5. 100 Km April.

Today I arrive at 3 months of the fitness regime that was initiated during the end of Jan 2018. Last 3 months have been a great mix of excitement, sluggishness, passion, competitiveness, ambition, targets, breathing, meditation, strengthening, endurance, exploration and overall, having a lot of fun with fitness goals.

Although 3 months is a short time and it will turn out to me worth only if I happen to continue the stride. However, I still want to autograph it as a landmark for self since it has given be excellent results during this period.

While I am looking forward to more, I would like to mention a few names who were a constant motivation for me during the regime, especially when I would wake up to the alarm. There were 2 options when the alarm rang – Snooze and Sleep or Think of 1,2, 3 or all of these names and take the leap.

Looking forward to more and beyond…

Ajay Chhabra

Ajay Chheda

Bhavya Haria

Chintan Shah

Dhrumil Soni

Hasti Savla

Jayesh Kothari

Khyati Haria

Monica Khodke Suvarna

Nirjara Turakhia

Pankit Fariya

Parin Shah

Rahul Vala

Ruchita Sanghavi Malaviya

Ruchita Shah

Saurabh Pawa

Shirish Dwivedi

Vikas Kapdoskar

Vishal Doshi

Apologies if I have forgotten anyone.

4. Love - Tiny Tale.

She wanted support and shelter. He was in search of a companion and food.

Both started staying together not because of their respective want and search but since they LOVED each other.

#TinyTale

3. Lazy Morning.

Today was the laziest morning in last 3 months. Last night, I had planned to run but somehow was feeling too bored to start when I woke up.

The clock was maintaining it's pace but the mind wasn't agreeing to quit the state of inertia. The negotiations started and we agreed to settle down for a 2km run and that too starting at 6.15 instead of 6. 

After a few minutes of warm up, the mind got a bit active and indicated to the legs to start.

As I stepped down, I wanted to play a trick and hence recommended my mind to strike on EEH to which the reply came - it will take 800 metres to touch EEH and 800 metres back home so what is the point? 

I smartly replied - The point is 400 metres sprint on EEH.

I was contemplating that once I kiss the EEH, mind would feel better and may be help with a couple of additional kilometers. 

I wasn't wrong and we did a km extra and then the lovely atmosphere at the EEH pepped up both of us and we could together do 8 kilometers, of which first 5 were done at a decent average of 5'15" to a kilometer.

2. Chitkaar.

Movie Review : Chitkaar (Gujarati).

Release date: 20/Apr/2018.

It is said that potentially all living beings have the same level of energy and power. Humans, being a subset of the living beings, are no different. However, what matters is the mindset. It is seen that the mental attitude that one possesses can scale heights or can get one plunged into the blackhole. 

The thinking and action as a result of it can not only impact one self but also can trigger the mindset of the person who gets influenced by it. A healthy relationship can turn hostile in matter of moments. Each and everyone of us lives with varied mindsets and attitude during the multiple phases of life and somewhere everything is driven by some sort of influence. The people with more or less generic or common thought process come on one platform and those that are less in numbers are considered as abnormal or mad by this generic lot usually coined as Society. For those less numbered, there are multiple synonyms having technical terminologies in the psychology department of medical science.

Each one of us has a story and this is a story of a woman who is considered to be a case of paranoid schizophrenia.

Based on a true story, the latest Gujarati flick Chitkaar revolves around the life of Ratna who underwent more than enough domestic torture in her life between 30 to 40.

Mark, who is a doctor in psychology, believes that all his patients are human beings and not mere cases to be handled through the medium of drugs. He takes up a challenge to revive Ratna back to normalcy and he does succeed with his theory of love and empathy.

He not only gets Ratna back to the same old happy woman but ensures that she gets an opportunity to lead a wonderful life ahead.

Chitkaar is all about the life and struggle of Ratna that she faces in her golden age, where a human being aspires to make the most of it.

On the critic front, I am aware that it is very easy to chalk down the anomalies but it is very difficult to make a movie and that too a creation that is not meant for entertainment. Such an art is made after accumulating a lot of courage.

While the movie has a good grip on the subject during the first half, the initial 30 minutes post interval could have been curtailed sizeably. Editor has to do a bit more of work in the next endeavor.

The story telling gets quite streamlined when the director and the writer is the same. Music department has done a decent job with the support of the lyrics that add meaning to the story as well as life.

For such a brave attempt that is class oriented, I believe there is a subtle gap in production quality that could have been filled.

Coming to performances, Mehta scores full marks wearing the protagonist hat. Her existence in each frame of the movie is what adds the soul to the story. Kumar is a good actor but too loud at times. It might have been to display is passion towards his profession but certainly needs a check, in my humble opinion. Gheewala's dramatic style adds some light moments to the show. Rest all are apt with their job in do as directed manner.

I have always loved stage artists as they get into the character and add soul to it. This is being mentioned as most of the artists are with stage background. However, movie requires one to be a bit subtle.

Kudos to the director for a ginger attempt to make a movie that probably even he must have thought that it would not appeal to the masses.

1. Am I A Product?

Am I a Product?

There is a quite a bit of buzz over the statement –”If I am offered a free service, I am the Product” – pointing towards social media, search engines and the web.

To throw some more light, the common interpretation is that the Social media is using all the individual data in the public domain. I do agree to this and this is what makes me, as an individual, a product. My simple question is – Who decides on the ingredients of the product? It’s me, isn’t it? If I spill out my data on the public domain on the platform of which the social media or the search engines are designed, they are bound to use the data to run the business. They, I don’t think have established a charity organization. I am the one who can control what data I input from my side.

This may lead to another piece of argument mentioning – Do I not have a freedom to search anything on web or post what I like on Social media? Well, it is at my prerogative to do that but if I am using a search engine to fetch what I need, the search engine is providing a complimentary service and hence, it can know what I like to search. Similar for social media. These services make the best use of the elements that I myself provide them.

I am not cribbing over the statement but I want to see the affirmative side of it. I have been using social media, search engines and instant chat messengers since quite some while now and I truly feel, they are a boon to the mankind in many definite ways.

In the busy life, I don’t happen to meet my folks often. However, I have instant messengers for individual and group chatting that helps me stay connected. On social media, I can see their images and videos. I am aware that rendezvous have become thin in existence of social connect but if the social connect gets extinct today, am I sure I will be connecting with them in a similar of better manner?

There is so much of information readily available for me if I want to learn, explore and establish anything and everything under the sun. Will this be a cakewalk in the web disconnect?

Besides, I see loads of motivation and it helps me do a lot of things that probably were buried in my heart since long. On fulfilling these, I do boast about it on these platforms and yes, it might look bragging but I get the satisfaction as it results in self-assessment and go the extra mile.

When I was running a venture, social connect, messengers and technology had helped me connect with a bunch of people that ended up in strong business relationships.

I always wanted to be a part of something that can be beneficial to the living beings – at a social or an individual level. In the absence of technology, it would have been very difficult for me to connect the kind with the needy. I will be honest – To an extent, it would have also been embarrassing for me to seek direct help for the person who needs help from someone whom I know. Putting it on social media and messengers has made the life of a postman like me so straight. I experience results, I get loads love, blessings and satisfaction.

Social media and Technology has varied faces but it is up to my individual choice to make the best use of it or be best used by it.

On a lighter note, it is an irony that cursing Social media is also happening on Social media to a greater extent otherwise who has time and energy to gather people in an open ground and go ga-ga over it.

Yes, I am a product but I define my ingredients. The choice of ingredients is on me.