Alternate Travel: Blogging Inside A Mumbai Local Train

Inspiration can come from any quarter. In my case it came from an uncomfortable and a somewhat dangerous place. Blogging is no joke nor does a blog just pop out from your brains on to your keyboard. I blogged like a maniac. Hope you like my tactics that I used for blogging inside a Mumbai local train.

Image Credit: Mumbai Dream City

Blogging background

Pardeep Goyal an eminent Indian blogger in a telephone conversation told me that writing is not hard and if done each day becomes smooth and effortless.

I like to scare myself by taking on goals that I have never attempted before.

So I took up writing, while travelling everyday on Mumbai Locals!!

And inspired by the many stories of students studying inside local trains, successful sports persons who took the train to reach their coaching destinations, IAS and CAT aspirants cracking the exams!

Why Mumbai locals?

1. Predictability takes away stress

Mumbai Suburban - one of the best Indian ingenious and autonomously running institution

Lot of respect for its punctuality, something we Indians are not known for.

Compare this to my commute in Bangalore in my car where I was at the mercy of traffic and some government departments road digging fetishes.

2. Comfort and speed

Stated fact that trains cut away from traffic, move really fast, and your posture is stable to write (and also play candy crush).

3. Warm people

People in Mumbai are nothing I have met having traveled almost all the country. They are warm, polite and mind their own business. Huge advantage when you are trying to do something like writing.

4. Focus

When you see everyone around either studying, reading or pursuing something, you get busy yourself. You are the average of the 300 people you hang out with!

5. Green warrior

I don’t burn fuel which I did in my previous avatar at Bangalore, taking my car to work each day for 32 kms, for more than a decade.

I feel happy that I am not a contributor to the traffic mess and pollution outside.

6. Cheapest

Yes it helps when your daily commute works out to under 10 rupees a day! That’s real cold cash saved.

How to start blogging inside Mumbai Locals

1. Buffer of 30 minutes

Writing needs serious focus and energy. Conserve it by keeping 30 minutes for any travel as buffer. I don’t have to run to catch a train.

This preserves my energy levels and maintains my equilibrium.

Keeping a buffer means, you get to pick trains which aren’t crowded and easy to alight and board.

Never underestimate the planning process.

2. Your Tools

Amazon music, Google Drive, Google Calendar, a good mobile internet, a good smartphone, good headphones, fast thumbs and a deadline to finish.

You need a good phone because sometimes all you will have is a single thumb. So the gesture flow feature should work well when typing. I think iPads or tabs would be little inconvenient to carry in Locals.

Yes, not to forget - have a phone with a good battery life

3. Karma works

I love standing in a good place free from the slug fest and the hustling.

Fun fact: a seat to sit is premium commodity and a thing to die for, literally.

So I offer my seat to people who are standing. Someday when I’m tired and need to focus on some serious ideation, I get offered a seat out of nowhere. Karma really works!

4. Discipline

Have a rigor and a personal goal each day to write, compile ideas and give shape to your blog.

My total travel time in a day is 3 hours. I believe it’s enough to push 2 blogs out of my weekly goals.

In closing, let’s do something every day till it becomes a muscle memory. Just like the way I read 84 books in 2016 because I was committed to the goal.

Discipline is a promise to your goal that you would meet it for sure.

If I have to attribute a reason for my success, I would hand out over to my wife for her unconditional love and Indian railways for relentlessly serving this city.

This was originally published here and has been added to this site with permission from the author.

Author Profile: Karmesh Ghosh is a startup enthusiast. As an independent consultant for marketing, sales and development strategies, he supports startups and SMEs to achieve their business outcomes. To know more click here

Healthy Living: Pranayama lessons from a Toddler

During winter, most of the afternoons, after lunch I go to the terrace with a book, my mobile and an orange – to read and soak the sun. That is actually the most favorite part of my day.  My kind of Susegad

Corporate life takes away little elements like these and completely sweeps you into a mad daily whirlwind. Most of us are conditioned to work or over work in a certain manner for years together, not realizing while we are making a living, we are letting something pass slowly unnoticed – Life!

If we only learnt to take life more seriously than livelihood, we would have a better chance with life.

While we manage to squeeze in short tours, long trips and travel plans for weekends, in the name of break from mundane however it is sometimes less rejuvenating and more taxing because of the compulsion or urgency to cover a dozen tourist spots or shop stuff - than just enjoy and belong there.

I have no intention to sermonize about that kind of traveling with the selfie mania or the Insta craze. My concern is when people who believe in healthy living and are fitness conscious - complain about missing exercise, when they are in transit.

I can’t exercise when I am away from home

The rationale to upload these images of a two year old doing pranayama is basically to let the world know that is how easy it is, at least the basic ones – breathing techniques and stretching exercises

Chanting Om

Anulom Vilom Pranayam: Alternate Nostril Breath

I was stationed in Ancient School of Wisdom in the last week of November last year with a hectic learning schedule from 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM. In fact my roommate who is fitness freak and runner arranged for our Yoga Mats from the organizers so that we could exercise. 

The other side of terrace where I did Pranayam during my stay 

Being away from home is definitely no excuse to skip exercise – We did Pranayam, meditation, running, stretching as a group.

Here are some more lessons from the toddler

What flexibility!!

And here is the one most of us find it difficult to begin with - Kapalbhati

This two year old did each of these one after another, on her own. She was so excited about the photography that one or two instructions were reminded by her aunt who actually taught her.

Just before concluding, here is one last one

Bhramari

So are you inspired to quickly take some New Year resolutions right now to get started? So - work, travel, chores - should not be your excuses but your reasons to exercise or do Yoga