Life Care Planning Packet: Fill & Download for Free

I would like to tweak the question a bit, because my travels were only within India and not the world.So, I shall talk about my 10,000 km journey across India, which I have already written partially in the 'Insights On India' blog, here is the link - What Kind of an IAS Officer Should One Aspire to be? - Akand SitraI had quit my job in October 2013, because I was preparing for Civil Services Mains, which was held in December that year. Right after Mains, and before the Interview, I thought of understanding rural India as it is. Not by reading in books, nor by watching movies, but I wanted to see with my own eyes.So, I picked up my backpack, and started travelling, which have been documented well in that website. I shall take some excerpts from the blog as it is, so that some coherency is maintained.An IAS officer should understand the society well. True understanding doesn’t come merely by reading books, articles and reports. I was an urban educated regular middle-class guy. I had never seen true poverty of a rural farmer. I had never seen the crowd outside a ration shop in villages. I had never seen the quality of water, people actually drink.Of course, I “knew” about all these. I knew the statistics. I had seen countless documentaries regarding the societal problems. I knew about female infanticide, I saw in movies about the bad upkeep of hospitals. I was empathetic, I felt bad for the people who couldn’t afford a decent meal every day. I was sympathetic and I wanted to do something for the society.But, had I really witnessed true India? Had I seen with my own eyes people’s everyday living? I lived in Bangalore for over 16 years. But, did I know about the living conditions of the rest of the 70% of the population?I can honestly say, No!I wanted to travel the country. I wanted to see regular people in my journeys. I wanted to see true India. But, my savings were getting depleted very fast. So, I had to carefully plan everything I wanted to happen.But, I didn’t know where to go!! One should realize that a journey without a destination is meaningless. It is akin to getting lost. So, my mother advised me to go visit far-away temples. I did not know what to say. I was an athiest, and going on a pilgrimage at such an age did not appeal to me. But, I then realized that I should concentrate on the journey rather than the destination. I wanted to experience and observe people around the temples. On top of that, I would get an extra incentive for going and visiting gods. It was funny that I was bribing God to give me a seat. I shouldn’t say this as it might be blasphemy.Anyway, I started visiting nearby temples after making a long list. I wanted to cover 5000 km in 5 months.(And I managed to cover 10000 km including the Delhi trip) I had embarked on a journey which would change my life forever.The 5000km I’ve Travelled1. Bangalore - Shirdi - Bangalore (1000 + 1000)2. Bangalore - Vijayawada - Khammam - Bhadrachalam - Bangalore (650+200+200+650)3. Bangalore - Tirupathi - Kanipakam - Sri Kalahasthi - Bangalore (700)4. Bangalore - Delhi - Varanasi - Bangalore (2150 + 850 + 1800)5. Bangalore - Tirumala - Bangalore (600)Total - 10000 km in 125 DaysI did three types of travelling.1) I traveled alone.2) I traveled with parents to far off places in train.3) My family drove to nearby destinations if it was an important temple.And in each mode of travel, I had new experiences and did learn a lot. I consciously observed everything in these journeys.I always wanted to take the second class general coaches of trains. I had never done that before, and I assured my mother that I would be safe. So, whenever I traveled alone, I started taking general unreserved tickets. The first thing I realized was that they were dirt-cheap. And the second thing I realized was that the bogies would get hazardously crowded!I truly started enjoying my train rides. The coach in the mornings would get so filled up that, in each compartment at least 12 people used to sit, where seatings for 6 were recommended. There would be 6 people sitting on the two upper berths too! I used to wonder how flexible they could be! Most of the time, I did not get a seat and I used to stand near the door and enjoy the beauty of nature. The trees and barren fields used to zoom past by me, and I would just stand there enjoying the air and would observe people.In the evenings, I could see that many men used to go back home from work. They literally traveled for over 60 km every single day to work in the big city and then travel back again to go to their far-away towns. They lived too close for total urban migration, and they lived too far away for a less-tiring commute. I used to get frustrated even if I was stuck in traffic for a mere 30 mins. But, after seeing this so much hardwork for mere sustenance, I had to humble down a lot. They were brave dedicated men, who worked and traveled extra-ordinarily so that they could provide their families a decent living. All of them were small-time blue-collar employees and suddenly I had immense respect for them and applauded silently for the sacrifices they were making for their families.The people in second class bogies were both very friendly and very short-tempered at the same time. I saw many small fights over small things, and used to get very amused by them. These fights were some sort of entertainment for the rest of the travelers. They used to fight verbally and physically over issues like seat-sharing or water spillage.But, at the same time people were very understanding and helpful too. I was tired of standing and wanted to sit down. There was an aunty beside me sitting on the ground. When I tried to sit, she offered me a sheet of newspaper to sit on.(All seats were full, and one cannot imagine the crowd) Imagine sitting on the floor near the bathroom and the door with all the stench filling the atmosphere. I was supposed to get disgusted but for some reason, I was enjoying myself. I started truly experiencing what they experience. I started feeling what they feel.At this time, I truly admired the Indian Railways. The tickets were very cheap and it helped millions of very poor people travel. Even if they were very crowded, there would be a sense of belonging. I cannot imagine what would happen to those millions of commuters who use the long-distance trains to go to work everyday, if suddenly the railways increased the fares. I am sure there would be fuel-surcharges that would be added to the cost of the ticket in the future, and now, I was dead against to it. Truly, the Railways was a welfare organization, and I wouldn’t mind it running in losses if it was giving life to so many poor people who are at a disadvantage.The food items that were being sold in the General section were also very cheap! I ate a small packet of hot and tasty sambhar rice for a mere Rs.15! I started understanding the true meaning of a welfare-state.In the above picture, one can see sitting together on the same berth are a well dressed government employee, a small scale industry businessman, a college student and a farmer belonging to various castes, classes, religions and regions. The line which divides people along castes and classes is truly blurred in a second class coach of the Indian train. The trains are the single-most unifying factor this country has seen and one should be proud of it.Yes, the train gets this much over-crowded. I was sitting on the corner most seat trying not to fall off and I could see Biharis, Tamilians, Christians, Mizos, Gujjus etc. sleeping all over each other!! Where else can you see this beauty!? Trains are truly the melting pot of various cultures and depicts the true India.The next type of new experience came when I was traveling with my parents in reserved 2A sleeper coaches. Here, the people were of a different class who were educated and were informed about current affairs and news. My father has an unusual habit of chatting up with co-passengers every time we travel. (I think all old uncles have this annoying habit). The discussions usually would lead up to politics of various states. Till then, I never listened to all the grown-up talks, but this time I started listening more. (Civil service prep mentality I guess)This time, I understood the differences in political perception of urban city people and other people from smaller towns and villages. Urban young people talk a lot about politics on social networking platforms like facebook etc., but would have never been to a political rally. They wouldn’t even know who would be contesting from their own constituencies. Urban young citizens do not talk about manifesto points and usually many are lost in the crowded busy city life that they do not vote also. (Bangalore had a 50% voting rate).They have strong opinions about a particular party and usually support one top charismatic leader. They wouldn’t care about the rest of the 500 odd MP contestants. They usually wouldnt even know what ideology each party stands for.But, on the other hand politics plays a huge role in smaller towns and villages. This might be due to the slower pace of life, villages being much more peaceful and the people who are not rushing so much everywhere. Villagers would go to a political rally atleast because they are bored at homes and need some form of entertainment. Elections are a very exciting phase of life for them, and they believe in local mass leaders than the party high command. Most of the people who were discussing in the train would talk about their local leader in their constituency and not the party itself. So, an established local leader can get votes even if he changes the party frequently. It may be due to caste lines, but it is the name of the candidate which matters more and not the party itself.This fundamental difference in ‘candidature vs party’ was very interesting. It made me think that in the current scenario, everybody talks about ‘Modi vs Rahul Gandhi vs Arvind Kejriwal’ which is wrong. In a true democracy, the people should elect for a leader in their constituency and not the PM directly. This is true decentralization of electoral power.But, what happens in the real scenario is that a voter would decide upon the PM first, and accordingly vote for his party irrespective of the candidate in his constituency. The candidate might be corrupt or might have criminal case against him, but if he belongs to the party of the voter’s favourite PM candidate he would easily win. This way, in trying to make his favourite leader as PM, the voter sends immoral people into the parliament.In any democracy, the people should vote for candidates in the constituency first, without any bias. Then the candidates should decide amongst themselves for the nomination of the PM. But, in this country, it is exactly the opposite. First, the PM is decided, then the people are made to vote to ensure that the decided person becomes the PM! In the process, we get one honest leader with hundreds of corrupt MP followers. This shouldn’t be the scenario.It is important to realize that voting for the right candidate is far more important for us than to select the party in the centre. It is the candidates in every constituency who need to be capable enough to fulfil their responsibilities in their constituency irrespective of who is given the post of Prime Ministership.These kind of exciting political talks usually happen over a long train journey. I truly believe trains are the best modes of transportation and one can learn a lot about life during a long-distance train journey.Some time ago, Insights had posted a video on casteism in the country called – India Untouched. The video was truly amazing and it did teach me a lot. The events shown in the video were unbelievable but when I was on one of my travels, I witnessed one of the caste incidents first hand. It was truly mind-blowing and shocking. Once, we were driving to a nearby temple (Around 150km) away. We had to go through some villages to reach that old temple.On the way, we stopped near a local tea-stall to drink some coffee. I got out and ordered for all of us from the tiny tea shop. There were few people sitting inside already sipping their coffee from a ‘glass’ tumbler. The tea shop owner gave us four cups of tea in a ‘stainless steel’ cup but. The documentary which was shared clearly said that the glass cups were used by lower caste people and the tea shop owners usually give stainless steel cups to higher caste people. Maybe, by seeing the car, he thought we were from a higher caste. When I realized this phenomenon I asked him to give me a cup of coffee in the glass tumbler to check his reaction, he and the others looked at me weirdly for a second. He then gave me in the glass one and I went back into the car and explained the story to my family members. It was amazing to see discrimination on such a large scale.These travels have taught me about poverty, welfare-state, caste, religion, region, politics and basic human behaviour. The journey into rural India opened my eyes and showed the naked truth of the country that we live in. With such an enlightening experience I was truly ready to contribute. I had inculcated many new qualities and had strived to become a better human being from that day.Those 10,000 km and 125 days have truly changed my life, and I think everyone should travel within their own country properly, atleast to understand one's own life better.Thanks for reading the long answer. :D

Please don't ignore the importance of Condoms!!!A lot of Couples have unplanned children, due to the mistakes while having sexual intercourse. Lack of knowledge about usage of condom can ruin your life one day, for those who want to have pre-marital sex but want to play it safe.These are some Common condom mistakes to avoid:Blindly wearing a condom, without checking for damageIn the excitement to get hot and sweaty with your lady, many men forget to check for signs of damage in the condom they will be using. The damage can be minute tears or holes. Even these tiny damages can put you or your partner at huge risk.Hence, play safe and always check your condom before wearing it on. The damage can also take place, if you are using your teeth or your sharp fingernails to open the packet. Always open the packet carefully.Kindly go through this link: How to Check a CondomLate usage of a condomMany men do a very common mistake of putting the condom on after the intercourse has already begun. By, doing this you can put yourself at various sexual diseases. Always, put on the condom, before beginning the act of intercourse. If you avoid this common mistake, you will definitely cut down the risk of STDs.Early removalSeveral men commit the silly mistake of removing the condom before actually finishing intercourse. A condom is supposed to be worn until the end of the intercourse and if you take it off too early, then it actually equals to not wearing a condom. So, make the maximum use of a condom and leave it on till you are done with the intercourse.Reusing the same condomThough it may sound odd but many men actually at times, use the same condom at least more than once. Guys, stop this. Condoms are a use and throw material item.If you keep on repeating the same condom during an intercourse, then you are increasing the risk of unwanted pregnancy. By using the same condom, semen can stick to the outer surface of the condom and can be least effective plus it is unhygienic as well.Failure to remove air at the tipMen fail to remove air at the tip of the condom. While wearing a condom, make sure to leave some gap at the tip of the condom so that your semen can get collected. Besides, air at the tip of the condom is supposed to be squeezed out before wearing a condom to avoid breakage during ejaculation.Storing condoms in a bad placeYou just can’t keep condoms in your wallet and just flip it out during sex. A condom should be stored in a cool and dry place as storing your condom in a wrong place can make it less effective and dry. This will not only be hard to put on and uncomfortable to use but it will also be unsafe.Fetish for flavored condomsIf you are planning to use a flavored condom while having vaginal sex, then you should rethink the idea. Almost all flavored condoms contain sugar which can cause yeast infections. Vaginas, have a superb bacteria-fighting system but if this system is encountered by any foreign chemicals, it can cause some damage.Not checking the expiration dateGuys, before putting on a condom always check for its expiry date. Though a condom's expiration date can be upto 5 years, it is your duty to read the fine-print on the paper for your and your partners safety.Wearing on the wrong sideMany men end up wearing the condom upside down. This mistake not only takes place with first time users, but also with men who has used it several times. If you wear your condom upside down and then remove it to wear it the right way, then actually it is of no use.If you correct your mistake by wearing the same condom again the effectiveness of the condom will be lost. The reason is that the pre-ejaculatory fluids that stick to the outside of the condom can easily come in contact with your partner and thus increasing the risk of STDs and pregnancy.Faulty opening tacticsNever use any sharp object to open your condom packet. If you use a sharp object, the chances of your condom getting scratched or damaged is very high. Condoms are delicate and even a minor damage can be life altering.. Hence, open it carefully always.Shngain Lang : A few points I’ll like to add:Kinky people please please never practice ass to mouth specially or even vagina to mouth even with condoms on. Also, its recommended that oil is unsuitable as a lubricant. Do try water/silicone based lubricants for a smooth sexual gratification for the both of you.Always keep a bag of condoms in cool corners of your house all you horny people out there. Better than carrying it deep in your wallet/pockets around.Happy Sex Life!!!———Kannan JayalaxmiSource:How to Check a Condomwww.healthmeup.comTop 10 condom mistakes to avoid - Times of India10 Completely Wrong Ways to Use a Condom

For being a cold heartless son-of-a-gun.I don’t do very well with negative emotions. I don’t know how to process things like sorrow, despair, anguish, dejection and the likes. My brain just drops these packets straight on the floor and replaces them with action plans. When I’m faced with a problem, the only thing I care about is a potential solution. Sitting around and whining about how life is unfair isn’t going to fix it, so why do it?If you come to me with a problem, however big or small, be it a life and death situation, a relationship conundrum or a burnt lasagne, do not expect any emotional support from me. That is not my strength. What I can and will do is make your problem my own. I will strip it of all emotion, break it down into what often tends to be a mathematical and probability driven situation and offer potential solutions.A lot of people who read my answers have mentioned that they are curious to know why I’m always smiling in all my pictures. I guess that is just who I am. It’s true with me in life and those who know me personally can confirm this. I enjoy challenges and they bring out the energy in me. Even when dad was fighting for his life in the hospital earlier this year, I was up and about the situation as if, as one friend described it, I was trying to fix a punctured bicycle.What is one thing you are most loved for?It’s the same thing I’m also the most hated for; for being a cold heartless son-of-a-gun. For being extremely critical and analytical, no matter what the situation. The ability to disconnect emotions from decisions has both made and lost me some very close friends and countless acquaintances over the years.Ok who am I kidding… It’s because I can cook… I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason I still have friends… None of that smiling sociopath BS.In case we haven’t met before, I’m Rohan Kamath.Thank you for reading. I hope I could help you smile today. :)