Many a times, we talk something which hurt other people. We may not feel that. It happens vice-a-versa as well. This bad talk is highly addictive and like smile, very contagious  !!  Bad talk creates lot of negative vibe around us.  We criticise many people, place, arrangement, etc. without thinking its impact on the listener. Always you may find a thin line between a criticism and a comment. Now, how do you define  a "bad talk"  ? This  question was posed to a learned person. The erudite replied with a smile -- "Even in a casual conversation, if you state that -- "Ravana was a bad person", is a bad talk !!!!!   You visit some one, who hands you a banana fruit as a gift, which happened to be a rotten one. When you reach back home and make a comment that -- "I got a rotten banana as a gift" is also a bad talk.  "I got banana fruit as a gift" would have been enough. Any talk/statement which bring genuine smile on listener's face an...

I started learning swimming in my early 40s. Apart from swimming, the training process taught me quite a few lessons for life. Swimming is one physical activity which cannot be taught by a physical instructor. It requires actuating your mental faculty  as well-- body and mind together make you swim. In very convention sense,  teacher shows you how to acquire certain skills or knowledge. You follow him/her and  in a few efforts, you acquire what you had intended to. Teaching is over and improvement on newly acquired knowledge/skill is left to you. Where as in swimming teacher can only guide. You cannot immitate him to learn swimming properly. The substance has to come from within you and on its own. To me completing a 20m freestyle swimming was a big challenge. Used to get tired quickly, after crossing a few meters. Watched my coach innumerable times; went to Youtube and surfed through many training session videos over the net. But could not move an inch ahead. ...

When you see a blind person crossing a road what comes to your mind? Just a pity feeling ? At best you may stop your vehicle, so that the person can cross the road ! Rotary gave me an opportunity to enter into a blind person's mind and get a “glimpse” of daily routine and associated challenges. Rotary Bangaore North West participated in Rotary supported Blind walk’15 on Sunday 6 th Sept afternoon, in Cubbon park. At the beginning, all the participants were blind folded with a black ribbon. Then we were lined up in a group of five (Five of North Westers made one such link) touching each other’s shoulder forming a kind of chain. One visually challenged person along with a volunteer was ready to lead us. The walk started from Cubbon park main entrance at around 4:00 pm and culminated at St Joseph Indian school ground after walking along busy Kasturiba Road and Vittal Malya Road. One kilometer walk took almost an hour and gave an amazing exper...