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An open challenge to Azim Premji

by with No Comment Uncategorized
Stop misguiding gullible consumers


Azim Premji is widely revered all over India and also the world for his entrepreneurial spirit and the large business empire that he has built over the last few decades. Wipro is also widely known as an ethical company and his philanthropic gestures are widely publicised.


Wipro chairman Azim Premji has been named the most philanthropic Indian for the third consecutive year, according to a report from Hurun Research Institute, which ranks the most generous individuals in the country.


Premji’s contribution for education through the Azim Premji Foundation more than doubled to Rs 27,514 crore in 2015, from Rs 12, 316 crore, a year earlier, the Hurun Philanthropy List 2015 said.  Source : Times of India

Though he is widely known for his success in the Information Technology, thanks to his Wipro Technologies, he has also built large business empires in other areas also.

Wipro Consumer Care (WCCLG) is today among the top FMCG companies and amongst thefastest growing FMCG companies in India.

However the marketing strategy of Wipro Consumer Care is questionable and is suspected to be misleading gullible consumers.


Santoor Beauty Talc is being sold in the market at a scheme of Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Its sold off the shelf and online amazon, groffers, bigbasket etc.

Here is a comparison of the price of popular Talcum Powder sold in the country:

Wipro Consumer Care Ltd claims that it is offering Santoor Beauty Tal as a deal – Buy 1 Get 1 Free. Which means that I pay Rs.170 for 150 gms can and get another 150 gms can free. Is it really true, that I am getting another can free?

In fact in the picture shown above they are getting exposed. A 400gm Santoor Beauty Talc is sold for Rs.201 with 2 Santoor Beauty Soaps free. Which means that the actual price of 300gm of Santoor Beauty Talc is around Rs.170/- and there fore the actual price of 150 gm of Santoor Beauty Talc is around Rs.85/- So if the are really offering 150gm Can free under the scheme Buy1 Get1 Free, they should be selling at Rs.85/- and not at Rs.170/-. 

Here is an open challenge to WIPRO and to Azim Premji.  Sell Santoor Beauty Talc as a standalone 150gm can for Rs.170 and share with us the number of units you sold in a month. At Rs.170 for 150 gm it works out Rs.1.07 per gm of Talcum Powder, when the average market price of competitors is around Rs.0.30 to a max of Rs.0.50.

Who would ever buy double the price.  Even the original Mysore Sandal Talcum powder costs Rs.0.28 per gram.
Is it that the Marketing Team at WIPRO dont know the meaning of FREE. Its about time that their Marketing team are taught what FREE means.

FREE means to get something for which you pay nothing.

It is very clear that this is a marketing gimmick and is cheating gullible consumers who really think that they are getting a Can of Powder free. In actual sense you are selling 300gms of Santoor Beauty Talc at Rs. 170 but split in 2 cans of 150gms each and just labelling Buy1 get 1 Free to attract gullible customers and make them believe that they are actually being rewarded with a free can. 

It’s a huge disappointment that a company from WIPRO group under Azim Premji who boasts of high moral values, ethics, Corporate Governance, charity and philanthrophy, is actually resorting to such cheap gimmicks just to promote their product sales.

An old lady who I knew and who was regularly using Santoor Beauty Talc told me that she was happy buying it because she was getting rewarded with a Free Can everytime she bought one. I then explained to her that she wasn’t getting anything free and was charged every penny of the grams that she received and explained the above logic. Do you know what she said “these damn CHEATS. I will never ever buy this again………….”

She is right. Doesn’t this tantamount to cheating the public.

Cheating is defined as – 

• act dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage
• to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice
• cheating customers through false advertising

Its about time that such misleading advertising gimmicks are taken up in Consumer Courts and put to an end.

There are many others who resort to such cheap gimmicks and induce gullible customers to buy thinking that they are actually getting a deal and freebies, when actually they are not.

However we expect a company of WIPRO standards led by Azim Premji to desist from such unfair practices and be a leader in the market.

Its time that WIPRO and Azim Premji take up my challenge of selling 150gm Santoor Beauty Talc without any offers for Rs.170/- or put to end this cheap marketing gimmick or risk being called “Cheats”.

Whatever said and done the mask is off Azim Premji and his WIPRO…………


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It’s payback time – Mr Modi

by with No Comment Uncategorized
India needs Narendra Modi as much as the BJP needs power. After a long time we have a politician / Prime Minister who is astute, bold, visionary, persuasive, delivers results and can connect with People of all sections of the society.

The Economy is the fastest growing in the world, inflation at a low, fiscal discipline at its best, good foreign relations and the image of India at its best in the world, peace in the country (except in Kashmir), optimism amongst the large section of the society and stable governments across the country and a weak opposition.

No doubt that Narendra Modi is in a un-assailable position much to the envy of many a politician in the country. This is evident by the number of polls his party has swept across the Nation and the various public opinion polls pointing out that he is the best suited to lead the Nation.

Added to that is the TINA factor. There is no alternative to Narendra Modi in the country, both within the NDA and the opposition parties. The opposition is largely a divided house as there is no ideology in their approach except for an anti-Modi ideology.  The more anti-Modi stance they take, the stronger Modi becomes.

However the NDA must not forget history and hope it will learn from it. Rewind and you will find that NDA and Atul B Vajpayee were in the same boat in 2004, to the extent that they coined their election campaign as “India Shining”. Economy was the fastest growing and in fact had touched double digits, good foreign relations, low inflation, peace & stability in the country.

However despite all poll predictions the UPA stumped them at the polls and captured power and hung on to it for a decade.

No doubt in politics there will be reversals and one cannot expect a Party / Leader to be ruling for ever. There is bound to be anti-incumbency sooner or later. However the large majority of the population of this country wants Narendra Modi to continue atleast for another 5 years if not longer.

If ever any one can defeat Modi it will be himself or his party. He is unassailable now but can be dethroned if he is not sensitive and careful.

He has undertaken some bold steps through Demonetization, GST and attacking Black Money. The country by and large has backed him and supported him beyond anyones imagination.  The Government has tied all loose ends and is widening the Tax Net and going after tax evaders, hoarders and black money in a big way. Sounds great. But in the cross fire, the common man is beginning to feel the pinch. 

He had promised “less government and more governance” but the action on the ground it is all but “more government and less governance”.

Every body is forced to go digital, get their Aadhar Card, link it to just about everything – PAN, Bank Accounts, Mobile Numbers, Credit Cards etc. The GST is supposed to bring in a unified Tax system and also make life easier for the Corporates, trader, the shop keeper and the citizens of this country.

The Government is on a roll and is mopping up taxes like hell. Widen tax net, better enforcement & compliance through technology. The citizens have patiently supported the Government in every move. Narendra Modi and especially Jaitely must realise that this patience will wear down sooner or later.  For the common man, nothing has changed. In fact its got worse. More procedures, more compliances, no more privacy and more importantly higher taxes, higher cost of living (despite the inflation figures showing lower figures) and the ease of doing business or quality of living is getting worse.

Despite the huge collection of taxes, especially the killing they are making on Petrol/Diesel, have the passed on any benefit to the common man? Income Tax rates have been marginally reduced (cosmetic change) and the GST rates have not been reduced. It was a wonderful opportunity for the Government to pay back to its citizens by lowering taxes through GST. Instead we have 5 slabs of GST and the highest in the world.

Every other country is having single digit GST rates and India is one of the highest with a maximum GST of 28%.

Why on earth have they kept Diesel / Petrol out of the purview of the GST. Because the maximum tax on GST is 28%

Its still not clear if all other taxes / cess will be withdrawn like Octroi, Entry Tax etc.
Don’t understand why the Government should decide what we should consume and accordingly tax these items. Rates of GST varies on where you eat – roadside, non AC restaurants, AC restaurants etc. Hotel rates vary between AC, Non AC and the bill.
So even after 70 years of Independence the Government of India wants the citizens to sweat it out and live in hot humid conditions and deny them the comfort of Airconditioners. It does not want citizens to fly because it is a luxury. Don’t buy cars because it is luxury.

Is this “Ache Din” Mr Narendra Modi.

What a waste of time & energy. The Government / Parliament wastes its time in deciding what should be the tax slab for sanitary napkins, bangles, chappals, razor blades, wheel chairs etc.

GST is supposed to be a unified Single Tax system. Why not have just adopted it in its original form and intent. The Government feared that it would lose its revenue / tax collection. They won’t have money to splurge on politician’s salaries, Z Security for these politicians, waive loans to farmers win votes and to cross subsidize & appease the lower strata of the society. Therefore continue to squeeze the Rich and the middle class.
On the other hand by adopting a unified single Tax rate system,  it would have brought most of the prices down, increased the purchasing capacity of the common man, induced higher spends & consumption and thereby boosted the Economy.

What a golden opportunity wasted.


The second chink in Modi’s armour is the religious fundamentalism being witnessed in the country. If there was one fear of electing Modi, it was about polarisation and it is fast appearing to be true.

Where is the need for Gau Rakshaks, Cow vigilantism, Beef Ban etc. Let not the Government decide what people should eat. If there is a law, implement it by the rule book and silently without making a hula bola about it and antagonizing the aggrieved. If this right wing, religious fanaticism isn’t curtailed and nipped in the bud, it will be the single biggest failure of Modi and the reason for his downfall. 

The third factor that is likely to bring his downfall is Jobless Growth. The country is witnessing a Jobless Growth. There seems to be no urgency in dealing with this situation.

It is estimated that India’s labour market has over 470 million people. However India faces the challenge of creating jobs for a predominantly young population. According to credit rating firm Crisil, around 18 million people enter the workforce every year. The number of jobs created is far lower; between 2011-12 and 2015-16, India created 3.65 million jobs a year, according to industry lobby group Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

While service sector-led growth contributed greatly to soaring GDP levels, it still employs less than 30% of the total Indian population. India is still seen largely as an Agrarian Economy – the source of most employment for Indian people still lies in the agriculture sector, which employs almost 45% of the Indian population (with a 15% contribution to GDP).

Labour-intensive manufacturing base has not quite been the engine of growth for India, as it has been in China.

IT and the BPO sectors alone employ about 4 million people today and the industry’s own estimate is upto 60% of this workforce will not be of any use with their present skill levels.

Existing government programs (including new programs like Skill India, Start-Up India, Make in India) may have marginally added few jobs to the overall demand-supply gap in selected organised sectors of employment, but none of them structurally address problems of prolonging joblessness within rural and urban areas

The situation is quite grim and there is a sense of denial  among Politicians, Industry Leaders, Trade Bodies and the HR Community. Nobody is willing to talk it out openly and are either discussing in hush-hush tones or brushing it under the carpet.

There appears a persistent lack of willingness of the Indian state to demonstrate timely introduction of labor reforms to increase wage incentives;  create a conducive investment climate, encourage Manufacturing, create incentives for employers to hire more people across sectors; and with review existing impact of acts such as the Industrial Disputes Act (which, as per a World Bank study lowered employment in organised manufacturing by 25%), add to the joblessness misery.

Time to pause & wake up


If Narendra Modi feels that there is a TINA factor and he is unassailable he is wrong.      

Being an astute politician, he must realise that public sentiments are only as good as last week. One leaked email and the voters swayed 6 basis points and elected Trump in a span of 2 weeks in the USA.

It’s a matter of time that the middle class will start baying for his blood and ask for return on investment. If GST doesn’t bring down prices, improve ease of doing business and if the Income Tax rates are not brought down, the middle class will start looking for an alternate leader. Just like Modi rose from the ashes, there might be another leader who will rise from the ashes. What a great opportunity for a politician.

He must immediately put an end to right wing fundamentalism and ensure that peace and harmony prevails in the country, without fear of what to eat, what to dress and what to speak.

He must take up on a war footing the issue of JobLess Growth and work with all stake holders to ensure that there is a favourable climate for creating more jobs.


He must ensure that he walks the talk on “less government & more governance”  and live up to his promise of  “Ache Din”. People are eagerly awaiting for it.

History will not forgive Modi for wasting such an opportunity to change the destiny of this country if he doesn’t pay heed to these 3 important chinks in his armour.


Lets hope that he is shrewd, astute and is willing to learn from history.

Secrets of good relationships…

by with No Comment Uncategorized

TRUST is a very important factor for all relationships. When trust is broken, it is the end of the relationship. Lack of trust leads to   suspicion, suspicion generates anger, anger causes enmity and enmity   may result in separation.

A telephone operator told me that one day she received a phone call.   She answered, “Public Utilities Board.” There was silence. She   repeated, “PUB.” There was still no answer. When she was going to   cut off the line, she Heard a lady’s voice, “Oh, so this is PUB. Sorry, I got the number from my Husband’s pocket but I do not know whose number it is.”

Without mutual trust, just imagine what will happen to the couple if   the telephone operator answered with just “hello” instead of “PUB”.

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NO POINTING FINGERS

A man asked his father-in-law, “Many people praised you for a successful marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?”
The father-in-law answered in a smile, “Never criticize your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you.”

We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are afraid of losing face. Generally, when a person makes a mistake, he would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at. This is the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves. 

If we forgive the others, others will ignore our mistake too.

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CREATING PERFECT RELATIONSHIPS?

A person visited the government matchmaker for marriage, SDU, and requested “I am looking for a spouse. Please help me to find a suitable one.” The SDU officer said, “Your requirements, please.” “Oh, good looking, polite, humorous , sporty, knowledgeable, good in singing and dancing. Willing to accompany me the whole day at home during my leisure hour, if I don’t go out. Telling me interesting stories when I need companion for conversation and be silent when I want to rest.” The officer listened carefully and replied, “I understand you need television.”

There is a saying that a perfect match can only be found between a blind wife and a deaf husband, because the blind wife cannot see the faults of the husband and the deaf husband cannot hear the nagging of the wife. Many couples are blind and deaf at the courting stage and dream of perpetual perfect relationship. Unfortunately, when the excitement of love wears off, they wake up and discover that marriage is not a bed of roses. The nightmare begins.

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NO OVERPOWERING 

Many relationships fail because one party tries to overpower another, or demands too much. People in love tend to think that love will conquer all and their spouses will change the bad habits after marriage. Actually, this is not the case. There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that “It is easier to reshape a mountain or a river than a person’s character.”

It is not easy to change. Thus, having high expectation on changing the spouse character will cause disappointment and unpleasantness.

It would be less painful to change ourselves and lower our expectations..

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RIGHT SPEECH

There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that “A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation.” Many relationships break off because of wrong speech. When a couple is too close with each other, we always forget mutual respect and courtesy. We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party.

A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site. A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted, “Hi, Emily! Remember me? We used to date in the secondary school.” On the way home, her millionaire husband teased her, “Luckily you married me. Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker.” She answered,”You should appreciate that you married me. Other wise, he will be the millionaire and not you.”

Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad relationship. It’s like a broken egg – cannot be reversed.

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PERSONAL PERCEPTION

Different people have different perception. One man’s meat could be another man’s poison. A couple bought a donkey from the market. On the way home, a boy commented, “Very stupid. Why neither of them ride on the donkey? “Upon hearing that, the husband let the wife ride on the donkey. He walked besides them. Later, an old man saw it and commented, “The husband is the head of family. How can the wife ride on the donkey while the husband is on foot?” Hearing this, the wife quickly got down and let the husband ride on the donkey.

Further on the way home, they met an old Lady. She commented, “How can the man ride on the donkey but let the wife walk. He is no gentleman.”
The husband thus quickly asked the wife to join him on the donkey. Then, they met a young man. He commented, “Poor donkey, how can you hold up the weight of two persons. They are cruel to you.” Hearing that, the husband and wife immediately climbed down from the donkey and carried it on their shoulders.

It seems to be the only choice left. Later, on a nar row bridge, the donkey was frightened and struggled. They lost their balance and fell into the river. You can never have everyone praise you, nor will everyone condemn you. Never in the past, not at present, and never will be in the future. 

Thus, do not be too bothered by others words if our conscience is clear..


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BE PATIENT

This is a true story which happened in the States. A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck. The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy’s hands into pulp as punishment. When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.

Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy’s hands. When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, “Daddy, I’m sorry about your truck.” Then he asked, “but when are my fingers going to grow back?” The father went home & committed suicide.

Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or u wish to take revenge. Think first before u lose your patience with someone u love. Trucks can be repaired.. Broken bones & hurt feelings often can’t. Too often we fail to recognize the difference between the person and the performance. We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge. 

People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever. 

“Good Life starts only when you stop wanting a better One”


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Royal Enfield Rider Mania 2016 – the Thump that Binds all Riders

by with 2 Comments Uncategorized
No other place gives me that kick-ass feel as Goa .“The Hippy and Happy Capital of India”. it is another part of India where people least bother to what you wear, what you do, with whom you hangout with. For a change and off the records there are no rules to follow. No Cops catching you for not wearing helmets – I for one looked like a man from outer space wearing helmet every time I rode in the city. Goa is all about Pubs and boozing – so you can drink and drive. No complication of white board, black board and yellow board. Every vehicle is a white board and all Foreigners drive them (rented). Travel alone at the dead of the night with complete peace of mind of safety, sleep on the beach and smoke “weed” as much as you want. Every second person you meet is a Foreigner and for a while I was wondering where am I. At the end of it, as long as you leave them alone and have money on hand, Goa welcomes you with open arms.

Couple this with a ride on a bike from Bangalore to Goa, it sure adds to the excitement and thrill especially when you know that you will be joined by 6000+ others from far and wide to one of the largest congregation of bike enthusiasts in the world.



We were a bunch of passionate riders travelling in a group of 40+ riders from Bangalore. We started on the early morning of the 17th Nov 2016 from SSS Motors, Nelamangala at around 5.30 am. We took the Bangalore –> Tumkur –> Sira –> Chitradurga –> Devangere –> Haveri –> Hubli –> Dharwad –> (through the ghats) –> Ponda –> Panjim to reach Murjim.   We stayed at the Coco Resort, Murjim besides the Turtle Bay Beach at Murjim. 

Our ride itself was a long and arduous one. Drove thro National Highways, State Highways, Forest Reserve Area and thro Ghat section. The road was great and a treat to drive. There wasn’t much of traffic except when we exited Bangalore or entered Goa. We drove thro early morning fog, hot noon, windy and cold night. It was a hot day on  and the mercury levels dipped significantly the moment we started off on the ghat roads. Cool air hit our faces as we drove in the shade of the thick canopy overhead. The world could not have been more tranquil. The journey presented to us beautiful vistas of giant windmills dotted along the roads and golden fields.

The best part of it was to come in the last leg – the Tinai Ghats on the Belgaum-Panjim road. We drove thro windy Ghats from Ramnagar, Anmod to Mollem and passing by Castle Rock (remember the famous Dudh Sagar water falls). The roads were winding like a snake and full of S-Curves & narrow roads, lined up with thick forest on side and steep valley on the other side. It can be very challenging for any rider. Many a accidents have happen on this stretch. One needs to be extremely careful and fully alert for any eventualities, especially while through the night and heavy opposite traffic. To our luck, we had to pass through this junction at night and finally reached Murjim at 10.30 pm. 


It surely was a mania for Riders especially the Bulleteers as they liked to be known. The Annual Royal Enfield Rider Mania was a much talked about event and which every one used to brag about. Royal Enfield Rider Mania is an annual motorcycling festival where people come together to celebrate a common passion; the joy of riding. The core element of Rider Mania are the people who come together in Goa every year to celebrate their love for Royal Enfield bikes. Many of these riding groups travel thousands of kilometers all the way to Vagator, Goa.

The RM is a one of a kind event where not only bikers gather together, but they have the freedom to even bring their families and bring them into the fold of the RE community. It’s a chance for families to understand the biking community from up close and to understand the craze & passion of their better halves. We saw woman riders who had brought their husbands along and  wives who had accompanied their husbands to the event. And offcourse there were may Kids at the event. The Royal Enfield Rider Mania is not only for the biking community but it’s also about welcoming in potential bikers into their fold, to experience the passion first hand and to feel the heart beat of an Enfield lover.

The 14th Edition of Royal Enfield Rider Mania took Goa by storm as passionate riders from across the country rode to Vagator to mark their presence. With well over 6000+ riders, the venue in Vagator was a full house spread over three-days of action packed mornings, adrenalin pumping afternoons and foot tapping evenings that celebrate the spirit of ‘pure motorcycling’. It was like seeing a huge barren ground suddenly come alive with bikers and their passionate Riders. What’s best about the RM is that it begins as an event but turns into one big party with the gradual arrival of the riders. The music, beers, the thump of the RE bikes, the custom bikes on display which were nothing, the competitive spirit was a feast to the audience.

Vagator we can say was completely taken over by Bulleteers. Everywhere one looked; be it outside the venue or inside any restaurant in all off Vagator & North Goa, perpetually visible would be a group of shiny Enfields parked outside. Every lane or by-lane Bullets could be heard thumping away right from the dawn of the day until late night. We heard a few local grumbling about the noisy Bullets and bikers taking over Vagator! Vagator and North Goa was suddenly coloured Orange, what with all of them wearing the official RE Mania Orange T Shirts. One was wondering if it was a BJP sponsored event……

Upon entering Goa the feeling was something else, every street, lane and by-lane, a Royal Enfield was visible. With 6000 riders coming in from across the country, Goa was pulsating with the thump of the Royal Enfield. Vagator was the centre point for the bikers to congregate and enjoy the festival. Motorcyclists are probably the only community where people and riders have mutual respect for each other, for the road and for the laws. Riders rode down from cities as far as Delhi, Chennai, Kerala, Bangalore, Mysore, Kholapur, Mumbai , Pune, Hyderabad and even Chandigarh. It was heartening to see, feel and experience the riding and brotherhood spirit among the bikers. 

Over the years, Rider Mania has grown into a place where experienced and new riders find common ground to engage and participate in different facets of motorcycling. The three-day festival has an expansive line up of motorcycling events ranging from contests to learning courses to live music. This is best exemplified by the learner’s course at Rider Mania for people who want to learn to ride a motorcycle.

The main objective is to have fun, celebrate old and new friendships, connect at one common ground which is love for motorcycling.

Every rider present at the RERM Loves to Ride & Lives to Ride. Each one comes with the motto of enjoying the comradeship, the brotherhood, the music & the beer. Making new friends, catching up with mates, enjoying the races; all in all it’s an event for the Enfield community, a community that every Royal Enfield lover is proud to be a part of. 

The first day was as exciting as it could get with the ensemble of bikers coming in, custom motorcycles, drag races and the dirt race. With Day 2, the events turned out to be more interesting as we witnessed some extremely fun activities like the Cleanest Bike Competition, Slow Race, Carry Your Bike as well as talks from veteran riders and motorcycle enthusiasts. And Day 3 we had Assembly wars, Dirt Track racing, Stand Up Comedy and Music Concerts. 

  • The Slow Race was all about having control over your bike. The one who crossed the finish line last was crowned the winner. If you ever thought going slow was easy, this race will prove you wrong.
  • The Carry Your Bike competition was an interesting one with teams lifting their nearly 200 kg Royal Enfields and setting their eyes on the finishing line
  • Among the activities on offer are off-road training sessions, a hands-on, one-hour session where the participants will be trained for basic riding skills on dirt by experienced coaches. 
  • The thumps on the Dirt Track continued as 350 CC, 500 CC Bullets, Himalayan all had their races for Men, Women, Novice & Experts. The icing on the cake was the last race – the Race of Champions. All the previous winners irrespective of class of bike Bullet or Himalayan, 350 or 500 CC and behold Men or Women participated in this race and boy it was a thriller of a race. It was conducted following the International Sporting Code of the FIM & appendices of The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).
  • The other challenging activity was the Maze Chase where riders use their manoeuvrability skills to complete the specially designed course in the shortest time. Hands on events like Assembly Wars and Carry your Bike also added to the fun element.
  • Then there were trials, a specially designed obstacle course, where there will be a special category for Himalayan owners this year. Rider Mania also iintroduced a learner’s course this year. A number of enthusiasts accompany their motorcyclist friends to Rider Mania and this initiative provided them an opportunity to be introduced to the experience of pure motorcycling.
  • For the lovers of pure motorcycling Early Risers’, a ride for those who wanted to experience Goa in all its morning glory, drove to places that highlight authentic Goan experiences, like Mahadai Wildlife Sanctuary, Divar Island via Panjim to Old Goa comprising of a ferry ride before culminating at Vagator.
  • Riders with a flair for filmmaking had a chance to showcase their skills with the camera through a special ‘Shoot your Rider Mania 2016’ workshop.
  • And finally there was a custom bike exhibition, some of which are exclusively designed and built for Rider Mania and was on display. There were some really cool collection of modified bikes.
  • The music and the various artists performing were very good. They set a constant foot-tapping rhythm within the crowd & people totally loved the songs. At night the lights are switched on and the main stage comes alive with performances by indie bands, DJs and other musicians

If not for bikes, Rider Mania is also about meeting interesting people and discuss travel, riding and much more.  It was an event filled with fun & frolic irrespective of gender, age, language and status where people let their hair down and soaked themselves into the event. Beer was cheaper than water (Rs.33 per beer & Rs.40 for a bottle of water) and people were guzzling beers in crates and “weed” was freely available and cheaper than a pack of cigarettes. You felt like a fish out of pond if you weren’t carrying a bottle of Beer in your hand. For once gender equality was never an issue. Rider Mania was truly a symbolism of the Hippy Culture.There is no dearth of finding fun people here. However with the event coming to an end, what firmly remains is strong bonds of the brotherhood, old friendships re-kindled, new  friendships formed, memories of one big celebration and bonding over beers, music and motorcycles. Truly the Thump helped bind all the Riders.

Our ride way back home was equally arduous and we reached home past mid night travelling the cold, windy night. All in all it was a memorable trip that let me taste the Rider Mania and more importantly reinforced the belief in myself that I will be able travel long distance on road by a bike. We covered 700 kms one way in a single day spread over 15 hours of travel and around 12 hours of driving through the day and overall drove around 1600 kms over 5 days. My daily rigours of walking and yoga helped me keep fight and stand up for the rigours of such a long and arduous drive and most importantly makes me feel still YOUNG at Heart and Physically too ………….. It motivates me to plan for bigger, longer and more challenging rides in the future and for the long awaited eager looking Leh_Ladakh bike ride next year. 

Day 1

Day 2
Day 3



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A year on since I chose to chase my dreams – It’s never too late to reinvent yourself

by with No Comment Uncategorized
A year back, I was Frustrated, Scared, Unsure, Anxious, Trapped &Unfulfilled. Stuck in a dead-end job. Smothered by society’s expectations. Didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life or how to proceed further. May be it was a case of Mid-Career blues.

My time at Schneider Electric (10 years) and my work/life balance was for most parts great except for the last year or so. The environment was getting political, decisions were being rung in from the Top, without logic or reason, and at the whims & fancies of the Top Leadership, who were far flung from the realities on the ground. Merit was no more the criteria for growth and subservience, political affiliation to a leader & gender was the recipe for growth. I chose not to be subservient. I was no more enjoying the job, the environment or the Leadership. I needed a trigger to chase my dream and this was it. I needed to be pushed outside of my comfort zone.

After my review meeting with my Boss and a conversation with the Global CHRO, I realised that I was going no-where and the last straw of juice in me was being squeezed, tighter and tighter. I was getting dehydrated mentally & physically.

Every once in a while, when you start realising that you have had enough of the world caving on you, enough of others pointing out your mistakes, enough of responsibilities that almost drown you and enough of living for others.

You hope to break free from this cruel world and live life as it occurs to you in a world, where you gaze at the open skies and enjoy the refreshing breeze, witness the sun shining on your face and soak yourself in the pouring rain. You feel like putting your foot down, shutting yourself from the concrete jungle, and escaping into the unknown, where every turn brings on an adventure and every mile leaves behind an unforgettable memory.

I threw away a prestigious Top Leadership Job with one of the Fortune 500 & Linked In TOP 40 companies to work for, with a top draw salary, leading a large team (100 members), cris-crossing the country & the world, partying in cosy 5 star hotels, driving luxurious cars, a comfortable living situation & a great life style, stability (financially & career wise), and a comfortable life to chase a dream.

On paper, the decision might look a crazy one-

I cared for myself enough to change my life, but I didn’t have the slightest clue where to start. I spent my days wishing that things would change—that I could escape a life that my soul could no longer bear.

The worst part of all, I was living the life that society had always told me to live. “Work in a Corporate Job” and your Social Status would depend on where you work and how high you are in the organisation and the life style you lead.

I don’t know about others, but it turns out that for me, the “right thing to do” sucked the joy out of life.

I had seen it all, been there all and done it all. Off course there is no end and there is always scope for more, but I had reached a point of no return.

Imagine feeling trapped in an unsatisfying existence. Wasting your precious time doing things that you really don’t want to be doing. Being afraid to express yourself, with fear of trodding on the superiors. Having fun on the weekends then dreading the upcoming week, few moments of satisfaction drowned out by a constant grind of work that doesn’t fulfil you. Oh GOD it’s a Monday!

Then something hit me. It was a proverbial hammer to my head. I’d heard it before, but it had never sunk in. Then, as if out of nowhere, a voice in my head spoke loudly and clearly. “What am I doing, where am I going”. I was only adding more zeroes to my bank balance but cutting out precious moments of LIFE.

I was reminded of
“ when you have the time, you don’t have the money
When you have the money, you don’t have the time
When you have time & money, you don’t have the health”

History warned that 95% of StartUps fail and I still chose to take the risk and be in the 5% that succeeds.

There are plenty of talented people who never make a choice to do something different, to reinvent themselves, and to pursue their dreams. It’s hard to work up the guts to try something new. Nobody wants to feel stupid and start from the beginning all over again.

But talent isn’t worth a thing without the willingness to take action. It’s great to have a dream, but it’s better to pursue it. Reinventing yourself and developing a new skill is hard work. Transitioning from corporate to proud entrepreneur is hard work.

I’m not an entrepreneur because it is the hep thing to do now, or because I want to make a lot of money. I can’t just be another cog in the wheel, amongst number of thousands of other employees. I couldn’t concentrate any more working in an Organisation. I wasn’t feel normal.

I know that I gave up a great opportunity at Schneider Electric, but it is something I chose to do. The urge to chase my dream and start something on my own got bigger each day.
www.humanengineers.com became my obsession, humanengineers is my life, and is something I was ready to throw away a great Career.

Entrepreneurship is cool now, and everyone wants to be an entrepreneur.  Every newspapers, websites, magazines, TV shows & college campuses, everyone has an idea and a dream.

I don’t want to be just dreaming to be an entrepreneur,   I have to be one

The reason I chose www.humanengineers.com full time is passion and dream that I wanted to chase. I care about humanengineers more than I could ever imagine I would care about anything. It’s all I can think about all day. It’s mentioned within a few minutes of every conversation I’ve had in the past year. It’s becoming less of a company, and more a part of me. I don’t know if I will ever be this passionate about another company in my life, and I have to pursue it now.

A year later, when I look back I am happy to have chosen to chase my dream. Happy to have believed in my dream and pursued it relentlessly despite hiccups & challenges.
I feel that everyone can look back and see one format of moment one time where they made a choice, they had to close their eyes and jump. And that choice made all the difference. And that choice for me was to become an Entrepreneur chasing my Dream. I had the opportunity to show the world my unique perspective through my actions. I have the freedom to express, to experiment and at my own pace. The fact is there have never been more choices and opinions than there are today. Its easy to forget that you are in fact riding your own story. This is no easy task and although I know where I am heading, I never really know where I am going to end up. Which way would you choose
My venture www.humanengineers.com is very well received.

As per the global, 
HYPESTAT website analysis, https://www.hypestat.com/info/humanengineers.com & Alexa Traffic Rank (of Amazon) – http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/humanengineers.com

www.humanengineers.com receives on an average 540 unique visitors per day 5292 page views per day ie 9.8 page views per visitor. Its Newsletter reaches out to around 18,000 HR Leaders /readers every week. Its extremely gratifying to see the kind of growth & patronage and growing day by day in such a short span. It spurs me & my team to grow to greater heights fulfil our dream of becoming the GOTO HR Portal.

We have some very exciting unique offers for release in the future and are really excited for the day of the launch.

I am happy to have chosen my own path, because it gives me freedom, flexibility and agility. I can return home for lunch, have a nap, work untill midnight or simply dont work (as I have no one to answer but myself). In this journey I also found time to pursue my long lost passion for adventure, travelling, motorcycle adventure tours, photography and most importantly recuperate on my health & fitness. I could spend quality time with my children and family. Work in corporate life was no more fun, it became a source of STRESS. I was able to bring back some fun into my life & reduce STRESS to a great extent.
Its not that I have arrived and fulfilled my dreams. I have only made a beginning with a slow & steady start and have miles to go before I can sleep.

I will continue to chase my dream, I am going to follow my heart, and the day I stop following it, is the day I want it to stop beating

The path to doing work you love might not look the way you expected, but it can still get you to where you want to go — if you make the choice to try something new.


It’s never too late to reinvent yourself.

RIP – apj@abdulkalam.com – whom will our Youths write to and who will answer our Youths inquisitive questions ?

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    Its indeed sad to hear about the sudden demise of our beloved late President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Populary known as the Missile Man and loved and revered by one and all from children to the old and across the world. He demystified the aura around the Presidents Office and made himself and his office & his palace accessible to the common man. He was one of the first President to vote. After relinquishing his office he went back and stayed in a One & a Half room house – in stark contrast to the earlier Presidents.


    He was know for simplicity, kindness, cheerful smile, integrity and forthrightness. He loved to spend time with Children for he felt that if he could influence the minds of the youth of India, he could help shape the future of India.


    I was fortunate to have shook hands with him and listen to his address at the NHRD National Conference in Hyderabad in Nov 2013. He spoke with great passion and urged all of us to Dream and to always work with an attitude to “Serve – People, Humanity & the Nation”. He said HR is all about serving and not just to Corporate Honcho’s and to Corporate Employees but also to widen our horizon of serving the People at Large. He made a very sarcastic remark “Love your job – Dont love your Company, because you may not know when your Company will stop loving you”. So very true in this Opportunistic world.


    He took a few questions and due to want of time, he said “dont worry, I will answer all your questions. Pl. write to me apj@abdulkalam.com and I promise you, you will get a reply in 24 hours”. Amazing human being and from a Ex-President of the Largest Democracy.

    He has left a big void and I wonder whom will the youth of India write to in future and who will answer their inquisitive questions ?

    Here is a replication of a Whatsup Message I received from a purported student (not verified however) – Sirjan Pal Singh , who was with Dr. Kalam during his visit to IIM Shillong and his last few hours. It reinforces the greatness , simplicity & concern for humanity,  of Dr. Kalam and his love for spending time with the Youth of India . No wonder he died almost in the arms of the people he loved the most – STUDENTS :

    Quote from Whats Up Message:
    ————————————————————————————————————–

    “What I will be remembered for.. my memory of the last day with the great Kalam sir…

    It has been eight hours since we last talked – sleep eludes me and memories keep flushing down, sometimes as tears. Our day, 27th July, began at 12 noon, when we took our seats in the flight to Guhawati. Dr. Kalam was 1A and I was IC. He was wearing a dark colored “Kalam suit”, and I started off complimenting, “Nice color!” Little did I know this was going to be the last color I will see on him.

    Long, 2.5 hours of flying in the monsoon weather. I hate turbulence, and he had mastered over them. Whenever he would see me go cold in shaking plane, he would just pull down the window pane and saw, “Now you don’t see any fear!”.

    That was followed by another 2.5 hours of car drive to IIM Shillong. For these two legged trip of five hours we talked, discussed and debated. These were amongsthundreds of the long flights and longer drives we have been together over the last six years.

    As each of them, this was as special too. Three incidents/discussions in particular will be “lasting memories of our last trip”.

    First, Dr. Kalam was absolutely worried about the attacks in Punjab. The loss of innocent lives left him filledwith sorrow. The topic of lecture at IIM Shillong was Creating a Livable Planet Earth. He related the incident to the topic and said, “it seems the man made forces are as big a threat to the livability of earth as pollution”. We discussed on how, if this trend of violence, pollution and reckless human action continues we will forced to leave earth. “Thirty years, at this rate, maybe”, he said. “You guys must do something about it… it is going to be your future world”

    Our second discussion was more national. For the past two days, Dr. Kalam was worried that time and again Parliament, the supreme institution of democracy, was dysfunctional. He said, “I have seen two different governments in my tenure. I have seen more after that. This disruption just keeps happening. It is not right. I really need to find out a way to ensure that the parliament works on developmental politics.” He then asked me to prepare a surprise assignment question for the students at IIM Shillong, which he would give them only at the end of the lecture. He wanted to them to suggest three innovative ways to make the Parliament more productive and vibrant. Then, after a while he returned on it. “But how can ask them to give solutions if I don’t have any myself”. For the next one hour, we thwarted options after options, who come up with his recommendation over the issue. We wanted to include this discussion in our upcoming book, Advantage India.

    Third, was an experience from the beauty of his humility. We were in a convoy of 6-7 cars. Dr. Kalam and I were in the second car. Ahead us was an open gypsy with three soldiers in it. Two of them were sitting on either side and one lean guy was standing atop, holding his gun. One hour into the road journey, Dr. Kalam said, “Why is he standing? He will get tired. This is like punishment. Can you ask a wireless message to given that he may sit?” I had to convince him, he has been probably instructed to keep standing for better security. He did not relent. We tried radio messaging, that did not work. For the next 1.5 hours of the journey, he reminded me thrice to see if I can hand signal him to sit down. Finally, realizing there is little we can do – he told me, “I want to meet him and thank him”. Later, when we landed in IIM Shillong, I went inquiring through security people and got hold of the standing guy. I took him inside and Dr. Kalam greeted him. He shook his hand, said thank you buddy. “Are you tired? Would you like something to eat? I am sorry you had to stand so long because of me”. The young lean guard, draped in black cloth, was surprised at the treatment. He lost words, just said, “Sir, aapkeliye to 6 ghantebhikhaderahenge”.

    After this, we went to the lecture hall. He did not want to be late for the lecture. “Students should never be made to wait”, he always said. I quickly set up his mike, briefed on final lecture and took position on the computers. As I pinned his mike, he smiled and said, “Funny guy! Are you doing well?” ‘Funny guy’, when said by Kalam could mean a variety of things, depending on the tone and your own assessment. It could mean, you have done well, you have messed up something, you should listen to him or just that you have been plain naïve or he was just being jovial. Over six years I had learnt to interpret Funny Guy like the back of my palm. This time it was the last case.

    “Funny guy! Are you doing well?” he said. I smiled back, “Yes”. Those were the last words he said. Two minutes into the speech, sitting behind him, I heard a long pause after completing one sentence. I looked at him, he fell down.

    We picked him up. As the doctor rushed, we tried whatever we could. I will never forget the look in his three-quarter closed eyes and I held his head with one hand and tried reviving with whatever I could. His hands clenched, curled onto my finger. There was stillness on his face and those wise eyes were motionlessly radiating wisdom. He never said a word. He did not show pain, only purpose was visible.

    In five minutes we were in the nearest hospital. In another few minutes the they indicated the missile man had flown away, forever. I touched his feet, one last time. Adieu old friend! Grand mentor! See you in my thoughts and meet in the next birth.

    As turned back, a closet of thoughts opened.

    Often he would ask me, “You are young, decide what will like to be remembered for?” I kept thinking of new impressive answers, till one day I gave up and resorted to tit-for-tat. I asked him back, “First you tell me, what will you like to be remembered for? President, Scientist, Writer, Missile man, India 2020, Target 3 billion…. What?” I thought I had made the question easier by giving options, but he sprang on me a surprise. “Teacher”, he said.

    Then something he said two weeks back when we were discussing about his missile time friends. He said, “Children need to take care of their parents. It is sad that sometimes this is not happening”. He paused and said, “Two things. Elders must also do. Never leave wealth at your deathbed – that leaves a fighting family. Second, one is blessed is one can die working, standing tall without any long drawn ailing. Goodbyes should be short, really short”.

    Today, I look back – he took the final journey, teaching, what he always wanted to be remembered doing. And, till his final moment he was standing, working and lecturing. He left us, as a great teacher, standing tall. He leaves the world with nothing accumulated in his account but loads of wishes and love of people. He was a successful, even in his end.

    Will miss all the lunches and dinners we had together, will miss all the times you surprised me with your humility and startled me with your curiosity, will miss the lessons of life you taught in action and words, will miss our struggles to race to make into flights, our trips, our long debates. 

    You gave me dreams, you showed me dreams need to be impossible, for anything else is a compromise to my own ability. The man is gone, the mission lives on. Long live Kalam.”

    Your indebted student,

    Srijan Pal Singh

“WINGS OF FIRE” has flown away – RIP Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

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He did not die while resting on his sofa. He did not die eating his favorite food at a posh restaurant. He did not die while signing his cheques. He did not die sick in his comforting bed.


He died while he was interacting with students which has always been his favorite thing in the world. Dieing while doing our most loved thing. How many of us are going to do it?

His body may have left. His ‘Wings of Fire’ has no death. They’ll always flutter in air. All around us.

When you live, live like him. When you die, die like him.

RIP Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Heaven is lucky from now!

“Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.” – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

“All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds.” – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

“Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough”. – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

“Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy the success.” – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

“If you want to shine like a sun. First burn like a sun.” – A.P.J Abdul Kalam 

“It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone” – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

“All of us do not have equal talent. But , all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.” – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

” Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.” -A.P.J Abdul Kalam

“Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life.”  – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

” Without your involvement you can’t succeed. With your involvement you can’t fail. ” – A.P.J Abdul Kalam

Following are 10 quotes by the scientist, author and former President:  courtesy NDTV
    1. You have to dream before your dreams can come true.
    2. Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.
    3. Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birthright to be a person.
    4. Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.
    5. We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.
    6. Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.
    7. Educationists should build the capacities of the spirit of inquiry, creativity, entrepreneurial and moral leadership among students and become their role model.
    8. Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.
    9. If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference. They are the father, the mother and the teacher.
    10. My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.
Story First Published: July 27, 2015 22:30 IST

Who are your REAL FRIENDS ?

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My uncle used to tell me that life is not going to be the same after you quit your high profile job. All those people who appeared to be your friends will not be the same after you have moved out of that position. People were with you because of the position that you occupied and you will know who your true friends are only after you have moved out of that position. Well this message is a timely reminder of that smile emoticon

What is maturity ?

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What is Maturity ?

  • Maturity is when you strop trying to change people, and instead focus on changing yourself.
  • Maturity is when you accept people for who they are.
  • Maturity is when you understand that everyone is right in their own perspective.
  • Maturity is when you learn to “let go”.
  • Maturity is when you understand that whatever you do, you do for your own peace.
  • Maturity is when you stop proving to the world how intelligent you are.
  • Maturity is when you focus on positives in people.
  • Maturity is when you do not seek approval from others.
  • Maturity is when you stop comparing yourself with others.
  • Maturity is when you are at peace with yourself.
  • Maturity is when you can differentiate between “need” and “want”, and you can let go of your wants.
  • Maturity is when you stop attaching “happiness” to material things.
  • Be simple. Be positive. Be relax. Show Maturity.