Destination Infinity's Blog, page 46

Apollo Hospitals Studio Cycling Event for World Health Day

Today I went to the Studio Cycling event organized by Apollo Hospitals for World Health Day (Apr. 07). Studio Cycling is exactly that – you cycle in a studio! Pedal Beat has introduced this concept @ Alwarpet in Chennai for fitness and burning calories. What’s interesting is, when you pedal, you can see a large screen in front of you that gives you an illusion that you are in a cycle race, etc. Have a look at the view from my cycle –

Just before I got on to this cycle, I was handed over a pair of shoes from Running Lab. This company has tie ups with many international brands and they suggest the appropriate shoes by analyzing your foot biomechanics. That’s maybe complex word, but the sports shoes I wore were comfortable. Here you can see the smiling Running Lab staff

Once I finished cycling, I was handed over a coupon for eating a sandwich @ Sandwich Square. Never the type to feel shy and refuse such offers, I grabbed it immediately. You can see it below

Next, I got to taste the Relish Cold Press Juice. This one was nellikkai flavor, I think. It was fine, but more importantly, these juices are healthy as they don’t add any preservative, sugar, etc. I just wish the bottles were larger and prices lower

India Seashell Museum & Aquarium @ Mahabalipuram, Chennai

Recently, I went to the India Seashell Museum & Mamalla Fish World (Aquarium) at Mahabalipuram, Chennai. Here is the Google Maps location. As you can guess by the name, it houses a nice collection of various seashells and a small aquarium. Wait, there is a souvenir shop where you can buy various things made out of seashells too!

There is an entry fee of Rs. 100 per person for the Seashell museum, and an additional ticket of Rs. 50 for the aquarium and souvenir shop. You can buy a combo ticket at lower price – I think Rs. 130. There is a separate ticket for camera: Rs. 100/-. These were the prices when I went in March, 2016. So yeah, this place is quite expensive, but the seashell collection is exhaustive and the concept is unique.

In these photos, I am just showing you a fraction of what you can find there. There are many more seashells on display – I guess around 40,000 of them in total, collected by their owner. Actually, we got a separate ticket to the museum, and then decided to visit the aquarium. The owner was there when we asked, and he asked the staff to give the additional tickets at combo pricing.

There are other interesting articles like car, train, plane, etc. made of shells (?). Have a look at one of them here –

There is a sea food restaurant and ice cream/snack shops within the campus. And of course, there is the Fish World (Aquarium) that also houses the souvenir shop. The aquarium is small and houses only a few fishes, but the souvenir shop is another treat – they sell so many items, all made of different types of shells (and even pearls). You can buy conches (sangu) here. Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s still worth a look. The prices seemed to be moderate. I bought two key chains with a small conch tied to them.

Next time you visit Mahabalipuram in Chennai and want to see something more than sculptures and monuments, you know where to go

Destination Infinity

Apollo Hospitals’ ‘Pedaling your way to health’ Event @ Chennai (Apr. 07)

On the occasion of World Health Day on April 07 – Thursday, Apollo Hospitals is organizing ‘Pedaling your way to health’ event at the New Apollo Health Check building, opp. to main Apollo Hospital, Greams Road, Chennai.

According to their website, attendees can attend a complimentary health screening and can proceed to pedal studio cycles. Since I have never pedaled ‘studio’ cycle, I am looking forward to the experience. 

In addition to this, people can sample some healthy food and experience the latest fitness gear. I am looking forward to know more, especially about the fitness gear. I will write about them in this blog, after the event.

They have arranged complimentary taxi rides through Uber. What other incentive do you need to attend this event? Go register yourselves here – let this be your trigger towards a healthy lifestyle. BTW, you are also encouraged to take your family members/friends along with you.

Destination Infinity

Why We should Vote

When I attended the Sansad Ratna Awards ceremony, one of the speakers told us all why we should vote. It was highly convincing.

Actually, he was speaking against the concept of paid votes and how some people voting for a particular party because they’ve received money or some other freebies is not good for a Democracy. He was telling us how this affects the people in the long-term.

But what’s the solution? That’s when he told us something shocking.

“Stopping this is in YOUR hands.”

Now, how can we be responsible for that? We don’t take money and vote for any party, is what we were all thinking. Then, he said, political parties can only influence around 30% of the people (max) through money. Even this 30% will not vote for the same party, votes will still get fragmented.

But, if middle class and upper-middle class people don’t come out to vote, that 30% will become a major influencer in deciding who wins, he said.

Think about it: He’s right. If the remaining 70% of the people go and vote, the influence of the paid voters can be minimized to a good extent.

After listening to this explanation, I was convinced and I cast my first vote during the national elections, last year. This year too I intend to vote for the TN State Assembly polls.

Only, I am yet undecided on which party to vote for, but that’s a different problem all together

Songs of the Mist (The Monk Key #1): Book Review

Songs of the Mist, the first book in The Monk Key series, is a spiritual/literary fiction written by my author friend Shashi. Since I have never read a book in this genre, I was curious to read this.

“Death is not the destruction of your body or the flowing stream, but the merging of your dreams, desires, sorrow and anger into an eternal calm of eternity.”

There is an all-knowing but simple monk, there is Ashutosh who has been guided by the monk for many years and becomes a monk himself, there is Ayan who seeks answers for his scientific problems but takes the path of spirituality to find those answers, there is Yogini Anishka who takes up Yoga to heal her pain but ends up choosing spirituality as a way of life, there is the mysterious Kyaka, and then there is Calliope.

When the lives of all these people intersect in interesting ways, Songs of the Mist is born

“Being weak is not denying life, but a design that can probably let you survive. Sometimes our weakness is strength.”

What I liked the most about this book is the visual detailing by the author. When he is describing a scene, he makes it come real. Combine that with wonderful prose and you get a good literary fiction.

Something else that struck me in this book was the characterization and the unexpected ways in which the characters’ lives intersect with one another.

“Love is basically a very selfish emotion. It takes away your own control to be happy, within your own self, through your need for the other person to make you happy and selfish. It takes away the freedom to be happy or to even be sad.”

The philosophy in this book is quite heavy. It can be a plus or minus depending on your age and maturity level. I liked the way philosophy was presented as intelligent dialogues, but I still feel the author could have kept it short and focused more on the story. However, considering that philosophy is the key of “The Monk Key”, I can’t really complain!

It’s a nice book if you like to read in this genre.

Who do you think is the tribal girl Kyaka?

I think the tribal girl is a figment of the imagination of the lead character Ashutosh. Since he is feeling lonely and terribly upset, he creates such a comforting character in his mind and feels comforted by her presence now and then. This is just a guess, but a hint to this effect has been provided by the author himself at the end

Destination Infinity

Art & Design Exhibition by Students of Stella Maris from 6 – 10 Apr. ’16

‘Meraki’, an Art & Design exhibition by the final year B.V.A. students of Stella Maris College, Chennai will be held from 6th April to 10th April, 2016.

Venue: Lalit Kala Academi Regional Center, #4, Greams Road, Chennai – 6.

Time: 11 A.M. to 7 P.M.

In this exhibition, among others, you can find paintings, installation, designs, products, and sculptures as well. Some of them are for sale. So, if you have keen interest in art works or you are looking for interesting decor items for your home or office, you may want to visit this exhibition and see if can find something that impresses you.

Each of your visits will encourage the students to create more. Please go

Destination Infinity

Book Review – Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur

‘Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur’ by Derek Sivers of CD Baby fame is supposed to be a self-help book on startups/business, but it’s more of an autobiography than business advice.

There are 40 lessons in this book alright, but most of them are applicable to a personality like Derek Sivers in certain unique situations. I don’t think these lessons can be generalized as the author hopes. But since no lesson can be generalized, there is a lot to learn from individual unique experiences. 

Since my personality type is a bit like the author, I found the experience and suggestions very valuable. I listened to the audio book and should say that the narration is too good. The author could also narrate for others in his spare time

I Struggled but Overcame…

‘I Struggled but Overcame’ is the title of a contest organized by our Chennai Bloggers Club (CBC). And here is my entry –

“When life gives you lemons, make Lemonade.”

Yes, True. But not everyone makes a lemonade because they are smart/brave. For many, there is no other option!

People who know me, already know this: Most of my problems are self-inflicted. When I chose to become a ‘Professional Blogger’ before around six years, I had no idea what I was getting into. I thought I had savings for 3 years, but I exhausted that money in less than 2 years. My blogging income was not sufficient, back then.

It was a friend who suggested freelance writing to supplement my blog income and that was a life saver. If not for that, I wouldn’t have seen the day when the income from my blogs finally picked up.

Today, after almost six years, I can proudly say that I manage all my expenses and can still afford to buy things like the below through my writing/online publishing income –

Me with my new Bajaj Avenger 150 Street Cruiser bike

This is actually not a big deal when compared to the houses and cars that my batch-mates and former colleagues routinely buy. But when you consider the challenge I was up against to achieve even this, I guess it’s not that bad an achievement.

Read: பாதி கிணறு தாண்டியாச்சி. மீதி தாண்டி தானே ஆகணும்! பின்னாடி போனாலும் ஆப்பு தான். முன்னாடி போனாலும் ஆப்பு தான். முன்னாடியே போவோம்

Viveks Giant Warehouse Sale (Mar. 25 – 27, 2016): Don’t Miss!!

Viveks is currently holding a Great Warehouse sale in their Manappakkam warehouse (click for Google Maps directions) in Chennai from March 25th to 27th, 2016 — Friday to Sunday. Today, the top management team from Viveks, including their CEO Mr. Sreenivasan, met with us, a group of bloggers and social media influencers.

They told us that the objective of #vivekswarehousesale is to,

Provide retail products to individual customers at wholesale prices — hence lesser than normal in-store prices — even if the customer is buying just one appliance.
To give the largest choice of products – there are literally thousands to choose from!

As you might know, Viveks is a popular retail brand in South India selling home appliances, electronics, mobiles, etc.

Viveks has been holding the New Year Sale for more than 35 years now, and they have started this great warehouse sale recently – this is the second edition of their annual sale event. Like their new year sale, this sale is also for three days, but there is one more day of sale (on Monday, 28th March) for institutional customers (B2B) who might want to order in bulk.

The delivery for the products bought in this sale is immediate, for the items the customers can carry themselves. For larger items, they say that the delivery will be within 24 hours within the city, if stocks are available.

Viveks has a website where they list their products, MRP, and other details. They also sell their products through popular online portals like Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc. Viveks has also come up with an interesting initiative called Home Serve which is aimed at providing personnel for appliance servicing and also for general works like carpentary, electrical, plumbing, etc. If your plumber or carpenter doesn’t turn up even after repeated calls, you know whom to call, now

Have you seen so many products under a single roof before?

If you are in Chennai or nearby, and you are planning to buy some appliance for your house, don’t miss this great warehouse sale by Viveks

Destination Infinity

Movie Review: Batman v Superman – Hollywood makes a Bahubali!!

Movie Trailer: Batman v Superman (Dawn of Justice)

Movie Review: 

Batman v Superman: Hollywood makes a Bahubali. And no, that’s not a compliment.

I wish I could say the movie was great, but only the two fights near the end (around 30 minutes) was good. If possible, just see that alone.

I can’t believe the storyline for such a huge project was so shallow. The movie makers seem to value only the stunts. Just imagine: If Vijay + Ajith + Simbhu (Superstars in Tamil movies) were making a movie together, obviously they can afford to ditch the story and the movie will still run based on their star value alone. That’s exactly what’s happened in this movie. Only, it’s Hollywood.

A combination of three superheroes (yes there is one more) of the caliber of batman and superman needs at least one credible and equally strong villain? The monster who comes at the end is the only credible villain. He too gives a fight only for 30 minutes.

This movie definitely needs a Joker. No, Joker twins. A powerful protagonist needs a powerful antagonist for the movie to work. Think about one weak antagonist taking on three superheroes for 1.5 hours! And I don’t even want to talk about those emotions that were breathtakingly fake.

Just for the comparison, Bahubali was better than Superman v Batman. It was also better than Puli. I shouldn’t have criticized Bahubali so much for the lack of story after all – there seem to be worser movies!!