The Swimming Pool

Forty two, Forty three, Forty four… I ran out of breath and pulled my head out of the swimming pool with a heavily splash of water. My “Holding your breath inside the water” session just ended and I was ready for my next level swimming that evening.

This incidence occurred on one frigid winter evening when I was at my club’s indoor heated swimming pool. After the breathing exercise, I started swimming and stroking through the blissful blue water. Just reaching halfway to my second lap, I saw a hapless father along with his ailing son, entered the enormous main door of the swimming pool hall. He was pushing his son’s wheelchair to make a way to the pool. The son appeared in his early teenage and physically and mentally challenged.

“Probably the victim of Autism” I guessed.

All covered in a thick woolen blanket, the boy seemed to be suffering from the squint too, which is also known as cross-eyes, where the person is unable to orient both eyes on the same object at the same time. Almost quarter part of his face was covered with saliva, coming out of his mouth. He looked a bit unconscious too. And god knows what other mental battles he was going through, from within. The father looked very caring though, after all he was “The Father”.

To my surprise, the boy was here for swimming. Unbelievable. A boy, who has troubles even with simplest life things like focusing, walking and understanding, was here. Actually. For swimming! The dad unwrapped the boy from blanket and started helping him up from the chair. A lifeguard, from the other side of the pool, rushed to the wheel chair to help the father and the kid. They both supported the boy lift himself up and lowered him in to the pool. And guess what? The boy started swimming. He was actually swimming! I could not believe my eyes. The challenged boy forgot all his troubles and his imprudence. His body movements were not so flawless, obviously, but still, he was swimming.

I could not help myself but ask one of the lifeguards about what this was all about. She informed me that this family comes here for a few years now.

“This is nature” She told me. “Water is very supportive in such cases. Nature adopts us when we are in need. This is called “Aquatic Therapy” or “Swim Therapy”. I have seen even infants swim flawlessly in their first attempt. The nature does wonders sometimes. Doesn’t it?”

Her adequate explanation and the entire scene made me thinking, of two things. First thing, how incredible the nature could be. But most importantly, Second thing. About rest of the people in the swimming pool. They were so welcoming to the autist boy. I observed that, they were looking at the boy with affectionate eyes with warmth inside their hearts. I could observe that they could feel the boy’s situation and shown their extended support to cheer the boy up. Then I looked around the whole giant swimming pool room. I could see people from at least 20 different countries. Of all sizes, shapes, appearance, colors and ethnicities.

This got me thinking of even stronger point, how welcoming this place is! The swimming pool. Never thought about it before. How conveniently people associate with each other regardless of their skin or hair color, their mental and physical conditions, their ethnicity. Sometimes you see people sneezing, spitting and cleaning up the throat, nose, ears, and mouth and trash their wastes inside the pool. Sounds disgusting in my words here, but at pool no body minds it. With open hearts, they accept it and keep doing what they have been doing.

Probably, they say to their selves, inside their minds “its ok, Johnny. It happens. This is a swimming pool. You get all kinds of people here.” And then carry on.

This boggles my mind with the thought that “Why can’t this whole earth be like a swimming pool. Be friendly to all kinds of people. Be respectful to the needs of all the people. Be welcoming to the different cultures and ethnicity. Regardless of religion, regardless of gender, regardless of hair and skin color. Where, no one is bothered by the other one doing or practicing his beliefs, faiths, and needs, just like they did not mind the boy entering the pool with his saliva-mouth. Where, people rush for help and extend their hands to the needy, like that lifeguard did. I am looking for those affectionate eyes that embrace the unfortunate ones around the world. I am searching for the warm hearts who are receptive of everyone’s equal existence on this tiny earth.

Yes, Tiny Earth. I was watching a video the other day that showed how negligible the earth’s size is compared to the huge-wide universe and its humungous planets. We are like a sesame seed lost in the enormous farm. Our existence is so little that it could be easily overlooked. And look at us. We are busy fighting with the issues created by us, the mortals of the planet called “Earth”.

In past, there was a time when people did not leave their villages, their towns and their countries. They did not move. They did not go to remote locations. But now the time has changed. Now global movements and expatriates are at its all-time high. We are truly becoming global citizens. We cannot afford to have our ancient beliefs about discriminations.

Diversity is the distinct backgrounds, cultures, characteristics, and experiences that each person brings to this world. This includes a wide spectrum of attributes such as color, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, caste, disability, and ethnicity or religious beliefs. Let’s be Inclusive to everyone to make this earth a place that values differences and enables people to reach their full potential in pursuit of the life purpose. A place where people feel involved, respected and connected. A place where their perspectives are sought after and leveraged, and they are included in formal and informal networks. Let’s respect everyone and demonstrate this through actions and words. Let’s be aware of how our actions might offend others. Let’s be honest and open and don’t rely on first perceptions. Let’s never judge others’ journey just by their appearance. Let’s demonstrate appreciations. Let’s foster a spirit of co-operation and respect the uniqueness of each individual.

Considering that, I ask myself. How hard it is to accept the person or community the way it is? Why we need to create unnecessary conflicts? Why cannot the communities, the countries and the world run smoothly?

And I am still asking. I am still looking for that perfect world. I am still searching for that “Swimming Pool”.

Woodward Dream Cruises

"Dream Cruises" first gave me an impression of ship cruises as natch as anybody would think except an American. It's the very popular vintage car rally I am talking about where I have been to last week. Hot and perfectly sunny weather on Classic American Drive called "Woodward Avenue" between thousands of American Vintage Cars (I mean thousands) what else an Automotive Design enthusiast want? When my colleague offered me to join the visit, without procrastinating I said "Yes". Woodward Ave. is America's first paved road. In early 50's here hundreds of youngsters used to hang out here. And till date, they kept this classic glory alive by having such an enormously grand classic car event. You still see some retro restaurants and bars where people purposely come in retro attire (Bell Bottom etc.) with vintage cars. This gives renaissance to the lifestyle of those decades. In addition, we had a No-nonsense partner like Jimmy, who is the "Baap" of the car enthusiasts. His expertise was so overwhelming that just by looking at any car he could tell make, model, horse power, the condition under which it was designed, what changed when, what materials used, what technologies used. The history, geography, biology and chemistry together. As each car was passing by he gave us laconic details of each car. I would say the knowledge of a century in just three hours. What a boffo event to witness. A life time opportunity. I feel lucky.

Improve Your Car’s Fuel Efficiency

It’s really exasperating to see fuel prices skyrocketing, right? We can only feel helpless in the face of recurring and economy-driven price fluctuations. Seeking measures to improve fuel economy is the only way to combat rising fuel prices. Do not disregard these simple guidelines; each little step can really start adding up to significant savings to your budget.


Check Tyre Pressure:
Keeping the tyres well inflated is one of the simplest things you can do to help improve your car’s fuel efficiency. You can improve the mileage by about 3.3 percent if you keep your tyres inflated properly, according to the DOE.


Lighten Your Load:
Empty out your boot of unnecessary items. For every extra 45 kg you carry, your fuel efficiency can drop by 1-2% in a typical vehicle.


S-L-O-W D-O-W-N:
The faster you drive, the more fuel you use. Driving within the speed limit recommended by the manufacturer helps save fuel. Driving just 5mph over the speed limit can affect fuel economy by up to 23%. Likewise, quick acceleration consumes too much fuel; accelerate slowly and gradually.

Do Fuel Quality/Types/Additives Help Mileage?

Petrol pump attendants often try to convince you to go for ‘Speed petrol’ or ‘X-tra Mile diesel’. But this need not necessarily help improve your vehicle’s fuel efficiency. Always use the grade recommended for the vehicle by the manufacturer. Higher octane fuel may not only be a waste of money but may harm the vehicle, as well. However sticking to one brand of fuel is always good for the engine.

Tune Your Engine:
A well-tuned engine can improve fuel economy by up to 4%. So change your oil and follow your car manufacturer’s recommendation on servicing.


Clean the Air Filters Regularly :
Air filters keep impurities from damaging your engine. Replacing a clogged air filter can improve fuel economy by as much as 10%.


Keep the Windows Closed:
Driving with your windows open considerably reduces mileage, far more than keeping the AC on while driving along highways. So preferably keep the windows closed and the AC on if you want to keep cool. Of course the air-conditioning decreases fuel efficiency considerably, so use it judiciously.

Clean Spark Plugs:
Ensure your spark plugs are in good condition. Renew the plugs and wires at intervals specified by the manufacturer. This will keep all cylinders firing properly resulting in higher efficiency.


Don’t Be a Clutch-Driver:
Never keep your foot on the clutch while driving. When you do this, pressure is being placed on your clutch, and it not only reduces mileage, but also wears out the clutch plate, replacing which is not cheap.


Keep the Car in Showroom Condition:
It’s always prudent to keep the car in the showroom condition. Remember that any modification to the car, such as broad tyres, diffusers etc., will adversely affect the mileage.

One step forward in paper saving

Folks,

Last month was really successful in implementing the Paper saving techniques in my personal and work routine. Just wanted to inform you some ways which I practiced last month to easily save paper and help the earth become greener.

1. I used to take 5-6 tissue papers everyday in the canteen, most of them were unnecessary. I reduced it to only 2 per day and thus saving 4 tissues per day. means 100 tissues per month and 1200 tissues per year. I asked my group (4 others) also to follow it dedicatedly. Now you can sum it up and imagine the figure.

2. Since one month I am using only sticky notes on my desktop as a reminder and thus saving 5 small sheets per day. You can also download TK8 sticky notes for free.

3. I used to take atleast 70-80 A4 print-outs every month for checking purpose most of the time. And guess what. This month most of the time I have done checking the drawings or ppts on the screen itself. I hardly took 10 prints this month if I remember correctly. It was so easy.

4. I cleared most of the paper waste around me (Old unnecessary papers in files and drawers etc.) and sent them immediately to recycling chain instead of keeping it with me. Now my place looks cleaner and paper free.

See how easy it is to save paper without compromising your work and life. All you have to do is to stay focused.

Stay Green......

How youth can contribute?

How can the youth contribute for Gujarat and participate in the state development?(Question asked by Darpan Shah, Mahesh, Gomes, Krutagna and Arun to Narendra Modi)

Narendra Modi's Answer:
I have appealed the youth of Gujarat to come forward and do their bit towards serving the society. I have suggested four fields where youth can make significant contribution. When the youth climbs the four mountains of services for education, health, sanitation and environment - Gujarat will said to have truly touched its peak.
1: Education: Can youth devote at least 100 hours in a year for the service to the Gujarat? In a week, some can devote two hours, five hours, 10 hours in a month but it should reach to 100 hours in a year. 100 hours on the occasion of this Golden Jubliee year. Youth should have a firm determination to spend 100 hours religiously for a noble work. You can teach at any place, in any school, any chawl, society, slum area, irrespective of the place, what matters is 100 hours of teaching. If you are undertaking this mission of teaching, you can teach two students, four students, and maid in your house, an old person, you should work hard to teach anybody who is illiterate.

2: Cleanliness and Sanitation work: Youth can take a pledge for encouraging people for maintaining cleanliness. Design programmes for it, and encourage more people to participate in the programme. Youth should be ready to go to the schools, discuss the issue of cleanliness and educate students about keeping the surroundings clean. Importance of this work lies in how a small act can change over the lives of the smallest men in the state.

3: Serve the patients. Take interest in hospital and improving its general administration. Keeping a check on medicines and other supplies, to check whether facilities provided to the patients are availed by them or not. Find ways to make it easier for patients to avail these facilities. Keep a check on drinking water, sanitation facilities, and their habits of cleanliness. Find ways to prevent contagious disease from spreading. Such small initiatives bear a huge potential to change lives of people and help society to become healthier.

4: Global Warming: It is an acute problem posed to the world. Youth can take forward the preaching of respect Gandhi bapu and inculcate it in lives of the people. To live with least possible objects and pursue for an environment friendly movement- the measures to save water, energy and time.

Saving is a good habit, lets start with PAPER.

Hello, this is a short composition about the ‘PAPER’. Made of wood simply formed out of a tree cut in some corner of the world. What is the first thought come to your mind when you hold a piece of paper in your hand? A very fresh, bright white piece of paper and nothing more. Next thing you get tempt either to write on it or to sketch on it for no reason sometimes and then throw it in a bin. Most of the people know that paper is made out of trees and we should save trees to protect the environment. But have you ever thought of the extent the woods are cut to form a virgin paper? And what quantity of paper an average person consumes per year or so? Some may think of only printing papers when one say ‘Paper’, but there are number of applications of the paper which can be taken into focus and thousands and millions of trees can be unshackled. You would be surprised (like I got) to know some far-fetched but true facts about paper.

Some statistics on paper consumption:
- The average per capita paper use worldwide is 110 pounds (50 kg).
- It is estimated that 95% of business information is still stored on paper. [Source: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) Discussion Paper (IIED, London, September 1996)]
- Recycling 1 short ton (0.91 t) of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7 thousand US gallons (26 m3) of water, 3 cubic yards (2.3 m3) of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil (84 US gal or 320 l), and 4,100 kilowatt-hours (15 GJ) of electricity — enough energy to power the average American home for six months.
- Although paper is traditionally identified with reading and writing, communications has now been replaced by packaging as the single largest category of paper use at 41% of all paper used.
- 115 billion sheets of paper are used annually for personal computers. The average web user prints 28 pages daily. (Unbelievable - but true)
- Most corrugated fiberboard boxes have over 25% recycled fibers. Some are 100% recycled fiber.

Little acts of prudence, which can make a big difference in paper saving are as follows. (Applies to all level of people)
1. Less use / Don’t use Post It paper tags. Use misprint or waste papers instead.
2. Use old diaries or notebooks, which are already formed into paper out of wood, reducing purchase of fresh paper and thus less wood chopping. Buy only recycled notebooks.
3. Make maximum usage of e-tools / Mobile etc. for information transfer and communication. Avoid paper usage as far as possible. This is quite possible and have maximum impact on paper saving. An estimated 940 million people worldwide have access to the Internet, which is almost a sixth of the world’s population.
4. Apply 3R Concept – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. All you have to do is to just think for a while about 3R before using any kind of paper. I mean any kind.
5. Replace paper napkins with cloth napkins, and paper plates with regular dishes.
6. Sign up for e-statement wherever possible and avoid printed bills. Pay online wherever possible.
7. Sign up for online publications of your magazines instead of printed copy.
8. Prevent undue usage of the packaging and reuse packing material wherever possible.
9. Think before you print. Try printing double-sided and also try to print multiple pages on one to save even more paper.
10. Use scanner in office as far as possible, instead of taking print-outs.
11. Do not allow unneccessary papers to stack near you, clear them soon and send it to the proper recycling channel.

World No Tobacco Day 31st May (Every Year)

World No Tobacco Day is observed around the world every year on May 31. It is meant to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco consumption across the globe. The day is further intended to draw global attention to the widespread prevalence of tobacco use and to negative health effects, which currently lead to 5.4 million deaths worldwide annually. The member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) created World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) in 1987. In the past twenty years, the day has been met with both enthusiasm and resistance across the globe from governments, public health organizations, smokers, growers, and the tobacco industry.

WHO has kicked off the 'World No Tobacco Day' today on 31st May targetting heavily on the Women Smokers as long as the theme for this year was 'Gender and Tobacco'. Some surprising and interesting fact have come out when they declared that 'It is estimated that more than 8% of girls between 13 and 15, or around 47 crore girls, are using tobacco products in the Asia-Pacific region'. Indian doctors said there had been a considerable increase in women smoking, especially among young college girls, attributing the rise to stress, peer pressure and high disposable incomes. WHO also added that heavily invested alluring marketing campaigns are performed by Tobacco Manufacturers to attract the young women targeting their early earning powers and so called independence in the Asia's largest growing economies.

Looking at the facts and the side (worst) effects of tobacco, I would like to strongly recommend to the youth not only the women (but especially the women) to please slowly reduce and then quite smoking soon. My suggestion to them is do not smoke while you are stressed but only when you are happy, because there are less chances of being happy then stressed. And thus less smoking.