Weekend Gateway - Asola Wildlife Sanctuary

A perfect weekend gateway that includes at least 8 to 10 kms of trekking (both ways) in the lush green wildlife sanctuary of Asola, just within 30 kms of Gurgaon. It has some magnificent views around the four crystal clear lakes which includes the lake Bhardwaj, with a sand beach on it. Caution - The place is totally isolated from human population, is full with dangerous terrains & rocky areas and is often considered to be homes of many wildlife creatures and reptiles, mainly snakes. A place only to be visited with a large group...

My Birthday Celebration In Office

Presenting a photo blog this time on the official atyaachaar as quoted by my team members who took revenge from me on my birthday celebrated on October 02, 2012 in my office (which was actually on Sunday September 30).  This is what happens when a Manager gets caught in a situation where in all his team members prepare to sabotage his designation and still make him feel happy and special :-)...My team literally planned this well in advance, and warned me to carry an extra piece of shirt that day.  As such, I removed my shirt (wore a Tshirt inside) while cutting the cake.

Hardly anyone tasted that two kg cake... :-), which was mostly used for face pasting...

If Pooja brought liquid chocolates from her home for decorating my overall face as she felt that my shaven head gives her all the more surface area, then Monika gifted me a travel kit to keep my scalp clean and shaven even during my travels.  While one of my teams did some research to gift me a Zodiac Shirt and a matching Marks & Spencer Cufflinks, it is evident that the team members organized the celebration in a very thoughtful manner.  Thanks to all my team members for a wonderful time...A special thanks to Kunal, Hemant and Ritish for organizing the event.  

Enjoy the pics...

Kaayakalp - Mid June Progress

Weight - 60.3 Kg

Body Fat - 26.7%

BMI - 25.4

Visceral Fats - 10

Resting Metabolism - 1437

Depth Of Life…

Someone once said – “Rishi, your life has great width but lacks depth”…

And I was like – what???  Being an Analyst, my core job is to sail deep in whatever pursuits I am engaged into.  That’s what my professional work profile demands me to be…However, people still feel, that my personal life lacks all kinds of depth in it.  May be, that’s because they see lots of buoyancy in it.  Now, what on earth could create such gulfy chasms…?

For me, the “depth of life” was a term coined by this beautiful lady who curiously listened to my adventures with female fraternity.  She later on became a soul friend of mine with whom I not only shared almost all of my life events but also created a few with her too…In-fact, she is the one who created the very first line of this article.  

Talking about keeping buoyancy, most people think that I am a carefree guy with no agenda in life.  That’s because they don’t see me hooked up to anything / anyone.  They perceive me as someone who believes in “no strings attached”, be it relationships or be it anything which creates gravity.  A heat seeking bachelor, who flirts with everyone and longs for no one.  The fact that I am not even looking a partner to get married even at an age of thirty three makes others think that I am quite influenced by western civilization.  It’s been more than ten years now that I have been questioned by almost everyone about my singularity.  And every time people do so, I choose to ignore them.  That’s because, in my opinion, people will never understand my philosophy and even if they do, they will never associate themselves with it. 

I think…howsoever wrong I may be, but I think.  And therefore, I consider myself a human being.  Else, I would just have been like other living beings on the planet who mostly are not capable of using their grey matter and who blindly follow the norms established by others.  An ant, for that matter, will only follow the path of another ant that precedes and hence we have all of them in a single line afraid of taking paths less travelled.  Anything and everything which gels with masses, has always been termed as “Normal”.  For the rest, like me, they came up with the caption, “Abnormal”.  To qualify as a human being, I feel one must think and act based on the prudent wisdom which gets created in one’s mind.  And I am just trying my best to be a human being. 

Let me take you to the territories where people’s perception reaches even before me.  The first and the foremost thought that comes in the mind of people is that I am not ready to accept additional responsibility.  Even closest of the close ones think so about me.  Well, I accept that I am bad enough in deciphering my own self many a times, so being aware of someone else’s life associated with mine seems daunting.  I do value my independence where in I enjoy being able to do whatever I want, whenever I want.  But how does it impair my ability to accept additional responsibility?  In fact, it exponentially magnifies my potential to serve wholeheartedly.  Look into my history and in every phase of my life, you would understand that I have taken additional responsibilities of many people on my own shoulders and had executed them to their satisfactory completion.  Of-course, my approach towards executing responsibilities might be harsh, but I don’t pass it on just for the heck of keeping my shoulders light.  Even if I accept a life time responsibility of taking care of someone who is not even a part of my existing family, I don’t think, I will surpass it just to enjoy my freedom and independence.  At several instances, I have exhibited this trait of mine flawlessly and naturally.  And I will do so, even till my last breath.  Period. 

The other thing, which most of the people think is that I have a phobia towards commitment.  And believe me friends; these are the same people who despite of having partners in their life are consciously seeking others out there, just for the sake of having momentary pleasures.  I really don’t know what type of commitment they expect me to have within myself.  All I understand is that treachery is not just violation of faith but also betrayal of trust in any relationship.  While I am extremely phobic of being treacherous to anyone, I am not at all afraid of real commitment.  Unfortunately, people don’t understand the true meaning of commitment and hence end up with false relationship.  Some false relationships still lasts with conscious or unconscious ignorance while others break.  Most of the people think that just by tying the knot of marriage, they are free from getting stigmatized as “commitment phobic”.  As if, writing the word “committed” in a relationship status is quite a fashion these days… :-)

There are other myths which people like to ponder over me.  Some of them presume that I have been hurt in an earlier relationship and as such, I am finding it hard to trust again.  Whereas there are quite a few, who assume that I am concentrating on my career which needs all of my energy to remain focused.    Some feel that I don’t believe in relationships as they rarely work out and still there are people who like to surmise that I want to date as many women as possible in the name of finding the right one.  And if that’s not enough, few joke around that I have sexual problems whereas there are a handful of people who suspect me of enjoying erotic smorgasbord with as many women as possible.  I don’t even have to go into each and every detail to classify them as “BULL SHIT”.  Those who know me well will easily rule them out without getting into the nitty-gritties of it. 

So what is it that keeps me away from sailing deep?  Haven’t I met the right woman?  Well, there is a difference between a “right” woman and “always right” woman.  And I have met both types of women.  The former are the ones with whom I would like to be associated with, whereas the latter are the ones, no one would like to be affiliated with.  During my college days, I had an alliance with this girl, with whom I used to study for my MBA Entrance preparation.  We were close enough to share our thoughts and beliefs with each other and at that time, I used to feel that she is the right person for me.  Moreover, we were best friends too.  But somehow, I never approached her.   Not because of the fear of rejection, but because in a country like India, people ultimately feel that marriage is the only final destination for a man-woman relationship.  And even at that time, I never intended to get married.  She moved on and found her soul mate with whom she is happily married.  Though I was a bit shaken with her marriage, I never regretted my decision of not approaching her.  Since then, I met with numerous women, but I never found myself close enough with any of them to consider them “right” for me.  That was until now, but not anymore… :-)

Now let me dissect the reason why I don’t believe in the institution called “marriage”.  But before that, let me ask one question to all my readers – what is the basic ingredient of any relationship?  The answer might differ from people to people.  Some might quote, faith or trust whereas others might come up with emotions like honesty, respect, forgiveness, friendship, connect, compatibility, values, patience, passion etc.  And I am not at all ruling out these attributes of relationships.  But for me and for few others as well, the very basic yet essential element of having any relationship is – love.  

I won’t glamorize the word too much by writing vague phrases like love is the only eternal truth in the history of mankind.  Rather I would keep it simple.  For me, love is an attachment that results from deeply appreciating another person’s attributes like goodness.  It is a natural force, which cannot be controlled under human circumstances.  It does not come with conditions, stipulations, addendums, or codes.  One can invite love, but he/she cannot dictate how, when, and where love expresses itself.  You cannot make someone love you, nor can you prevent it, for any type of compensation. Love cannot be imprisoned nor can it be legislated. It is not a substance, not a commodity, not even a marketable power source. Love has no territory, no borders, no quantifiable mass or energy output.  Love cannot be turned on as a reward. It cannot be turned off as a punishment. Only something else pretending to be love can be used as a lure, as a hook, for bait, imitated, insinuated, but the real deal can never happen if love doesn't spring freely from the heart.  One can buy loyalty, companionship, attention, perhaps even compassion.  Not just that, one can even buy orgasm, sex partners or for that matter marriage partners as well. However, love is inherently free and cannot be bought, sold, or traded. It comes, or not, by grace, of its own will and in its own timing, subject to no human’s planning & intervention. 

Though I value my independence narcissistically, I have always been an ardent believer of Love and Interdependency.  Whereas in my opinion, “marriage” is just a matter for law, rules, courts and property rights. Marriage price or dowry, alimony and the pre-nuptial agreement, make it clear that marriage is all about contracts. Marriage has nothing to do with love.  Inversely, love is independent of marriages.  I am not saying that love cannot happen after / before marriage with your spouse.  It certainly can…But then, marriage is not at all an absolute necessity for anyone to love someone, even if that someone may be your would to be spouse.  People can still love someone even if they are not married to them. In my opinion, marriage is just a ceremony created by the society to announce the alliance between a man and a woman.  What follows thereafter may or may not turn into love.  Awfully, people just follow the societal norm of getting married without even trying to understand its significance in their life.   I never ever went through any kind of ceremony to announce my association with my parents.  Yet my parents and I love each other very much.  Our relationship still stands tall, authentic and completely natural.  One does not need a ceremonial announcement to blossom his / her love.  As mentioned earlier, love comes, or not, by grace, of its own will and needs no human’s planning or intervention like marriage to stand alive. 

I have seen several friends who got married to people whom they did not love.  There are many who left people who seriously loved them, and got married to others in search of a better life or for that matter for other reasons and pressures.  Several others got married yet are still searching love in their marital relationship.  A handful number of people are still looking outside their marital relationship treacherously for momentary pleasures.  I just pity on such people and consider myself fortunate enough to be a thinker…and of course a lover too. 

For me, ever since my childhood, I have consciously declined getting married to anyone throughout my life, as I don’t feel its absolute necessity.  And I would never follow societal norms just for the heck of it or just because everyone does it.  At the same time, I would humbly deny the remark made by my soul friend, that I lack “depth of life”.  

Consciously I might not have a full fledged marital relationship, but unconsciously I do posses an attachment with her that results from deeply appreciating her goodness.  And this attachment is not restrained by any societal norms and ceremonial announcement.   Howsoever raw it may appear to be on the surface of it; the guarantee is that the attachment is pure and sacred from inside.  And that’s where I swim deep, very very deep in the ocean of life.  

Reconciling BMI

Last December, I still remember how my Sensai Virendra Lautkar reacted when he saw me in Nagpur after 9 years, completely disfigured. The only words he uttered were – “I did not train you for this. Don’t show me your face, till you become what you were earlier. Unexpectedly, you look dead”. And he shut his doors on me where as I was hoping for lovable moments from him as we met after such a long time. Suddenly, I realized that my mirror never gave me my correct reflection…

It was a high time, for me to stop by and do some introspection. The fact that I devote 12 hours in my office thereby handling staggered shift of 40 team members reporting to me and another 4 hours of traveling time made me feel jittery about the course of action that was much needed that time. I somehow felt that I cannot work on my health due to lack of time and this would continue until I move to another job / role. Historically, I have always been a poor player with handling clocks – meaning, I always loose time on many things. But the question here was not of the clock but of the compass. I was lacking DIRECTIONS too. I was not making my own flow but was flowing where ever I got the slope, just like water.

On February 01^st, 2012 I weighed 68 Kgs. The formula for BMI calculation reveals that my ideal body weight should be between 50 to 52 Kgs. Meaning, I was overweight by 16 to 18 Kgs. Not a good sign for a person like me who value martial arts to the core of my heart. Even for an average person, it’s a sign of lethargy, unclear physical & mental priorities, lack of focus or simply said – a poor execution in life.

I realized that I don’t have time to attend martial arts classes or for that matter attending gym, but there’s nothing that was stopping me from redesigning my plate. Subsequently, I had a sprout salad that morning and a fruit salad in the evening. That kind of, relieved me from the mental tension I was going through. But that was just for a day…where as I had to make this adjustment in my daily lifestyle. When I came back home at night, the aroma of Pulao & Matar Mushrooms that my sister cooked that day hypnotically attracted me to the kitchen. And I ended up finishing all that was left in the bowl…This was nothing but a failure…he he he

The very next day I started a fresh with vegetable salad, had Nestle Dahi in the noon and ate veg sub without mayonnaise and sauces in it. And when I came back home, I was again attracted to kitchen by the aroma of vermicelli pulao… I ignited the gas stove to make it warm, regained my senses after 5 minutes, smelled the aroma of the pulao, placed the lid on the bowl, switched off the stove and went to my room only to sleep immediately before I get carried away with pulao…he he he…that was like – winning a battle that day.

The very next day, I wrote a message to my sister that she should not cook food for me and should consume everything she cooks for herself. Well, well, well…my sister is my sister…when I came back home, there were few aaloo ke paraathe kept in the kitchen…along with a message – “Dieting is not healthy, if you want to lose weight, do it through exercise”…I was extremely irritated by the message but was still left spellbound by the parathas…nonetheless to mention, it was a failure that day too…

And then started a battle between me and my poor attitude of kneeling down against the dishes cooked by my sister…sometimes, I won and mostly I lost. Rather I should put it this way – mostly, I used to win during the day and lose at night when I entered my home…the cycle continued for about a month and one fine day one of my direct reportee in my office noticed that I lost a few centimeters of fats on my belly. On March 01^st, 2012, I weighed 65 Kgs unexpectedly...I lost 3 Kgs in a month’s time…that was the AHA moment for me which charged me up again...

I was motivated for more… The challenge was to find time…I had no clue when will I do it but had a vague idea that I can do it after returning from office at 2 am in the dark…I pulled my track suite the very next day and started jogging. After about 5 minutes of jogging, unexpectedly I was chased by a dog who got suspicious as to why am I running in the dark…Consequently I had to rush back home in a jet speed. I took a breath of relief the moment I shut the door and decided not to jog in the night anymore. The very next weekend, I bought an exercise kit and thought to start burning calories at home itself, how so ever small in number they might be. But then while exercising at home; I broke a few items due to lack of spatial awareness, especially a glass show piece, a fancy alarm watch and a ceramic flower pot that too, in just a week’s time. Funny, isn’t it?

Yesterday, I noticed I lost a few more inches around my belly which made me a super happy man…but I was not sure if it appears only to me or to others as well…so I shot a few photographs of mine, and sent it to my brother and 3 close friends. The fact that all of them either use a blackberry or an iPhone, made me sure that I would get a reply immediately…moreover, it was a HOLI-day as well…so I eagerly waited for their responses. However, none of them responded. By evening, I was upset and restless, partly because of hunger and partly because no one responded. I slept at 7 in the evening to avoid the feeling of hunger which weakens me from inside. And when I woke up, I actually woke up – meaning, that short nap opened my eyes…I realized, that losing weight is MY goal and it does not matter to others. Forget about acknowledging or giving feedback, others won’t even pay attention. I smiled, recollected my narcissism and went on for a 20 minute jog around my place…

While writing this post, I now have a better understanding that reconciling BMI is more of a mental fight rather than dealing with physical exercises. It starts with mind and if it has to, it ends in the mind as well.

• Choosing sprouts & fruits over pulaos & parathas
• Dealing with hunger throughout the day
• Controlling your emotions while watching others, relishing mouthwatering food
• Being regular with exercises
• Protecting ourselves from street dogs while jogging at night
• Avoiding the emotions of a caring sister / mother
• Not getting boggled by people who can’t even find a minute to align themselves to my goals

See – everything listed above are mind games, and one really has to win each of it every day…

And it’s not impossible. All one needs is a bit of VANITY…and that’s fair…he he he

Next December when I would be meeting my Sensai in Nagpur, I won’t give him the doors to shut on me…Rather; I would take him to Japanese Garden which happens to be my Dojo in Nagpur, and would have a nice sparring with him…Time for a jog now… J

Movies I Watched In 2012...

My love for movies continues...

Movies Watched in Auditoriums:

1. Sherlock Holmes - A Game Of Shadows (4 / 5)
2. Players (3 / 5)
3. Chalees Chaurasi (2 / 5)
4. Underworld - Awakening 3D (3 / 5)
5. Coriolanus (3 / 5)
6. Agneepath (3.5 /5)
7. Haywire (3 / 5)
8. Chronicles (3 / 5)
9. The Descendants (4 / 5)
10. War Horse (4.5 / 5)
11. Ek Mai Aur Ek Tu (2.5 / 5)
12. Ek Mai Aur Ek Tu (2.5 / 5) Repeated
13. Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance (3 / 5)
14. The Artist (4.5 / 5)
15. Pan Singh Tomar (5 /5)
16. John Carter (2.5 / 5)
17. Kahaani (4 / 5)
18. This Means War (4 / 5)
19. The Iron Lady (4 / 5)
20. Agent Vinod (3.5 / 5)
21. Blood Money (3 / 5)
22. Wrath Of The Titans (3.5 / 5)
23. The Hunger Games (4.5 / 5)
24. Battleship (3.5 / 5)
25. Houseful 2 (2 / 5)
26. Hate Story (3 / 5)
27. Avengers (4.5 / 5)
28. Vicky Donor (4 / 5)
29. Jannat 2 (3 / 5)
30. Tezzz (3 / 5)
31. Ishaqzaade (3.5 / 5)
32. Department (3 / 5)
33. Men In Black 3 - 3D (4 / 5)
34. Rowdy Rathore (1.5 / 5)
35. Snow White & The Huntsman (3 / 5)
36. Prometheus (4 / 5)
37. Ferrari Ki Sawari (3.5 / 5)
38. Shanghai (3 / 5)
39. Gangs Of Wassepur (4.5 / 5)
40. Teri Meri Kahaani (2.5 / 5)
41. The Amazing Spiderman (3 / 5)
42. Bol Bachchan (2.5 / 5)
43. Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter (3.5 / 5)
44. Cocktail (3 / 5)
45. The Dark Night Rises (4.5 / 5)
46. Kya Super Cool Hai Hum (3.5 / 5)
47. Ice Age 4 (3.5 / 5)
48. Jism 2 (2.5 / 5)
49. Total Recall (3 / 5)
50. Bourne Legacy (3 / 5)
51. Gangs Of Wassepur 2 (4 / 5)
52. Ek Tha Tiger (3 / 5)
53. The Expendables 2 (4 / 5)
54. Finding Nemo 3D (3.5 / 5)
55. Shark Nights 3D (2.5 / 5)
56. Raaz 3D (3.5 / 5)
57. Barfi (4.5 / 5)
58. Dredd 3D (3 / 5)
59. Heroine (3.5 / 5)
60. Resident Evil: Retribution (4 / 5)
61. English Vinglish (4.5 / 5)
62. The Possession (4 /5)
63. Makkhi (4 / 5)
64. Taken 2 (3.5 / 5)
65. Bhoot Returns (3.5 / 5)
66. Looper (4 / 5)
67. Premium Rush (3.5 / 5)
68. Student Of The Year (3 / 5)
69. Chakravyuh (4 / 5)
70. Cloud Atlas (4.5 / 5)
71. 1920: Evil Returns (3.5 / 5)
72. Skyfall (4 / 5)
73. Luv Shuv Te Chicken Khurana (3 / 5)
74. Jab Tak Hai Jaan (4 / 5)
75. Son Of Sardar (1 / 5)
76. Life Of Pie 3D (4.5 / 5)
77. Talaash (4 / 5)
78. Khiladi 786 (1 / 5)
79. The Hobbit 3D (3 / 5)
80.  Dabangg 2 (2 / 5)
81. Jack Reacher (4 / 5)

Movies Watched on Laptop:

1. Aarakshan (4.5 / 5)
2. C U At 9 (2 / 5)
3. Another Earth (3 / 5)
4. One Day (4 / 5)
5. Bad Teacher (2.5 / 5)
6. The Insider (4.5 / 5)
7. Reel Steel (3 / 5)
8. The Smurfs (2.5 / 5)
9. The Grudge (4 / 5)
10. The Grudge 2 (3 / 5)
11. The Grudge 3 (3 / 5)
12. The Last House On The Left (4 / 5)
13. The Devil's Advocate (4 / 5)
14. Winter's Bones (3.5 / 5)
15. Proof Of Life (4 / 5)
16. My Bloody Valentine (4 / 5)
17. Wolf Creek (3.5 / 5)
18. House of Wax (2.5 / 5)
19. The Amityville Horror (3.5 /5)
20. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (4 / 5)
21. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (4 / 5)
22. Dawn Of The Dead (4 / 5)
23. The Fighter (3.5 / 5)
24. Vanilla Sky (4 / 5)
25. Sucker Punch (4 / 5)
26. Super 8 (3.5 / 5)
27. Season Of The Witch (3.5 / 5)
28. The Way Back (4.5 / 5)
29. Catch 44 (3 / 5)
30. Thor (4 / 5) Repeated
31. Shor In The City (4 / 5)
32. The Company Men (4 / 5)
33. Ghajini (4 / 5)
34. Just Go With It (2.5 / 5)
35. Contraband (3.5 / 5)
36. Man On A Ledge (4.5 / 5)
37. Striker (3.5 / 5)
38. Ghutan (1 / 5)
39. Ghost (2 / 5)
40. Perfect Sense (3 / 5)
41. Rockstar (5 / 5) .......Repeated
42. Rockstar (5 / 5) .......Repeated
43. Love Aajkal (5 / 5)....Repeated
44. Tere Naal Love Ho Gayaa (2.5 / 5)
45. Jodi Breakers (2 / 5)
46. Force (4 / 5)
47. Azaan (3.5 / 5)
48. 17 Again (2.5 / 5)
49. Batman Begins (4 / 5)......Repeated
50. The Dark Knight (5 / 5).....Repeated
51. Kya Cool Hai Hum (2.5 / 5)
52. Rakhtacharitra 2 (3.5 / 5)
53. Rascals (1 / 5)
54. Buried (4 / 5)
55. Bourne Identity (4.5 / 5).......Repeated
56. Bourne Supremacy (4.5 / 5).......Repeated
57. Bourne Ultimatum (4.5 / 5).......Repeated
58. Phhirrr (3 / 5)
59. Mujhse Fraaaandship Karoge (3.5 / 5)
60. Sadda Adda (3 / 5)
61. Patiyala House (3.5 / 5)
62. Love Breakups Zindagi (3.5 / 5)
63. Pappu Can't Dance Sala (3 / 5)
64. Krishnaa (3 / 5)
65. 2012 (4 / 5)......Repeated
66. Woman In Black (4 / 5)
67. Safe House (4 / 5)
68. Silent House (3 / 5)
69. The Cabin In The Woods (4 / 5)
70. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (3.5 / 5)
71. The Raven (3 /5)
72. American Beauty (3 / 5)
73. Rakshak (3.5 / 5)
74. Vinashak (4 / 5)
75. Khiladi 420 (2 / 5)
76. The Pact (3.5 / 5)
77. 1920 (4.5 / 5)
78. Haunted (4 / 5)
79. Anth (3 / 5)
80. The Pact (3.5 / 5)
81. Grave Encounters (3 / 5)
82. The Ward (3 / 5)
83. Apollo 18 (3.5 / 5)
84. In Time  (4 / 5)
85. Faces In The Crowd ( 3.5 / 5)
86. Killer Elite (4.5 / 5)
87. 247 Degree Fahrenheit (2 /5)
88. Chained (3.5 / 5)
89. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (3 / 5)
90. Piranha 3DD (2.5 / 5)
91. The Devil Seed (3 / 5)
92. Fertile Ground (4 / 5)
93. No Tell Motel (3 / 5)
94. The Devil's Rock (2.5 / 5)
95. Red State (2.5 / 5)
96. Gone (4 / 5)
97. Let Me In (5 / 5)