Bow down to the India's Missile Man Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

Dear all,

On 27th July evening, the whole country mourned to the death of a Bharat Ratna, India's Great Leader, India's Missile Man, Youth Icon and Ex-President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. A person who was a true Indian, who invested all his life in the betterment of the country and its countrymen, who was always eager to help the youth of India and the world and inspire them to make wonders, is no more among us!

What was so special about him, that the news of his death spread like wild fire and that the whole country was in grief receiving the news of his death?

These are a few things which made him the person he was and so different from others.

First and foremost thing, he was a Leader by Example! 
He was a type of a person who wont set you alone into the dark, but would be there with you, when you needed him. He said a great thing about being a leader, that managing Success is easy, but A Leader should know how to manage Failure. In one of his lectures, when he mentioned how should a leader be, he talked about his Project Director Prof. Satish Dhavan taking up the full responsibility of when the Missile Launch for 'Rohini' had failed in a press conference, and later, when it was successfully launched, he sent Dr. Kalam to head the conference and celebrate the success.

He was extremely humble and a down to earth person!
He performed small acts of kindness all through his life. Being an Ex-President of India, he had many people working for him, but he made sure that he would even talk to the one smallest in position. Even on his last day, he thanked the Security guy, who was standing for a long time for him to take the stage. I mean, that was not required, as the guy was doing his duty, but Dr. Kalam was quick to thank him.
Because of these acts of kindness, he earned a lot of respect from the people around the world.

He was fascinated by the youth of the country and guided and helped many in getting their dreams come true!
He and his team were always busy on some or the other projects and whenever he saw great ideas or a spark and needing something, he would help that person out. There have been hundreds of instances where he has helped students from different universities and schools in getting their dream projects built.
He was easily approachable via email and his team was prompt to reply within a few minutes of sending them a request.

He always worked for his Passion and what he was best at till the last moment of his life!
As we all know, he was a great leader and an eloquent speaker, he was an inspiration for the youth of India and worked day and night to help them out. He and his team was always busy in managing his schedule and made sure that majority of the people got benefit from his speeches.

It was because of his deeds towards the public that he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest Civilian honour!

There are so many of his quotes based on his experiences in Life and which if followed would make any life meaningful. Here are some which I like:

But the one which I love the most:

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was great at inspiring people, not just by talks, but his own actions and the immense lot of work that he did. He never got retired! He kept on working till the last day of his life!
What a Great Leader, What a Great Life!

Dear Sir,
You will always be alive in our hearts for all that you did for us!

Sincerely,
From an Indian on behalf of Every Indian!

Its not over, Until I Win

I am a fan of Less Brown.

He has had humble beginnings but with help of his mentor and his own self, will and handwork, he has achieved what he dreamt of!
And I love these lines which he says:

If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it,
to work day and night for it, to give up your time, your peace
and sleep for it… if all that you dream and scheme is about it,
…and life seems useless and worthless without it… if you gladly
sweat for it and fret for it and plan for it and lose all your terrror
of the opposition for it…
if you simply go after that thing
that you want with all your capacity,
strength and sagacity,
faith hope and confidence
and stern pertinacity…
if neither cold, poverty,
famine, nor gout,
sickness nor pain, of body and brain,
can keep you away from the thing that you want…
if dogged and grim you beseech and beset it,
with the help of God,

YOU WILL GET IT! – Les Brown

Today is Less Brown's birthday,. so a happy birthday to you Less!
And thanks for playing your part in the universe and making life of many of the people easy.

Its all about Conquering our mind Barriers!

Friends,

This post is about a worthy moment of my life, the day I cycled to Kabirvad and back (almost!), travelling around 160+ Km on the road and that too on a Fixie (Non-Geared) Cycle.

Dec 22nd 2013: The day it began!
A few members of BCC (Baroda Cyclist Club), decide to go Kabirvad, over the next weekend. Luckily, I get to know about it. There are two car racks available, so in total, there is a capacity of 5 people to come by car. I start pondering can I do it? Can I go? Because, I have been out from majority of BCC rides since August (The Timbi lake ride). So first, I need to get prepared for it.

Dec 24th 2013: Confirming the Participation for the Kabirvad Ride!
There were 4 (Aakash Gupta, Manish Lakhani, Tripti Kathuria & Dr. Kinnari Patel) who had confirmed the participation for full ride, which they said was around 165+ Km. Two others (Milin Desai and Chandrakant Golani) had decided to come by car till Hotel Nyay Mandir and then ride till Kabirvad, which would be approximately 18-20 Km, one side. So there were 3 vacant places in the car rack. But, I had decided I am gonna do it -- Full 165 Km. Aakash said it would be difficult to do it on a Fixie (Non-geared) Bike -- as the avg speed needs to be around 22-25 km/h. (Poore week bed pe rahega!) A couple of well wishers said it will be impossible for me to do so. (Thanks, that was a challenge that motivated me!)

Dec 25th 2013: Merry Christmas.. The preparation Starts!
 Correct me if I am wrong, but we can't just dream and sit back silently and watch our dreams come true. There has to be a plan and then an action.
And as Bo Bennett has rightly said: "A Dream becomes a Goal, when Action is taken towards its achievement."
In that week, I tried doing 2 city circuits, (17 Km each) in as much less time as possible. And once, did around 45 Km at the avg. speed of 22 km/h.

Dec 28th 2013: The rest day!
A well wisher said, don't ride the previous day if you are planning a full ride till Kabirwad. So didn't ride that day. I was pretty sure I could do the full ride. As such, I had no other option because the 3 vacant positions in the car rack were full. So if I wanted to go, I had to ride. I serviced my bicycle at home and got a new gel seat cover to improve the cusion.
Sad news! Manish Lakhani is not accompanying, as he has something urgent on 29th Dec. Damn!
Aakash told me and Tripti "Make sure you arrange for lights tomorrow, to be safe on road". A dear friend, Milin Desai lended me his light (Oops, I still haven't returned it, Will do it soon Milin.. ;) ) and everything was set.

Dec 29th 2013: The day of the Adventurous Ride!
We were to meet from McDonald's OP Road at 4:45 AM. We all got up at around 3-3:30 AM and did some warm-up exercises. We had enough water, Electral sachets, dry fruits, some chocolates, glucose biscuits and 1.5 kg bananas as eatables along with puncture and maintenance kits.
The ride started with the four of us in alphabetical order -- Aakash Gupta,  Dr. Kinnari Patel, Tripti Kathuria and Varun Shringarpure.
The route for the ride is as follows:

Mcd OP Road -> Manjalpur -> Panasonic Makarpura -> Jambua Service Road -> BIT Edu Campus -> Varnama -> Karjan -> Hotel Darshan -> Hotel Nyay Mandir -> Kabirwad -> Hotel Nyay Mandir -> Hotel Sahyog -> BIT Edu Campus -> Makarpura-Jambua Service Road to Vadodara


View Larger Map

After around 32 Km, we took our first break, at Hotel Darshan for 10 mins, to grab a nice hot Tea and a Good Day. It was the onset of morning and a nice Orange sun was seen in the mist above the open fields. (The beauty and ambience can't be explained in words, so to experience it, join us the next time we go!)

Around 55 Km into the ride, Aakash started feeling a little exhausted, as he didn't have anything in the early morning. A strong person by heart, he grabbed a few dry fruits and some water and started riding with all his might. The next we stopped was only at our first destination -- Hotel Nyay Mandir on Bharuch Service road. We reached at an average speed of 22 Km/h and took around 3 hours 30 mins to reach. We got fresh, sprinkling cold water on our face, which felt hot as compared to our hands and faces. After having light breakfast and a couple of cutting chai, we waited for our friends coming by car.
Milin Desai, Chandrakant Golani, Deven Parekh, Mira Vora and Hitesh Divyeshwar reached and unloaded their cycles from the car racks, and we were set to leave for our destination - Kabirvad.

It was a dumpy-bumpy road with more potholes then flatter roads. The best part about travelling through the road were the farms on either side of it. Multi-talented CG started clicking pics with his DSLR wherever he could find a nice scene thorough the fields. We reached the destination, but Milin's cycle had some issue on the way. So he, Aakash and Chandrakant had to go back from midway and come to Kabirvad in Car. The total one side distance we travelled was 87.8 ~ 88 Km. There, we got a bad news that Tripti will not be coming back on cycle. Aakash, too was not in the best of his condition to ride back, so ideally there were just two riders returning back on cycle -- Dr Kinnari Patel and myself.

After a much needed break at Kabirvad (a way to longer one rather!), we started off, in the afternoon to ride back, first the bumpy ride and then the good highway roads. Coming back was difficult, due to the heat of afternoon along with the fatigue of the 88 KM done while going. The result was, we took too many breaks while returning back. Infact, my coming back on cycle was mainly due to Dr. Kinnari, who constantly motivated me on the way -- "Well done Varun, credit goes to you for even thinking of doing it on a fixie; I know you will complete the ride; You have the guts to do it.." We had an ice cream on the way around 75 Km from Vadodara, and a chai at around 30 Km from Vadodara.

At 24 Km from Vadodara, I started feeling pertubed and had to stop. A pain in stomach made me very uneasy. I thought I won't be able to ride anymore and need some vehicle to take me thereon. I requested Dr. Kinnari to continue as she had to attend a function at around 6 and it was already 4:30. 15 mins later, I puked -- I am sure having chai in hot afternoon was a bad decision -- nevermind. After taking electral mixed water and resting for 20 mins on the road, I was sure now to continue my journey on cycle. I was out of water now and had no wish to stop anywhere even for a bottle of water. I started the ride by reciting Bajrangbali's name and regained strength to move on. The sun was setting now, so it was cooler. phew.. Felt good! At Makarpura-Jambua Service road, I took a left to enter Vadodara and felt uneasy in left leg. Yes, it was a cramp. Again, decision of not to get down for a bottle of water had paid off!

It was foolish to travel by cycle now, as I had one fly-over minimum. So finally I decided to give up my ride there. Best option was to take and auto return back and hence exercised it. Though happy to have covered a good amount of distance, I felt bad for two things: Leaving Kinnari ma'am alone on a highway to travel and second unable to complete the ride till home!

Sincere thanks Tripti and Aakash on the way towards Kabirvad you guys were superb inspiration Aakash, it was a priviledge travelling a long distance with a pro-rider like you!
And Kinnari Ma'am thank you so much for being a great motivator throughout the ride coming back -- else I am sure I would have given up at Kabirvad.

Conclusion:  
Two things specifically:

1. I am definitely sure now, that its not about the bike. Yes, I do believe that if I had a geared cycle, then the ride would have been smoother than what it had. Also, I might have completed my ride till home. 
2. Barriers are in our mind, once we conquer them, we can do it. I remember during the Tour-de-Pavagadh ride I was morally down even while going and hence coming back was quite difficult. But for this one, we all had decided we gonna do it, we all had prepared for it, and in fact, we did it!
3. Seeing the spirit with which Kinnari Ma'am was riding and completed the whole ride, I am sure even Age is not the barrier either in doing something, that you wish to do!

Brevet 200, you are on the list to be conquered Next!

Why always do what you love?

Hey Friends, well today, on my Birthday, I would like to post something regarding Passion and about doing something that you love!

We all do many things, some because we like to do them, some because we are forced to do them. Ask yourself, which ones do we enjoy the most? There is no double mind in answering this one, they are obviously the things that you like or you love to do. There are many success stories of people who have excelled by doing what they loved to do, may it be Sachin Tendulkar in Cricket, or Roger Federer in Tennis or Steve Jobs in Software Development.

Remember Steve Jobs thrown out of his own Company Apple when he was 30? Just think of it. The company that you started, you are thrown from at after running it for 10 years? Hell! But he had taken some decisions which his board members were not in favor of and eventually he made his way. He did it because he was in love with what all he did, and didn't want to compromise that at any cost. Finally the result was Next and Pixar Animation Studio, the best computer animation film studio we know. This is just talking about a small instance of Steve Jobs.

Here, I would like to share an example of my grandmother. She is a good cook.. Oops, I mean a great cook *wink. Not just because she prepares delicious food, but even because she is always ready to learn anything new that comes up. Daily, she checks out newspapers and magazines, to get knowledge about preparing some new dish. Even today, at an age of above 70, she is not ashamed of learning anything new, and never does she say that she knows everything. Talk of preparing some dish, and she would have a number of ways of doing it, with some quick tips and the best way to do it. Also, even if she is down with fever, if she has made her mind or someone asked her to prepare something special, nothing can stop her from doing so. Nothing at all! (May she always remain as she is -- Touchwood!)

That's what happens when you do what you love. You may succeed or may fail. But even after failure, they would be happy because they might be loving  that -- even after failure. Because, no failure can let you quit. You go on and on and on.. Come What May! For all such passionate people, one thing is in common, Success or Failure never matters, what matters is they love what they do.

You can think of some instance of your life that you enjoyed the most. The one that you gave your best effort. The sole reason as to why you put in effort for that thing or loved that thing is because you loved doing it. Well, while concluding this, I would like to re-itterate two things that many have always said: If you have found what you love, go behind it without wasting anytime and in case you haven't be in search of it. Because its the best feeling you can ever have!

Hardwork always leads to Success!

Hello Friends,


Today, I write this article because someone has inspired me to write this one. That person is the one whom I really respect a lot, and I was told that it could become a source of inspiration for many as well as people would understand that there is no substitute to hard-work and are no shortcuts in reducing weight.


Yes my friends, this article is on reducing weight, which I recently did -- I reduced 12 Kg (26.45 Pounds) -- in a time period of 6.5 months -- since Oct 15th 2011.


Let me brief you how I started. Well, actually on 14th Oct 2011, I got detected for High Thyroid and High Cholesterol. I was really taken aback, was sad, obviously didn't let my feelings get expressed on my family -- for whom it was a massive blow, my grandma, my mother, my daddy, my sister, who literally had started crying when they saw the reports -- and I was the one smiling at them, saying don't worry, its a temporary one, all this will get cured. I had a belief, that if I put some real effort I can do it -- Anyone who puts it, does it, so why not me? As some one has rightly said --Belief in oneself is one of the most important bricks in building any successful venture. And this time, I had to take some sure-shot steps to reduce weight and get the cholesterol and thyroid in control.


Now, believe me, I have not been a perfect human being to know everything, and to do everything the right way! I am still learning, from the various experiences that life gives me. So previously, even I had tried many shortcuts to reducing weights, obviously, was never serious, but tried some vague ideas and some things that I read on internet and some as insisted by my dear friends -- like dieting, gyming, etc. -- and the result was Nothing. Reason again maybe because I was not serious towards it, or maybe because they were shortcuts or maybe because they lacked consistency.


But this time, I was pretty sure I gotto do it at any cost. I think that's why its rightly said -- Necessity is the mother of Invention. I gotto know the actual way or say the real path that let to reducing my weight, Pheew!! Finally!  In the beginning, I started slow walking, then Brisk walking, then jogging and then brisk walking and running (sprint) -- for a distance of around 7.5 to 8 KM (around 5 Miles). Next, after time period of around 3 months of doing this, I bought a Bicycle, and traveled 25 KM daily, which I continued for 2 Months. And currently, I do both -- Cycling as well as Brisk walking -- Cycling around 18 KM and Brisk Walking 4 KM on daily basis.
I have been consistent this time, and everytime I stand on weighing machine, I get down cheerfully getting to know that I have lost something. And I think -- I may be wrong but that's what I think -- what helped me reduce weight this time was punctuality.


So why did I write this article? Just to boast about my success?


No friends, you may surely feel it boastful till now, but the prime intention of this article was to tell you all, that THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE TO HARDWORK -- THERE NEVER WAS! And if you are keen on reducing weight, believe this and start working the basic way.
You may surely reduce by going to a Gym, but you can also do it the basic way -- Walking, Jogging, Running, Cycling -- and as such exercising in Natural Environment is always good, plus you can save money!


I have seen many friends, literally starving to reduce weight, get green tea and what not. They search for all the shortcuts, and try them all -- Well I was one such previously, so I won't blame you!
But I think, sometimes, some things happen in life that make you serious towards something, I would really like to thank that blood report that said I had high thyroid and high cholesterol -- which helped me achieve this!


To all my Dear Friends -- Please stop trying and thinking and start working!!! As Action is the foundational key to all Success!


This is the truth of life, for anything that comes your way, not just reducing weight. Reducing weight is just taken as an example of my life. But actually, You give that thing, that work your 100% and you are sure to get results out of it! Also, I while discussing with some of my friends, they say that not hardwork, but smart work leads to success -- I would like to say, to know the way to work smart, you need to understand the work first, which you can know by toiling hard, and get to know what it is and then act smartly -- Hope I am right.. 

Cheers,
Happy Hardworking!

Enjoy your game and chase your dreams, because ultimately dreams do come true!

Hello Friends,

Remember this statement?
Yes, you are right! It was spoken by the God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar, on the day he scored his 100th 100.

Every great personality has a life from which we can learn if we want. May it be Sachin Tendulkar, may it be Aamir Khan or anyone.

And What does their life teach you?
Its not the end result that matters, its the path followed to achieve it, the hardships and obstacles faced and the way in which the person bounced back after failure that matters!


Like in case of Sachin Tendulkar, if you read more about him, there are great writers like Harsha Bhogle who have spoken/written about him, that he started his career at the age of 16 and he is still playing.
So what has it been that has kept him going?
Talent? --Nope!
Its the Passion to Perform! Its the Desire, the his Dreams!!

And I talked about what all can we learn from great successful personalities is always dream! Set them as your goals, and make an effort to achieve it!
We must never forget that why all great personalities succeed -- is because they do what they do what  they love to do.. May it be anything, sports, research, -- anything!

Always make your dream your goal of life and work passionately towards it. You may not know when your dreams would come true, but they surely will!

Even sachin said, he had the dream of bringing a World Cup home, which he/they could achieve after 22 Years!

22 Years is not a small time, but what is more important is he/they did it!

So always chase your dreams, Passionately!!
Cheers Pals!

When the Going gets Tough, the Tough gets Going!

This is an article about a person whom I admire a lot -- HB!

I met him for the first time during my induction. And man, must say, what attitude, what personality he had.. We all started talking about him after he left!

Next, from my first day at work, I have always found him to be the Fun-Loving, Workaholic and Bold  He-Man at Investis.

Well, now let me explain why I added all these adjectives to this person. He and his team works under a tremendous work load.. (Many a times, it seems that they have keyboards even at their feet!) And yet, I find him and his team mates always cracking jokes and having fun.. And neither does it affect their speed nor the quality of work they do!

As far as his work is concerned, I would say for him its like if there is any way to do the work, it only one.. "The Right Way" -- The Perfect Way!
We have always noticed perfection in his work.

Our team and his team work very closely -- must say hand in hand with each other. And once, during an annual event in our company, I gotta chance to talk to him something about his personal life -- The tough times that he has faced, the hard life that he has lived, the failures that he has had, and yet he is happy with what he has and whatever has happened to him!

Basically, after what I knew what all he had faced in his life, my respect for him actually increased, because there are people who get unhappy with life and stop trying once they face some hardships and failures in life, and he, was one of those few who bounce back and not just that, one of those who is on a roll!
I recollect a quote from William Arthur Ward at this point in time -- Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records! And he is the second kind of guy-- Truly Exceptional!

He is a person as I know, who has no fear to tell anything to anyone, come what may! -- whatever that person is, if he thinks he gotta say it and its right, he will never think of the consequences, he will speak it out!

And I think he follows this -- Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can!

Currently, after sharing a nice period of almost 1 year and 6 months together, we are really good friends and for him, I just got one thing to say -- Not all pebbles can become a Diamonds. Its just the ones that can bear the Heat, do well under Pressure and have the most edges cut to perfection that shine the most! -- And this one is of a special Kind!

You Rock HB!!

Some Memories from my School Days and a Learning to Fight Fear!

I have always wished to perform.. To go on stage and sing a song, rock a performance, do some acting... and so on..

Right from when I was a kid, I saw various artists performing on small and big screen, Live Programs and some Stage Shows.

Till 6th Std, when I had been a part of a play called "Aasha-A Ray of Light", it was just something that could never be done. I still remember that day, it was a Thursday, our show was to begin, at 6PM and I was sweating like hell.. It was already 5:45PM, got the required make-up (for my required role, which was that of a Manager -- with around 55 years of age -- ) and my heart was pumping inside me with the greatest force it can! (I even felt it will come out you know!)

But behind it all, there was something in my mind, wasn't this the one that I had waited for?
And I said YES! I started remembering all those programs and award functions that I had seen on television and thought of these performances...
And slowly and steadily my restlessness was gone! I started feeling confident, enough  to take myself on stage and perform my role.

While all this was going on in my mind, suddenly our chief guest appeared there! NAYAN MONGIA -- the chief guest at the evening, came in when we were just behind the side curtains standing and waiting for our turn to come...
"Hello Young Guns!" he started.. and we were like O Man! its him!
"Hey Fellows, do perform well, and I will be watching you.. You guys look so cute really.. Oh Wow.. You have a kettle.. (he said to my friend Pranay Shah) hey that's nice are you playing the chaiwala?? , Hey Wow, You are wearing a Nice Suit! (He said to me) You guys are superb, continue it!"

Man.. we felt as if we were seeing some kind of dream.. and we literally screamed when he went on stage from there!!

And now we were encouraged by the then Wicket Keeper of the Indian Cricket Team..
So how can we let it go!

We performed our play, and you know what, I was the one that stood in the end with a mic introducing everyone.. with their names! (Got cheers for that from the crowd for that, and got my cheeks pulled from my teachers for that as this was their task that I did.. ;) )

But this incident, had got the fear off me, for going on stage and performing!

Till date, I must say, I never feel afraid of going on stage (well frankly speaking, sometimes I do, but I remember this day and its gone!)
  
I would like to conclude this article with a noble thought, "If you fear of something, fight it out by doing that thing! The maximum thing that can happen is that you will fail in that thing, but you will surely win your fear!"

My Best Friend - Mr. K : Who taught me how to enjoy life!

Hey Friends,

In this post, I would like to tell you something regarding my friend, my best friend, without mentioning his name, as always, to avoid any problems to him.

Let me tell you one thing about him, he was not the perfect human, but he knew how to live and enjoy life. I think he followed and still follows the concept of "Live the Present".

He always has a passion for learning anything new... and he has trained his mind in such way that he can learn it easily, fast and one day he does it perfectly.

He has tried I think almost everything in his life, be it various games like cricket, badminton, football, volleyball, tennis and others, be it knowing various topics and he is ready for a talk on it (even if he doesn't know it and learns it that way), name a music instrument, and he knows it... be it a Harmonium, Keyboard,  Guitar, Violin, Drum-set, Mouth-organ, Mandolin and ready to learn any other instrument that comes his way; dancing, acting,anchoring,hanging out with friends, and that too as a center of attraction for everyone around, from wherever he passes, I must say a wave of happiness is spread....

Basically, from above I mean he is an all-rounder. He knows how to maintain relations, do whatever you wish to do and that too with  100% of your own self.

The basic funda that he follows is "He is passionate about everything he does"

Yes... you read it rite... He is passionate about everything he does. When he takes up something in his hands, he makes sure that he gives his 100% to it..

And yea for many of the above things, I forgot to mention, he is a self learner....

This guy that I am talking of here, is a lad from a small town. And believe me that sometime back  he had no idea what so ever how to be what he wanted to be... (this is what he himself had told me)

He always used to tell me 2 things: First see if you like it or not... and in case you do, give your 100% to it!

This guy about whom I am talking about, was my College Friend, we actually met in 3rd Sem of my Engineering, we were class-mates, and by the end of 5th Sem, we developed such tuning that we could even understand what the other one wants... (we were like brothers from there on!)... Oh Man! Can't forget all those things I tried out in my college days with him!

But that's how I learnt to enjoy my life!

I still admire him for what all he did to change the way I thought of the world, and the people around.. and the way I am today, a major part has played by him! The reason why I am so popular amongst majority of people... missed by my friends when not around, whenever anything comes up... people remember me... and what not.. this is the life I always wanted...

And thanks Kenzie! You gave it to me!

My Grandfather - The Perfectionist!

Hello Friends,

In this article, I would like to tell you all about my grandfather. Believe me, till now, I have never found any person like him, or even near to him -- the qualities that he had and  his way of thinking, understanding and what not!

He was a type of a person, who always kept himself busy. Right from 4 AM when he got up, till 11 PM when he went to sleep, I can guarantee you would never find him loitering or sitting lazy. He was always Active!

He taught me (till my 12th Std) and my Sister (till her 9th Std), as his hobby, he used to read Mythological books, used to tell us and the whole family stories, used to be an anchor when it came to some celebration in the Family, remembered Birthdates, Anniversaries, and other imp dates like longest day and shortest day, along with the complete hindu mythological calendar along with the importance of almost each day and what not.. Well, I know one thing, that If I continue, I can go on and on and on and just never stop! So let me cut this short here, and come up to the main point.

What do you think that made him the way he was? Was it anything that forced him?

I would say it was his passion that got him what he wanted to and Learnability that helped him achieve it! Yes IT WAS HIS PASSION AND HARDWORK!
He always used to say, you wanna do something, do it whole-heartedly, else don't!
He did many things, had many things as his hobbies, and even if he was not very good at something, he was always ready to learn it from something, if he wished to do it!
The best example of this was, that he learnt how to operate a computer and use Microsoft Office for his own documentation work at the Age of 65. I mean, I have heard people lose their capability to learn something new, around at the age of 40-45 and this guy, he learnt something so new and so different, at the age of 65, just because he wanted to make his own work easy, and yes for sure, he wanted to say, I am a Father of a guy who was the first one to take Computers as his profession in Baroda.

I never heard the word "Feeling Tired" or "Lazy from his mouth. Always up for anything that comes up. As far as Mythological books are concerned, he had already read Ramayan, Mahabharat, Bhagwad Gita and some other books, which I don't even remember. And even at the age of around 68-69 he used to refer to some personality development books, and used to tell us, there's always a chance to improve yourself from what you are today!

He had led a very difficult life, supported his own education right from his school life, from around 5-6 std, by distributing newspapers, selling various things, and reading in street lights and lanterns! I am very sure he always remembered his past, and always thrived hard when it came to helping someone/anyone.

He went to heights because of his attitude, his way of working, his ethics and his education, and he made sure that he helped all those who were needy and suitable. He not only helped various people in their education, but even helped many in getting entry into the entry level interviews of some many government jobs and private firms.

Last but not the least, I think the best part to prove what great human he was, is that, when he expired.
He was not sick or anything, that morning he got a heart stroke, and second massive one at around 1:30-1:45, when he breathed his last. We gave news to some very close people, obviously the family was in shock and not many know how to act in such a situation. But, this news spread out like wild-fire, and by around 6:30 till when we took him for cremation, there were around 250-300 people standing at our residence, who had come up even from nearby cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and others, just to salute the Great Person!

From his life, I have learnt a lot, and today whenever I compare myself with him, I find myself, not even 10% the way he was! He is my Hero -- My role model for Life! And I will consider myself a successful if I can become like him in my life.

Bow to this Great Man! -- My GrandFather the Real Perfectionist!