Interview Transcript

During Mock Interview

Full transcript with answers:

• Board - Ms. Smita Nagraj (Chairperson)
• 5 member board including the chairperson 
• Interview Date: 27th of March 2019

• Me: May I come in, Ma'am?
• Chairperson:  Yes, Please come in.

• Me: Good evening Ma'am. Good evening sir. (Looking at all the members)
• Chairperson: Good evening. Have a seat.
• Me: Thank You, Ma'am.

• Chairperson: So Digvijay, you are in the Postal service. (Yes Ma'am) People Nowadays think that postal department is outdated and the government is spending too much money on it. Do you agree with it?

• Me: It is indeed the perception, but I don't agree with it, Ma'am. There are 2 roles which postal department perform. One is a commercial function through premium services such as speed post, logistics post, etc. Second is Universal service obligation under which it performs the function of financial inclusion through post office savings bank and recently opened IPPB, also Aadhar verification, Passport Seva Kendra, gold bonds, etc.

• When we calculate subsidies given by the government, we do not separate the commercial and service part of the department. And that is why the subsidy given by the government of India to department looks large.

• Chairperson: All functions you mentioned mostly caters to rural India. What is there for the urban population?

• Me: Our department has 3 premium services Ma'am. Speed post, express and business post, and logistics post. 60% of the traffic of these services come from the largest 20 cities.
• To give my own example. If IIT Kharagpur student wants to have a correspondence with US university for MS admission, India post offers best services in comparison to any private courier like Bluedart or FedEx because of our department's linkages with United States Postal Service.

• Chairperson: Okay. That is good to hear. Why do you think this is the perception of Post?

• Me: I honestly think Ma'am, all our advertisements are catering to rural sectors. So it has built this perception. Movies also caricature the role of Dak Sevak. To change the perception our department should focus on branding and targeted advertisement to the consumers.

• Chairperson: All people who came before you have given reasons that they want to join civil service because of fame, money, and prestige. Do you have any other reason to join?

• Me: Yes Ma'am. During my college days, I did internships in 3 organizations. One in multinational research and development center in Japan, one in private tractor manufacturing company and one in government farm machinery testing center.
• What I observed during this time, is that there is a stark difference between the technology generation and the technology adoption at the ground level, and mostly at the farm level.
• Being the part of the administration at such esteemed position, and having the knowledge of Agricultural and food engineering, it will give me an opportunity to bridge this gap, remove the information asymmetry and create the level playing field even for most vulnerable strata, apart from the reasons you mentioned Ma'am. 

• Chairperson: (Smiles and indicates Panel member 1 to continue)

_____________________________________________________________________

• Panel member 1: Digvijay, since the late 1970s and '80s, we are hearing about the bipolar world. Since the early '90s, after the end of the cold war, American uni-polarity came. Again we are talking about polarity in the world. Do you think, this is the start of a new cold war or it is already happening?

• Me: The cold war is surely dead Sir, but the cold war mentality survives. The most defining feature of the cold war was the battle of ideologies between Communism and liberalism. Today we do not see that. Rather what we are seeing is the struggle for hegemony in terms of the economic sphere like trade war and in a strategic sphere like in Afghanistan and Syria between Western powers and Eurasian powers.
• In the Indo-Pacific region, we are seeing the formation of QUAD, although in initial stages. USA's security doctrine also mentions it. 

• Panel member 1: Okay. As you mentioned Afghanistan and Syria, who are the players in these power struggle?

• Me: In Syria Sir, the Bashar Al Assad government is supported by Russia, Iran, and Hezbollah. The opposition faction consists of the Free Syrian army supported by the USA and its allies, and Kurds.
• Sir, In Afghanistan, both powers are conducting talks with the Taliban. Moscow talks with Russia and Doha Talks with the USA. China, India, and Pakistan are also important players in the region.

• Panel member 1: Good. You also talked about QUAD. What do you think about its future?

• Me: It was conceptualized by Japanese prime minister in 2007 as the democratic diamond of Indo-Pacific region. It is seen as an arrangement to counter possible Chinese hegemony in the region. Although it is still in an infant stage of its development. It could be used as an alternative platform to offer infrastructure projects to the countries in the region to avoid them being strangled in the debt trap of China.

• Panel Member 2: So Digvijay, you talked about Pass Port Seva Kendra outlets in Post offices. (Nod) Do you know which software they are using for their functioning?

• Me: I don't know Sir.

• Panel Member 2: Okay. Let us talk about subsidies. Are you aware of fertilizer subsidies? (Nod) How could we reduce the use of fertilizers by farmers, as most of them using in excess of required limit?

• Me: Yes Sir. Our NPK ratio is 8.4: 4.2: 1. Ideal ratio should be 4:2:1.
• Sir, GOI has already come up with Soil health cards which mention the proper limits.

• Panel Member 2: (Interrupting me) but farmers do not follow it.

• Me: Yes, Sir, that is why the Government has come up with the behavioral solution. Farmers measure fertilizer applied to their crops in terms of the number of bags of fertilizer used. Earlier, there were 50Kg bags of urea, Now the government has mandated to reduce its limit to 45kg. So for each bag used by the farmer, there will be 5 kg less fertilizer application.

• Panel member 2: Our country is deficient in phosphate. How should we resolve the problem? Also, there is less application of phosphate in comparison to urea.

• Me: Sir, just like natural gas, we should start the joint ventures with countries with phosphate reserves. So that our dependence on imports will be reduced and the requirement of fertilizer will also be completed.

• Panel Member 2: tell me countries with large phosphate reserves?

• Me: I don’t recall at the moment, Sir.

• Panel Member 2: Thank You Digvijay.

• Panel Member 3: Your engineering subject is Agricultural and Food Engineering. So do you know what is this precision farming, precision agriculture we always talk about?

• Me: Yes Sir. Precision farming involves maximum utilizer of all resources. If we are putting inputs such as seeds, irrigation, fertilizer or pesticide, they should be in the exact amount and at the precise time as required by crop. It should be more or less rather precise.
• I was fortunate enough to work on software called - DSSAT - Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer. If we feed micro-climatic data such as daily precipitation, sunrays, ground moisture, soil type to the software, it can be used to predict exact timings of inputs application and also yield of the crop can be calculated.

_____________________________________________________________________

• Panel Member 3: Well done. For long, there is talk about FTA with the EU. Are you aware of this? (Nod) tell me more about it.

• Me: Yes Sir. We have had 17 round of talks with the EU over FTA. But there are concerns by India over Agri and Dairy products. EU wants us to reduce it. Also, Indian companies have not given Data Secure Status by EU regulation which is hurting their competitiveness. The automobile sector is another contention. EU has removed most of the tariffs but India is still yet to remove and the EU wants to hasten this.

• Panel Member 3: As you mentioned about Agri and Dairy, there are concerns that if FTA comes to a conclusion, the Indian market will be flooded with European Agri and Dairy products. In the electronics sector, our complete market is flooded with foreign products, why we are so sensitive to agri products. Wouldn't it increase productivity?

• Me: Certainly Sir. 5 years back, we had virtually non-existent electronics market. Due to the successful implementation of Electronics policy and SEZs, India is now the Second largest mobile manufacturing country. We have attracted foreign companies to set their bases in India.
• In a similar way, we should also bring policy in agri and dairy sector with the EU, so that their companies will set food processing industries in India. Because of this, they will have access to the Indian market, jobs will be generated and we already have 10% FDI in the food processing sector.
• We are sensitive because Agri and dairy sectors involve people from lower strata. Electronics products are used by the middle class and above. It is the government's duty to protect the most vulnerable.
• That is why tough stand on agri and dairy products.

• Panel member 3: Compare Indian agricultural practices with other countries' practices.

• Me: Sir, could you please give me a country to compare with?

• Panel member 3: you can take any western country like France, Israel. Choose any one.

• Me: Sir, to compare India with Israel. What Israel does differently are 4 things. Water recycling up to 80%, vertical in-house LED farming, start-up promotion for value chain development and appropriate mechanization.
• In comparison, India is yet to develop value chain integration. Irrigation coverage is at 45% and we are exporting water-intensive crops such as rice, sugarcane, banana. Mechanization is still not prevalent. We should work on warehousing, cold chain and transport infrastructure, direct farming and more business -farm linkages so that technology would be transferred.
• Although these things are changing now with the focus on APMC reforms, land leasing, export promotion, etc.

• Panel Member 3: Coming to your hobbies, can you name some famous English poets who are Indian?

• Me: Yes Sir, recently Mr. Amitav Ghosh got Dnyan Peeth Award. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

• Panel Member 3: Name some more. I assume you write poems in English.

• Me: Yes Sir. I write in both Hindi as well as English. I don’t recall any Indian poets who write  English poems at the moment, Sir.

• Panel Member 3: Have you heard of ….. (Some 3 names which I never heard of - Names were not Indian)

• Me: No Sir. I haven't.

______________________________________________________________________

• Panel Member 4: Digvijay, Let us talk about Maharashtra. Why Maharashtra has developed a strong cooperative culture in comparison to other states? What do you think is the reason?

• Me: Maharashtra cooperative societies we can see mainly in 3 areas sir - one in Banking,  Second in Sugar and third in Dairy.
• Bank cooperative culture developed during the British time. Western India was involved in trading with other countries and also cash crops were produced as per requirement of Europe. So bank network developed to cater to this demand. Second reasons being the role of progressive princely states and social reformers because of which bank cooperatives are spread out all over the state.
• Sugar cooperative and Dairy cooperative culture developed as these are the platform for political leadership. These cooperatives act as a political mobilizing factor. Also, the leadership of Morarji Desai and Vallabh Bhai Patel played an essential role in Dairy cooperatives in Northen Maharashtra.

• Panel Member 4: Okay. Despite this, why there are so many suicides committed by farmers in Maharashtra?

• Me: There are 3 main reasons Sir. First is Irrigation. Second is the prevalence of cash crops and pest infestation and third is social prestige and non-farm expenditure.
• Irrigation coverage is at 20% only and disproportionately goes towards sugarcane.
• Most suicides are happening in the cotton belt which is a cash crop. If the crop fails, there are no sustenance crops to farmers even to feed their family unlike North India, where rivers are perennial and they take cereal crops mostly. Because of this farmers have to take loans even for day to day consumption.
• Cost of living is higher in Maharashtra that is another factor. Due to social pressure, one has to incur lots of expenditure on marriages, or even Shraddh.
• Farm loan waiver is offered only to crop loans, so, that also does not solve the problem.

 _____________________________________________________________________

• Chairperson: Digvijay, you were involved in Elocution during your college time. And the way you speak reflects that…(smiles) But in villages, you will have to communicate with villagers. How would you communicate with them?

• Me: Ma'am, the first principle of elocution is to find connect with our audience. I think I have found it with this panel. If the audience change, I change my tone to find my connect with them.

• Chairperson: (While smiling) Okay…So you need the atmosphere before delivering your speech. (everybody laughs)

• Chairperson: Now tell me, North Indian population is growing and it is not going to be reversed for some time. At the same time, the south Indian population is shrinking. There is migration from North to South. Now South Indian states are only planning for their own population. How to solve this problem?

• Me: Ma'am, there needs to be a two-pronged approach. First, is to create ease of doing business in North Indian states. So enough jobs will be generated and migration impact would be lesser.

• Chairperson: But what should south Indian states do?

• Me: The 2nd approach is Ma'am, to create the cosmopolitan culture in Southern states. Problem is not just because the native population is losing jobs, but migrated people are getting registered in the voter list of states and influencing politics. So the atmosphere of tolerance and fraternity should be increased.
• At the same time, these populations are living in a dilapidated situation, so we require more focus on affordable housing and the creation of the rental market.
• (Should have talked about Ayushyman Bharat which is applicable all over India)

• Chairperson: Thank You Digvijay. 

• Me: Thank Ma'am. Thank You, Sir. Have a Good Day.

_______________________________________________________________________

P.S: Surely there were few instances where I fumbled and it was not as crisp and clear as written in the above blog. But it will certainly give the idea of how the questions are asked in the UPSC interview. 

Read More

A Good Samaritan

Read More

नवरस

Most of the time, we hear that the goal of life is to attain happiness. But we often ignore all kinds of emotions we encounter on our way to attain happiness. Life is not just about happiness rather it is about emotions. Happiness is temporary but quest for happiness and various emotions encountered in the journey are permanent. Be it love, laughter, anger, empathy, disgust, anxiety, valor, wonder or calm. We, in Indian culture, call these as Navrasas. (9 essences)   

In this poem, I have tried to use UPAMA alankar (Simile figure of speech) to discover all these RASAS.

मैं अंत हूँ अनंत भी |
मैं क्रोध हूँ मैं प्रेम भी ||ध्रु||

भुजंग का मणि भी मैं
व्याल का गरल भी मैं |
पंक मैं, कमल भी मैं
विष भी मैं, पियूष भी मैं ||१||

द्रौपदी का स्वाभिमान
हूँ रघुपति सा धैर्यवान |
कर्ण की व्याकुलता 
हूँ सीता की शालीनता ||२||

दुर्योधन का उन्माद मैं,
कृष्ण का हूँ हास्य मैं |
मैं अंत हूँ अनंत भी |
मैं क्रोध हूँ मैं प्रेम भी ||३||

आनंद ही तो अंत नहीं
जिंदगी नवरस में हैं ||

Meanings:

१) भुजंग: साप, सर्प;
२) व्याल: साप, सर्प;
३) पंक: कीचड़;
४) पियूष: अमृत;
५) उन्माद: अहंकार

Read More

संघर्ष

संघर्ष ही स्वभाव है

यथार्थ की तलाश में ||ध्रु||

यामिनी से लढ रहा

दिया हूँ मैं जो भीड़ गया |

फडफड़ स्वीकार है

मारुत का डर हैं क्या? ||१||

बाण से मैं क्या डरु

कर्ण का ये वक्ष है |

प्रहार  कर तू मगर

हार तेरा भाग्य है ||२||

मैं उच्च हूँ, मैं नीच हूँ

हूँ जहाँ भी ठीक हूँ |

लढ रहा अंजान से

स्वर्ग या पाताल में ||३||

संघर्ष ही स्वभाव है

यथार्थ की तलाश में ||

Meanings:

1) यथार्थ –उचित, सत्य;
2) यामिनी – रात, निशा;
३) मारुत – वायु, हवा;
४) वक्ष – छाती

Read More

Fresh Start - Poem

Read More

Whitewash - Poem

I tried to paint you in so many

Different colours in my memory

Each represented different

Shades of your personality

Pink was for tenderness

Yellow for exuberance

Purple was for love and,

Red for confidence...

I painted you in all colours, but one

Which I saved for myself

Sky blue for longing and limerence

Was always on my shelf…

I am sinking into your thoughts

Or drowning in your dreams

What is real, what is fiction

Blurs and seem more dim  

I realised your thought

Is eating me piece by piece

I am losing control over myself

In the process bit by bit…

I am trying not to enter

Again in that deadly zone

feet on the ground affixed

and trying not to get blown

So, I tried to whitewash all the colours

Of you from my memory

Red, yellow, orange, green,

Purple, peach, and ivory.

But before completely forgetting you,

a “tear of blood” spilled from eyes
On the whitewash and alas,

Gave me realisation How Much I Love You… 

~Digvijay Sanjay Patil

Read More

Utilitarian Morality for Public Good

There has been a lot of talk about the celebrities getting preferential treatment in the central jails. There are arguments pouring in from the public that these celebrities should be treated in the prison like any other prisoner.

Surely law works same for everybody but does law enforcers (i.e. Police) keep their neutrality? It's the open kept secret that they do not. So what is the way out?

The system is designed in such a way that it breeds corruption. If a celebrity wants different treatment like better food, better prison cell, etc, he has to give bribe to all kinds of officers.

It is hard to stop this system and individual initiatives of some honest officers aren't sufficient enough. So what systematic shift is required to change this system which breeds corruption?

Here I present an innovative idea.

    • Golden rule -- "Ghee sidhi unglise naa nikle, to ungali tedhi kar leni chahiye."

Instead of using the principle of equality, why not use the principle of justice. The principle of "Justice as fairness" suggests - "If one person gets it, everybody else should also get it."

    • If the celebrity wants the better quality of food, he can have it on one condition -- whatever quality of food he eats, everybody else will eat the same food, provided he funds for that entire food.

    • If he wants clean water for himself, he has to only install few water purifiers in the prison so that everybody has an access to clean drinking water.

    • Same goes for bed, gymnasium equipment, etc

Such investment is not even penny for these celebrities and they will happily do it.

If we apply this principle, govt will not have to spend so much money on prison infrastructure development. Also, he isn’t getting any preferential treatment, as everybody is enjoying the same privilege. It's always better that everybody gets something rather nobody gets anything. 

    • As we are legitimizing this with proper guidelines and oversight agencies, corruption to get these facilities through prison officers will get reduced.

Professor Michael Sandel in his book -- "What money can't buy: Moral limits of markets" gives an example of prison cell upgrade by paying money. If you are sentenced to a jail term in Santa Barbara, California, and don't like the standard accommodation, you can buy a prison cell upgrade for about $90 per night.  

Problem with above system is, it creates classes among prisoners and does not pass the test of moral compass, as only wealthy are getting preferential treatment.  But the method which I suggested is more egalitarian and does not cross the moral compass of equality of treatment. It also creates a win-win situation for all. It can help to reduce corruption too.

Suggestions welcome.

Peace.

-Digvijay Sanjay Patil.

References:

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ZjuVbw1lK4lq4liqMCNl7I/What-money-should-not-buy.html

Read More

The Way We Handle Freedom of Expression

Do you remember the scene from House of Cards, where Frank Underwood urinates on his father's grave? I thought that was an obscene but subtle scene to show his unremorseful character, not knowing there are more pernicious scenes to come later in the show.

In season 3 of the show, amidst fighting for his presidency and the controversies surrounding it, Frank Underwood visits a church for guidance where he has the conversation with Bishop. Unconvinced by the response of Bishop that "Using fear will get him nowhere", he asks for a moment alone in the church. He looks directly in the eye of Jesus and says," Love? That's what you are selling? Well, I don't buy it." Then he spits in Jesus's face and later when he goes to wipe Jesus's face, the whole statue of Jesus crumbles down in pieces on the floor. Out of all pieces, he picks up a broken piece of Jesus's ear and says, "Well, I've got God's ear now."

Although anything in this sacrilegious scene does not necessarily concern me (as I identify myself as a Hindu Atheist), still defiling of statue disturbed me to the core. I wondered how this scene was received by the public in the USA? I searched and did not find any big violent repercussions except some Christian conservationists expressing their discontent.

To understand this scene, it requires maturity to know that the scene was not directed towards Jesus but to effectively show the ruthless, malignant, self-centered and Machiavellian nature of a politician who believes that, "For those climbing to the top of food chain, there can be no mercy. There is but one rule. Hunt or be hunted."

You must've guessed the purpose of telling this story. Yeah, right- the recent controversy surrounding Padmavati and Deepika Padukone. Surely, the purpose is not to give sermons of civic virtues from selective western example (as if they are any better) but the idea of society we want to live in and examples from anywhere should be welcomed to reflect upon ourselves.

The thing which really disturbed and compelled me to write this article is the threat given by Rajput outfit Karni Sena to chop Deepika Padukone's nose. Even metaphorically used statement, this shows how we use threats as a means to stop freedom of expression. If we want fatwas to be banned, such statements also need to be strictly dealt with. I cannot support the ban as ban itself is a contradiction to freedom of expression. Another reaction from Subramaniam Swamy that 'Deepika is not Indian citizen and funding for the movie coming from Dubai' shows the same attitude in a sophisticated way to curtail freedom of expression. As an admirer of Swamy does not make me blind about his irrational statements for a political cause.

The second thing which constantly disturbs me is apologist argument after every bad incident. Deepika reacted to the controversy by saying it is appalling and we are regressed. Surely, such generalized statement was uncalled for by her, as the film is receiving wide support from the majority of people and people like me are eagerly waiting for 1st December. But defensive reactions and open letters to her statement saying- 'She should not paint all with the same color', is I feel worrisome. Same arguments have been used by communities to even distance themselves from terrorist actions and not openly condemning it. I feel this is a selfish argument to save our own skin (Oh! We aren't part of that) but not out-rightly rejecting the evil. The argument that 'small fraction do not represent the whole' is blatant hypocrisy as the even significant number of people in India will always remain a minute fraction in percentage terms because of our burgeoning population.

So the elephant in the room is - what are the reasons for such virulent reactions?
First, the real reason is not the story of the movie (as hardly anyone knows what is actually in the movie and Bhansali also cleared the air by saying that there is no 'dream sequel' in the movie between Rani Padmini and Khilji) but the problem with characters played by the actors. It’s a failure to differentiate between real and reel characters of actors. Deepika and Ranveer are in a romantic relationship in real life which is making it difficult to digest their role as Rani Padmini and Allauddin Khilji. After their sizzling chemistry in Ramleela and Bajiraon Mastani, it is getting difficult to differentiate for some their real and reel roles, that seems to me the real reason for controversy. Had Shahid played the role of Khilji, would we still have gotten the same reaction?

Second, anything can be sold in our country in the name of pride and preserving dignity. Societies which are doubtful of their own heritage act in such a defensive way and masquerade it as a matter of pride to evoke passions. It is not just about Rajputs, but India in general. We constantly need verification of our Greatness from foreigners to feel superior and we act violently even with a tint of criticism. We can see that in 'India's daughter' documentary or in movies like 'PK' and 'OMG'.

The third reason is politics. Any violent action is beneficial for political parties as it consolidates their vote bank. Cultural nationalism gives votes to BJP, minority appeasement to Congress.

The problem I feel, is not the government, as both the national parties share wide consensus of 'regressive' attitude towards movies. Problem is our attitude of distancing ourselves from confronting problems. Today it is about the so-called Rajput pride and dignity, imagine a movie made on the symbol of your community where you feel 'historical facts' are altered, and still you show the liberal attitude towards the movie and protest (if need be) with legal and legitimate means, that time will come when Voltaire's soul will rest in peace.

Peace.

#DeepikaPadukone #Padmavati #HouseofCards #FrankUnderwood #KevinSpacey #RanveerSingh #ShahidKapoor #India


--Digvijay Sanjay Patil

Read More

Challenge the authority !

Read More

My Dear, Get a Companion not a competition...

Read More

To Jump or Not to Jump, That Is The Question !

This blog is specially for those who feel dilemma and lack courage to start afresh.  I will tell you my own story to begin with.

It was the time of summer holidays of my 6th grade school. 2 months vacation. My father had a wonderful policy - he would never let me and my sister to just watch television or go to relatives' homes to waste our time in holidays. He would always tell me, "There is very less time in our life. So learn as much as you can. I would never ask you about money you'd spend in learning new art, always focus on your self-development, whether it is singing, playing instruments, computer classes, or any sport. But just don’t sit idle." So I thought of learning something new.

Swimming. What could have been the better choice? A refreshing blue pool with all happy faces splashing water on each other. (or so did I assume watching movies)

I joined the swimming pool the very next day where our coach was a tall cocky Punjabi man. It was my first day to the swimming pool. He taught us to breath underwater for 15 minutes and when we were comfortable in doing that, he asked us to come out and directed us to go to the other side of the pool. This swimming pool was sloppy from 4 feet depth for new learners and small children to gradually increasing to 18 feet depth (surely where you cannot touch your feet on the ground) (see figure)

So when he asked us to go to other side, we were wondering what he is going to teach there. To our surprise, he asked us to climb the ladder for jumping platform (which was nearly 15 feet high). Wind was blowing that day more that natural or so we did feel. We were there in our swimming costume shivering on that jumping platform wondering whether he is going to ask us to jump. We already heard many stories about him, about his strictness and discipline. 

No wonder he arranged us in a line and asked us to jump on his whistle blow. He only told us one sentence, "Keep your body streamlined while touching the water otherwise you will get hurt by impulse of water", while imitating his body in that manner to make us understand. 

Everybody was looking at each other and nobody was moving forward. It was a situation of dilemma- Jump or not to jump. He asked us twice and when nobody moved, he climbed that platform and asked us again. He got infuriated when nobody moved and said if you will jump on my direction or I will throw you in the water. And to set a precedent, he actually pushed the first guy from platform holding his shoulder. He fell flat on his chest. Red blue patch on his chest is the only thing we saw while hearing him cry. Everybody had now body full of goose bumps plus these bloody wind adding unnecessary drama to already over-dramatic situation. At this moment we actually understood that he is a no-nonsense person.

Now situation reduced to only two choices. Jump or get pushed by a very strong hand. I was the second one. I looked at the water from the platform, it seemed too deep. (see image) As he approached me sensing I wouldn't jump, I told him in rebellious voice not to touch me, I will jump on my own. As soon as he blew whistle, I jumped trying to keep my body streamlined. I drank some water while breathing and some entered in my nose giving nasty disoriented pain in head. Down below in water his son (who was happened to be a national level swimming champion)  pulled me to the corner of the pool. (Obliviously nobody knew how to swim) I realized it wasn't that bad which I assumed it is going to be.

This thing became routine. He will teach us for half an hour in shallow side and then it was time for jump from platform in deep side. Few people including myself lost our fear of height and water in 3-4 days, but some left his coaching never to learn again.

From this incidence I learned few things.

1. Problem is not as grave as your perception makes it. Change perception, and you will gather courage at least to tackle it.
2. Create a do or die situation. If there is plan-B, you will not give your 100% to plan-A. It's okay to have another plan, but use it only after every possible existing resources starves.
3. Everybody needs a stimulus. Have a mentor, who may at time look harsh, will guide you in your path. Or even better -instead of looking at outer motivation, make your own mind as your mentor that it will act as a catalyst.
4. Not everybody who looks like a villain is actually a villain.
5. Only courageous survives. Even god does not help those who cannot help themselves. (Read my earlier post -Being weak is not an option)

These are only few things I mentioned. You can take number of inferences as you understand the text.

Hope you enjoyed the story and thought behind it.

Peace. 

Read More

Beware! You Will Fall in Love...With Me (Poem)

Read More

Quora Answer: How do I convert to Hinduism?

How do I convert to Hinduism? Is marrying a Hindu guy the best way to convert to Hinduism?

I am a Catholic Christian girl and i am strongly attracted towards Hinduism. I find immense peace whenever I visit the Hindu temples. I love all Hindu festivals, they are filled with joy and happiness. Now I want to convert completely into Hinduism. I want to marry a Hindu person, for converting into Hinduism. Am i doing right?

My answer to this question on Quora:
There are 2 assumptions in your questions and both are very natural for a Catholic Christian girl.

1. You think there are some specific rituals to convert to Hinduism.
2. Marrying a Hindu guy would require you to be a Hindu.

Both assumptions are wrong. There are not set rules or rituals to convert to Hinduism. Hinduism does not aim at outer conversion but at inner spiritual practices. If you like something about Hinduism whether philosophy or spiritual practices like yoga, mantra or meditation, just inculcate that thing in your way of living without converting to Hinduism. Hinduism preaches the very principle that there is no need for conversion; the wisdom of the universe is available to all, if only they're willing to seek it.

For me, a true conversion to Hinduism is a change in faith purely for spiritual reasons that follow from an individual seeking higher truths. And for that, one does not need to formally convert to any religion. Genuine conversion of an individual happens over a period of time by evolvement of his thought.

Still you want to convert to Hinduism,what you need to do is to just declare yourself to be a Hindu. There is no central authority in Hinduism to banish you or dictate proper code of conduct. Many people find strong urge to get associated with an identity and there is no wrong in that. But in question you are asking, you want to marry a guy to convert to Hinduism. You should marry him if you like him and sure about spending rest of your life with him but surely not for converting to Hinduism.

Peace.

Read More

Epiphany in Cacophony

I was alone in my room thinking about the uncertain future and suddenly I came across this thought experiment.

When you are completely alone and feeling sad or bogged down then you are surely not living in a good company. And in solitude, your mind is the only companion you've got. A good parent will always advice his kid not to mingle with the bad company. And as a parental figure of my entire self, I will have to change my mind which is spreading negativity in every particle of my body.

Then I realized, "How could I feel negative when every part of my body is feed by B+ve."

I remembered the transcendental words of Vikram Sarabhai, “He who can listen to music in the midst of noise can achieve great things.”
.

.

.
I've got lot of works to do folks! Chao!!

Read More