TRAFFI(C)EASE

We have spent enough time and energy reading articles on how Bangalore traffic is going bad to worse, blaming several departments, cursing other commuters & sometimes our own destiny for having to deal with this tyranny every day…
…and we have noticed that none of the above has yielded any measurable results. So is it not time to set our think tanks on fire and take the horse by the reins rather than sit back & wait for others to clear up the mess for which even we are party?
Everyone can play the blame game. For once can we zip our mouth & try belling the cat? To begin with, we can take up the action path instead of being lame spectators while traversing through the city. We can start collecting details at traffic congestion areas to arrive at the root cause of it – photographs, a write-up on the reason, what can be changed for the better etc... can be documented & shared with Bangalore traffic police, so that they take necessary action which may lead to easing of the congestion, at least to some extent. Please note Bangalore Traffic police are easily reachable & are net savvy – search for Bangalore Traffic Police on Facebook. You can share views, post complaints etc.. And there will be response. But permanent implementation of solution requires some on the road action too..
Following are some of the common practices which we can plainly & regularly see as causes for traffic congestion, without having to peep through a microscope:
- Busses are by far the most detrimental. Although public transport is good, & commuters per road space occupied is highest with a bus, there are many loose areas to be worked upon. There are bus-stops at traffic signals & just before or after flyovers. These are sure to create bottlenecks, more so when two or more buses pile up at the stop & instead of queuing behind one another, they tend to stop beside each other with an aim to overtake & thus gather more passengers. This is a perfect recipe for a jam, as two busses side by side are enough to block the entire road. Also we notice most of the passengers at the bus-stop are waiting on the road rather than on the foot-path or the bus-shelter. Accordingly the bus stops in the middle of the road rather than the side, which again blocks most part of the road. Mind it, it hardly takes seconds for traffic to pile up on such a blockage.
o Shifting the bus-stops from potential congestion areas mentioned above by 50-100m can go a long way in controlling traffic pile up. Some examples of such areas are Hebbal flyover, HAL signal, Mekhri circle.. The only inconvenience to passengers would be walking an extra 50 m, which is not a great deal when compared to the benefits
o The bud-drivers can help by stopping as close to the pedestrian walkway as possible thus giving enough rooms for other vehicles to pass by. Constructing bus-bays would be a great idea, but not practical where there is no room for expansion of the road.
- Auto rickshaws can be a big nuisance. Although the space occupied is less, their actions are highly unpredictable – they can slow down, turn or stop at the drop of a hat on spotting a potential client. When this is inadvertently practiced on congested roads, the consequences can be disastrous. Autos parked at bus-stops & traffic signals where the probability of getting a passenger is high is common sight. This makes things worse for the traffic.
- All other private vehicles can contribute to easing the traffic by resorting to car-pooling, following lane discipline and by not blocking free-left turns. All that is required is a good traffic sense.
- Of course there are other parameters which are under the control of the authorities and not the commuters
o Synchronizing the traffic signals so that there can be free flow
o Maintaining pot-hole free roads; The amount of congestion that a small pot-hole or a hump can cause is difficult to fathom.
o The drainage, OFC laying or the recently in news footpath widening activities are good as long as it is completed on war-footing basis. More the delay in completion of such projects, more the torture. The current state of St.Marks road, Cunningham road & Commissariat road are glaring examples.
o India (and Bangalore) benefited by following the PPP way for road construction. But the failure was in the method of toll collection. What is the point of cruising at 80 kmph to reach the toll plaza a few minutes early, only to spend double or triple the time saved, waiting in a queue?
There is nothing radical in any of the points stated above. It is all common-sense. Also some of these are suggested by traffic cops themselves on their Facebook page. But what can make a difference is we taking a stand to do what it takes to ease the traffic & living by it. It can begin as a pilot project by a bunch of motivated people. But taking the benefit to the masses requires the involvement of passionate volunteers, traffic cops, minor changes to rules of the roads, lots of signboards and most of all a drive to inculcate the awareness among the commuters.
Aristotle said “Given sufficient leverage, I can move the earth.” Although the task sounds Herculean, when the whole city is enrolled towards the common cause, nothing is impossible. Everyone sticks to their comfort zone and gives advice. It’s the easiest and the most obvious thing to do.
For the rest whose blood boils at the sight of an avoidable congestion, let’s cease waiting for a revolution to brew up – Let us be that revolution.

My vision of Modern India

India.

For ignorant scrabble masters it is just a word. For superpowers it is just another country. For Pakistan it is a nightmare. For NRIs it’s a horrible past, hard to forget. For former freedom fighters it is one word provocation. It is a politician’s paradise. An archeologist’s heaven. Battlefield of different religions, homeland of natives. For me it is like a one stop shopping center.

Ask for rich- you get it. Poor- the majority. Culture- there’s a treasure. Communalism- there are places of religious seismicity. Family- the best in the world. War- in every house, everyday. Terror – top to bottom. Underworld- Mumbai special. Humanity- sure. Secularism- scarce, but still there.

One complicated structure our country is. Simple-minded people, yet hard to define. Understanding what is modern in modernized India becomes easier when a comparative study with the past is accomplished.

The Rule: Yesterday, today, forever

Shining armors clashed in those days when a war was declared. The outcome was the armors stained red and a transfer of property between rival kingdoms. Now the fight is for constituencies. In place of armors the traditional white khadi is stained beyond recognition. So is the character. While the kings kept their coins in hidden dungeons, the new the trend is Swiss banks.

Not much reforms regarding the administration. The solution- dissolving the whole political system- is highly impracticable. Its better to seek the grandeur days of Asokas and Akbars.

The diversity

Colours looking neat on a freshly painted canvas fail to sooth the eyes once they get too friendly and interact.

Different religions, customs, traditions and languages all look good on the live telecast of the Republic Day celebrations. But facing the reality is a totally different game. There is always the struggle for supremacy- of one God over the other. There are many more on the likes of Ayodhyas and Godhras to bloom over the scarred body of Mother India.

There is only one God sounds good. There is no God sounds better and might possibly be more effective. Science categorizes Homo sapiens only into two: Man and Woman. But in India Homo-sapiens are categorized beyond just physical features.

Economics

India is a rich country with poor people… and a poor government. Obviously. What with so large a population to control? So many disputes to deal with. Culprits? Public sector is one for instance. Large investments imply large risks. Once risk factor is announced big companies back out of the bid. That leaves the government to take up the task. Be it sheer madness or suicide. After all, the mother can’t desert her own children.

Take for example the mining sector. When the industry needs minerals you just can’t stretch your hand before sister countries. Prospecting, exploration, feasibility study are capital intensive and consume hell a lot of money. And when the result is not affirmative then the government is in for doom. Of course a diversion here and there along the inflow of revenue to fill appropriate pockets is a different topic and is too unholy to be dealt with.

And when a full-fledged integrated firm like Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited, easily the best mechanized opencast mine in India and the largest investors on reclamation and environment protection, is plagued by environmentalists, it’s simply the worst of destiny’s wicked games.

Another place where revenue drains is for military causes. When your home is being targeted from all directions you just can’t sit with your legs crossed. As for the never-ending Kashmir issue its better to keep a missile aimed at Islamabad or Karachi and declare “One false move and we show it the way.” After all war is the only means of bringing peace and blood is the only means of quenching thirst. The aftermath- uninterrupted flow of bitter tears from the kins of the holy spirits is heart breaking. But it has been tears all the way for Indians; through four centuries of slavery and four decades of confusion as the country tried to recover against neighbors’ resent.

Might is right

May 13^th 1998 is probably a rebirth of India on the world map when India turned nuclear. It stood sixth behind USA, UK, China, Russia and France. Now that India boasts of Prithvi, Trishul, Akash, Agni series of ballistic missiles as messengers of death, even super powers have to think twice before execution of casual statement.

The reach

IRS and INSAT range of satellites have literally proved that space is the limit for the reach of success. With ISRO masterminding Indian Space Programme, there are more milestones to adorn the technological development of India.

The show world

India is known for entertaining others- be it curious foreigners or the rival prime minister. Indian movies and movie stars are liked by the masses that include even the Taliban rebels. Several Indian names in Oscar nomination list have promised a better quality of pass time.

Such being the prosperity of the vast Democracy what is keeping the country on the back foot? The way of life. There is nothing-called free living or liberalization in India. Everything and every task have to have several prejudices. Beginning a task asks for an auspicious time, a muhurtam, and there are several taboos to be kept at a distance. This and many other parameters have influenced our citizens so much that top IT professionals wish to migrate to the States seeking better status of living. Now that the gates are closing even for them is a different matter.

Thirty years from now I can see a self-sufficient India. The neighbours have grown extremely friendly. We’re exchanging Ayurveda and acupuncture with China. Pakistan has repented for its mistake. There is virtually no border between the sisters and the Kashmiri folk don’t know their nationality. And they don’t care for there is continuous transport, communication and interaction either way. 

India has oil wells along the west coast. Following the tenth five-year plan, thermal power plants have sprung up like mushrooms. Indian satellites are helping communications throughout Asia. A new religion-Indianism-has been adopted and accepted.

Aerial photography of India shows lush green patches covering a majority of area. Everyone is busy working for himself, for his country. There is a transition from the third world to a superpower…

…and then I open my eyes.

Black, White & Grey

Ever heard the cliché “Nothing in this world is black or white. It’s all shades of grey…”?

White is supposed to mean good. Black is associated with bad. And grey is for those who vacillate between good & bad depending on the circumstances.

Good & bad are relative terms. All of those whom we can categorize under “bad” will have a perfect explanation for being so. Even a heinous crime as a murder might have a very genuine justification in the motive of the murderer. The act is fair in the animal world, where the question is of survival. Unfortunately mankind is bound by a rule book that bifurcates good from bad.

A good deed done with a just motive may prove to be a disaster for others. Exposing a scandal will be viewed as a bad act by the guilty, so much that they are willing to impart a punishment as severe as death.

The above examples might sound crazy, more like extreme. But if you remove the element of morality it perfectly fits the logic of relativity. Morality is not a ubiquitous phenomenon. As mentioned earlier, apart from the law book, there is no other entity judging action based on morality. (We will avoid wandering into the world of Heaven & Judgement day as nobody has been there & returned to narrate a first-hand account of what exactly happens) And as we know some laws can be bent & others broken. Anyways the so called long-hands-of-the-law have limitations in reach.

Of course, there is one more obscure body which has a say in a person performing “black” or “white” deeds – the conscience. But then the conscience is something which is contextual – that inner voice is so volatile that it keeps shifting stands depending on the external stimulus. One’s conscience may not be sharp enough to be capable of making a person uphold his principles…

Now then, who falls in the category of grey?

The people who do not have a stand. Those who wear masks. The ones who commit a crime & then try to hide the deed. Or the ones who do good in order to earn brownie points in the eyes of people, but when given an opportunity don’t fail to capitalize on their shortcomings.

Thus when conscience is unreliable & morality is not universally accepted, the real distinction of black, white & grey can be made only on the basis of Integrity. This simply means taking full responsibility of your deed or action. If you have done something, be it good or bad, & you are not comfortable with people pointing fingers at you, it is a clear indication that you lacked integrity in whatever you did. When the Taliban takes ownership of bomb blast, it simply speaks of their integrity – they stand by what they believe. Please note that we are not diluting the concept here by bringing in morality; which may take the discussion into a totally different avenue of good & bad.

When you start inculcating integrity in your life, you automatically refrain from doing things which may put you in an awkward situation sometime in the distant future. In short, it will empower you to deal with the things in a much better way than just going with the herd mentality or giving in to the trick of the mind or hormones - some of the poor victims we tend to put the blame on for our misdeeds.

Bliss

Yes, we live in a world which offers a variety of things – happiness in packets of various sizes, people with varied behaviors, incidents which lead to joyful repercussions... It’s amazing to associate with all of these & conclude that life is beautiful.

Everything seems picture perfect… until something unpleasant happens.

It’s not a world which runs on our fantasies. Not everything we imagine or want to occur in our life will execute the way we want it. Too many variables are involved in the process and we cannot influence each & every one of them. And when so many events have a probability of occurrence, it is but statistically inevitable that few of the outcomes are not favorable. More often you feel that the world is filled with nasty people wanting to take advantage of you & you are constantly swimming against the current.

What is the best way to deal with it?

Indifference, is definitely an option. Come what may, I’m the same person can take you a long way. You can just ignore the bad things coming your way or the bad people trying to rub you on the wrong side and get away with it. You just have to be careful not to ignore the people who genuinely want to be there for you. Lest they feel offended & cease their love & affection towards you in which case you’d be limiting your life to a mundane grind of everyday - lifeless. It’s a balancing act you need to play well.

One idea which appealed to me during my early stints towards spiritualism was the mind & body concept. Imagine yourself as a body experiencing life. Your mind - the real you - is just hovering around your body & keeping watch from a distance. Whatever bad things has to happen, will happen to your body. You, the mind, have to only sit back & say “Poor body, has to go through all this...” & may be laugh over it & with “Ok fine body, you’ve gone through enough. Now buck up & get over it”. This concept gives us a buffer – that it is not you who’s been cheated, or taken for a ride, or taken advantage of… it’s just your body. Ultimately what you feel is what you live. It offers a convenience to deal over things. As for experiencing happiness, it doesn’t matter how you deal with it – either ways it is giving you joy.

Most of us associate ourselves with our surroundings. We depend on our friends, spouse & colleagues to find peace and joy. We are very much influenced by their acts.

Perfectly alright. They are all meant to give you that relaxation. To open up that path to well-being.

Problem occurs because we are expecting only good from them & something unpleasant comes instead. This may not be intentional. We are completely different human beings & we think differently. It is not unusual that your thoughts do not match. All differences arise when you expect something & you get something else on the platter. And then you go into the whirlwind of emotions. “How could he do this to me?”, “Oh, I loved her so much. She cheated on me!”, “I worked day & night. But the management did not opt me for a promotion...”

Once your mind is hijacked by emotions, you are entering a black hole. You fail to think straight. Advises from your dear ones seem senseless. You feel that no one understands you. You tend to conjure wild thoughts in your mind & continue to nurture it until it is concreted there & becomes a reality for you. Depression, hallucination, bad health conditions are among the common aftermath…

It is extremely difficult to get you out of there unless you genuinely realize that you have been thinking wrong. Once this first step is taken towards restoration, you may either take the whip in your hands or just give in completely to someone you trust – spouse or your best friend – to guide you out of it.

Which brings us to the big questions: Do we have to be so vulnerable? Can we not depend on anybody? Are we not social beings?

If you need a foolproof way to bliss, the only place to look for is inwards. That is the only place which is hundred percent under your control. You can decide what it has to do & what it should not. You know for sure that if something goes wrong it is only you who needs to be blamed.

And what does “looking inward” mean? Does it mean we need to totally cut off from the external world?

Looking inward means to have a constant check on your thoughts. The most important attribute essential here is patience. Patience takes you a long way in analyzing things properly and deducing on a solution. Patience keeps you away from emotional upheavals. Patience teaches you to be at peace with others. You also need to develop the trait of acceptance. Which means you should be at peace with whatever is happening in your life. You should learn to respect other’s thoughts even if they are not in line with yours. Basically, expectations should take a back seat & acceptance will hold the steering wheel. So the flow of thoughts will be on these lines: “Oh, he’s not liking it. I think I should not be expecting this from him...”, “She likes to spend more time with her friends than me. Let her enjoy her life. I’ll wait for her”, “The top management is fond of that guy and may elevate him sooner. It’s okay, he’s lucky. As long as I like my work, I’ll do it. Else there are other people who like my work than my current bosses”

This does not mean you are complacent & devoid of desires. It is more convenient to be flexible about. You should understand that you cannot decide an outcome of a desire, beyond a certain point until where you can influence it. So better be ready to be contended with the result and take it in good sense. Again this is for convenience – for if you want to associate sadness with the failure, you have to live with that feeling for quite some time until some other event takes you mind off to another feeling. Please note that all our actions are in one way or the other connected to convenience. The way we think, what we believe, how we act… most of our actions are generally the most convenient act to do at that instant. How we react in that situation and how strong are your principals in influencing your reaction decides your character.

Coming back, the aim should be to take this inner pleasantness so such a high that you fly from bliss to ecstasy. You should be living in ecstasy hundred percent of your time & without the need of stimulants. Not like getting high over a drink & experiencing ecstasy until you are in a hangover. How sickening is the thought that you have too lose your sense to get into ecstasy? How pathetic does it make you when you know you can’t get ecstatic while you are sober?

And no, it does not mean you should be cut-off from the world. Yes, it helps to hold yourself responsible for everything happening in your life. You have to take charge of yourself in order to get you out of any mess you may wander into. Until you are fully equipped & self-sustaining to handle yourself, it is best to share your feelings with people who really count. You must have heard the cliché Don’t share your problems with others. Few of them don’t care & the others are glad.

Invest in a person who is neither of the above. You may feel the species is extinct. You only need to look hard & work on the relationship you have zeroed in on. Sharing your emotions has plenty of benefits – for one it gives a third person’s version of a problem. We (more often people in love) fail to see the most obvious, when we are hurt or carried away by emotions. Apart from them sharing gives a feeling that everything is not bottled up inside you & ready to explode. You know that someone will understand what you are going through and do the needful when the time comes. The highlight here should be in finding the right person. This person need not be the one who validates all your thoughts. (This is one of the most common reason for a rift between couples) You don’t need validation when you know, with conviction, that you are right. People seek validation only when they are unsure or not confident of their deeds.

It is a great boost when you know you can count on your best friend or your spouse to stand by you, when you go weak. Just make sure that the person you are relying on is in an unconditional relationship with you – in unconditional love or an unconditional friendship. It’s bliss just to be in such a relationship. So it doesn't matter taking a risk and expecting them to stand by you. The pain which comes by them not heeding to you (a distant possibility) is worth enjoying. But the pleasure when they are with you in everything is just ecstatic – there will be no room for sadness, fear, guilt, depression or any kind of negatives…

Let's talk rape

Rape.

So much is being written about it these days that the crime seems to have joined the league of the daily weather reports in the media.

Let’s try and analyse this act:

No, we will not dwell on the Indian Penal Code’s section 375, 376 & its subsequent amendments, what is considered as rape, what is the punishment, exceptions on marital rape, what percentage of accused finally get what they deserve etc.. Let’s focus more on the mechanics or kinetics of rape.

It is a natural phenomenon that a man gets attracted to a woman. The intensity of attraction may range from just giving a second glance to staring, stalking, stripping with the eyes to the worst possible reaction, rape.

A lot depends on the behaviour on background of the man in question. If he has had a good upbringing he may just stop at the “second glance”. People with troubled past or with criminal intensions while go on till the last step.

What exactly is happening here? It is the simple response to stimuli: Man sees a woman; the testosterone & androstenediaone harmones get secreted. More importantly the LH (luteinising harmone is secreted by pituitary gland. This harmone is strongly linked to desire. So it boils down to how successful you are in handling your harmones. It becomes all the more difficult when the “stimuli” is  more attractive – say more beautiful, or scantily clad – in which case the woman gets her mission of attracting attention accomplished, but also invites trouble as complimentary. The tussle between the harmones & the mind continues for some time – the mind trying to subdue the desire ready to be unleashed. It is only those few moments that determine whether the desire concludes in a rape or otherwise.

The environment also plays a major role here. Say, the place is deserted. The desire takes the upper hand considering the possibility of “doing it & getting away with it”. Say you are in a gang outnumbering the woman & her accomplices. Again you see a possibility of a clear “win”.

The above holds true for the weak minded, or chronically ill in the brain or for someone who has a certified criminal record. But rape is not limited to this. How come celebrities, politicians, “happily married” people end up in a rape accusation?

Reema Kagti, director of “Talaash” says in an interview. Men go to prostitutes to get what they don’t from their wives. So apart from the instant reaction to the hormonal surge, there is also one more factor acting on men – unfulfilled sexual desires. Say, husband wants to try out something different – that amazing posture he watched in a porn movie - & the wife is not in the mood for games… Lo! There’s something missing in his life which he tries to seek elsewhere: he may resort to more pornography; he may invest in a prostitute; he may try finding an accommodating friend of the opposite sex, all of which are harmless (atleast from the rape perspective). If all of the above options fail to materialize, he has ventured into the high risk zone of incumbent rape.

Unfulfilled desire is a dangerous thing: An infant tries to cry its way to fulfilling its desire. A juvenile can get into depression when the desirous results don’t turn up in exams. It is only natural for the others to act against the mind.

Of course, we have the third category of sick-in-the-head people who plan rapes just for the heck of it. They get their kicks in overpowering their victims. They can go after anything with a hole – this is the category where you hear news about children or elderly women getting raped or the episodes of brutal sexual violence. There are no causative effects here like the earlier two cases – it’s a plain simple insane act of showing your power over the victim; that sadistic pleasure in getting the victim to wither under your control.

We all know what runs in the mind of rape victims. But what exactly happens in the minds of rapists after they are through with their job? Well, the first category guys may develop fear about the entire incident which happened accidentally, & will try to flee from everything. The second category would have a feeling of satisfaction, but also will nurture guilt as he realizes everything was fine except for this wild fantasy remaining unfulfilled. As for the third category, well, there is nothing happening in there as there is no mind at all for the purpose of thinking.

Having understood the above, knowing very well that all kinds of people are out there & also that you cannot fully rely on the existing security system of the law, nor can you expect the potential tormentor to have undergone a “mind control session” by Deepak Chopra,  it makes sense in taking that extra precaution like learning self defence, avoiding deserted areas or nights, avoiding provocative clothes… Ultimately, it is one act where you would not like to look back into & nor look forward to seeking justice or solace.

K(NO)w ur LIMITS – Part 2

 Today’s jog had several purposes & the following were the conclusions drawn:

1. I wanted to check the authenticity of the GPS software I had installed on my phone. It worked perfect except for the max speed achieved - I’m sure it’s not humanly possible to reach 31.5 kmph on two legs unless it is a 100m sprint.
2. I wanted to check if the career best run I had claimed in my previous blog was correct. I was wrong by a whole 10%. The other day I had run only 9 km (I checked when I crossed the landmark I had touched the other day). So this time, time armed with suitable gadgets, I made sure I completed the 10 km (10.12 km to be precise as per GPS).
3. I also concluded that I can do much more on the road than on the treadmill. My best on the treadmill has been 3.5 km at in 30 min at an average speed of 6.5 kmph. Today I did 10.12 km in 66 min at an average speed of 9.1 kmph! Of course, I took a 5 min break in between to avoid being bitten by stray dogs, who suddenly found me attractive & started running behind me.
4. I deduced that GPS can drain you BlackBerry battery by 25% in one hour.
5. I realized I’ve won the battle of mind over body: throughout today’s run, none of my muscles threated to give up. Of course there was a slight chest pain which I suppressed with a 2 min rest & deep breathing. And yes, I had skipped dinner last night (I do that whenever possible, but not always successful. I’m yet to win the battle of mind over tongue – the damn thing just loses it when it comes in the vicinity of anything delicious)

No, now is not the time for rest. There is a basin full of utensils to be washed & the hose has to be mopped. All this before my kid wakes up. Cos after that I’m all hers – painting, dancing, playing, feeding… More so today as my darling wife is down with fever. I think that implies I also have to try my luck at cooking.

The engineer in you

One of the many definitions of engineer in Webster’s, & the most appropriate one according to me, is a person who is trained or skilled in technicalities of some field, not usually considered to fall within the scope of engineering and who is engaged in using such training or skill in the solution of technical problems.

Most of the world believes that an engineer is someone who has crawled four years through thick books full of numbers, symbols & equations to get that single sheet of paper with the words Bachelor of Technology printed on it. They may not be wrong altogether. What with the way we went through night-outs, memory maps, crisp notes prepared by the front bencher with the sole intention of gaining higher marks in the exams… No, we too were not totally wrong. The first criteria laid by any company visiting the campus fishing for talent, was a cut-off mark or grade.  With the whole life ahead of us waiting to be treaded upon, what else would we think about than what mode of transport we chose to ride life on. Of course, we had already learnt the hard way that the simplest way to win a girl-friend was to flaunt a bike, flashier the better. Of course times have changed, but the golden rule remains – maybe the bike has to be swapped with swanky car these days.

The point I wanted to make is how many of us, engineers or otherwise, actually develops this habit of using skill to solve a problem? Yes, these days all services are just a phone call – be it a mechanic, plumber, electrician, even a masseur. But there is a satisfaction in doing things yourself; apart from building independence & self-confidence, there are other tangible benefits of saving time & money.

For example, you don’t need mechanic to change a flat tyre. I have heard people say “I did not know where the jack was kept in the car”. Most electrical problems on a car are related to fuses. So it helps raising the hood, opening the fuse box & checking for any sign of fusing rather than waiting eternally for the mechanic to show up. After a recent incident of engine overheating, I keep a set of fuses of different amperages in my car, ready to face any eventualities.

You have now gained enough experience to conclude that a lot of problems on your computer or cell-phone can be rectified by a simple restart or removing the battery. Similarly, most of the times, the medicine for a computer or any electronic gadget acting funny can be googled. 

Most of you would have resorted to a plumber for any problems with your shower, taps etc...  Just for the heck of it, try taking a pair of pliers and screw driver to your wash-room & see how simple it is to fix a blocked shower or a choked tap. I even went to the extent of installing our gas-geyser on my own, when the technician quoted Rs.2000/- for installation & the necessary hoses. All I had to do was walk to the neighbouring hardware shop for the best quality heat resistant hose. Making connections was cake-walk once you figure out what hose goes where.

The other day the flush on our toilet cistern got jammed. I only had to remove the lid to realize that the system beneath is so very simple. Once opened, it hardly took five minutes to rectify the problem. Similarly, you can set right most of the troubles coming from your bicycle.

I never allow our security guard of our apartment to wash the car. When I get into washing of the car, I have a feel of what’s right & what’s not – thus keeping me updated on the task at hand.  Same is the case with house-keeping at home.

There are hundreds of such minor things popping up all the time. Wise is the one who searches for the solution within, gives vent for the engineer in you to pour out and then take stock of the situation. Mind it, there is an engineer in every one of us. Do we really need a formal certificate to make it active?