My Rajasthan Tour - Visit to Jaipur

Rajasthan is the largest state of India and is also known as the "Land of Maharajas".  Rajasthan is known for its majestic palaces, forts and monuments. The State is geographically dominated by stretches of Thar Desert and Aravalli Range. The state was formed on March 30, 1949, when Rajputana was merged into the dominion of India. This time we planned our tour to Rajasthan for 10 days starting from December 23, 2023. We started our tour by first visiting to Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan and is also known as Pink City. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II was the founder of the city of Jaipur who ruled from 1699 to 1744. He planned Jaipur City in six blocks separated by broad avenues based on the principals of Vastushastra and another similar classical treatise under the architectural guidance of Vidyadhar Bhattacharya, Architect from the present day Naihati, West Bengal, India. He was initially an accounts-clerk in the Amber Treasury and later promoted to the Chief Architect by the King. I would like to share my experiences and brief information about the places in Jaipur that I visited with my family. We were in Jaipur for two days. 

1. Lakshmi Narayan Temple: 

We have visited Laxmi Narayan Temple during evening on the first day of arrival at Jaipur on December 23, 2023. Lakshmi Narayan Temple is popularly known as Birla Mandir. It was built by B.M. Birla Foundation in 1988. This temple is made of white marble. This temple is dedicated to the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi and God Vishnu (Narayan). There is a fort behind this temple called Moti Doongri Fort which is on the hill which looks like a pearl drop. Moti Doongri means pearl hill. In the local language, Doongri means a small hill. There is a famous Ganesh Temple inside the Moti Dongri Fort. There is a palace inside the fort which is a replica of Scottish Castle and was once the royal home of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh.  This time we could not visit this fort. 

2. Jantar Mantar

On the next day i.e. on 24th December we visited Jantar Mantar. Jantar Mantar literally means

calculating instrument. The name Jantar is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Yantra' means instrument and the word Mantar is derived from a Sanskrit word 'mantrana' which means calculate. Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a collection of 19 astronomical instruments built by the King Sawai Jai Singh II in 1729. The monument was completed in 1734. It is having the world's largest stone Sundial and is UNESCO World Heritage Site. Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II constructed five Jantar Mantar in total which are located in New Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Mathura and Varanasi. All the five Jantar Mantar were completed between 1724 and 1735. There is a small sundial for the calculation of local time. Difference of time in minute is written on the board which is added to local time to arrive at Indian Standard Time (IST). During our visit to this place the difference in time that was written on the board was 26 minutes.  

There is an instrument called 'Yantra Raj' in Jantar Mantar which is an adaptation of a medieval instrument for the measurement of time and positions of celestial objects. This instrument is used for measuring ascendants, altitude, time and the position of the Sun and other celestial objects in the sky. It can also be used in computing celestial positions and their changes. Other major instruments of Jantar Mantar are Samrat Yantra, Disha Yantra, Chakra Yantra, Jai Prakash Yantra, Rama Yantra, Dingash Yantra, Utaansh Yantra and Rashiwalay Yantra. 

3. City Palace

We visited City Palace on 24th December 2023 after finishing our visit to Jantar Mantar. The construction of the City Palace started under the rule of Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1729 and completed in 1732. He shifted his capital from Amber to Jaipur in the year 1727. This Palace is a royal residence and former administrative headquarters of Jaipur State. Mughal and Rajput architectural styles in combination was used for the construction of this palace. Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum is inside this palace and this palace is still the home of the Jaipur royal family. Vidyadhar Bhattacharya was the architect who designed this palace. There are several buildings, various courtyards, galleries, restaurants, and offices of the Museum Trust inside the palace complex. Chairperson of the Museum Trust is Rajmata Padmini Devi of Jaipur. Princess Diya Kumari as Secretary and trustee runs the Museum Trust. She is also founder of the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation which works for the empowerment of underprivileged and underemployed women of Rajasthan.  

There are three main entry gates to the City Palace named Udai Pol, Virendra Pol and Tripolia gate. The Tripolia gate is reserved for the entry of the members of royal family into the palace. Common people and visitors are allowed to enter the palace complex through the Udai Pol and the Virendra Pol. The Udai Pol leads to the Sabha Niwas (Diwan-e-Aam) which is a hall of the public audience. Sabha Niwas was modelled on the lines of a Mughal Hall of audience, the Diwan-e-Aam. The Virendra Pol leads to the Mubarak Mahal Courtyard, which in turn is connected to the Sarvato Bhadra i.e. Diwan-e-Khas through the Rajendra Pol. Sarvato Bhadra was used as the Diwan-e-Khas i.e. the Hall of Private Audience where the ruler could hold the court with the officials and nobles of the kingdom privately. Entry of public was not allowed in Diwan-e-Khas. Today, it is used for royal festivals and celebrations.  

  👆 Rajendra Pol

Two huge sterling silver urns of 1.6 meters height and each with the capacity of 4000 liters and weighing 345 kilograms are placed in Diwan-e-Khas. These two sterling silver vessels found place in Guinness Book of World Record as the world's largest sterling silver vessels. It took two years between 1894 and 1896 to create these silver jars by two silversmiths of Jaipur. Each silver urn (vessel) was made from 14000 melted silver coins without soldering. These vessels were used by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II to carry the water of the river Ganges to England in 1902 for using it for drinking purpose during his entire journey and stay in England for attending the coronation of King Edward VII. These silver vessels are named as Gangajalis.  

Chandra Mahal is the oldest building in the city palace Complex having seven floors. Aurangzeb gave the title 'Sawai' to young Jai Singh which means "one and a quarter". Since then, the Maharajas have pre-fixed their names with this title. There are various galleries of the museum i.e. Sabha Niwas, Textile Gallery, Sileh Khana (Arms and Armour Gallery), Painting and Photography gallery. 

4. Amber Fort or Amer Fort

This fort is located in Amer which is at a distance of about 11 kilometers from Jaipur and was built by Raja Man Singh I in the year 1592. Jai Singh I expanded the fort in the early 1600's. Improvements and additions were made by successive rulers over the next 150 years till the capital was shifted to Jaipur during the time of Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727. It is located high on the hill i.e. Cheel ka Teela of Aravali range of hills. Amer or Amber derives its name from the Ambikeshwar Temple built atop the Cheel ka Teela. Amer Fort is popularly known as Amer Palace which is the great example of Rajput Architecture. However, some of its buildings have influence of Mughal architecture. This palace and Jaigarh Fort are connected by a subterranean passage which is an escape route during war to enable the royal family members and others to provide safe passage to Jaigarh Fort.  

Amer Fort is divided into four courtyards. The main entry is through the Suraj Pol (Sun Gate) which leads to the first main courtyard. You will find Sila Devi temple in the first courtyard which was the place of worship of Rajput Maharajas since the reign of Maharaja Mansingh in the 16th century. there is a Suhag Mandir where the ladies of royal family used to watch functions held in Diwan-i-Aam through latticed marble windows called jalis. The Second courtyard houses the Diwan-i-Aam or the Public Audience Hall where the king held audience to hear and receive petitions from the public. 

 The private quarters of the Maharaja, his family and attendants were located in the third courtyard. The entry to this courtyard is through the Ganesh Pol. This courtyard has two buildings, Sheesh Mahal and Sukh Mahal separated by a garden laid in the style of Mughal Gardens. Sheesh Mahal was built by Maharaja Man Singh and completed in the year 1727 which is the foundation year of Jaipur State. There are numerous tiny mirrors, pattern mosaics, coloured glasses embedded on the walls and ceilings of the Sheesh Mahal because of which a single ray of light entering the Sheesh Mahal is able to lits up and illuminates the entire hall naturally. The Sheesh Mahal has been built so that the queen can see the star while sleeping inside the Sheesh Mahal.   The fourth courtyard has many living rooms for the residences of the queens who were visited by the king at his choice without being known to the queens other than the queen to whom the king visited.  This was possible because all the rooms open into a common corridor.                   

👆Ceiling of Sheesh Mahal

5. Conclusion

Jaipur is the first planned city of India and was planned by Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. The city derives its name from Sawai Jai Singh, founder of the city. This time we could not visit Hawa Mahal and Jal Mahal though we have passed through these two places. Dal Baati Churma, Laal Maas, Ghevar, Gatte ki Sabji, etc. are the delicious dishes which one can try in Jaipur or any other places in Rajasthan. Before going to Jaipur my friend suggested me to have a taste of Lassi at Lassiwala in Jaipur. This time we could not taste Lassi at Lassiwala due to hectic schedule given by our tour operator. But next time I will definitely taste lassi at Lassiwala. This time we have tasted Lal Maas and Dal Bati Churma during our Rajasthan tour. We enjoyed our stay at Jaipur. On December 25, 2023, we checked out from the hotel at Jaipur in the morning and thereafter we started our journey to Udaipur. Very soon I will come with another post in this blog on my tour to Udaipur. 

(Note: The historical facts mentioned in the article are collected from Wikipedia and some other sources in public domain.)  

Talking to Self

1. Manoj is in the habit of doing both morning walk and evening walk on daily basis. One day he was doing evening walk alone in a big ground. During the walk he was talking to self. Then suddenly he realized that he started talking to self which anybody passing nearby can hear. But luckily nobody was there nearby.  Have you ever talked to yourself when you are alone? I am sure most of us are in the habit of talking to self when alone. You will find hardly any person who never do self-talk when alone. Talking to self or self-talk is very important for every individual during all the stages of life. Self-talk is a process in which an individual talk to self without involvement of any other person. Generally speaking, no talk is possible without the involvement of at least two individuals. But in self-talk there is an involvement of only one single individual. 

2. Self-talk is having many advantages if used properly. Self-talk helps an individual to introspect which ultimately helps in self-rectification. A person is completely frank and open during self-talk. Every individual is most frank with self than with any other person, however close that person may be. During self-talk, a person generally talks about the things from his or her memory. During self-talk a person feed some thoughts in his or her subconscious mind which later on become his or her belief. Therefore, be careful while doing self-talk as any self-talk doing repeatedly for 21 days and more can feed your subconscious mind with the thoughts that you are repeating during self-talk. Positive self-talk affects our ability to control emotions and mental health. 

3. One can cherish memorable moments through self-talk which helps in refreshing both mind and body. Self-talk helps in building personality by raising our self-esteem provided how we use self-talk. Self-talk can also inject negativity in our mind if one talks negative during self-talk. Repetition of same sentences during self-talk consistently for several days feed our sub-conscious mind with those thoughts which may be reflected in our action.  

4. One can make self-talk very effective for the achievement of goals. Make it a habit to do self-talk in the morning after waking up and before going to sleep. Your self-talk should be linked to your goal. During self-talk you should ask what you want in your life. Never complain during self-talk. During self-talk you should ask what you want in your life. Never tell anything which you don't want. Self-talk should be always in affirmative and should be focused on what you want. It should not be focused on what you don't want. For example, if someone is facing financial problems, then what should be his or her self-talk? It should be focused on financial abundance instead getting out of financial crisis. 

5. Before starting a day in the morning, one should do self-talk. Before asking anything from the universe, first express your gratitude to the universe for whatever you are having. For example, you may thank the universe for having good health, compatible spouse, lovely children, good parents, good house to live in, etc. Then you ask for what you want further in your life. Before asking for yourself ask for the world, mankind, society and family in which you are living. Then you ask for yourself. Expressing gratitude during self-talk is the acknowledgement for what you are already having. You may ask for the achievement of your both short term and long-term goal during self-talk. Always talk with yourself about the things that you want to have in future. Whenever you talk with yourself regarding your personality, talk about your desired personality which you want to have. Talk with yourself about your desired personality, desired health, desired house and other belongings, desired relationship, desired futures, etc. 

6. Our self-talks may be positive self-talk or negative self-talk. Positive self-talk is having many benefits. Positive self-talk may impact our daily life by improving our emotions, behaviours and general wellbeing. Positive Self-talk helps in forgetting bad memories or at least help in reducing the intensity of bad memories. Positive self-talk helps in increasing our confidence as we affirm our talents and skills during self-talk. Positive self-talk helps in reducing stress and anxiety, whereas negative self-talk is a cause for tension and anxiety. Positive self-talk helps in improving our mood which makes us feel happier even during crisis situations. It also helps in developing resilience and capacity to endure in difficult situation. It also helps in improving relationships with others.   

7. On the other hand, negative self-talk is having adverse effect on our mood and thought process. It increases our stress and anxiety. Negative self-talk leads to low self-esteem which may adversely affects the quality of an individual's life leading to persistent feelings of sadness, depression, anger and guilt. Negative self-talk reduces the confidence of a person which is detrimental to the overall performance of an individual. Negative self-talk feeds negativity in our sub-conscious mind which may act as a deterrent in finding out solutions to a problem. Whereas positivity helps an individual in finding out solution to every problem while on the other hand negativity makes an individual to find problems in every solution. Therefore, positive self-talk enables an individual to improve problem solving abilities. Negative self-talk deteriorates problem solving ability of an individual. 

8. Optimistic persons always think positive and talk positive while pessimistic persons always think negative as well as talk negative. Doing positive self-talk consistently for a long period can make a person optimistic. Let us cultivate the habit of doing positive self-talk and encourage others to develop this habit to create an atmosphere of positivity in our locality and society to make it a better place to live. 

 Bicycle Riding - A Good Activity During Post Retirement Life

1. The bicycle was invented over 200 years ago and has been a major mode of transport for 140 years. Cycling is one of the best exercises for persons of all age groups i.e., from 5 years to 80+ years of age under normal health conditions. Even during old age one can continue to do cycling. One never forgets cycling once learned. Cycling is not only exercise but is also a mode of transport for short distance travel which is not only cheap but also pollution free. Parking of cycle is very easy as it does not require much space for parking.  One can do cycling on a very narrow trackway. Let us discuss about the best timing for cycling, safety measures to be taken during cycling, benefits of cycling and steps taken by few countries to promote cycling.

  2. Best Timing for Cycling: You can do cycling anytime of the day as per your convenience and comfort. But in Tropical Countries it is better to do cycling in the early morning because morning whether is comfortable and sun is less intense compared to other part of the day. Cycling in the morning is preferable because one can breathe fresh natural air and the traffic is less on the road compared to other part of the day. Riding is safer during morning. Morning ride increases your blood circulation which makes you feel fresher. Morning ride also improves your work efficiency. If you are having busy schedules during morning, then you can prefer to do cycling during evening hours when the intensity of the Sun is low.

3. Safety measures to be taken during cycling: Risk of accident is there in cycling which may cause injury. Therefore it is essential to take certain safety measures while riding a bicycle. Following safety measures are suggested for safe cycling.

(i) Wear a properly fitted helmet while riding bicycle as helmet can protect your head from injury if you fall from bicycle due to accident. 

(ii) Install a rearview mirrors on handlebars of bicycle to see the movement of traffic behind you. While changing your lane or direction please observe the movement of traffic behind you so that you can change the lane or direction safely. Before changing lane give indication well in advance to alert the traffic behind you.

(iii) Never ride with headphones. Never talk on mobile phone while riding bicycle as it may divert your attention from road traffic which may cause accident.  

(iv) Ride your bicycle on lane earmarked for riding bicycle. If bicycle lane is not earmarked, then prefer to ride bicycle on the side of the road where traffic is less without disturbing the pedestrians.  

(v) Wear reflective materials while riding bicycle on road so as to increase your visibility to the drivers of other vehicles on the road. This will reduce the risk of accidents on road.

(vi) Before riding the bicycle check the various parts and equipment of your bicycle. Ensure that your tires are properly inflated and breaks are in proper conditions. Also ensure that your chains and gears are in proper conditions and without any defect. 

(vii) Always keep your hands on handlebars of your bicycle so that you can have full control over the movement of your bicycle while riding. 

(viii) While riding bicycle on the road follow the traffic rules and make use of hand signals whenever and wherever necessary. 

4. Benefits of Cycling: Cycling is a low-cost vehicle which is pollution free as well as can be used as a physical fitness tool. Cycling is good for maintaining physical fitness. The benefits of cycling are detailed hereunder.

(i) We all know that the risk of heart disease increases with the increase in age. Cycling is a low-impact aerobic exercise that improves our cardiovascular fitness and strengthen heart muscle.

(ii) Cycling enhances blood circulation. It also reduces the risk of cancer , diabetes and kidney disease. 

(iii) Cycling helps in burning fats and building muscle especially in our legs and hips. It helps in improving our stamina.

(iv) Regular cycling helps in preserving balance and coordination. It also improve lower-body function which prevent us from falling. 

(v) Cycling helps in strengthening and protecting our joints. Regular cycling helps in preventing knee joint pain which is very common in old age.

(vi) Cycling helps in boosting our mental health. The risk of cognitive degenerative deceases increases with age which can lead to depression and anxiety. Riding bicycle outside in an open air during morning refresh your mind and also give you fresh air and good dose of vitamin D which helps in improving your mood and reducing stress level. Vitamin D is required for absorption of calcium which helps in improving bone density. 

(vii) Cycling helps in strengthening our immune system that reduces the chances of getting sick. 

(viii) During pandemic due to spread of corona virus, bicycle was the safest mode of transport due to lesser risk of infection as compared to public transport. 

5. The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) has come out with a resolution in Favour of cycling and urged countries to promote everyday cycling. European Parliament has taken a policy decision to promote cycling within the countries in Europe and aims to double cycling in Europe by 2030. They are going to increase investment in safe, separated cycling infrastructure and integrate cycling into urban framework. Copenhagen, Denmark is known as the best city in Europe for cycling. For making Germany more bike friendly, the National cycling Plan (NCP) 3.0 was launched in 2021 to boost cycling and making it more attractive and safer. The first National Cycling Plan (NCP) was launched in 2002.

In some European Union countries, there is a system of placing bicycle inside public transport i.e., trains, regional buses and trams so as to enable people to travel from door -to -door over longer distances by combining public transport with cycling. Such measures reduce the use of car to travel long distances in Europe which helps in reducing carbon emission. In some European countries backside racks on buses have been introduced so that a greater number of bicycles can be carried in such buses. 

6. Cycling is good for all age groups starting from the age of five. Our activities get reduced after retirement as we do not have nine to five schedules that we had during working life. To live a long and healthy life it is necessary to have some physical as well as mental activities. Bicycle riding is a good option for both physical activity and mental pleasure. If you have any severe medical problem, then take the advice of your doctor before starting bicycle riding. Chose bicycle which will suit your physique and comfort.  Bicycle riding is not only good for our physical and mental health but also good for our environment. 

    

 How to make post-retirement life happy and fruitful?

  

Why many persons are not happy during their post-retirement life despite having financial freedom and having no liability towards their children. Even after achieving most of the things in life and free from financial problems, persons are not happy. Let us find out the reasons why many persons are not happy during their post-retirement life.   

Let us find out the reasons for happiness: 

Before finding out the reasons for unhappiness let us find out the reasons why the persons should be happier during their post-retirement life. 

(i) The foremost reason for happiness is not having any Boss during post-retirement life. You are your own boss. You have all the 24 hours at your disposal which you can utilise as per your desires and convenience.

(ii) Another reason for happiness is reduction in stress level after retirement as you are free from job related stress during post-retirement life. 

(iii)  You are not answerable to anyone except yourself. During working life, you were answerable to your boss for your performance. You were even answerable to your client.

(iv)  During working life your plan for going to vacation tour was subjected to sanction of leave by your boss. You are now free to plan your vacation tour any time during the year as per your convenience. 

(v) You can choose to do any work as per your interest and liking which was not the case before retirement.

Reasons for Unhappiness During Post Retirement life: 

Despite having strong reasons for happiness why some persons are unhappy during post-retirement life? Generally, most of the unhappiness are mental and not due to external factors. Let us discuss the reasons why many persons are unhappy during their post-retirement life.

(i)  Having regret for non-achievement or under achievement during the past life is one of the main reasons for unhappiness. Many persons are having regret for not getting promotion, not getting reward for their performance, etc. Living in the past and continuously remembering the failures during past life makes a person unhappy in the present.

(ii)  Expectation of recognition and respects from ex-colleagues and other persons is another reason for unhappiness. Many persons expects that they should continue to get respect from their colleagues even after retirement. But that is not the reality. When a person does not get respect as per expectation, they become unhappy. 

(iii)  Many retired persons are in the habit of giving free advices to family members and friends. A person become unhappy when nobody listens to his or her advice. Habit of giving free advices invites unhappiness in one's life. 

(iv)  Spending most of the time in watching television also invites unhappiness. Watching news in television for long duration feeds negativity in our sub-conscious mind which ultimately creates unhappiness.

(v)  Excessive talking also leads to unhappiness. Many persons at this stage talk more about their own achievements during their student and working life which nobody want to listen. This creates frustration and unhappiness.

(vi)  Non utilisation or improper utilisation of free time due to lack of engagement is another reason for unhappiness. Lack of engagement creates negative thoughts in the mind which create unhappiness.

How to make your retirement life happy and fruitful? 

 If you have to make your retirement life happy and fruitful then you have to follow certain dos and don’ts. Let us first discuss about Do's and thereafter we will discuss about Don’ts. 

What you should do to make your retirement life happy and fruitful?

(i) Take Care of Your Health: It's very important to take care of your health. You can enjoy your post-retirement life if your health is in good condition. Health means not only your physical health but also your mental as well as spiritual health. Maintenance of your physical health is very much essential to do your day-to-day activities without any difficulties. It will reduce your dependency on other person and will help you in enjoying your vacation tour. As regards maintenance of good physical health, I have explained in details in my previous blog the link of which is given hereunder. You may click the link the following link to have details on maintaining good physical health during post-retirement life.

https://post-retirementlife.blogspot.com/2022/04/physical-health-during-second-innings.html

It is also very important to take care of your mental as well as spiritual health. Need for taking care of one's mental and spiritual health has been explained in my previous blogs the link of which are given hereunder.

(i) https://post-retirementlife.blogspot.com/2022/04/mental-health-during-second-innings-of.html

(ii) https://post-retirementlife.blogspot.com/2022/03/spiritual-health-during-second-innings.html

(ii) Develop Good Friend circle: It is very important to develop good friend circle near your surroundings. It is better to start developing friend circle well before your retirement so that you can have some friends after retirement for your socialisation. Friend Circle's composition should be diversified, both in terms of professional and cultural backgrounds so that you can enrich yourself with their wide experiences. Have a regular meeting and get together with them.

(iii) Have a vacation tour, picnic and other amusement: Plan for vacation tour at reasonable frequency with your spouse. Have both short tour and long tour at certain interval which is comfortable to you. At least once in a year you should go for picnic with your friends and family members. Have a visit to nearby museum, park and other amusement centres for your recreation. 

(iv) Make daily contribution to your life: Please make an endeavour to make value addition to your life. Please remember one thing that your scope for progress doesn’t stop on retirement date. There is a scope for progress even after retirement. There is always a scope for progress till you are alive. Ensure daily contribution to your life for making it meaningful. Extend your helping hand to your spouse in day-to-day routine household work. If you have a long-term plan for making some value addition to your life, ensure to make daily progress in that direction. For example, if you have decided to author a book which may take one- or two-years’ time to finish, then make a strategy to have a quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily target to ensure consistent efforts in the direction of your goal. 

(v) Pursue your hobby: Every person is having at least one hobby which one could not pursue during working or professional life. It is better to pursue your hobby during post-retirement life which will make your life happy and meaningful. It will also give you meaningful engagement.

(vi) Pay back to Society: From childhood to adult stage most of the investments were made for our personal development. During our working and professional life, we worked for our livelihood for the development and welfare of our family. This is the time to pay back to society when we don't have any liability towards our children and passive income is sufficient to take care of our expenditure. You may pay back to society by doing some charity or philanthropical work which will give you peace of mind. 

 

(vii) Mix with the persons of all age group: There is a general tendency of a person to mix with the persons of having same age group. It is advisable to mix with the persons of different age groups so that you can enrich yourself with the varieties of experiences of persons of different age groups. Persons of younger age group may also be benefitted by enriching themselves with your experiences. Mixing with young generation will abreast you with the latest development and trends in the society.

 (viii) Develop your listening skill: It has been observed that with the growing age a person is in the habit of talking more and listening less. Please develop the habit of talking less and listening more. Talking more without listening to other person antagonise the other person and you miss some useful information which that person wants to convey. If you talk less and patiently listen to other person then your image gets uplifted in the heart of that person and you get enrich with the information provided by that person. Please remember every person wants that he or she should be listened patiently by others. If you also want the same then you have to develop the habit of listening to others with patience. 

 What you should not do during post-retirement life 

(i)  Never give free advices to anyone even to your family members. If you are in the habit of giving free advices then you will be ignored and avoided by other persons including your family members. Such situation will bring unhappiness in your life. Never give advice to anyone unless someone seeks your advice.  

 (ii) Never permanently stay with your Children's family. Avoid staying with your Children's family because your independence may get compromised to some extent. If they request you to stay with them for some time which may be helpful to them then you may stay with them to extend your helping hand. During your stay with your Child's family maintain arm length distance and never interfere in their family matters. Give them their personal space so that you will also have the personal space for yourself.

 (iii) While talking to your children and grandchildren never say ‘during our time’ because today's time is also yours since you are living today. Live in present instead of living in the past. Never glorify past at the cost of present. There is a general tendency of many old age persons to glorify the things in the past and criticising the things in the present. Please remember that human civilisation progresses with the passage of time. With the passage of time human civilisation rectify the mistakes done in the past. Therefore, in general the present is always better than the pasts.

 (iv) Never visit your previous office for mere socialisation. If you do so you will get frustrated and demoralised. If you have any personal work for which you need to visit your previous office then you should restrict your visit to that purpose only. Please remember that in whatever position you might have been retired but your presence in the office after retirement is not welcomed. 

 (v) Never boast yourself in a friend circle about your position and importance in the office before retirement. Nobody is interested to know your position and importance in the office before retirement as we all know that the brand of a fused bulb is hardly matter to anyone. Please remember you will be judged in your friend circle based on your attitude and behaviour at present. 

 (vi) Never be overenthusiastic in knowing what is happening in the office after your retirement. I have seen some persons who are very enthusiastic to know what is happening in the office after their retirement, who got promotion, who did not get promotion, etc. These are none of your business. Your over enthusiasm to know the present happening in the office may diminish your image amongst your friends who are still working in the office.

 (vii) Never bother about the persons who are ignoring you. Instead of focussing on the persons who are ignoring you it is better to focus on your family members and friends who are taking care of you. Never give undue importance to the persons who are ignoring you. It is better to ignore such persons who are ignoring you.

By following certain dos and don’ts as explained above one can make post-retirement life happy and fruitful. 

   My Tour to Puri 

Puri is an attractive tourist destination of India situated in the State of Odisha and is on the Eastern Coast. Puri is famous for its Pilgrimage and Beach Tourism. It is famous for Shri Jagannath Temple which is one of the four Dhamas i.e., char dham (Holiest of the holy places) i.e., Puri, Badrinath, Dwarika and Rameswaram in India and for the longest Golden Beach. This time we stayed for four days in Puri from April 17, 2023 to April 21, 2023. I would like to share my experiences and the information in brief about the places that I visited with my wife during this tour. 

1. Jagannath Temple

Jagannath Temple is one of the Dhamas out of four Dhamas i.e., Puri, Badrinath, Dwarika and Rameswaram in India. It is an important Hindu Temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath.   The main temple of Lord Jagannath was built by Somavamsa King Indradyumna of Abanti.  This temple is famous for its annual Ratha Yatra i.e., Chariot Festival. The idols of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath, Devi Subhadra and Mahaprabhu Shri Balabhadra are placed on the Bejeweled Pedestal (Ratna Simhassana). The temple was built on the basis of Oriya architecture. The main temple is having curvilinear shape with a chakra of Lord Vishnu (also called Nila Chakra) on the top. The height of the tower of the temple is 65 metres. The temple is having four gates at the eastern, western, northern and southern sides of the temple premises known as Simhadwara (Lion's Gate), Vyagrhara Dwara (Tiger's Gate), Hasti Dwara (Elephant's Gate) and Ashwa Dwara (Horse's gate). Singha Dwara is the main gate to enter the Jagannath Temple. Shoes, mobile phones, leather goods and cameras are not allowed inside the temple. One has to keep these items in a counter dedicated for depositing shoes and mobiles before entering the temple which can be collected back after darshan. 

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2. Raghurajpur Artist Village

This time we have visited Raghurajpur Artist Village during our stay at Puri. This place is at a distance of about 10 kilometers from Puri. This is the heritage craft village known for its Pattachitra art. Pattachitra means paintings on a piece of cloth. The word 'Pattachitra' has evolved from sanskrit words 'patta' means canvas or cloth and 'chitra' means picture. This is an art which dates back to 5 BC in the region. Pattachitra of this village has been recognised by UNESCO. This village was declared as Heritage Village by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage in the year 2000. More or less 100 families are residing in this village and most of the members of each family are engaged in art work and they have been doing this for generations. We have visited the houses of five to six artists. They have displayed their artistic works with full enthusiasm. We have purchased few Pattachitra Paintings from them for decorating drawing room of our house. 

The above photograph is the inside of house of one artist family displaying various paintings and other artistic works. There is another photograph of chittapatra paintings displayed by the artist in his house. 

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3. Konark Sun Temple

Konark Sun Temple is at a distance of about 35 kilometres from Puri. We went to the temple by car. On the way we found cashew nut plantations. Cashew nuts are grown in this area. Konark Sun Temple was built in 1250 AD during the reign of the Eastern Ganga King Narasimhadeva-I. The Kalinga region was ruled by the rulers of Eastern Ganga Dynasty from 5th century AD to 15th century AD.  This temple is a monumental representation of the Sun God Surya's chariot. Its 24 wheels are decorated with symbolic designs and the chariot is led by a team of six horses. The number 24 represents 24 fortnights in a year and also 24 hours of the day. This temple is the culmination of Kalinga Temple architecture. The name Konark is made of two sanskrit words 'Kona' means corner and 'arka' means sun. The town gets its name 'Konark' from its geographical location which makes it look like the sun rises at an angle. The temple complex consists of the main temple complex, Mayadevi Temple and Vaishnava Temple. It is also having other subsidiary structures like the gateway, well, kitchen, enclosure wall, etc. We have also visited the Archaeological Museum, Konark located near the main temple in the northern direction. This museum started in the year 1968 and maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. The purpose of starting this museum was to house the archaeological excavations and the fallen sculptures from the Sun Temple. The museum is having four galleries displaying 260 various antiquities. It is better to visit museum before visiting Konark Temple so that you can have better idea of the temple beforehand. After exit from the Konark Temple we found many stalls displaying varieties of cashew nuts and poppy seeds (khaskhas in Hindi, postdana in Bengali). These items are reasonably cheap in this market.

Cashew nut plants on the way to Konark Temple. 👉

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4. Blue Flag Beach

Earlier it was Golden beach of Puri which has been renamed as a Blue Flag Beach. This beach has been officially ranked as India(s) cleanest beach. Before entering the beach, you have to pay Rs.20 as entry fee for a period of three hours. It has been officially ranked as India's cleanest beach. This beach is one of Asia's first blue flag certified beaches. Blue Flag certification is given by FEE (The Foundation for Environment Education) situated at Denmark. They started certification of Blue Flag beaches since 1987. Thirty-three stringent criteria of FEE, Denmark are required to be fulfilled to obtain and maintain Blue Flag Certification. This beach is having core infrastructure facilities like public toilets, changing and shower room, watch towers, sitting arrangements, solar lighting system and demarcation of safe swimming zone. This beach is very less crowdy as compared to Puri Beach. You will find long easy chairs with sheds in beach located away from sea. You can use those sitting arrangements free of cost. But if you want to sit in chairs nearer to sea for closely observing sea waves then you have to make payment based on number of hours you are using those chairs.  

    This time we could not visit Chilika Lake due to hot summer. It is better to visit Chilika Lake during winter season so that you can enjoy the whole day by doing boating and watching migratory birds. Generally migratory birds come to various places in India during winter season. Dhauli Giri Hills is another tourist destination in Odisha which is at a distance of about 12 Km. from Bhubaneswar and about 50 Km. from Puri. You can also visit Nandankanan Zoological Park near Bhubaneswar. Next time I will visit Puri and Bhubaneswar during winter season for carrying out my remaining site seeing which could not be covered during this visit. 

Taking Personal Decision

 

Taking Personal Decision

1. Introduction   

Taking personal decision is not a very big deal but the question is why most of us fail to take our own personal decision. We generally do the mistake of discussing our personal decision with several persons before actually taking it and in the process, we fail to take decision because different persons give different suggestions based on their own perceptions, perspectives and circumstances. But it does not mean that we should not gather information required for taking right decision. But the question is how, when and from whom to gather information. We will discuss it later. Let us first discuss why people find it difficult to take one’s own personal decision.

  2. Why a person finds it difficult to take personal decision?

  During childhood all our decisions including daily routine activities were taken by our parents. Many Children are not even able to choose their dishes in buffet lunch or dinner in the absence of their parents. During school days all our activities were decided and planned by our teachers and for taking personal decisions we were dependent on our parents, teachers or pear groups. During service life our activities in the workplace are decided by our bosses. It means we are not in the habit of taking decisions from childhood to old age and therefore find it difficult to take personal decision.

3. What stops us in taking personal decision?    

Let us discuss the impediments or hurdles in taking decision. What stops us in taking our own personal decisions. It is our mindset which either enables us or prevent us in taking decision. Positive mindset, clarity in thoughts and unbiased point of views are required to take decision. One is not able to take decision with negative mindset. What are those elements which make our mindset negative? Fear, shakiness, lack of confidence make our mindset negative. Fear about uncertainty in getting desired outcome is the biggest impediment in taking decision. Fear comes from lack of confidence and lack of confidence comes from lack of proper knowledge. Shakiness comes from fear and lack of confidence. Lack of clarity in thought creates confusion which stops us in taking proper decision. Unbiased opinion, clear vision, good listening skill, independent thought, foresightedness and open mind are required for bringing clarity in thought. For unbiased opinion, mind should be free from all types of prejudice and biasness.

4. Gathering information for decision making  

Lack of information is another impediment in taking decision. Gathering information or feedback does not mean discussing decision with other before taking it. Four elements i.e., ‘what’, ‘when’, ‘from whom’ and ‘how’ are important while gathering information. One should know the type of information required for taking decision. One should also know when, from whom and how to gather information. For example, a young and energetic Civil Engineer has decided to leave job and to have his own construction company. For taking this decision he should know what are the information required for taking decision i.e., amount of capital, registration of company, legal and statutory requirements, sources of raw materials, labours and expertise, etc. Required information are to be gathered from proper and genuine sources well before taking decision.

  5. Implementing Decision

 Implementation of decision is as important as taking decision. Non-implementation or delayed implementation frustrates the very purpose of taking decision which is mainly due to procrastination. Procrastination makes the decision time barred for its implementation. Let us discuss one interesting example of getting decision time barred. Mr. Santanu got affectionate towards Jasmine during his college days. Jasmine was two years junior to Santanu and both were studying in the same college. Santanu decided to propose Jasmine but he was waiting for opportune moment which never came during his college days. Then he decided to propose her after completing his post-graduation, but he could not. Then he decided to propose her immediately after getting job. But it took another two years in proposing her when already her marriage was fixed. It is the fear of rejection which stopped him to propose Jasmine immediately after taking decision. Anyway, the possible outcome could have been either acceptance or rejection which he could have been known much earlier had he not delayed in proposing her. Acceptance could have removed his anxiety of choosing life partner whereas rejection could have saved his precious time which could have been utilized in finding another person as life partner. I hope you understood the importance of prompt implementation of decision.

6. Developing the habit of taking decision 

Friends, taking timely decision and its prompt implementation is the key to success. Every successful person takes decision and promptly implement it. They never bother about other person’s opinion about their decision. On the other hand, most of us bother about other person’s opinion and therefore fails to take decision.  Friends, develop the habit of taking decision whether small or big and implement it without any delay. If you are parent then inculcate this habit in yourself and in your children. The question is how to inculcate the habit of taking decision in children. Before this question there may be another question that may arise in your mind whether children are able to take decision. Yes, children are also able to take certain decisions. Encourage your child in developing the habit of taking small decision by giving them choice. For example, if you want to give egg to your child in breakfast, ask him whether he want to take boiled egg or omelette. Such little efforts will enable you to develop decision-making capability in your child which will not only enable him to take big decision in life but also make him independent.

 Friends, develop the habit of taking your own personal decisions no matter whether it is small or big and immediately take steps for its implementation. Never depend on any other person for taking your own personal decision. Develop belief and confidence on your ability to take decision and the decision per se. Taking decisions and its prompt implementation will give you confidence and will improve your personality and leadership quality. Taking decisions and ensuring its prompt implementation is one of the most important attributes of leadership quality. I have seen the persons depending on their nearest relatives or friends for taking own personal decision or any other decisions related to family matters. Such persons cannot emerge as leaders in their own family and also lose respect from their family members. Such persons knowingly or unknowingly are allowing other persons to interfere in their own personal and family matters and thereby losing independence by giving command of their life to somebody else. Please remember as such there is no right or wrong decision. It is important to take decision as and when necessity arises. Even if decision taken by you comes out to be incorrect, you are not owing to anybody else except yourself and in the process, you will learn to take correct decision.

7. Conclusion 

Whether it is a matter of choosing your profession, carrier or life partner you have to take your own decision.  Many persons depend on their parents or relatives to choose their life partners. But ultimately nobody else except yourself is going to take the responsibility of your life partner. You are the best judge for your own decision and that’s why believe in yourself, take your personal decision, implement it and own responsibility for your decision.

    

 Investing in Gold

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1. Gold is a precious metal and there is a tendency to hold gold as a store of wealth since ancient time. It is also used to make ornaments and jewelleries. Peoples are buying gold because of the following reasons.

(i) Gold is hold by the people because of its durability and malleability.

(ii) It is used for making ornaments and jewelleries. 

(iii) Gold is hold by the people to hedge against inflation as well as deflation. 

(iv) Gold provides a financial cover during geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. 

(v) Gold is treated as crisis commodity because in times of geopolitical uncertainty it outperforms other investment and people can flee to its relative safer place during the rise of global tension. 

Price of 24 carats gold in India during the year 2001 was approximately Rs. 430.00 per gram which increased to Rs.2640.00 per gram during the year 2011. Its annualised yield comes out to be 19.89 percent. During the year 2021 its price was Rs.4872.00 per gram giving an annualised yield of 12.90 percent over a period of 20 years which not only beat inflation but also beat the maximum interest rate of term deposits in India. Therefore, one can think of including gold in one's portfolio. 

2.  No doubt investment in gold is good. But while purchasing gold ornaments one needed to take the following precautions.

(i)  Please ensure the purity of gold in the ornaments which you are buying. Purity of gold is determined by carats. A 24 carats gold is considered to be 99.9% pure and its purity get reduced with decline in the number of carats i.e., purity of 22 kt gold is less than 24 carats gold.

(ii) Hallmark certify the purity of gold and therefore it is advisable to buy hallmarked jewellery. 

(iii) Please check the actual weight of gold that you are buying and it should be exclusive of used stones in ornaments. 

(iv) Please check and compare the price of gold before buying and buy gold ornaments from a trusted jeweller or branded jewellery shops. 

3. Disadvantages of investing in physical gold.

(i) Price of ornaments and jewelleries include making charge which ranges between Rs.30 and Rs.60 per gram and also GST amount which you are paying at the time of purchase of gold from jewellery shop. But at the time of selling ornaments, you are paid only the price of gold (exclusive of making charge and GST) at the prevailing market rate by the shroff or jewellers. 

(ii) While selling gold to jewellers they reduce the weight of metal alloy and other impurities in the ornament to arrive at the actual weight of gold and you are paid accordingly based on actual weight of gold in the ornament at the prevailing market price of gold at the time of selling.

(iii)  You will not get any value for gold jewelleries if it is lost or stolen. You have to keep it in safe custody. You may have to hire bank's locker for safe keeping of your jewelleries for which you may have to pay annual rent depending on the size of locker.

It is better to limit the holding of physical gold because of the above risks. Is there any other way for investing in gold to minimise the risks associated with holding physical gold?  Yes, instead of holding gold in physical form you can hold it in paper form or electronic form. Government of India launched Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme in November 2015 under Gold Monetisation Scheme. Since then, several tranches of Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme have been issued. Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme has been explained in detail in the following paragraph.  

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4. Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme:  

Under Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme, the issues are made open for subscription in tranches by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with Government of India (GOI). The Bonds are in denominations of one gram of gold or its multiple thereof. An individual person resident in India can make minimum investment of one gram and maximum of four kilogram of gold per fiscal year in such Bonds. The tenure of the Bond is 8 years with the exit option in 5th, 6th, and 7th year to be exercised on the interest payment dates. The price of the Bond is fixed in Indian Rupees on the basis of simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA) for the last 3 business days of the week preceding the subscription period. The redemption price will be based on simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity of previous 3 working days published by IBJA. The interest is paid to the investors at a fixed rate of 2.5% per annum payable semi-annually on the nominal value of the bond. The interest is taxable but the capital gains tax arising on redemption of these bonds to an individual is exempted. The indexation benefit is available for the long-term capital gains arising to any person on transfer of bond.   

5. Gold Exchange-Traded Funds i.e., Gold ETF:  Gold ETFs are kind of mutual funds that are listed and traded on Exchange and can be hold in Demat form.  One unit of Gold ETF is equivalent to one gram of 24 carats gold. Axis Gold ETF, Kotak Gold ETF, HDFC Gold Exchange Traded Fund, ICICI Prudential Gold ETF, etc. are few Gold ETF Funds in India for investment. Most of the Gold ETFs are open ended. Gold ETFs are having the following advantages over physical Gold and Sovereign Gold Bonds.

Advantages of making investment in Gold ETF:

(i) Pricing of Gold ETF is closer to the actual market price of Gold compared to physical gold as it is devoid of any premium resulting from the making charges, GST, alloys and impurities contained in physical form of Gold i.e., gold jewelleries. 

(ii) Sovereign Gold Bonds are available to investors for investment when the issues are made open for subscriptions. But Gold ETFs are always available for investments. 

(iii) Gold ETFs are having more liquidity as compared to Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGBs) as it can be traded in open market at the free will of the investors and it does not have any lock-in period. But there is a lock-in period of five years for SGBs. 

(iv) Unlike SGBs, investors can remain invested in Gold ETFs as long as they feel like. 

(v) Unlike SGBs there is no upper limit for investment in Gold ETFs. 

(vi) Unlike Physical Gold, there is no scope for loss of value due to theft as Gold ETFs are hold in Demat form.

Disadvantages of making investment in Gold ETF: Gold ETFs are having the following disadvantages over physical Gold and Sovereign Gold Bonds.

(i) Capital Gains on selling of Gold ETFs are taxable. Long term capital Gains are taxed with indexation benefit while short term capital gains are taxed based on the tax slab of the investors. While Capital Gains arising on selling of Sovereign Gold Bonds are exempted from the payment of income tax. 

(ii) Unlike SGBs, there is no interest payment to investors. Return on redemption of Gold ETFs are subject to market risks.

(iii) Unlike SGBs, investment in Gold ETFs include Fund Management Charge, brokerage at the time of both purchase and sell of ETFs and administrative charges.

6. Conclusion: No doubt that the returns on investment in Gold is comparatively higher than that of debt instruments if hold for longer period i.e., at least 10 years. But our investment portfolio should not contain substantial investment in Gold. Investment in Gold should be limited to 10 percent of our total investment portfolio. Our investment in Gold should consist of physical gold, SGBs and Gold ETFs of which investment in physical Gold should be bare minimum. One can make investment in Gold ETFs through systematic investment plan (SIP). 

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