Life in Bangalore

STEP 1: If you have decided to buy an house, Search for one... STEP 2: Do not stop STEP 1 even when you get bogged down STEP 3: Once you zero-in on a property, do a property valuation from a valuation expert (Civil Engineer) STEP 4: Check out the construction quality from the valuation expert STEP 5: Check informally about the property in the neighbourhood on the Price/Ownership. If it is a purchase of a new  apartment, visit the previous projects of the builder to get to know the quality of construction, reliability of completion on due date STEP 6: If you find something wrong based on STEP 4 & STEP 5...STOP proceeding... however nice the property may be...however cheap it may be... STEP 6: Negotiate for the price with the owner/builder based on the your inputs & from the valuation expert STEP 7: If you are okay with the price, go ahead and pay a token amount to get all necessary documents...Amount should be typically Rs.5000 to Rs.10,000 S

One of the habits that I picked up & am very proud about  in the last few years is Reading . As mentioned in one of my previous blogs ( Bangalore Book Fair 2011 ),I was introduced to reading through the Bangalore book fair. With the advent of internet, I now read not only through books but also through variety of content in Web such as blogs, Online forums & Web-sites. I prefer Reading as compared to other activities like Watching TV/Random web-browsing for the following reasons: Reading improves Thinking: Reading is synonymous with Unit-Tasking...you cannot read as well as do another activity in parallel. This means that any meaningful reading engrosses your mind. You read ....ruminate...agree/disagree...like/Dislike. It is a nice exercise for the mind Reading provides Perspective: Most Writers put in their life-time experiences through their words. One of my main premise to read is to understand what others think and say about a topic. Reading is one of the si

"Why is it I always get my best ideas while shaving?"   - Albert Einstein In the modern era, Life is moving on a fast forward mode...so fast that the movie of life becomes  unintelligible. As my favourite blogger Leo Babauta discusses in his post ( http://zenhabits.net/pause/ ),We all need to hit the pause button... In contrary to our Intuition I found out that a Pause works very well in different aspects of  life. Communication: While I was a part of the Toastmasters Club,I picked up the good habit of pausing while speaking. Many people tend to use one or more of crutch words( Ex., Ah, hmm,so on, ) which become filler words as our mind is thinking what to speak next. A better solution would be to pause, think what to say next & continue. Problem solving : Pause works very well when we are stuck with a complex problem for which a solution seems elusive and you seem to hit the wall. My suggestion would be to take a break and focus on some other activity and le

Keerai Masiyal (Green Leaf/Spinach Mash) Ingredients: Green :  Leaf / Spinach : Leaf stems Oil : 1 Teaspoon Urad Dhal : ½ Teaspoon Mustard : ½ Teaspoon Asafoetida : a Pinch Red Chilli : 2 pieces STEP 1 : Wash the cut green leaves to remove sand if any STEP 2: Take a vessel with wider base STEP 3: Light the stove STEP 4: Add the green leaves STEP 5: Add ½ glass of water STEP 6: Add Asafoetida STEP 7: Allow the green leaf to boil for 10 minutes in mild heat STEP 8: Add oil separately to a Tawa STEP 9: Add Mustard, Urad Dhal and Red chilli STEP 10: Wait till mustard gives a pop sound STEP 11: Add the Mustard contents to the Green leaf

In the modern world, Mental stress is taking a toll on the personal lives of the people. One of the key problems among others related to the mental stress is Sleeplessness . In my humble opinion, it can be addressed through natural ways by doing some of the following things mostly to keep the mind relaxed 1)       Avoid Coffee/Tea at least 2 hours before sleep 2)       Journaling : If there is a bothering issue that keeps you awake, Keep a notebook handy and describe the problem / potential solutions if any and just get on with the sleep 3)       Have a work-out regime in the evening 4)       Take a warm bath in the evening 5)       Read a good book even if its just for 5 minutes 6)       Listen to melodious music 7)       Avoid Television/Internet Surfing at least 1 hour before sleep 8)       Finally, having a regular nap time as much as possible 9)   Concentrate your mind on your breathing process Try out and enjoy a sound sleep !!!

Ingredients: Potato (Medium Size) – 2 Pieces Onion (Medium Size) – 2 Pieces Green Chill – 3 Pieces Tomato – 4 Pieces Mustard – ½ Teaspoon Channa Dhal – 1 Teaspoon Urad Dhal – 1 Teaspoon Turmeric Powder – A Pinch Oil – 2 Teaspoons Water – 1 Glass Salt – ½  Teaspoon Ginger – 2 tiny strips Channa Dal Powder – 1 Teaspoon STEP 1: Cut the Onion into small strips STEP 2: Cut the Tomato into small pieces STEP 3: Cut the chilli STEP 4: Boil/Steam the Potatoes such that it can mashed STEP 5: Mash the Potatoes STEP 6: Remove the Potato Skin STEP 7: Add Oil to the vessel STEP 8: Light The Stove STEP 9: Add Mustard, Chilli, Onion STEP 10: Add tomato STEP 11: Fry till Onion turns brown STEP 12: Add water STEP 13: Allow the mixture to boil STEP 14: Add the Mashed Potatoes STEP 15: Mix channa dal powder in ¼ glass of water STEP 16: Add to the Potato Sagu STEP 17: Decorate with Coriander !!!(Leave the taste … Presentation should always

Following are some of the quotes that breathe a whiff of fresh air every time I read: (From the book -"Living The 80/20 Way" "It is not necessary to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results" ... Warren Buffett "What is this life,if full of care, We have no time to stand and stare "     .... William Henry Davies "Many might go to heaven with half the labour they go to hell"   ....Ben Johnson "Time is a gentle god" ..... Sophocles "I've got more energy now than when I was younger because I know exactly what I want to do" .....George Balanchine "Our doubts are traitors  And make us lose the good we oft might win,  By fearing to attempt"                                              .......William Shakespeare "Each person kills the thing they love  Throughout the modern world,  Money and work both count above  Loved ones,who come in third."                         ....Modern

One of the books that I have read and re-read many times over is “Living The 80/20 Way” by Richard Koch (Nicholas Brealey Publishing). It is a practical book on the famous 80/20 principle (20% of your effort gets 80% of your rewards). The great thing about this book is it written for a layman and has no fluff associated with it.Koch who comes from a management consulting background addresses how to approach all the things that matter to a individual in the “80/20 Way”….Time , Priorities , Work, Money ,Relationships & Living the The Simple, Good Life. The book essentially asks the reader to be self aware of where their Individuality lies in…by asking questions like :                 Who and What do you care most about?                 What kind of person are you and want to become?                 What are your strongest qualities,emotions and abilities?                 Do you want to make a name for yourself? For What?     Do you want to create something that othe

In a popular Auto Company in India,The shop floor persons are given a White Uniform. While this idea may seem idiotic at first, the idea behind is it that any defect in the machinery or the shop floor processes will be brought to light by any unclean Uniform. This policy of "Bring The Defects To The Surface" is a key principle behind the Quality Revolution of Toyota. This can be applied to our personal life too. Take for example the process of reducing the clutter at home.You can generally notice that closed cupboards would have more trash hidden in them than the open cupboards. This is just because of "Out Of Sight Out Of Mind" tendency inherent in most of us.As human beings, we are uncomfortable in even in accepting that there is a problem(defect)...let alone acting on a solution. Be it Money,Work or Relationship It is absolute necessity to develop a mindset of identifying a problem and bringing it to the notice of the affected people. This would make our lif

One of the blogs that I follow is  http://zenhabits.net/  ....It is written by Leo Babauta. The blog focusses on the Zen Philosophy as applicable to the daily life of any person. Leo tells us how to cultivate new habits and also how to throw out the unwanted ones.... check out this sample article he had written during the new year of 2012...   http://zenhabits.net/clear/   It is refreshing and emphasizes on subtraction from our life instead of addition....

Net Worth = Total Assets - Total Debts If you have Zero Debts, Then start Investing to Increase your Assets in turn  to increase your Net Worth. If you have Debts (like 99.99% of the People in the World), then focus on the Debts first. STEP 1: Prioritize your debts based on the Interest Rates STEP 2: Prepare a debt repayment plan...                           How much should I pay towards debt each month?                           By When I should clear this debt?                           What will I need to cut-off from my spending to pay the debt? STEP 3: Start Clearing the debt STEP 4: Look for every opportunity to move funds towards clearing debts..                  Ex., Salary Hike, Windfall profit STEP 5: Start the repayment as little as possible...but START STEP 6: See the Debt Melt and march towards financial freedom

Net-Worth is the difference between your Total Assets and Total debts. The target is to become a High Net-worth Individual. The first step towards it is to know what your net worth is as of today. Follow the simple steps below to find it. Do not aim to fill it all at once. It may take an hour or two to collect the information. STEP 1: Open a new spreadsheet like MS-Excel or Google spreadsheet STEP 2: Mark the first sheet as debt STEP 3: Mark the second sheet as assets STEP 4: Compile all the debts in the debt sheet STEP 5: Compile all the Assets in the assets sheet STEP 6: Compute the difference between the Total Assets & Total Debts STEP 7: Update this spreadsheet on a quarterly basis You can achieve it in two ways...Reduce the Debt and (or) Increase the Assets... Lets look at which one you need to take-up...in the next post PS: If you have a pending home loan I would put in debts rather than assets...Even though it may be a conservative

Rote learning  is a  learning technique which focuses on memorization. While memorizing is a great skill by itself, it cannot be not a replacement for Understanding a subject. Sadly,Rote learning is the predominant form of learning in Asia & South America.As the famous physicist Richard Feynman puts it " So,  you see, they could pass the examinations, and "learn" all  this stuff,  and  not  know  anything  at  all,  except what  they  had memorized”.                So, What is the Solution? The only solution is to target the school students to improve their creativity & Problem Solving by : A)     Opening the doors for lab/Project based learning rather than just “learning from the Book”. For ex., While teaching number division (say 4/2), the teacher could bring 4 chocolates and divide it two people and explain the concept of division.                  B)     Promoting the questioning in classroom. It is a common tendency in India that the student wh