My Experiment with Chennai Road Transport

I am always overawed by the huge variety of vehicles in chennai. Autos, share autos in all shapes and sizes, a variety of cars, buses, two wheelers, call taxis, trucks, load vans, and the list goes on. In Madurai, that is where I come from, I would have seen a few buses, a lot of cycles and tricycles, some share autos and very few cars. We rarely get to see Audis and BMWs as we see in Chennai.

Back in 2006, I came to Chennai in search of a job. As I had no own vehicle I had no other choice but to take the buses. That was my first experiment. In Chennai, the bus stops are too big and long and I often get confused on where to stand. More than me it is the bus drivers who are erratic. Once I was standing in the Saidapet bus stop waiting for 5A bus to go to velachery. I was standing right near the board which displays the numbers of the buses. The 5A bus arrived and all the people started running towards the bus. I got scared whether they were either trying to hit the bus or attempting a mass suicide.  All the people got into the bus on running itself, and then the bus stopped twenty feet away from me. Before I could run and catch the bus, it left. Me not being PT Usha, missed the bus. So From then on I have learnt to get onto a running bus or stand twenty feet away from the bus stop.

The next experiment came with the share autos. I come from Porur. To come to office, I have to take share autos from porur to guindy. From guindy, I have to take M119 bus to reach SRP tools. I was amazed by the very first fact that the van like structures called TATA ACE is called as share autos here. The share auto drivers are very patient people. They will not budge until the very last seat in the share auto is occupied. So I make it a point to always get into an auto that has only one seat left.

One day, I got into a share auto which had only one seat left and the auto started off to guindy. But luck didn’t favour me. At DLF IT park, except me all the 8 people got down from the auto. Both the share auto driver and me were very very disappointed.

As I knew he will not move, I got down from the auto and started shouting “ guindy, guindy”. The driver was shocked and was staring at me. Fortunately, the share auto got occupied and then he moved and I reached guindy.

At guindy, there is a line of M119s parked. I got into the bus in which the bus driver and conductor got in. The driver started the bus and was roaring. All the people in the bus stop rushed into the bus, fought for the seat and was happily settled. Then the bus moved a few inches and then stopped.  The driver and the conductor got down and went away. When I was confused on what went wrong, the bus standing right next to the one I am sitting started and was roaring. Now all the people in my bus, got down and went on to catch that bus and left.

Actually this bus had moved so as to pave way for the one standing behind. Feeling so deceived and irate, I got down and then hired an auto.

Now, my third experience came next.

I told him “Anna, SRP tools, taramani”. “OH , ascendas ah?, “ NO no, SRP tools bus stop, anna”. I had to argue with him to switch on his meter box. He became so irated. He said “Ok, then you have to give me 20 rs extra”. I reluctantly gave in and said OK. He started the auto and when we were crossing Phoenix mall, the auto was bumping so badly. I didn’t know whether it was due to the bad roads or he was angry on me. The auto was bumping so heavily that I was clinging on to my dear life. When I reached office, I was happy that I was in a one whole piece. 

From all my experiments I have understood that the best way to get around the city is to perhaps have a two wheeler and stay near to office. 

My diet with my Mother in law

There are two terrifying things in a woman’s life. Fortunately, I’m blessed with both. One my weight and two my mother in law.

Last month i went for a complete health checkup. I underwent a series of tests and spent half of my salary. I collected the reports and consulted the doctor. He gave me a serious look and said “Sevitha, obesity is a major problem. You’re prone to diseases like cholesterol, diabetes, thyroid, and android.”

I was shocked. He continued saying hypertension along with blood pressure, liquid pressure, vacuum pressure is on your way. I was already pressure less, but my husband was pressurized. My husband looked at me and said “Honey. Please take care of your health. After all, who will do the laundry.

The very next day i decided to go on a strict diet and joined a gym where they plucked the rest of my salary. At the gym, they gave me an ever green diet plan - green vegetable, green salad, green grass, green, green, green. Exactly a menu for a cow.

What i don’t understand is in spite of eating only green grass, why are some cows fatter than me?

I came home from the gym and received a phone call from my mil – “Hi Sevitha. I am going to come home tomorrow”. I realized my doctor’s words were coming true – hyper tension along with blood pressure on my way.

Next morning, she reached our house, went straight into the kitchen and started cooking. That was when my hubby told her about my diet plans. After keenly listening to it, my mil gave me a wicked smile.

She said “No problem Ajay. I will take care of it.”

Leaving the kitchen to her, i rushed to the gym. My trainer, after seeing me, he was instantly inspired and asked me to stand on the weighing machine. As soon as i got on it, it started beeping with an automated voice – ONE PERSON AT A TIME. I looked at my trainer and said, “After all… weight is just a number.”

He then asked me to raise a 10 kilo bar, i lifted it like a chocolate bar.

His ego was terribly hurt. He never gave up. He asked me to do 25 minutes of running, 25 minutes on EFX, 25 minutes of floor exercise, and finally he gave me 25 table topics. I was exhausted.

I came back home. And the breakfast was ready.

I went to the dining table and saw two idlies in my plate…5 idlies and 2 vadas in my husband’s plate……It gave me the same feeling of someone else’s appraisal letter and my appraisal letter…

For a minute, i thought of slim goddesses like Priyanka chopra and Kareena Kapoor and quickly gulped the two idlies and started to office. Vada…..poche!!!

I reached office at 10 am and exactly an hour later i started to hear different sounds from my tummy. i couldn’t wait for lunch time. During lunch, i rushed to the cafeteria and opened my box ravenously. I saw two chapathis and a small cup of dal.

I understood why my mother in law said, “I will take care of it”. After work, i reached home by 8pm. When i entered the house, i smelt fresh ghee in the air. I was about to dive on the food. Just then my MIL told, “Sevitha, Wait. Let Ajay come”.

I was waiting for my lovely husband to come.

A few minutes later, my lovely husband arrived. My mil served him hot puris and chicken and she brought a hot pack from the kitchen with a smile. i opened it so eagerly to find biryanis. But i found 3 dry rotis.

Rotis!!! Really!!! I felt like stuffing all three roti’s in her mouth and suffocate her to death. Oh…no she is my mother in law, how can i kill her?

Frustrated, i skipped my dinner and went to bed. But I was not able to sleep. I kept rolling….and rolling…. and rolling…..in the bed but my husband kept burping…. and burping…. and burping….in the bed. I got up from the bed and rushed to the kitchen. I brought all the possible dishes from the kitchen to the bed room. My husband was shocked and was staring at me. I saw my MIL standing at the door and smirking at me. I looked at my husband and told “Sergeant at arms!!! Please ensure the doors are secured until i finish eating”.  

Ladies and only ladies!!! Dieting is a tough job. Do it. But do it only when your MIL is not around.

When I travel

When I travel

Travel. Travelling is the most exciting and fun thing to do. But when you travel more and more, it becomes more like a sad episode in a mega serial. I am going to talk about two unforgettable incidents that happen when I travelled.

I travel regularly to my home town on weekends to visit my daughter. I usually take the 9.00 pm bus which starts from Egmore.

So, on one Friday, as usual, I reached the bus office on Egmore an hour prior to the departure time. I got my tickets and was seated in a corner.

To while away one hour of waiting time, I pulled out an elite fashion magazine and started reading.

Even though I don’t understand a single word in the magazine, I browse the pages and drool upon the anorexic models in their gorgeous outfits. The advantage of reading an elite magazine like VOGUE, it makes other people to think that u r an upper class woman. So they will try to strike up some conversation in English however good or bad it is.

- Maam, where washrooms.

- Madam, where hotel.

Phew!!!

 The heights of it was when a guy came and asked me

-          Hey, Is that a vogue u r reading. Please suggest a good accessory I can buy for my girl from this book.

I thought to myself “Man, if you are too rich to present something from this book, (pause) then please marry me”.

But I calmly replied “Diamonds are a woman’s best friend”.  He believed it was a brilliant idea and went on to sit in the other corner of the waiting area.

I continued to turn the pages of the magazine when I heard a very sweet voice which called me “Excuse me”. I lifted my head to see a young chap standing with a refulgent smile. He was a very handsome fellow just like the guys you would watch in all those AXE deodorant ads. I was totally perplexed with his looks. But my happiness didn’t last long.

With the T-shirt he was wearing, I understood why he approached me. The T-shirt had this brand called “Herbalife” inscribed on it. For the benefit of thin people, I will tell you what Herbalife is all about as it is being endorsed to only obese people. Herbalife offers diet plans and food supplements for weight loss programme. It is very expensive stuff.

This young man is a Herbalife representative and he is taking the same bus to Madurai. He has approached me to sell his product. He said “Are you in interested in weight loss ma’am?”

I went red with embarrassment. Apart from all the people waiting there, how dare this man come to me and ask this question so loudly.

 I looked up at him and said “No. I am not interested in weight loss. Please don’t disturb me”.  

With a tinge of disappointment in his voice, he pulled out his visiting card and said “Maam, kindly take my card and give me a call when you are free”. Why would I call him and talk about my weight problems. May be I would have considered calling him if he had promised a dinner date. Hmm.

He said this and took a seat opposite to me. He was also waiting for the 9:00 PM bus. I turned to the left side and was avoiding any eye sight from him. But back in my head I was dancing for this song “valaiyosai kalakalavena….” with him.

My chariots of dreams got shattered due to the announcement to board the bus. I got into the bus and settled in my berth. The bus started and stopped at Guindy for the passengers to get in. A 70+ years old lady, a loud lady, boarded the bus. She was accompanied by her teenager great grandson who was too embarrassed to stand beside her. The lady came to my seat and was shouting that I have occupied her seat and I should get out. I was blinking. I knew I got into the right bus and am in the correct seat.

The bus conductor came running. Now, most of the co passengers were looking at us. Being somebody who cried in all the Karan Johar movies, I was not able to control my tears and started crying. The bus conductor demanded for our tickets and after looking keenly for a couple of minutes, he said to that lady “Ada erangu ma. You boarded the wrong bus.” The entire bus burst into laughter. The family got down and I spent rest of the journey praying god to spare me of any more embarrassment.

The Magic of 21

 “Develop a habit in 21 days” they say. Hmm. Sounds good. But what does that mean? In order to develop a new habit, there are two numbers to be kept in mind: i.e., 1 and 21.

Choose one habit and Practice it for 21 consecutive days. (Yes! That means work days and weekends too)

But why do we have to practice one habit at a time, why not two or three.

Trying to integrate more than one habit actually dilutes the effort and concentration of developing one habit and significantly increases the likelihood of giving up. You have a whole life ahead to make more positive changes. You don’t need to do it All at the same time. Pick up one habit that sounds interesting (or pick up a person with similar interest) and give it your full attention.

Why are we not able to develop a new habit?

We wake up, rush to office, check email, work or not work, send birthday wishes to only the good looking ones at office (wink) , work again, go home, check our facebook status, fume at the glorious lives lead by others, and then we go to sleep. In our regular routine, how many of us spend two minutes in a day to pray, to water the garden, two minutes to appreciate someone else job, or greet people we meet every day. We fail to develop a new habit in the course of time. Not to worry. I introduce you to the MAGIC OF 21.

 So why 21?

Our brains have nerve cell called the neurons. Scientists say “Neurons that fire together, wire together”. When you start a new activity, you create new connections between those neurons. The more consistently you do the activity, the stronger the connections become. 21 consecutive days is good enough to establish the strong neuro-pathways for this new activity. It helps in making it a regular habit.

BUT the mind is so capricious.  Your brain is sure to resist. Be ready for it. It is more inclined to think of the “lack of” instead of the benefits. E.g., when you want to give up your morning coffee it really does not allow you to think of the benefits. It may say a lot of things like “This is stupid. I have been doing this for five days. I don’t feel any difference. May be it does not work.” The brain is really good at justifying why we shouldn’t continue. Not to blame. As humans, we are more result- oriented than process- oriented.

“Change your thought , Change your life”.

Start practicing a new habit for 21 days. Now, as you start experiencing the benefits of the 21 day pattern, it changes the way you see the world. The default setting of the brain goes from “cannot” to “can”. Goes from “negativity, stress” to “positivity, happiness, and gratitude”. These habits simply help us to be more optimistic and hopeful”.

What habit can we start for 21 days now?

I have made a small list for myself that I am in the middle of doing.

• Eat a fruit each day
• Have green tea instead of coffee
• Pray and lit the lamp

And I read about the benefits of having six glasses of water in the morning in empty stomach. I am in the middle of cultivating the habit of drinking six glasses of water every morning as soon as I wake up and brush. I don’t even want to think of the first two days I did that. Yuck! That was how it was. Now I am pushing myself to make this a habit.

This is what I am planning in the coming days. So what habit would you like to develop in the next 21 days. Do not give up, the beginning is always the hardest.

My Toastmaster's journey - CC1 - I, Me, Myself

My Life within 500 words

In the year 1984, a happily ever after couple, mr. Ravindran and Ahila from Madurai wanted a boy baby. They were already the proud parents of two little girls, Ramya and Ragha. They even named the to-be-born as Raja Narendran.

On January 1985, much to their shock, they were blessed with a baby girl. Now the parents faced with a problem. They have to search for a girl name. Mr. Ravindran did not want to ignore the name Raja as it is his father’s name.

Fortunately the girl was named Raja Sevitha instead of Sevitha Raja. Imagine How will “Sevitha Raja” sound. It would have been like Bullet Raja or Rocket Raja.

She studied at VMJ higher secondary school from KG to 12 th standard. With good scores in +2, she got enrolled in Thiagarajar engineering college and did a bachelors degree in information technology. When she completed her graduation in 2006, and passed out as an engineer with decent marks, she realized engineering is not her forte.

She didn’t get selected in the campus interview as her friends did. She came to Chennai in search of a job and started her career as customer support executive at Sutherland and moved on to be a copy editor. She worked across two major organizations as a copy editor for 2 years.

She wanted to move on from copy editing as it did not promise a bright future. She quit her job. Some of her friends suggested her the field of Technical writing that gains an easy access to IT sector with good pay. With good communication skills and a flair for writing, she was interested in taking up a technical writing certification and completed it successfully.

Good things come your way when they have to.

The year 2009 was a fabulous year for her as she got selected in Zoho as a technical writer and got married to Mr. Ajay Kumar. In November 2011, the gorgeous couple was blessed with a little princess, Sahana. Sevitha took a break for her maternity in 2011 and joined Servion in November 2013 as a technical writer to kick start her career again. She loves Servion for bringing out the innovative ideas from its employees. It gives a sense of ownership.

Sevitha is a capricorn by birth, an aspiring novelist, food fanatic, a super duper friend, movie freak, and a thoughtful person. 

The person I was mentioning so far is none other than me, Raja Sevitha, the loving daughter, responsible wife, proud mother, and a writing professional. Writing gives me immense pleasure when it is being read and appreciated well.

Finally quoting Steven Leigh “ You may be able to take a break from writing, but you won’t be able to take a break from being a writer”. I being a writer never deny that.