There are two reasons people run in for health clubs, one is for reducing weight and the next group wants to simply stay healthy. The ratio of members joining for getting that body in shape is the majority. Each one of them has a certain goal- some join for leisure, some for some gossip, and some sweat their heart out. There are some who check their weight before and after the workout is over. I am sure you must have experienced that around.

Hitting the gymnasium is the perfect combination of taking some time out for your body and burning those calories which were taken on the last visit to the theater or the last party that you attended. It definitely helps you rejuvenate and get energized. It is really hard to keep the count of the different nutrients in the body and balance it with the exercise. Any physical activity, any sport, cardio, maintains your body and is surely a must in a day. It could be for 15 minutes or an hour, working out in your room or jogging or walking on the treadmill, depending on the time you have and the things you can accommodate. You got to be regular and you need to enjoy what you are doing. Here are some of the thumbs down while exercising which people just don’t realize and I hate writing it: P

1. There is something called deodorant, use them, and don’t just keep them on the lockers. If you think you need it while you are working out, use it thrice as many times as you require. Avoid the bad odor from your body. So this one time I actually told this guy that his smell made all the members sick. I had no other option but to tell the poor lad.
2. Some people just over exercise even if they don’t have the capacity to. They work out for 4 hours straight, use the cross trainer for 2 hours and just don’t understand that it won’t make any difference if you give in so much time in a day. It has to be constant.
3. Carry an extra gym tee if you sweat a lot, and don’t wear the same one without a wash. Sometimes it feels that people have lost the meaning of word HYGIENE.
4. Stop staring yourself in the mirror, the six packs will not be made that soon.
5. Are you guilty of wearing make up to the gym??
6. And yes the last one –Cribbing about your weight each day is just not going to help. Each body is different and requires different level of routine. You cannot keep complaining about your flab each time and you cannot keep counting the grams you have put on or lost. Patience pays so just wait for the results or learn to have one.

We need to believe that exercise is beneficial at each step of our life, and it is the best if we can follow it regularly and not only till we reduce to the number wished.

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Our mornings are incomplete if he does not converse with us. His day starts up pretty early and ends up the last. He is always around us and takes care of each one of us. At every moment there is something that you can learn from him. He is a believer, an entrepreneur, a man with principles and rules. The man I idolize, I am talking about my granddad, and some day I wish, to follow his steps and rule the kingdom with hard work and patience.

At this age of 85, he is the active man I have met till date, the simplest person who has created an empire for his family. The mantra in his life has been – SIMPLE LIVING, HIGH THINKING which has got him to the place that he is today. It all started with little he says, and as time went by things fell in place and there was no looking back. On this day too he does not carry a wallet and believes in utmost saving. He has his values and he definitely has changed with the times. Everyone loves his company, be it an elderly person or a youngster or a kid, a stranger he talks to all and inspires each one of them. This is the best quality that I like about him. Encouraging us in academics and our ambitions has gotten us closer to him.

The other day while he was playing badminton with my younger brother, he kept telling him stories of him being a kid and how things have changed till now. Little did my brother understand but we definitely loved his real life incidents. The number of places he is traveled and the aura that he has across when he meets people is rousing. I feel like travelling with a V.I.P when he is around – Fluent English, charismatic nature, soft spoken, kind hearted. Learned and spiritual combined together best defines him.

There are some people who are rough on the outside and the opposite in the inside. He is one of them. It is just amazing to me how he can be so quick and sharp with the calculations and business terms. That’s when I salute his years of experience and his energy. I hope we do you proud as you did us and each one of us looks upon you as a mentor in our lives.

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So she asked him, “Is that her, the girl that you have been dating since long, there, I finally get to meet her”. They were in a relationship for 5 years and they could read mind and hearts looking at each other. But this time when she passed by him the feeling was gone, and the connection seemed lost. It just felt different. Standing tall and looking at the floor he suddenly realized he was being asked a question Little confused and coming back to reality he gave it a thought and said – “Yep, she is the one that I am crazily in love with. I have never felt the way I feel for her and the charm is still there. I don’t know what do I call it but it’s the feel which I haven’t experienced with anyone before”. She must be quite lucky, she said as she walked by.

While he was on his way home, he wanted to reason the differences. He wanted to get things the way they were, at least giving it a try which he had not since months. She had stood by his side each time that he wanted her around and they were fond of each other but the only part that made them apart was the distance. They lived in two extreme poles, things were absolutely right at the start, and as time went by they got really busy shaping their career. The time difference was killing them. The worst was they always thought that long distance would work and gave in tips saying everything is possible when you are far across. It not only seemed an easy advice but they believed in it. To stay connected, you just have to follow two rules – give in the same space to each other and be expressive is what equalizes the same thought process. Both of them had the same principle towards love. They had the same rule. When it came to their love story the latter did not work.

He was the inexpressive one; always said – the one who understands me completely knows me in and out. Irrespective of that he put in his efforts while they were away. He went out of his ways and made her feel really special, he did things that he never thought he would, and he had changed, changed completely. Was it love or was it her?? Like any other girl she loved the attention around, she loved the princess treatment, she loved the distance. He wanted to grow old with her and he wanted to live together forever. They were totally crazy in love and the amazing part was he never thought it would be possible being so far.

She was very nervous since it was a start of a new journey, a new life. She had no idea what will happen, how things would shape up. She had that weird feeling that anything she would eat/ drink would make her nauseated. She exactly knew what was happening to her. It happened each time when she started with anything. The firsts in her life were etched in her heart. “What are you thinking Sherlyn, you must be really excited” said her mom sitting next to the window and enjoying the view on the bus that they had boarded to Miami. A tall blonde lady with the perfect curves and curls falling right on her shoulders. She didn’t look her age and people would mistake them for sisters. While they were flying once, the immigration officer said to Sherlyn “You both look so similar, it must be hard for your parents to recognize” Sherlyn was dumb-stuck and did not know how to answer back. The passports would just get it sorted, she thought. She just grinned and that look on her face was full of wickedness, she walked off. She always knew that her mom had the spotless skin ever, and the fashionable diva that she was, she could turn heads around each time she passed. Sherlyn looked more like her dad with sharp features, amethyst color of her eyes were loved by all and the waves and bounce in her hair from the arms went well with her body structure. Sherlyn was the ideal example of beauty with smartness. She was a charmer, the vivacious quality of hers and the way she could be anyone and everyone’s sweet heart was a talent that she was born with. Her eyes were so expressive and her face was equally easy to read.

The bus halted on the next stop and the next half an hour drive would be their destination. There were different race of people, and how travelling gets everyone together was the topic of discussion within the elderly who had just met and became friends in such short span of time. They were sitting in front seats and the other co-passengers thought that they were all going for the same reunion.

Sherlyn was thrilled for her first year of college but being away from the people who cared for her most and who had been there for her all the time, wouldn’t be around. She was pampered by her granny, being the first grandchild, in their family. She was lucky to have such wonderful people in her life and she felt blessed to have such amazing parents. She never wanted half an hour drive to end and a part of hers was imaging the first scene when she entered the gates of her college, where she would be spending the best years of her life. “Mom, I am going to be just fine and Miami is not that far away, I will come visit you every year. You can send me gifts and you guys can surprise me. And yes, I totally know what you are going to say- Prioritize your studies more than anything!! I will make you proud Mom” Sherlyn said. There after saying that she gave a tight hug which …read more

We started talking about the craziest thing called love. The talks went on endlessly and from one topic to another we were switching like a cannonball. The conversation was interesting and we surely were in for gossip on a girl’s night out but I peculiarly remember how we spent more time talking about relationships.

After the amazing time I could just sum a relationship in these categories. It’s so strange how we get so attached to a person and that charisma and charm stays each day in a relationship. Even if you know a person and been in love for 5 years, a part of you still feels that you don’t know him or there is so much more to know about that person. This is what relationships are all about. You just don’t get to know how far is it going to go and how lovely things are going to be unless you are in one. Being in a relation is not just about the romantic times but just growing individually and learning from each other in each step of love.

The first groups of relationship are the one who cannot stay without a sight of each other. They are the being together forever – dependent ones and each other’s company is what they are longing for. Even if they are in different streams or career zone they would want to know the schedule – each and every thing about the other. Where are you going, whom are you with, where are you busy!!This leads to more of possession and trust me one in the couple compromises on how she/ he is. Just for the simple reason that he/ she cannot be what they are. They enter in a reality check zone once the distance is created and they cannot really do much about it but savor back to the friends that they are still holding on.

The next kinds accept on how their loved one is. They are really practical about things and they understand the value of years of friendship and the guy/ just met and they fell in love with. The best part is they can balance everything. They know their priorities and are crazy in love at the same time. Giving in space and at the same time a sense of commitment is what they believe in. It works out really perfect for them but as they don’t really complain about the things they don’t approve of being in a relationship, they keep it to themselves and it all comes up once.

You don’t plan on falling in love, or who the person is going to be, neither do you ever think that the bond is going to last that long. It just happens and you just don’t get to know how the months pass by and there you are falling in love all over again creating an amazing US from a only me .

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The lights were coming from various sides on the full moon night. It looked pretty as never before. Just looking at that view took my breath away. It always does. The clouds are surrounding the moon and the breeze is making the evening perfect. The stars are far across yet so clear and shining. Today it was special, it was different and everyone had noticed it. It was a blessing in disguise as the pedestrians walked, the bikes kept speeding up. One after the other I could see the vehicles past by me, the headlights of the cars were helping the bikes ride and people to walk. The cyclists have torches on their helmets. On the other side the ladies were carrying a torch light while they were heading to their destination and gossiping endlessly.

The evenings are less lively; the most that you can hear is horn and see the dust still on the air. Wonder when is that ever going to go away. It’s contagious and everyone walking is wearing a mask. Its late evening and people are still coming back from work. I notice a dozen of them using the lights on their phones to stroll on the streets.There are no street lights, its a dark road. My mind is now imagining how each day is trouble for our people to walk, drive vehicles, and use public commutation and most of us feel like we are playing video games and escaping the pot holes, but alas, the roads cannot be compared. The roller coaster rides, rocky surfaces is going to be the same for a while. There my eye suddenly goes to a 5 year old kid who is walking care free on the road, a dark lane and he is playing games with himself. He jumps and at no point is he scared of the dark and he is enjoying the bit of light coming from the moon and the vehicles running by his side. And there I see a hope of light in the dark.

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Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.

Isaac Asimov

It is correctly said that once you start thinking there is no end to your thoughts. Writing gets all the creativity and wildest imagination out of you. It’s as interesting as you explore yourself and the level of ingenuity that you discover within you. When you express your thoughts it is just for you and when you just visualize there is no one judging and reading it , becomes perfect. I guess it does not really matter if someone does too. Some can relate and some cannot.

There is so much running in your mind at a certain point and there are so many random thoughts that keep coming time and again, whenever you write it down, there is some sense of pleasure and contentment that you receive. And if you are in a habit of giving in half an hour to your notion by jotting them down, your day could not get more perfect. We surely need time for the things that we really love to do and the craziest is when things do not turn out to be as you think it would be. So while starting to write a short love story, I thought I would just finish it off in a week, but apparently it’s been 4 weeks and I am just done with 2 chapters. There is so much to a story where you explicitly need to describe the characters and once you are doing that and when you are in motion, you need to describe the situation and add on the background of that situation. Once you are doing that any new person, or any new place coming in the story , you need to introduce them and keep the original flow of the story too and it definitely creates something awesome. You just get deeper and deeper in it and coming out of it in an unusual way makes an amazing writer.

Get in the habit of writing. Be it anything that you want- Your day to day stories, something that you see across, your expression, your view point about certain topic, humorous reads, something that will relieve you just by writing. Its an amazing experience to jot down your feelings and opinions and not for anyone else, just for you !!

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I have strongly believed that peace is one of the wonders of the world followed by hope, belief, love, compassion and the list goes on. Each one of us has a softer side in themselves and we want to make a difference at the place we live at. Some of us do a bit which is possible in our busy schedule and some of us have no idea how to start with. There is always a thought running in our minds on how can we help the ones in need. How can we be a part of the social cause? This feeling cannot be given or cannot be learnt,and it just comes from inside. And once it does, the way you look upon things changes. The joy of giving cannot be compared at all. How much ever you give is less, there is no limit to the blessings you receive.

The habit of doing something for the person who is in need is beyond satisfaction. Your day can perfectly end when you remind yourself of the beautiful moment where you could do what was in your capacity. So if you are of the latter kind, who is still confused on how to go about it, just give in a packet of biscuit to the first person that you meet on the street the next morning and see the look on his face. It will just say it all. And that is how PEACE can be defined. The smaller things that we can do which creates an impact on a bigger way !

“My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&M’s and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.”

― Dave Barry

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Each travel is an adventure and travelling is the best thing ever. There are just a few of us who don’t like travelling, exploring and going to new places and learning about different cultures. If the majority loves to go to destinations they have never been to why don’t we travel more often? What’s the limitation on taking a vacation once in 3 month? It could be a day break, could be a week, depending on how much time you can set apart from your schedule.

The strange are those who cannot plan their outing and postpone each time as they think that it is not the right time or they are too busy. If you map in detail, the journey turns our exactly as you had planned but the fun cannot be compared to last minute plans. Imagine, you reach out at the airport of an unknown city, and you have no idea where are you going next – where will you be crashing at night, how many days are you going to stay. If you are in love with the place you might just stay there for a month or else move out in ten days and then you start to sketch out the rest of the vacation. Which all countries should be next?? Or where should I go now?? You can just choose from the map. I would love to experience that someday.

Travelling gives me that booster, it’s an energy that my body needs, and it not only rejuvenates and relaxes it’s like a therapy which should be tried by all. I have not been to many places but the memories I have had of my travels are beyond perfection. Learning about so many things, the way people live, how each individual that you come across has something to offer, the landscapes, the nature, spending a day in the beaches with the crystal clear water to singing your favorite song on the top of the hill where you can just see greens and the sight that you would want to capture in your eyes forever. It can teach you so much which cannot be learnt from any book or others stories. You have to be ready for it yourself – for the voyage. I envy the ones who have travel as their career.  If you want to grow, want to discover, at least make a trip in 6 months and guess what you will be travelling 80 countries only. So what you waiting for!

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Mostly things which are not planned are the best. And this hike was one of them. A trek which started off as a hike initially turned out to be one of the most amazing experiences for each one of us. The best part was the combination of various people in the group, some had met each other for the first time, and some had caught up after years being in the same city. It made all of us closer and a memorable trip etched in our hearts.

So we started off from Sundarijal which is an hour drive from the city. We were to meet at 7 a.m sharp which I was sure we were going to be late, but surprisingly we were the first one to reach the point. And there after we met everyone we reached our starting mark of the trek. We were 11 in the group, some were experts, some had no idea how long would it take and would it even be possible to reach the destination. We estimated a time of 4 hours to reach the spot. Things just don’t go as estimated, and since it was the first time, all of us were new to this track, except our sweeps (Abhishek and Avi who gave in all the willpower and determination to keep moving on and enjoy the next step rather than focusing on the end). Couple of us did not complain on being tried and some of us needed a rest after every 10 minutes. It was tough and since we walked for 20 kms one way, our body was giving up. We kept walking, uphill, crossed the Shivapuri National Park, on the rocks and pebbles, and came across Mulkharka village- not much of population and civilization, a bit of downhill, and then finally some flat surface where we loved the walk. Hours passed by and 4 hours went by after taking couple of breaks and getting ourselves energized with energy bars and drinks. But there were couple of times where our body especially legs did not want to take the next step.

We were each other’s support and gave in all the strength we had. The sight was beautiful and each path made us love the trail all the more. But we could not think walking back the same route. Not the same day at least, or say never. We actually wanted to know when would we reach and get the glimpse of the most wonderful view – THE RANGES!! Whenever we would ask the locals how long would it take?? They would just say an hour and finally we knew we need to double the time of what they tell us. The combination of green, blue and white was perfect. We saw thousand shades of green and thankfully it wasn’t raining or else the way would have been slippery. There are no places to take rest except the village and we could hardly see ten houses. Wonder how people stay there.

We could see the K-town from far away and trust me it looks so congested. We were in a land where we could hear the wind blowing, greenery all around, a scene of the hills and we were only hoping that we could reach on time and see the Himalayas more closely once we get there. As the tradition follows, we clicked pictures in every pose and the clicks started to decrease as the hours went by. We were sure inspired by the Germans who were above the age of 70 and were faster than us, left all of us motivated. As we saw the tea house and knew we were about to reach, the sign of relief was reflected in each our faces. We walked for 7 hours. That was unbelievable. We discovered our own stamina and resilience.

We had no chance of going back as it was getting dark and we would surely take 5 hours to reach even if we walked in the fastest speed. It was impossible. So we decided to stay back and we saw the best sunrise and sunset ever, waking up to the clouds with the orangish tinge in the sky. The campfire and the random talks and toast for the day made our evenings go by fast.

 

We were so hoping that we find a jeep to drop us back as the effect of the long walk was tiresome. Now when we think about that morning, it is one of the most cherished moments as we walked back the same trail.

The craziest that could have happened are:

1. Imagine your shoe/ footwear tearing apart in the middle of nowhere. Can’t even imagine walking bare feet.
2. Getting confused with the directions. We were about to reach back to Chisapani again on our way down as we forgot the route.
3. Leeches, mostly all of us were stung and we made ourselves feel better as our blood was purifying.
4. When we were returning back we realized that we had taken the longest route instead of the shorter one.

It did take us five hours to get back and we were equally tired as the first day was. I bet most of us are still in pain and are not totally fit. It’s all worth the ride as each travel is an adventure and there is so much that you can learn from each outing. 

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Getting through a good college can be really trickier, there are so many things that you need to prepare to get into a B-school. That is the longest procedure ever and the hardest part. Once you are in the college that you always wanted to graduate from, the story starts with the placement and jobs. So there is no end to our desires and wants. You are not even sure if the college that you are targeting at is the one that will give in an added advantage towards the journey in your life. This is how it rolls.

That part of admissions where group discussion is conducted, one of the rounds which are all about knowledge, speech and humor. My cousin came back from one of the level and the most abstract topic BLACK was given to them.

When I think about that one word I can just write in pointers:

1. A color which represents darkness, sorrow and emptiness, more like finding a place in the dark. But to see the other side of it black starts the Revolution, gets all the inner thoughts out. Black is an icon of stylish.
2. Girls prefer to wear anything black, one of the reasons being it makes them look slimmer and thin. This color goes with anything and everything. The perfect Little Black Dress for the first date, black tee, black shirts are the best bet on the first day of work, a black stilettos is a must in the wardrobe. This shade never goes out of fashion.
3. Black is a theme in the Gothic sub –culture, black nail paints, and the use of extreme black clothing, the fiction stories of black rose, black magic.
4. White goes well with black, they complement each other beautifully.
5. Black is the safest choice on buying anything.
6. Black” is a song by the American rock band Pearl Jam. The song is the fifth track on the band’s debut album, TEN, being one of my personal favorite.
7. There is a very inspiring movie – BLACK of Bollywood and 3 parts of the Men in Black are already out.
8. There are some people who like dark interiors and love to have black curtains.
9. Black people are a phrase used in North America to refer to Americans and Canadians of Sub- Saharan African descendant and it also reminds me of funerals in the English Culture.
10. And also how can I forget the black tea, which I am sipping and writing this blog.

Do you have more to add on the list??

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