one of his poems. Shalla was so touched by Ramundo’s poetry that she started a Facebook page to share his work with the world. What happened next is nothing short of a miracle.

One Day At A Time, Sweet Jesus

I'm only human, I'm just a woman. 
Help me believe in what I could be 
And all that I am. 
Show me the stairway, I have to climb. 
Lord for my sake, teach me to take 
One day at a time. 

Chorus: 
One day at a time sweet Jesus 
That's all I'm asking from you. 
Just give me the strength 
To do everyday what I have to do. 
Yesterday's gone sweet Jesus 
And tomorrow may never be mine. 
Lord help me today, show me the way 
One day at a time. 

Do you remember, when you walked among men? 
Well Jesus you know if you're looking below 
It's worse now, than then. 
Cheating and stealing, violence and crime 
So for my sake, teach me to take 
One day at a time. 

Both teams win

Jonathan is the hero!

Social Media Leader of the Year

The new age marketing has been redefined by the social media interface. The amount of time people spend on social media is amazing or in other words overwhelming. Managing a brand's presence online and offline is a tough job and gets more difficult when you are pitted against the best in the business - clientele. In this context, this comes as a blessing and recognition to the hours spent in achieving what we wanted. A big shout out to my team, family and friends. Thank you.

I won the Social Media Leader of the Year award at the 'National Awards for Excellence in Digital Marketing and Social Media'. Some of the pictures from the event.

Illuminate

Illuminate while you can. Life is short. Make it bright.

Book review: Doppelgänger Short stories

If you like reading, you would love a good book with a good story. Wouldn’t you? How about 18 of them in one book? Well that is what these 18 stories with varied emotions, varied themes and interesting twists have in store for you. Doppelgänger: Short stories promises to be a great read.

Promising to keep you interested with its dexterity of characters that spring out to your side and explain their versions and share their life with you. It is interesting to say the least as some of the stories really touched me. The pain, emotions and the easily forgotten small incidents we all encounter in life are portrayed with flamboyance. Madhavi S Mahadevan has carefully strung 18 different unique pearls, sorry soul stirring stories, on a nerve and served it up to us in this book.

Doppelgänger, published by Alchemy Publishers, short stories explores the themes of isolation, anger, passion, inexplicable relationships, responsibilities, love, hatred and pure aggression among others and delves into looking at life as a roller coaster of events, small but significant, to change our perception about what normal life is. After all what is termed as a normal life? What goes on in the life of a normal individual? 

How often do we really care about the people who love us and care for us in the first place? Can you put a price tag on the love of a parent, sibling or the value of a relationship until you lose them? What can be the correct measure of passion or abuse? Hard to explain unless you get a close up chance to stare at the naked reality of truth and confront the hard blatant complexity of a double life or an extra marital affair and how these strange situations, characters come out and make bare their stories and life experiences with you. 

Overall the book is an excellent read and I love the selection set in modern India are highly recommend. To close here is a quote from the book.

"Rangi ko narangi kahen, banay doodh ko khoya

Chalti ko gaadi kahen, dekh Kabira roya"

Pick it up from Flipkart here.

Rating: 3.5/5
Verdict: Pick it up!

I'm trading my sorrows

I'm trading my sorrows

I'm trading my shame

I'm laying them down for the joy of the lord

I'm trading my sickness

I'm trading my pain

I'm laying it down for the joy of the lord

We say yes lord yes lord yes yes lord

Yes lord yes lord yes yes lord

Yes lord yes lord yes yes lord amen

I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted but not abandoned

Struck down but not destroyed

I am blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure

That his joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night

His joy comes with the morning

Del Monte Bachelor Pasta Salad

Here is an easy recipe to kick Cholesterol and stay healthy. Del Monte bachelor pasta salad. 

Though this cooking exercise is to star in the Blog your way to Italy contest, I chose to make it a simple recipe that you can make at home without straining yourself. So here we go.

Cooking time: 12-15 mins

Ingredients:

• Del Monte Pasta pack: 1 (We are using 1/4^th of the pack to serve two)
• Sweet corn: 50 grams
• Zucchini: 50 grams (cut to size)
• Carrot: 25 grams (cut to small cubes)
• Sprouts: 25 grams (of your choice)
• Lettuce: 1 leaf
• Cheese: Mozzarella
• Add any other peas, nuts, fresh cut vegetables like tomatoes, as ingredients.

 Steps for the recipe:

1. Blanch and lightly boil the pasta to gain tenderness for about 8-10 minutes
2. Cut carrot, zucchini to small cubes
3. You may add any fruits or nuts if you have at home
4. Once the pasta is boiled, strain off excess water and plate it
5. Add the carrot and any other nuts or sprouts to taste here. We add them first to help the heat of the pasta helps them soften
6. Add the sprouts, lettuce and herbs if you have any
7. Add salt to taste and pepper to taste and toss the salad
8. Add scrapes of Mozzarella cheese on top
9. Add Del Monte chilli sauce and tomato sauce to taste
   

And serve hot with a fruit juice if possible.

As you can see this is probably the easiest pasta recipe and can be made easily in 15 minutes. As we have a lot of fresh vegetables, nuts and fruits in the recipe you are bound to enjoy a variety of flavours which would keep you interested and munching towards better health.

So go ahead and make your own recipe and add what your favorite flavours are to make it the salad of the day. 

Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ malayajaśītalām śasya śyāmalāṃ mātaram

Thank you soldiers, teachers, farmers, all the souls who worked hard and continue to make the great nation that we live in better everyday. Sujalāṃ suphalāṃ malayajaśītalām śasya śyāmalāṃ mātaram Happy Independence day!

Book Review: In Pursuit of a Lesser Offence

Someone said you should not judge a book on its cover or title or the review or the first page or the last page for that matter. I am not saying you should not. I do. Sometimes. But once in a while you are right. The book cover shows a thrown high heeled sandal, red in color, on a carpet. The book comes recommended by Shaadi.com! Sujata Parashar whips up one more tale in her series about relationships, marriage, love and how things work. Let me tell you she is an expert in it.

The plot runs around Avinash Vyas and Sangeet Mishra who are just the opposite of each other in a serendipitous meet have their lives entwined as the whole world of their love and families crumble around them. They grow closer as things around take tumbles and this might seem to be yet another love story where the two prime characters in the story end up together. While this is partly true the narration keeps you engaged and glued to the story line with an unflinching interest.

The characters are woven well into the story with the ease of making a coffee. Yes, get a cup of coffee and get comfy on your sofa on an afternoon and immerse in to this lovable story and you will love that you did that. You would find Sangeet definitely among one of your friends and Avi could just be there too. With the growing rate of divorce among young men and woman, the story of Sangeet shows that divorce can be painful but you can grow out of it and love your life to the fullest when you are strong.

While looking at the modern rendition of a lovabale marriage and man-woman friendships, Sujata manages to show a warmth, calmness in introducing a different lens to look at the same feelings. This is a different kind of a story and I was amused at the way it kept me engaged. A modern story reflecting the changing sentiments and a refreshing one at that. In Pursuit of a Lesser Offence is a story of second chances and what is life without second chances.

You can pick up In Pursuit of a Lesser Offence on flipkart.

Rating: 2.5/5
Verdict: Pick up if you love a pleasant read.

Book Review: The Nidhi Kapoor Story

I love mysteries. Especially the ones involving a crime or murder. Won't we all? In this context if you have a special liking to a thriller of a story, The Nidhi Kapoor Story gives you just the one to match your intellect. It is intense, sensual, super fast and yep, get that coffee. Nidhi Kapoor is a famous, fictional, Bollywood actress. One day, she comes home to find her beloved pets dead in her study. Along with the mangled dead bodies of the pets, is a letter threatening Nidhi and her family. 

Scared for her life, she calls up the police for help. The case lands on the desk of ACP Prakash Mohile who is the most decorated policeman in Mumbai. A photo-journalist, Rujuta Singh is tailing Prakash for a story and inadvertently gets embroiled in the chase.

Unwarranted incidents start happening around Nidhi and with each incident, the attacks get more vicious and dangerous. While investigating, Prakash and Rujuta also discover a long tale of lies, deceit and murder in the past of the Kapoors - a tale that Kapoors want to keep hidden! However the investigating duo is convinced that the answers to the Nidhi Kapoor mystery are hidden somewhere in the past. 

The question thus is, can Prakash and Rujuta unearth the horror buried in the Kapoor household? Can they save Nidhi? 

Saurabh Garg weaves a tale of death, revenge, bollywood, beautiful women, alchohol, Mumbai rains, drives to the most scenic parts of Mumbai ourskirts, love, affection, trust, thrills, violence and good food. He lets you in to his web slowly and then holds you and your insecurities barely in the night warm humid breeze of the sea while you sweat but still stay on waiting for the end.

TNKS as it will be known can be your Ram Gopal Verma thriller with some class thrown in. Very few could guess the story in advance and it will be etched in your memory for its characters and the love of the narration. I would also recommend for the style of writing which is simple, direct and can make you feel you could have easily written it but the depth is amazing too. 

Racing against time and with a mission to save Nidhi, you wouldn't notice reading the 316 pages. You wouldn't regret picking it up too.

Rating: 3/5
Verdict: Pick up

Pick #Airtel4G, the fastest network yet!

One of the reasons I love staying abroad albeit for a short time is when I enjoy seamless Internet. Trust me when I say this but it is a pain to wait for the mail to download, video to buffer, google maps to load when you are in a rush. Half the time it takes all the patience in the world to wait while your query is being loaded on the screen before you. The dull moments you waste when you are waiting are irreplaceable and are sheer waste of time and energy. But unfortunately we don’t have the speed we need here yet and all the service providers I know claim 3G but provide horrible service and poor connectivity.  Everyone claims that their network is better and ask us to pay hefty sums for the 3G connection and don’t deliver. In such times, I use my dongle with the 4G Airtel  loaded on it and it is quite fast.

Bengaluru is one of the fastest growing IT hubs and is also one of the highest in terms of Internet users and connectivity shouldn’t be a problem. But the reality is not so. How much I would love to have a faster connection and use all that I want seamlessly and not worry about connectivity and lesser bill. Don’t we deserve a better connection, faster speed, better network and lesser bill? Hell yeah, we do! So what is the solution!

4G is the solution, at least in the current setting when we are dependent on 2G connections. I would love to have 4G in my phone just like I have the 4G connection from Airtel in my USB dongle. In fact today Airtel launched 4G nationally! Having #Airtel4G on your phone and laptop would help you stay connected even on the move to the fastest* connection around. 

Claiming to be the fastest Internet connection all around, they are ready to accept a challenge and accept to pay all your phone bills for the rest of your life in case they fail to prove their better speed. Their new website: www.airtel.in/4G takes you through all the offerings of the product. They even  have a special pricing on offer where they are sending you a 4G enabled sim card free of cost, that too home delivered and the bill would be the same as 3G! Isn’t that a great deal. 

So say good bye to your slow dull boring net connection and switch on to the fastest connection around. Welcome to the India of tomorrow!

Book Review: 50 things you did not know about China

Strange! That is the word that comes to my mind when I think of what all I have read when I picked up the book, "50 things you did not know about China". Sometimes we think we know most of the things about a place. We are not in the world where information is hidden in the form of directories and encyclopedias and yet it is humbling to know that we don't really know everything. This book by Alchemy Publishers tells you just that - facts about China.

Written by Brendan O’Reilly who is an authority on the topic having observed the local customs and traditions first hand while he taught English at Jiujiang University in China for three years makes it more interesting and authentic. Brendan’s work has been featured in various publications, including Asia Times, BBC Vietnamese, Business Insider, The Diplomat and China Outlook. Brendan is conversational and literate in Mandarin Chinese.

It is a pleasant read with a smooth flow and a matter of fact way of story telling. He manages to build up the facts into interesting tit bits which dispel your notion of knowing the details about the Middle Kingdom, their forbidden cities and things not to do in China as well as things to do in China. Several interesting stories are here in this little books, many facts from ancient China. Some strange, some bizarre and some downright shocking! 

Here are a few: A Chinese Muslim eunuch once kidnapped the king of Sri Lanka. The one-child policy only applies to a third of Chinese couples. China loans more money than the World Bank does. Four hundred million Chinese people can’t speak Chinese.  China will soon have more bullet trains than every other nation in the world – combined.

Though we could get most of the facts mentioned in the book on the Internet, the way the story is built up, narration, suspense and the excitement is what kept me reading the book. To be frank I believed in the contrary to some of the cool facts about China mentioned in the book or have had a misconception about their origin. Such small tit-bits of information woven into interesting stories that keep your interest high packed into a pocket sized book is a good read to have a peep into the customs and traditions of the Middle Kingdom. Definitely worth if considering you don't know most of the facts about 1/7th of the world population and our neighbour.

Whether you are checking for the top things to do in China or things not to do in china, you have it all in here. Pick it up today from flipkart here.

Rating: 3.5/5

Verdict: Pick up

Pic is from here.

Kodaikanal won't - Sofia Ashraf

Read the story here about the pollution by Mercury from the thermometer plant by Unilever.

Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (APJ) Abdul Kalam. 1931-2015

Dr Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen (APJ) Abdul Kalam. 1931-2015. Blue jeans. Grey trousers. Long hair. Unkempt hair. Ever smiling. Bright eyes. Impossible dreams. Eternal hope. Devout Muslim with Hindu values. Missile man. Rocket scientist. Project director. Eminent scientist. People's president. An extraordinary Indian. Eternal teacher. Ignited minds. Long silver hair. Tamilian accent. Carnatic devotional music lover. Prithvi missile. Agni Missile. Nuclear architect. Buddha smiles. Buddha smiles again. Beloved President. Children's President. Make in India. Vision 2020. Inspiring speaker. Nationalist. Pokran architect. Marg Darshak. Ideal scientist. Bharat Ratna. A Teacher forever.

10 tips to improve your lifestyle

Here are ten tested tips to improve your lifestyle.

1. Skip the negative feeling: Stop being negative. Whenever you have a negative thought beaming in your head, postpone it and say, " I will not let you spoil my mood!" Let the thought disappear and see how you would be relieved.
2. Move, physically: Whenever you feel down, just get up and move. Take a stroll, to the water cooler, to the window, to the dashboard... Just get up and move. It will help you realign your body and mind. Make this a good habit.
3. Have a juice: Include some juice in your daily routine. While it is easy to say that you should have 6-8 meals spread through out the day, it is tough to maintain. So just have a juice in your diet and keep sipping slowly and re-hydrate your body and brain and relax when you do that. You would get your positive energy from the juice and relaxation to your brain.
4. Be honest: As difficult as it sounds this would set you free. You would be more honest, serious and committed. Once you start being truthful, you would also be more fruitful and efficient. Though this cannot happen in a day, you should try and start today. As The Bible says, the truth will set you free!
5. Talk to your friends, build a good community. Your friends, family and community are the fortress around you. Build a good fortress of people who would improve your life and efficiency. I would strongly encourage you to look at hanging around your community that would bring the best in you.
6. Laugh more: Do you know that the average 4 year old laughs 300 times a day while the average 40 year old only 4? I don't know what you think, but it is scary! We lost our sense to appreciate small little things and enjoy life. We are turning into robots! Stop it. Right now. Laugh!
7. Appreciate enough: Say 'Thank you', 'Sorry', 'Appreciate that' more often in your day. Add those little words in your communication and see how people change around you. When you are thankful for what you have, the world is a better place. Appreciate your family - your partner, your children, parents and everyone who loves you.
8. Pick your Mojo: Have a mojo. Something that drives you. Plan to run in a marathon. Train to be fitter. Go for a run. Play an instrument. Cook a wonderful dinner. Do something that matters to you other than what you do for work. Have a mojo. It will change your life.
9. Travel: I love traveling, even if it is a small short trip. Travel to new locations. Explore people, places, food, music, life, culture. As you travel more, you look and appreciate life more. As you learn more, you will be better. Travel. Get out!
10. Face your fear: Do things that you are not comfortable about. Like diving, swimming, losing weight, whatever you are afraid of. Facing your fear will give you the best push you would need ever. Some of my clients have confessed that taking the roller coaster with their kids had given them the boost and thrill they never experienced in their life. However small, face your fear.
     
11. Bonus! Do extra, be awesome: Do more than required. Put your personal touch into it and deliver more than you promised. Viola! You are the super hero. Do extra, the extra is what gives you more satisfaction. Both to you and the one who receives it.

Book Review: The Faceless Saldirgan

Simply put, it is not your regular story of two people falling in love and the killer trying to avenge some long gone mishap that happened in his life and all this for the sadistic pleasure he gets out of killing and hurting people. That is what you expect out of a murder mystery. Not when you are talking about the new book on the shelves - The Faceless Saldirgan.

Written by a cool kid in glasses who looks like Vishwanathan Anand and you might think has a cool brain that is worried about maths and science or his next exam, this psychological thriller is quite manipulative, layered and a puzzle that lures you in and makes you helpless. The style is contemporary and pleasant. Quite a fast read and the events in the book hurl at amazing speeds though the story unravels itself over the official timeline at Greenwich.

The Faceless Saldirgan is a breath of fresh air in the growing stories about murder, rape, pain and abnormality as it doesn't just focus on the murder but is quite a lot about the psychology of the killer or the killer instinct, if I must put it that way. The ease with which the Saldirgan executes his meticulous plans and reaches his goal is amazing. While you would be intrigued by what happens in the end and are clueless in the puzzle about who the killer might be, very few could actually guess who the killer is and understand the grand finish the plot is reaching out for. I could :)

I usually get bored if the details are more and are not related to the story or, how do I put it pleasantly, not actively contributing to the story, but this was an exception. I actually read through the passages where biology, chemistry, psychology, quotes of religious texts were mentioned verbatim. This was because these small trinket of information was more to do with the story than to show off the knowledge the author had about the topic or pointed out how lazy you were for not checking that on Google. The Faceless Saldirgan could comfortably bring out the beauty in the characters and build the plot effectively.

The characters are lovable and reasonably delightful and are good in what they do. You are given a good detail about how they go about in their day and don't waste any time to become friendly with the characters. Jack, Ralph and John live an interesting life to say the least and Jack has the best of everything happening to him along with the beautiful Danielle who adds the jing to the story. Danielle is unfortunately killed off in a horrific manner right in the beginning and the Saldirgan makes a grand appearance albeit being faceless. From then on the story picks up pace and is a good read till you get to know who the killer is and how and why he was hell bent upon ruining Jack's life. Alec, Lucy and all the other characters play their roles pretty well in the shadow of the killer while you search for some clue that the author might have left in there somewhere.

Towards the end, I wished it was faster but you can never get a perfect pause to the explosive end. While the deaths were dealt clinically, I would have preferred slightly more effect to the process. Overall a good read, especially if you like murder mysteries and love a quick read. Sahil Loomba has a winner for his first book.

Check it out on flipkart here.

Rating: 2.5/5

Monday Blues: Delegate

Have a plan today and delegate some of your work if you have a team or outsource what you can get done from others. A good leader is one who can delegate and get it done. Some of the best things in life are things that happen when you are not doing them and hence it is important to loose control sometimes and get things done by others. 

Some problems we have with delegation are that we don't trust others to produce the results like you expect the to do in a way that you want them to do. Not necessary I guess. While it is important that the result is the same or close to what you want, it is important to let the other person add some personal touch to what they are doing. I mean allow them to function in their own style and way that they want to so it adds more fun for them to complete the task. If you control too much and demand too similar then it takes the fun out of the job.

Let them have their fun and get them do their work in their own way but focus on getting things done. DELEGATE.

Pic is from here.

Deep fried fish

Passion Pays

We were at the beachside Dhaba/eatery in Doha, Qatar and the chef's recommendation was this freshly caught fish, prepared and fried to our taste. Decked and marinated in five different herbal and spices paste, the fish was left to marinate for 1 hour and quickly fried in searing oil for 5 minutes. The sumptuous salad was superb too.

Why did we go for the chef's recommendation? The passionate explanation on how this fish was of the right size, apt age, right weight and how his craftsmanship was going to transform the simple-looking fish into an amazing masterpiece. Of course, the free salads and fryums we got during the one hour wait and the lemonade was inviting too.

Sometimes, your product may not be a lot different from what the market is offering. But your attitude to serve and the passion you put behind the pitch matters. And can make your customers remember you, despite the fact that this was almost 7 years ago!

Show passion in whatever you do. Real, raw passion.

#MarketingTalk #TalktoTiger #PositivePsychologist

#TigerTravel

Why the all New Jazz from Honda is turning heads!

The story of my search for a true premium hatchback started much before the recent launch but quite some time back in 2009. Back then the Jazz offered enough space and comfort that we wanted but was a huge tick off on the cost part when compared to the pricing and hence was off our list. I still remember its look when it zoomed on the road. My understanding was that the market wasn’t ready to spend a lot on the car though the brand, design and the power packed performance was commendable. 

Now the 2015 New Honda Jazz has all the goodness of the old Jazz and more and that too in an affordable pricing starting a little over 5.3 lakhs. With the new design that commands a second look and available in many color options like Carnelian Red Pearl, Sunset Orange, Urban Titanium Metallic, Albaster Silver Metallic, Taffeta White, Golden Brown Metallic, White Orchid Pearl you have an excellent choice for selection. 

Under the hood: The 1.5L i-DTec engine gives you a 27+ kms mileage which is decent. On road it seems to give around 20-22 kms and I think it is pretty decent when compared to the speed it can generate from its powerful engine(100 ps max) with the new 6 speed MT. The all-aluminium construction helps it to be low on friction and increases efficiency. The 1.2 L i-VTEC petrol engine with its 18.7 kmpl mileage is a tough competition too. 

 Here are some of the features that makes it worth your money. 

1. Tilt steering. Helps you adjust to your height and comfort. Works expecially well with extremely tall people or women who love driving without heels. Gives you an extra comfort to stop straining your back.
2. Several USB ports and coffee cup holders are very useful for working on the field people like me. I need to charge on the go. The all new Honda Jazz helps recharge my phone and holds my coffee too while I am driving. There are 9 cup holders in all!
3. The driver seat adjuster added with the tilt steering is a superb solution to drive comfortably.
4. Ample boot space with 345 litres allows you to pack off many things and head out with your family. This is very useful when you are planning a road trip with your family. With the magic seats tucked away you get about 880 litres of space. That is HUGE!

5. The handling of the machine is very smooth and is very good in turns and twisty roads. It comes in handy even when your second-choice driver is at the wheel.
6. The best feature I am really impressed about is the reclining back seat! Let me explain this enough. They aren't called Magic seats for nothing. If you plan properly the back seats recline comfortably and help in resting. I have always wanted this when driving with a a driver in my car. Except in my Mobilio, I can’t rest well when I am in the back seat and my driver is driving the car. This special feature would be of great help when I have a long day and feel the need to be driven. Thank you Honda for thinking about my back :)
7. Ample leg room in both front and back seats helps you relax your feet, especially in long distance drives. This is very thoughtful as you end up sitting in the same posture when you are cramped up for space.
8. I liked the angular lights that disappear in the hood design blending with the minimal chrome design and the dull finished grill. The unique wheel design is eye catchy.
9. I loved the interiors with dull black up market feeling and light colored touches add to the killer looks.
10. The silence… in the car when you are driving it and the insulation was too good. The ac was powerful too with its calm demeanor and we were comfortable when driving it for about 30 mins. You could really enjoy the music on your pen drive.
11. Safety first: Impact mitigating head rests are new. ABS with EBD, dual SRS airbags, ACE body structure, seat belt pretensioner with load limiter, armrest console and the step illumination, what else can you ask for?

The all new Honda Jazz has all the check boxes ticked right this time with the localization in pricing, design, looks and matches the name and hype. You can call it the new super star on the block. If you are a Honda fan with long time wish to get a Honda City or even the old Jazz, you should look at this for sure. I would also recommend the Petro automatic version, which would be very comfortable when driving in the city traffic while zipping to office or dropping off kids at school. I liked the fact that the transition from one gear to another was really smooth and it picks up speed well and behaves well on the road. 

Considering the leg room, head room, the well thought off magic seats, lots of small storage spaces, composed behavior at high speeds and the stand out design and looks, Honda comes out a winner in this test. I am all excited to see how it performs in the Indian market. Like I mention always, the brand that does the thinking like the local consumer and actually listen and works on their product offering always is welcomed. The all new Honda Jazz does it this time and does it right true to their theme, Honda calls it man maximum, machine minimum. 

I would have loved to see some more comfort in the back seat, especially for thigh support and you might find constantly cleaning the colored touch screen for finger prints, the Jazz has almost everything going for it. 

Rating: 4/5 

Verdict: Buy

Pics are by Giri and here.