Lack of Interest

Remember your old college lectures ? Off course you do ! Am sure there were teachers who made things mighty interesting. But this entry concentrates more on those who made life as dreary as possible during the brief times of interaction :) .

There are some of us who are stuck in jobs we don’t like. Jobs which don’t cater to our interests but which have to be done to fulfill long term commitments or necessities.
The teachers who don’t teach well ..who perform the act of teaching merely by stating facts are probably people stuck in such situations.

I remember an interesting incident that occurred back in college. During such a teacher’s class, all the students were busy chatting. All except a friend of mine who was sitting on the front desk. He was the only one glued to his book writing something. The teacher , instead of altering his teaching techniques, decided to make him as an example for the others to show them that they weren’t good students. He silenced the class & pointed out to my friend as the ideal student taking notes.
When the book was examined, we saw that it was full of doodles. You can imagine the thunderous laughter that echoed through the corridors at that moment :D

I decided to write on this particular topic cause I met someone similar recently. Had gone out with a friend to some bike showrooms. The salesman at most of the showrooms were clearly people who didn’t care much about their work quality. They just mentioned already known facts of the bikes & didn’t even try much to make a good sales pitch.
The contrast was obvious at the ‘Yamaha’ showroom where the salesman welcomed us & fed us intricate details of the bikes on display. If God is truly in the details, then this was surely a temple ! Even a live demo was provided to show what the bikes were capable of…never mind my fear when the bike was accelerating to a scary pace :P

My point is simple – Even if someone is stuck in a job he/she doesn’t like , one should give it their best. Think of it as a challenge where you have to be better than everybody else.

Take the case of a restaurant. The way a server/waiter talks & conducts the whole ritual of taking your order & serving it always fascinates me since I often think of how I would have done it differently. Knowledge is power. Perhaps knowing everything about the menu/food served & keeping track of the response it gets would be a good starting point. Talking politely & helping the customer reach his decision adds to the whole dining experience. The place would definitely benefit by the customer’s satisfaction. And the compliments you would eventually get from the manager & the customers would surely benefit you.

So if you are one of the unlucky ones who had to compromise on your interests, I won’t tell you to follow your dreams. Not everyone has the luxury to do it.
But remember that everything happens for a reason. Even if we can’t comprehend things in the long run. Make the best of the situation…no matter what – keep improving.

RTO Learners License Test Experience

Note : I usually avoid writing on such a practical experience. But I decided to do so since I couldn’t find much notes by anyone else on this topic.


I dislike 2 kinds of tests :

  1. The ones which require you to memorize huge chunks of data for writing it out verbatim on to the paper.
  2. The ones which don’t give you the scope of testing in advance.

Recently I realized that the Learner’s License Test @ RTO Bangalore belongs to the 2nd category. Learnt it the hard way :( .
The small booklet given to you => Just the basic rules of the road.
You need to go on the net & learn things on your own !
The ambiguous nature of the questions can cause a lot of misunderstandings too.

I have been told by my friends that the whole thing exists to encourage people to take the easy way out – Bribing. Governmental offices here in India are notorious for being the least user friendly place ever. Getting things done by an agent/tout leads to a hassle free experience for sure.
But I was determined to clear the exam on my own…& managed to do it too – though only by the 3rd attempt :D

I decided to blog on my experience here so as to help others in getting their LL done without facing too many difficulties.


Place : RTO Bangalore

Purpose : Get Learner’s License

Things to do : Fill the form + pay the nominal amount (Rs 30) + have your Identity proof & Address proof attested by the RTO officer + Give the written examination (15 min).

Best time to visit : Weekday mornings.

Exam details : 15 questions to be answered in 15 min. Passing : 10/15

Useful Sites for Studying :

  1. 137 Questions Set : Either Single page OR User Friendly 25 Questions set (Change url from 1-6 to visit each set)
  2. Additional 85 Questions set
  3. Sample Test (refresh the url for a new set)
  4. Road Signs

Some Questions which I faced in my tests (The ones mostly not present in the links above. I have added my comments in red.) :

  1. List in order of preference : [Preference of Life I hope ? :-? ]
    1. Vehicle, Animal, Human
    2. Animal, Vehicle, Human
    3. Human, Animal, Vehicle
  2. What do the given signs draw attention to (Slippery road sign & Loose Gravel road sign)?
    1. Brakes
    2. Steering
    3. Clutch
  3. In a 2 way lane there is a slow vehicle ahead of you. Road is clear for overtaking You should : [Answer is given in the 85 sample set above. But still not clear why ? :-| ]
    1. pass the vehicle from the left hand side
    2. pass the vehicle from the right hand side
    3. pass the vehicle from any convenient side.
  4. Number of hand signals for a driver : [Easy answer but caught me off guard. :mrgreen: ]
    1. 4
    2. 5
    3. 6
  5. Who has the authority to change the regulations of the road?
    1. RTO
    2. Police
    3. Central Government
  6. If the right turn is prohibited then a U – turn is also prohibited. [Tricky question for some1 with no practical experience. ]
    1. True
    2. False
  7. When should you give the right of passage to an approaching ambulance ? [Still not sure of the answer ? :!: ]
    1. Never
    2. When the siren & top light are activated.
    3. When the siren & top light are activated OR there is patient inside.
  8. Color of Learner’s sign on a vehicle is :
    1. Red on yellow.
    2. Red on white.
    3. Black on White.
  9. The correct way of taking a U – Turn is :
    1. Center of your road to left of the other road.
    2. Center of your road to center of the other road.
    3. Right of your road to center of other road.
  10. Overtaking is permitted only when :
    1. Vehicle in front of you slows down.
    2. Vehicle in front of you gives sufficient right space.
    3. Owner of the vehicle in front of you gives the appropriate gesture to overtake.
  11. Vehicle will not be seized when you do not have :
    1. Driving License.
    2. Registration certificate.
    3. Insurance papers.
  12. What is the given sign ? (Rectangular signboard with couple of names of places along with distance given one below the other)
    1. Re-assurance sign.
    2. Direction sign.
    3. Destination sign.
  13. Loud horn has to be used compulsorily for :
    1. Incline & Decline
    2. Left & right curves
    3. Both
  14. Fill in the blank : “It is not allowed to go in ___ direction on a one way road”
    1. Reverse.
    2. Same.
    3. Opposite
  15. Correct Driving near a high court :
    1. Horn & proceed cautiously.
    2. Drive slowly without overtaking.
    3. Don’t horn & don’t overtake.
  16. Correct Driving near a temple :
    1. Horn & proceed cautiously.
    2. Drive slowly without overtaking.
    3. Don’t horn & don’t overtake.

Special Note : The supervising inspector was a helpful guy who encouraged me to try harder after I flunked the 1st time. Even told me to take more than the usual 15 min to answer the exam if needed.

I passed the test in my 3rd attempt with 12/15 marks. Could have got full…but for some careless mistakes on my part.

The whole list of chores can be accomplished within an hour IF you are 1 of the early birds on a weekday morning.

Thats my note on this topic. Hope it serves its purpose.

I would love to hear to hear more about such questions. So feel free to add to the list via comments !

Reading Books

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.”
- Jojen Reed, A Dance with Dragons, Book 5 of ‘A Song of Ice & Fire’

I haven’t been able to write a blog entry for the whole month :( .
I have been busy reading the ‘A Song of Ice & Fire’ series (splendid storyline…though I prefer Tolkein’s stories & story telling.)

Recently I had a fascinating conversation with my cousins in which it was pointed out that one reads books of the fantasy fiction genre to escape reality. As our discussion progressed, we agreed that one does this with any book, tv show too.

Whenever we come across any interesting story…in a book or a television show, we usually get involved with the plot a lot. Some of us try to predict whats going to happen next while some put themselves in the main character’s shoes.

The mark of a good story is that it gets the audience deeply immersed in the storyline & the incidents in the story affect the audience too.

An interesting trend that has emerged nowadays is that in job interviews, questions are asked on your reading habits. Websites often advise you to give answers like some autobiographies of some great individuals. Its a pity that such kind of shams are necessary for some.

Its a known fact that complex stories make a person think more since understanding the story & predicting its future twists & turns requires more usage of your grey matter.

Which is why , I usually stay away from light books.
I prefer long book series which usually translates to complex stories.
But there are always exceptions. Ayn Rand’s single book stories are a wealth of ideas & strong characters which I love to read regularly ….atleast once per year.

Nowadays a lot of movies/shows are based on books – from the Harry Potter series to the Lord of the Rings…to the Game of Thrones.
While movies/shows serve as a summary of the whole book series, the true essence of the story can be felt only by reading the original books.
So if you like something you see on the TV, don’t forget to read the inspiration behind it.

Meeting people

Friends of mine always complaint that I don’t stay in touch with them. I agree wholeheartedly with them. Just 1 short mesg to them – “Things won’t change” :P

I always found it uncomfortable speaking with an old friend (like some1 from my school) over the phone for the 1st time after a decade. But pinging him on a social networking site like Facebook isn’t that difficult. His/her current status updates or basic background details are good starting points to get a conversation going. Commenting on your friend’s status updates are another way of ensuring you remain in touch…the flow of communication & sharing of thoughts possible with just a single line !

But I haven’t written this entry to heap praises on the power of the Internet (Oh 1 more : Sharing this blog is also possible thx to the net…All hail thee !).

I have always preferred meeting people face to face rather than talking to them on the phone or chatting with them over the net.

My choices were further encouraged over the last month or so when I had to invite people for my brother’s wedding. I had a whole lot of relatives & friends who resided in the same city as me. People who I didn’t know existed (“Out of sight out of mind” + absence of any documented family trees :-/ ).

I could have invited them over the phone or via an invitation card (snail mail or email). But somehow I wanted to meet them. I wanted to meet them all in their surroundings where I could give time to each & every1 of them & get to know them better.

Thats where the beauty of meeting a person came out. Eye to eye contact ..maybe a firm handshake & a smile to accompany it. Talk about the past, the present ..the future..the surroundings…your likes…dislikes. All whilst ensuring the conversation remains interesting by observing the body language of the person. All this isn’t possible on the phone….nor is it possible over a video conference. Truly Nothing can replace this.

Thats why I like visiting new places or places which I haven’t visited for a while. No person remains the same over time. Time changes everyone.
When you revisit places & people, you will always gain new knowledge, new insights & enrich your experience further.

Going back to the start : Friends & relatives alike – I’d rather meet you than talk to you. So if I am in the neighbourhood, I will be meeting you. Or drop me a line if you are nearby. Lets meet !

Returning from a vacation

Sigh…its that dreaded time of the year again. As hard as I try, I cannot avoid it. Its the time when one returns from a break….a delightful break which unfortunately one cannot forget :(

Let me explain. Having been born & raised in the city, I am addicted to the fast pace of city life. Making the utmost use of time – thats something which I have been conditioned to believe in. I also earn my living doing something I love – Yep…ideal circumstances for me to develop workaholic tendencies.

But somewhere down the line , one realizes that a break is needed. Else one can end up as the other rabbits from the Duracell ads…stop functioning normally & the results of your choices show up in your health report if not in your performance. Causality aka Karma …who can escape from it?

I have taken breaks before where I traveled to other cities. Returning back to work from such a break doesn’t bother me much since the only things different from the usual surroundings are the absence of work & the change in location. But when I go to my native place – ie a visit to the rural parts – thats when the change truly makes an impact.

Picture some of the situations I ended up in :

  • Lazily talking away delightfully with long lost friends & relatives with meal times being the only distractions in between.
  • Walking through the forest with the sound of dry leaves under your feet. A gentle clean breeze waltzes past you as you marvel at the greenery that surrounds you from all directions.
  • Sitting at the top of the house with the rising sun spraying the surrounding trees with his bright light. Chirping birds welcoming the start of a new day. Huge trees swaying their leaves, dancing away in the rhythm of the winds.
  • Sitting under the night sky. Stars visible in all directions. A gentle reminder of how small we are in the scheme of things.

I could think of a single sentence – “I could grow old here”.

Yes…that was the effect my vacation had on me. Still reeling from the after effects on returning back to the city. The fact that I live closer to the place now (about 7 hrs) than I did before (I moved to this city recently) somehow tempts me to drop everything & rush back….Sigh..Time is supposed to be the great healer…but the wait is more agonizing…

At such times my mind takes pity on me & reminds of the lines from the Robert Frost poem -
“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”

& I carry on…till the next time.