Tuesday, 10 June 2025

No smoking please - Chapter 12 - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child

        
illustration by Lucie Colinet 



 I was the youngest kid of the family and my father was already 48 years old and mother 43 years old when I was born to them. Both my parents had survived impoverished childhoods, had grown up in villages in Kerala, had migrated out of the village for work and were living very busy lives with my three much older siblings when I was born. At the time the brother closest to me in age, 8 years older to me, was born, they were living in London U.K. My father had accepted an opening in the Indian High Commission in London after he retired prematurely as a soldier in the Indian Army. They lived in London for four years and all the children had British accents when they came back to India after the posting.

One of the perks of working in the High Commission meant that my dad had a smoking allowance. This monthly allowance was a good amount of money even for those days. Almost equal to if not more than his salary. The idea was always to earn extra money to help look after his growing family, but he wasn't going to be dishonest and so he took to smoking.

When he came back to India after giving up this job, he presented his remaining stock of cigarettes and his lighter to one of my uncles. The uncle was very happy to receive a few cartons of imported cigarettes as they were quite a novelty. He asked my father why he didn't want to smoke them himself. To this my father replied, "In the U.K. I received an allowance to smoke. Here smoking will take away from my salary. So, no, I don't want the cigarettes." Remarkably, he never took up the habit again.

That was why and how my father stopped smoking. For him the reason he started and ended that vice was the same. All his actions were guided by his desire to be of benefit to his family.

#nosmokingplease #smokingkills #thechroniclesoftheyoungestchild #childhoodanecdotes

Like this story? Read all other similar stories from my childhood!



Icecream incidents- The King Cone - The Chronicles of the Youngest Child - Part 11
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Monday, 9 June 2025

Meet multifaceted Daniel Vaz- Head Coach Nike India Run Club, trainer, marathoner and Aerospace Engineer

Top post on Blogchatter

 

Full Marathon Tata Mumbai 2026 - done 

35kms - Khadakwasla

In India, so many people study hard, achieve amazing heights in school and college and make a huge effort to make all their financial dreams come true. Very often these studious people work so hard academically that their focus is just that. Studies and careers. Not Mr. Daniel Vaz though. Having done his B.Tech in Aerospace Engineering from I.I.T Mumbai he's currently still working at 63 as the C.E.O of a company that specialises in climate control in process industries. This is just his work! What he does outside of it is equally if not more interesting. 

Health and Fitness has always been an important part of Daniel's life. He was a footballer for most of his life and so one could consider him generally very fit. But life gave him a new direction when one of his friends asked him to accompany him to participate in a marathon back in 1996. This was really uncharted territory for most civilians back then. Most of the participants in that Pune International Marathon were elite runners from the defense forces. Daniel and his friend received vests to track their time for a nominal fee. When they reached the halfway mark, they were deemed too slow by the organisers and asked to leave the competition. Daniel remembers not liking what he experienced at that halfway point and left determined to better his speed.

In those pre-internet years, Daniel found a book written by a runner named Bruce Tulloh on distance running. He used the book as his guide to start training regularly. This training became a part of his daily life while work and home were also a priority. In 2002, the same friend asked Daniel to participate with him again. This time it would be a recreational marathon in Goa organised by the Goa Salgaonkar Sports Club. He had seen the ad in the Times of India newspaper. They called the organiser and registered for the race which was to be run from Benaulim beach to Vasco M Corporation. They were two among only 27 runners who were to run the 42 kms. From the runners who participated, only 12 completed the race. Daniel was the runner in the 12th spot. He was asked by the ambulance accompanying the runners to give up somewhere along the way as they were informed that the 11 runners in front of him had already nearly finished the race. Daniel asked them to go to the finish line and not wait for him and continued to run. He had friends cheering him on, who would give him water when required and he just focused on finishing the race. At an amazing 3h 55mins Daniel crossed the finish line to a thundering applause thanks to the fact that the winners of the race were being awarded their medals at that exact moment.


Coach- Nike India

These two races were key to Daniel's hunger to understand his body and its capacities during a long distance run. His training continued with vigour for the next couple of years. India was now seeing the beginning of modern marathon runs with the Mumbai Marathon's first edition in 2004. Daniel continued to participate in the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathons every year. Now his name figures amongst the Mumbai Marathon Legends. In 2019, he received a permanent BIB number. He chose 810 which were the first three digits of his I.I.T membership number. Daniel has run 46 full marathons which include several famous overseas marathons. Travelling to participate in a marathon abroad became part of his family's vacation plans. Some of the overseas races he did till date are Berlin, Wurzburg, London, Lausanne in Switzerland, Budapest, Istanbul and the Lochness marathon in Iverness, Scotland.


Addressing Nike runners


Berlin marathon - 2017





Budapest marathon - 2019


London marathon - 2024


Around 2007, Daniel started offering long distance training advice by participating in seminars  in the domain of Recreational Running to employees of different companies like Mahindra & Mahindra, Colgate Palmolive, Standard Chartered and Chase Manhattan. He was also asked to train cadets  in the Goa Navy Physical Training School.  From 2008 onwards, he has been the Head Coach for the Nike Run Club. 

In the same vein, Daniel emphasizes that only last month, Nike organised a special  'After Dark' run in Mumbai and it was a Women's only edition. He worked for them as the Race Director on this occasion. 


He also backs his knowledge on running long distances with a solid certification that brings his experience on terrain and scientific accreditation together. He has a C.S.C.S certification (Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist) from the N.S.C.A (National Strength & Conditioning Association, U.S.A). He has had the honour of being Race Director for the Mangalore Triathlon, Mangalore Beach Festival's Half and Full Marathon.






Race Director Mumbai Ultra 12hrs


There is another interesting race where he is Race Director since 2019, the 12 hour Mumbai Ultra. In this race that is held on the 15th of August every year, participants run from the Veer Savarkar Smarak in Shivaji Park to Worli which counts as one loop. They run for 12 hours and try to make as many loops as they can in that duration. The winner is the one who completes the time with the maximum number of loops.







Health Coach, Nivea 2022 - 23



Daniel also worked as Health coach to Nivea when they launched deodorant for marathoners in 2022-23.



Mr. Vaz is also a writer for Fit Page India, a website where he has contributed more than 150 articles. The site covers everything under the Sun about running. He has advice about Strength Training, Running, GPS watches, the new technology Sweat Patches that checks the hydration level in the runner's body during long distances etc. Daniel also offers online training to several aspiring Marathon and Ultra Marathon runners who use his program to train for races that range from 42-50kms to 100kms or 100miles (160kms) across the world. Some of these races are the Ladakh Full Marathon and the Khardungla 72kms which is at very high altitude, 11000 feet and above. Other races include the Border 100 which is an Ultra that is held in the desert in Rajasthan. There are also runners training for the Comrades 90kms run held in South Africa.





Podium at Bangalore Ultra 2010

Daniel trains and motivates runners live when he runs with his running group, Road Burners in and around the Kandivali - Malad areas.




It's hard to believe that a man who does so many things for leisure works at such a high post in a Company. He doesn't seem to want to slow down despite having endured all sorts of running-related injuries. He just works on getting better and better at something that brings him immense satisfaction and joy. I'm super happy to have spoken to someone who has seen and helped India in getting fitter first hand and is actively contributing to the overall health of everyone around him. We can all learn what stamina, endurance, grit, determination, failure and success means when we look at the way Daniel has lived his life, from dreaming to doing to achieving. Kudos!




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Saturday, 7 June 2025

Henry Love- Instagram series - uploaded 6th June

 












Discover Sam's stories here


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Wednesday, 4 June 2025

Henry Anger - Instagram series - uploaded on 3rd June 2025

 















Discover the last of Henry series here 

Discover Sam's stories here



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Rant on the courier systems, post and delivery of goods in Belgium

 



The world today produces more and more. We all are aware of the tons of stuff that are  being produced every single day all over the world. Whether they are clothes, appliances, hardware, household goods, the supply of goods is ever increasing and in your face. You scroll for five seconds on your mobile phone and you have an ad pop up showing you a sparkling new product that you can buy. The crazy thing is that often what used to cost us maybe 100 Euro years ago costs a fraction of that cost. Yes, it's nice for a simple consumer to be happy about this but the flip side is that everything related to quality is seeing a downgrade. From the product itself to even the delivery of these products.


Ever since COVID, the online industry has seen a massive rise in consumers opting for the convenient method of scrolling and clicking their products. The companies promise super rapid delivery and yes within 24 hours very often you have the product in your hands. I, as a conscious shopper, avoid using these methods to shop. But for those who do, it's worthwhile to look at the faults in a system that allows for cheap products, reduction in delivery timings and its ironic consequences.

In the last few years, despite not buying anything online myself, I have noticed that because our products are cheaper and our delivery timings are reduced, a large number of products ordered by consumers are not reaching them.

In the apartment building in which I live, there are hundreds of residents. The delivery people for various services including the Post, either don't have the time or the inclination to wait for the person who the package is destined for to reach the hallway. They ring the call bell of the owner, gain access into the apartment building and then usually just dump the package in the lobby without waiting for the rightful owner to pick it up. As a result anyone can pick up and steal the package before the bonafide recipient arrives and this is what happens more often than not. I have at least 2 stories of my own where this has happened and I'm aware that this happens in other residential areas too. 

Yesterday was yet another story! The flowers that my older daughter had ordered for her sister were not delivered despite the fact that I was at home. The delivery driver probably did come to the building, he simply left a note saying " sorry, we missed you" on the online app that my daughter used to order the flowers. There was no ringing of the bell or anything to indicate he even came to the building. Now those flowers will have to be picked up one day later from a shop where all these goods land up when the courier person cannot or will not actually reach the person they were destined for.

On any special occasion be it Xmas, New Year and the like, this problem is multiplied maybe a thousand times and products are either not delivered, stolen by neighbours and outsiders or sitting to be picked up the day after in one of the many 'next-to-home' shops.

What is the point really of having this convenience? Creating a world in which products are so cheap that we don't even need them to reach the consumer? When a postman doesn't even have the time to deliver a registered post and just leaves a paper that says go pick the letter from the local office? Who is this benefitting? What sort of world are we going to see in the coming decades? 

Have you experienced something similar? Do share your experience in the comment box below.

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Tuesday, 3 June 2025

My daughter's 18th birthday!


 


18 is an age,
When life has just begun,
When the person inside you..
Feels obliged to be present in everything fun

You know yourself well,
But yet you desire
To know things around you …
Everything hot in your dictionary equals to fire

Silently your body grows while you’re asleep,
You want to claim the world,
You’re so eager to leap

The world is awaiting the reveal of the woman of depth that is in you…
Oh my daughter you will conquer some heights ,
But life will make you experience dips too

Nothing in life is impossible to do,
Nothing or no one should ever make you ashamed of you

You carry your identity,
That’s unique .. it’s true
You’re unique and special
Just one in the world.. who’s you!!

Your mother I became and learnt to laugh loud,
Coming second in our home 🏠
Who you’re becoming makes me proud!

Yes, we fight and bully me you do
But my darling little princess,
I’m on this roller coaster ride ..
With you!

Come back to being a baby,
Sometimes I may indulge you,
The baby you were was so naughty and cute…
Close my eyes and she takes the place of the adult who’s now you.

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Monday, 2 June 2025

Strange and Intriguing happenings -#energyfield #openmindedness


 

There are times in life where we do something or discover something that's unique. Where what's happening transcends what is evident to the eye. When doing it and experiencing it we know we will never forget this exact moment. I have a very interesting memory of one such incident when I was 18 or 19. That evening there were two things that I experienced that went beyond what I knew existed in the world.


I was invited by a friend to a conference in town where they were talking about a book in particular. The book had a technique to help us memorize lots of words in a few minutes. Funnily enough, I don't remember much about either the book or the author though. I remember being in a large room full of people, we must have been at least 500-700 people. There was a moment when the speaker announced that he would choose a volunteer from the crowd to demonstrate what he was trying to convey in the book. The moment he uttered the words " I will choose one person from this audience", I knew that person would be me. I guess with that thought, I had sent out the perfect receptor energy. That day I felt the presence of a thread of energy for the first time. It was like I was pulling the speaker to me. He got off the stage, took the stairs and used the big aisle that divided the large room. He walked a little, stopped and looked around. Then he continued walking. Remember there were hundreds of people and several rows of chairs on both sides of the aisle.

When he reached my level, he looked towards the other side first and then turned to look towards my direction. He stood there and pointed at me. He had a mike in his hand, so he said "You, the young girl wearing a brown shirt". I was very stunned by what had just happened. I didn't understand why I had felt the pull of energy or how I knew he would choose me.

I walked up to him and he asked me to accompany him to the stage. I was obviously very scared. It was scary to stand up there in front of so many people. He took me backstage and asked me to listen to a story. Then if I remember well he showed me 50 words on a sheet of paper. The next thing I knew I was speaking to the audience and saying out the words on the list in perfect order. He had put  this list on a screen or board for everyone to see. I was facing the audience and the list of words was behind me. The whole experiment had taken 5-7 minutes backstage. I was scared to make a mistake but somehow knew I wouldn't.

Sometimes in life so many inexplicable things happen around us. The pull of energy between the speaker and me and the fact that I could recite all those words flawlessly are small examples of incidents that paint such mysterious colours into our otherwise normal lives.

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