Kolad - Outbound Training Experience

Recently, my company decided to have an outbound training for its employees. I was lucky to get included in the list of the selected few for the first batch. It was a great experience and I also got to re-live my NDA - SSB days. This post is going to be a image-blog, with minimum comments, mostly to describe the images.

Venue: Empower Adventure Capms, Kolad, Maharashtra, India.

Sprawling lawns in front of the campus:

View from Gazebo (common dining area):

Greenery galore - A rare site in Mumbai:

Taking time out between the hectic schedule:



My Bronze Beauty - I-gen i20 Sportz (P)

I am an automobile enthusiast and always try to stay updated with the development in the Indian automobile industry.

My current favorite Indian car is the i-Gen i20; i might be a bit biased as I am a proud owner of one. Even though the new Swift gives it a tough competition, I feel Hyundai has understood the Indian buyers' needs and has delivered it to the T.

 i20 comes (over)loaded with gadgets and gizmos. Its got all the bells and whistles required to attract the Indian consumers. It has brought so many first in the class features like auto headlights, DRLs, rain sensing wipers, rear parking camera assist, electrically retracting ORVMs etc. 

The build quality of this Korean make is much superior to the Swifts, Figos, Indicas et al. The dual- tone interior with a generous helping of chrome gives it the feel of a luxury sedan. The 1.2 litre dual VTVT engine though might be a bit underpowered but when the turbo kicks in, its a beast on prowl.

The second gear has a noticeable lag, but you can still overtake other cars easily. The steering wheel has been criticized by one and all for being light and non- responsive, but it feels just fine in my hands and I love the fact that I can steer the car with the touch of a finger. Steer- mounted controls and a sporty 3 - spoke steering wheels are also a big plus as they lend a sporting look to the car. 

The suspension is the only negative that I can think of. It being very soft is good for low speed driving but on high speed, there's a risk of the car bottoming out on big potholes. The mileage is comparable to the best in the category and even the ASS is light on the wallet. 

All in all, its a luxury sedan meant for comfortable driving and I am loving it!!!

All Is Not Lost Yet...

Since the last couple of years, I have noticed that I have stopped helping people. Even my wife has been complaining about my behavior and I don’t know why but have been unable to bring myself to helping others. In other words, I have changed, changed for worse. But all this changed last night; a small incident made me realize that all is not lost yet. There still are some good Samaritans left in this world and irrespective of their age, they never fail to lend a helping hand to those in need.

It all started last night when after coming back from a short ride I was putting cover on my car. Since I was alone, I put the car keys, papers and my ID card on the Alto parked next to my car. While I was in the act, a lady came, sat in the Alto and drove off. Since I was busy completing my task at the earliest, I didn’t notice the lady getting into the Alto. Just when she left, I realized all my papers and car keys were still on the roof of her car. She didn’t bother to see if anything was kept on the roof and had taken off. I ran after her car shouting at the top of my lungs, making hand gestures, trying to stop her. To my utter dismay, she kept driving and got out through the OUT door of our society. I even tried to shout at the guard to stop the car but he was in his own sweet world.

Now the car was on the road with me running at max speed possible for me and waving my hands frantically and shouting words like “STOP”, “STOP THE CARRRR”, but oblivious of the situation she continued driving. All the pedestrians were enjoying the chase and I was feeling like James Bond giving chase to some goons escaping in a car. Soon after a couple of minutes I was jolted back to reality with the feeling of hammering in my chest and breathlessness. I was out of my breath after running for about 150 meters and was about to give up when suddenly I saw someone running past me, at double my speed trying to chase the car. I paused to look at my knight in shining armor to find a kid of around 12 who had been returning home and had taken pity at me and was trying to help me.

Just when I was about to give up hope, the car went over a bump and mercifully all the documents and keys fell off. I felt as if I had won a lottery of a million rupees. The kid picked them up and came back running to me. With an innocent smile on his face he gave them back to me and asked if there was anything else that was still missing. I thanked him profusely and went on to buy him loads of chocolates. His friends gave him a hero’s welcome and carried him around on their shoulders chanting slogans.

I dragged my exhausted self back to my flat, but with a smile on my face. This incident made me realize that there still are some good people around and I should not lose hope.