When She made Me realize the Love for Dogs!

It started off at the workplace when my colleague noticed this weak fragile dog. She could not withstand his condition and started getting meat pieces for him every day. There were times when other dogs would surround while feeding, but she adeptly ensured that the weak dog got the much-needed food and care. In the following months the dog regained his strength. That was so compassionate of her!

During this period, she discovered this white dog whom she lovingly named as ‘Mitchelle’. Mitchelle was full of love and would keeping whining and sneezing as it went around in circles seeking attention from all. There was so much affection flowing in Mitchelle’s eyes which was equally matched by the love she would shower on Mitchelle. Mitchelle soon became the favorite among all the other dogs.

Feeding the dogs became our daily evening ritual when we made our way back home from the workplace. She assigned me the task of getting packets of biscuits for them which I really liked. She would always keep some extra packets of biscuits in her bag in case of emergency. That was so thoughtful.

One day while we were feeding the dogs, she asked me to suggest names for the other dogs. Wow! for me, it felt like a very big moment, a big responsibility. My mind started scrambling for apt names. This dog hesitates a lot, can we name it as ‘Shy’? This dog, I don’t see him often, can we name it as ‘Sometimes’? And this one barks like a thunder, let’s call him ‘Thunder’. She agreed and also named the remaining ones. So, now we had ‘Shy’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Thunder’, ‘Monsoon’, ‘Lightening’ and ‘Mitchelle’. I was really delighted that day.

And then there were other dogs outside the workplace, ‘Larsen’, ‘Raja’, and the naughty little ‘Chaaya’ that we would feed every day.

One day, as I was speeding to my workplace in an auto, I saw a brown stray dog pass by. That moment, I questioned myself, why have I been afraid of dogs all these years? If I was to love them, they would only love me back in abundance! I think she was very instrumental in making me realize this simple fact.

I was leaving my work place late evening, I saw Mitchelle in her usual playful mood. Mitchelle rushed towards me. I went down on my knees while caressing her. The more I loved, the closer she came, her eyes brimming with love. Tears rolled down my eyes as I realized the love a mute stray dog can shower on a self-centered human being. Perhaps tears also rolled because it was the last time, I was to see Mitchelle again.

Travelling back home, I alighted from the train and made my way on the busy station road. Amidst all the honking autos and hordes of strangers around, I saw a nice furry grey dog sitting right in the middle of the road. For a moment I just felt like going up to dog and patting him. But sadly, I was hesitant of the people around and walked away.

But I know for sure, had she been there at that moment she would have been least bothered, she would have simply hugged and showered all the affection on the dog. I know one day I would do the same.

I am happy that she made me realize the love for dogs!!

 

 

 

Drenched in Love – Painting

Its Yash & Ruchi’s wedding today, and I thought of presenting a painting to the special couple. I checked on the net, and found a nice painting of a couple walking together in rains. Here’s how I painted it myself (see my painting below). Not that perfect, but I was satisfied with the final result. Hope Yash & Ruchi like it as well!!

(frame size: 14″x 10″)

Yeh Tumhari Meri Baathein, Hamesha Yuhin Chalti Rahe
Yeh Hamari Mulakate, Hamesha Yuhin Chalti Rahe
Beete Yuhin Apne Saare Din Raat
Baaton Se Nikalti Rahe Nayi Baat
Phir Wahin Baathein Leke…Geet Koi Hum Likhe
Jo Dil Ko.. ..Haan Sab Ke Dil Ko Chu Le
Baathein Suron Mein Yuhin Pighalti Rahen
Baathein Geeton Mein Yuhin Dalti Rahen

Milind becomes Shahrukh Khan

dhoop se nikal ke, chhanv se phisal ke
hum mile jahaan par, lamha tham gaya

duniya bhula ke tumse mila hoon
nikli hai dil se ye duaa, rang de tu mohe gerua
raanjhe ki dil se hai duaa, rang de tu mohe gerua

How I wish, I could strike this SRK pose, and sing the gerua song with my Kajol. Alas, that’s not possible, certainly not now at this moment. But wait, I can strike another SRK pose with ease, and that too without Kajol….

I had a Rotator cuff tear yesterday in the gym, I slipped on the dips bar while doing a L-Sit. (pic of a L-sit below). I been doing it regularly, but I slipped yesterday, and this puts me out of action for the next 15-30 Days… 😦

My sling bag as you can see is a simple one, and not designed by some famous designer. Now, If SRK can have a designer sling bag, walk on the ramp, and even charge hefty for it, yaar mera ek smiling selfie aur blog post toh banta hai 🙂

Right now, I can do only one thing..Sing (I am in pain, so pls ignore the nonsensical words)

bar se phisal ke
hum gire jahaan par
lamha tham gaya

Dard bhula ke ji raha hoon
nikli hai dil se ye duaa
Theek kar de tu mero Shoulderwa
Theek kar de tu mero Shoulderwa

 

 

 

Pane integrale upma

Ciao, honestly I am bored of having bread egg omelet every day. So I decided to make Pane integrale upma today, sans the eggs. Pane integrale upma  is my name for apna brown bread upma. If all the hoteliers can give exotic names to simple food items in their menu card, why can’t I? Huh! Pane integrale is the Italian word for brown bread 🙂

Here’s a quick recipe of Pane Integrale Upma. Dice few slices of brown bread, some chopped onions, coriander, a green chilly cut in half, and few curry leaves. For those who don’t know the difference between Coriander and Parsley, Coriander is slightly lighter green, and has rounder leaves, while Parsley is a darker green and has more pointy, sharper leaves. The leaf on the left is Coriander, and the one on RHS is Parsley.

Heat some oil in a Kadai, add mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilly and the chopped onions. Saute the onions till they turn brown, and then add the masalas.

Final step, add the diced bread, and mix well. If you like it crunchy, then put the flame on high for few minutes. Pane integrale upma is ready in no time.

Eat healthy and stay fit.
Cheers!

 

 

Only Eggs

These days I am not taking my food seriously. For serious gym goers diet contributes majorly, you ought to eat right. Last year I followed a strict diet. Dunno why I am little lax this year, and now that’s becoming visibly evident  as my waistline grows exponentially 😦

It’s high time, and I need to start eating the right stuff. So here I am eating eggs again, a rich source of proteins. Instead of having plain boiled eggs, I decided to make Boiled Egg Masala today, and was happy with the final outcome (pic below).  

It did taste yummy, but then my favorite remains the Egg Burji. Here’s how I prepare the Egg burji. The street vendors usually add lots of onion and tomato but they add only a single egg per plate of Burji. I usually add atleast 2-3 eggs when I prepare the burji.

Add lots of onion, tomato, green chillies, masalas, and then smash it with a smasher. Finally pour the eggs, and mix them well with the dry gravy. Allow the eggs to cook properly, while making small lumps of the burji intermittently.

I prefer having a dry burji and I tend to cook it a little more. You can have the burji with Chapati or Pav. A quick recipe, high in proteins and perfect for a morning breakfast or as sabji for lunch.

I hope to take my diet seriously again. Will post more Egg recipes in my coming blogs. Try the burji or the boiled egg masala, if the pics looked enticing. Eat healthy and stay fit!

 

My Gym Life!!

This pic is my latest. Ideally, I should also post my old pic before I joined the gym. But, that would be too embarrassing for me. Last year when I joined the gym in Feb’2015, my waist was 39 inches and weight 71 kgs. I was completely out of shape. In fact, I was never in a proper shape all throughout my existence on this earth till date.

There were many other shapeless souls like me in the gym as well. But I liked & respected their dedication & perseverance. Like me they came everyday, some ran on the treadmill, and some tried lifting weights beyond their capacity. I too wanted to lift heavy, more than I could. A nice point made by Master Trainer Prashant, keeps ringing in my mind..

“There is no point in going to the gym, if you develop muscles which can’t lift heavy”

Prashant has been really helpful, giving me his valuable time to answer my queries, and always encouraging.(Sketch of Master Trainer Prashant)

I started transforming slowly, and by the end of 2015, I weighed 55 Kgs with a waist less than 30 inches. And I tried lifting heavy too. My best deadlift so far has been around 120 kgs (around 264 pounds), almost twice my body weight. I liked when some guys appreciated and were inspired watching my workout.

This has been my story so far. I still have a long way to go before I post a pic with 16 inch biceps, 42 inch chest, and a 28 inch waist 🙂 It takes time to build a nice physique, if you want to do it the clean way (without steroids). So far, I have enjoyed every bit of my gym life. I came across some dedicated souls & made few inspiring friends (Hari, Jitu, Deb, Agnelo, Haseeb, Amol), and I been able to push myself beyond my false boundaries.

Leaving you with a link of my old blog post. At the end of the blog you’ll find a very inspiring video of Aaron Sands, a blind bodybuilder. Do watch it. (Where are the mirrors?)

Cheers!!

My Email Signatures

These days I been doing lot of modeling using R programming language. So much so, that I have now started expressing quotes in email signatures using R.

Here are some samples of my email signatures. Hope you understand and like them 🙂

Signature Example 1: (Keep fighting for what is yours)

Input code:
library(Hardwork) ; library(Determination) ;
success_mantra = cat(rep(“Don’t stop,”,3),” running towards your Dream!!”)

Output:
[1] Don’t stop, Don’t stop, Don’t stop running towards your Dream!!

Signature Example 2: (Trying to convey how important it is to keep learning)

Input code:
system.time ({
status = as.stopped.learning(“Literate”)
print(status)
})

Output:
[1] “Illiterate”
user   system  elapsed
0          0             0

Signature Example 3: (An attempt to convey that time passes quickly, enjoy life to the fullest)

Input code:
for (n in seq(12000,0,-4000))
{ print(as.Date(Sys.time()) – n  }

Output:
[1] “1983-07-09”
[1] “1994-06-21”
[1] “2005-06-03”
[1] “2016-05-16”

Aanewala pal jaane wala hai, Ho sake to iss mein zindagi bitaa do…
Pal jo yeh jaane wala hai….ho, Aanewala pal jaane wala hai…

 

 

Milind – A Mystery

This is what Rathin, a friend and an ex-colleague, wrote about me in his nicely worded farewell letter when he left Gridstone Research. He posted the farewell letter on his blog in 2013, a good 5 years after he had left Gridstone.

Honestly, many others have also found me to a be a “Mystery”, dunno why?

All ex-gridies who have stumbled upon this blog post can read his farewell letter in the link shared here – Rathin’s farewell letter

When I Saw Her on Valentine’s Day!!

It was 14th Feb, around 8 pm in the evening. I was walking down the Borivali station road carrying some shopping bags with me. And there I saw HER. Well dressed in a Salwar Kurta, I found Her standing next to a swanky car parked on the roadside. She was looking up towards a multi-storied building across the busy road. I noticed that she was fully engrossed talking to someone, may be to someone from her family residing in that tall building.

As I passed, I wondered how her voice would reach the 5^th or the 10^th or the 15^th floor amidst the blaring horns of the vehicles passing by. I stopped there for few minutes simply watching her. In between I kept looking at the tall building trying to figure out exactly which Window was open, and who might be talking to her.

Unable to figure out what kind of technology allowed the lady on the road to talk, I started walking again, took an autorickshaw, and reached home safely with the shopping bags.

I wonder…

How long She stood there and kept Talking?

How many Sane People Passed By?

Did the Lady reach Home that Night?

Would any Window of Life open for Her? Ever!!

Would She be able to Shop like Me?

Would any Medical Technological Advances able her to regain Sanity?

I guess St. Valentine needs to take a rebirth, and cure the Lady on the road, the way St. Valentine cured the Jailer’s Blind Daughter.

“According to the World Health Organization, approximately 450 Million people Worldwide have a Mental Illness”

Sketch of Mehul bhai

A quick sketch. Hope you like it Mehul