Sing - Movie Review

Barry Moon and his secretary Ms. Crawley are unforgettable characters. I could forget the names of most characters but somehow Barry Moon is one I will not forget. Then so are the soulful gorilla, the rock musician porcupine, the gifted pig, the stage-shy elephant and the overbearing mouse. Barry Moon's idea to save his sinking theatre goes out of hand, first thanks to a typo by Ms. Crawley and then due to the issues that the mouse brings along. But the good-hearted prevail, after some wonderful music (Faith, Under Pressure, Bamboleo, Hallelujah) and some serious setbacks which cause Barry Moon to feel that he has failed his father.

But obviously, he has not. I loved it and can watch it again.

Interactive Session With Students of VNR VJIET

While chatting with young Abhinay last week I told him to call up a few of his friends who were involved in the TEDx event and other such pursuits and get them together for a small session on high performance. He called them up and we met at Gap Miners last Sunday thanks to Ramaraju who kindly allowed us to use the space. Abhinay, Vineeth, Harish, Vijay, Meghana, Sloka, Vedavrath and Vandana and came by and we got started at 11 am.

Sloka, Abhinay, Harish, Me, Vandana, Ramaraju, Meghana, Ved and Vijay
(Vineeth gallantly took the picture)

I shared with them some of the concepts that I felt would help them. The idea was to make them feel secure (know what they know and know what they do not and accept that), take 100% responsibility for their lives and know the process of moving forward.

Fixed and Growth Mindset
Up first was obviously the Mindset - Fixed and Learning Mindset https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWn_TJTrnU . The Mindset is the approach and gives us great freedom to learn and grow. Some highlights of the Fixed Mindset (not recommended) are - desire to look smart at any cost, to find the easy way out (because that's what smart people do), avoid challenges, give up easily, get defensive, see effort as fruitless, ignore useful negative feedback, feel threatened by others successes and plateau early and achieve less than full potential. The Learning or growth mindset (recommended) is one that looks like this - desire to learn, embrace challenges, persist in the face of setback, seek help to find ways to improve, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism, find lessons and inspiration from others successes and reach even higher levels of achievement as a result and get closer to potential.

Meghana, Ved, Vineeth and Vijay

Secure Leaders - Know What They Know and What They Don't
We quickly moved onto the feeling secure aspect - knowing what we know and what we don't. This requires a quick evaluation of ourselves - our strengths and areas to improve. They helped each other along with the strengths. Once we got a list of our strengths and weaknesses we realised that all weaknesses are in many ways strengths in disguise. The way to use them is focus 80% on the strength and 20% on the weakness.

Me, Sloka and Vandana

Route to Learning and Expertise, Preparation
Then we examined the process of moving forward - the way of the expertise. The band existed between 20 hours (Josh Kaufman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY&t=300s) and 10000 hours (Eriks Andersson). The way forward was to aspire for expertise, invest in deliberate practice after evaluating oneself brutally. The process of preparation was discussed - pour performance exactly reflects our preparation. Preparation is always on three fronts - skill, physical (healthful eating habits and exercises) and mental (beliefs, values, rules, identity etc). The importance of mentors, coaches and how to use them was discussed.

Harish, Meghana, Ved, Vineeth and Vijay

SMART Goals, Enabling Goals and Aligned Goals
Then we quickly looked at goals - 6 months, 1 year, 2 years and 5 years. The way to set goals - SMART - Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time Bound was discussed with a couple of examples. The importance of picking goals that were in alignment with the long term ones and to pick goals that enable many of the other goals was discussed. For example - want to play Test cricket as a goal will require you to align yourself by putting hours in cricket practice and not into learning the guitar. Similarly playing cricket at a certain level could enable you good money, travel, friends, playing the game you love etc.

Process of Achieving Things
Then we looked at the process of achieving things. This we did by having each one of us share an experience where we achieved something we had set our minds upon. The process of deciding, of putting all our focus  and concentration on what we want, planning, taking action, belief and achievement was discussed from our own experience. Knowing that the same process works for all things big and small helps.

100% Responsibility and Freedom
The concept of responsibility and of 100% responsibility was discussed. 99% responsibility still gives you a 1% excuse on why things did not go the way you wanted them to. You will find a way if you remove all crutches. More importantly how 100% responsibility is actually 100% freedom was discussed. When we take 100% responsibility all options are open to us. We can choose within the bad to increase our performance the way we want.

In the end we ended with an appreciation exercise - the way to healthy leadership, adaptable mindsets and secure leaders. Overall a lot of stuff packed into a few hours. Abhinay shared a couple of stories in the end and we all split ways.

How Sagar Lost 10 Kgs in 21 Days!

Sagar has been at it for a while, for years in fact. Gym, exercise, diet etc. I have seen him go through cycles of losing weight and then gaining it back again. But this time I noticed a big difference - there was a clear difference in the weight (he lost 10 kgs in 21 days), walks more energetically, his skin has a new glow and he has more of that life force, that vitality. He says he notices a change in his hair, taste etc.

Yummy green juice!

I asked him what he did to make this transformation. He told me that his sister in the US had seen this 'RebootwithJoe.com' website. Joe Cross's video 'Fat, Rich and Nearly Dead' is very popular. It tells the tale of Joe when he was facing a terminal disease, almost dying, taking up to 20 pills a day. He reverted to the old ancestral ways of going back to plants and figured that they lived healthy lives eating leafy vegetables and fruits which are full of nutrition. Joe lost 95 kgs after he started to drink natural juices. Check out his videos.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs36n9Hh4TA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kLSs4OhS0o

Sagar's sister Madhavi who is in the USA tried the plan. She lost 6-7 pounds in 5 days of juicing. She consulted nutritionists, doctors for thyroid and diabetes effects. (I guess that's a must if you're having some health issues.) Sagar was impressed with this story and decided to start the juice diet. He told his friend Srini who instantly bought him a juicer. They both started the course. Sagar did a 5 day detox diet of drinking only juices and there was this significant difference.

The valiant juicer - Fighting for health!

Sagar says 'As I understand, the stomach does not differentiate between water and juice. Instead of water, this juice, full of micro nutrients, goes directly to cells resulting in good health and stops ageing. When you eat cooked solid food not even 10% of these micro nutrients are absorbed into the body. "

This was Sagar's juicing plan for 5 days. He used two juices - one green and one red.

Juicing Plan (5 Days):

When you wake up:

1 cup hot water with lemon and/or ginger 

(optional: add a pinch of cinnamon powder) 

Breakfast: 500 ml 

3-5 Cucumbers

2 Green Apple

1 Bunch Spinach

1 Bunch Coriander

1 Lemon

3-5 cm piece of Ginger

Mid-morning Snack:

Coconut Water or Veg Soup

Breakfast for two!

Lunch: 500 ml

4 Beets

1 Big orange

4 Carrots

2 Lemons

1.5 cups of Grapes/Berries

Mid Afternoon: 500 ml 

3-5 Cucumbers

2 Green Apple

Spinach

Coriander

1 Lemon

3-5 cm piece of Ginger 

Red Juice - Yummy!

Dinner: 500 ml

4 Beets

1 Big orange

4 Carrots

2 Lemons

1.5 cups of Grapes/Berries

Before Sleeping:

1 cup hot water with lemon and/or ginger 

(optional: add a pinch of cinnamon powder) 

"We can also add Sweet Potato, Cabbage, Red and Yellow Bel-peppers, Amla, Green Veggies, water melon, Tarbuj, pomegranate, Anar, Grapes etc." he says.. 

Important thing to remember: 80% Vegetables and 20% Fruits (Fruits are also just for taste. If you can drink raw vegetable juice, avoid fruits to reduce sugar.)

Drink water, coconut water in between to keep going. 

Sagar lost 5-6 kgs in 7 days. Then he switched to having 2 juices in a day for breakfast and dinner. For lunch he stayed with a vegetarian diet (he is a vegetarian) that included beans, few spoons of rice in a 4:1 ratio and drank a broth made of vegetables.

In 12 days he lost some more weight and in 21 days, 13 kgs. Sagar reduced from 116 kgs to 103.

That's when he discovered the keto diet. It's a low calorie, high fat. In the one meal he cut out rice, wheat and bread.

Instead he use cauliflower rice - grated cauliflower- as an alternative to rice because he discovered hat 1 cup of rice has 100 calories whereas cauliflower has only 4 calories. He followed the principle that oils are bad and ghee is good. 

To prepare cauliflower rice meal (for two) he says, take 1 small flower, grate it. Put butter, carrots, onions, ginger. Stir fry with grated carrots. Add water and stir fry. Add turmeric. Eat cauliflower rice with dal. He made some for me. It was really tasty and filling.

While doing this diet Sagar says don't do any strenuous activity. Low intensity exercises on an empty stomach are recommended till your body gets used to this new food cycle. Eat more green leafy vegetables.

I asked him how he was feeling. He said he was full of energy, stopped snoring, skin feels better, hair fall has stopped. He is kicked that he is losing belly fat. 'My BP is normal now. It was high earlier and I'd take medicine. I am planning to taper it off now with doctor's advise,' he says.

Anything else? 
'I used amla in the first phase. Did not touch milk products in the first 7days.  No sugar, no honey,' he said.

Sagar certainly looks healthy and there is that bounce of energy in his walk, talk and demeanour. That vitality is evident. This is how he looks now. 

Inspired by what I saw I bought myself a juicer at Croma. I tried the juice diet for a week. It's pretty tasty and filling. At the end of the week I lost some 5 kgs. Now I am back to a normal diet - with one meal reserved for the juice. It's made me more aware of what I am eating - excess salt and sugar make me cringe now. I hope to lose some more weight. I can feel an improvement in my voice, my hair, skin and overall sense of well being.

For those who wish to contact Sagar (who is doing a lot more research on this fascinating topic) you can  email him at ragasvr@gmail.com

Happy juicing!

Anjali - How She Found Maya

I was told to buy cat food for the cat Anjali adopted - Ms. Maya (the Ms is my addition - makes it seem slinkier). Anyway I keep bugging Anjali on how Maya does nothing and gets all this attention and fine food. So today when Anjali and I went to the supermarket to buy cat food after her school she told me the reason why she adopted Ms. Maya.

'She is very small Nanna,' said Anjali. 'Much smaller than the other cats. One day it was raining and I opened the door and there I found her, thin and frightened. I shut the door and came away and I could hear her mewing in a sad tone. I told Mamma and we gave her warm milk and she drank it. That was around my birthday time in October.'

'So we've been feeding her since then?' I said in mock anger.

'Now she is looking healthier. In a short time I think she will become as big as those other cats that bully her. Then she can search for her own food. Only until then Nanna.'

We spotted the cat food. Anjali is very careful what she buys for Ms. Maya. I offered to buy her the bigger pack of Whiskas but she categorically said no.

'That is for cats that are plus one year,' she said. 'I think she is still not yet one year.' Maya is lucky I was not the one picking the food - I'd have just picked any pack and taken it home.

'Now Maya is used to the timing. It comes at 730 in the morning and 4 in the evening.'

'One day I saw her sleeping like she was dead. I got scared and went close and said Maya and she suddenly sprang up, her hair all standing.'

'But she is very frightened. You have to be very careful with her. She gets scared of new people or big people.'

Anjali told me all her cat tales in a rush and some more. She loves her Ms. Maya a lot and jumps out of bed when she hers this one mewing away dolefully. There is a special tone that she saves up to address Maya - a lilting, gentle and soft Maayaaa. And the cat is instantly at ease.

'Where's that cat now?' I asked in mock anger.
'Not that cat,' said Anjali. 'The cat.'

It's not a bad thing to get Anjali on your side I think. She'll back you fully. Lucky Ms. Maya.

A Hippo Banquet - Mary Kingsley

Mary Kingsley's (1862-1900) travels in West Africa are full of humour and adventure. Told in a manner that makes the adventure and danger pale into the background, Mary Kingsley's writngs come across as a refreshing breeze. I am glad I bought this little black classic from Penguin 'A Hippo Banquet'.

'A Hippo Banquet', 'Five Gorillas', 'Elephant Hunt' and 'Fight with a Leopard' are enough evidence of the adventures she has been through. She communicates everything though in her own way - for example the reference to her fellow travellers as gray shirt, pagan etc, her dislike of gorillas, the way she tackled the leopard that was attacking her dog (with a stool) gives a fair idea of what happened in a writing style that is so different, alive and mischievous. She gives a small detail of the longest leopard she has seen, crocodile etc. Mary Kingsley sure sounds like a fun woman to know.

The Saga of Gunnlaug-Serpent Tongue - Viking Epic

It's an icelandic saga of the 13th century. The saga starts with a dream that Thorstein has - of two eagles fighting over a swan and both dying. Upon seeking an interpretation he is told that the two eagles represent two warriors who kill each other for his daughter's hand and the hawk that arrives later finally gives her peace. Unhappy with this prediction Thorstein tells his wife to get rid of any daughters that they may have. She has a baby girl and sends her away, while telling Thorstein that she has killed the baby.

The baby grows up into a beautiful young lady Helga the Fair and is reunited with Thorstein. She meets Gunnlaug, an interesting young man, a poet and share a friendship. They even plan to marry but Thorstein is not sure if Gunnlaug has done enough to earn his daughter's hand. The poet meets another poet, Hrafn, and thus begins the tale of the deadly triangle. Hrafn finally gets to marry Helga but she loves Gunnlaug. the two poets survive one deadly duel and succumb to the next. Helga marries a third

Full of love, courage, style and drama. Loved it.

Trimalchio's Feast - Petronius

Trimalchio is a former slave who has acquired immeasurable wealth through dubious means and his feasts are legendary. Together with his wife Fortunata Trimalchio revels in showing off his wealth and it is described wonderfully by Petronius (this section is a part of his 1st-century work 'Satyricon'). Live birds that fly out from the insides of a pig, fake eggs, a joke about the freedman that is subtly slipped in, surprises that keep coming one after another at the table and from the people who serve them.

The dinner is described in great detail and that is what enthralls you - the detail. Word after word, carefully unveils the dinner that Trimalchio throws and it reveals the man, his attitude, his wealth, his guests.