Wonderful Story of a Little Daughter

A Wonderful Story of a little daughter…

“You have done a brilliant work Rajesh. You have been given… rrrrhhhhh…… Raaaajjjeeeessshhhh………… Raaaajjjeeeessshhhh” “what!!” I woke up from a sudden jerk. “Raaajeeessshhh…” …I heard my wife yelling. What's with her? Always yelling for something or the other. I can't be in peace even in my dreams. Shucks!! Angrily, I kicked my blanket and got down. “Raaajesssh…”, “Coming Meera..what's with you. Why are you shouting like this..”

I hurried down the stairs. I saw Meera, my sweet(??!!) wife, sitting in the couch giving breakfast to my 7 yr old daughter Achala. Both looked happy, watching TV. I got confused at the whole scenario. I came running down, expecting some kind of earthquake, but instead here everything was in place. I looked at my wife & daughter. She smiled at me back. Now, I more got confused, what's happening here? Am I in a dream?

“Meera…” “Yeah Rajesh…” “You called me. In fact yelled”. “Yes. You are right!” “Everything is fine here right? Why you screamed like that then…” “It's because it's going to be 8am now”. I couldn't understand what she was trying to say. Is she playing some kind of prank? Is this the time for all these? I have to be in office by 9 AM for a meeting.

“Yes. It's going to be 8 AM. Right! So…?” “Rajesh, don't tell me, you forgot…today is 27^th” “27^th ..What 27^th?” “Don't tell me you don't remember?” Meera gave me an ‘I'll kill you’ look. Is it her birthday? No it's somewhere at the year end. Is it my daughter's? no no, we celebrated last month only right. Got it. Should be our Anniversary.

“Hey Meera, How will I forget our Anniversary…”

“Whaattttttt????…. Anniversaryyyyy???…”

“Got it. It's not our anniversary. Before I get killed… what's with 27^th”. “What what?? Come on Rajesh!! Think”. Nothing hit my mind. I looked at my daughter for a clue. She turned her face away. What's with all women? Why can't they be straight forward and say things. With so much work pressure, how on earth I am supposed to remember all the dates?. If I say something, then Meera will pick up a fight, and I will miss the meeting, my whole day will be gone. I made up my mind to surrender.

“Meera, Sorry, I don't remember. This medicine I am taking for cough, Something happened..my memory is deteriorating ..What's today?” Meera doesn't seem like buying that excuse from me.

“Meera, please tell me” I asked in a pitiable tone..

“Rajesh..You don't remember at all?“ I moved my head left & right meaning NO. I kept my face like I am a patient suffering from ‘amnesia’.

“Rajesh, As part of annual day celebrations, today is ‘Daddy's Day’ in Acchu's school. I have been telling you for the past 3 weeks. Now don't tell me you forgot. You already promised that you will go with her to her school”

I couldn't believe that I accepted for something like that. “Meeraa..did I??”

“Yes. You did.”

“at what time it starts..?”

“by 8:30 AM and ends at 1 PM”

Gosh!! 9 AM!! I have such a critical meeting. How I will attend all these. “Meera, you could have reminded me yesterday right?”

“Oh I didn't remind you? Great. I didn't call to your office. Or remind you in the evening and before going to bed.”

Might be I wouldn't have heard it. Or slipped out of my memory. What ever!! “Meera! Can't you attend all these. Why should I??”

“Rajesh. It's Daddy's Day!...DADDY'ss!!!!!”

“Oh yeah....but...”

“But what????...”

“errrh....might be some other day...”

“What? You want the school to postpone the function?”

“No..no…actually..what..I am saying is..”

“What Rajesh??? What?? Tell me. You promised Acchu and are you going to disappoint her?”

I stood there totally helpless. I looked at my daughter. She was all dressed up and ready to go. She looked like, she will cry any time. I saw Meera. She gave me a murderous look. I thought for a moment and my mind raced with many calculations. Important meeting. I can't miss for sure. Half a day is too much.

So many deliverables will get affected. I can't face Meera again if I don't go. Might be I can postpone the meeting by an hour and for name sake visit that function and escape to office.

“Meera, I will go, but I can spend only 1 hour..”

“No...that's not..”

Before Meera finished the sentence, Acchu rushed to me “Thanks daddy. 1 hour. Mom, 1 hour is enough mom. Please don't fight mom. Daddy, get ready soon..” she nudged me.

“Do you know her school name and the route for the school or you want me to tell???” Asking that Meera threw me an angry look and left the living room. I rushed up, got ready. Called my manager and told him that I got stuck in traffic jam and postponed the meeting to 10am.

I took Achala to her school. I felt somehow entering the school, because it's the 2^nd time I am entering her school. In fact 1^st time, I once dropped her outside her school gate. The school had a big playground, small Park with all kids playing equipment. Some stalls were put up. So many kids with their fathers moved around here and there.

Suddenly I felt some one touching my hand “Are you Achala's daddy?” – A small kid asked. She had curly hair and bubbly smile. “Yes, My Daddy...” – Achala responded in an excited tone. And some kids ran towards me and Achala started introducing everyone.

“Daddy! this is Rohit, this is Zakir, Anis, Sylvia, Divya..” – I told hello to everyone. “Daddy, Daddy, Zakir is my best friend.” – I smiled at that cute blue eyed boy.

“Uncle, Acchu told that you have so much work and you won't be able to come. She told she won't come in today. You don't have work Uncle?” – Zakir asked me. I suddenly felt very bad on how my daughter has understood me. “No Zakir, I don't have work”

“Daddy, they are calling for the games.” Zakir ran to his father and waved his hands at me & achala. I took achala by hand and walked towards the stage.

They were announcing the 1^st game. Fathers will be given a sheet containing questions about their kids. Fathers have to fill about their kids which will be verified with the kids response.

Achala was all excited about the game and she was all set to go. But I felt shivers. I looked at my daughter. Suddenly, I felt very far from her, and the reality hit me, that I don't know anything about my very own daughter. I blurted out “Acchu..we will attend the next game..This one...” She gave me a deep stare. I thought she is going to cry or shout or do something.

But instead she pulled out a small paper from her jeans pocket and gave it to me. Completely baffled, I opened the sheet.

My name is Achala. My birthday March 21^st . I am 7 yrs old. I like butterfly. Superman. Dairy milk. painting. dancing. I am in 1st standard A section. I like Dora. Mango. Apple. Fried rice. Jelly. I don't like banana. I drink boost.. I like yellow color. My nick name is ‘Honey dew’.

And the list went on with small, small spelling mistakes.

I looked at Acchu.

“Daddy, read it, I know they will keep this game. So I wrote it 2 days back itself, to give you if you come. If they ask anything about me, write there. Ok now go and attend the game”. Most of the things, my daughter has written and gave me, I never knew anything about it. I suddenly felt a lump in my throat. I went to the stage waved my hand to Acchu and got the question sheet. Since Acchu gave the sheet, I came to know about her and I answered almost all the questions.

Then they asked Acchu on stage and asked the questions to her. We got the 2^nd highest mark in that game. Acchu came running towards me and hugged me. They gave a ‘toy guitar’. Everyone congratulated us.

Though I won that game, I felt like a loser. I know, I don't deserve this. I don't know anything about my daughter. She looked very happy showing that guitar to her best friend, Zakir.

What a kid she is. Understanding that her dad is totally hopeless and don't want to let her dad down, before others she prepared that sheet and gave to me. The lump in my throat started getting bigger and my heart became heavy.

I caressed her hair. What a beautiful smile she has and such big eyes. Does she miss a wing to get qualified as an angel? I have never admired my daughter or even watched her in all these years. She has that cute dimple of Meera's as well as her eyes. Does that curling lip edges when she smiles, is mine? How I missed all this in my life.

Achala pulled me to the stalls there and I got some eatables and ballons for her and Zakir...

She kept talking about the next game and suddenly my mobile rang.

Oops!! Is it already 10 AM. I looked at Acchu. Suddenly her face became dark. She looked totally upset and asked in an low voice “Daddy! You have to leave now?”

I looked at my mobile. My manager was calling. It's already 10am. I looked at Acchu. I looked around. All those happy kids with their fathers. I thought about my school days, where my dad used to come for all sports day, annual day, sit with me, cheer me up. Every day morning, while dropping me to school, he will wait near the gate until my head disappear. Evening, he will come and pick me up in his cycle, and I will be telling him all the stories that happened that day in school.

I saw Acchu. How many untold stories my daughter has kept in her heart to say me? I thought about all those days, where I yearned for a girl child and I wonder, how much of my time I gave her.

I pulled her closer, gave a kiss on her fore head “No Honey! I am not going. I will be here only… we will attend all games and roam around whole day. Ok?”

“Really?” – She asked in an unbelievable tone.

“Yes sweetz”

“Thank you Daddy!” – Achala kissed my cheeks and ran to her friends.

School teaches you something or the other always. This time, ‘back to school’ has taught me a wonderful life's lesson.

I called my manager and told that am running high fever and can't come in today. I know, I can handle things tomorrow. Today my daughter needs me more than anyone can need me in this world. With a lighter heart, I got up, ran towards Acchu, lifted her and gave her a big swing. She erupted into an uncontrollable laughter. The lump in my throat started melting away . . .

One of the best speeches of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

I have three visions for India. In 3000 years of our history people from all over the world have come and invaded us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. From Alexander onwards. The Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation. We have not conquered anyone. We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the freedom of others. That is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. I believe that India got its first vision of this in 1857, when we started the war of independence. It is this freedom that we must protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will respect us.

My second vision for India is DEVELOPMENT. For fifty years we have been a developing nation. It is time we see ourselves as a developed nation. We are among top 5 nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have 10 percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling. Our achievements are being globally recognized today. Yet we lack the self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed nation, self-reliant and self-assured. Isn't this incorrect?

I have a THIRD vision. India must stand up to the world. Because I believe that unless India stands up to the world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects strength. We must be strong not only as a military power but also as an economic power. Both must go hand-in-hand. My good fortune was to have worked with three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai of the Dept. of space, Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded him and Dr. Brahm Prakash, father of nuclear material. I was lucky to have worked with all three of them closely and consider this the great opportunity of my life.

I see four milestones in my career:

ONE: Twenty years I spent in ISRO. I was given the opportunity to be the project director for India's first satellite launch vehicle, SLV3. The one that launched Rohini. These years played a very important role in my life of Scientist.

TWO: After my ISRO years, I joined DRDO and got a chance to be the part of India's missile program. It was my second bliss when Agni met its mission requirements in 1994.

THREE: The Dept. of Atomic Energy and DRDO had this tremendous partnership in the recent nuclear tests, on May 11 and 13. This was the third bliss. The joy of participating with my team in these nuclear tests and proving to the world that India can make it, that we are no longer a developing nation but one of them. It made me feel very proud as an Indian. The fact that we have now developed for Agni a re-entry structure, for which we have developed this new material. A Very light material called carbon-carbon.

FOUR: One day an orthopedic surgeon from Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences visited my laboratory. He lifted the material and found it so light that he took me to his hospital and showed me his patients. There were these little girls and boys with heavy metallic calipers weighing over three kg. each, dragging their feet around. He said to me: Please remove the pain of my patients. In three weeks, we made these Floor reaction Orthosis 300 gram calipers and took them to the orthopedic centre. The children didn't believe their eyes. From dragging around a three kg. load on their legs, they could now move around! Their parents had tears in their eyes. That was my fourth bliss!

Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why? We are the first in milk production. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat. We are the second largest producer of rice. Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters.

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert land into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?

I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is: She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation.

Allow me to come back with vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country?

YOU say that our government is inefficient.

YOU say that our laws are too old.

YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.

YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, the airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.

YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say.

What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS.

YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. 

YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM.

YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity. In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU?

YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai.

YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah.

YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs. 650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else."

YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 kph) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Jaanta hai sala main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost."

YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand. Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talking of the same YOU.

YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country why cannot you be the same here in India. Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay Mr. Tinaikar had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place," he said. "And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry." So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand. Or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too....I am echoing J.F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"

Lets do what India needs from us.

Becoming One With the World - speech by Chetan Bhagat

Speech given by Chetan Bhagat at the HT Leadership Summit, Delhi, November 21, 2008.

Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to speak at the leadership summit – the first of its kind for me.

I am no leader. At best, I am a dreamer with perseverance to make dreams come true. As I have made my own dreams come true already, I am tempted to think we can make my country’s dreams come true. And that is why I am here.

Before we become one with the world we have to become one with ourselves. If we get our own house in order we don’t have to make an effort to be one with the world. The world will want to be one with us. Everyone wants to be friends with happy, rich, thriving neighbors. Nobody wants a family festered with disputes.

A lot is wrong in my country. There are too many differences. The question is not who we blame for this. The question is how do we fix it? Because to do anything great, you have to become one first. Two generations ago, our forefathers came together to win us Independence. It isn’t like we didn’t have disputes then. Religion, caste, community have existed for centuries. But Gandhi brought them all together for a greater cause – to get the country free.

Today, we have another greater cause. To get India its rightful place in the world. To see India the way the younger generation wants to see it. To make India a prosperous, developed country, where not only the spirit of patriotism, but also the standard of living is high. Where anyone with the talent, drive and hard work alone has the ability to make it. Where people don’t ask where you come from, but where you are going. We all know that India, as we have all dreamt of that India.

There is a lot required to be done for this, and it doesn’t just start and end by blaming politicians. For in a democracy, we elect the politicians. If our thinking changes, our voting will change and the politicians will change. And since I have made a nation that didn’t read, read, do I believe people’s thinking can be changed.

To me there are 3 main areas where I think we need to change our thinking – leaders included. And I’m not just saying we need to do it because it is morally right/ ethically correct/ or because it sounds nice at a conference. We need to do it as it make sense from an incentives point of view. These three areas are changing the politics of differences to the politics of similarity, looking down on elitism and the role of English.

The first mindset change required is to change the politics of differences to the politics of similarity. I’ve been studying young people in India, not just in big cities but across India for the last five years.

They are the bulk of the population – the bulk of our voter bank. Yet, what they are looking for is not what politicians are pitching. It is not too different from the old school Bollywood where they think item numbers, big budgets and tested formulas work while the biggest hits of the year could be Rock On and Jaane Tu. Yes, times have changed.

Here is what the politicians are pitching – old fashioned patriotism, defending traditions, being the torchbearer of communities, caste and religion. Here is what the youth wants – better colleges, better jobs, better role models. Compared to the talent pool, the number of good college seats are very limited. Same for good jobs. These wants are the biggest similarity that we all share. We all want the same things – progress. I see a huge disconnect in the political strategies of existing politicians vs. what could work for the new voters.

I think broad based infrastructure and economic development will satisfy the young generation’s needs. It isn’t an easy goal to attain – but it is the great cause that can unite us. Today a dynamic politician who takes this cause can achieve a far greater success than any regional politician. And the slot is waiting to be taken.

Another aspect required to convert the politics of differences to the politics of similarities is a strong moderate voice. When someone tries to divide us, people from the same community as the divider have to stand up against him. If person A is saying Non-Marathis should be attacked, then some Marathis need to stand up and say person A is talking nonsense. If a Muslim commits terrorist attack, other Muslims should stand up and condemn it, as Hindus are going to condemn it anyway. This moderate voice is sorely missing but is critical in keeping the country together. And the youth want to keep it together, as we want to be remembered as the generation who took India forward, not the one that cut India into two dozen pieces.

I hate telling people what to do, but the media does have a role in this. I agree that media is a business and TRPs matter above anything else. However, there are ethics in every business. Doctors make money off sick people, but it doesn’t mean they keep people sick and not heal them. If you find a moderate voice, highlight it as soon as a divisive voice appears. And don’t take sides, argue or debate it. Don’t validate the ridiculous. Focus on the greater cause.

The second mindset we need to change is that of elitism. From my early childhood days, to college, to professional and business life, and now in the publishing and entertainment circles, I have noticed a peculiar Indian habit of elitism. Maybe it is hard to achieve anything in India. But the moment any person becomes even moderately successful, educated, rich, famous, talented or even develops a fine taste, they consider themselves different from the rest. They begin to move in circles where the common people and their tastes are looked down upon. This means a large chunk of our most qualified, experienced, connected and influential people prefer to live air-conditioned lives in their bubble of like minded people. Naive people who elect stupid politicians – that is the bottom line for all Indian problems, and they want nothing to do with it. But tell me, if the thinking of the common people has to be changed, who is going to change it? What is the point of discussing solutions to Indian problems if there is no buy-in from the common man? Just because it feels good to be around like-minded, intelligent people? What is the use of this intelligence?

If you switch on the TV, seventy percent of the time you will see Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The reason is the media is centered in these cities. However, ninety percent of India is not this. Unless we represent these people properly, how will these people ever come with us?

Again, I am not making these points as a moral appeal. I think understanding India and being inclusive makes massive business sense. And trust me, it doesn’t take any coolness or trendiness away from you if you do it right. Look at me, I am the mass-iest English author ever invented in India. My books sell on railway stations and next to atta in Big Bazaar. I have an Indian publisher who operates from the bylanes of Darya Ganj. And yet, on orkut the most common words associated with my name are coolness and awesomeness – tags given by my wonderful readers. I think it is cooler to know how people think in the streets of Indore and Raipur than who’s walking the ramp in South Mumbai. You may have planned your next vacation abroad, but have you visited a small town lately? Have you shown your kids what the real India is like? Don’t you think they will need to know that as they grow up and enter the workforce. Yes, I want people to look down on elitism and develop a culture of inclusiveness. If you are educated, educate others. If you have good taste, improve others taste rather than calling theirs bad.

The last aspect where we need to change our thinking is our attitude to English. We have to embrace English like never before. Not England, but English. This point may sound contradictory to my previous one, but I am not talking about confining English to the classes, but really taking it to the grass root level. English and Hindi can co-exist. Hindi is the mother and English is the wife. It is possible to love them both. In small towns, districts and even villages – we need to spread English. India already has a head start as so many Indians speak English and we don’t have to get expat teachers like China does. But we must not confuse patriotism with the skills one needs to compete in the real world. If you are making an effort to start a school where none existed, why not give the people what will help them most. I can teach a villager geometry and physics in Hindi, but frankly when he goes to look for a job he is going to find that education useless. English will get him a job. Yes, I know some may say what will happen to Hindi and our traditional cultures. I want to ask these people to pull their kids out of English medium schools and then talk. If you go to small towns, English teaching classes are the biggest draw. There is massive demand for something that will improve people’s lives. I have no special soft spot for this language, but the fact is it works in the world of today. And if more English helps spread prosperity evenly across the country, trust me we will preserve our culture a lot better than a nation that can barely feed its people.

We are all passionate about making India better, so we can discuss this forever. But today I wanted to leave you with just three thoughts – politics of similarities, less elitism and more English that we need to build consensus on. If you agree with me, please do whatever you can in your capacity to make the consensus happen. It could be just a discussion with all your friends, or spreading these thoughts in a broader manner, if you have the means and power to do so. For the fact that we are sitting in this wonderful venue means our country has been kind to us. Let’s see what we can give back to our nation.

Source: www.chetanbhagat.com

Sparks - speech by Chetan Bhagat

Speech given by Chetan Bhagat at Symbiosis, Pune, July 24, 2008 for the orientation program for the new batch of MBA students.


Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates – there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time. 

Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake. 

I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark? 

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing – to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms. 

To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn’t any external measure – a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house. 

Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn’t the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won’t be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive Just getting better from current levels feels good.If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important. 

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order. 

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions. 

You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die. 

One last thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said – don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices. 

I’ve told you three things – reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose. 

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember – if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be. 

Disappointment’ s cousin is Frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life – friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously. 

Unfairness – this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark. 

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is Isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others. 

There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms – disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die. 

I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying – I come from the land of a billion sparks. 

Thank You.

Source: www.chetanbhagat.com

Revolution 2020

Another master piece from Chetan Bhagat. I pre ordered it from Flipkart and got it on a Friday evening (October 7, 2011). I had to travel a bit that weekend, so thought I would keep it for the trip. So the next day morning I started reading it. And the book was so good I read 200 pages in 4 hrs from Vizag to Rajahmundry. I was feeling, why didn’t my bus got one hour late so that I could have completed the remaining 90+ pages. Definitely it’s the book which arrested me the most so far. The conversations and chats between Gopal and Aarti are beautiful and shows unknowingly how much thinking goes into a boy girl conversations/chats. Chetan gives some of his how to handle girls tips through those conversations/chats ;). The portraying of good and bad attributes of the same character was extraordinary and my little experience in reading says it's a rare thing to experience in Indian books. Girls who relate themselves with Aarti might feel bad, but the confusing portrayal of Aarti is the base for weaving such a beautiful plot. The entire plot is beautiful and the ending 30 pages is absolutely arresting. The ending is a moving one. The confusion created in the readers mind - of how the story is going to end, was cleared off by such an appealing unexpected ending. Though I think some people might have a different opinion, I would say it’s a beautiful ending. But I think Chetan must himself also be a bit unsatisfied with the ending. The portrayal of scenes is beautiful. The amount of research that must have gone into it can clearly be felt during all the sections that involve GangaTech as well as Varanasi and Kota. Finally I believe it’s a must read for all the book lovers. Youth would also like it because of the little cheeky chats and the romance between Aarti and Gopal. The reader wont notice how quickly we walk past through some 10+ years of the characters. The molding of the characters is superb. Chetan touches aspects like career, marriage, love, development, corruption, education and many more in a single story. You can experience all this in the beautiful revolution in Indian writing - "REVOLUTION 2020 - LOVE.CORRUPTION.AMBITION"

Marbles and Sweets Story :)

A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her. The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed. The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised.

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn't sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

Moral of the story: If you don't give your hundred percent in a relationship, you'll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent.. This is applicable for any relationship like love, friendship, etc., Give your hundred percent to everything you do and sleep peacefully.

Thanks to my friend Priyalini for sharing this story :)

Loved these lines from the movie Sucker Punch (2011)

And finally this question - the mystery of whose story it would be? of who draws the curtain? who is it that chooses our steps in the dance? who drives us mad? lashes us with whips and crowns us with victory when we survive the impossible. Who is it..? that tells all these things, who honours those we love with the very life we live, who sends monsters to kill us and at the same time sings that we will never die, who teaches us whats real and how to laugh at lies, who decides why we live and what we would die to defend, who chains us and who holds the key that can set us free. It's you, you have all the weapons you need. Now fight.

Beautiful lines from the movie "One Hour Photo"

Wanted to share these beautiful lines written about photographs from the movie "One Hour Photo". Robin Williams portrayed very well the role of a photo studio employee. Here are the lines:

I'm sure my customers never think about it... but these snapshots are their little stands against the flow of time. The shutter is clicked, the flash goes off and they've stopped time, if just for the blink of an eye. And if these pictures have anything important to say to future generations, it's this... "I was here.", "I existed.", "I was young. I was happy and someone cared enough about me in this world to take my picture."

The Story of a Crow

It rained heavily the whole night through today morning. I was getting ready to go to university when I went to the corridor of our bedroom to take my towel and found this weak, old looking crow sitting in the grill surrounding the corridor. I was really surprised to find it there.

Being a photography freak, I lined up my cam to take a few shots, I took one with out flash from almost a distance of just 3 ft. Then I took another with flash. This was strange, the crow didn't react at all. Then I went closer to it, other than moving slightly it didn't even try to get away. Then I noticed that this one seems to be having a hard time as it was completely drenched in rain. And getting busy with my daily routine, I forget about the crow. I went to college and came back to home for lunch in the afternoon.

Then again I went to the corridor to pick up my towel and here it is still there at the same position. That is when I realized it is in some serious trouble. I said my mom that it's still there. My mom went up there and took it off that grill. Once we got hold of it we found out that the all important tool for a bird's flight, it's tail is missing and I guess it was also infected in it's tail region. I was really upset on watching it. I brought some cotton and dettol. Mom applied dettol in the infected area and did some cleaning and first aid. As I was sure it wouldn't be able to fly, we decided to leave it in our corridor. So did we. Mom also put some rice with dal for it to eat.

Then again I went to college in the afternoon and came back home in the evening. The crow was still in the same situation and it also didn't eat at all. But it was trying to fly a bit. So thinking and hoping that it might flew off in some magical way, mom put it back in the grill.

Some one hour back at around ten, I had a look in the corridor and it was one of the worst pictures to see. The crow was sitting still there at the same position where mom left it in the evening. It was completely still. Stillness which a body takes when it gets rid of its soul. I felt really bad for the crow. It was counting its time from the morning and finally gave up, with immense amount of pain which it can never communicate with us.

So many animals and birds are being pouched and killed everyday. Their habitat is being distracted by human intervention. I was really touched and I thought what would these animals and birds tell us if at all we could understand their language completely. What is the kind of pain and emotions and thought the crow might have experienced today. What are the stories that they might share with us? I wish I could be one of them, I wish I could understand their language.

Indian Railways - Some good tips...!

Here is another article very useful article from another site that explains how to know the chances of your RAC/WL ticket getting confirmed.

Now that waitlisted tickets can be purchased on the internet, it’s time we had an article explaining waitlists, waitlisted tickets and RAC tickets. (I’ll also explain a little about ticket allocation/quotas and how you can use them to your advantage)

Every day, Indian Railways sell millions of railway tickets for thousands of trains, considering how vast and complex the Indian Rail network is, I think they have devised an easy to understand system to ensure maximum occupancy in all classes on all bookable trains.

Most trains can be booked 91* days in advance, some short distance trains, normally daytime trains, can only be booked 30 days in advance, there are a few trains with even shorter booking periods, but none on the main tourist routes. (*details and example later)

If you book early (the earlier the better), you’ve got a good chance of getting a confirmed seat/berth in the class and train of your choice, this becomes more difficult the later you try to book your train. (and very difficult if your train departs during the Indian holidays)

This is when you start seeing some strange letters and numbers when you try to book a ticket, for example...WL 21/RAC 10 or WL 10/WL 4

A quick explanation of RAC and Waitlist

Now that waitlisted tickets can be purchased on the internet, it’s time we had an article explaining waitlists, waitlisted tickets and RAC tickets. (I’ll also explain a little about ticket allocation/quotas and how you can use them to your advantage)

Every day, Indian Railways sell millions of railway tickets for thousands of trains, considering how vast and complex the Indian Rail network is, I think they have devised an easy to understand system to ensure maximum occupancy in all classes on all bookable trains.

Most trains can be booked 91* days in advance, some short distance trains, normally daytime trains, can only be booked 30 days in advance, there are a few trains with even shorter booking periods, but none on the main tourist routes. (*details and example later)

If you book early (the earlier the better), you’ve got a good chance of getting a confirmed seat/berth in the class and train of your choice, this becomes more difficult the later you try to book your train. (and very difficult if your train departs during the Indian holidays)

This is when you start seeing some strange letters and numbers when you try to book a ticket, for example...WL 21/RAC 10 or WL 10/WL 4

A quick explanation of RAC and Waitlists

A very quick explanation of RAC (much more details, diagrams & photos at the bottom of this article.)

WL = Waitlist

RAC = Reservation against cancellation

An RAC ticket gets you on the train (A WL ticket doesn’t) and in your chosen class, but there’s a chance you could end up with just a seat. (very unlikely if you book early). A berth is split into 2 seats for 2 RAC ticket holders, if there’s any last minute cancellations, or if any quota allocations remain unsold, or if any confirmed ticket holders are given a free upgrade (more later), an RAC ticket holder is given the empty berth, the other RAC ticket holder can then convert the 2 seats into a berth.

RAC tickets are only issued for 2-tier air con (4 seats per carriage), 3-tier air con (6 seats per carriage), non air con First Class (4 seats per carriage), and non air con Sleeper Class (up to 12 seats per carriage).

How do RAC and Waitlists all work?

When all the available seats/berths in an individual train/class have been sold, the railways start selling RAC tickets (2A, 3A, FC & SL only), when all the RAC tickets have been sold, then a waitlist is started for all the train classes, and you’re sold a waitlisted ticket.

As people cancel tickets, a RAC/WL ticket will move closer to a confirmed berth. Also, when the final reservation chart is prepared, any un-sold quota berths will be used to reduce the RAC/waitlist.

Tickets will be sold in the following order....(4 RAC places in this example)

1. Available 02
2. Available 01
3. RAC 01
4. RAC 02
5. RAC 03
6. RAC 04
7. WL 01
8. WL 02

and so on...

But my ticket has 2 numbers??

All RAC/WL tickets have 2 ’numbers’, the first is the position you join the waitlist, the 2nd is your current waitlist position.

So lets imagine you go to buy a ticket online (or at a reservation office), you find the perfect train, select your chosen class, enter your date of journey, then notice that the ticket offered is WL 10/WL 4, you buy the ticket, so we’ll use this as an example. (with 4 RAC places)

WL 10/WL 4 means that you join the waitlist at position 10, but due to cancellations (before you bought the ticket) you have already moved to waitlist position 4, the first number will not change, if there were another 3 cancellations, your new waitlist position will be WL 10/WL 1, another 3 cancellations would take you to WL 10/RAC 2, a further 2 cancellations would take you to WL 10/CNF (confirmed reservation, though you wouldn’t find out your carriage and berth number till a couple of hours before the train departs)

Think of standing in a queue, as you go to join the queue you are given a number indicating the position you join the queue (eg. WL 10), this number will remain the same as that IS the position you joined the queue, all those in front of you have either confirmed, RAC or better waitlist positions than you, if any of the people in front of you decide to leave the queue, you move forward, and closer to a confirmed seat/berth, some in front of you may have already left the queue before you joined, so if 6 people had already left the queue, you’d be joining the queue in position WL 10, but you’d already be at position WL 4.

The above ticket would move through the waitlist as follows: -

• WL 10/WL 4
• WL 10/WL 3
• WL 10/WL 2
• WL 10/WL 1
• WL 10/RAC 4
• WL 10/RAC 3
• WL 10/RAC 2
• WL 10/RAC 1
• WL 10/CNF

So, can I board the train?

WL 10/WL 4 = is still a waitlisted ticket, you can’t board the train with a waitlisted ticket.

WL 10/RAC 2 = is an RAC ticket, you can board the train with an RAC ticket but you may only get a seat instead of a berth. (more later)

WL 10/CNF = is a confirmed ticket, you can board the train with a confirmed ticket and find your berth.

Will my RAC/WL position improve? Why?

RAC and waitlist positions always seem to improve, but it depends on many things, most notable-how far in advance you buy your ticket. Later I will explain how to find the likelihood of your individual RAC/WL position improving or becoming confirmed.

The 3 main reasons why RAC/WL positions improve are:

1. The charges for cancelling train tickets are very small, and lots of people cancel tickets, I’m not too sure why, maybe just a change of plans, but I’ve heard that some people book in a couple of different classes or a couple of different trains, or even book for a couple of different days, then as their date of journey approaches, they simply cancel the tickets they don’t want, and keep their preferred tickets, this way they can join a few waitlists and watch what waitlist has the most movement, then stick with that train. (Cancellation details and charges later
2. All bookable trains have quotas (seats/berths reserved) for various groups (Handicapped, government, rail employees, military and many others), often these quota tickets are not sold and the unused seats/berths are used to reduce the RAC/Waitlist, though this doesn’t happen till the reservation chart is prepared. (I’ve got some real examples further down this article, you’ll be amazed at how much the waitlist can change after the final reservation chart is prepared), there’s also a ’last minute’ quota called the tatkal quota (more details later), if any of the tatkal quota remains unsold, the remaining seats/berths will also be used to reduce the RAC/waitlist.
3. Passengers can get upgraded to a higher class (free) if there are available berths (1A, 2A, 3A & SL only) in a higher class, and a waitlist in a lower class, passengers can be upgraded up to 2 classes above the class they pay for. (when the reservation charts are prepared a computer works out what passengers (if any) will get a free upgrade.)

However, on busy trains (especially during Indian holidays) there is virtually no chance of a free upgrade, as there is unlikely to be any availability in the higher classes.

I have to also mention, that during the busy Indian holidays, many trains can sell all their tickets, and have very long waitlists within minutes of tickets going on sale.

How can I check if my RAC/WL position has improved?

For any RAC/WL enquiry, you will need the PNR (passenger name record) number, this is a 10 digit (3+7) number and is located at the top left of your ticket (top right on an e-ticket).

You can check the current status of your ticket by one of the following methods:

• Click on the following link and enter your PNR number.

http://www.indianrail.gov.in/pnr_stat.html

Online PNR enquiry service is available 04:00 - 23:30 IST (09:30 - 05:00 GMT)

• If in India, telephone 139, this number can be dialled from anywhere in India, you’ll need your PNR number.

• there are also PNR machines in most of the big railway stations, but they’re a pain to use.

Remember, the 2nd number is your new position, and CNF = confirmed.

How can I check if my RAC/WL position is likely to improve?

Go to the following website (Only between the hours of 04:00 - 23:30 IST (09:30 - 05:00 GMT))

http://www.indianrail.gov.in/inet_srcdest_names.html

Enter your departure station, destination station, date of journey, and enter your chosen class, then click on ’Get It’.

Next, select your train.

Next, select a date that’s about 85 days away from now, and then click on ’Get Availability’, this will show you the availability for 85-91 days in advance, the highest number you see will be the total quota in your class for your section of journey on that train, though some tickets may have already been sold 91 days in advance. Also remember that some trains can only be booked 30 days in advance.

So if the highest number you see is 8, then that’s how many berths are used for your quota, and the cancellations you need for your ticket to become confirmed will have to come from those 8 passengers, not likely if your waitlist position is WL 10.

You can then do an availability search for today’s date, this will give you the details of today’s train and the next 5 days trains, you can look to see how many cancellations there have been, but this isn’t totally reliable as many people cancel their waitlisted tickets when they realise there’s no chance of a confirmed berth, so for example WL 46/WL 16 may look like 30 people have cancelled their tickets, but if 10 of those were high waitlist ticket holders, their cancellations wouldn’t have helped the lower waitlisted ticket holders at all.

Next, do an availability search for 5 days before your journey date, then look at the booking patterns, then click on ’Get next 6 days availability’, again, look at the booking patterns, are some days busier than others? are Fridays busy? Is there a group of days that are very busy? This may indicate an Indian holiday.

None of the above are absolute, and an Indian holiday will severely reduce the likelihood of cancellations, but they at least give you an idea, and at worst, can show you that you’ve got no chance of your ticket becoming confirmed.

The same determining factors can be used when choosing a train.

But I really needed to use that train, what can I do?

I’ll go into detail later about searching for quotas from other stations and how this can find additional availability.

You can do an availability search using the Foreign Tourist Quota, when you search for availability, you’ll see a section on the left asking you to Enter Quota, next to it you’ll see a drop down box with General on it, click on that and you’ll see the following drop-down box:

Select Foreign Tourist Quota, then do your availability search.

However, Foreign Tourist Quota tickets can’t be booked online, and can only be booked from reservation offices that have a tourist window, you’ll also need to pay for these tickets in foreign currency, or show an encashment certificate (given to you when you exchange money), or show an ATM receipt, you’ll also need your passport to book these tickets.

Also, there’s only berths reserved for the Foreign Tourist Quota on about 200 trains, and only a few berths that may not be in your chosen class, and foreign tourists have a nasty habit of booking on this quota, so any berths may already be gone

Ladies Quota - forget it, on most trains there are 6 berths reserved in Sleeper Class for ladies, but these can be crowded, and I heard last year from a group of girls that their ladies quota berths were surrounded by men.

Tatkal Quota - Tatkal means ’last minute’, but tatkal tickets can be booked 6 days in advance, they can be a great way of getting berths on a train that you need to use, but they’re expensive, and they can sell out in minutes for busy trains, with Tatkal you have to book for the whole of the trains’ journey (with a few exceptions), though you can select a boarding station different from the originating station, you also have to pay an additional (very high) Tatkal charge.

Tatkal tickets can be purchased online, but only starting from 3 days before journey, they can only be booked from 08:00 IST (04:00 on the other days), this is to allow reservation office customers an equal chance of purchasing the tickets.

Never cancel any tickets until you’ve got better tickets, you don’t need to cancel until 2 days before the train departs, then the cancellation charges are minimal, see cancellation charges below.

Should I buy WL/RAC tickets?

I find it very difficult to think of a time when an RAC ticket isn’t worth having, I’ve had dozens of them, and have always got a confirmed berth, in fact I’ve only ended up in an RAC seat once in 20,000 kms on Indian trains, and that was when I bought a WL 143 (SL class) ticket 2 days before departure.

Waitlisted tickets are different though, and it’s almost impossible to answer, it really depends on when you buy the ticket, the class, the train, the boarding station and the destination station, and it depends on the time of year as well.

Read the ’How can I check if my RAC/WL position is likely to improve?’ section above to get a rough idea if a waitlist number is likely to improve.

However, one major thing to remember with RAC and waitlisted tickets, couples and groups have a good chance of getting split up, this is because 1 person may cancel a ticket, and one of you will be given that seat/berth, then another person (maybe in another carriage) cancels, and the your partner (or another member of your group) will be given that seat/berth.

My WL/RAC ticket has changed to CNF (confirmed), do I need to change my ticket?

No, Even if you go from WL to RAC, then to CNF, you keep the same ticket, for the sake of this journey you will always be known by your initial waitlist number, let me put that another way, when you go to the platform to find out your carriage & seat/berth, you will look on the list for your initial WL number (eg. WL 10), when you find WL 10 on the list you’ll also find your carriage/seat/berth details next to it, the TTE (Travelling Ticket Examiner) will also go by your initial waitlist number.

My WL/RAC ticket has become CNF (confirmed), how do I find out my carriage/berth?

Carriage/berth details for RAC/Waitlist passengers are not decided till the reservation charts are prepared, this happens 2-4 hours before the train departs, the reservation charts for morning trains (up till 12:00 departure) are prepared the night before, often as early as 17:00.

You can find out your carriage/berth details AFTER the charts are prepared by using one of the following methods:

• Click on the following link and enter your PNR number.

http://www.indianrail.gov.in/pnr_stat.html

Online PNR enquiry service is available 04:00 - 23:30 IST (09:30 - 05:00 GMT)

• If in India, telephone 139, this number can be dialled from anywhere in India, you’ll need your PNR number.

• When you go for your train, find the correct platform, then look for the reservation charts, they’re always easy to find, they should be pinned to a board close to where you enter the platform, the reservation chart consists of loads of sheets of paper, at the top of each sheet you will see the class, look for the sheets for your class (the longer the sheets, the lower the class), when you find your class, look for the ’RAC/WL’ sheet for that class, for 1A, ECC, 2A & FC the waitlist details should be at the bottom of the normal sheets, for other classes there should be a separate sheet, look down the left side of the sheet for your initial waitlist number (eg. WL 10), then look along the line, you’ll see your name, age, sex and you’ll also see your carriage and berth details (eg. S3-32, Sleeper Class coach 3, berth 32).

Indian Railways use the following letters to identify their carriages.

H = 1st class air con (1A)

E = Executive Chair Class (air con)(EC)

A = 2-tier air con (2A)

B = 3-tier air con (3A)

C = Air Con Chair Car (CC)

FC or F = First Class non air con (FC)

S = Sleeper Class (SL)

D = Bookable 2nd class seat (2S)

HA = 1st class air con/2-tier air con combination

AB = 2 & 3 tier air con combination

G & J are used for Garib Rath trains, G for 3 tier air con, J for Air con Chair Class

• All carriages have a reservation sheet for that particular carriage, this sheet will be stuck to the outside of the carriage next to one of the entrance doors, if you’re travelling in an air con class, it can be quicker to find the air con carriages and look at the sheet on the door, the air con carriages are easy to find, look down the train for carriages without bars on the windows, these are the air con carriages, they’re almost always grouped together, and the vast majority of trains (that have air con) only have a few air con carriages.

(This method is unreliable if you’re not boarding at the train’s originating station as the sheet is often damaged or lost as the train starts moving)

• The Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) also has a full reservation chart with him, he’s the man in charge of the train and he can normally be found by the air con carriages.

ALWAYS leave plenty of time to find your carriage, big stations can be massive places with many platforms, the bridges between platforms can be extremely crowded, trains can have more than 20 long carriages and platforms can be busy and confusing, you should arrive at a big station about an hour before your train is due to depart, about 40 minutes for a medium sized station, and 30 minutes for a smaller station, it’s difficult to be bored on a railway platform, so you won’t regret getting there early, you’ll also be more relaxed, thus making yourself a less attractive target for opportunist criminals.

I read something amazing a few years ago, at the time New Delhi station sold 50,000 platform tickets on busy days, 50,000, almost unimaginable, but the majority of middle/long distance trains carry more than 1000 passengers, then add all the family members coming to saying goodbye, then add all the luggage, then add hundreds of coolies (porters), then add dozens of vendors, then you can imagine how busy a platform can be, and sometimes there will be an important train on the platform next to yours, this really packs the platform, arrive early.

What if my ticket is still waitlisted after the reservation chart has been prepared?

If you buy your WL ticket on the net and it’s still WL when the chart is prepared, IRCTC will automatically refund your money to your bank account, RAC gets you on the train, so no refund.

There can be a lot of waitlist movement on the last day and when the chart is prepared, sometimes more movement than the whole of the last month, so don’t just assume that a waitlist number is too high to become confirmed, and the ticket cost will therefore automatically get refunded, see the examples in the ’hidden quotas’ explanation later.

What if I want to cancel my ticket?

Charge for cancelling confirmed ticket (more than 24 hours in advance, not including day of journey).

• 1A/ECC = Rs 70
• 2A/3A/CC/FC = Rs 60
• SL/2S = Rs 40
• RAC/WL cancellations = Rs 20 per passenger (all classes)

The cancellation charges increase massively (up to 50%) if you cancel later than the above stated time.

So how does it all REALLY work?

I think the only way to really explain is to use a real train and real waitlists, this will hopefully give you a good understanding of how the railway quotas work, I hope it’s not as boring as it sounds.

Train 0111 is the overnight train from Mumbai to Goa, one of the most popular trains used by tourists, it departs from Mumbai CST station (platform 15) daily at 23:05 and has 1A, 2A, 3A & SL, below is a diagram of the train, you enter the platform at the rear of the train and the Loco at the other end of the platform. (look on the arrivals board for train 0104, this train will become train 0111 and should take a minimum 45 minutes from arrival to be ready to depart)

LOCO-SLR-ll-ll--S10-S9-S8-S7-S6-S5-S4-S3-S2-S1-PC-B4-B3-B2-B1-A1-HA1-ll-ll-SLR

Thanks to Binaiks (a member of the Southern Railways discussion forum) for the rake configuration, very useful.

Below are the letters in the diagram, you’ll also find the letters displayed on the carriages of the train (next to the carriage door), eg. S4 = Sleeper Class carriage number 4.

• LOCO = locomotive
• SLR = Luggage/parcel van/guard van with some 2nd class unreserved.
• ll = 2nd class unreserved
• S = Sleeper Class (SL)
• PC = Pantry Car
• B = 3-tier air con (3A)
• A = 2-tier air con (2A)
• HA = 1st class air con (1A) & 2-tier air con combination

Train 0111 is a popular train and booking ahead is always advised, all tourists (and Indians) should first try the general quota when attempting to book tickets, probably 90+% of train tickets used by tourists are from the general quota.

Here’s the availability using the general quota from 30/6 till 28/9, all the info was gathered on the 30/6, the number of berths allocated to the general quota is listed below.

• 1A = First Class air con (total general quota = 6)
• 2A = 2-tier air con (total general quota = 18)
• 3A = 3-tier air con (total general quota = 150)
• SL = Sleeper Class-not air con (total general quota = 362)

Showing all 91 days may seem over the top, but it’s the best way to show the availability fluctuations that occur sometimes months in advance.

Advance Booking Period

A quick explanation about advance booking period. It’s widely believed that trains can only be booked 90 days in advance, and this is true, however, the 90 days doesn’t include the day of the train’s departure, so in reality, the train can be booked 91 days in advance, however, online tickets for the first bookable day go on sale at the same time as the ticket offices open in India, 08:00 IST (02:30GMT).

Some trains can be booked 92, 93 and even 94 days ahead, for example, if you booked the Kerala Express from Jhansi to New Delhi, you could book the train 93 days in advance, this is because the train starts it’s journey 2 days before it gets to Jhansi, so you can book 90 days ahead (not including day of departure from your boarding station), then add the 2 days it takes the train to reach Jhansi, total = 93 days ahead.

Train 2625 (Kerala Express) departs Trivandrum on day 1 at 11:15, then Vijayawada on day 2 at 10:05, then Jhansi on day 3 at 06:42 and arrives at New Delhi at 13:20 on day 3.

Anyway, back to the overnight train from Mumbai to Goa, here’s the 91 day availability list:

Regrets, I’ve had a few, but then again

If you search for availability, you may find - REGRET/WL 442 (or any other number), this means....REGRET that tickets will no longer be sold for this class in this train.

The railways will only sell tickets that have at least a small chance of becoming RAC or confirmed, they look at past waitlists and decide on the number of waitlisted tickets to sell for a particular class on a particular train, once that number is passed, they stop selling tickets.

Phew, that was a long list.

Did you notice how long a person would have to wait for availability in all the classes?

Then look at the waitlists for the 14th August, some 7 weeks before the travel date. (people going home for Independence day)

Then look at the waitlists for the 28th August till 5th September, nearly 9 weeks before the date of departure. (I’ve no idea why, must be some kind of holiday)

Then look at 11th September (12th September is the annual plastic duck painting competition in Goa, last year’s violence at the awards presentation obviously hasn’t put people off attending this year).

Other (hidden) quotas

I mentioned earlier that any unused quota berths will be used to reduce the RAC/WL, to explain this further I’ve done a table for train 0111 to demonstrate this.

I’ve explained the other quotas (listed in table) earlier, the Konkan quota is a number of berths that the Konkan Railway website sells (at inflated prices) for this train.

Here’s what I mean about unknown quotas and last minute cancellations helping to reduce the RAC/WL numbers, have a look at the following copied from the availability list above, I kept an eye on the availability after the reservation charts were prepared, and here’s what I found, the numbers in brackets are available berths AFTER the reservation chart was prepared (about 17:00 for this train), ALL RAC and WL ticket holders would have been given confirmed berths before any availability was offered to anyone else.

This last minute availability is only because the train wasn’t too busy, I tried again a couple of weeks ago and found no availability in any class for about 5 days, so don’t rely on this.

If you do see this kind of availability when you’re in India (after chart preparation), you can buy these tickets, but you have to go to the ’current reservations’ window at the train’s originating station, I don’t know if you can do the same at stations along the route, I’ll try to find out.

The Mumbai - Goa train is what I’d call a one-purpose train, this purpose is to take passengers from Mumbai to Goa, and although the train will call at other stations, all tickets for this train will come from the general quota.

The next train I’ll show you is what I’d call a multi-purpose train.

Train 4864 runs 4 days a week, train 4854 runs on the other 3 days at almost identical times; I’ll use train 4864 in the following example.

Train 4864 starts it’s journey in Jodhpur, then goes via Jaipur and Agra Fort to Varanasi Jn, Indian Railways recognises that passengers may want to use this train for only part of it’s journey, and whilst the railways would prefer passengers who travel the train’s full journey, they also don’t want to lose out on passengers who only wish to travel part of the route.

Now lets say (for example) the entire train was booked by people wanting to travel from Agra Fort to Varanasi Jn, that would mean the train running empty from Jodhpur to Agra Fort, so the railways had to devise a system that would give priority to longer distance passengers, but was also flexible enough to accommodate some shorter distance passengers, here’s how they do it (this system operates on most long distance trains).

The originating station (and some other stations close to it) has the ’General’ quota, some important stations along the route are then defined as ’Remote Location’ stations, these RL stations get their own quota, sometimes large with their own RAC and waitlist (RLWL), sometimes small and without RAC.

I maybe explained this better in a reply I give to a thread recently, so I’ll quote that reply.

The main quota for a train is called the General Quota, the General Quota is normally for passengers boarding at (or close to) the trains’ originating station, and travelling to the terminating station (or at least most of the route), when all the General Quota tickets are sold, a general waitlist is started. (GNWL or just WL)

Then along a train’s route a select few stations will have their own quota reserved on a train, these stations will be known as Remote Locations and their quota will be called a Remote location quota, these remote location quotas sometimes have a waitlist (if the quota’s big enough), this waitlist would be the RLWL.

Most of the remaining seats/berths (and there normally isn’t many) would be for the Pooled Quota, these would be for people not on the General Quota or the Remote Location quota, often people boarding at intermediate stations, and booking to another intermediate station, when these few tickets are sold, a pooled quota waitlist (PQWL) is started.

For train 4864, passengers travelling from Jodhpur to Varanasi will be given tickets from the General Quota.

The other stations before Jaipur also take their tickets from the Jodhpur general quota.

Jaipur has been selected as a ’Remote Location’ for this train, and as a remote location, it will have it’s own quota of tickets, it will also have it’s own RAC and RLWL, all stations after Jaipur and up to Idgah Agra will share Jaipur’s RAC and RLWL.

Agra Fort has also been selected as a ’Remote Location’ for this train, but the quota is too small to have RAC and a RLWL, all other stations after Agra Fort would use Agra Fort’s remote location quota.

One of the main reasons for mentioning this is, Jaipur’s quota is a lot bigger than Agra Fort’s quota, now, look at the following select stations from this train’s route, look at the distances as well.

Arrive	Depart	Kms	Station
	09:15	000	Jodhpur
15:30	15:50	313	Jaipur
15:56	15:58	318	Gandhinagar Jaipur
19:18	19:20	500	Bharatpur
20:51	20:53	552	Idgah Agra
21:10	21:15	554	Agra Fort
22:05	22:10	576	Tundla
08:15		1161	Varanasi Jn

Idgah Agra is on Jaipur’s quota, but it’s only 2kms from Agra Fort, now look at the quota numbers between select stations.

Jodhpur to Jaipur - 2A = 29, 3A = 103, SL = 624

Jodhpur to Gandhinagar JPR (and stations to Agra Fort) - 2A = 19, 3A = 75, SL = 410

Jodhpur to Varanasi Jn - 2A = 15, 3A = 65, SL = 386

Jaipur to Agra Fort - 2A = 6, 3A = 22, SL = 180

Jaipur to Varanasi Jn - same as above

Idgah Agra to Varanasi Jn - same as above.

Agra Fort to Varanasi Jn - 2A = 2, 3A = 8, SL = 16

So if you can’t get a confirmed berth from Agra Fort to Varanasi Jn, try booking from Idgah Agra.

Another example:

Train 4059, Delhi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer/Barmer. Jaipur has been selected as a ’Remote Location’ (with RAC and and RLWL) for this train.

Arrive	Depart	Kms	Station
	17:40	000	(Old) Delhi
23:29	23:31	302	Gandhinagar Jaipur
23:45	23:57	308	Jaipur
05:26	05:28	618	Raika Bagh
05:35	06:00	620	Jodhpur
12:45		921	Jaisalmer

Part of the train splits at Jodhpur and goes forward to Barmer

05:35	06:00	620	Jodhpur
10:10		830	Barmer

Delhi (and all other stations) to Barmer - 2A = 0, 3A = 53, SL = 178 

Delhi (& stations upto Ganhinagar JPR) to Jaisalmer - 2A = 17, 3A = 92, SL 118

Delhi (& stations upto Ganhinagar JPR) to Jodhpur - same as above.

Delhi - Jaipur - 2A = 27, 3A = 104, SL = 226

Jaipur to Jodhpur & Jaisalmer - 2A = 6, 3A = 8, SL = 86

Jodhpur-Jaisalmer - 2A = 6, 3A = 8, SL = 86 (Jaipur RL quota)

Raika Bagh-Jaisalmer - 2A = 6, 3A = 8, SL = 86 (Jaipur RL quota)

If you can’t get a confirmed booking from Jaipur to Jaisalmer, try booking from Gandhinagar JPR.

WL/RAC in the future

First, Indian Railways are looking at every train on every route with a view to improving occupancy levels by changing their allocation of tickets, if there is often availability from A to C, but B - C is always waitlisted, they will adjust their ticket allocation accordingly.

Second, TTE’s (The man in charge of the train) are getting computerised hand held devices, these will show the TTE the exact up to the minute availability info, not only from the originating station, but also from stations along the route, this will help the TTE allocate seats/berths more efficiently.

Third, Indian trains are getting busier all the time, and whilst Indian Railways are doing everything they can to maximise occupancy levels, there is a limit, high oil price will attract back customers who switched to airlines, freight will also see an increase and this will restrict the railways from running more pass trains on the popular golden quadrangle (GQ) routes, dedicated freight corridors for the GQ routs are planned, but it will likely take 10 more years for these to be built.

All in all, space for RAC/WL passengers may slowly reduce, and I’ve a feeling things will get worse before they get better, oil prices will soon look like they’ve come down, but in reality the greedy oil producers will still be looking at a massive price increase over a 12 month period, and the railways are probably best placed to deal with these increases, also, if the things I read are correct, Indian Railways have virtually no spare capacity on the GQ routes, so waitlist will continue to grow for a few more years, and are unlikely to significantly improve until the freight corridors are completed and Indian Railways start to run many more trains.

Miscellaneous Information

Here’s some availability numbers I found when researching this article.


AVAILABLE- 1412 (2S, Gomti Express, Lucknow-Delhi)
WL/AVAILABLE (A waitlist was started, but because of cancellations, there is now availability.
RAC 104/RAC 62 (Sleeper Class)
REGRET/WL 360 explained earlier.
WL 6/RAC 103 (many Sleeper Class trains)
AVAILABLE 646 (on day of departure, when total berths for the sector are only 624)
WL 598/WL 441 (SL, Amritsar – Delhi, cant remember the train, but it’s easy to find this type of high waitlist)
WL 102/WL 5 (3A, Golden Temple Mail, 32 days before departure)
Some useful threads.

• How to find trains between 2 places, and availability.
• Indian Railway maps. (and other maps)
• Understanding Reservation Forms.

One final note, a very special Thank You goes to our member VSP, without his knowledge and very useful posts, I wouldn’t know half of the above, so thanks for all your posts and information, you’ve helped indiamike members all over the world.

RAC information - a recap and refresher

Some of the information below is repeated.


When all the available berths in an individual train/class have been sold, the railways start selling RAC tickets (2A, 3A, FC & SL only), when all the RAC tickets have been sold a waitlist is started (All classes) and you’re sold a waitlisted ticket, as people cancel tickets, a RAC/WL ticket will move closer to a confirmed berth, also, when the final reservation chart is prepared, any un-sold quota berths will be used to reduce the RAC/waitlist.

Tickets will be sold in the following order....(4 RAC places in this example)

Available 02
Available 01
RAC 01
RAC 02
RAC 03
RAC 04
WL 01
WL 02
and so on

An RAC ticket gets you on the train (A WL ticket doesn’t) and in your chosen class, but there’s a chance you could end up with just a seat. (very unlikely if you book early)

A berth is split into 2 seats for 2 RAC ticket holders, if there’s any last minute cancellations, or if any quota allocations remain unsold, or if any confirmed ticket holders are given a free upgrade (explained earlier), an RAC ticket holder is given the empty berth, the other RAC ticket holder can then convert the 2 seats into a berth.

However, if you do end up in an RAC seat for your whole journey, It won’t be a great journey, you’ll just have a seat, I ended up in an RAC seat in Sleeper Class from Jaipur to Agra, the train used to take a longer route and take about 7 hours, so I done the journey overnight, the man in the RAC seat opposite was not looking well, so I told him to turn the seats into a berth for him to sleep on, I slept on the floor, I’d normally be comfortable sleeping on the floor, but someone knocked over a bottle of water, so it wasn’t a great night.

RAC tickets are only issued for 2-tier air con (4 seats per carriage), 3-tier air con (6 seats per carriage), non air con First Class (4 seats per carriage), and non air con Sleeper Class (up to 12 seats per carriage).

The following diagram is the layout of a Sleeper Class carriage, a 3-tier air con carriage is the same length, but has one less section (only 64 seats/berths), so the side berths are a little longer, a 2-tier air con carriage is the same as a 3 tier carriage, but it has no middle berths (losing 16 berths) and 2 berths (inside, not side berths) are replaced by air conditioning units, making a total of 46 berths.

The photos below show non air con Sleeper Class (top) and 3-tier air con side berths (those used for RAC), the photos show the lower berth as seats and as a berth.

RAC gives a chance of ending up in a side lower berth, and this can be a problem in Sleeper Class, here’s the Side lower berth measurements:

Sleeper Class = L 166.5 x w 55cm

3-tier air con = 180 x 59cm

The following thread may be useful if part of your journey is during the day.

RAC for daytime portions of long distance trains.

Please Note, Garib Rath trains (3A only) and a few normal trains now have 3 side berths in both sleeper Class and 3-tier air con, this changes the layout of RAC seats, and I don’t know the seat positions used for RAC seats in these carriages, although I’ve heard there’s no RAC in these carriages.

Don’t be put off by massive RAC numbers, it just means there are more carriages.

Source: www.indiamike.com