Wish I Could Swim -- My Successful Attempt to Learn Swimming in 15 Days

Health is wealth, this saying dates back to centuries and so does the skill of swimming. There are written references from history to the era of 2000 B.C. which suggest that swimming was known to mankind in that era. It is however our sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy food habits and stressful jobs that have made swimming all the very more relevant today. It is a very well known fact that swimming is one of the best wholesome exercise and a key to fit and fabulous body. My idea of swimming has always been a distressing and relaxing activity (Oh! not to forget the perfect “V shaped” body). It was with this idea that I enrolled for a 15 day learn to swim course. THE FIRST FEW DAYS I was excited to the core with the idea to be able to swim over water and that gave me a sleepless night before my first day of the training. Yes, I did turn to our great friend “Internet” for learn to swim tips a previous evening. There I came across this beautiful quote by Aleksandr Popov which goes by saying “The water is your friend. You don't have to fight with water, just share the same spirit as the water, and it will help you move”. I must say that I was blessed to have great coach whose first lines to us were “90% of the swimming accidents happen with professional swimmers. In water, being complacent is the worst thing which you could do to yourself”. For the first four days, we had to practice for legs movement and breathing. A round float was tied on our backs and with our hands holding the edge of the pool, we had to keep the body floating by moving our legs. In between, there were instructions to stop the legs movement and breathe in the air and breathe out in the water. We were told to keep our head inside water for as much time as we could. WHEN WE WERE SET FREE On the fifth day, with the round float still on our backs, we were told to leave the edge of the pool and let our body float on water. Yes it was indeed difficult but we had a round float to support us and all we had to do was set our body free (easier said than done). The same was closely monitored as there were chances of some of us panicking. THE REAL SWIMMING From the sixth day, we were given float pads, which we had to hold with our hands and float on water. We were told to move forward by moving our legs. It was now, when I started to get the “real feel” of swimming. THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED In the following days, we were taught about the hand movement and were told to swim in the water, the round pads still on our backs. After couple of days, the minimal support we had in form of the round float was also removed and all we had to do was to just swim. The coaches gave us feedback and suggestions to improve our head and shoulders positioning and hands and legs movement. THE TEST The last day of the course was a test wherein we had to swim two rounds of our 25 meter pool. I did have my share of “pre exam nervousness” but managed to pass the test comfortably. The takeaway was a certificate, eligibility for pool membership and last but not the least a skill for lifetime as they say “swimming and cycling, once learned are learned for life” Viney Rao http://voices.yahoo.com/wish-could-swim-successful-attempt-learn-swimming-12545743.html?cat=7

Bike expedition to Kargil: On top of the world

Life was going at its usual pace, when on a lazy Thursday afternoon I happened to check my Facebook account with an invite to a bike expedition. But not just any road-trip. An expedition with a purpose, the idea was to pay homage to the martyrs of Kargil War on the 14th anniversary of Vijay Diwas (Kargil Victory). En route we had to pass through 10 of the world’s highest, most scenic and difficult mountain passes. The very idea excited me. What followed was a series of disapprovals from my professional and personal fronts but the decision to join this expedition was made that very afternoon. The start I reached Delhi on a humid morning, which marked Day 1 of the trip. I had the task cut out for me. What followed was completing the formalities for renting the bike and reporting to the base at Gurgaon by 1:00 pm. A silver coloured 350 cc Royal Enfield Machismo was going to be my companion for the next 12 days. We left from India Gate and headed to Kurushektra from where a flag off from Gurukulwas was scheduled. It was inspiring, heartening and overwhelming, to say the least. When horror struck What followed was an endless journey in heavy rains passing through the scenic valleys of Himachal Pradesh alongside Beas River and its treacherous flow. On the Day 3 of the trip, we had to cross Rohtang Pass, which, as one of my friends beautifully described, is, “The place that distinguishes tourists from adventurers,” because of the dangerous trenches of non-existent roads and unavailability of any mode of communication. Our luggage was carried in a utility van and we were carrying small bags containing essential items with us on the bikes. It had been raining heavily for the last two days and I had decided to keep my mobile, wallet and sunglasses apart from the regular essentials in my bag tied to the makeshift luggage carrier of my bike. Around 35 kms from Rohtang Top, my nightmare began when I discovered that the bag was missing. The thought of going back was cast aside as there was limited fuel and the next fuel station was another 90 kms ahead. With no mobile connectivity, literally stranded in the middle of nowhere, I waited with a pumping heart enquiring about the bag’s whereabouts from every passing vehicle. A 20 minute wait later (which felt like eternity), a co biker angelically appeared with it. He had found it lying in the middle of the road. What an adventure! Manic goose bumps unlimited! Ride to follow In the days that followed, we passed through Keylong, did camping in Sarchu and finally reached Leh. We maintained Leh as our base camp for two days that had to be extended for three days as we got stuck because of a landslide. We visited Pangong Lake, Khardungla Pass and Leh Palace. Oh boy! Kargil Rafting in the second most dangerous river in India, Zanskar didn’t freeze our enthusiasm. The water was so cold that a 20 minute dip in it could lead to death by Hypothermia. I managed five. It was the Day 9 of the expedition when we rode to our final destination... Kargil War Memorial at Drass (it's the second coldest inhabited place in the world). That feeling at the memorial of martyrs, their stories, the view of peaks that were recaptured from Pakistan and the never ending enthusiasm and hospitality of the army unit with which we interacted and stayed for a night–you need to live it and learn from it. Big salute! Return journey It was now just a matter of time as we had to get back to Delhi passing through Kashmir valley, Jawahar Tunnel (it's the tunnel that connects Kashmir to rest of India) and Zojila Pass (connecting Ladakh and Kashmir). The return journey didn’t let us down with its fair share adventure as we rode through complete darkness via a 75 kms dangerous valley. A major landslide at Udhampur forced us to cover more than 500 kms from Pathankot to Delhi on the last day–even the last leg challenged us and we triumphed. The takeaway of this trip apart from an entirely exhausted body were friends, memories and experiences of a lifetime. Can’t wait for more! Publish Link: http://clubm.in/lifestyle/top-world

My first spa experience - Rollersage: Rolling my blues away

“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”. Roger that! A hectic schedule over the past few months had sapped me of my energy and enthusiasm. As I started bordering on irritability and snappiness, a boost came from an unexpected source–a friend going gaga over Rollerssage (roller plus massage). Eager to spill the beans, he told me that rollerssage is a signature therapy of Heavenly Spa at Westin Hotels and can be experienced at any of their hotels at Pune, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. Here heated pure crystalline semi-precious stones, selected for their energy enhancing qualities, are rolled over the body, melting away tension and relaxing tight muscles, while restoring balance to one’s energy source. I confess that the very idea of semi precious stones being rolled over my body seemed appealing, luxurious and appeased my vanity. Cut to the next weekend, with a spring in my step and high on expectations, I found myself seated at the reception of the spa. Welcomed by my therapist, Mary, as I sipped herbal tea, she explained how my mind, body and soul were going to be pampered for the next hour. After the customary burden basket (where the therapist and I dumped our burdens outside), a chime and a 3 stone ritual where I could choose from love, gratitude and hope, I was all set for the 'spalicious' experience. The massage starts, as it did with me, with a face down prone position and ends face up in a supine position where the strokes are done anticlockwise. What’s the fuss about Rollerssage combines the deep relaxing feeling of Swedish massage with radiating heat to relieve tight muscles. The smoothness and heat from the beautiful semi-precious stones, which are taken from all around mother earth (we even get her blessings included!) give a euphoric sensation unique only to rollerssage. This therapy was ideated by Matthew Murdock, a professional therapist from Arizona’s top spas. My wellness abode had minimal interiors, ambient lighting and a completely relaxing off-white stone theme, I guess so as not to get me distracted. A guest can choose two of the four stones from Hematite for grounding and circulation. Tiger Eye, earthy and helpful for optimism and insight, Rose Quartz, the love stone that resolves hurt and anger and Sodalite for truthfulness and its benefits to the digestive system. I opted for Tiger Eye and Sodalite. After changing into a disposable undergarment, my body was massaged in a sequence of various strokes including small circular, short and long, side and gliding. As the tool holding the stones bond with the web of the therapists thumb, finger tips and palm of hand, I am in nirvana. No jokes, I actually dozed off for a few minutes. Stress, monotony, mental drain and anxiety seemed to have vanished into thin air. Oh! I also think that rollerssage is pretty interesting for the therapist too as stances, varying from horse, archer, grapevine, pivot and two step, which resembled a sashay, are incorporated in it. As I am gently brought back to reality, it is time for a steam bath followed by a shower. Dark chocolate, which is an excellent antioxidant, is a good way to end the therapy or so I thought. Mary brings me a souvenir in the form of the two stones that I had chosen during my therapy. I guess whenever I feel bogged down and the urge to rejuvenate takes over, those two stones will work their magic. Publish Link: http://clubm.in/?q=travel-lifestyle-spas/rollerssage-rolling-my-blues-away

The falling rupee story

$un raha hai na tu ₹o raha hu main. The lines of a song from the recent movie release Aashiqui 2 quite sums up the story for the recent sudden fall of the Indian rupee against the US dollar. As a layman, one might wonder how a currency (or for that matter its value) can fall and what could be the implications of the same. To understand it from a historical point of view, let’s travel back to the mid twentieth century. It was the month of July in the year 1944, when the Bretton Woods conference took place. This was on the heels of The Second World War and memories of the great Depression were still afresh. This conference marks a significant moment in the history of international trade as before this, there existed a gold standard era which had collapsed during the First World War. As per the gold standard, all currencies were pegged to (convertible) to gold. It was in this conference that all member nations decided to benchmark their respective currencies to US dollars at a fixed rate of exchange. US politicians in turn agreed to link the US dollar to gold. If you might wonder what prompted the representatives of the member countries to agree to such a vague provision. The United States, at that time owned half of the worlds gold reserve and the global economy was quite dependant on American goods like cars, steel and other industrial machinery. This agreement went on till 1971 when US owing to the pressure of their decreasing share in global production and depleting gold reserves delinked (the convertibility) of US Dollar to gold which brought in a regime of floating currencies based on their market demand and supply. The rest as they is history. Coming back to our quest to figure out the reason of fall in rupee, there are a number of reasons for it. Following are some of the relevant ones. Demand & Supply We live in an era of globalization and this means that there is a free flow (at least theoretically) of goods, services and people. There is a demand for a currency of a specific country based on the demand of goods and services from that country. Like any other freely traded commodity, the demand and supply of a currency determines its price, or to be precise its exchange rate against other currency. India has a huge and continuously increasing requirement of import of petroleum products, gold and edible oil whereas the exports have stagnated. Recently, the international demand and prices of some of the imported commodities have increased sharply which has raised the demand of foreign currencies, leading to appreciation in their exchange rates resulting in relative depreciation in the value of our currency, the rupee. In order to protect themselves against the risks of losing money due to unfavorable exchange rates in future, many exporters or importers get into forward contracts also called currency futures of purchase or sale of a foreign currency at pre determined rates. These forward contracts can also be traded and their price, again is determined by demand and supply. Though, the basic purpose of these contracts is to act as insurance (hedging) against unfavorable currency rates, they are used for making profit by speculators as well. Therefore, at times the exchange rates are not entirely based on the actual present demand and supply but also on the prevailing speculated rates of forward contracts. It is very important here to state the fact though as it might seem that the rupee is a freely traded currency at market determined price, it is not the case. In 1992, owing to the pressure of market fluctuations, partial convertibility of the rupee was introduced. As per which 40 percent of the foreign exchange has to be surrendered to RBI at a fixed rate and the rest 60% of the same has to be exchanged at market rate. Currency as an investment We all wish to multiply our wealth and are looking for investments which might give us better returns. The assets in which we invest vary from fixed deposits, bonds, securities, real estate, commodities and even currencies. Since there is a high fluctuation in their currencies exchange rate, there are possibilities of making fortunes if one is able to predict a right move (there are chances of losing fortunes as well even in a single wrong move). So, the level of confidence of investors in a currency also act as a determinant for its exchange rate Foreign investment In this age of globalization, the searches for better investment opportunities are not limited to one’s own country. People do look for investments in foreign enterprises, securities, government bonds and projects. During the last decade there was a large flow of foreign investment in India because of its excellent GDP growth rate and high expectations owing to a demographic dividend. But during the last few years, the coalition government on account of various political compulsions has failed to take important economic decisions to boost the growth of the economy; this is commonly referred to as policy paralysis. In order to control ever growing inflation, RBI, the central bank of India launched a series of money tightening measures and has made it difficult for the enterprises to raise money for their investments. Thus this has led to hampering production and growth. A slowing growth, increasing inflation, and series of revelations about corruption and scams have dented the investors’ sentiments and confidence resulting in poor performance of securities (shares) markets. To add to it, the government with an eye on the General Elections going to be held next year has launched a set of populist schemes. The stagnating growth in production resulting in lower than expected revenues of the government in the form of taxes and the increasing expenses on account of populist schemes have led to a fiscal deficit. The growing fiscal deficit and inflation, poor performance of economy and enterprises and the increasing political instability in the Asia Pacific region especially Syria and Middle East is leading to decrease in the amount being invested in India. This is resulting in lower demands and depreciation in exchange value of the rupee. Tapering of quantitative easing by US Federal Reserve After the economic crisis of 2008, the Federal Reserve which is the central bank of the US has adopted a series of measures to ease the money supply in their economy. This includes keeping the interest rates to near zero levels by buying government bonds. Recently, the Federal Reserve has expressed its intention to taper the quantitative easing. This means that the interest rates in US which were very low are bound to increase and therefore the money which was pushed into foreign economies (emerging markets like India) for higher returns would find a safe haven in the US only. This again had lead to drying up of foreign investment in India and depreciation of the rupee. If you are an NRI and remitting money to India, the news of the falling rupee should bring cheer to you as the same amount of foreign currency which you earn is going to yield higher amount of Indian rupees. If you are a resident Indian and involved in imports of foreign goods, this won’t be the best of news as you will have to pay more rupees for the same goods even though there is no change in their foreign currency prices. Well, this reminds me of a recent quote which became quite popular on social media and very beautifully explains the state of mind of different stakeholders in foreign trade. It goes like this- ‘Exporters meet at Taj Hotel, importers meet at Apollo Heart Institute’ For the young generation of resident Indians, the falling rupee also represents signs of gloom as they would have to incur higher costs of any foreign education or foreign tours. Also, the aspirational products like fancy cars, bikes, smart phones and tablets are also going to make a big hole in your pocket as most of these products are imported. So does the falling rupee, by any chance have any positive affect whatsoever on the residents and the economy? Yes. The falling rupee is going to make our exports competitive against other countries and this might promote setting up of new export oriented organizations in India. Higher exports would mean high demand of rupee in the foreign exchange market and would again take the value of the rupee to an equilibrium which is stable in the longer term. So is it time to just sit back and relax rather than worrying about the falling rupee? I would leave that question unanswered as no one can predict accurately.

Proud moment: Made an impact in others' lives

During my stint as a Deputy Manager with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), I was responsible for managing a New Generation Cooperative (NGC) project in rural districts of Maharashtra. Following are some of the caselets which I had prepared based on my interactions with the local folk to understand the impact our project had made in their lives DAIRYING BROUGHT DIGNITY AND HAPPINESS IN ASHABAI’S LIFE Ashabai Vitthal Gaikwad is resident of Shirad Shahpur village located in Aundha Taluka of Hingoli District in Maharashtra. She is 30 years old and hails from a family belonging to a schedule caste. She has 5 daughters and a son. Her family does not own any kind of land and hence the only source of their living used to be labor. She used to work as a sweeper with her husband in village Panchayat. The income from their labor was not enough to fulfill even the basic needs of their family of eight persons. She thought of doing many things but as her family was very poor, the unavailability of capital was the hindrance in her every idea of business. She finally thought of dairying and approached the female operator of Shirad Shahpur BMC center of NGC Nanded initiative. The operator gave her basic knowledge about the dairy business and the way it should be initiated and managed. She saved money and bought one crossbred cattle. She started pouring milk at Shirad Shapur BMC center of NGC Nanded initiative. Since the price of milk was very remunerative, her family started looking dairying as a business prospect. She bought one more buffalo from the income generated through the milk sold. She herself milks the cow and brings the milk to BMC which is quite unusual as this is considered as men’s job in this region. She is involved in dairying for the last one year. She everyday pours around 6-7 liters of milk at BMC center. Her monthly revenues from the milk sold are around Rs.3000. Since she does not own any land, she also sells cow dung to other farmers of the village. Initially, after completing her job at Gram Panchayat she used to take the cattle for grazing but now she has also purchased dry fodder for the animals. She wants to buy more animals and increase her business. In her own words “Whatever I am, I am of my own. I did not seek any kind of support or help from anyone. Dairying has not just improved our economic status but it has also brought happiness and dignity for me and my family’s’ life.” ASSURED MARKET IS A MUST FOR DAIRYING" – UDDHAV RAMRAO RAKHONDE Uddhav Ramrao Rakhonde is a resident of Ajarsondha village in Aundha Taluka of Hingoli district in Maharashtra. He is 25 Years of age. He has bought five buffaloes from Gujarat. As he explains “Milk is a perishable item and it cannot be stored for long. Therefore the availability of assured market is a must for profitable dairying. Initially we had government dairies but their procurement pattern was different which made dairying economically infeasible for farmers. The byproducts of agriculture are used in dairying and the byproducts of dairying are used in agriculture. There could not be better complimentary businesses than these two. Therefore, despite having options like poultry I have chosen dairy as a complimentary business to agriculture. NGC initiative has a transparent method of milk procurement and the rates given to us are remunerative. Also, the 15 days payment cycle ensures that we do have enough cash at our disposal.” BAPUJI FEELS EMPOWERED THROUGH DAIRY Bapuji Yashwant piddiwar is a resident of waranga village in Kalamnuri Taluka of Hingoli district in Maharashtra. He did not own any kind of land, so he and his wife used to work at others’ farms for earning their livelihood. After opening of Waranga BMC center of NGC Nanded initiative, he was assured of the market for milk so he bought two buffaloes from his life time savings. He bought two more buffaloes from the income generated through sale of milk. At present he has three Murrah breed buffaloes and one buffalo of local breed. Bapuji has three daughters and a son. He has married one of his daughters with income generated from dairying. He has now bought 3 acres of land. According to Bapuji “Due to this 15 days payment of dairy I am never in need of cash which initially was the case and I do not need to look forward to other sources for loan. Also I feel more empowered as now I work on my own fields with self respect” TERRITORY REGAINED Karanjala (Barashiv) village is in Basmat Taluka of Hingoli district in Maharashtra having large number of buffalo population. The only market for milk used to be local restaurants and sweet shops located at Aundha-Nagnath or Jawala Bazaar which were not very remunerative. So, the milk producers of this area were facing problems in adopting dairying as a business proposition. A group of milk producers led by Shri Munjajirao Deshmukh and Shri Sundarrao Deshmukh approached the NGC team to open a BMC center for this area. After initial surveys and feasibility study, on 13th January 2008 a BMC center was opened at Karanjala village by NGC Nanded. Shri Sundarrao Deshmukh agreed to give his shop on rent as a BMC location. He was also instrumental in organizing milk producers together and convinced them about the benefits offered by the NGC initiative. Milk producers from 10 nearby villages located in a radius of around 10 Kms started pouring their milk at BMC center. Milk procurement at Karanjala (Barashiv) BMC center remained almost stagnant for 18 months. In April 2009 average milk procurement was around 550 liters per day with around 100 milk producers pouring everyday their milk at BMC center, even in October 2009 average daily procurement was around 660 liters still with an average of around 100 pourers. In November 2009, NGC team intensified extension activities in the area and adjacent villages. As a part of extension activities meetings were organized by NDDB officers and local supervisors. In these meetings benefits offered by NGC were discussed and grievances of milk producers, if any were resolved. As a result of extension programme daily procurement increased even up to 1800 liters per day and in the month of January 2010 average daily procurement was around 1620 liters with an average of around 210 producers pouring their milk at BMC center. The successful operations of Karanjala (Barashiv) BMC center made the private dairy enterprises realize the milk potential of this area. Some of the private dairies started their operations in this area by offering lucrative commission and schemes to agents and milk producers. Milk producers got attracted towards the lucrative schemes offered by private dairy and the average daily milk procurement in March 2010 decreased to around 1040 liters of milk per day with only 145 producers pouring their milk at BMC center. Private dairies were not able to sustain operations through this inefficient system and have to withdraw back all the exceptional benefits. Again, milk producers who have left the system regained their faith in NGC initiative and have started pouring milk at Karanjala (Barashiv) BMC center. Milk procurement at the center has started increasing again.