Loudspeaker

Instrument that express, speak, write, analyse, summarise, transmit, relay, interact, debate and explain information that are verbal, non-verbal, sugar coated, non-sugar coated, with forward introduction, words that are intended for the enlightenment, understanding, enrichment, enhancement and education of the human brain through sensory route of eyes and ears.

I will not be Chatur, but I will be Rancho for today!

As you might have already speculated, I am going to talk about my communication style. I started writing this speech 2 days back and I wasn’t really able to communicate what I wanted to speak. Then, I thought why shouldn’t I talk about my everyday life and how I communicate in those situations.

Let me start with strangers. How do I communicate?! When I started diving deep and contemplating about my style, I realized that I was extremely direct and a little blunt with them. For instance, during my college days, I hung out with this one close friend. One of her schoolmates was also studying in the same engineering college as mine. We kept seeing her in the college. One day, my friend saw her and both of them went and greeted each other very enthusiastically. They hugged it out and all. I saw that for a minute and with an extremely puzzled look on my face, I asked them, “You guys met each other just yesterday, Right?!”. That friend of hers gave me an embarrassed look and went away. Then, I realized that I was just being unnecessarily intrusive.

Talking about strangers and even friends for that matter, all the communication needs to happen beyond my personal sphere. Personal sphere refers to the imaginary circle with a diameter of 4 feet drawn with my feet as the center. This definition is key to be my “Close” friend. (Of course, not literally).

Now, I will talk about how I communicate with my friends. Around friends, I am this goofy and funny person who tries to bring in humor in most situations. For some reason, I enter something called ZOP when I’m around friends. As marketing students, we like abbreviating things. ZOP refers to Zone of PJs. It feels like I am possessed by the Ghost of PJs. Hold on! If you observe, it smells really good in here… Do you know why? It’s because I just “cook”ed up something for “Toast”masters. “Killer” joke right?? I knew I had a “shot” at this speech!!

Talking about the more serious stuff, like any other fellow Toastmaster, I took up the communication test to understand my style. Through this, I realized I possess an initiating style of communication. This style is sociable, enthusiastic, energetic, fun-loving and spontaneous. As it very rightly pointed out in the TM portal, due to my gregarious nature, I am sometimes perceived as a person who speaks more than I listen. Another downside to this is people see me as impulsive and dominant in most cases. I started wondering what could be the reason or the desire for this. Ever since I was a child, people have always told me to stand out. At first, it was about holding a position in school: a class leader, then a house leader, captain, etc. But now, as I grew up, for a 5 feet tall person, how can I stand out in a crowd!! The only weapon I had was my communication. Probably, subconsciously, I sometimes spoke loud to be heard and sometimes to be seen. In hindsight, this innate nature of mine has shaped my communication style. Today, I am most often identified my communication style and here at Toastmasters, I would want to hone those skills to be a better communicator than I ever was.

My stint with Design thinking and Innovation workshop

Here is a small video of my Design Thinking workshop. An attempt to capture different stages and emotions throughout the process.

Jack of all trades, trying to master a few

My IMT-G Toastmasters introduction speech

A King, a Goddess, Barbie. These were some of the characters I decked up as during the fancy dress competitions in nursery. I believe this is where it all began. An addiction or I would call it a yearn to go onto the stage and to stand out. All credits go to my over-enthusiastic parents who wanted to see me everywhere. They got me enrolled in all competitions and taught me that I could do anything. From then on, I became that kid in school whose hand was always raised for any opportunity presented. Tried my hand at Chess, Kuchipudi, basketball, street plays, swimming, Vedic math, yoga and what not. I was even enrolled to a Carnatic music class for more than 6 years. The one talent I think I never had. At the end my school life, only some of these interests stayed: I realized that I love to talk, I love to act and love any new experiences. However, I never really found any calling or as many people call: passion in my childhood.

By the time I wrote so much content, my Operations Management class today was over. I thought I’ll continue in the room. I came back to the room after eating lunch and took a long breath and thought “Okay. I have to do this! But, let me take a small nap first. I woke up very soon. I woke up at 5:15 PM. Gone.. I have nothing to talk about today and I should probably back out. Hmm, but, hey, the topic is pretty cool and it’s probably the easiest topic. It is about me. I thought I could definitely come up with a nice introduction by 6:30 PM. Engineering and then, MBA students I tell you, the never give up attitude and the need to be brave.. Last minutes are when we even start working”.

Back to my story again, the journey of experimentation and taking up opportunities and challenges continued to college as well. In college, it was more about doing every little thing I got with utmost dedication and I loved whatever I was doing. Somehow, I was so accustomed to trying many things that, I started enjoying it. Like most people sitting here, even I came to a crossroad where I had to chose between Higher studies (MS) and work (Deloitte). Oh! Choices.. For a person like me, this was a nightmare. For someone who really does not mind anything, this was one of the toughest tasks.

AH, somehow chose the latter: Went to Deloitte. Thoroughly enjoyed every kind of work I did there. Got to learn so much. Loved the folks who worked with me. Some of the best days I must say. Then, I applied to the great MBA and got an admission also from IMT.

Again came by long term enemy: Should I leave Deloitte and take up the admit? Or should I stay back and grow old in Deloitte?.. You all know how that ended now. All of you might be wondering, okay, now it is set, not many choices left for her now. But, nope, can you guess what is that next dilemma I faced? Marketing or Finance? Wow! After sitting in Sachin Choudhary Sir’s class, I had thought of finance.  After term II of finance, I completely shifted to marketing. One more hurdle passed.. Yeah! Here I am, waiting or probably dreading the choice I am going to get.

Sometimes, I wonder why am I like this. The only logical answer to this is that, I do not always know what I want. And why is this? Then, it struck me. I do not have that one passion where I can focus towards and make my choices according to that. Most people who have a passion or a calling would not find it this difficult to make choices. They see how each of the choices align to they end goal and make decisions. Hence, it probably is a little more easier for those few in the world who exactly know what they want.

Overall, what I’ve realised is, it is absolutely okay to not have a calling or passion. Passion is surely overrated. What today is a passion for me might just be an interest tomorrow. People grow, people change and passions also change. If someone is here sitting who does not have a passion or if all they’re getting are missed calls in life, let me tell you that, we have a lot to try. We are more open to thoughts, options and probably would do best wherever we go. Last, but not the least, let’s not strive hard, struggle and go hunt for the passion. We are all awesome. Singing off, here I am, Jack of all Trades, trying to master a few.

Char Dham Yatra

Day 1: Delhi
Conaught place
Haridwar bus

Day 2: Haridwar
Rameshwaram ashram
Daksha temple
Rudraksh tree
Geetha temple
Pawan dham: mirror work
Caves and structures
Bharat matha Mandir
Chandi devi temple in a campus car.
Then we proceeded to witness the would famous Ganga Aarthi in Har ki paudi. This was nothing like the Aarthi I saw in Varanasi. There was more devotion as well as more crowd here. Sanctity was present all over the place. This place was clean, well maintained. As usual, I tried to capture some moments in my camera. It felt so good to click again.

Day 3: After a sumptuous breakfast, we started heading towards Yamunotri. We went through the banks of the Ganges. It such an awesome feeling to listen to music and experience the beautiful Himalayas. It's the journey that is very important. Later during the day, we passed through Dehradoon and Mussoorie and then made a stop at Kempty Falls.
Then, the journey towards Yamunotri resumed and this involved passing through numerous valleys and mountains. It was such a beautiful sight to see the sun play hide and seek between the mountains and make the Yamuna River shine. Life seems so fulfilled during these times. Blessed!
We then halted in Barkot.

Day 4: It was the day when we visited the first of the Char Dhams:Yamunotri. It involved 40 km journey from Barkot through the mountains and a 6 km trek from Jankichetty. We started the day early and reached the base at around 9. Even though it was only a 40 km journey, there was a significant reduce in the temperature. It was getting cold by the hour.
We had some breakfast and some tea to gather some strength for the trek. The trek seamed very strenuous right from the beginning. (Note: I'm an extremely lazy person.  The thought of clicking pictures on the way is one thing that pushes me)
So, we ended up hiring a pony to take us one way all the way to the top. It was a 6 km trek to the temple and was a beautiful sight. The path strolled along the mountains with Yamuna flowing beneath us. The trail went in between huge gigantic Himalayan mountains with lush green conifers and pine trees on them. This entire tour was much more than a piligrimage. It truly showed the essence of Himalayan ranges. 
After the accent which took about an hour, we visited the Yamunotri temple and started our way back to the base on foot. 
We just cherished the views even more while walking down. We were not in any hurry. So, we took our breaks to capture these in the camera, to go ahead in time and look back.

Day 5: We started early in the morning from Barkot and headed towards Gangotri. We reached Utharkashi and had brunch. We then proceeded to Ganganani, a hot water spring. The next part of the journey was the most amazing one. The road passed through huge mountains and gushing Ganga in between them. I couldn't stop myself from capturing some 50 and odd pictures. It was just not enough. I tried to fill my eyes with the mountains and Ganga, but it was just not enough.
Definitely, there is some magnetic power in these mountains of Himalayas. It keeps attracting you towards itself. This was one of the best journeys of my life.
We then went pass th highest bridge of India to reach Gangotri. It was pretty cold and I enjoyed the weather with a hot cup of Chai.

Day 6: The 6th day of our tour began with a visit to the temple to see the morning Aarthi to Bhagirathi aka Ganga at 6:00 AM. It was such a breathtaking sight to stand by the river and see the mountains and the snow covered ShivLing mountain between them.
The best part was when the sun started to rise and the rays fell on the snow. It was glorious!
We spent the rest of the day visiting Suryakund, Gaurikund and Pandugupha. Pandugupha is a 2 km trek along the woods. Truly unexplored and amazing.
We ended the day by witnessing the evening Aarthi and called it off.

Day 7 and Day 8: We spent both the days mostly by traveling with the final destination as Sonprayag (Kedarnath). This entire path drifted through Mandakini and Alakananda. We also paid a visit to Utarkashi temple and Tehri Dam. This journey was between the mountains (as always), a river which looked like some fancy sea. I wished that the journey proceeded a little longer. It was that good. We halted in Sonprayag that night, which is the base for the helicopters.

Day 9: We boarded the chopper and reached Kedarnath. We took a sharp turn in the air and we could see a valley with green mountains in the sides, snow covered mountains in the front and I could spot a small little temple: The Kedarnath.
Is was indeed picturesque.
The walking path was also visible from the helicopter. It looked pretty easy this put me into thought if I should walk down while returning back. With that thought, we finished the Darshan. The temple is so beautiful and there is so much of sanctity in this place. The sad part is that, we can still see the debris of buildings which were destroyed during the major floods. It is so astonishing to know that even in that major flood, the only structure that stood was the temple. It withstood the odds of the nature and acted as a sheath to many Pilgrims. There is some energy indeed. These events sometimes restores faith.
After this, me after getting motivated by my friend to walk down to Gaurikund, started our decent. It was cold yet sunny and the sun rays was falling in the mountains

This is definitely not the end.. But, I'm too lazy to write the rest of it. Our lets just say, I don't have any more adjectives to describe Himalayas. :)

European Extravaganza Part 2

Day 5: We said goodbye to Paris and proceeded towards Brussels, which is the capital is Belgium. Our first visit for the day was to Chateau de Chantilly. An extremely beautiful castle surrounded by forest and water. It was just like the way it is described in all the fairy tales. Only thing missing was a handsome prince for me. :P The castle had a small and beautiful Chapel inside. The gardens and clouds personified this place. Then, our lunch was arranged in a place which was just behind the castle. After this, we proceeded towers Brussels. Reached and directly visited the main square where the main town hall in located and very famous pissing boy statue. It was time for some authentic Waffles with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. It was truly delicious and quite different from what I had in Bangalore. Also, Belgium is famous for chocolates, French fries and beer. Then we went on to see the Atomium when we can see the octagonal structure of the atom. This is also very huge. It houses a museum, restaurant etc. We then drive for about an hour to reach our hotel which was beautiful. If it was not for Thomas Cook, I wouldn't have got a chance to stay in such hotels. It was located in a place called Beveren in Belgium. The weather was getting colder by the day. So, in a cold weather, amidst the countryside, life was amazing.

Day 6: This was the day I fell in love. Initially, we visited Madurodam, a miniature Park of all the buildings situated in Netherlands. I must let you know that all the tourist locations are highly expensive. The cost of the tickets are all around 10 euros. Here, in Madurodam, I got to taste one of the Dutch delicacies, Boschobol. It was a cream ball with a chocolate covering placed on a biscuit. It was new, simple and yummy. Then we proceeded to the outskirts of Amsterdam. We visited a cheese and wooden shoe factory. Then, I fell in love, with Amsterdam city. The city is all about my favourite cycles, tulips, trains, canals and lots of museums. I really loved the concept of cycles. In the midst of this beautiful city, we went to an Indian restaurant and had delicious food. Then, we went on boat ride paying so many canals and museums on the way. After this, we proceeded to another highlight of the day, Volendam. It's a Dike, where there are some beautiful houses with a sea front. The word Netherlands means, a land below the sea level. So here in Volendam, the sea is stopped from entering into the city with the help of a Dike. By this time, it was already evening, so we came to the hotel in Belgium after a drive of about 3 hours. Another day spent well.

Day 7: We bid goodbye to Belgium and proceeded towards Germany. It was a 3 hour drive to a place called Koln or Cologne, Germany. There is a very old cathedral. It was a nice cathedral in the middle of the city. The Rhine river flows through the city. We spent a good 3 hours here. Met my awesome brother who is studying here in Germany. Did some petty shopping. Europe is surely not a place for shopping. Awesome stuff and high prices which doesn't go well. We finished our lunch in a place called Rangoli which is close to the cathedral. Then, we drove again for about 2.5 hours to reach an awesome place called Bopath. This is a valley. We went on a cruise ride for a stretch of 14 kms to place called St. Gaughaar. The place was very relaxing. River, mountains, some castles in between, wine yards...  Ah..  Reminded me of all the fables where the princess waits for her love in the balcony. Too dramatic huh??.. 
Anyway, the roads on either side of the river were small, housing small houses with a balcony, a small bunch of vibrant coloured flowers, a cycle to commute and some wine on the tables. A life you pray for, in your old age. Then we drove again for about 2 hours. The drives from one place to another place is mind-blowing. You will see a lot of windmills, huge farms, valleys, rivers and houses. It is a treat to the eye. Also, the coach we were traveling in, was a Mercedes Benz. The travel was hassle free and very relaxing. So, we reached Frankfort and ended the day with nice dinner.

European Extravaganza Part 1

Day 1: Our European extravaganza began on the 26th of July, Sunday. We left our house as soon as 26th started. Our flight was at 4:15 am to Doha. We reached Doha around 5:30 according to Doha timings. After a small breakfast at the enormous and beautiful Hammad International Airport, we boarded our flight to London. This was almost 7 hour flight. It was quite tiresome. But, the movies "the imitation game", "wild" and the never ending food kept me awake. 

We were welcomed to London by a cold wave and traffic. Yes, on a Sunday. What a combination. :P After reaching our hotel around 3:00 pm, we freshened ourselves and went hunting for some food. I was surprised to see many shops closed on Sundays unlike India.  But, anyway we found Papa Johns store and we filled our tummies with a nice spicy pizza. 
Then it was time for the London Eye tour. It looks so small in the pictures. The capsules are so big that it can accommodate 25 people. We got to see a 360 degree view from the top. It was wonderful to see the Thames below us and the London tower standing beside us.
After this, we were so tired that, we returned to the hotel, ate and slept happily.

Day 2: Had a continental breakfast at our hotel and proceeded to the Tower of London where we got to see the world famous Kohinoor Diamond. Frankly, it was nothing like I had imagined. It is embedded in the crown. Magnificent though.
Beside the tower, we saw the Tower Bridge popularly known as the London Bridge.  Then we made a small stop.
This was followed by witnessing the famous "Changing of Guards" ceremony at the Buckingham Palace. By this time, we were fully exhausted and needed some food. We had a delicious and sumptuous lunch at the "Masala Stop". Though a foreign country, the Indian lunch was better than what we get in India. I was so happy to get free WiFi with great speed :P
Visit to London is incomplete without the Madame Tussauds museum. So, now we ventured into the world of wax.  But to my surprise, I enjoyed the other shows offered there than the wax statues. There is a scary house, a nice taxi ride inside the museum depicting London's history. The best was the 4D experience the avengers team. 
According to our schedule, we were supposed to proceed to the Lord's stadium. But, we started to venture London on our own starting from Baker's street. Here, there is a statue of Sherlock Homes. Then, we took a very costly taxi :( from Madame Tussauds to the Oxford Circus (A junction is referred as circus). It's a very nice locale with beautiful architecture and great shopping place. Got to buy some nice tops for good rates. Yeah!! :D
Next, we wanted to explore the London metro. Not so beautiful and clean. But the fact is that it is underground and very old makes it very interesting.  In fact, the journey reminded me very much of India. So, our hotel was in Wembley. We took the train from Oxford Circus to Stonebridge Park and then to Wembley. By this time, we had totally exhausted. We just had dinner which included lasagne and chocolate cake. Hogged nicely and off to bed.  :D

Day 3: This was the day when we bid adieu to London and proceeded to Paris in the very awesome Eurostar train.  We reached Paris in the afternoon and guess what, we had our lunch in Saravana Bhavan.  It was not very great though. After this, we stayed our city tour. We saw the Concorde square, the Louvre museum and all the most expensive showrooms. The most interesting part was when I saw a queue to enter to the Louis Vuitton showroom. All these are located in the Champs-Élysées street. Then it was time for the cruise ride across Paris on river Sienne. In the chill weather, I was so excited to stand on the cruise. We passed through many bridges including the one which is full of locks. You lock your love forever. At least for then. The weather made everything more pleasant. Lucky to have had a nice chilled weather in both London and Paris.
After the boat ride, we had dinner in a Pakistani restaurant when it was still bright outside, even though it was 9:00 PM. After a long day, we then checked into the hotel and had a good night's sleep.

Day 4: We started our day by visiting the world famous museum: The Louvre. It was then we came to know that, so whole 3 months tone is required to visit each and every exhibit and we had 3 hours. The world's history is embedded in these exhibits. We saw the Mona Lisa and may be 20% of the entire museum. It is a very hire place. By then, it was time for our lunch. We drove down for quite a while and reached a Mangalorean restaurant. It was the suburb region where there were some beautiful houses. Otherwise, the main city of France is full of apartments. Then we headed to the beautiful Versailles Palace via the peripheral road. It a grand palace with a huge garden in the front. It was the home of King Louis. They have restored all the paintings and exhibits. It makes you wish you were a king or a queen.
After this, we went to witness the marvel of Paris itself: the Eiffel Tower. What a structure! We were fortunate enough because we skipped the long queue for buying tickets as our guide had already bought them. So we directly took an elevator which can fit 40-50 people to the second level of Eiffel Tower. Already the view from up there was marvellous. To top this, we went to the third level in a smaller elevator. I cannot explain how beautiful the view was. It was a windy day and had a clear sky. Got to see the whole of Paris at once. Truly, Eiffel Tower is one of the best wonders of of the world. One more destination checked off from my bucket list. Yeah!!
By this time it was time for dinner and guess what it is all bright and sunny outside. 😀 Yes, at 9:00 PM. We had our dinner in a Kashmiri Restaurant. Then, we went on to witness and breathtaking night life of Paris. Wow! This is Paris in the true sense. Exactly at 11:00pm, we were in front of the Eiffel Tower to see the lightings when a marvel took place. It started to twinkle. Imagine a huge structure, as big as the Eiffel Tower twinkling in the sky. It was wonderful. Quickly, then we went on to watch the very famous Lido show. It was indeed very good and settings were amazing. I got to taste Champagne as well. But, I was too tired to truly appreciate their performances. It was around 1:30 AM by the time we reached the hotel and dozed away. 

Rameshwaram-Dhanushkodi-Madurai-Kodaikanal

2nd July: That night we left to Rameshwaram.  The place where Rama prayed to Lord Eshwara. Hence, Rameshwaram.
After a full night journey, we reached the island after crossing the age old Pamban bridge. We freshned ourselves and proceeded to see the longest corridor in the Rameshwaram temple.  After witnessing Lord Shiva, we headed to the most important place of our tour: Dhanushkodi. One of the best places I have ever visited.  We hired an auto from Rameshwaram to Dhanushkodi. We traveled in a straight road where we saw the endless sea and a no man's land.  The Auto dropped us in the beginning of Dhanushkodi.  Further, we got a van which would take us to the tip of the land and also show us the Ghost town of Dhanushkodi.  This was completely destroyed in the cyclones that took place in 1984. This ride was so amazing that, at one point, I just admired the beauty of the sea shore. 

I remembered the Rann of Kutch because of the endless plain land.  I remembered the pangong lake situated in Ladakh because we saw a very similar Lake in the middle. We also saw the place where Rama built the Ramasethu bridge. Then we saw the ruins of a church, railway station. The ruins looked beautiful with the sea and plain white land in the background. Of course, in the entire journey, we were getting roasted in the hot sun.  But this became insignificant in front the beautiful place we were in.  We were also fortunate to see a naval ship which could move in both land and water.  So after returning from Dhanushkodi, we had a delicious lunch in one of the restaurants in Rameshwaram.  In the evening, we again went to Agnitgeertham to see the huge beautiful moon above the Bay of Bengal. 

Next day, we were so fortunate to witness a perfect sunrise from the sea.  One beautiful picturesque scene to witness. An orange ball emerging from the blue sea.

 

Then we got into the Madurai bus. Madurai was very scorching hot. Even then, we were fortunate to retain the energy to visit the very famous Meenakshi temple. A grand temple. 

Then we visited the Thirumalai Nayakkar palace. Another photogenic place with really good architecture. People were so talented and creative back then. I think we should start adopting their methods. 

So, from the very hot Madurai, we proceeded to Kodaikanal.  We took a bus from Madurai to Butlagundu.  From there, we took another bus to Kodiakanal.  The ascend to the hill was just out of the world. 

This is were I met a beautiful lady named Meena. We spoke throughout the journey and she actually invited me to her house. Yes, this happens only in India. It was dark when we reached our resort: United 21. For the first time in my experience, Google maps showed the wrong address. It was actually around 4 km from the main city. Next morning, we were so happy to wake to this breathtaking view.

For the next two days, we opted for day tours to visit the places around Kodaikanal. The weather was so pleasant that it was a pleasure to see all the places with more enthusiasm. We visited a protected forest which was the home for many view points, lakes and waterfalls. We really couldn't see all the views due to the mist. 

 

 

Next day, we visited the Guna Caves. This place is beautiful. But, due to many bad incidents, the cave is closed for visitors. But, it is a home for some extraordinary plants and trees.

 

We went through the Coaker's walk were we could see an areal view of the city. 

Kodaikanal is also a home for the Bryent's Park. This has some amazing collection of  flora. We played in the park for some time and then headed back to the bus stand. Our bus was scheduled at 6:30 PM. We hopped onto it and reached Bangalore around 5:30 AM. 

To sum up, this was a very nice exploration which was very smooth in spite of travel by local means. 

So, here I am,

Traveling, capturing and learning :)