where there is a will, there is a way...

Hi Guys,

This story is very inspiring and I liked it, that's why posting it in my blog. This is also special because this story is someone connected to me indirectly. This story about a man whom I know from last 8 years but never gets the chance to meet. He is my friend's grandfather, and this story is all about how to achieve your dreams, and if you have strong volition then no one in this world can stop you to achieve it. You can find the same story in today's Mumbai Mirror(21 Sep 09 Page5)

Gritty 80-yr-old is probably city’s oldest law student

Uddhav Alkari had to overcome several hurdles before he could secure admission to a law college; rules state 30-year age limit for admission

NILESH NIKADE

Men like Uddhav Alkari would scoff at the idea of introducing an age barrier in law classrooms, or any classroom for that matter. The 80-year-old had to work harder at meeting the admission criteria than cracking the entrance test to get admission for a Bachelor of Law degree course. He had settled in Thane after retiring as assistant secretary in the Madhya Pradesh State Secondary Education Board. The arts post-graduate had always been keen on learning the legal process and, hence, wanted to study law. He waited till his children were well-settled before beginning his quest. But, he faced hurdles from the start. He did not have his graduation mark sheets. “I had graduated from the University of Ujjain in 1967, but had no record of my marks. I asked the university to help me by tracing the records. It was difficult for them, but after a few days they were able to. However, the records revealed that I had only 43 per cent, which is two per cent short of eligibility for the law course.” But, where there is a will, there is a way. Alkari learnt that Mumbai University offers five per cent bonus marks to candidates who score well in the entrance exams. That was enough for Alkari who worked hard and scored 40 out of 60 marks in the exam. That got him admission at the Sushila Devi High School and Law College at Airoli. But, his story does not end here. On week days, he takes a bus to Thane Railway Station to catch the 6 am local to Airoli. He wakes up at 4 am so that he reaches at least 10 minutes before the first lecture. His classmates are in awe of his determination and respect his sincerity. Hemant Kamat, his 30-yearold classmate, said, “I am bowled over by Alkari’s fitness. He always comes on time, which ensures a seat on the front bench. He does not get involved in personal talk, but speaks a lot when it comes to the course.” Alkari seems to be making up for a lot of lost time. He wanted to study law immediately after retirement, but could not due to the delay in his pension. He says, “In the course of my work, I had fought for starting pension for employees. We had offered to start pension without any financial support from the State government. Then finance minister P Chidambaram’s office had applauded our efforts. However, the State government took six years to implement the proposal. I received pension three years after I retired in 1988.” Then, his family responsibilities barred him from going ahead. Once his two sons and a daughter were well-settled, he decided to fulfil his long-standing desire. THE AGE FACTOR The Bar Council of India (BCI) recently introduced a new set of rules that includes age limit for admission to a law course. Open category students seeking admission for BA (law) course should not be below 20 while the age limit for reserved category would be 22. For those going in for post-graduation course (LLB), it stipulated that students in the open category should not be over 30 while for the reserved category the age limit is 35. A citizen has filed a petition against this rule in the Bombay HC.
Uddhav Alkari scored 40 out of 60 to clear the entrance exam; finally got admission to Sushila Devi High
School and Law College, Airoli

I salute you to SIR; you really set an example for us. Hope we all can get something from this inspiring story

Yellow - King of Colors

In computer world there are three basic colors for all colors i.e. Red, Green, And Blue. Red signifies love and war, Green is for growth, and blue is calm and cool. But recently I saw that these three colors lose their superiority. RGB are in tension, their existence is in danger. But why? What’s happening in world web? Why they are in so worry? They found one intruder, that’s playing with them and making fun of them. If you are fond of Bolger and regularly reading blog especially of Amitabh Bachchan then you guys easily portend that color. Yes it is Yellow, famous color in Extended Family. Each member of this family is fighting to get Yellow color on their bag. Waiting eagerly for blog to publish so they can put their comment ASAP and get attention of Big B. and if you got Big B attention then you will be the winner and having a Yellow trophy. In blog world web there is one family that is Extended family of Amitabh Bachchan. We all are member of that family. Here Yellow color signifies, love, attention, your status in family, power, care and make you the king for the day. So here we have only one color and that is YELLOW, no other color exists here, because they can’t survive in the refulgent of YELLOW color. You can feel the power and importance of yellow here.

Trying to explain same in the verse

"

Peele(yellow line) si hai rahe, or peela(yellow line) sa hai safar,

Kabhi hua karta tha neela ambar, Ab ush par bhi peele(yellow line) ka asar

Mere sapne bhi peele(yellow line) se or apne bhi peele(yellow line) se

Num hoti hai aankhe(eyes) us peele(yellow line) ko pane mai

Or phir se ho jaati hai wo num us peele(yellow line) ke mil jaane pe

Har roj hume ye unka, ahesaas(feel) karati hai

wo door rahe jitna bhi, ye paas uske laati hai

unse apnepan ka ahesasa(feel) hume dilati hai

Or har din hume naya ye kuch baat bata jaati hai

Laati hai un apno ko, jo door bahut hai humse

Or bana jaati hai wo rishta jo majboot kai rasmo se

Hum dard yaha wo sahete (bear), jo door kisi ko hota hai

Or dua(pray) mai apni to ab har shakhs juda(attach) hota hai

Hum bhi khush hoo jaate hai, jab door kahi koi hastha(smile) hai

Har dharma(religion) yaha peela(yellow line) hai, har jaat(cast) yahi peele(yellow line) hai

Ab rang nahi kuch or yaha , har rang yaha peela(yellow line) hai

Naa kale hai naa gore hai, har shaksh yaha par Peela(yellow line) hai…

"akela”

Ganesh Visarjan 3 Sep 09 - Powai

Ganpati Bappa Moriya, Aagle baras tu jaldi aaa.....

Here are some picture from Powai Lake, where public come for the Ganpati visarjan.

Happy Independance Day - Power of Pen

“ Kar di prano ki kurbani aur dila di aazadi
Wo ek nahi wo do nahi wo the saare Hindustani
Jo waar kiya, prahar kiya, wo aag kaha se aai thi
Wo dhaar jise talwar me daala, wo dhaar kaha se aai thi
Wo lahu jinhe sringar banaya , wo josh jise har aur bahaya
Wo bhawnao ka deep jalakar, saare jag ko ek raha dikahay
Kya tum bologe ki wo deepak ki aag kaha se aai thi
Ek kalam thi jisne wo kaam kiya, aur phir sabne anjam diya…”
“akela”
VANDE MATARAM

This is what i got from AB (http://bigb.bigadda.com/?p=3474)

ab says:

August 20, 2009 at 6:03 pm

lovely verse and meaningful .. thank you

Flexi or Fixi...

Luminary guys says Flexi working = productive working!.

Is it really working? Or just on the paper. As per my thinking it should work as what I learned in my very small tenure of IT field. But still there are a lot of organizations which just follow the other side of coin rule and can’t understand that what ethics drive them. Interestingly they made it mandatory to follow the Fixi hours rather than Flexi hours. Let’s try to implement or just imagine if you follow the fixi hours rule in your daily life.

Wakeup 7am,

Breakfast 7.45,

Bus 8.00,

Office 8.30,

Canteen 9.00,

Lunch 12.30 to 13.00,

Tea 15.00 to 15.30,

Back to Home 19.00.

Dinner 20.00

Sleep 22.30.

Followed by the day,week,month,year and so on...

I can’t cope up with that kind of daily life. I just imagine a scene from DCH movie, you guys might have remembered that.

" Scene where Pooja (Sonali kulkarni) introduce her BF to Sameer(saif ali khan) and that guy tell him his routine as I just explained, kind of. You can imagine same kind of reaction on my face as was on Sameer."

DCH depict him as a outré character or better to say stolid character.

Let Him/Her decide that at what time he wants to do what and in that way they can finish the task in efficient manner. And I think that’s why flexi work hour comes in picture and following by large number of organization. Recently I read a good article in Times Ascent (12 Aug 09) regarding the same and thinking why not all comp follow the same rule. There are lots of guy who may think it work well but my personal opinion is pretty different for fixi. If you think fixi is good then I would really appreciate your thoughts on the same.

Talking to Amitabh Bachchan -- Dream come true.

Wow...I can’t believe this. I am on Cloud 9… BIG-B yes its superstar of the century, most admirable person in the India, he read my comment and replied. Can’t believe. But yes it happened, BIG-B replied to my comment and this is a memorable moment of my life. I was always thinking that some time in my life I will meet to BIG B, I will talk to him. And yes my dream comes true. Although it is not a direct communication but yes I talked with Big B and I think I am talking to him on daily basis. Here you can see the golden words for me from BIGB.

First one is my comment to BIG-B blog (http://bigb.bigadda.com/?p=3325) then his reply :)

"

Mahendra Athneria (Monu) says:

August 5, 2009 at 10:57 pm

jo dil ko mila de, jo duri mita de,
kya raaja hai yaha pe, kya rank naa jaane,
har baat yaha pe ,dil se hai nikalti,
jo dil ko mila de , jo duri mita de
aawaz wo tumhari, jo sab ko rula de,
aur agle hi pal wo,gam saare mita de
jo socha nahi tha maine, wo aake yaha paaya
ab lagta hai wo apna, jo kal tak tha paraya….
“akela”
Keep Smiling, Love u sir ji
Mahendra Athneria

1. ab says:

August 6, 2009 at 10:30 pm

Mahendra .. lovely and thank you

"

Yes I know it’s a single line from him, but it means a lot for me...

Keep Smiling J

Akela is back...

My this poem is dedicated to Big B, for you guys it may be out of context.

you guys make youself synchronize by "http://bigb.bigadda.com/?p=3325"

" jo dil ko mila de, jo duri mita de,

kya raaja hai yaha pe, kya rank naa jaane,

har baat yaha pe ,dil se hai nikalti,

jo dil ko mila de , jo duri mita de

aawaz wo tumhari, jo sab ko rula de,

aur agle hi pal wo,gam saare mita de

jo socha nahi tha maine, wo aake yaha paaya

ab lagta hai wo apna, jo kal tak tha paraya...."

"akela

Keep SmilingJ

Honeymoon Period - timepass in office

Dirty mind... don’t think like that. I am talking about my new workplace and new culture that you can compare with Honeymoon period because of happy early days (of marriage) and after that life is going to be messy.

Have a look on the below routine/method that I call on daily basis.

Little bit technical, sorry for that L

Public class NewWorkPlace {

Public static void main() {

Employee emp = new Employee() ; // its me J

for (int loginTime; loginTime<=logOutTime; loginTime++)
{
emp.canteen();
emp.reading();
emp.roaming();
emp.playing();
}

}
private void Canteen()
{
breakfast();
tea();
lunch();
snacks();
}
private void reading()
{
readingNewsPaper();
readingBooks();
}
private void roaming(){

netBrowsing();
groundFloor();
smokingZone();
restRoom();
}
private void playing(){
playingTT(); // if vacant only L and chances are very low
}

}

Sound good naa. But other side of coin , very soon this period is going to be over and then…L can’t imagine…

Victim of USA date format

It’s all about "garibi mai geela aata" and just because of USA. Yes USA again hit me and this time it is in pretty different manner. It’s all about silly different date format of India and USA. Story began from the month of Nov 08 when I bought a SCJP voucher (Sun Certified Java Programmer) in 4500 bugs. All sun vouchers have a validity date and till date you have to be give the exam else voucher will expire. We all are engineer and our habit is that we can’t prepare for the exam till the date of paper. 07/08/09 written as an expiry date on my voucher. So all set for the exam and I called up to Promatric center to book my slot for the exam. They told me that they don’t have vacant slot for the week and asked me that do I have the voucher. I said yes, then he asked for the validity, I said it is valid till 7th Aug 09. He asked that 07/08/09 is written over there, I said yes. And there it is... :(( it is US date format and according that my voucher has been expiry. Wo kahete hai naa "khaya piya to kuch bhi nahi or glass thoda barra aana". So guys from the next time please beware from the USA date format. L

Welcome to the Hills - Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabaleshwar
Day 1- Actually its Night 1 – 29^th May 09

What a hotly days in Mumbai, you can not stay in room without AC and if your bad luck is on the top and load shading start then you are able to fill a bucket with sweat in fillip. So we guys decided to get out from Mumbai at least in weekends and go somewhere where we can enjoy the Kashmir kold and beat the burning Mumbai. Every thing was planned, we booked the hotel and ordered a cab for the trip. On final day when we had to leave for the trip we got a bad news in the morning and that was, Cab is cancelled!!!. What? No cab, everything is on the place, we all are ready to go, our bag is packed, and hotel is booked but no cab :(. But finally we managed to get a cab in the evening 9 just 1 hour before to our scheduled timing, what a great start.

We started our journey from 11pm and reached to Mahabaleshwar 4.30Am. " Mahabaleshwar is 290 km from Mumbai via Pune, and 266 km via Mahad. It is 120 km from Pune, the nearest airport and most convenient railhead. The best way to get here is by road - bus, taxi and car - on a good, motorable road ". When we were about to reach Mahabaleshwar we all felt sudden change in the climate, wow its fog outside. I can’t believe fog in the month of June. Yes it was there and cool air touching our body and it give us immense pleasure and we feel like we are in heaven.
Day 1 - 30 May 09

Early in the morning we reached at our hotel and got only 1 room of the two booked for the 8 people. Second room is going to be vacant in the 8am. So till that time we have to manage in single room. It was not a big task for 8 bachelors to adjust in one room. I slept at 5 am and woke up 7am. When I went out and open my eyes wow…what a beauty out there, it’s really beautiful. We took some pics in the hotel room as well as outside.
By 9 am we had our breakfast and we were ready to explore the Mahabaleshwar.We all were very much new to the place and didn’t aware the hot spots of Mahabaleshwar. Before coming to this place we took a print out of the spots of Mahabaleshwar. In Mahabaleshwar you will get Guide in every 100 meter but we have decided that we are not going to spent extra bucks on these local guide as we had a list of spot to visit. We only need a map of Mahabaleshwar, and we got it very easily by giving 25 bucks. So now we have map, list of spot and here 8 new guides are ready to explore the Mahabaleshwar.

Old Mahabaleshwar Temple

Our first point was old Mahabaleshwar temple which is 4km from city. We reached there by 10am. " The Shiva Temple in old Mahabaleshwar is the source of 5 rivers, and the water keeps flowing throughout the year. Mahabaleshwar derives its name from Lord Mahabali (Lord Shiva), who is enshrined in the form of a naturally occurring (swayamboo) lingam in the shape of a Rudraksha seed. This lingam is considered more sacred than the 12 jyothirlingams. It is also called Trigunatmaka as it is believed to represent Brahma, Vishnu as well as Shiva.
The Panchganga temple is believed to be the site of origin of five rivers. There is a legend connected to this origin. On this site long ago Lord Brahma along with the Vishnu and Shiva performed a Yagna (religious ritual). Brahma’s consort, Savitri was not present. Brahma forgot to wait for Savitri. Since the presence of his wife was essential for performing the rites, Lord Brahma hastily married a local maiden Gayatri. When Savitri arrived she got enraged and in her fury transformed Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Gayatri into rivers. They also retaliated, turning Savitri into a watercourse as well. Thus, Brahma became the Venna river, Gayatri and Savitri became the rivers of their own name, Lord Vishnu became the river Krishna and Lord Shiva got transformed into river Koyna. " We spent near about 1 hour there and max of them was for clicking the camera.

Arthur Point

Towards the north-west of Mahabaleshwar is Arthur's Seat. Named after Mr. Arthur Mallet, who first built a house here, the view of the valley, Savitri River and the valley of Jor is truly exhilarating. In the summer season, the haze usually obstructs the view but in the months from October to November, these hills are seen to a fine advantage. At a height of around 1470 metres high, the stratification of rocks on southern side of Arthur's Seat is compared to the world famous stratification of rocks of the Grand Canyon in Colorado.
A fun feature of this destination is that any item, like a straw hat or a handkerchief, when tossed down from this spot, never falls directly but floats in the air like a spread out parachute.The main tourist destinations around Mahabaleshwar, Elphinstone Point and Arthur's Seat are not destinations you want to miss out on. Go here for a truly elating and invigorating experience, especially if you’re looking to get away from the maddening crowd in the cities

Back to the Lunch

After having light lunch we planned to move towards some historical place. And what would be better than the Fort of "Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj" if you are in Maharashtra. So next is...

Pratapgad - The Great Shivaji Fort

"Pratapgad Fort is a mountain fort built by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The fort is at a distance of 24 km ghat road from the hill station of Mahabaleshwar. The fort holds a sturdy view of coastal Konkan. The Bhavani Temple and Afzal Khan's tomb are other places of interest. Pratapgad consists of two forts - an upper fort built on the top of the hill and a lower fort immediately below on the south and the east. Surrounding areas can be easily taken guard from the fort on almost all the sides. The southern side is rocky while the eastern side has a strong outwork ending in the Afzal Buruj. The famous minister More Tirmal Pingale on the command of Shivaji Maharaj to control the rebellious satraps of the surrounding Javali Basin built Pratapgad Fort in 1656. It is believed that Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaja was blessed with a shining sword at the temple of Goddess Bhavani here. The historic battle between Chatrapati Shivaji and Afzal Khan, the commander of the Bijapur Sultanate fought here. Bhavani Temple and Afzal Khan's Tomb are major attractions where are situated near the fort."

Day 2 - 31 May 09

Wilson Point

Wilson point where you can see the sunrise and sunset. But this point is more famous for sunrise rather than sunset. I have seen a lots of point for sunset but this is first time I am going to get a view of sunrise point. As it is sunrise means we have to wake up early in the morning to make the eye contact with SUN. frankly this is very tedious job for us guys to wake up early in the morning as we had a hectic first day but we managed to do it :).

Wilson Point, located at the highest point in the city of Mahabaleshwar, is a vast plateau, which also goes by the name Sunrise Point. Essentially a vast bare rock with three observation towers erected at different spots, Wilson Point offers the most spectacular view of the sunrise. One can view the sunrise from any of the three masonry round platforms. The second platform, which is about 1 km away from the market area of Mahabaleshwar, is the ideal place to view the sun rise. This particular platform is perfectly located at 4,735 feet above sea level and is the highest point in Mahabaleshwar. Like several other sunrise or sunset points across the country, Wilson Point is also tremendously popular with tourists and even the locals from nearby. Known for its splendid view of the sunrise, it’s not until a visit to this place that one realizes the sheer magnificence of the sigh. It’s not uncommon to find crowds of tourists huddled together in the wee hours of the morning to spot the first ray of sunshine, as the sun makes its way up to the very top of the sky. An utterly breathtaking view, this place is ideal for a quiet moment with your special someone. Do visit!

Veena Lake

Venna Lake grasps the attention of people with its picturesque locale, encircled by trees on all sides. A boat ride in the late evenings of winters makes one just awestruck by nature's splendor. You can also go for horse riding on the path along the lake as we did and its really joyful and thrilled to ride on a horse. And traverse the most-beautiful milieu that you have ever imagined through the roads, apt for nice walks and treks.

Kate's Point - No Cat's here :)

Kate’s Point is a favorite tourist spot about 5 km from Venna Lake towards Panchgani. It is known for the huge and remarkable shape rock which stands majestically on the hills which is 50 m high. Kate’s Point offers commanding view of the Krishna Valley. The place is named after Kate, daughter of Sir John Malcom - the founder of Mahabaleshwar. Situated near the Kate’s Point is the Echo Point, which, true to its name, echoes the words of the speaker.

Water fall

The Lingamala Waterfall is a fantastic sight to watch. It presents an enrapturing view of cascading water. It disperses from the top of a steep cliff. The water falling down looks like thin silver streaks. It encircles with rainbow colors. The tourists and the visitors admire the Lingamala waterfall’s beauty. The Lingamala Waterfall is a glittering waterfall. The water drops into the Venna valley of Mahabaleshwar. The best season for visiting the falls is the rainy season. The water level during the monsoon rises and cascades down. The water which launches from a height of 600 feet from the drop-off extends the most effervescent visions.
How its look like in rainy season

Head to Panchgani –http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchgani

Panchgani is situated 20 kms East of Mahabaleshwar and spreads out over five hills. The name actually means 'five lands' and in this very popular hill station, that bears the Raj stamp all over it, you can have some excellent views of the flat surroundings. It is also famous for its boarding schools, its Parsee Bungalows, the fresh air, tasty strawberries and the rich Indians who like to spend some time here. Picturesque Panchgani has served as the background for several films. From Mahabaleshwar, it takes only twenty to twenty-five minutes to reach Panchgani. It can also be easily visited from Poona or Bombay.

Table Land

"Situated around 60 mts high ,this flat large expanse of laterite rock is the second longest mountain plateau in asia. There are some spacious caves that can be seen from here and one of them is Devil's Kitchen"

So that was the our last point. After that we move towards Mumbai and through out the way i was thinking... wapis se mumbai ki humidity and garmi, oh my god :( . But yes i have the 2 memorable days that i spent with nature.

I suggest to visit at least once MAHABALESHWAR!!!