Yoga… but which one?

I think if I were to think back and remember this day in my life, I’d think of it as the day I first tried Yoga. Sarah finally convinced me to go and I’m glad she did. We took our class at The Atre Yoga Studio (www.tays.in) with Zubin Atre. The place is a bit difficult to find all on your own and I’m glad Sarah was with me when I went. She tells me she had a hard time finding it the first time round.

The studio is in Shahpur Jat, which is just beside Siri Fort on Aurobindo Marg in South Delhi. The feel of the place is a bit like Hauz Khas village, but without the bars and clubs. My first look today was a bit hasty, as we dashed up some stairs to the studio. And the studio is a pleasant surprise, considering the location. It’s a large open space painted in muted colors bare of any sort of furnishing except for a water cooler near the entrance and a couple of bins full of exercise mats on one side.

I changed in the small bathroom located at the back and set out a mat. Since this was the first time, Zubin asked me about any health issues that he needed to be aware of and launched into a beginner’s session. With almost every asana that he put us through, I could feel my muscles protest. First, I lost balance while stretching, then doing a stretch, I found my right shoulder has a lesser range of motion than my left …. and the list goes on. At the end we did 5 Surya Namaskaars and after that I was completely breathless.

Perhaps, it was the hypnotic way that Zubin conducted the session, but it felt like we’d been only on for 15 minutes instead of the hour and a bit that my phone reported. I think my first experience with Yoga’s been great so far. We’re planning on attending some more of Zubin’s classes.

A busy weekend, part 2 (Of Sofas and insurance agents)

Predictably, we woke up late on Sunday. I started my day with a call to the insurance agent. I wanted to get that brand new car insured for the change of owner registration process. Most of what they told me on the phone, I could barely understand. It appears that there’s not much variance in the kinds of insurance on offer, they all cover first party and third party insurance. They were going to send someone to photograph the car and take a copy of my registration card, the old insurance and a sketching from the chassis. Again, all new stuff to me. Someone would be by before 3:30pm.

Around noon, the doorbell rang and I leapt up with joy, wondering if it was the insurance guy. Turned out, it wasn’t. It was the guy who’d fix the water timer! The wiring here is pretty messy. And that’s what the problem turned out to be. Some wires had come loose because something or the other had been shaken or pulled sideways by the wind, or someone on the roof accidentally tripping on a cable. In 10 mins our man was done. Turned out, that most companies you buy from offer some form of warranty that covers their visits and any repairs. In this case, he asked for 250 Rs as a visiting charge, coz it was a Sunday.

Much later, after several calls our insurance agent showed up. I was unimpressed. And after handing him the necessary info, I got the feeling that he was going to hike up the rates, so I wasn’t surprised when he came back with an offer for about 14,000 Rs a year. Last year’s premium had been around 11,000 Rs, from a different company. I’d asked the owner to get it fixed up for the looks, so even if there was a claim involved it’d be minor. I’d figured instead of going lower in the worst case the premium would stay the same. Since the agent had decided to take me for a  ride, I figured I’d give him the boot. I called up the previous insuring company and asked them if I could renew, they agreed and barring any issues that may crop up, they estimated 9,000 Rs. for the premium. And today, I got a third call from an insurance broker who offered to find us the lowest priced one.

After the agent had gone, leaving me somewhat annoyed, my wife reminded me of my promise to go sofa shopping. I capitulated. We took the metro from Lajpat Nagar and ended up 40 mins or so later at Kirti Nagar and took the feeder bus till the furniture market. New adventures awaited us here. The first shop we walked into looked quite modest. I believe that from all the other shops we visited that evening they were the cheapest!

Sofa shopping appears to consist of three things:

1. The look of the piece
2. A sitting test, in different poses to see how comfy it would be
3. Requests for modifications – upholstery, finishing and any modifications you may have in mind so it’ll fit your living room

First we saw simple furniture made in various designs with a wooden frame guised in different ways, but mostly in upholstery made of cloth. This changed from store to store. One store had on offer some bizarre colors suited to a bar, another had heavy use durable sofas for the office (terribly stiff cushions), another had soft leather or thick leather sofas which cost almost as much as the car. After two hours, I couldn’t think straight. Looking back at it, I think the delay by the insurance agent saved my mind from imploding under the onslaught of 3+2+2, or 3+2+1+1, price per seat quotes, upholstery variations and more. And I thought I could find just something comfortable to rest my butt on.

Incidentally, this is my 100th post!

A busy weekend, part 1

The thing about blogging, like journal writing, is that if you let yourself skip a day, you’ll end up skipping more. I decided, I’d had enough of procrastinating. To give me my due, I did have a busy weekend. We bought a pair of standing lamps, a car, made some new friends and discovered that a dream sofa could cost about the same as the car we bought.

On Saturday, we purchased a Maruti Suzuki Swift Zxi (2009). We believe we got a good deal on it. I’d been searching for nearly 3-4 weeks and I got the lead for this deal from an ad the seller had put up in the newspaper. The process of purchasing it was an interesting experience in itself, starting with an appointment I made with him to view the car. The seller, I’ll call him AJ, wanted to dispose of his 2009 Zxi variant which had 17,000 kms on the dial. We met at Nehru Place, and in a few minutes, I’d decided that it fit our needs. The only things that remained to be seen were its condition and the price.

Being green at buying second hand cars, I committed a few goofs. First, I wanted a mechanic to figure out the issues. I went to Kotla Mubarakpur, where there are a few roadside garages, to find one. The guy at the first shop said, yeah, we can help you ascertain if there are any issues. We need 2,000 Rs. The amount was more than I’d expected, so I asked them to clarify what services would be included. That was like pulling a tooth. I had to ask a million questions before it made sense. They were going to the check the car for mechanical, electrical and accidental damage. For electronics, they had a scanner that would give a clear reading about the car’s complete service record. Awesome, I figured. I called up AJ. He laughed and flatly refused to bring his car in.

As it turns out, that first bunch was scamming me. They knew that no one would ever bring in their car for a scan. As AJ taunted, “Ask them how many sellers have brought their cars in?” None as it turned out. The way it works is that you drag a mechanic along, who checks out the car for subtle hints of accidental damage to the chassis, and ascertains the state of the engine with a visual under the hood inspection and a spin around the block. So, walking back to Kotla, red-faced, I decided that I’d find another mechanic. In two minutes, at half the price, I had two guys in tow. AJ was a badass and I’d have to have some badasses with me. They were overcharging me, for sure, but I figured, since I was going to pay nearly 400,000 Rs for a car, might as well pay 1,000 Rs. to ensure that it’s not a lemon.

I rang AJ when we arrived. He was a cooperative, but pugnacious and I was getting annoyed. After a few barbs from him, I turned and snapped at him. I might’ve been a first time buyer, but hey no one’s born an expert. I was willing to play by his rules, but I wouldn’t take any lip from him. I wanted to learn, so I asked him what to watch out for. What he did tell me was useful and from my later discussion with the mechanics, I gleaned the following:

1. 99% of newspaper ads are fake. It’s rarely owners who put them. Usually it’ll be an broker who tries to snare people this way. The easiest way to check this is to look at the name & address listed on the registration card and cross check it with the seller
2. Have a look at the car’s service record, especially if you suspect the meter readings. With every check you’ll find the mileage recorded. Any discrepancies there will be telling
3. Check for wear on the steering wheel, the plastic knobs and especially the pedals. The older the car, and the heavier the use, the more worn out they’ll be
4. Tires. Check for normal wear and note the year. Original car tires will be carry the same manufacturing year as the car
5. Look at all the insurance documents and renewals. If the insurance has not been renewed at any time, that makes for an excellent bargaining point
6. A seller may try and dupe someone by not making an insurance claim for some damages. The best way to check is to ensure that the car has been serviced recently, and to double check ask an experienced mechanic along

This helps you decide if you want the car and how much to offer for it. According to the mechanic I had along, one must always be a bit disdainful of the car’s worth and offer at least 30-40k lower than the estimated price one has in mind. My mechanics were worth the money. They cleared the car and said it was a good buy, AJ was genuine and it was no scam. They suggested I pitch for 3.5 or 3.4 Lakh.

Here came the second goof. I didn’t know how to buy the damn car! What was the process. Lucky for me AJ wasn’t discouraged by my ignorance. He said there was a ready kit available in the market for about 30 to 50 Rs. and it had all the necessary bits of documentation. Generally these documents would include the following:

• For the Buyer
  • A cash receipt (proof of purchase)
  • Form 29 and Form 30 (Notice of sale and  report of sale) with duplicates
  • An insurance transfer letter (addressed to the insurance company)
• For the Seller
  • A delivery receipt with the purchaser’s name and address with ID proof attached. Signatures of both parties

In addition the buyer must collect the service record, the registration card and any insurance related documents. Generally, you should also note that you have the spare tire, a tool kit for changing the same and a medical kit.

So, thankfully, with AJ’s help I was able to complete all these tasks and on Saturday afternoon, we collected the Swift and later that evening went for our first spin to Hauz Khas village where we had dinner with friends at Yeti. The food was good, but the company was better and after dinner we dragged them all home for coffee and drinks, wrapping up our gathering around 1 am! That’s the latest I’ve hung out in Delhi with anyone, this far.

On Sunday, predictably we were slow to rise… to be continued.

More Diwali Pics uploaded

I’ve just added more pics to the Diwali Album.

Our trip to the Lodi Gardens

Sarah and I enjoyed a wonderful late afternoon walking through the Lodi Gardens. Now that I know how to create an album here are the photos from that day:

		Lodi Gardens, Oct 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Delhi Photo Festival

Sarah and I recently checked out the Delhi Photo Festival, hosted by the India Habitat Center:

And here are a few snaps from Diwali! I’ll add some more soon.

		Diwali in Delhi VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Buying a TV and a Washing Machine

The shopping adventure continues. On the list that I make everyday, I cross a few items and today I can say that I managed to cross off a significant two and made progress on several others. I have the luxury of being flexible with regards to time.

On my list today among other items were bed sheets, TV and washing machine. I’d been collecting data on prices and such of TVs. Once a model was decided the rest became a lot easier. I settled on a Samsung LED 32” 32D4000. LED vs. LCD was a consideration, plus the 20-30% lower power consumption and weight was another. It makes life so much easier. The next hurdle was pricing. I know jack about prices in India. So I headed towards the main dealer on South Ext. I. After some discussion, the price that emerged was around 34,000 INR. I had a baseline for comparison now. Taking that I decided to go to two shops on Gurdwara Road, Kotla Market – so just around the corner. One came down to 32,200 INR and the second offered 31,500 INR. I thought this was a pretty good deal and settled on it.

On to Washing Machines. Now this was educational! There are several dimensions one needs to look at:

• Top Loading vs. Front Loading – i.e.. where do you put in the clothes, from the top or the side? (front loading is the side
• Semi or fully automatic – Semi automatic are top loading and generally cheaper. I knew I wanted an automatic
• Weight capacity – this can cause the prices to fluctuate big-time
• Other soft sell stuff – digital blah blah, LCD screen, and promotional gimmicks like Diamond Drum, and AG+, etc.

So which one is better? This article says it all!

I thought of going for the Samsung WF0602, but that was a 6Kg machine and the quoted price was in the range of 28,000 INR. After some thinking I decided to settle for a smaller 5.5 Kg machine. For our household (2 people), this reduced capacity means little, but the price difference was nearly 10,000 INR! I settled for an IFB Elite DX. I’d heard some stories with regards to the support, but upon speaking with our dealer, he explained that he lives right down the block and gave me his mobile number. With this assurance, I decided to go for the IFB. An added consideration is that IFB is considered the market leader in India.

On the side, I scouted out a Khadi store, found a tailor (and had a great argument with him), and found an amazing shop where I could pick up a standing lamp and a bedside light.

Bargaining–a skill I’m improving

It appears that one can’t walk a 100 meters in Delhi without bargaining. We’ve rented an apartment, purchased a fridge, a ladder, a drying rack, pearl pet jars and bottles and in every case we’ve had to bargain and hone our skills. The challenge, as always, is knowing the fair market value and in the case of used goods, figuring out a deal that leaves both parties happy.

We tried a shop in Defence colony for a 5 foot ladder. The price I was quoted was in the range of 2,700 Rs. (56 USD approx.). It came with a 10 year guarantee. I settled for one for 1,500 with a 6 month warranty from Kotla. I don’t think I got a good bargain on that. However, I purchased a drying rack for 1,000 Rs which appears to be a good deal. So, why’s it so hard to argue with the guys in Defence and so easy to bargain in Kotla?

Finds in Kotla:

• Steel cups, plates and other kitchenware
• Ladders, Drying Racks and other metal furniture

Other finds in Lajpat Nagar:

• 2nd hand bike stores
• Car upholstery and accessories market
• Branded sport shoe outlets
• Bicycle stores
• Electrical goods

Where am I going with this?

I don’t have a thesis for this post yet. Popper might not really believe this, but I am confused as to what my perception of my stay in my new surroundings should be. What do I perceive?

• Ijtihaad – I use this because any translation would lose the varied nuances. A shop down my street is run by a family. They offer rentals, courier services, print shop, photocopying, money changing, bill payment services, laundry services and much more. Reading their board of services may take over a minute. Did I mention they also do ticketing? I’ve recently subscribed for an internet connection. The engineers who’ve come so far have been amazing. They call ahead, and upon arrival commence on their job with a minimum of fuss. I’ve often seen them calling their shift managers and asking speedy responses citing, “customer’s leaving in 20 minutes,” as their reason. They want a job done, but don’t seem to be shoddy about it.
• Honor – the word is a bond here, in a very real sense (so far). I’ve experimented on this with rickshaw drivers, shopkeeps, and even a locksmith. In each case, despite difficulties their word was a bond. In the case of the rickshaw drivers, once a deal was struck, traffic or no traffic, they would not demand more. In case of the locksmith he fashioned 3 keys and charged me 70 Rs/key. All 3 failed to work on the first try. So he came over, worked for nearly 40 mins fixing the keys and even making a new one on the spot. No further charge.
• Laxness – Rickshaw wallahs, despite wanting to increase their incomes, often take long tea breaks and refuse customers, almost whimsically. Perhaps this is an outcome of salaried jobs. I felt the same way when I tried booking a railway ticket in Bhikaji Cama place where most ticketing agencies seemed to have given up on railway tickets, and were not really disposed to do much or offer any assistance. Another time, the back-end guys who were assisting the engineers seemed to be indisposed. “They’ve all gone home,” growled the engineer at my place while he called the shift supervisor and complained about the attitude.
• Mindlessness – I’ve seen so many boarded up shops and so many in misplaced locations. In a hidden corner in the Defense Colony flyover market I found a boarded up travel agent. Now, who’d go there?! It’s under a flyover, for crying out loud and not even visible unless you’re standing in front of it! In Bhikaji Cama place every other shop appears boarded up, or if not, then there’s a 50-50 chance that the business name listed near the entrance is different from the business itself. Near Bhikaji Cama place appears a government run textile promotion area. Of the vast space only 50 or so shops are open. And I think I was one of the ten people wandering about. The whole compound appeared completely empty. I left the place with a heavier tread.
• Helpfulness – I’ve asked for directions so often, and I’m continually surprised how much effort people are willing to put in. The other day, hunting down the shop which sold gas connections, I found myself in the flyover market – a market under the flyover linking Defense Colony and Jangpura. When I couldn’t figure out the instructions, most folks walked with me a bit to point out the right direction. But perhaps I’m seeing overmuch here. Yet, I feel that people are often willing to take some time to explain things and help out.
• Chaos – the roads here are chaotic. If Egypt was crazy, it’s the jungle here! Respecting lanes seems to be out of the question. Much of the road vehicles speed about at 40 kmph! And the horns – they’re really meant to intimidate. I flinch every time one blows near by. In other ways it reminds me of Agami of old, or Mumbai too. You have the chic stores and you step into a puddle of sewage right outside. My landlord’s parked an old vehicle in the parking slot that comes with our apartment. He’s rightfully scared that if left empty, we’ll lose it – forever! With petroleum prices up, the government is subsidizing electric bikes (no pedals there). These bikes run at a max speed of 30kmph, and require no license or helmet and their range is approx. 70 kms – great for commuting around the city @ 30 kmph! Now, why not subsidize real bicycles and really get everyone fit and healthy? Bicycles cost around 7,000 Rs. Electrics cost around 24,000 Rs, after subsidy (approx. 4,000 Rs per bike)
• Madness – everyday that I read the news, I’m impressed by how incompetent some people can be. A policeman recently tried to arrest a car thief. They blockaded the car from 3 sides. And the policeman approaches from behind (the only unblockaded exit) with the intention of blowing out the tires with his gun!? Are the policemen such great marksmen – and forget marksmanship, they really want to shoot to deflate tires!? What about those simple things like spike strips?They’re portable and probably cost less over time and don’t ricochet and hurt innocent bystanders! And this same car thief was apprehended thrice before and escaped thrice. His last escape: the 3 policemen escorting him on a highway went off to fetch water leaving him alone in a car they’d hitched a ride from. D-uh! Are they really that stupid?! Let’s not even go anywhere near politics.
• Quirkiness – Defense Colony Club. For the first time, I felt out of place! I breezed into the place and found the garden filled with tables, quite a few occupied. The women were engaged in game of lotto. In the chilled indoor bar, their men – presumably – guzzled down alcoholic beverages while munching on tandoori chicken or a variant. I asked for a table indoors and was turned down on account of wearing slippers and a collar less t-shirt.
• Accent – I really have to ask people to repeat themselves often over the phone. As when the engineers called and I had a hard time figuring out who was on the line! Airtel – how can you make that sound unfamiliar?! They do. And Sarah claims I’m picking it up too; rolling the ‘r’ with gusto when saying the word, “throwing.”

I probably shouldn’t laugh about this!

But I think I will anyways!

http://www.delhi.gov.in/wps/wcm/connect/doit_transport/Transport/Home/Driving+Licence/Question+bank+for+computerized+Learner+License

That’s the question bank for the CBT (computer based test) to acquire a learner’s driving license. Q49 rocks and so do several others. I’m going to attempt this soon. I might just come out with flying colors!